In the second year of the new emperor's reign in the Qing Dynasty, it was time to take the imperial examination again.
Mid February.
Su Mingzhe appointed Master Hu as the chief examiner and held a spring ceremony.
In the end, 300 scholars were selected in this session.
The excitement of the imperial examination has just ended.
The wedding envoy, together with the eldest princess of the Northern Qi Dynasty and her party, finally returned to the capital city of Qing Dynasty.
Along the way, the eldest princess and her party did not cause any trouble.
When they saw the city of Kyoto, several noble girls accompanied the eldest princess and looked out the window, but they couldn't help but screamed: "
"Your Highness, what the welcoming envoy said is indeed true. It's only March, and hundreds of flowers are already in full bloom in this country."
The eldest princess also looked outside and saw the spring scene of hundreds of flowers blooming. She couldn't help but have a bit of homesickness in her eyes, and she said calmly:
"I wonder if the willow trees in the capital have sprouted now..."
When several noble ladies heard this, their eyes suddenly turned red, especially the sentimental one like Shen Wan'er, who first sobbed in a low voice, and then started to sob softly.
As soon as he entered the palace gate, he was as deep as the sea. From then on, Xiao Lang became a passerby.
The girls traveled thousands of miles to marry into the royal family of the Qing Dynasty with the mission of getting married.
These women have sacrificed a lifetime of happiness, but no one can guarantee that this path of peace can be maintained for a long time.
In fact, the family elders of the girls had warned them in advance that this marriage would only prevent the war between the two countries for two or three years.
Two or three years later, the National War broke out.
The noble ladies of Qi State who married into Qing State would fall into an embarrassing situation.
Just when the girls were worried about their fate, Guo Youzhi, the Minister of Rites, led the ministers of Honglu Temple, as well as the saint Haitang Duoduo who stayed in Qing State and the guest ministers who stayed in Qing State from the Northern Qi Dynasty, and went out of the city to greet the wedding delegation.
.
Although there are no hundreds of officials to greet him, it is considered good for Qing State to send two of the nine ministers.
The eldest princess answered Guo Youzhi according to etiquette, and finally, accompanied by Haitang Duoduo, entered the Northern Qi Embassy to rest.
Upon arriving at the embassy, the eldest princess took the lead in saluting Haitang Duoduo and said guiltily:
"Guoguo pays homage to Her Royal Highness the Saint."
"I dare not, please get up, Your Highness Princess."
Haitang Duoduo's tone was a little cold, even distant and isolated.
The eldest princess saw that the saint was not happy with her, and she knew the reason in her heart, but at this time, she could only sigh and said:
"Your Highness, please stop blaming Guoguo, okay? Guoguo also had some unavoidable reasons for dragging you into the water."
Haitang Duoduo is a master who takes soft things rather than hard ones. When the eldest princess said this, although she was still very dissatisfied with the eldest princess for dragging her into the water, she still sighed softly when she thought of Qingguo's recent attitude towards her.
After understanding what Her Royal Highness the Princess did, she finally said:
"Your Highness, please rest assured. I agreed to be a dowry not just because of your request, but also because I want to save my master from trouble."
After Haitang Duoduo finished speaking coldly, she turned around and went back to her bedroom to rest.
Well, Begonia Duoduo is now one of the eight eldest princess’s brides.
Several other noble ladies were a little frightened when they saw Haitang Duoduo's attitude.
The eldest princess also felt a little tired, so she waved her hand and asked the ladies to go down and rest.
Only Zhuang Yu'er's eyes flickered with stars. When the others left, she whispered a few words into the eldest princess's ear, and a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.
"Yu'er, you are really my female military advisor."
"Your Highness, we had the best relationship when we went to the capital. If I don't help you, who will?"
Zhuang Yu'er held the eldest princess's slender hand and said distressedly:
"What's more, my grandfather often said, 'When people unite, Mount Tai will move'. We women have traveled thousands of miles to Qingguo. If we still hold on to our own little ideas, wouldn't it be even more miserable in the future?
