Soon the selection was made, and the two young ladies went back to their homes with satisfaction, and Miss Li was more open-minded. Before leaving, Miss Wu told Boss Xu that if there are any more embroidered objects, she must be notified at the house as soon as possible.

Boss Xu naturally responded repeatedly. After all, as the jewel in the hands of Anyang's parents, naturally no one dares to offend.

After seeing off the two young ladies, Boss Xu came back. The two ladies chose clothes for more than an hour, and it was already time for dinner.

"Xie Niang, I'm sorry, I have kept you waiting for a long time. I have asked my buddy to order wine and food in Zuixianlou, so let's use some now." Boss Xu said while wiping his sweat: "The two of you just now See you too, we will go to Beijing for the draft in the beginning of spring. Recently, various silk and satin jewelry shops have bought them one by one, and we can't neglect."

I smiled slightly: "Boss Xu is not welcome, Niang Xie is of course reasonable." Pointing to the tea at hand: "Boss Xu's tea and snacks are also very good, and I am not very hungry now."

"It's because I didn't give a good reception, so let's go now." Boss Xu was full of smiles.

I just followed him with Bilian.

In Zuixianju, I happened to meet Xi He, Gongzi Liu, and Brother Zhang, along with a thin and serious older man. So it was eaten in one room. But Bilian and I are women, and the store is separated by a bamboo curtain, but they can be heard talking.

After Boss Xu took his seat, he suddenly found that the older man was Wu Pinxian, the prefect of Anyang. He got up busy and met with a gift, and then sat down again.

Bilian and I whispered some interesting things about the neighborhood, and their conversation fell into our ears inadvertently.

"Master Liu, you can analyze the current situation of the court." Wu Zhifu said, with a faint worry between his brows.

"Isn't Master Wu and Master Shang Shuling in the same year as the Jinshi interviewed by the Golden Palace?" Liu Gongzi said: "You are not always counted as the Ling family?"

Zhifu Wu nodded: "I am indeed a one-year Jinshi with Master Ling, but this time it is for my younger brother." He smiled bitterly: "You know, my wife and brother came from martial arts, and now he is in the army. It's just that. Now the situation in North Korea and China is unpredictable, and he does not know whether to change the court."

"Oh?" Xi He let out a question: "I don't know in which army Mr. Wu's wife and brother are in?"

"Among the Southwest Garrison under the jurisdiction of King Yu, I came back from vacation some time ago."

My heart beats, but my face is calm. Xihe stared at the teacup in his hand for a long while without speaking.

Xu Ye saw Xihe's silence, and Gongzi Liu explained in due course: "I heard from friends in Beijing that King Yu, who should have commanded the army in the southwest, has not been up for a long time. And the emperor intends to change the general stationed in the southwest."

Xi Hugh paused and asked, "It is normal for the emperor to change to general. There may be other arrangements. I wonder why Lord Wu is worried?"

Master Wu shook his head, looked around, and whispered quietly: "I heard that Wang Yu, who has self-respect and disobedience, has been under house arrest."

Xihe's forehead visibly jumped, his face pale, and he almost murmured: "Here is the heart of the soldiers, the heart is not subject, the heart of the soldiers is self-respect, the heart is not subject..." His voice was extremely disappointed. Of sadness, seven points of restraint, one point of ridicule, one point of helplessness, one point of sadness...

"What do you think of Xie Gongzi?" Liu Gongzi asked.

Xihe shook his head: "I don't understand the affairs of the court, but I think, since the emperor... the emperor wants to change the generals, it is better to follow the newcomers. After all, the generals at the border are not changed when they say they are changed. The new general will not change in a few years. The emperor must have been after careful consideration. Therefore, regardless of whether Wang Yu fell out of favor as mentioned earlier or for another reason, since Lord Wu’s brother is in the Southwest Army, he still follows The new general is good."

He smiled lightly, as if it had nothing to do with him, but I saw that his hand holding the teacup was shaking slightly.

