Including Song Jianing, a total of 100 show girls successfully passed the first two rounds of appearance and body selection, followed by a female official with a higher rank, who went back and forth between the show girls twice. Among the beautiful girls, the fifty with the best looks were finally selected, and all the others were sent out of the palace.
Fifty beautiful girls were arranged in five courtyards. During the day, they followed the female officials to learn the rules. At night, they slept honestly, and there was almost no time for jokes and conversations. Because the female officials are watching, every move of the show girl may affect her impression in the eyes of the women officials. Before the final election, if the women officials are dissatisfied, they can send the show girl out of the palace, which is very powerful.
In the small courtyard where Song Jianing lives, two beautiful girls were kicked out of the palace by the strict female officials for gossiping about her behind their backs.
Song Jianing didn't know what the two undrafted girls were thinking. She didn't sleep well that night, and her mind was always haunted by the resentful eyes that the two girls had cast at her before they left. Song Jianing was wronged to death. It was obvious that they laughed at her fat first and bullied her first. After being punished, they did not reflect on the past, but instead hated her as a bitter master.
But after a night of sleep, Song Jianing forgot about it the next day, and continued to follow the female officials to learn the rules.
Nine days passed in a flash, and on the tenth day, the show girls ushered in a one-day vacation, and the female officials who were always inseparable disappeared. Everyone could finally relax and take a breath.
On Song Jianing's side, she only knew Tan Xiangyu, and the two had some grudges, so after breakfast, Song Jianing went back to her room and sat on the bed with a book to read. The yard is not big and there are many show girls, so each show girl's room has only one bedroom and a hall. Song Jianing is reading and her maid Zhener is staying in the hall.
After reading it for a quarter of an hour, Song Jianing put down the book, walked to the window and looked out the window, when he suddenly saw a girl in a red dress passing by the window, walking briskly, with a smile on her lips. Song Jianing recognized her as Li Mulan, who lived on her left, whose grandfather was the famous General Huwei of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The year Li Mulan was born, her father died in battle, and her mother named her daughter Mulan, hoping that her daughter would be as heroic as the man who lived through the ages like Hua Mulan.
Song Jianing had never dealt with Li Mulan before entering the palace, but she had heard about Li Mulan and knew that Li Mulan had studied martial arts since childhood and had acquired a good kung fu. Tall and slender, but not as weak as other ladies, but like a green and tall poplar, exuding a heroic spirit.
The reputation of such a maverick woman has spread all over the capital, and the women in the house pointed at her, but Emperor Xuande praised Li Mulan and rewarded Li Mulan with a good horse and a divine whip. It can be said that Song Jianing and Li Mulan are the only two ladies in the capital that Emperor Xuande has ever awarded, apart from the family members and daughters.
Just thinking about it, a hearty female voice came from outside: "Is the fourth girl here?"
It turned out that Li Mulan came to find her, so Song Jianing hurriedly greeted her. The two sides met face to face, and Song Jianing was a little shy when Li Mulan stared at him without any concealment. Everyone is a girl, why does Li Mulan look at her like a young man? He even glanced at her chest.
Song Jianing met such a girl for the first time.
"Is there something wrong with Sister Mulan?" Song Jianing asked softly.
Her voice was delicate, but not as pretentious as the girl next to her, she heard goosebumps, Li Mulan laughed, looked at Song Jianing and explained, "It's boring to be bored in the room, I think you are the most in the whole courtyard. It's pleasing to the eye, I'll come and talk to you, shouldn't I bother you?"
He won the favor of the hero of the women's high school without doing anything, Song Jianing was flattered, and shook his head with a hurried smile, asked Li Mulan to take a seat, and then asked the palace maid Zhener to pour tea.
"Everyone is looking forward to getting thinner, why are you..." Li Mulan asked, staring at Song Jianing.
Song Jianing blushed and said embarrassingly, "I'm afraid of being hungry. If I don't have enough to eat, I'll feel uncomfortable, so my mother will let me go."
Li Mulan laughed loudly and said fortunately, "Fortunately, you are afraid of being hungry, otherwise you would only eat two bites at a time like them, and start to pant after walking a few steps. I really can't find a sister to talk to in the capital."
She was a little familiar with her, Song Jianing didn't say anything, she first regarded Song Jianing as her sister, but Song Jianing liked Li Mulan's frankness and straightforwardness, and took advantage of the situation to recognize Li Mulan as a sister. Li Mulan has a lot of interesting anecdotes about practicing martial arts. Song Jianing has a lively and lovely younger brother in his family.
At the end of the one-day vacation, the show girls started their training in the palace again.
