Ordinary clear day

Chapter 189

It was the first time for Shu Ning to see such a tragic situation. She felt as if her throat was choked, and she couldn't make any sound, and her whole body froze.

This is the real palace, not the imaginary place where she would occasionally gossip after dinner.She finally knew the extent to which imperial power was supreme in this world.A show girl who entered the re-selection, although it is not known whether she is really "unclean", but several eunuchs and maids accused her of bullying the emperor, saying that if she was beaten to death, she would be beaten to death.What a horrible place this is!

Although she has lived carefully in the past, it turns out that she can never be too careful.This is not the peaceful, civilized world she has lived in for more than 20 years.No matter how good her family background is, no matter how high her background is, on the premise that the entire Eight Banners are the emperor's "slaves", what can she rely on?

Wanning was also dumbfounded, her eyes widened, and she murmured: "How can it be..." Suddenly she was shocked, and was about to rush up, but she was grabbed by someone within two steps. When she opened her mouth, the man immediately covered it tightly, hitting her teeth so painfully.The man pulled her back into the crowd before stopping. She looked back angrily, and it was Yuanning.

Yuanning gritted her teeth and said in a low voice: "You don't want to die? Where is this place? What crime was that beautiful girl charged for? You rush up, and be careful that others will think you are not clean. When the time comes, don't talk about Prince Fujin, even a The concubine has no place for you either!"

Wanning shivered and gradually calmed down.Seeing this, Yuanning said again: "I'll let you go, don't act recklessly. Don't forget what my uncle told you earlier."

Wanning nodded, and when she regained her freedom, she said coldly: "The fourth younger sister is indeed worthy of being the second uncle's daughter, she is very shrewd, but unfortunately she is too cold-blooded and has no conscience. You are so sensible, there must be big ones in the future." Good luck." Then he snorted softly, looked outside hesitantly, and saw that the beautiful girl was silent, so he couldn't bear to turn his head and stop looking.

After hearing her words, Yuanning's face turned pale, and she bit her lip.Although most of the show girls in the room were paying attention to the outside of the hall, and the movement of their sisters was not too big, some people still saw it.Some were numb, some were scared, some didn't care, but there were also people who agreed with Wanning's words, looked at Yuanning with contempt, and whispered.Yuanning felt ashamed and angry, her eyes turned red.

Shuning tried a way to bring her attention back to the palace, only to feel some sensation in her hands and feet, she moved vigorously, and finally regained her mobility, and the temperature slowly returned to her body, but it was still so cold that it made people shiver.She walked slowly to Yuanning's side, opened her mouth, but still felt a little speechless.

Yuanning twitched her lips and said, "Third sister, do you think the same?" Shuning saw the tears in her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and said hoarsely: "No matter what she says, what you do is That's right, you saved her. There is nothing we can do about it." Yuanning forced a smile, her face still pale.

At this time, the outside affairs were over, the little eunuch in charge of prison entered the hall and reported to Director Tang, who was watching the carvings on the pillars, the latter nodded and said something in a low voice, and the little eunuch went out.After a while, the yard outside was tidied up, and the two nuns returned to the examination room.

Director Tang clapped his hands, and waited for the girls to look at him again, then squinted his eyes and sneered, "Young masters, this is what happens when you don't know how to be a girl. Don't think that if you pass the primary election, you can get away with it! The dignity of the royal family is inviolable! If anyone knows that there is something wrong with him, he can stand up as soon as possible, and he will suffer less!"

Show girls, you look at me and I look at you, but no one stands up.Seeing this, Director Tang changed his smiling face again, and said cordially: "Then please stand up quickly, let's continue."

Shuning tightened her handkerchief and walked back to her original position, waiting blankly.It wasn't until Yuanning secretly pushed her that she realized that it was her turn.

She walked into the hut in fear, only the two nuns who had just detected the "unclean" beautiful girl were there.She nervously took off the flag dress according to the instructions, and placed the two silk purses embroidered with gold and silver coins that were originally gathered in her sleeves on the table next to her.

The two nuns looked at each other, and one of them slowed down and said, "Come here and lie down."

Shu Ning obediently walked over to lie down, and endured the feeling of humiliation again. She wondered if it was the effect of the bulging purse. She felt that the nanny's movements were much lighter, which made her feel less uncomfortable.When she got up to get dressed again, the purse had disappeared, and she still vaguely heard the whispers of the two nuns: "How is it?" "No problem." My mother is Tong Xiang's niece." "This golden scorpion is worth a lot, and the purse is quite valuable..."

The two quickly turned around and said to Shu Ning with a pleasant face: "I've passed the test, please go ahead, my lord." Shu Ning forced a smile and went out. There was already a little eunuch waiting outside to lead the way, and she was about to leave , but Leng might as well have heard Director Tang say: "What?! Did Wang Gonggong say that?" Her heart tightened, and she stopped in her tracks.

Manager Tang didn't pay attention to the situation here, but hurriedly followed the little eunuch who came to pass the message to the apse, passing in front of Shu Ning like a gust of wind.The beautiful girls in the palace looked at each other, wondering what happened again, and whether someone was going to be unlucky again.

