Chunwei takes an exam every three years. Since the end of the new year, Chunwei has become the biggest talk in the mouths of officials and people in the capital. It goes without saying that there are candidates in the family, and those who don’t also watch the excitement with relish. Beijing is full of people, not to mention how lively it is. In such an atmosphere, no one expected that Emperor Xuande would suddenly order a draft.
Draft, choose women for emperors and clansmen.
Some people regard the draft as a ladder for the promotion of official positions. Small officials hope that after marrying the Tian family, the nobles can help and support themselves. The high officials think further, in case the prince who is followed by his daughter will sit on the dragon chair in the future, his family will definitely They will also flourish, and some officials are reluctant to let their daughters enter the palace, and are resistant to the draft.
If you choose a beautiful girl among officials from all over the Great Zhou Dynasty, if the officials who are far away from the capital do not want their daughters to enter the palace, they can quickly set up a marriage for their daughters before the emperor's edict arrives there. But this time, there was no local officials at all. Emperor Xuande, citing last year's war on the frontier, did not want to recruit teachers and move the crowd, and limited the show girls to the Beijing officials. There are few officials in the capital. In order to give King Shou and King Gong more choices, it is natural that all officials of the rank should send their unmarried daughters.
At the foot of the emperor, the decree announced in the early dynasty, after the dynasty disbanded, the father-in-law in charge of the draft quickly left the palace. First, he went to each prefecture to register the unmarried young ladies, and three days later, the officials sent their daughters to the emperor. Outside Chenggongchen Gate, waiting for the primary election.
Duke Wei's mansion was unprepared. When Eunuch Gao, who announced the decree, came over, Song Jianing was swinging with his younger brother in the backyard. The sister and brother were having a good time. Qiuyue suddenly ran over in a panic and asked her to go to the front yard to listen to the decree. Song Jianing was inexplicable, and took his younger brother, who had not been able to swing enough, to the main courtyard of the Guogong Mansion.
The three of Lin's mothers were close, and the first lady, the second lady, and the third lady arrived after a while.
When the people were all together, Eunuch Gao loudly announced his will for the draft.
Lin Shi's heart suddenly burst, and he resisted it before turning around and looking at his daughter who was kneeling at the back.
The drooping eyes of Mrs. Tai moved, but the decree came so quickly that they didn't have time to plan for their little granddaughter.
"Dare to ask the old lady, are the three girls in the manor married?" Eunuch Gao glanced at the three girls of the Guo family and asked Mrs. Tai with a smile.
Mrs. Tai could only tell the truth, pointing to Lanfang and Yunfang and said, "Both of them are married, and they will get married in a month, and the other is scheduled for September." His eyes fell on Song Jianing, who was still stunned when he saw his little granddaughter. With that, Mrs. Tai sighed in her heart and said helplessly: "I'm not willing to let this one go out yet."
Eunuch Gao scrutinized Song Jianing carefully, and sincerely flattered: "Four girls with beautiful beauty, must have great luck."
Mrs. Tai smiled and watched Eunuch Gao write down his granddaughter's name on the roster.
Eunuch Gao finished his errands and left, and the children in the courtyard looked at each other.
The second lady looked at Lin's pale face, and knew that Lin's mind was not high, so she came over and persuaded softly, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, discuss with the elder brother at night, maybe An An's draft can be avoided."
The third lady also persuaded: "That's right. Besides, An An's reputation for being delicious has spread long ago. Back then, the emperor also gave An An the four treasures of the study. Even if An An entered the palace to run for election, the emperor probably wouldn't choose her."
Having said this, Mrs. Tai frowned slightly and glanced at the third daughter-in-law unhappy. It is one thing that the eldest daughter-in-law does not want the younger granddaughter to be selected, but the third daughter-in-law implies that the nobles in the palace look down on the younger granddaughter, which mother would love to hear
Lin really doesn't like to listen to it, but the draft is the first big thing in her heart at this moment. Inadvertently playing tricks with the third lady, Lin calmly said to the two sister-in-law: "It is An An's good fortune to be able to enter the palace for the draft. Even if I lose the election, it would be good to see the world. But this is the first time I have experienced this. My younger brothers and sisters, go back first, and I will ask my mother to learn from it."
