Resourceful beauty

Chapter 246
On August [-]th, the sky was clear and cloudless. Occasionally, when I stopped, I could hear the cheerful chirping of birds on the branches.

Arriving at Fengming Palace early to invite Ann, Queen Zhou turned her face on and said a long series of words, most likely because newcomers will be added to the palace, hoping that everyone will live in harmony and work together to reproduce for the royal family, and don't cause trouble.

After paying their respects, all the concubines and concubines below the rank of concubines bowed and retired, and in the main hall, only the queen of Zhou, the fourth concubine and Fang Ruxuan, the crown prince, remained.

The primary election will start today, but King Yao will not be present. Therefore, Queen Zhou and Concubine Han Shu will decide whether Yi Yingxiu will stay or not.

A few days earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs had already sent the rosters of all the beautiful girls to Fengming Palace and Changle Palace, and even Fang Ruxuan had read it because of Concubine Han Shu. Now, Queen Zhou and Concubine Han Shu had already made up their minds about who to choose to enter the palace. Countless people used to just put on a show and go through the motions.

When the time is approaching, Fang Shanggong went to Queen Zhou and said that it was almost time. Queen Zhou got up and took the fourth concubine and Fang Ruxuan to Yuehua Pavilion.

There were 12 beautiful women in a row, and the entire courtyard of Yuehua Pavilion was full of people. When Queen Zhou and others arrived, the beautiful women bowed down to say hello, and the singing of Yingying and Yanyu was quite pleasant.

After Queen Zhou and the others took their seats, a nurturing nun came forward and told the selection requirements, no doubt they followed what they had been taught when they entered the palace.

And in this process, no one asked about their origin or family background, only their appearance was looked at. Moreover, if the master didn't speak, the beautiful girl who entered the main hall was not allowed to speak without authorization.

The primary election began, and the father-in-law of the Ministry of Internal Affairs came forward with a roster and called out their names one by one. A group of six walked lightly into the main hall.

She paid attention to that Hu Moyan. Although Fang Ruxuan sat behind the bead curtain and kept silent, she listened carefully to the voice of singing flower names. She didn't hear the father-in-law chanting her name until near noon when the morning draft was about to end. name.

Six people came in, and Hu Moyan stood at the farthest side.

They were also dressed in emerald green dresses, but the beautiful Hu Moyan caught everyone's attention almost instantly.

The beautiful girl next to her either smiled lightly or lowered her head shyly, but she was the only one with drooping eyebrows and eyes, her face was lifeless like a clay sculpture.

With just one glance, Fang Ruxuan knew that she didn't want to be selected.

However, even if she didn't declare her family name, how could a woman like her be dismissed?
Seeing Hu Moyan's disappointed expression after hearing "keep the card", Fang Ruxuan felt a strange feeling in her heart.

After noon, only 16 people were selected, but as many as 50 people were eliminated.

Seeing the person she wanted to see, Fang Ruxuan lost interest in going to Yuehua Pavilion again. Concubine Han Shu knew her intentions, and after leaving Yuehua Pavilion, she greeted Queen Zhou, saving Fang Ruxuan the next few days. Go to Yuehua Pavilion.

Five days later, the primary election ended, and a total of more than 25 outstanding girls were eligible to participate in the re-election. At the same time, the day of the re-election was set on August [-].

And on this day, King Yao and Empress Dowager Lou will both be present.

As Fang Ruxuan expected, after Chu Yuan came back from Mingzhao Temple, he was very busy. Although the drought in the south has eased, the autumn harvest has passed, and most of the crops have died of drought. It is impossible to help the people maintain their lives.

Therefore, except for the part of the food that King Xuan escorted earlier, all places are raising food funds to ensure the daily life of the people in the dry areas.

It sounds simple, but when it comes to implementing it, there are many difficulties. The states that received the edict received their memorials crying or evading within a few days. In short, without exception, they all said that the edict mentioned The amount of money and food cannot be collected.

The law does not blame the public, no matter how angry King Yao and Chu Yuan were, they could not get angry. After bargaining for a reduction of [-] to [-]%, they were strictly ordered not to stand on the sidelines, and they must collect all the money and food, and transport them to the drought-stricken area as soon as possible.

"This time, there is no paperwork for the petition, but I'm worried that they'll use second-best products as good ones, and when the time comes, they will be transported to dry areas, which will cause even more trouble if they arouse public anger."

In Xuanyi Hall, Chu Yuan said worriedly.

Such things have happened endlessly throughout the ages, and if they are not careful, it is reasonable for Chu Yuan to think so. Fang Ruxuan couldn't help but come up with an idea: "It's better to send a clean and upright imperial envoy to patrol the states and inspect the rice. Whether the number is good or bad, there must be some deterrent effect, right?"

Chu Yuan smiled and said: "I have already mentioned this method to my father, I hope it will be effective."

It doesn't matter whether they have a tacit understanding or the tacit understanding they have reached after getting along for so long, in short, at this moment, there is tenderness in the hearts of the two of them.

In a blink of an eye, it was August 25.

The re-election started in the afternoon, and the morning ended. Chu Yuan returned to Xuanyi Hall to talk with Fang Ruxuan for a while, had lunch and took a nap, and then went to Yiyuan Hall to handle government affairs.

The re-election was held in Mingyuan Pavilion not far from Yiyuan Hall. Fang Ruxuan arrived with Concubine Han Shu. When entering the main hall, King Yao and Queen Zhou had already arrived, and Queen Zhou was whispering something to King Yao. During the election, there were a few outstanding girls, and I wanted King Yao to pay special attention to them.