."
The eldest princess felt warm in her heart at the words of her best friend, and tears began to well up in her eyes.
At the end, when the eldest princess thought of what she had done, she couldn't help but burst into tears and said:
"Yu'er, you are right, we are all women who are suffering, but what you are experiencing now is all because of me, especially Her Royal Highness the Saint..."
"Princess, you can't say that again. This has nothing to do with you. Even if you hadn't spoken, there wouldn't have been many noble ladies in the capital who agreed to the terms."
Zhuang Yuer finally managed to comfort the eldest princess.
Then the envoy stationed in Qingguo asked for an audience.
The eldest princess let him in.
It turned out that the envoy was telling the eldest princess about the time of the canonization ceremony prepared by Qingguo, as well as the etiquette of Qingguo.
The eldest princess would naturally have no objections to this.
Of course, even if you have objections, it is of no use.
This is why a weak country has no diplomacy.
The eldest princess of the Northern Qi Dynasty entered Kyoto today.
As a man, Su Mingzhe was not exempt from vulgarity, so he also went to the city gate to watch.
The eldest princess of the Northern Qi Dynasty is indeed beautiful, with crescent-shaped eyebrows, red lips, and a delicate face with melon seeds. Combined with the heroic look in her eyes, she is quite a bit like the heroine Mulan.
After returning to the palace, Su Mingzhe ordered the Qintian Supervisor to choose a good and auspicious day to prepare for the canonization ceremony.
Originally, the eldest princess of the Northern Qi Dynasty was only canonized as Concubine Chen. She was not even considered a noble concubine, so she was not qualified to hold any canonization ceremony.
However, this matter involved many of Chen Pingping's plans, so Su Mingzhe could only cooperate and make things more lively.
Su Mingzhe organized his thoughts and was about to deal with the memorial when he saw Eunuch Hou running into the imperial study and reported back:
"Your Majesty, the Queen has just cooked lotus seed soup and will bring it to you later."
"Why is this girl here again? Didn't you let her rest more?"
Su Mingzhe complained a little, but his eyes and body were honest, and his eyes were filled with smiles. He stood up directly and walked out of the hall, preparing to welcome Fan Ruoruo's arrival.
Not long after, Su Mingzhe helped Fan Ruoruo and carefully sat down on the bed in the imperial study room, and couldn't help but chatter:
"Ruoruo, didn't you say that you are just pregnant and should get more rest?"
"Your Majesty, I am not that delicate."
Fan Ruoruo touched her still smooth belly with a happy face and explained:
"People from the Imperial Medical Office have said that newly pregnant people may feel a little lethargic, but they still need to move more on weekdays to facilitate delivery."
"Then just listen to the imperial doctor."
Su Mingzhe actually felt distressed. Fan Ruoruo walked from Yaohua Palace to Weiyang Palace, which was a ten-minute journey. For a pregnant woman, it was really not that close.
"However, you don't want to go around Weiyang Palace. You can go to the Imperial Garden on weekdays. The air there is good and you can take a walk."
"I came here this time to ask about something."
Seeing that the man was so gentle to her, Fan Ruoruo hesitated a little when she remembered the purpose of her visit. However, after being silent for a while, she finally said:
"After Concubine Chen enters the palace, will Your Majesty plan to let her live in Yuchen Palace?"
When Su Mingzhe heard this, he immediately understood that Fan Ruoruo was probably jealous.
Chen, meaning the North Star, generally refers to the emperor.
Before that, Yuchen Palace had been the residence of several previous queens.
Su Mingzhe also made the eldest princess of the Northern Qi Dynasty Concubine Chen and let her live in Yuchen Palace.
Fan Ruoruo naturally started to feel guilty.
In order not to let the woman think too much, Su Mingzhe told her Chen Pingping's plan:
"Ruoruo, as long as you know about this matter, don't spread it to anyone else."