"Now I just don't know who the emperor is going to change." Lord Wu said: "Let's take care of it earlier."

My heart trembled. Didn't the second brother win the Southwest? It stands to reason that it should be him.

Xihe seemed to think about it, and asked: "I heard that General Ling went to the southwest on behalf of King Yu, so why shouldn't he stay there?"

Master Wu pursed his mouth and smiled slightly: "Master Ling will soon become the queen mother's son-in-law, so naturally he will not be placed in the southwest. He is already on his way back to Beijing."

I was overjoyed, my second brother finally returned, and will marry the noble eldest princess. The status of my Ling family will also be higher. In the future, even if Shen Xiyao is angry with the Ling family, it should not be too much in the face of the queen mother and the princess.

Xihe thought for a while: "That's right, there are no mature generals in the Northwest that can be stationed in the Northwest, but General Ling should go." He pondered for a while and said: "Nowadays, it is not easy to change other places. You can go. In the southwest, apart from a few generals under Yu Wang, there is only Meng Hanzhi."

He laughed at himself and said: "If King Yu really has a heart of disobedience, then the emperor will certainly not give the position of general to King Yu's cronies, so..." He did not speak, just drank tea.

"But General Meng defeated the battle before..." Master Wu worried: "Moreover, the Wu family and the Ling family are not compatible. After all, I belong to the Ling family..."

Xihe fiddled with the teacup in his hand and looked up at Master Wu after hearing the words: "So in my humble opinion, Master Wu might as well find a way to transfer your wife and brother to the Northwest Army." He glanced at my position and hesitated. Said: "The Ling family is now the dominant family, and there is no power in the DPRK. Although Ling Xiang has gone, the foundation is still there. Therefore, although the emperor will send General Ling to the northwest, he will definitely choose other good ones. The general followed him to the northwest for training. If your wife and brother can seize this opportunity, they will not hurt your friendship with the Ling family, nor will they worry about the change of generals in Southwest."

Master Wu nodded and said yes, and Gongzi Liu laughed: "Master Xie made a very reasonable analysis."

Master Wu was a bit embarrassed: "But... actually this is also my concern. There is also a piece of news. Although the credibility is not high, there is still this statement."

He saw Xihe looking at him suspiciously, and coughed before he said: "In fact, everyone knows that the emperor was not at peace with Lingxiang before. Moreover, the Ling family is too powerful. Although the emperor intends to get rid of Lingxiang's prestige. Now Ling The emperor will be able to do something if it fails."

Gongzi Liu did not agree: "But the queen is still in the palace."

Lord Wu whispered: "Don't you know? That is the rumor, the queen has gone."

I shook my hand, and most of the tea in the cup spilled out, Bi Lian whispered, and quickly wiped it with her kerchief.

"Xie Niang, what's wrong with you?" she asked in a low voice.

"It's nothing, it sounds too engrossing." I lowered my head, but my heart became anxious.

"So I worry again. After all, there is a queen in the palace, and the emperor will still take care of it, so that he won't embarrass Ling's family because of the empress's love. But if the queen does go, then Ling's family is in danger. Master Wu shook hands and said slowly.

"I wonder why Master Wu believes what your friend said is true?" Xi He smiled slightly, but his smile was cold.

"Master Xie, the emperor used to amnesty the world because the queen was pregnant, you know." Master Wu stroked his beard.

Xihe nodded: "I heard it."

"Then do the math, now, the queen should be pregnant for at least five months. However, there is no news about the queen. According to the Daxi law, the concubine can enter the palace to take care of her mother during her pregnancy. Family members can meet. With the Ling family, even if the queen is not pregnant, it’s okay to want to see each other. What's more, the queen is pregnant now, but the emperor refused. This can only show that there is a problem." Put away his smile: "At the same time, the emperor has got a new favorite concubine. If the emperor really loves the queen alone as in the legend, then during the queen's pregnancy, he will not overly favor any concubine."

