Chapter 104 Yi Xing’en
The Emperor watched the fun originally. At this moment, he paused, stared at the Cai Nv and seemed to be obsessed. However, just a moment, he turned to be calm, and immediately noticed the Empress’s movement, and then he smiled slightly, “Empress Ji?”
“Your Majesty, this kind of beauty is rare in the Imperial Harem.” Empress Ji thought quickly and smiled, “Even if she was born in a poor family, it’s a pity for her to start with a Cai Nv. How about promoting her as a Feng Yi?”
She did not intend to lower her voice deliberately when she said this, so, people in the hall heard it clearly. Regardless of those consorts, the eight Cai Nv were somewhat shocked. Obviously, they had learnt a lot these days in Xiu Zhuo Palace, and knew that it was very difficult to be a Feng Yi at the beginning.
Among them, that gorgeous girl was stunned, and bowed her head subconsciously. Nobody knew whether she was shy, or she wanted to hide her expression of ecstasy.
“There is a rule that girls should be Cai Nv at the beginning of joining the Imperial Harem.” Emperor Chunjia seldom commented on the promotion in the Imperial Harem. But when the Empress took the initiative to propose it, no one expected that the Emperor who was very tolerant and kind rejected the Empress’s proposal. Just a Feng Yi, it was an honor to Cai Nv, but it was nothing to the Emperor and Empress. He said, “If it is an exception for her virtue, it is okay. But it’s not a good idea to make an exception for her beauty. You should arrange her just like others.”
Then he paused, “By the way, you didn’t say whether she will be chosen or not.”
Hearing what she said, the eight girls shivered again. That gorgeous girl who was as beautiful as the sun and the moon subconsciously squeezed her sleeves, and her long feather-like eyelashes shivered slightly, as if she was worried and terrified.
Empress Ji pursed her lips and continued after a while, “Yes. I just thought she is very gorgeous. That would be a pity if we didn’t keep her. So, she should be included in the list of Cai Nv.”
Emperor Chunjia gave a faint response. Nobody could saw his feelings from his dark eyes.
Because of this girl—Yi Xing’en, the Empress didn’t intend to ask a maid to arrange the rest. When it was dinner time, she stopped the audition, and ordered the meal in the side hall of Xiu Zhuo Palace… After that, Emperor Chunjia left with an excuse of imperial affairs, and those consorts stayed to watch.
But after the three-day audition was over, although there were some beauties, Yi Xing’en was still the best.
“What did Concubine Messengers do?” Although the girls should leave Xiu Zhuo Palace after they were divided into concubines and maids, they could not play their roles immediately. Because the former needed to learn some etiquette of concubines and palace regulations and the latter needed to be arranged in different departments and followed the elders to learn the errands in the future.
It took a short time, mainly for consorts to communicate with each other about these concubines.
Wei Hengyan came to Yun Fenghuang, and complained as soon as she entered the door, “Regardless of other people, Miss Yi, Miss Xu, Miss Zhao and Miss Qu, they have not told me in advance! They really don’t know the rules!”
Yi Xing’en and other persons she mentioned were the best in this audition, especially Yi Xing’en, who charmed the Emperor, the Empress and those consorts. She was really an unparalleled beauty.
Xu Zhaohua, Zhao Xiang, and Qu Hongzhuan were also as beautiful as Yun Fenghuang. If it was an era of the dictatorship of the Emperor, it was enough for them to rely on their beauty to carry their families to step into the ranks of the royals.
Although Emperor Chunjia had been a puppet for eight years, he had now seized the power, and it was unknown in the future… Furthermore, even if he was a puppet Emperor, in Wei Hengyan’s opinion, he was still her husband. Although they had a little affection, she still didn’t want to be left out, or it would show that she was too weak to compete with good girls from good and non-aristocratic families.
She was also embarrassed to say these things to others around her. But facing Yun Fenghuang, who was one grade higher than hers, she poured out, “His Majesty is too kind, and eased the atmosphere when Her Highness questioned. Otherwise, they should be punished!”
“Just girls from small families. Don’t care about that.” Yun Fenghuang smiled slightly, handed over a bowl of ice with honey, and persuaded her to calm down, “Why didn’t Concubine Messengers report it? In the final analysis, Cai Nv is nothing for the Imperial Harem, so, they didn’t dare to court them. And why are you so anxious? His Majesty refused when Her Highness wanted to promote Yi Xing’en as a Feng Yi in public. It can be seen that in His Majesty’s eyes, he doesn’t care about that peerless beauty.”
