Jinghong Tower

Chapter 306 The choice of concubines (two chapters in one)

Xiaokui is talking about Bai Zhiyuan.

There was a hint of warmth in Xiugu's eyes: "Can the child I watched grow up be any worse?"

Zuo Xiaoai curled his lips and said, "You can brag."

Xiu Gu glared: "At least he's better looking than those two in your family!"

Zuo Xiaoai: I will strangle Baiyun and Heitu to death when I get back!

He Ran watched them bickering with a smile on her lips. It would be great if time could stand still and the sisters would never grow old or die.

That day, everyone was drinking and quarreling. I don’t know who started singing first, and then everyone sang together until late at night.

The next day, Zuo Xiaoai returned to Zhending, Xiaokui returned to Shunde Mansion, and Du Hui also returned to Baoding. He Ran took Xiugu's hand and said, "How about you stay."

Xiugu is different from others. She wants to go south, and the south is still the new emperor's world.

But now, it's too late for them to die.

"Master, I want to go back. Du Hui wants to go back to Baoding to rebuild Jinghong Tower. I also want to rebuild Jinghong Tower in Jinling. If it doesn't work in one year, it will be two or three years. Don't worry, Master, for Jinghong Tower, I want to live too."

Finally, someone looked up, the oldest one among them. She was startled when she saw the towering He Ran. It turned out that this was Master He, so young, so beautiful, and so majestic.

The concubine shrank up with a guilty conscience and did not dare to look at He Ran again.

He Ran nodded: "Of course you can. The palace is so big and it will be empty even if it is empty. You can always live here."

Their leader is no ordinary person. She is a fairy who descended from the sky. She is a miracle.

Another concubine boldly asked: "Can I find a Taoist temple or temple?"

He Ran: Do I have that much free time?
The concubines were brought to He Ran with their heads lowered, wishing they could bury their heads in the ground to hide their beauty.

They have some private money and are reluctant to donate it all. Having money is always better than having no money at all.

Among the concubines who are still in the palace, the highest-ranking concubine is the concubine, and the others are lower-ranking concubines below the concubine. They have no heirs and their status in the palace is not high.

He Ran looked at the speaker. She was a young woman in her early twenties, with cloud-like hair, beautiful appearance, and clear and stupid eyes.

He Ran: "You also said that the palace used to provide the money, but you should also know that all the money in the palace was taken to Jinling by Min Lan and Min Xi. Now, in addition to the furniture that cannot be moved, the palace now also has What?"

Someone else asked in a low voice: "When you talk about food and clothing, is it really just about filling your stomach?"

If they were just poor and helpless orphans and widowed mothers, the monasteries and Taoist temples might take them in, but they are different. If the female relatives of a wealthy family want to become a monk, they must first donate a large sum of money. In some places, they even have to donate every year.

He Ran said: "Those of you who want to go to temples and Taoist temples to practice, as long as you have enough money, you can be sent there at any time as long as you report it."

After sending Xiu Gu away, He Ran entered the harem accompanied by Li Jinxiu. She did not go to visit King Zhao first, but had the concubines brought over.

The legendary He Ran has a green face and fangs, is as ugly as salt, and is an ugly and fierce woman who will definitely not get married. The women who can't get married all have weird personalities.

The old concubine breathed a sigh of relief. She was old and didn't have a powerful natal family. If He Ran didn't let them live in the palace, she would have nowhere to go.

The concubine said: "In the past, some people in the palace also went to practice, and they all paid for it."

"Can we continue to live in the palace?" she asked cautiously.

Will He Ran, who is ugly and weird, be jealous when he sees their beauty? Treat them a hundred times more cruelly than you treat others?

That day He Ran took her into the inner room, and He Ran told her several scars in one sentence. Even her daughter Baidie didn't know the location of two of the scars, but the boss not only knew about them, but also remembered them. Because this is the mark left by their fight together.

A concubine who was also in her twenties asked, "Can we make some needlework and have people sell it outside the palace?"

"Ah? This is too embarrassing," said a concubine.

He Ran said: "Do you have any private money? If you do, that's fine. After all, no matter whether it is a Taoist temple or a temple, people will not live in vain for a long time."

He Ran stretched out his fist and punched her lightly on the shoulder, just like before.

I don’t know how the legendary leader He Da, who killed many people, would treat them.

The concubines were terrified. For the past three months, they had been in fear day and night, but they were watched closely and could not even think of dying.

Sure enough, after He Ran said this, no more concubines mentioned wanting to go to the temple.