After a while, it was reported that the Empress Dowager Lou had arrived.

Everyone bowed down to salute, then got up again, and Queen Zhou helped Queen Mother Lou to sit on the left side of King Yao in the first place.

King Yao spoke, and the re-election began. Just like the primary election, six people entered the main hall in a row, and each stepped forward to report their name, age and father's official position.

The re-selection is no longer about appearance and figure, but also family background. Therefore, after the primary election, there were more than 80 people, and by the end of the re-election, only 26 people remained.

Hu Moyan was retained without any accidents. In the Marquis of Lin'an, the Lou Qing whom Fang Ruxuan had met in the paddock was selected, and in the Marquis of Zhongshan, Zhou Huiru was elected.

Leaving aside these three people, there are more than 20 other people, who were born in noble families or whose father and brother served in the imperial court. The real Qingshui Furong generally has no background, and there are only three or five people.

"I heard that the crown prince fell in love with that Miss Hu family?"

The irrelevant people dispersed, and King Yao asked a question.

Queen Zhou naturally didn't want General Megatron's family to have anything to do with Chu Yuan, so she immediately smiled and said, "That Hu Moyan has a stunning appearance and a rare heroism, even the courtiers and concubines like it very much. Then ask the king for instructions to see what position is better for her."

The implication is that he wants to bring Hu Moyan into the harem and make her the woman of King Yao.

King Yao pondered for a long time, glanced at Queen Zhou and said: "General Megatron's family is loyal to the country, I only hope that their loyalty will last for a long time, then the daughter of the Hu family will be named the prince's side concubine, and when she arrives... Let the East Palace serve the crown prince."

Queen Zhou's heart sank, knowing that King Yao was about to start paving the way for the prince.

But you are not joking, King Yao has already said this, Queen Zhou also knew that there is no way to recover, she immediately turned to look at Fang Ruxuan and said: "There is a newcomer in the East Palace, the Crown Princess will get along well in the future, and continue to have an heir for the Crown Prince."

"Ruxuan obeys."

Fang Ruxuan got up and walked to the center of the hall, and thanked King Yao and Queen Zhou for their kindness. As soon as she got up, she heard Queen Zhou say to King Yao again: "The princess concubine and the girl Huiru have a good relationship, and they all say that good things are in pairs. Why don't you bring Huiru together?" Giving it to the East Palace also brings double happiness to the East Palace?"

After Queen Zhou finished speaking, the Queen Mother Lou coughed dissatisfiedly, "The Ai family thinks that Lou Qing is more suitable. The lady from the Zhongshan Marquis Mansion has a high and cold temperament, just like the lady from General Megatron's family. What's the point of standing in front of the prince personally? You should choose someone with a softer and gentler personality."

Judging from the meaning of the words, the Empress Dowager Lou seemed not very happy with Hu Moyan either.

King Yao looked at Queen Mother Lou and then Queen Zhou, with some hesitation on his face, as if he didn't know how to make a choice.

The Empress Dowager Zhou smiled, glanced at Fang Ruxuan who was standing in front of her with her head bowed, and then turned her head to look at King Yao and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you ask the Crown Princess what she means? Since she serves the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess knows best what kind of temperament the Crown Prince likes." Yes, you have to choose the one that suits the crown prince, right?"

For a moment, the Empress Dowager Lou's gaze was also fixed on Fang Ruxuan, as if she was secretly warning her: You dare not offend the queen, do you dare to offend Aijia?
It's a pity that Fang Ruxuan stood there with her head bowed respectfully from the beginning to the end, but she didn't notice the hints in the eyes of Queen Zhou and Queen Mother Lou.

King Yao turned his head to look at Fang Ruxuan, and saw Fang Ruxuan knelt down on the ground, kowtowed his head and said, "Father is in charge of everything. No matter which lady enters the East Palace, my daughter-in-law will treat them kindly."

Nodding in satisfaction, King Yao recalled for a while and said: "What the queen mother said is exactly that, the lady in the Zhongshan Houfu looks a bit cold, and she is somewhat similar to that Miss Hu from General Megatron's house. "

The Empress Dowager Lou was overjoyed, and King Yao continued to say: "Miss Lin from Lin Siqing's family in the Imperial College looks gentle and affectionate, so let's make him the Crown Prince Liangdi, and go to the East Palace to serve the Crown Prince together."

Queen Zhou and Queen Mother Lou were stunned at the same time, as if they did not expect that King Yao would make such an arrangement.

In a daze, Fang Ruxuan already prostrated herself, "Thank you, father."

Seemingly reconciled, Queen Zhou still wanted to fight for Zhongshan Marquis Mansion again, but before she could speak, Li Sheng came over and whispered something in King Yao's ear.

King Yao nodded, turned his head and said to Queen Zhou: "The rest of the beautiful women are still the same, the queen can figure it out."

In the old rule, except for those who were rewarded by the princes and relatives in the palace, the few remaining ones were filled into the harem, and their respective statuses were all based on their family backgrounds, but none of them would be higher than the nobles. It won't be granted another title until after the bedside service.

Queen Zhou nodded her head. In the time it should have taken, King Yao and Queen Mother Lou got up and left one after another.

After leaving the Mingyuan Pavilion, looking at Fang Ruxuan who walked forward with lowered brows and narrowed eyes, carefully protecting her stomach, Queen Zhou felt that she seemed to have missed something.

(End of this chapter)