"Xuantai purple lychee fragrance."
Wei Cheng repeated it, curled his lips, and said to the nanny standing beside him: "Leave a sign."
After saying that, he glanced at Ning Yuzhen, who had her head lowered and looked obedient, and returned to her seat in the pavilion to sit down.
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Queen Mother, and wish your Majesty the Queen Mother good health."
After saluting, Ning Yuzhen returned to the team. She looked serious and composed, but in fact, the handkerchief in her hand was wet.
I couldn't help but curse, the emperor's pressure was really unusual.
But she was still happy to successfully enter the palace.
The remaining three people finished quickly, and Ning Yuzhen followed the people in front and left the palace.
Now she only needs to go back to the inn and wait for the palace etiquette nun to come. After five days of learning, it will be the day when she actually enters the palace.
"Sister Ning!"
As soon as Ning Yuzhen went out, before she could look for Xia Fangshu and Lin Yiliu, she was spotted by the sharp-eyed Xia Fangshu first.
The two were standing side by side in front of the carriage, Xia Fangshu waving the handkerchief towards herself enthusiastically.
"Please, sisters, please wait for me." Ning Yuzhen hurried over.
Lin Yiliu pursed her lips and smiled softly: "Anyway, sister Ning is coming from Chuzhou, and she is going back to Anfu Inn. We are on the way and will take you back together. It will be safer."
"Yes, yes, get in the car quickly, I have prepared a lot of delicious food in the carriage." Xia Fangshu looked around and saw that no one was paying attention, so he leaned in front of the two of them and whispered: "My parents They didn’t let me have breakfast because of the draft, and I waited for several hours in the Royal Garden, but I was starving.”
The words made the two of them cover their lips and chuckle. Ning Yuzhen narrowed her eyes with a smile. She felt that Xia Fangshu had a free and easy and generous character that the noble ladies in the capital did not have. She was not like Lin Yiliu, who had a cold temperament, like a heavenly palace. The fairy seems to be flying away on the clouds in the next second.
Since she had taken the Xia family's car, Ning Yuzhen took some money and gave it to the driver of the carriage and asked him to go back by himself.
Riding horses is not allowed in the city, so the three of them ate snacks, drank tea and chatted on the slowly moving carriage.
Halfway through the conversation, Ning Yuzhen remembered that there was something important that she had not asked, so she hurriedly asked: "Will the two sisters be selected for today's draft?"
The two people on the other side nodded in unison and asked Ning Yuzhen again.
When they heard that all three of them had been selected, a half-joyful and half-sad atmosphere filled the car for a while.
Lin Yiliu sighed softly, and was the first to say with emotion: "Once I enter the palace gate, it is as deep as the sea. I don't seek glory and wealth, I don't fight for it, and I can spend my life in peace inside."
"Yes, my parents only have one daughter. I don't know how sad they will be without a funny person in the family." Xia Fangshu held her chin in one hand and put another piece of osmanthus cake on her plate with the other.
She changed the topic, "However, I heard that the dishes in the imperial dining room are particularly delicious. It will be a worthwhile life to be able to go to the palace and taste some!"
Hearing this, Lin Yiliu and Ning Yuzhen looked at each other and saw the speechless and choked look in each other's eyes.
Both of them turned their heads towards the window, ignoring Xia Fangshu's accusations about their expressions.
At the Anfu Inn at the junction of the inner city and the outer city, Ning Yuzhen was the last one to get off the bus, and she gave another piece of broken silver to the Xia family coachman.
Qilan waited eagerly at the door of the inn, and finally saw the figure of her young lady. She hurried forward to greet her.
"Did Miss get selected? Just now when Grandma Cheng left the inn, she actually smiled and said congratulations to the slave."
Qilan whispered, recalling the scene in her mind. Nanny Cheng, who had always had a sullen face, suddenly smiled towards her, which really frightened her.
Ning Yuzhen pursed her lips and did not answer. The surprise of being successfully selected faded, and now she felt panic.
After a while, the imperial edict will come down, and then the nuns in the palace will come to teach etiquette. Five days later, it will be the day to enter the palace.
From then on, she was no longer the daughter of the Ning family, but the mistress of the palace.
The palace walls are deep, trapping many beauties and souls.
Ning Yuzhen stepped into the room, took a deep breath, and did not dare to think about it anymore. The matter was now at this point, and she had no way out.
"Qilan, put the pen down. I want to write a letter to my family and tell them the news of my selection." She paused, turned around and asked, "Have you done what I asked you to do?"
Qilan nodded in agreement and turned around to get pen, ink, paper and inkstone.
At the same time, in the palace, the list of beautiful ladies whose names were left was sent to Kunning Palace.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Chen from the Ministry of Internal Affairs is here to deliver the list of show girls for today's draft."
Kneeling in front of the Buddha statue, a gorgeously dressed woman was twirling the beads. When she heard the palace maid's report, she paused and quickly returned to normal.
"I know, tell him to wait outside. I haven't finished reading yet, so don't pause."
The palace maid was slightly hesitant. After all, the draft was a big event. If it was delayed, Kunning Palace might be blamed.
The eldest maid of Kunning Palace, Jiangxiang, stood aside and winked at the maid who came to report, and the latter immediately withdrew.
The huge inner room returned to calm, with only the sound of rolling and colliding beads remaining.
"How long has it been since the incense fell?" Queen Li Xiangjun asked suddenly without any clue.
Others may not understand what the queen is asking, but as her dowry maid, Jiangxiang understands and feels a sense of sourness in her heart.
The queen is asking her how long she has been married
Jiangxiang bowed and replied: "Mother, it's been ten years."
"Ten years, it's really too long." The queen stopped chanting, and moved the beads faster and faster. "I should have been about this age when I entered the dormitory."
"My queen is still as beautiful as seventeen years old."
"Then why, the emperor is only willing to come to Kunning Palace on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. He doesn't even want to come in to see me when passing by on weekdays. Does he really not feel the least bit guilty about Dun'er's death?"
The resentment in the tone almost overflowed. The relationship between the young couple who once supported each other has become so tense.
The queen even closed herself off and chanted sutras every day in Kunning Palace. Although the power of the Sixth Palace was still in her hands, she almost never appeared in front of others except on important occasions.
Jiang Xiang was startled and hurriedly knelt down next to the Queen, "My Lady, be careful that there are ears in the wall."
The Queen curled her lips, the curve of which was full of irony. She stretched out her hand, supported Jiang Xiang's arm and stood up, looking outside through the half-open window.
At noon in early autumn, the sun still had the harshness of summer, and it made Eunuch Chen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs sweat profusely.
The Queen sat down on the chair calmly and asked, "What do you say to the people sent to watch the draft today?"
"There are several candidates selected today, and the Emperor and the Queen Mother seem to be very satisfied." Jiangxiang recalled, "One of them, named Ning Yuzhen, is only the daughter of a seventh-grade prefecture judge. Although her family background is not obvious, But he asked the emperor to go down in person and ask her questions."
After Jiangxiang finished speaking, seeing the queen's expression unchanged, she asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, do you want me to keep an eye on you carefully?"
