After Zhu Yijun sat on the throne, the ladies entered the palace one by one, addressed themselves as my concubine, and after saluting, raised their heads to let the two palaces and the emperor take a closer look.
Zhu Yijun had great sympathy for these girls who participated in the draft. In his opinion, these beautiful women were actually a clear symbol of the objectification of women in the imperial society. From beginning to end, they are like tools being sent to the emperor's bed. The so-called draft is just to check the "quality" of the tools.
These women were not sent to the palace to have a vigorous love affair with the emperor or a certain elder brother, as described in later TV series and romances - they were just reproductive tools used to continue the emperor's heirs.
Zhu Yijun, a later generation, once read "Wanshou Temple" written by Wang Xiaobo. There was a passage in it that left a deep impression on him: "The so-called old Buddha is just an old woman with a yellow face. The reason why she is noble is because one day in the past there was A man, the Emperor himself, crawled away from her, dragging an ejaculated, limp... And that limp... was the umbilical cord of history."
"The umbilical cord of history"! What a terrifying yet apt title. The participation of women in imperial society in major political affairs is closely related to this umbilical cord. The umbilical cord that grew on Zhu Yijun's body was not weak at this time. Instead, like every young man whose hormones exploded violently, it was in a state of erection under the impact of the intense beauty in Yiluan Palace.
Fortunately, the thick dragon robe blocked his ugly appearance. Although his face was flushed, in the Yiluan Hall where the earth dragon was burning very hot, everyone's face was flushed, so he couldn't stand out. Zhu Yijun was thinking endlessly in his heart, but his eyes were like searchlights, carefully observing the young girl in front of him.
Although it seems to Zhu Yijun that all the girls have not fully grown yet and are very green. However, maybe his still-growing body also affected his aesthetics. At this time, each little beauty made him feel different throbs.
Some of them are elegant, calm and quiet; some are shy and timid, which makes me feel pity for them; some are ignorant and full of curiosity; some have good figures and look healthy and lively.
Due to the early stage of the draft, Zhu Yijun did not want to make a big splash and had a dispute with the two palaces. In order to appease the emperor, Empress Dowager Li agreed that the choice of the ninth concubine would be made by Zhu Yijun himself. As for one concubine and two concubines, the opinions of the two palaces, especially Queen Mother Li, must be taken into consideration.
"My concubine, Mrs. Wang, pays homage to Your Majesty! Meets the Queen Mother!" A voice as crisp as an oriole made Zhu Yijun's eyes light up again.
Which number is this? Zhu Yijun was continuously struck by the beauty, and this question popped up subconsciously in his semi-chaotic brain. After carefully looking at the girl in front of her, she saw that she had gone through the same cardamom years just now, with a pair of big eyes looking at the imperial case in front of the emperor.
Zhu Yijun guessed that these ladies may have been instructed not to look directly at the emperor, but in order for the emperor to see their faces clearly, they were trained to stare at their chests.
This girl surnamed Wang is very beautiful, and what’s more outstanding is her temperament-she stood there quietly after saluting, like a crystal clear pond, or like a piece of white snow that no one has stepped on, and she seemed to be in the dark. A warm yellow distant light quietly lit up on the colorful land.
He held his breath for a moment, and then he heard Queen Mother Li ask from behind him: "What is your name?"
The girl replied softly: "When I return to the Queen Mother, my concubine's nickname is Sister Xi, but she has no real name."
Zhu Yijun heard the Empress Dowager Chen behind her speak again: "What books have you read?"
Sister Xi still bowed steadily and replied: "I have read the "Female Commandments" and "The Classic of Filial Piety" and only recognize a few words."
The two palaces snorted at the same time and signaled Zhang Hong to lead her out. Zhu Yijun opened his mouth, wanting to stop her and ask a few more questions, but thought about it and forgot about it.
Then a few more girls passed by, some of whom the two palaces asked about, and some who just looked at them and let them go. Until Zhuang Jingjia came in, Zhu Yijun felt in a daze that the whole hall was lit up.
When she walked into the hall, Zhu Yijun clearly heard the two palaces behind him taking a deep breath at the same time. In the main hall, there was a low "buzz" sound.
