female concubine

In mid-March of the eighth year of Jianping, the Privy Council and the Ministry of War jointly presided over the martial arts examination. Like the Jinshi section, the martial arts examination was also divided into three levels, the provincial examination, and the final selection of candidates.

Martial arts is set up in the Ministry of War, with the crown prince as the chief examiner of martial arts and Privy Council envoy Yao Shentong, who are in charge of the provincial exam for this martial arts. , the policy theory of the infield and the strategy theory of the essay must be transcribed, sealed, and evaluated by the examiner.

The martial arts masters who passed the test gathered in the outer field set up by the Ministry of War. The grass field was surrounded by curtains, and the field was surrounded by imperial guards. People were allowed to watch but were not allowed to enter.

"Who is that little official, who walks through Yang with a hundred steps, so powerful!"

"You don't know him?"

"Why, what's the big deal?"

"He is the second son of Mr. Xiao. His grandfather is the famous founder of the country, Mr. Longde. The Xiao family is the number one general in my dynasty. The tiger father has no dogs!"

"No wonder it is so powerful. It turns out that he is the grandson of Duke Longde. Presumably the position of champion of martial arts should be in his pocket."

"Not necessarily. Our chief examiner this time is the current crown prince. The East Palace has always been at odds with the founding father's mansion. It is not certain whether Xiao Yanei can pass the provincial examination!"

There are several chief examiners sitting in the shed at the north of the curtain, and a scarlet gown sits in the middle of the purple official uniforms on both sides, "The one in the middle must be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but unfortunately the distance is too far, and the Crown Prince cannot be seen. Honor, what a pity!"

"Our Highness, the prince, travels to the imperial city in an airtight chariot, unlike Prince Zhao who likes to ride a horse and appear in front of everyone, so most of the people in Tokyo know King Zhao!"

A pair of eyes poked out from the carriage outside the examination room, staring straight at the people who were competing in the examination room.

"The eldest lady's elder brother really looks like Duke Longde. Ah Lang wants to go in and have a look. Tell the examiner about the martial arts outside, he should be able to enter."

The curtain of the car was put down immediately, "No need, he is my brother-in-law. If my king goes in, he will inevitably be caught making irresponsible remarks. Let's go back. I'm hungry."

"Good Le!"

So the carriage turned around and changed its route to Zhaoqingfang.

The carriage had just arrived at the gate of the palace, and when it stopped slowly, the six sons saw a passerby wearing a green official uniform, and they looked familiar, "Ah Lang, he is a housekeeper."

The King of Chu jumped out of the carriage, "Oh, what a coincidence, I met Han Sheren again. Why did Han Sheren come back so early today? Does Your Majesty not need Sheren by his side?"

"My lord, forgot? There is no morning court today, and the Ministry of War is holding provincial examinations. His Majesty rested early, so he gave the lower officials half a day off. No, the lower officials came out before the palace gate was locked."

King Chu smiled, "I don't know if Han Sheren's vegetables are good, and when can I eat them?"

"Why are the six kings still thinking about the dishes for the officials? Thanks to the blessing of the six kings, the dishes for the officials have sprouted, but it is really only enough for the officials to eat alone. But the six kings are the offspring of the official family. If you want to eat it, the lower officials have no choice but to part with it, and when it is ripe, cut it and offer it to the six kings."

The King of Chu laughed, "Let's keep the vegetables that Han Sheren grows by himself, so as not to complain that the king is bullying others. It’s really not worth the candle.”

"Xiaguan is just a small living man who is responsible for recording the king's words and deeds. There is no place for Xiaguan to speak beside the official family. It is the prince. I can only obey the law."

"You are His Majesty's close minister, and the county horse in the future, how dare the king ask your crime?" Soon after, the king of Chu saw Han Bang holding two bags of round objects wrapped in lotus leaves, which looked like they were eating food. .

So he asked curiously: "What is in Han Sheren's hand?"

