Xu Ronghua had betrayed Shen Shi before, a person who had once turned against his master... In order to break down Empress Xiao's defenses, she used this extreme method...

  At the same time, it is also a self-inflicted wound - offending five noble ladies with boundless futures, the Xus will definitely have a hard time in the future, so she can only rely on Empress Xiao's route and there is no other way. Empress Xiao knows this, so she will be very reassured about her.

  Retreating in order to advance, worthy of Xu Ronghua!

  But even so, Lin Yuankuo didn't think that this man with the surname Xu would never betray Empress Xiao for his entire life.

  The imperial concubines continued to smile and taste the dried fruit, while praising Xu Ronghua. The imperial concubines of the Great Qin palace always became more united when it was time for the selection of new concubines, and today was no exception.

  Just as they were chatting and laughing, the sound of the imperial censor's report came from outside the main palace gate, all the way to the main hall.

  A distance of thirty zhang, not far nor near, every five zhang a eunuch stood to relay the message. One person shouted and another continued to shout. This was the etiquette for the new imperial consort's first audience with the empress dowager, the voices of the eunuchs rising continuously, solemn and majestic.

  The girls who first entered the palace were amazed why the front yard and corridor of the Changxin Palace were so large, as big as a garden in their own home. Why was the road so long that it couldn't be seen to the end, and when they reached the end, they found that the gate of the main hall was open so wide, with all red long-haired carpets laid inside. From a distance, it looked like a bloody mouth.

  The girls all walked with caution, their heads bowed and eyes cast down, not daring to look around. The imperial consorts of various ranks sitting in the main hall all stretched their necks waiting.

  Then they stepped across the threshold. At the loud cry of "audience" from the Minister of Rites, they all knelt down three zhang away from the empress.

  The hall fell silent for a moment. Empress Xiao looked at them in some astonishment.

  "Oh, it turns out there are six sisters." Zhao Shuyuan smiled and said: "Now this is good, in my hometown, there's a legend about the Six Women of 'The Legend of Qin', I didn't expect to have a connection with you all."

  She speaks straightforwardly, yet also politely.

  Xiao Huanghou finally came to her senses from the shock. She secretly twisted her handkerchief, and Tuoba Hong had treated her so badly that he didn't even inform her in advance about such a big thing as changing five to six.

  She slightly raised her hand to the six new consorts and smiled: "No need for formalities, all of you get up and come forward to let me take a look." The Empress Xiao no longer dared to make the new consorts kneel for a long time as she had done before, she understood how difficult her situation was.

  Before they entered the palace, Empress Xiao had already seen their portraits and didn't find them unfamiliar when she saw them now. The five women walked forward with elegant steps, and Empress Xiao smiled and nodded one by one: "Zhao's eldest daughter, Xie's second daughter, He's youngest daughter, Wei's eldest daughter, Ren's second daughter. Indeed, they are all spirited and naturally beautiful, the Emperor will surely like them. But, which family is this last younger sister from?"

  Six people were selected into the palace, although it was Emperor Taizong's imperial power and tactics, but to offer treasures to the emperor, where can they be combined? Each clan chose the highest-ranking and most beautiful daughter to send in. At this time, the six people standing, Zhao's body is tall and slender, with a dignified appearance; Xie's young face is round and delicate; He's figure is elegant, with charming eyebrows and eyes that exude a romantic atmosphere; Wei's is unconventional and lively, with a clear and elegant smile. Ren's figure is slender and beautiful, with a gentle smile. And the last woman who was unknown to everyone, she was not an absolute beauty, nor did she have He's charm, but among the six new concubines, she was very eye-catching - because her skin was really too white.

  As white as if painted.

  Men in the Central Plains all like fair-skinned beauties. Even if a person is not good-looking, having nice skin tone is enough to attract people.

  Lin Yan stared at her, unable to move her eyes away... Lin Yan could confirm that this girl's skin wasn't the eerie pale of albinism, but a radiant white that gave people a sense of beauty and delicacy.

  Her father shouldn't have married an old European woman... but looking at her eyes and hair, it doesn't seem like it either.

  In response to the empress's question, this sixth woman stepped forward and replied in a steady voice: "I am the daughter of An Ruzheng, an academician of the Hanlin Academy."

  One word shocked everyone again. Mr. An of the Hanlin Academy...

  Isn't he the new champion of last month!

  The white-haired youth is not an empty phrase. The sons of poor families, in order to bring glory to their ancestors by passing the imperial examinations, start reading and recognizing characters from the age of three or four, and it's common for people to pass the imperial examination at the age of fifty or sixty. An Ruizheng passed the imperial examination at the age of over 50, which is not unusual.

  In ancient times, the imperial examination had a pass rate comparable to that of Tsinghua University today. Among students from all over the country, only dozens could enter the palace exam and meet the emperor.

  It's just that An Yu Zheng, a poor commoner, unexpectedly raised a daughter who looks like an immortal. A girl from a poor family can't avoid working since childhood, but An's skin is not only not tanned, but also more delicate than those of noble girls.

  It seems that fate has its own arrangements, and An Ruzheng, although born into a commoner's family, is destined for nobility. Even the fact that he will one day enter the palace to marry the Emperor's daughter was already predetermined by heaven.

  Xiao Huanghou was momentarily stunned, but quickly regained her composure. The Emperor's decision to promote An Shi was also reasonable and in line with the imperial court's tradition of rewarding all four clans while not forgetting those from humble origins.