"The new... Chong Fei?" Xi He took a deep look at me, but I just lowered my head, as if hearing nothing.

"Yes, the emperor loves him more than the former concubine Liu concubine who was in the limelight before. In March, she went from being a beauty to a noble person, and now she is Jieyu." Mr. Wu said, again as if talking to herself. Said: "If my daughter can enter the palace and become Jieyu, it will be a blessing to my family."

My heart sank, Daxi Harem's rank, except for the queen, has nine ranks.

Among them, the three ladies of the first grade are Chen Fei, the imperial concubine, and the Shu concubine. Among the same grade, the Chen concubine is the most respected, the imperial concubine is the second, and the Shu concubine is the first. Concubine Hui and Concubine Zhuang, of the same grade, Concubine De is the most expensive, and Concubine Zhuang is the second; there are five concubines in the third grade, who are embellished with concubines and given the surname. If favored, the emperor gives the title; , Shuyuan, Shuyi, Shurong, Zhaohua, Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Xiuhua, Xiuyi, Xiurong, Shuyuan is the highest in the same grade, and Shurong is the lowest.

There are also eighteen members of the five-tier Jieyu;

There are twenty-seven nobles, talents, and beauties in the sixth rank. Among the same rank, nobles are the largest and beauties are the smallest.

There are also Baolin, Yu-Nu, and Cai-Nv of positive seven grades, indefinite;

The positive eight-products are always present, promised, lady, indefinite;

There are no fixed numbers for the selection and dressing of Zhengjiu Pin.

These are naturally led by Baolin and the last to change.

Among them, the concubine is a "watershed" among concubines. The concubine can act as the lord of the first house and manage the affairs of the first house.

Only when you reach "Jie Yu" can you move out of Ye Ting and live in the same house with your concubines above the fifth grade. In addition, starting from "Jie Yu", there is a chance to receive the emperor's honour, which is a sign of honor.

The Daxi harem is strictly hierarchical, and if it is just for petting, it can be up to nobles. If others are not meritorious in their own or family members, they can only be promoted when they are in the sixth house.

And this woman, under the condition of not expecting pregnancy, went through three consecutive levels in March, enough to see the emperor's favor.

What kind of woman would this be?

Perceiving Xi He's worried eyes, I shook my head and smiled at him. I have been out of the palace and am no longer the queen or the daughter of the Ling family. I'm just Xie Niang, an ordinary citizen. Who is the emperor's favorite and what to do with me?

Seeing that I acted indifferently, Xihe turned around and continued to discuss with them.

"From the point of view below, no matter what the queen’s situation is, the emperor should not embarrass Ling's family. On the one hand, the Hundred-legged insects die and are not stiff, not to mention that Ling's family is not a'dead insect'. Whether it is Ling Xiang or the current dynasty The power in the hands of the two Ling masters should not be underestimated. At the same time, the emperor cannot do anything to the family of heroes for no reason, unless the Ling family is guilty of rebellion. But," Xi He smiled and shook his head: "For such a family , There is no need to fight against the royal family."

"As for King Yu," Xihe paused slightly hesitantly: "Based on the current situation, maybe he won't return to the garrison. After all... After all, King Yu and the emperor have a deep brotherhood, maybe the emperor just doesn't want him to work hard outside. Up."

Looking at his wry smile, I felt guilt again in my heart.

Yes, he is Shen Xiyao's most trusted and closest brother. He is a noble prince under one person and above tens of thousands. However, for me, he gave up everything, even his innate mission and responsibility. What a torture should this be for a person like Xi He who is extremely responsible.

"Just now Young Master Liu said that Master Wu is from Master Ling's faction, and I don't know if he is familiar." Xihe turned the subject: "If you are familiar, why not ask someone to bring a letter from Hubu Shangshu to recommend your wife and brother to the northwest. Where to go in the army?"