The concubine who spoke was blushing, and even her voice was trembling.

No wonder Xiaokui said that she would understand as soon as she saw the boss.

Xiu Gu looked at He Ran, with a hint of reluctance in her eyes. She knew her age, and now that she was gone, she wondered if she would be able to see the boss again.

He Ran said: "Yes, I just want to fill my stomach, and this is the only thing I can promise you. The clothes, jewelry, rouge and gouache you want are all unsatisfactory."

At that moment, Xiugu believed that the little girl in front of her, who was about the same age as her grandson, was their boss.

He Ran smiled: "Of course! Are there any of you who want to work and earn money to support yourself? If so, you can tell Yuan Xiaodong. He and Zeng Fu will help you contact the shops outside. Of course, they will keep your secret and those shops will not know your identity."

If he had died at that time, he would still have achieved the name of Zhenlie.

They regretted countless times. Why didn't they die when the late emperor passed away?

There are no royal temples in this dynasty. If the concubines want to become a monk or go to practice Buddhism, they can only go to ordinary temples like ordinary people.

He Ran didn't seem to notice their strangeness, and said in a calm voice: "Prince Zhao has no money, and my money has to be used for fighting. We can continue to support you, but it is only limited to food and clothing. Even Prince Zhao cannot eat every day. When it comes to meat, your treatment must not be better than his."

It's great to have a young boss.

All the things that seem unbelievable to others will be taken for granted when it comes to the master.

As soon as she finished speaking, she was robbed: "We are all thrown in the capital, how can we still have face?"

There was silence. Yes, when the Empress Dowager and the previous emperor moved the capital, they took away so many people and so many things, but they left them in the capital.

The euphemistic name is letting them stay, but in reality it means abandoning them.

They are just poor people abandoned by the royal family.

The moment they were left behind, they lost face. Three days later, Zeng Fu received a batch of embroidery work from an embroidery workshop, embroidering various flowers on handkerchiefs.

At first, only three concubines were given the embroidery work, but later other concubines joined in. After this batch of handkerchiefs were embroidered, the embroidery shop felt that their skills were pretty good, so they began to assign embroidery work such as pillows and tents to them.

Soon, Zeng Fu took over the work of copying books from the bookstore, the work of illustrating the storybooks from the printing shop, and the work of making cotton clothes and boots in the garment shop.

All of a sudden, these concubines who had nothing to do before and were sad for spring and autumn all became busy. There had been no crying in the yard where they lived for a long time.

He Ran is very satisfied with this. No matter men, women, old or young, as long as they are busy, they will have a lot less things to do.

It's Spring Festival in a blink of an eye, and this is He Ran's first Spring Festival in Beijing.

After the first lunar month, the second official examination began.

Compared with the first official examination, this time it is more complete and consists of a written examination and an interview. There are three rounds of written examination and two rounds of interview.

The last time those who took the official examination were mostly students from Jin Dynasty, but now with the smooth roads, the number of students taking the official examination is five times that of last time. In addition to those from Jin, there are also students from Baoding Prefecture, Zhending Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture and Hejian Prefecture. There are students from the government, as well as Yudi, and even a dozen from Ludi.

Zhong Yi came to see He Ran: "It's true that twelve people from the He family signed up, and there are some inscriptions among them."

He Ran smiled: "This is a good thing."

Zhong Yi added: "Zhou Cangyue sent two people over."

He Ran was startled, and then asked: "Who did he send? From the Beggar Clan?"

"One of them is the son of a hall master of the Beggar Clan and has attended a private school for several years. The other is from Xiangyang and has some talents in Xiangyang." Zhong Yi said.

He Ran smiled and nodded: "Zhou Cangyue has made progress, which is gratifying."

Feng Jieying was the chief examiner for the official examination, and there were many other examiners. He Ran was present in person for the last two rounds of interviews.

At the same time, He Ran sent Feng Zan's army to attack Wuding Prefecture in Jinan Prefecture, and the Battle of Lu Di began.

The official examination took two months and 82 reserve officials were selected. After one month of training in the capital, all 82 people were sent out. Some stayed in the capital's yamen for internship, while others were sent to local governments. , they will undergo a three-month first round of internships. After this internship period is over, they will be rotated to other yamen. After another three months, arrangements will be made based on each person's internship evaluation.

In fact, if it weren't for the urgent need for people, He Ran would have wanted to extend the internship period longer. Unfortunately, the current conditions did not allow it, so this was the only way.