The second lady nodded and left with Lan Fang.
The third lady glanced at Song Jianing, who had no masters, and also led her daughter Yunfang towards the third room. The third lady didn't believe that Song Jianing would choose the princess at all, and only regarded it as a joke. Yun Fang glanced at the Shou Prince's Mansion next door, and a thought suddenly appeared in her heart, and she said in shock, "Mother, the third highness has some relationship with the fourth sister, he Will it be…”
The third lady turned to look at her daughter and asked unexpectedly, "What is their relationship?"
Yunfang thought back carefully, and talked about Song Jianing and Shouwang teaming up to guess lantern riddles, and Shouwang scolding Princess Duanhui for protecting Song Jianing when he first moved to the palace. After speaking, the more Yunfang thought about it, the more she felt that the fourth sister might be Princess Shangshou frowned and said, "Although the fourth sister is a bit fat, she..."
She has a good face, and neither of her two elder sisters can compare to the fourth younger sister in terms of appearance.
For some reason, Yun Fang felt a little uncomfortable in her chest when she thought that the fourth sister might become a princess. As early as when King Chu and King Rui were choosing concubines, Yunfang decided that the princesses must all come from small families, so she never thought of becoming a concubine for any prince. Now that Emperor Xuande has changed the rules temporarily, the fourth sister has become a beautiful girl, and she is inexplicably unhappy when she has the opportunity to be a princess.
The eldest sister and the second sister are better married than her. Once the fourth sister becomes the princess, regardless of whether the Shou Wang is a stutter, the stutter is also a prince. When they stop there, the men of their three sisters have to kneel and salute him. Ranked down, she was the most unhappy married.
"Impossible." The third lady walked for a while in silence, and suddenly she said firmly, motioning the maids behind her to stay away, she whispered to her daughter: "First of all, the choice of concubine is the emperor and the queen, and the princes can't intervene. If Concubine Xian was alive, she might help the Third Highness to plan. Besides, your fourth sister's reputation has already been ruined. First, she was greedy and delicious, and then she was disliked by Lu Zhen..."
Yun Fang pouted: "Outsiders don't know, they are all laughing at Lu Zhen stupid." She was so mad that Lu Zhen saw that she was better than the fourth sister.
The third lady did not argue with her daughter about this, and continued to say Song Jianing: "Anyway, the emperor will never let a fourth sister like yours to be a concubine, a side concubine, it may still be possible."
Isn't the side concubine a concubine
Yun Fang finally felt better, as long as the fourth sister didn't become a princess, side concubine, or lost the election, she could accept it.
~
In Huanyueju, Lin Shi anxiously asked her mother-in-law for help: "Mother, An An is the one who grew up watching you. She has such a temperament that she can't be a queen concubine or a side concubine. Did Ann go to the draft?"
Now Lin Shi only hates that her daughter is too beautiful. If she is a little uglier and has a reputation for gluttony, she doesn't have to worry about it.
Madam Tai sighed and hugged Song Jianing, who had been silent for a while, and said, "If we get the news in advance, we can arrange for An An to get sick to avoid the past, but Eunuch Gao just saw it, how can An An look sick? When I heard about the draft Immediately sick, no one will believe it, and will only offend the emperor in vain."
Lin's heart sank.
Qiuyue helped with the idea and whispered: "Madam, I heard that there were some beautiful girls who didn't want to be selected in the previous court audition, so they deliberately ate something that made their breath smell bad, or moved their hands and feet under their armpits..."
Before she was finished, she was rejected by Mrs. Tai: "An An has entered the palace, and the nobles in the palace have praised her for her good looks. These methods are too easy to be dismantled." There was a banquet in the palace, so she didn't ask her granddaughter to go, but the princes were fine, and Mrs. Tai was even more afraid that her granddaughter would be favored by the nearly fifty-year-old emperor.
The master and servant discussed for a long time, but finally found that there was no way to prevent Song Jianing from entering the palace to run for election.