"Oh, when I was in Zhongshu Xiu's daily life, a colleague said that Kaifeng's Mansion Fanlou recently developed a new dish called orange stuffed crab. They said that the heat of the orange was mixed with the coldness of the crab, and the taste was excellent. Chen When I left the palace, I saw that it was still early, so I went to buy two, the asking price is not low, and I don’t know if what they said is true or not.”

"My lord heard that this thing is steamed with wine, water, and vinegar..."

Seeing the unmoving eyes of the King of Chu, Han Bang hurriedly took a step back and hid the crab in his hand behind his back, "If the six kings want to eat, just send someone to buy it, just stare at the crab in the lower official's hand." What are crabs doing!"

The King of Chu turned his head and smiled slightly, "Han Sheren is really stingy, and this king never said that he would steal Han Sheren's crabs."

"If the Six Kings want to eat, it's better to go there as soon as possible. Once the Cold Food Festival is over, there will be no fresh oranges on the market."

"Liuzi, did you hear that?"

"Alang, the servant heard it, so I'll go buy it for Alang."

At this point, Han Bo took out the crab behind him and bowed slightly to the King of Chu, "Since the servant has gone to buy crabs for the Six Kings, the servants will go home without bothering the Six Kings."

King Chu nodded slightly, turned around and walked into the mansion.

Asked left and right, "Where is the princess?"

"Go back to the prince, the princess is in the kitchen."

So the King of Chu slipped into the kitchen quietly by himself, walked up behind Xiao Youqing, hugged him, and shouted: "Sister!"

Then he sent a plum blossom to her eyes, "It's strange that plum blossoms refuse to bloom, but I don't know that I intend to wait for spring."

Xiao Youqing took the broken branch in her hand, turned around and put it in her ear, "A plum tree in front of Baiyu Hall blooms for whoever falls. Only the spring breeze cherishes each other the most, and it comes back once a year. Liulang took this If the good plum blossoms are broken, wouldn’t it be pity for the hopeless spring breeze?”

"If this small branch is broken, the spring breeze will be hopeless, which means that it only accepts the whole, and the plum blossom is too pitiful. People always have defects, let alone trees."

"Okay, don't talk poorly, go and change clothes."

Only then did King Chu nod and put down his arms around her waist, and when he was about to leave, he bent down and took a bite of her neck.

"Heh~" Xiao Youqing just breathed a sigh of relief, and said softly: "Okay, go quickly, I made something delicious for you."

"Yeah." Seeing a slight red spot on the fair skin, King Chu left satisfied.

Until the setting sun was about to end, and the sky was getting darker. The dinner had been put on the table in the palace, and there were a few more oranges in the middle. There was a slit on the top of the orange. What.

"what is this?"

"Oh, I just ran into the living man at the door. He said that the officials of the Ministry of Education of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China had passed on the delicious orange stuffed crab, which was a new dish made by Fan Lou. That's it. I asked the little six to buy a few."

The little Liuzi on the side said: "Ah Lang didn't give any money, and he can't give any money. The money is all paid by Liuzi himself!"

Xiao Youqing covered her mouth and smiled, and said to Xichun, "Go to the account and transfer the money to Neishi Qi."

"The servant is just talking casually. Don't take it seriously. The servant has followed Ah Lang since childhood. How dare you ask for the money from the eldest lady!"

"It's called Orange Brew, there must be wine in it, how can the servant spend money on Liu Lang's greed, and it's also money from the palace, Xichun, go and get it!"

"Yes."

"This... the servant thanked the eldest lady."

After everyone left, Xiao Youqing's face paled, and he didn't care about the oranges on the table, "Your sister Liu was redeemed, do you know?"

The king of Chu opened an orange, and the aroma of wine overflowed immediately, "I know!" So he picked up a spoon and took a spoonful to his mouth.

"You know? Haven't you been in Dali Temple all the time, you..."