"I understand, I understand."
After hearing the explanation, Fan Ruoruo felt a little apologetic for her small-mindedness.
The couple chatted for a while and drank the lotus seed soup together.
Afterwards, Su Mingzhe asked Fan Ruoruo to rest in the imperial study while he continued to deal with the memorial.
Until noon, the two went to Yanshou Palace to say hello.
As for the Queen Mother, Su Mingzhe has not allowed Fan Ruoruo to go to Yanfu Palace since she became pregnant.
The meaning of precaution can be said to be obvious.
If 'Emperor Qing' hadn't appeared, the Queen Mother would definitely have taken action against Fan Ruoruo.
However, now 'Emperor Qing' is not dead and will come back for one month every year.
The Queen Mother could only stay in Yanfu Palace peacefully and continue to eat and play the rosary.
It was night in a blink of an eye.
Su Mingzhe paid his respects to the Queen Mother, and then came to Yaohua Palace to have dinner with Fan Ruoruo.
After dinner, the two held hands and took a walk in the courtyard of Yaohua Palace.
Suddenly, a eunuch trotted in outside the door to report that it was Concubine Xian and Concubine Shu, who came together to pay their respects to the queen.
"Invite them in."
Fan Ruoruo's management skills are very good.
She tried to win over some of Su Mingzhe's concubines, neutralize others, and suppress others.
Concubine Xian and Concubine Shu were the ones who were won over by her.
Not long after, Mei Ruohua and Wang Tong'er came in together. Seeing Su Mingzhe behind them, they quickly saluted and said hello.
"No need to do that, get up."
Su Mingzhe motioned to the two women to stand up.
To be honest, because Fan Ruoruo and Lin Wan'er have such a strong aura, Concubine Mei Ruohua, Concubine Shu, Wang Tong'er, and even Concubine Ye Ling'er, although they are all the lords of the first palace, they are not treated like the other nine concubines here by Su Mingzhe.
The difference is that they are all tool men who are turned over and then go to the Tai Chi Palace to serve them.
Things like Su Mingzhe accompanying Fan Ruoruo for a walk today are, to them, a beautiful thing that they don't even dare to think about.
Fan Ruoruo showed off her intelligence and saw the envious looks of the two concubines. She smiled indifferently and then said:
"Your Majesty, I am a little tired from walking. Let's go back to the palace and rest for a while."
"Well, then go back to the palace and take a rest."
Su Mingzhe helped Fan Ruoruo back to the palace, followed by Wang Tong'er and Mei Ruohua on the left and right.
Back in the palace, Fan Ruoruo asked his caring maid to help him go to the bedroom to change his clothes.
Su Mingzhe was served by Wang Tong'er and Mei Ruohua to drink tea.
Wang Tong'er and Mei Ruohua were able to win over Fan Ruoruo because the three women were all talented women and had many topics in common, so they could talk together.
Now, through the lights in the palace, Su Mingzhe discovered that the temperament of Mei Ruohua and Wang Tong'er was somewhat similar to that of Fan Ruoruo, the eldest princess of the Northern Qi Dynasty, who was slender and delicate.
However, Su Mingzhe checked the bodies of both Mei Ruohua and Wang Tong'er and knew that they were both round and round.
The two women couldn't help but blush as Su Mingzhe looked them up and down.
Speaking of which, the two women had been in the palace for more than a year and had served Su Mingzhe more than a hundred times. However, being looked up and down by Su Mingzhe with such scrutinizing eyes still made the two women feel shy and unstoppable.
When Su Mingzhe saw the shy reactions of the two women, he couldn't help feeling proud:
"Two beloved concubines, how about we go back to Shufangzhai to rest together later?"
After hearing Su Mingzhe's 'invitation', the two women felt shy and timid, but they were unwilling to refuse. After a moment of silence, they shyly replied: