"Have you heard the news in the palace from your elders?"
The girl who spoke had a slightly fat baby face, and because she was still young, she wore a cute double bun on her head, and was wearing a t-shirt with a light gold bottom embroidered with an ivory vase pattern, and a long ivory skirt. It was probably because she came out as a guest to wear something too plain and light. The girl's skirt was a beautiful purple-gold color, and the skirt was fluttering and flying.
This girl is none other than Pei Lan, the direct queen from the Wang family in Taiyuan. Her father, Wang Manman, was a Taicang minister in the court. He was in charge of the country's grain and grass reserves and was a very important official position.
Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Taiyuan Wang family has served in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and has established a wide network of contacts among the Han people. It may not be the strongest, but it has the best interpersonal relationship. In addition, Wang Man, the head of the Wang family, has been taking Wei's granary and collecting lessons. He did a good job, and even Tuoba Tao often praised that he could not do without him.
Influenced by her father, Wang Peilan is bright and open-minded, with a clear voice, often laughing before saying a word, and is extremely conspicuous among a group of girls.
And the girls who associate with her are also high-ranking nobles among the Han people of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
She asked mysteriously if they knew about the recent events. Several girls who were guests at her house picked up the melons and fruits in their hands and smashed her, laughed and scolded: "Can you talk nicely, if you insist on messing with it? What are you doing with a mysterious look!"
Wang Peilan put the fruit they threw in her arms, pretended to be angry and puffed up: "I'm not too old to worry about it, so I'm worried for you, and ask if you know... Okay, I'll ask directly. , do you know that His Majesty wants to accept concubines widely? Has anyone in the family said that they will marry you?"
Han people have always digested men and women of the right age internally. Few of them marry Xianbei people. Even the emperor's face is not sold, but Tuoba Xianbei nobles don't care if you want to marry their daughters and enter the palace. During the draft, the Xianbei ministers , Beauties of all ethnic groups and daughters of Han ministers will all participate in the selection.
Fortunately, there are also rules for beauty pageants in the palace. If there is a marriageable daughter of the right age, you don't need to participate in the audition. Therefore, once Tuoba Tao expressed his intention to choose a concubine, the high-ranking Han people will match their direct daughters to the suitable family. A suitable candidate, it's okay to marry a little lower, in short, don't enter the palace.
The last time Tuoba Tao wanted to choose a good daughter to enter the palace or to enthrone the throne, it has been many years, and the women in the palace can't always give birth to a son. It was broken, and the Xia Kingdom was almost destroyed, so it was time to accept the harem and have children.
When Luo Jie reminded him that he should "sow", Tuoba Tao did not avoid Cui Hao and others. When Cui Hao left the palace, he told his wife and mother the news and asked them to marry their daughter of the right age. Lose.
Such a move was originally an insult to the emperor, but Tuoba Tao already had the intention of establishing a prince. Their noble family sent their daughter in. If the heir established the prince as the prince, the daughter would be given to death; if not the prince. Well, the days in the future may not be easy. No matter how you look at it, it is not a business that will return the money. They are not too lazy to take this light, and they are not afraid of colliding with the emperor because of this.
This is already a default game rule.
As soon as Wang Peilan finished saying what he wanted to ask, there was silence in the boudoir. You Qing, the daughter of Dr. Zhongshu Dr. You Ya, opened her lips and closed them again.
A room of girls were thinking about their own thoughts, but no one broke the silence of the room.
Wang Peilan twisted her body uncomfortably. Seeing that all of them had become dumb, she felt a little blamed for her meddling, but when she thought that these sisters would soon be married, she continued to speak. :
"Don't think I'm too busy, but you also know that these men are really good and bad. If you have a few families in your family, tell me, and I'll ask me. A few brothers, help you to inquire about their character, don't wait to get married and suffer..."
The Wang family's elder brothers are not very big, but all of them are in short supply.
Wang Peilan is only fourteen years old this year, not yet the age of marriage, but when she heard the news from her father and brother, she couldn't put down a few sisters in her heart, so she invited them as guests and asked how they were doing.
"My brothers have also been asked by many people recently. If you don't like people well, why don't you all come to my house to be sisters-in-law!"