In May, Feng Zan's army began to attack Qingzhou Prefecture.

Qingzhou has jurisdiction over three states and sixteen counties. The King of Qi has been operating in Qingzhou for many years and has strong military strength. It took Feng Zan a month to capture two counties.

Now Feng Zan is no longer the same Feng Zan who was lying on a gravel beach in the river eating cornbread. He has an army of 100,000 and is He Ran's most respected general.

This is also the most proud day in Feng Zan's life.

When he was a bandit, everyone shouted at him, but after he was recruited, he was despised by everyone. When he fought with the king of Jin, he was held back by the court. He was blamed no matter whether he won or lost. He ran away from Cangzhou in anger and was so poor that he couldn't even eat. He took his men with him. The soldiers were starving together.

But now, there is enough food and grass, military pay can be paid normally, and He Ran has sent them medical workers. What makes Feng Zan and his brothers even more satisfied is that no one thinks they are bandits now, and no one looks down on them.

During the Chinese New Year, Feng Zan came to the capital and drank and chatted with Wu'anhou and his son, He Xiulong, He Dali and others.

His two battles in Hejian were both drawn in comic strips. Not many people knew about Feng Zan when he was in the capital. But this time when he came to the capital again, he unexpectedly heard someone mention his name in the teahouse. , like He Xiulong and others, he has become a hero among the people. Even children know what weapons he uses and what horses he rides.

At that moment, Feng Zan's eyes were red.

Therefore, Feng Zan was ambitious. He had already conquered Jinan Prefecture, and now it was finally Qingzhou Prefecture's turn.

In the palace, there was a person who also wanted to go to Qingzhou Mansion.

That is Bai Yan.

Qingzhou is Baiyan's hometown. His daughter was insulted and died by the King of Qi. His wife and daughters were all buried in Qingzhou.

As a scholar, he could not do much, but he still mustered up the courage and said to He Ran: "Master, please send me to work under General Feng. I don't know how to fight, but I can do some small chores." It's alright."

He Ran said: "You don't have to do odd jobs. I will give you ten intern officers. You can take them to the army and find things to do by yourself."

Bai Yan was overjoyed. Three days later, he said goodbye to Zhou Jian and took his people to Qingzhou.

Seeing that Bai Yan was gone, Zhou Jian felt uneasy. Apart from the boy beside him, Bai Yan was the closest person to him.

He came to see He Ran: "Sister, will Mr. Bai come back to teach me in the future?"

He Ran said: "Of course I will. When Qingzhou is defeated, Mr. Bai will come back and continue to teach you."

Zhou Jian's lips moved, wanting to say something, but he still swallowed the words that came to his lips.

He actually wanted to ask He Ran when he would ascend the throne.

But he didn't dare ask.

In fact, not only Zhou Jian, but also many people in the capital have this question.

King Zhao has entered Beijing and is now living in the palace.

Everyone originally thought that King Zhao would ascend the throne after entering Beijing. Although there is still a court in Jinling and an emperor, King Zhao is also a descendant of Taizu, so it is reasonable for him to ascend the throne.

Besides, there has been a situation in history where two emperors ruled across the river.

Fortunately, when the capital was moved, most of the officials and aristocratic families in the capital moved with them. Even if there were still people from these families staying in the capital, they were either juniors who were not valued, or they were concubines who had already been separated, and all the clan members. Go clean.

Otherwise, someone would have made a trick to allow King Zhao to ascend the throne.

However, although these people are gone, there are still many scholars.

Take this official examination as an example. During the two rounds of interviews, when discussing current affairs, some people proposed that King Zhao should ascend the throne as soon as possible. Only when King Zhao ascends the throne can the people's hearts and minds be stabilized.

Of course, it is not only necessary to ascend the throne, but also to have King Zhao get married and establish a prince early after he ascends the throne. Once there is a prince, the imperial power can truly be stabilized.

Others take Gaozong as an example. If Gaozong had established a prince early, there would have been no such thing as the pseudo-emperor Min Ji, and the empress dowager who brought disaster to the country and the people would not have ended her confinement, and there would have been no rebellion by the subsequent kings of Jin. The world is in chaos.

He just had to say in public that the world was in chaos because Gaozong had not given birth to a son. If Gaozong had a son, there would be nothing wrong with King Zhao and He Ran.

During the official examination, there were many people who held this view. They cherished this opportunity to express their feelings in front of He Ran. Therefore, some people knelt on the ground, howled and beat their chests.