Wei Hengyan refused to accept it, “Sister, I think that His Majesty cares about Yi Xing’en! After all, it is a convention that girls should be Cai Nv at the beginning of joining the Imperial Harem. She was beautiful and easy to be envied. So, it is not a good thing if she is promoted as a Feng Yi!”
After thinking about it, she couldn’t help but add, “Not everyone has the smart brain as you. You are in danger since joining the Imperial Harem, but still can keep calm. Yi Xing’en is not a girl from a good and non-aristocratic family. It is said that the Concubine Messenger pretended that he didn’t know her background and then received her just because of her beauty. But I think that she just has a pretty face and is not excellent at all! She may have a miserable life in the Imperial Harem later!”
Although Yun Fenghuang was one grade higher than Wei Hengyan, her family hindered her. Therefore, she didn’t know so much news as Wei Hengyan. Hearing this, she raised her eyebrows and said, “Oh? Really? Where did Yi Xing’en come from?”
“Who knows?” Wei Hengyan bit her lip and said, “There were rebellions in Gongzhou, Hengzhou and Zhizhou a few days ago. Many ordinary people and even rich households fled for fear of the brutality of rebels, formed a large number of refugees, and rushed into the surrounding provinces and counties… Yi Xing’en seems to be from Zhizhou, and she was separated from her family because of chaos. Then she lost her memory because of the high fever for several days, and even couldn’t remember her name. Finally, she was brought by a trafficker in human being. If she didn’t take the chance when Concubine Messengers selected Cai Nv, I’m afraid she would have been sent to those dirty places!”
But because Yi Xing’en was quite beautiful, the trafficker felt that only noble family had the qualification to possess her. So, he made her as a daughter of his relative who was poor but kind, and then let her participate in the audition in the name of a farmer’s daughter.
Afterwards, of course, it was a blockbuster. Concubine Messengers considered her as the greatest treasure. Even if they doubted her identity after the investigation, they just pretended not to know and took her back to Dijing all the way.
“Her surname was the surname of the relative of the trafficker, and the name was given by Concubine Messengers.” Wei Hengyan rolled her eyes and said to Yun Fenghuang, “Xing’en, Xing’en, her name means it is fortunate for her to get the favor of the imperial family… I didn’t know what our sisters think. Everyone knew this secret, but none of them stood out to question. Instead, they asked Her Highness to put Yi Xing’en in their palaces!”
What’s more, “Even the two who are pregnant are positive to send persons to tell Her Highness that since they are pregnant, it is not convenient for them to add more people in their palaces, but they still want one or more. They heard that Yi Xing’en is beautiful, and really want her to serve. Therefore, they can be happier and can give better birth to heirs for His Majesty… Damn!”
Yun Fenghuang said with a smile, “What’s wrong with this? Her Highness hinted that we shouldn’t join in the fun this time. Otherwise, we must get involved. After all, she is very beautiful. Although His Majesty didn’t agree with her promotion, she is still so gorgeous that we also want to see her more, not to mention His Majesty. If she comes to the palace, His Majesty must come there frequently.”
Moreover, if His Majesty visited frequently, she would have more chance to be pregnant.
In terms of her background, let alone a short period of time, even after a long time, it was almost impossible for her to be a consort.
So, although she gave birth to children, her hostess still benefited from it.
Under the circumstances that the Emperor took over the power, why didn’t the hostess keep this handy helper?
As for the fact that Yi Xing’en’s background was doubtful, it was even better. The hostess could use her temporarily. If she had the opportunity to turn over or disobeyed in the future, the hostess still could deal with her with this excuse!
“… Since she is one member in the palace, it doesn’t make sense although His Majesty comes frequently. He comes for Yi Xing’en, not us!” Wei Hengyan frowned, and sighed, “Forget it. Don’t say that, sister. You chose many people that day. Do you plan to take them all to Xuan Qing Palace? It will be lively in the future.”
Yun Fenghuang said, “It’s good! There are still a few people in your Yi Jia Palace anyway. But in my palace, if Qingman didn’t come to accompany me for the past several days, I would not dare to sleep at night. It is so quiet as if all people are dead. It is not fun to live here!”
It was OK before she mentioned the word “dead”. After that, Wei Hengyan was a little crazy, “Sister, you can’t say it. You remind me of Xin Qing again!”
“Okay, I won’t mention it.” Yun Fenghuang smiled indulgently, watched that she finished a bowl of ice with honey, and still wanted another bowl. So she stopped her, “It’s too cold. It’s not good for our women to eat too much. It’s nothing for me. But you should be careful.”