As soon as Wang Peilan finished speaking, You Qing chuckled and said teasingly, "It turned out to be waiting for us here, why, your Wang family still thinks that there are not enough in-laws, and you want to add a few more high-level sects that are not in the spectrum?"
At this time, Wang Peilan remembered that his family is famous for many marriages. At this time, when he said this, he couldn't help thinking that their family was taking advantage of the fire, and suddenly his face froze, covering his face not knowing what to say.
She is young and outspoken. In addition, she is protected by her father and brother, and her mind is extremely simple. She only thinks that if her good friends all marry a bad family, she might as well come to their house to be a sister-in-law, at least her brothers are all good .
But now that You Qing made such a joke, she remembered that a high-level marriage was not as simple as she thought. For example, her in-law Yu family had a very bad relationship with You Jia. She married her daughter to see her aunt's cold noodles.
"Gene Era"
"Lanniang is kind, why do you stab her like this?" Li Niang, the fourth daughter of the Li family in Longxi, pushed You Qing, who was willing to protect Pei Lan, and bluntly told her: "You may marry a Han Chinese, but I'm afraid that I will be arrested by the family. Married to a Xianbei family."
"Huh? Could it be that which clan begged you?"
As soon as Li Niang's words came out, all the girls and maids in the room were taken aback, and some covered their mouths and took a low breath.
The Li family had the largest number of children in the army among the Han officials, so it also had the best relationship with the Xianbei clan and nobles. In the past, there were many examples of concubine daughters marrying Xianbei people, but none of the first daughters had married.
Li Niang is now seventeen years old. She is beautiful and refined, and her figure is more than half a head taller than other girls. She looks more graceful and graceful. The father perfunctory passed, originally thinking that he would be assigned to either the Cui family or the Lu family, but only to hear such appalling news!
"It's not the clan, it's the Dugu family."
Li Niang shook her head.
"Now I can only comfort myself. If I don't want to marry someone in Xianbei, I can still come back with a divorce."
Xianbei people have a free marriage relationship. If the woman and the man are not in harmony and want to divorce, as long as both parties agree, they can officially "divorce", and from then on, marriage and marriage are irrelevant.
It is very easy for Gaomen's daughters to remarry. At this time, because of the discordant temperament of Xianbei women, the trend of Heli prevailed, and many Han people were also affected by it.
But no matter how you say it, you are not very happy when you have come and gone.
"Oh, isn't the young master of the Dugu family still in the army? He married the daughter of the Bu Liu Gu family last year, right? Could it be that you are marrying that stupid Erlang from his family?"
As soon as Wang Peilan said the words, Niang Li covered her face and nodded unbearably.
To talk about Dugu Nuo, the second son of the Dugu family, he is also handsome, burly stature, and is really good at selling. But this person has always made all kinds of jokes since he was a child, and it was rumored as a joke among the Xianbei people for a while.
When he was a child, because he was curious about whether there was a little jj under the woman, he often pulled off the woman's skirt, and he changed it after being beaten by his father at home.
When he was young, he once made a bet with someone, and that person deliberately deceived him. The same trick deceived him three times, and he was fooled. After a while, the gold and silver were spit out.
It is said that this person does not lie, and every time he tells the truth, the person who blocks him will not come down. If it is not for the fact that the Dugu clan is extremely powerful, and spread to such a son, I don’t know how many people will be offended.
In addition, he is a second person at home, so everyone is laughing at him as a "silly second" behind his back.
Hearing that Li Liniang, a talented and well-versed in martial arts, was promised this one. Whether it was because of intermarriage between Han and Xianbei people, or because of the "inhumanity", several girls felt pity for her.
In recent years, Han people have gradually occupied high positions, and there are many Xianbei people who want to intermarry with Han people, even if they ask for a concubine. Since the year before last, there have been high-suns who married their daughters to the Tuoba Xianbei clan, and among the eight major clans such as the Dugu family, Li Niang was probably the first.
"Actually, it's nothing to be stupid. Look at the lords of the Zheng family. Before they got married, there were a group of glamorous maids. The Erlang from the Dugu family has always been in the army, and has never had such a reputation..."
Wang Peilan comforted the sisters dryly, "I turned around and asked my brother to inquire, I think it shouldn't be that bad..."
