National color raw owl

Shui Lian came from the palace, this is Chu Huan's old acquaintance, seeing Chu Huan, Shui Lian was not polite, and said that the emperor was waiting in the palace, Chu Huan had to quickly change into an official uniform, and followed Shui Lian in a hurry Busy into the palace.

The size of the palace was huge, and it was already late at night when Chu Huan fell outside Xuanzhao's Guangming Hall, and Shui Lian asked Chu Huan to wait outside the hall, and went in to report by himself.

Chu Huan stood outside the hall. On the edge of the white marble railing outside the hall, guards stood like stone sculptures, solemn and majestic. Chu Huan stood outside the hall. After waiting for a long time, Shui Lian was never seen. Seeing Shui Lian approaching in a hurry, Chu Huan straightened his clothes and went forward, thinking that he was about to enter the hall, but seeing Shui Lian had already waved his hands, Chu Huan was startled, and Shui Lian leaned over and said, "Lord Chu, You can't go in yet, the miscellaneous family didn't see the Holy One, the holy majesty is still in the inner hall, the miscellaneous family reported, but the holy majesty has not called, the miscellaneous family is afraid that you are waiting outside, so come here to say hello first, I'm afraid it will take a while to climb up."

Chu Huan said with a smile: "It's okay, the Holy One takes care of everything every day, and we as courtiers wish we could share our worries for the Holy One. It is also a blessing to be able to serve here."

Shui Lian said with a smile: "Master Chu speaks steadily and is a careful person." He has a good feeling for Chu Huan, but he thinks that this person is young, but he is considerate and cautious.

Chu Huan had already grasped Shui Lian's hand with one hand. Shui Lian felt something in his hand for a moment, and when he glanced at it, it turned out to be an extremely delicate jade butterfly. It's not dim, it's bright and tight, Shui Lian is in the palace, she is the eunuch next to the emperor, she is also a person who has seen insomnia, after a glance, she knows that the jade butterfly is very valuable, so she calmly puts the jade butterfly away Went into the sleeves, sighed softly: "Lord Chu, it's windy and cold outside, do you want to bring a piece of clothing to drive away the cold?"

Chu Huan hurriedly laughed and said, "Don't bother!"

Shui Lian said again: "I'm afraid that the Holy Majesty will not be able to summon you for a while, and the miscellaneous family will ask someone to make you a cup of tea." Turning around, he beckoned a little eunuch and ordered: "Go and make a cup of ginseng tea, and give it to Chu. My lord, warm up."

The little eunuch agreed to go on.

Chu Huan secretly sighed that it was easy to do things with money, and he couldn't help asking softly, "Eunuch, you said that you didn't see the Holy One just now? Aren't you someone close to the Holy Majesty? You are usually the one who conveys the Holy Majesty's will, why not?" Even you can't see His Majesty?"

Shui Lian looked left and right, and even though the Guards guards next to him looked like stone sculptures, Shui Lian still dragged Chu Huan down the jade steps, and when he got to the middle of the steps, he was far away from the guards, so he sighed softly Said: "Master Chu, you also know that Zajia is not a gossip, but just likes you, Master Chu, and there are some things that we should confide in."

Chu Huan thought to himself that our two temperaments are absolutely different, and that we are absolutely not called congenial in temperament. It is nothing more than the effect of the jade butterfly, but he said solemnly on his face: "My father-in-law has always loved Xiaguan very much. This kindness, Xiaguan Never dare to forget."

"Where is there!" Shui Lian admired Chu Huan's work, and pulled Chu Huan to sit down on the stone steps very affectionately, and said, "I'm afraid the Holy One will not be able to call for a while, so I will sit here now. "

After the two of them sat down, Shui Lian lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty just came back from Anyi, and His Majesty heard about it, so he sent a miscellaneous family to summon him. His Majesty Chu didn't know, but His Majesty seldom goes to court recently!"

"Oh?" Chu Huan asked curiously, "Could it be that the Holy Dragon is not feeling well?"