Seeing her mother's worried face, Song Jianing wanted to laugh a little, and took her mother's hand and said, "Mother, the emperor chooses a concubine for the princes. I will definitely lose the election. Don't worry." King Shou and King Gong, one is The future emperor is also a serious prince, how could the princess get her turn as the fourth girl from the Guo family
Song Jianing was really not worried at all.
The daughter's tone was relaxed, as if "defining defeat" was something to be proud of, Lin Shi forced a smile on his face, and felt even more uneasy. This stupid child, just because she is not a girl from the Guo family, has been belittling herself, and she is very happy to be able to marry Lu Zhen.
Thinking about this, Lin's face changed greatly. What she was most afraid of before was that her daughter was accused of being the concubine of a prince because of her beauty. After entering the mansion, she was bullied by the future mistress. The emperor saw that Lin was not only afraid, but her heart was broken, and she looked at Mrs. Tai in horror.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law knew each other well, but they only looked at Song Jianing, who was very "confident". The two of them didn't show it. They sent Song Jianing to take Brother Mao to the backyard to play, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law continued to figure out how to do it.
Before the sun set, Guo Xiao went back to the house before Guo Boyan, without changing his official uniform, he went straight to Linyuntang.
"Mother, I heard from the common people on the way that there is a draft girl in the palace?" Guo Xiao asked solemnly after bowing.
The stepson had no feelings for her, and Lin Shi couldn't guess the stepson's thoughts, so he didn't show his anxiety, and smiled lightly: "Yes, your fourth sister's name has been written down, and she will enter the palace in three days. Sit down and have a cup of tea."
Guo Xiao nodded and took a seat at the bottom left of Lin's. After drinking tea, he looked outside the door and joked, "Why don't you see Fourth Sister? Are you shy and hiding?"
The daughter is shy, she is clearly heartless, but Lin Shi can only admit it.
The scene of last year's Mid-Yuan Festival's stepsister being held in the arms of King Shou suddenly appeared in his mind, Guo Xiao clenched the tea bowl tightly.
At this moment, Guo Boyan came back.
Both the mother and son in the hall stood up, seeing her husband, Lin Shi could no longer hide the worry in his heart, and his face became sad.
Guo Boyan saw it at a glance, and he sent the eldest son away with a few words. He took Lin's hand and went to the inner room.
"I don't want An An to enter the palace." The husband and wife were alone, Lin shi leaned into the man's arms, and the mother-in-law couldn't help her, so she could only count on her husband.
Guo Boyan had thought about this for a long time, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, if I guessed correctly, the emperor asked the daughter of a high-ranking official to participate in the election just to make up the number, and he would not choose one, otherwise Prince Rui should think more."
King Shou is the younger brother of the King of Chu, and giving King Shou a capable wife and clan is equivalent to raising the King of Chu. At the same time, when choosing a concubine, the king of Shou gave the daughter of a high-ranking official, and the fourth prince, Prince Gong, naturally had to refer to the same. In this way, among the four princes, only the wife of Prince Rui has a weak family. The emperor has always been fair and will never allow it. This kind of thing happens.
"Then, will the emperor..." Lin shi bit his lip, and the words behind him were a little hard to say.
Guo Boyan stared at her red lips, and was stunned for a moment before realizing that his wife was suspecting Emperor Xuande of coveting the color of his stepdaughter, he laughed immediately, and pinched twice on Lin's slender waist like punishment: "An An is only more Duanhui is one year older, how could the emperor like his daughter's cousins? If you have such a troublesome time, why don't you think about how to serve me. "
After saying this, he hugged Lin shiheng and walked towards the bed tent. A few days ago, his wife was pregnant, and he started thinking about it this morning.
Lin Shi was restless for a whole day, Guo Boyan actually only wanted to be happy, she was both annoyed and relieved.
She believed in Guo Boyan, since he was so sure, her daughter's trip to the palace in three days would definitely be safe.
The author has something to say: Emperor Xuande: I heard that you know me very well
Guo Boyan: Isn't it
Emperor Xuande: Guess.
Guo Boyan: ... I'd better go home and hold my daughter-in-law to sleep.
Hehe, if you are more enthusiastic, maybe you will marry me tonight~