"What is there to ask about, it's nothing more than a lack of heart."
Li Niang sighed sullenly: "My mother said, let me have a son, at least he looks good, so he won't be sad."
You Qing was still worried that her family was not as good as her family, but when she heard about where Li Niang was married, she seemed to be showing off when she wanted to complain, so she had to hold her cheeks and look dumbly. looking out the window.
Just this look made her straighten up all of a sudden.
"Huh? Lu Jiaqiniang is here? Didn't you say you won't be here today?"
Wang Peilan heard You Qing's voice, and hurriedly asked the maid to go out to greet her, and exclaimed excitedly, "Sister Lu really said that she doesn't want to walk because of her foot injury, and I don't know how she came here!"
Qiniang of the Lu family was helped in by the maid, but it seemed that there was no problem walking, but she was unsteady when she walked too fast. She likes goose-yellow, and she mostly dresses in goose-yellow, lotus root and other colors. It is soft and soft, just like her temperament.
As soon as the Lu family's Qiniang entered the door, she first apologized to a few friends and talked about the injury on her foot, and then sat down in the middle of the room.
Because the Lu family and the Cui family were in-laws, they were among the best in the Northern Wei Gaomen. In comparison, the You family and the Wang family were nothing.
Wang Peilan has a cheerful temperament, and asked her rounded shoulders, "Isn't it impossible to tell? Is it better now?"
Several girls looked at Mrs. Lu's right foot with concern, and heard that she had accidentally sprained her foot at home.
"It's okay to walk these days." The young man with a gentle smile suddenly appeared in front of Mrs. Lu's eyes, and quickly changed the subject to cover up: "By the way, I'm here to tell you that the Empress Dowager Dou is going to be in Beijing. The plum garden in the suburbs holds a plum appreciation banquet, I am afraid that the girls who are to be married and the gentlemen of the right age will be posted..."
"What? Empress Dowager is out of the palace?"
"How come even the Queen Mother Dou is in charge of matchmaking!"
Several girls asked in unison.
"The Queen Mother Dou rarely leaves the palace, and she is simple and unhappy. She is not a lively person. She will come out of the palace because of her majesty's advice."
Seeing their expressions of fear, Lu Qiniang said with laughter and laughter, "What do you think? Do you think that His Majesty will forcefully recruit a good family?"
"Is not it?"
Pei Lan blinked: "Even the Dugu family has to marry a woman with five surnames..."
"Huh?" Lu Qiniang was stunned, glanced at the girl in the room, and immediately realized who it was talking about: "Dugu's family? I remember that Li Niang, your elder brother was under Duke Dugu's command. You want to..."
Li Niang nodded sadly.
Lu Qiniang is not good at talking about other people's right and wrong. She went out with a purpose, otherwise she would not have come back when she was recovering. "The news that my uncle and my father communicated, your family should soon believe it. It is said that His Majesty wants to accept the concubine, it is not good to forcibly demolish men and women of the right age, let the Queen Mother Dou come forward and match them first. It would be inappropriate to say that there is a marriage after a month."
She looked at the girls with dignified expressions: "I heard that His Majesty is going to accept Concubine Han this time, not only Concubine Han, but the princesses of Xia and Rouran will all be given names. It seems that Liang is going to marry a princess, so if there are no Han people in the harem, the balance will be lost..."
"It's not about Jonah..."
"Be careful!"
Lu Qiniang's eyes widened, interrupting You Qing's words.
"My grandmother asked me to spread the word, so I made a special trip. Don't cause trouble for me, it's rotten in my heart when I know it!"
Lu Qiniang went on to say: "The plum garden is so big, the Xianbei nobles and our Han family's children are there to 'watch the flowers', but they are not in one place. With the Yulin army as the guard, there is no need to worry about encountering wild waves. My grandmother means, if you have something that your family likes, why don't you invite the Queen Mother Dou to be a matchmaker at the banquet, and it will look good on the face, so that you won't make any mistakes. "
"What if I haven't seen it at home yet?"
You Qing said unwillingly: "If that person is really for our good and really wants to be a matchmaker, it is better to let us see each other. If both sides have intentions, then tell the parents at home. How can there be such a match? In a hurry like an animal!"