And Zhu Yijun's own heart seemed to be clenched. In an instant, he understood that what Wei Chao had described to him was not an exaggeration. Among these ladies, there was really one who was beautiful in the world.
At that time, he was still laughing to himself, no matter how beautiful he was, how could he be as beautiful as the semi-natural beauties of later generations? But he ignored that in later generations, those people were only on the screen, so how could he get up close to any of them. But the lively woman in front of him made him have the urge to use everything he had in exchange for this woman's smile, and to spend the rest of his life with her.
After she finished her salute, Zhu Yijun calmed down. He calmed down and heard some extremely hard-to-detect hoarseness in Queen Mother Li's voice, and asked the same question as before: "What's your name?"
The girl bowed and replied: "To the Queen Mother, my concubine's name is Zhuang Jingjia."
"Which Jing? Which Jia?"
The girl replied: "Back to the Queen Mother, quiet 'Jing', Jiaqing's 'Jia'."
Queen Mother Li said "Oh" in a low voice, as if she was thinking that Jiaqing's 'Jia' was that Jia. In fact, several people had rosters in their hands, just look down at them.
Zhu Yijun cleared his throat and said with a smile: "Your name comes from 'Qi Gaowei He? Jingdou Jingjia'?"
Zhuang Jingjia lowered her head, a trace of red crept onto her cheeks, and heard her reply in a low voice: "That's exactly what you said to Your Majesty."
Queen Mother Chen also cleared her throat and asked, "From your accent, do you think you're from the south?"
Zhuang Jingjia replied: "Yes, I am from Suzhou."
Empress Dowager Chen laughed softly and said something with unclear meaning: "Well, there is something like Concubine Ye. Back then, the late emperor praised her for being 'human-looking' - now another 'human-looking' person has arrived in Suzhou. ’, it’s really beautiful.”
Zhu Yijun's heart thumped, and countless thoughts ran through his mind in an instant, including suspicion, resentment, and vague fear. Queen Mother Li coughed next to her and said angrily: "On this festive day, what does my sister want to do with her?"
Empress Dowager Chen smiled and said: "What my sister said is that I saw this beauty is rare, but I made a mistake."
Zhuang Jingjia's heart was beating wildly as she listened to the conversation between the two palaces. Because he didn't know what was going on, he could only hang his head and say nothing. Empress Dowager Li's face turned cold, and she suddenly asked Zhang Hong, who was standing beside her: "According to the ancestral family law, concubines are not allowed to choose stunningly beautiful women, for fear of causing disaster. Why was this Zhuang's daughter selected?"
When Zhang Hong saw sweat on his forehead, he knelt down and said, "It's the slaves who were negligent. Please forgive me, Queen Mother!" He knelt down when he saw the handprint of the Chief of Ceremonies. The eunuchs and maids who were standing there could not stand, and they all knelt down to apologize.
Zhu Yijun couldn't bear it when he saw Zhuang Jingjia's face was pale and she was so frightened by Queen Mother Li that she couldn't stand. He interrupted and said with a smile: "Zhang Hong can't be blamed for this. It was his son who made the decree so that they don't have to think like this - this man is incompetent and has ruined his country and his family. What does he have to do with women? Those who say beauty is a disaster, my son thinks it's all Some are not very responsible.”
Although these words are inconsistent with today's mainstream thinking, the views from a woman's perspective naturally won the inner approval of the two palaces. Empress Dowager Li smiled and said to Zhang Hong: "Since the emperor has a decree, it's okay - you get up. Let Mr. Zhuang go out too."
Zhang Hong was grateful for the emperor's gentleness, and stood up to signal the maid next to him to take Zhuang Jingjia out of the palace.
Zhu Yijun's heart moved, and he stopped and said to Zhuang Jingjia, whose face was still pale: "You are a good girl, I like her very much." Upon hearing this, Zhuang Jingjia's pale face suddenly turned into a big red cloth, and she almost stumbled and fell to the ground.
Then a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, like a flower in bud, and his eyes took on the color of hope again.
Seeing that the emperor was not solemn, Queen Mother Chen coughed heavily. When Zhu Yijun turned around to look at Queen Mother Li with a shy face, he saw that her expression was indeed worried.
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