Song Jianing is well-behaved and never causes trouble. Li Mulan is rebellious and refuses to accept discipline. The female official knew that Emperor Xuande valued Li Mulan, so she made an exception and relaxed the rules. In a blink of an eye, it was the second ten-day holiday. Li Mulan asked Song Jianing to enjoy the coolness under the locust tree in the courtyard. The two were chatting when a girl came out from the west wing. Song Jianing followed the sound and saw that it was Tan Xiangyu.
Song Jianing glanced at random and then withdrew his gaze, but Tan Xiangyu walked towards her, and when she got to her, she said embarrassedly, "Cousin Jianing, can I sit with you for a while? I almost forgot how to talk to people."
Song Jianing bit her lower lip secretly. Tan Xiangyu asked this question. If she couldn't answer, she would be stubborn, as if the two had some big grudge, and she looked stingy in front of Mulan sister. Moreover, Tan Xiangyu was Tingfang's sister's cousin, Song Jianing didn't want to have a close relationship with her, but she didn't want to embarrass her either.
She smiled and nodded.
Tan Xiangyu smiled happily and took a seat beside her.
Song Jianing continued to talk to Li Mulan, Li Mulan glanced at Tan Xiangyu, guessed that the cousins and sisters were not very close, so she just assumed that Tan Xiangyu was not around.
"Ah, cousin Jianing, don't move, there's a little spider next to you."
When Song Jianing heard the words, her body stiffened and she didn't dare to move. Li Mulan was about to check for her, but Tan Xiangyu had already moved quickly, pinching her index finger on the side of Song Jianing's face, but did not touch Song Jianing, then she withdrew her hand and lowered her head. Look at it and smile: "There are often small spiders spinning down under the tree. I'll wash my hands, and you can go and sit in the house too."
After that, he left.
The moment she got up, Song Jianing seemed to smell a scent, but it disappeared in an instant.
It should be the incense used on Tan Xiangyu's body, right
Song Jianing didn't think much, looked at the top of his head, and persuaded Li Mulan worriedly, "Let's go in."
Li Mulan laughed at her timidity, but she still accompanies Song Jianing. On the way back to the house, Song Jianing seemed to smell a ray of incense again, and stopped to distinguish carefully, but there was none. Half an hour later, Li Mulan left, Song Jianing was about to take a nap, and when he took off the robe on his body, he smelled the faint fragrance for the third time.
Song Jianing glanced at the Beizi in his hand, sniffed, lowered his head and sniffed lightly. He felt that the aroma was stronger on the left shoulder, but there was nothing on the Beizi.
Thinking that Tan Xiangyu was sitting on her left under the locust tree, Song Jianing was relieved quickly, the aroma of Tan Xiangyu's body must have stained her nephew. The faint incense was not unpleasant, but Song Jianing still called to Zhen'er and told her to wash her clothes. She was not happy that her clothes were stained with other people's incense.
After the clothes were washed, Song Jianing forgot about it, just sleeping at night, Song Jianing was in a daze, and suddenly felt a little itchy on his face. She scratched unconsciously, and her fingers touched the left side of her face, but it didn't feel right. Song Jianing didn't dare to exert any force, she touched it again, then woke up suddenly, sat up nervously, and called Jane to light the lamp.
Zhener slept to death, and came in after a while, lit the lamp with a torch, and walked to the tent with sleepy eyes. Just as she was about to ask her master what was wrong, Song Jianing just put down her hand and told her to see Song Jianing's original white and tender tofu. There seems to be a rash on the left face, which looks very oozing!
Zhener was so shocked that she almost dropped the lamp in her hand!
Song Jianing knew without asking. He ran to the mirror in a panic, raised the bronze mirror and saw the red half of his face, Song Jianing's heart suddenly became cold. Because she knew that she was not qualified to be a princess, Song Jianing didn't care about this draft at all, but which woman doesn't care about her appearance? A good face suddenly becomes like this, can it be better
Song Jianing burst into tears, put down the mirror, covered her mouth and cried.
~
Zhener reported the rash on Song Jianing's face to the female officer in charge overnight. The female officer came to check on Song Jianing's injuries in person, and then interrogated Song Jianing what she did yesterday, who she met, and whether there was anything unusual. Song Jianing sat on the bed with her head tilted. She stopped crying, but her eyes were still red. She explained everything about the day, including Tan Xiangyu and that fragrance.
"Where's the robe?" the female official asked sharply.
Song Jianing bit her lip. Up to now, she knew very well that Tan Xiangyu had harmed her face, but she didn't know that in the daytime, she didn't know that Tan Xiangyu would play such a trick, and she thought that the incense was just incense from ordinary clothes, so she asked Zhener to wash it in disgust. . Now there is no excuse...
