I sighed, thinking of Peony's bright and elegant but slightly sad appearance, which is most loved by men. She is talented and an oiran, which man can not love? Fortunately, if he can really let go of the past, forget the past, and give his heart to a woman, then whether she is beautiful or ugly, noble or humble, full of talents is not clear, as long as he is willing, I am willing.

"This time you also made a great contribution. Let's talk, I will give you what you want." I changed my mood and smiled towards Huiju.

Huiju waved her hand: "It's right for the slave to do things for the empress!"

I shook my head, took her hand and said sincerely: "Not only for this incident, my palace has always wanted to express my gratitude. Without you, my palace would not return to Kunning Palace so quickly. Without you, there are many things in this palace. It won’t be done as smoothly. So you say, apart from manpower, I’m afraid there is nothing that this palace cannot do in this world."

Seeing my insistence, Huiju thought for a while and said: "It's a matter for the slave to do things for the lady. If the lady wants to reward, the slave does have something to ask her for."

I said "Oh?" "What is it? Don't say one thing, as many as you want."

Huiju smiled shyly, showing some longing on her face.

"The last time the slave servant helped the empress tidy up the warehouse, I saw a piece of emerald cabbage that I liked very much?"

Before she finished speaking, I "haha" smiled and said: "You know the goods, it was contributed by Annan Kingdom. The jadeite is second, and the carving is really top-notch. It is so vivid, I am afraid that it will not be distinguished in the pile of cabbage! It’s just that the emerald cabbage is not suitable to be placed in the harem. It’s a pity to put it in the library. You can take it as you like, and if there are other things you like, you can also take it.”

Huiju blushed and shook her head: "The servant girl only needs that one. The servant girl wants to take a day off with the maid tomorrow and go out of the palace to see her family." She lowered her head, but the corners of her lips were smiling, and she looked very happy. .

I didn't say anything against it. Every time Huiju went out of the palace, she would bring back some messages from her brother, but she agreed immediately and rewarded her with five hundred taels of silver, allowing her to be taken out of the palace.

In the three days after the election, Shen Xiyao did not show up because it was handed over to me. In the morning, Concubine Hui and Concubine Yi went to Jiaotai Hall to wait. I arrived a little later, and I saw the two of them outside the hall just a moment later, and when I saw me there, I bowed in a hurry, followed me and walked into the main hall.

Concubine Hui wears a hibiscus-colored cicada-wing brocade skirt with hidden flowers, wide silver ribbons, half-rolled clouds, star-eyed fascicles, and a big red peony flower, delicate and beautiful, blooming quietly on the cloud temples. There is also a phoenix phoenix with flattened filaments and hollowed out, sticking to the back of the head, showing luxurious and dignified.

Yi Fei is dressed in a water-red eight-piece silk skirt with beautiful flowers and moon white butterfly love flower tube top, and then puts on a light red half sleeve with inlaid silver silk. She seldom dresses like this, so Su Rili's appearance is as gentle as the mist and rain in the south of the Yangtze River, and at this moment is as bright and moving as the most dazzling rose in the spring. And her lotus steps, slender waist and graceful gait, looked a little more charming than Huifei.

No, I entered the main hall and saw three chairs placed on the right side of the red sandalwood dragon chair in the middle. They were fragrant sandalwood, red dragon and phoenix, phoenix seat, rosewood sapphire blue multi-seed duofu grape-like duck down cushion. The fancy concubine chair and the boxwood light blue cherry blossoms are flying auspicious pattern goose down soft chair. On the left side, there is another armchair with fragrant sandalwood Xianghuang yellow dragon out of the sea of ​​wealth and ruyi pattern, and a cicada silk embroidered lily ebony openwork and He Erxian screen is erected beside the chair. The cicada silk is not much lighter. The role of obstructing the line of sight has always been used by extremely noble royal men and concubines in the harem.

Originally, Shen Xiyao made me responsible and said that he would not show up, so the right place should be my back seat. At this moment, looking at this posture, I am afraid that not only he will come, but another protagonist will also appear.