"Actually, the dragon body of the Holy Majesty has been very healthy recently. It is much healthier than before, and it is full of energy." Shui Lian said with a wry smile: "It's just that Empress Xuehua likes to recite poems, paint, play the piano and dance. Together with Empress Xuehua, you can't leave every step, even if you are cultivating Taoism, so there is no time to go to court...!"

Chu Huan opened his mouth, a little surprised, and asked in a low voice after a while: "Elder-in-law, who is this Empress Snow Flower? I haven't heard that there is another Empress Snow Flower in the palace!"

Shui Lian looked around, then lowered her voice and said, "Didn't Master Chu hear that not long ago, Jingzhong Hou Feng Yuanpo presented a beauty?"

Chu Huan was stunned, and immediately remembered this incident. When he was in Anyi, Yuan Chongshang had mentioned this matter, and Yuan Chongshang was amazed by it, because the emperor once issued an order to strictly forbid courtiers to show their beauty. , and even the officials lost their heads, who knows that Feng Yuanpo offered the beauties this time, but did not provoke the emperor Longyan to be furious.

It's just that Chu Huan didn't take this matter very seriously, and when he thought about it now, he realized that the beauty Feng Yuanpo offered had already been made a concubine.

In the Great Qin harem system, not everyone can be called empress, except for the queen, there are four concubines under her, and only the queen and concubines are eligible to be called empress, even the nine concubines, they are not qualified to be called empress either.

The hierarchy of the Great Qin Harem is not as simple as that of court officials. The Empress is the head of the Harem, and below them are the four concubines, nine concubines, Jieyu, Zhaoyi, nobles, and beauties. As the saying goes, there are three thousand beauties in the Harem. It's easy at first, but there are still thousands of beauties. They have no background outside the palace. It is not easy to enter the palace and be conferred easily. Not to mention the queen, even if you want to become a concubine, it is as difficult as climbing a mountain.

Even if Chu Huan remembered the incident of Feng Yuanpo presenting beauty, it was impossible for him to think that the beauty Feng Yuanpo presented would be called a concubine. It is because of her outstanding beauty that she may not have any background outside the palace. Even if such a woman is loved by the emperor, it is already a great favor to be named a beauty in such a short period of time, let alone a concubine.

Seeing Shui Lian's surprised expression, Shui Lian sighed: "That beauty, just half a month ago, was conferred the title of concubine by the Holy One, and she was given the title Xue Hua."

"Why is it named Snow Flower?"

"Ice skin and snow skin, beautiful face and moon appearance." Shui Lian said softly: "The Holy Majesty gave her eight characters, so she gave her the name Snow Flower. Master Chu has never seen this empress. Her skin is really whiter than snow. The miscellaneous family has seen many women. , but none of them are whiter than her skin." After a pause, she lowered her voice and said, "Actually, Empress Xuehua is not from Qin at all, she is from barbarians!"

"Barbarians?"

Shui Lian nodded and said: "Exactly, Feng Yuanpo sits in the north, and the barbarians are still very afraid of him. The barbarians fight and kill each other. If anyone has a better relationship with Feng Yuanpo and has the secret help of Jing Zhonghou, whoever The strength of the Yiman is naturally stronger, so the Yiman tribes try their best to win over Jing Zhonghou. I heard that the Snow Flower Empress is a Yiman princess named Slavic. Keep it and dedicate it to the Holy One."

"So that's how it is." Chu Huan frowned slightly, "It's just that this Empress Snow Flower has been canonized, and no one in the court has spoken?"

Shui Lian hesitated for a moment, leaned closer to Chu Huan's ear, and said in a low voice, "This is against the rituals of the harem. It's just the Holy Majesty's will, but no one in the court dares to refute it. The great scholar Xu Congyang is speaking in the court. It's just that it should be postponed at this time, the Holy Majesty was not happy, so Grand Master Xu didn't say much. Moreover, Lord Lin, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and Lord Ma, Minister of the Ministry of Households, all strongly agreed with this matter, and even Lord Xue, the Minister of Rites, did not say much. What to say, so it’s settled like this.”