"Sure enough, it was steamed with vinegar and wine, so sour!" She scooped up another spoonful, "Liu Lang remembered that my sister likes sour food, so Liu Lang took the first bite for my sister and thought it was not bad, so my sister will try it. "

Xiao Youqing looked at her without moving until she brought a spoon full of crab meat to her lips and fixed her eyes full of expectation, she had no choice but to open her mouth and eat it.

Seeing her eating, the King of Chu put down the spoon in satisfaction, "First, she is not mine, and second, you are mine. Also, is it true that only others are allowed to lay hidden stakes, but this king is not allowed to place eyeliner?"

"Wei Qian will never completely trust anyone, nor will he allow an unknown threat to leave," she pointed to her eyes, "my king's sight!"

Xiao You looked at her blankly, "Before that..."

"My sister must have never been to Wazi, and she must have never seen the Southern Opera sung by actors. If my sister sees it, she will know that eyes can be deceiving!"

"People are sad because of many things, not just emotions." King Chu got up from his seat and walked behind Xiao Youqing, "But from now on, Liu Lang will only cry because of Ah Xi."

Xiao Youqing turned around in surprise, "Xi, it's a concubine's small characters, only mother, father and Weng Weng know it, not even my brother, you..."

"It was Lord Longde who told me. He told me that if I can't give you anything, I should not walk into your heart easily. Now that I have walked in, Lord Longde said that this was something he did not expect, so this last Once, he won't lose!" She said with a slight smile: "I didn't expect it, I probably deceived Lord Longde too, so that you all think that I have nothing but this skin. Nothing!"

"Actually, I am very envious of my sister, who has such a good mother, father, and such a good Weng." The King of Chu sighed, staring deeply: "It is precisely because of the protection of so many people that my sister is like this." Be gentle."

Xiao Youqing lowered his head, his eyes trembling slightly, "Maybe what Liu Lang saw was also fake."

"Then let it not wake up, Liu Lang, willingly."

Xiao Youqing held her hand instead, and the moment she raised her head, she felt that the person in front of her was stupid, but she just liked it, and couldn't help herself, so she smiled slightly: "Idiot, it's all over."

The King of Chu breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled back and mentioned what he had seen and heard today, "Today I went to the outfield of the provincial examination set up by the Ministry of War."

"how?"

"He won the first place in horse shooting, infantry shooting, flat shooting, carbine shooting, weight bearing and wrestling in the outfield."

"Did you go into the Ministry of War to see?"

The King of Chu shook his head, "I only took a look outside the curtain, but this hasty look is enough to surprise me."

"Even though my brother is usually inconspicuous and likes to go to that kind of place, he is an extremely strong person. The person I admire most in my life is Weng Weng. I have been preparing for so long this time. If I don't get the first place in the exam, I am afraid You have to be in a hurry with yourself, but the final policy is to decide whether to stay or not."

The king of Chu nodded, then shook his head again, "It doesn't matter about policy theory. Now His Majesty is in power, and martial arts is the most important thing, but..." He suddenly stopped and looked at him, and said deeply: "It's better not to be too sharp."

Seeing doubts in Xiao Youqing's eyes, she continued: "The middle of the day shifts, the full moon loses money, and when things prosper, they decline!"

"Considering my brother's upright temper, he will never back down."

"He has learned the good skills of Lord Longde, but he is taken care of too well. I don't know how deep the court is, so he still needs to temper his temper."

Xiao Youqing lowered his head, "It's because of the pain of losing a son that it scares Daddy and Weng Weng...that's why I dote on my brother so much, but my brother doesn't know it yet."

"Don't worry, Wei Qian will definitely not let Ah Xi lose his siblings again. I have a hunch that there will be a battle at the border."

"Are there going to be wars again?"

"It's just speculation, but it won't happen in a short time."

"You don't tell me I know it, because there is Weng Weng, so they dare not come to attack, if Weng Weng..." Xiao Youqing paused, "If Weng Weng falls, then the court will..."

"There is no general in the court, only the commander in front of the palace, Shen Yi'an, is available. As for Mount Tai and the second uncle..." King Chu turned his head and took a meaningful look.