  The empress smiled at An and said, "Very well, the daughter of the number one scholar." She then composed herself and raised her hand to signal to the officials from the Ministry of Rites standing in front of the hall, saying solemnly, "Please grant your imperial decree."

  Immediately, an official outside the palace held several imperial edicts and knelt down, then handed them over to the female officials in front of the emperor, who respectfully presented them to the empress.

  The queen personally opened the yellow silk and read: "His Majesty has a sacred decree, ordering this palace to spread it throughout the harem. The six noble ladies who were married with rites, each was granted the title of 'Shu, Lin, Ling, Wen, Qing, Ning' six concubines, ranked as fifth rank."

  This is the imperial decree issued by the emperor, personally transmitted by the empress, and it is the most solemn palace decree. The six people did not dare to be slow, followed the rules and performed three bows and nine knocks of great ceremony, shouting "Long live the sacred mountain, long live the empress dowager, long live the empress".

  The queen sat at the end and received their greetings. After they finished bowing, she gave a slight nod to those behind her, and immediately several palace maids brought out some items and distributed the queen's rewards to each of the new consorts.

  The aunts held in their hands the imperial edict with six seals on top, and below it was a box containing unknown items. The Empress Xiao had always been skilled at handling such matters delicately. What's the point of embarrassing the new consorts now? If they really wanted to suppress them, there would be plenty of opportunities later.

  The six people remained kneeling, with their hands receiving the objects and handing them over to the palace maid behind them. The imperial edict was respectfully held in their hands. Upon opening it, Zhao was appointed as Shu Concubine, He as Lin Concubine, Wei as Wen Concubine, Xie as Qing Concubine, Ren as Ning Concubine, and An as Ling Concubine.

  The queen said: "You have been granted titles, and now you are the legitimate empresses of the heavenly son. In the future, you must serve the emperor with all your heart and mind, and help the Great Qin imperial family to flourish."

  The empress, as usual, had to instruct the new consorts. The six of them bowed their heads and acknowledged her words in unison. After the empress finished speaking with a solemn expression, she changed her tone and smiled: "From now on, we are all one family. All of you present were once attendants of the emperor, so get to know each other well and treat each other kindly from now on."

  The eunuch in charge led six people to pay their respects to the imperial consorts one by one.

  Lin Wan remembered that it was only after she had served as a maid that she qualified to come to Changxin Palace to pay her respects and meet with the various consorts.

  This is the difference between imperial marriage and selection of consorts. Imperial marriage refers to the emperor bestowing great gifts on a subject's family to ask for their daughter's hand in marriage, while selection of consorts refers to subjects presenting their daughters to the emperor. The high or low status was predetermined from the start.

  These six people, from the moment they stepped into the imperial city through the Zhengshun Gate, were formal imperial concubines. The emperor could not abandon them at will. Without serving in bed, they already had the qualifications to come to Changxin Palace.

  The imperial consorts received the new consort with courtesy, some smiling and making an effort to be friendly, others being extra enthusiastic and taking the opportunity to curry favor, while most were cold and dismissive.

  Since the emperor didn't come, the consorts were not as cautious. Liu Mei'er, who was in the crowd, pulled Liang Cairen aside and whispered: "I didn't expect it to be a fifth-rank Jiwei position. When we were selected for the harem that year, the highest-ranking family among us was Xu Shi, but she was only granted the title of Xiao Yi, which is now Wen Gui Fei. Her father was a second-rank official..."

  "What can you do, they are imperial consorts after all." Liang Cairen's words also carried a hint of sourness. She had entered the palace with Lin Yu and her elder brother was a fourth-rank general, but she had only managed to become a cairen. In comparison, the Zhao and Wei families' decline had left them with empty titles, and most officials in their clan were fifth-rank or lower. The fathers of the five new consorts probably didn't even hold positions as high as hers. But who let them have good luck? They just happened to coincide with the emperor's favor."

  The imperial court's appointment of a royal consort was an exception rather than the rule. An emperor would typically only have one such appointment in his lifetime, which was to welcome his original empress. Other appointments were mostly like that of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei, who used girls as pawns for power on the court.

  Liāng Cái Rén's heart was not at peace, it was just the jealousy of a daughter-in-law. She didn't have the brains to see through the struggles of the previous dynasty, nor did she know the painstaking efforts of Tuòbá Hóng.

  "But the emperor doesn't particularly like them either." Another Miao woman whispered with a smile: "They were summoned to the palace, and when they paid their respects in the Xiatai Hall, the emperor was busy with state affairs and only showed his face from afar before leaving. Now they don't even know what the emperor looks like. In my opinion, the emperor's favorites are still Concubine Hui and Consort Jing, followed by Concubine Tian and Noble Lady Wen - those others can't compare."

  Liang Cairen's face also looked better after hearing this.

  As with Liu Jieyu and several others, low whispers kept coming from various corners.

  The concubines were dealt a heavy blow and felt suffocated in their hearts.

  Lin Wan didn't care much about it. As the emperor's favorite concubine, carrying the dragon heir, her days were glorious to this extent, where would she consider the six concubines as a threat?

  This person, once he reaches a certain height, is no longer afraid of anything.

  Sitting and eating Xu Ronghua's fruit, then smiling and admiring Anshi this white beauty, the mood is not bad.

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