Chu Huan thought for a while, and then asked softly: "The Queen's side...!"

"The empress is a good-natured person, she doesn't compete with the world, and she never said a word about it." Shui Lian sighed softly: "The Holy Majesty really loves Empress Xuehua very much, and obeys her words...Master Chu doesn't know something, In this hall of light, another snow flower inner hall was built. The Snow Flower Empress does not live in the harem, but lives in this snow flower inner hall with the Holy One day and night. Those who cannot enter the inner palace of snowflakes."

Chu Huan pondered for a while, and asked in a low voice: "Eunuch, I heard that the sage issued a decree to prohibit officials from showing beauty, but if they disobeyed, they should be punished with the crime of resisting the decree. This should be correct?"

"That's right." Shui Lian said: "However, Empress Xuehua was able to enter the palace, while Jing Zhonghou was safe and sound, but...but there is something else hidden...!"

"Is there another secret?" Chu Huan's heart tightened. He actually knew that the current emperor has been a tyrannical king for these years. Immersed in the beauties of the harem, even folk beauty pageants are prohibited.

It's just that this time, because of a barbarian woman, she has repeatedly done incredible things, not to mention the crime of Feng Yuanpo, but just conferring a concubine, bestowing a title, repairing the inner palace, and being with Empress Xuehua all day long. It is very different from His Majesty the Emperor in the past. Could it be that this beauty from the barbarian tribe in the north really made the Emperor's heart flutter and fascinated His Majesty the Emperor?

As soon as Shui Lian spoke, she felt that she had already said a lot of things that she shouldn't have said, so she hurriedly smiled and said, "Actually...it's nothing...!"

Chu Huan had already said sincerely: "If father-in-law has something inconvenient to say, don't make it difficult."

Hearing what Chu Huan said, Shui Lian sighed instead, leaned closer to Chu Huan's ear, and said in a low voice, "Master Chu, let me speak and enter your ears, don't spread it to the outside world. good."

Chu Huan said solemnly, "I understand."

"Actually, before Empress Xuehua entered the palace, the Holy Majesty had already entered a critical period of cultivating Taoism, but there was only one difference, so she could enter the integration period and prolong her life...!" Shui Lian said softly: "What the Holy Majesty lacks is a human cauldron!"

"Human cauldron?"

Shui Lian nodded and said: "According to the Xuanzhen Taoist sect, it is difficult to find a woman who is in harmony with the yin and yang of the Holy One to promote the Dao. Such a woman is difficult to find, and the conditions are harsh. Only with the help of a woman can one achieve great success, and Xuanzhen Daozong said that once this human cauldron matches the yin and yang of the Holy One, it becomes a treasured tripod, and this treasured tripod can help the Holy Majesty all the time before the Holy Majesty enters the Nascent Soul."

Chu Huan never had a good impression of this kind of cultivation technique, and even more so if someone practiced it, he couldn't help frowning, thinking that His Majesty the Emperor was so wise and powerful back then, but now he is going farther and farther on the road of cultivation. It is emotion.

"Before the Holy Majesty made an order to find the human cauldron, the beauty who was faithfully waiting for her arrived." Shui Lian said softly: "And Jing Zhonghou said that he dreamed for three consecutive nights, dreaming that the Holy Majesty turned into a god and looked for the human cauldron. In his dream , I dreamed that Empress Snow Flower turned into a human cauldron, which was exactly what the Holy One needed for cultivating Taoism. After waking up, I felt that things were weird, but he was loyal and knew that the Holy Spirit needed this, so he risked beheading and took Empress Snow Flower. Send someone to present it to Beijing...!"

Chu Huan opened his mouth, feeling unimaginable, "He actually dreamed that the Holy One needed a human tripod? This... how is this possible?"