Thinking of seeing him here, I couldn't help but feel a violent jump in my heart, and my body couldn't help but tremble. I don't know if it was joy or nervousness, or, in the situation that I was about to face, I felt a deep rejection in my heart.

Sure enough, after I sat down with Concubine Hui and Concubine Yi, Zhang Dehai's piercing voice sounded outside: "Here is the emperor, and the king is here!"

He came here in the mid-spring color like golden sunlight, and his graceful appearance was as beautiful as a jade mountain. He was dressed in an autumn fragrant embroidered dragon brocade and narrow-sleeved shirt, revealing the silver silk lucky charm on the inside of the snow-white shirt. , So that his whole person Xiao Xiao Susu, hearty and clear.

I looked at the figure that could only appear in the dream of a lonely night, and I was about to shed tears of excitement when I reunited after a long time.

Like a ghost, I immediately stood up, almost leaping into the lingering embrace. But in the next moment, he stopped all the emotional fluctuations, and instead of casting a glance at him, he bowed to Shen Xiyao, who came to me with a guilty smile, and respectfully said: "The concubine welcomes the emperor."

Shen Xiyao personally lifted me up, Xihe bowed to me, and Hui Fei Yifei bowed to him again, so that all belong to you.

Across the screen, I could hardly restrain myself from time to time and carefully cast a faint glance at him as if inadvertently, then quickly retracted my eyes and focused on the show girl who was about to come in.

After Shen Xiyao sat down, he cast a friendly and caring smile from his brother towards Xihe, and his tone was as gentle as the calm sea under the breeze.

"Xihe, you are also a big boss, but you don't even have a confidant by your side. I have decided to choose 18 beautiful ladies this time, and you choose one you like as your concubine."

Xi He's smile was light, as if he had known the news a long time ago, and he was not too surprised. He got up and bowed down, thanked Shen Xiyao for his favor, and accepted his kindness.

I just felt that I had swallowed a big jar of bitter medicine, picked up a cherry on the table and took a sip. The original fragrance and sweetness were bitter and hard to swallow in the mouth, but the bitterness spread to the limbs and even the heart. Soaked. But no one can say that there is nowhere to show, instead, they have to behave like an emperor, with a gentle and generous smile, as if they are also happy for Wang Yu to choose a side concubine here.

Shen Xiyao cast a deep gaze at me, but I could not see, and said to Zhang Dehai: "The hour is here, please come in."

For a time, the tulle sleeves, silky silk and satin, silver and gold sparkle. The fragrance is lingering, the powder is flying, the sandalwood fan is gently swayed, and the daisies are radiant and beautiful.

Even Concubine Yi whispered in praise: "This year's show girls are all outstanding!"

But I was almost harsh, and felt that if it were to fill the harem, there would naturally be too many beautiful women to choose from. But if you are the side concubine of the King Yu, you feel that it is not because your temperament is not gentle enough, or the appearance is not perfect enough, or the family background is not enough, or the talent is not high, or the manners are slightly poor, or the behavior is slightly poor, in short, no one can deserve him.

But I have to choose, because Shen Xiyao is staring, even if my heart is filled with green plums and huanglianshui, I still have to smile generously, observe carefully, seriously discuss with Huifei and Yifei, and consult Shen Xiyao and Shen Xiyao from time to time. Xi He's opinion. At such a moment, every moment is suffering.

In the end, eighteen outstanding women were selected and waited in the side hall. "You also help Xi He pick one." Shen Xiyao's smile was gentler than the rippling lake water, but there was a bright light in his eyes when he looked at me. .

I smiled towards Concubine Hui and Concubine Yi: "My palace thinks that all of these eighteen beautiful ladies are outstanding, and you have also come up with ideas."