After the female official found out, she immediately took someone to Tan Xiangyu's room and searched inside and out three times, but nothing suspicious was found.
When it was dawn, the female official reported the matter to Queen Li. Song Jianing is a girl from the Duke of Wei's mansion, and she is also the best in this show. Queen Li first sent an imperial doctor to see Song Jianing. If it is confirmed that Song Jianing's face is caused by poison, she can arrest Tan Xiangyu and others whom Song Jianing had been in contact with. interrogation, otherwise...
As a result, the two imperial physicians took turns to diagnose Song Jianing's pulse, and they had used it all, confirming that Song Jianing was not poisoned, and the rash on her face was her physical problem.
The possibility of poisoning by Tan Xiangyu or Li Mulan was ruled out at once.
The other beautiful girls were fine, but Song Jianing was left in front of her. According to the imperial doctor's estimate, Song Jianing's rash would take at least half a month to return to normal.
Song Jianing breathed a sigh of relief. Whether Tan Xiangyu was poisoned or not, after leaving the palace, he can find a way to prove that the most important thing is to recover his face.
She will be raised for half a month, but there will be another ten days before the final election. Empress Li looks at the other half of Song Jianing's intact face, comforts Song Jianing regretfully, and then orders Song Jianing to leave the palace and return to her country. In other words, Song Jianing does not need to continue to run for the princess election. Song Jianing didn't think about it at first, and calmly accepted this arrangement.
Returning to the Duke's Mansion, seeing Song Jianing wearing a hood after seeing her mother, who had been away for more than 20 days, she couldn't help crying again.
The daughter doesn't have to be the concubine of the prince, and she doesn't have to serve Emperor Xuande. Lin should have been happy, but when she thought that her daughter's face was framed by Tan Xiangyu, 90% of the time, Lin's teeth itch with hatred. For some things, there is no evidence, it does not mean that everyone is a fool, really believe that Tan Xiangyu is innocent.
After remarrying for three or four years, it was related to Guo Xiao. Lin was always cautious, trying to avoid conflicts with Guo Xiao, and never said bad things about Guo Xiao or the Tan family in front of Guo Boyan. Now that her daughter was almost disfigured, Lin Shi couldn't take it anymore, so she cried to Guo Boyan that night. Guo Boyan really wanted to vent his anger on his wife, but there were only three aunties left in the Tan family, and Tan Wenli had not yet been admitted to the exam. A dignified man, I really can't do it.
"We don't need to post to the Tan family anymore if we have something to do in the future." Holding his wife, Guo Boyan only thought of this way.
Lin Shi knew his difficulties, and she was already content to cut off relations with the Tan family.
But Lin Shi didn't expect that Guo Xiao also came to apologize to her for this matter, and he was on her and her daughter's side. At this point, Lin Shi's anger was completely gone, and she only focused on taking care of her daughter.
However, Guo Xiao was still worried, and arranged for Ah Shun to pay attention to the movements of the Shou Palace next door.
There was no movement in the Shou Palace, and Zhao Heng did not enter the palace until the day before the final election.
Emperor Xuande knew why his son came, and said solemnly, "Even if the rash on her face doesn't go away, you will marry her too?"
Zhao Hengyun was calm, nodded and said, "It's because of me." It was he who begged his father to grant marriage first, and then his father would relax the background of a beautiful girl, and implicated her in entering the palace, and was framed by villains.
Emperor Xuande did not expect his son to be such a gentleman, so he could not help but keep silent. Song Jianing stayed in the palace for 20 days. Because he was the person his son wanted to marry, Emperor Xuande specially ordered him to continue, and every three days someone would report Song Jianing's actions to him. After observing for more than half a month, Song Jianing in the eyes of Emperor Xuande became a pure girl with peerless beauty, honesty and no ambition.
This kind of girl is not suitable for other sons, because it is not enough to be a virtuous internal helper, but the third child likes to be quiet, so he should be matched with a peaceful princess.
The only thing Emperor Xuande was dissatisfied with was that Song Jianing was too stupid to be easily harmed.
Emperor Xuande expressed this dissatisfaction and commented: "Simple mind, easy to suffer losses."
Zhao Heng said lightly: "After marriage, I will protect her."
Emperor Xuande raised his eyebrows and noticed that there was a hint of sternness on his son's body. He pondered for a moment and nodded in response.
On the day of the final election, Emperor Xuande personally went to Queen Li's middle palace and appointed Guo Boyan's second daughter, Jia Ning, as Princess Shou, and the eldest daughter of General Huwei's residence, Mulan, as Princess Gong. When the decree was passed to Duke Wei's mansion, Song Jianing, who was wearing a hood, was completely stupid, but Madam Tai reminded her in a low voice.