"How do you know not? The one who still doesn't know the plans of our families? It's just for the married girl and Lang Jun to look at each other. There are still some hesitations. Everyone is in front of you, and it is time to decide. right?"
Lu Qiniang's family were all on Tuoba Tao's side, and they didn't dare to say that the person was not, but instead, they had to rely on the good side.
"You guys shouldn't make yourself ugly or think wrong that day. It's not that the queen mother is not clear, so don't make them look ugly."
"It's still me..."
Wang Peilan patted his chest with lingering fears.
"Fortunately I haven't gotten married yet..."
When Lu Qiniang heard Wang Peilan's words, she couldn't help sighing in her heart.
This harem of the Xianbei people is probably the most terrifying harem in the world, not to mention the Han people, even the noble ladies of Xianbei may not want to enter.
But this majesty is now desperate to expand the harem. I heard that it is because of the lack of children.
She is spreading the word here, and she seems to be very calm. Who knows how scared she is in her heart? There are only a few families that the Lu family daughter can marry, but no matter which one is, it is not a good match.
You can't marry into the palace, can you
According to her father and uncle's position, it is really possible to be the first...
I heard that His Majesty was extraordinarily brave. He killed people on the battlefield like chopping melons and vegetables. He must be as terrifying as the generals of that day.
If you enter the harem and marry someone who is so vicious that he will kill at every turn, you might as well just find someone to marry, and it will be better than one day if you die for no reason...
Thinking of the scene of that day, Lu Qiniang was taken aback.
***
in the palace.
Empress Dowager Dou went out of the palace to hold this kind of blind date meeting, not really to match young men and women, but to clear the identity of a woman of unknown origin.
Everyone knows that the fourth princess of the Xia Kingdom, Helian Mingzhu, has been given to Di Ziyu, so if Helianding wants to restore his sister's freedom and her innocent reputation, he can only give Helian Mingzhu a reasonable explanation. Identity, let her come out again dignifiedly.
Fortunately, she has been stuck by Tuoba Tao's side. Many people have never seen her in women's clothing, and Tuoba Tao's side is also difficult to be spied on. Helian Mingzhu once worked as an eunuch. It will not spread for a while. .
In order for Helianding to feel the sincerity of Wei State, and then to serve the Northern Wei Dynasty, he had to show the world how Helian Zhishui and Helian Pearl were favored.
Tuoba Tao wanted to bring Helian Mingzhu into the harem. The Queen Mother Dou met the "Zhao Ming" several times in private and thought she was a child who could bear it. Even Mrs. He said in private that she was kind-hearted, so there was nothing against her. Opinion. As soon as Tuoba Tao asked her to help clear the identity of Bai Helian Mingzhu, she agreed, and by the way, helped Tuoba Tao deal with the matter of choosing a concubine in the next few months.
Now Helian Mingzhu was sent to the Empress Dowager Dou's side and regained her status as a woman, because she lived under the same roof with Mrs. He and had some friendship with this gentle woman.
There was one less eunuch in the palace, but suddenly there was a "Princess Xia". Others didn't know it, but the monks around Tuoba Tao were bright in their hearts. Even if they didn't understand what happened, they could infer that there was a Women presumably disguised themselves as men, and now they're going to skyrocket.
For a time, countless palace servants regretted that "Zhao Ming" didn't stammer when he was there. No one thought that this feminine eunuch would still win the emperor's favor and even send her to Empress Dowager Dou to take care of her. How much to like her!
Who are the people around Empress Dowager? Even Mrs. He was only able to be taken care of by His Majesty when she was on an expedition just because she gave birth to the eldest prince.
And this one, who wasn't even a concubine, has already been sent over!
The palace people in the palace were all discussing this matter secretly, but only one person's heart set off a storm, and he was going crazy.
"I actually molested a woman who was about to become a harem concubine..." Zheng Zong couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart when he thought of what he had done in front of Zhao Ming.
"When she is favored, will I still be alive? No, I can't let her be favored, and I can't make her proud. I said why Zhao Ming doesn't look down on me, it turns out that he climbed high branches... "
Zheng Zong's expression was terrifying.
"She dares to seduce / seduce Your Majesty!"