Concubine Yi flipped through the birth books of the 18 beautiful women, and said seriously: "If you say that the birth is most suitable for the prince, it is naturally the granddaughter of the cabinet scholar Yang Hao, Yang Yan. If the talent is the best, it is Yangzhou. Su Ping, the daughter of General Su Yishan. Regarding her appearance, no one can match Zhang Jiayan, the daughter of Zhang Ziliang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry. There is also Lu Youniao, the second daughter of the Governor of Liangjiang Lu Shifan?"

I said: "Lu Youniao's sister, Lu You's, is the concubine of the second son of the old loyal prince. She is a member of the royal family and has a distinguished status."

Concubine Hui didn't read the pamphlet, she just slapped her fan lightly, with a smile on her face that attracted Shen Xiyao's attention.

"What do you think Huifei has?" Shen Xiyao asked.

Concubine Hui stood up and gave a blessing, and cast a glance at Xihe's side. Then he hid her mouth and smiled: "Look at Yichen concubine, we don't count. It's about choosing the concubine for the prince, and the prince has to make his own decision. "She paused, looked at me intentionally or unintentionally, and said: "The concubine sees that the prince hasn't spoken all the time, I am afraid that she has a sweetheart for a long time, right?"

Shen Xiyao's face changed a little, and he glanced at me almost subconsciously. I just felt that the smile on my face was almost too much to hold, and his back stiffened.

Xi He, who had been sitting silently on the side, finally got up and said deeply to Shen Xiyao: "The courtiers are grateful to the emperor's brother for his love, and also thank the three empresses for their dedication. These beautiful women are really good, but if you ask the courtiers, it is Lu You are more suitable for the younger brother in all aspects."

Shen Xiyao thought for a while and said: "The daughter of the Governor of Liangjiang is also considered reasonable, but if she is a prostitute, she is the best?" He glanced at Zhang Dehai, and the other party immediately raised the portrait of Lu Younuan high. Shen Xiyao nodded: "The appearance is good, elegant and dignified and a bit playful. You are calm, and you should have a lively companion around you to be interesting." Then he looked at me: "What does the queen think?"

I picked up a candied date and ate it so that the strong sweetness would soothe the bitterness in my heart. This was how I said: "The concubine and Lu Youyou had some friendships. The daughters of the Lu family are well-educated. Temperament. It is said that this young lady has extraordinary accomplishments on the guqin, and she matches the prince well."

Shen Xiyao still hesitated a little: "It's a pity that she's the second daughter..."

Concubine Yi and I looked at each other and said, "The concubine heard that her mother died early, but she has been raised by her side. Besides, the emperor chose the concubine for the prince, and the concubine is not a problem. If it is a prostitute, it will not be easy to choose a concubine in the future."

Concubine Hui hesitated and said, "Is it unlucky if my biological mother died young?"

Concubine Yi smiled bitterly: "Then I don't know if the other three have the prince's favorite."

Shen Xiyao looked around everyone, and suddenly laughed heartily: "What's the difficulty of this? Since these four show girls have their own merits, they will all be given to Xi He as side concubines."

When he said this, not only Xihe, but also the three of me were shocked.

Xihe first bowed down to the ground: "The courtiers can never be so kind as the emperor brother! How can the courtiers dare to occupy four of them at once because these are the show girls of the emperor brother."

Shen Xiyao waved a big hand: "The other brothers have more than four side concubines, let alone the concubine sharing room. Your Yan Garden is the largest in the palace of the prince, so why not have more side concubines, but lively. That's it! "After he finished speaking, he turned to me again, the gentleness in his eyes was as intoxicating as the sea of ​​peach blossoms in April Fangfei, but I became nervous in such a gaze.

"What's more, even though these beautiful women are good, how can they be one ten thousandth of the queen. I only have a queen."

Sure enough, Xihe's body paused, and even some stiff beards appeared in his voice: "The courtier thanked the emperor for his gift!"

Although Concubine Hui was smiling, the smile floated on her face, like a wall that has been years-old, and the vermilion powder would fall when she touched it lightly. Concubine Yi was stunned for a moment, and then she barely smiled, but the sadness in her eyes slowly surfaced.