The guard of honor marched all the way to Shangjing in a mighty manner, and all other people within a radius of ten miles were to avoid it. The only sound of the clatter of horse hooves could be heard along the way.
Xuechun sat next to Xiqian and fanned her with a cattail leaf fan, but Xiqian could not stop sweating. The chariot they were traveling in was closed. Because she was the emperor's woman, she could not be looked at casually.
Even if you get out of the car and walk around, you have to put on the veil first.
Jiang State's class system is very strict, and only the queen is qualified to ride in the same carriage as the emperor, so Xi Qian can only ride in another carriage along the way, following Yuwen Haoxuan at a distance.
When she went to the inn to rest, she couldn't move around freely. Yuwen Haoxuan was busy with political affairs that had been delayed in the past few months, so he didn't have time to see her, so only Xuechun was around to talk to her, and he was bored and depressed along the way.
Pass.
It was already autumn when we arrived in Shangjing, and although the leaves had not started to wither in large numbers, they were all dry and yellow, and as soon as the cold wind passed, a few leaves fell off with the wind.
When the honor guard arrived outside the Zhangqing Gate, a palace maid stepped forward to help Xi Qian get out of the car. She took a deep breath when she walked out of the closed carriage and looked at the palace with glazed gold tiles in front of her. The entire palace looked beautiful under the clear blue sky.
It becomes taller and more solemn.
In front, Yuwen Haoxuan, who was wearing a black dragon robe with gold embroidery, was looking at her. A smile appeared in Xi Qian's eyes, she straightened her waist and walked forward with the help of the palace maid.
Yuwen Haoxuan took the palace maid's arm from her, with the corners of his lips slightly raised and all the words written in his eyes. The two of them walked hand in hand to the Zhangqing Palace amidst the sound of ritual music. Countless black heads lay prostrate on the ground.
Xi Xuan looked calmly at the people kneeling at her feet. Now she was no longer a beauty without grace. Before returning to the palace, Yu Wen Haoxuan had already issued an oral decree, and the Jin Dynasty named her Jieyu of the third rank. Everyone understood.
Xi Jieyu, who returned to the palace today, is no longer the beautiful Xi Jieyu she used to be.
When the palace servants who looked down on her in the past looked at her now, there was no longer any contempt in their eyes, only envy and jealousy. Xi Xuan walked past them with her head held high, scanning every face indifferently from the corners of her eyes. She would never do that in the future.
Just be patient as before.
After the ceremony of returning to the palace, there was a grand banquet. The relatives and ministers ate in the main hall, while the emperor and his concubines were in the back hall.
In the front hall, people were drinking and laughing, while in the back hall there was a chorus of orioles and swallows whispering. Yuwen Haoxuan had been on tour for several months, and all the concubines took advantage of today to show off their beautiful clothes, hoping to be among the flowers.
He rose to prominence and attracted the attention of Yuwen Haoxuan.
But a concubine sitting on the left side of Yuwen Haoxuan was wearing a blue palace dress, which was incompatible with the colorful purple and red in the room. There were only a few red hairpins on her head. However, if you look closely, it is not difficult to find that although she
The outfit is simple, but every piece of jewelry on her body is worth tens of thousands of gold. The innate nobility between her eyebrows is something people dare not underestimate.
Xiqian looked at it for a while and thought that this must be the highest-ranking concubine in the harem. According to the rules of the palace, she was not allowed to come and disturb the concubine at will, so this was her first time to see the concubine.
.
She remembered hearing Fan Tao say that the imperial concubine was from the Queen Mother's mother's family. The purge against the influence of the Queen Mother's mother's family ten years ago was extremely cruel, but for some reason the imperial concubine had remained unharmed. She must have been someone with some skills.
Xi Qian was just thinking that the song and dance was over, and it was time for the concubines to express themselves. She saw a concubine in front of her who was wearing a pink palace dress stood up and raised her wine glass and said, "The emperor does not care about his own safety for the sake of the world and the country."
, I personally went to the people to observe the people's sentiments. I feel deeply uneasy about being well-dressed and well-fed in the palace every day. I have asked my father, the emperor, to donate more than ten thousand taels to the farmers in the south who were affected by the disaster on my behalf, hoping to make the emperor less worried."
"Zhao Shurong is worthy of being the princess of Xuanguo, a country of etiquette. She really knows the basics. I offer you a glass of wine to express my feelings." Yuwen Haoxuan said, picking up the wine glass and drinking it down.
Zhao Shurong looked proud and looked at the other concubines in the palace and said, "There is little rain this year, and the drought in the south is particularly severe. My meager efforts can't really make a difference. How about all of us sisters sitting here doing our best to help.
It would also help the people suffer less, would you please, Your Majesty?"
"Okay, I will leave this matter to you. If you do it well, I will reward you heavily!"
When the concubines heard what Yu Wen Haoxuan said, they all said yes, but they were very angry. Zhao Shurong made everyone pay, but in the end she was the only one who benefited.
Xiqian sighed helplessly. She didn't bring much silver when she came from Ningguo. If she gave out less, she would definitely be laughed at. But if she gave out too much, where would she get the money? If she asked for it from Ningguo, my father would see how much money she had now.
The status would not be denied, but she didn't want to do that.
In the blink of an eye, several more concubines came forward to propose a toast, and Yuwen Haoxuan all responded one by one. Several beauties and talented people also rushed to sing and dance. The hall was very lively for a while, but the concubines with higher status just looked at it coldly.
Looking at it, they were unworthy of using this method to gain favor in public, but they couldn't help but feel a little itchy when they saw the admiration on Yu Wen Haoxuan's face.
Seeing Wang Baoluo in the lively crowd, Xiqian realized that Wang Zhaoyi, who used to be the most expressive in the past, had been silent today. The clothes and headdress on her body were still luxurious and dazzling, but the look did not reach her face.
Yu Wen Hao
But he was a little unstable because of the alcohol.
Yuwen Hao
"I don't think so. I am too happy and want to keep looking at the emperor quietly like this." She didn't expect that Yuwen Haoxuan would still care about him and her. Wang Baolu shed two lines of tears. She has been in the palace for the past few months.
His status in the army was not as good as before, and he received a lot of ridicule and looks down his face.
Yuwen Haoxuan touched her shoulder and said, "You seem to have lost weight. I have brought a lot of precious medicinal materials from outside the palace, and I will ask Liu Maolin to deliver them to you soon."
Wang Baoluo quickly thanked her, everyone saw Yuwen Haoxuan's concern, and she could finally face everyone in the palace with her head held high as before.
After comforting Wang Baoluo, Yuwen Haoxuan turned around and walked back to the front of the palace. While the concubines raised their wine glasses to greet Wang Baoluo, he looked at Xi Qian sitting in the back row. There seemed to be guilt in his eyes. Xi Qian knew
He was afraid that he would not understand his intentions, so he responded with a gentle smile to reassure him.
After several months of getting along, the two have an extraordinary tacit understanding, and they can tell what the other is thinking with just one look.
The concubines were all busy trying to please Wang Baolu, and no one noticed the little moves between them, but this scene happened to fall in the eyes of the noble concubine below.