Hearing this, Wei Hengyan was stunned and subconsciously glanced at her belly, and then she sighed slightly. Because she couldn’t know Yun Fenghuang’s thoughts, she didn’t dare to continue the topic. Then she put the silver spoon down and smiled, “I’ll listen to you.”
So, maids served a pot of warm rose drink and a few plates of pastries. The two people ate and chatted. Later, they found it was boring, and Wei Hengyan tried to ask, “What about playing cards with Qingman?”
Yun Fenghuang agreed casually. Maids saluted quickly, and soon took Yun Qingman whose face was a little red for being exposed to the sun.
Yun Qingman was originally not a very lively person. After coming to Xuan Qing Palace, she became more and more reticent, and thinner. At this moment, when she saw Yun Fenghuang and Wei Hengyan in the hall, she went forward to salute. Wei Hengyan looked at Yun Fenghuang. The latter sat motionlessly and waved her hands casually, “Qingman, what are you doing? How many times have I said that we are sisters? Don’t do this. Sister Wei is also in our side.”
Then she let her sit next to Wei Hengyan and asked maids, “Serve the rose drink and pastries for Qingman. It is delicious. You can have a taste.”
Seeing her calmness, it seemed that she had never argued with Yun Qingman, and they were still good sisters.
Wei Hengyan somehow regretted her suggestion. She was curious after she heard that Yun Fenghuang came to Noble Consort Shu and then took Yun Qingman to Xuan Qing Palace. But she could not find anything in Tong Xia Palace because people in that palace were cautious. Although people in Xuan Qing Palace were careless, they didn’t know anything… Maybe only Xi Le knew it, but she always followed Yun Fenghuang and seldom walked alone. There was no opportunity for Wei Hengyan to ask her.
So, she just took the opportunity to mention it just now and wanted to see what happened to those two people who were intimate to each other before.
Or, what happened between Yun Fenghuang and Yun’s Family?
But at the moment, seeing Yun Qingman, who was as old as her, was trembling, frightened and trying to please them, Wei Hengyan was somewhat embarrassed.
She had always felt that Yun Qingman and Xue Xiaoge were the same people as her, because they were noble girls of aristocratic families and were virtuous and generous after years of teaching and training. Although Yun Fenghuang was also a girl from a big family and had maids since she was a child, she was still inferior to them.
But now looking at Yun Qingman… she was too humble…
Wei Hengyan didn’t know what Yun Fenghuang did to her?
She thought in her mind, and was a little stunned, because she had never thought Yun Fenghuang was humble. Now, as Yun Fenghuang became a Jie Yu, Wei Hengyan even thought she was more gorgeous, maybe with psychological reasons…
It made Wei Hengyan a little puzzled. She thought that she was one of the offspring of her family which had a great foundation of knowledge, and those normal rich families could not compare to her family. Therefore, she was proud of her rigorous family tradition, rules and foundation, not precious clothes, jewels and powders.
But Yun Fenghuang… Well, if Jie Yu Mao could be seen clearly, the hostesses in the Imperial Harem could stop her from being promoted to be a consort.
Wei Hengyan shook her head and didn’t think about it, and devoted herself to the cards.
The three spent the afternoon on the cards… Seeing that it was dusk, Yun Fenghuang was about to let them have dinner. Unexpectedly, a maid came to report, saying that people in Chong Chang Hall had already allocated the new concubines, and the group belonging to Xuan Qing Palace had arrived at the gate of the palace, and waited for Yun Fenghuang’s instruction.
“Then I’ll go back to see!” Wei Hengyan threw the cards when she heard it, and quickly stood up to retreat, “The new concubines of Yi Jia Palace are probably waiting outside.”
Yun Fenghuang said, “You palace is not far away. Don’t be so anxious. Walk slowly and be careful.” Seeing Wei Hengyan left in a hurry, she smiled at Yun Qingman who lowered her head, “Let us see the new concubines.”
After said that, she picked up the bowl and took a sip of tea, and then she let a maid call them in to salute.
After a while, Wei Hengyan came back in a hurry before new concubines came in. Yun Fenghuang and Yun Qingman were curious. Before they asked her, she sat next to Yun Fenghuang with a strange look, “Sister, I saw Yi Xing’en and Qu Hongzhuan at your door!”
“Yi Xing’en and Qu Hongzhuan?” Hearing this, Yun Fenghuang was surprised, “Didn’t sisters like them very much? Why did they come here?”
How did Wei Hengyan know that? She just couldn’t figure it out, so, she even didn’t care about the newcomers in her palace, and came back to see what happened!