Shu Ning followed the little eunuch out of the apse, but saw some clues.Director Tang was talking to a thin-faced old eunuch at the corner not far from the front right. The old eunuch took out a small bottle, then pointed to the two packages carried by the young eunuch next to him, and said a few words expressionlessly talk.

Shuning couldn't stop to take a closer look, so she could only hurriedly follow the eunuch leading the way through the corridor on the left, past a big house where many beautiful women gathered, and came to another room.

There are not many people here, most of them are the two red flag show girls who I have seen before, forming two or three small circles, talking about the show girl who died tragically just now, it seems that after being taken aback, they took this incident as a small talk topic of.Wanning sat alone on the chair in the corner, her eyes were a little straight.

Shu Ning couldn't help feeling sore in her heart, and walked over to sit with her.There are many people in this world who don't care about human life, especially most of the people here are from official families, and this kind of thing is probably not uncommon on weekdays.Maybe only Wanning can understand the fear in her heart?She suddenly felt that she had never been so close to Wanning, and even the little resentment she had towards the cousin she wore in the past disappeared a lot.

The medical examination process lasted for a long time.The beautiful girl with two yellow flags and two white flags in the neighboring house had completed this task one step earlier, so she was taken to the place where she lived first.The beautiful girls in Shuning's room heard their voices passing by the door, and they all stopped at the window to watch and discuss.Wan Ning also dragged Shu Ning over, but Yuan Ning followed behind her sisters leisurely.

Among the group of beautiful girls, there was one person who stood out.She was about sixteen or seventeen years old, obviously wearing a light blue flag dress like everyone else, with no decorations except for a few satin borders, and her hairstyle and accessories were the same as other beautiful girls, but for some reason, other people in dozens of Among the girls, I saw her at first sight.Her appearance is elegant, but not particularly outstanding, but she has a faint majesty, her demeanor is very extraordinary, and her gestures are extraordinarily elegant and dignified.When the other show girls saw someone looking at them, they all turned their heads to look back.Only she, still not squinting, walked forward with her head held high.

Shu Ning was wondering who this person was, when Yuan Ning suddenly pulled her sleeves and whispered, "Look, it's Cousin Xu Xu." She looked along and saw Xu Xu walking about three-quarters of the way behind the line His eyes were a little red, and he wondered if he had just cried.

Xu Xu also saw them, raised her hand and waved, showing a smile.But the beautiful girl in front of her turned her head and said something, she immediately put down her hands, looked at her cousins ​​pitifully, bit her lip, and left with the team.

Shu Ning watched them go away, but heard someone commenting: "Why did they go first? They took the lead in everything, and it was our turn last." "Don't complain, it's the three flags, The Son of Heaven personally leads, of course he is nobler than us." "Oh, isn't the person with the white flag miserable? They also fly the five flags. They will definitely be bullied..."

After hearing this, Shu Ning became a little worried about Xu Xu. With her nature, if she was really bullied, she would probably swallow her anger and cry secretly, right?I don't know where she lives, is it possible to visit her?

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the beautiful women with two red flags and two blue flags had also finished their physical examinations.At this time, they were already tired and hungry, and the room was not very ventilated, and there was a big sun outside which was rare these days, so they were sweating and stuck to their clothes.Shu Ning felt very uncomfortable, and just wanted to find a place to freshen up and eat as soon as possible.She didn't expect to have another physical examination after entering the palace, and it would be delayed so late, so she didn't prepare any snacks at all.

But the arrival of Manager Tang broke their expectations.He smiled and said to the crowd: "Masters, please wait a little longer, there is one thing that needs to be dealt with." All the beautiful girls agreed with trepidation, waiting for him to tell who the unlucky person this time is.

The little eunuch Xiao Fanzi put the two bundles on the table and retreated.There was a commotion among the beautiful girls, Shu Ning had already noticed that the face of a person opposite had turned pale suddenly, and she knew that it must be hers.

Manager Tang took out a small bottle and said, "This is something I found in my luggage. It's a good thing. Which one is the Eji family from Zhenglan Banner? Quickly recognize it."

Everyone was discussing for a while, the beautiful girl's legs softened just now, she knelt down on the ground, and looked at Director Tang with tears in her eyes.The latter smiled Mimi and said: "It's you, I heard that your father is a magistrate? Then the young master can be regarded as a lady of everyone, why would there be such a dirty thing? He brought it into the palace. Could it be... there is some conspiracy ah?"

Mrs. E Ji cried and begged: "Eunuch, I dare not, please forgive me, I was just confused for a while..." Director Tang still smiled and said: "I know you are confused for a while, but How can such a shameful thing enter the palace? I'm really sorry." After saying that, he motioned to the maid next to him: "Let her go out of the palace."

When the Eji family heard this, they cried even harder. They jumped up and hugged Mr. Tang's legs, and shouted: "Eunuch, Eunuch, please, let me see the emperor, let me see you!" Let's meet the emperor..." Director Tang was unmoved, but asked someone to drag her out.

The show girls talked a lot, Shu Ning sighed in her heart, this E Ji family was lucky, at least she was just kicked out of the palace, not beaten to death.Wonder what's in that bottle?
Manager Tang raised a smile on his face, and said to the beautiful girls: "Okay, the matter is over. Young masters, please remember that your daughter's family must abide by the rules. Don't touch things that girls shouldn't touch. Ah. Do you know?"

How dare the show girls dare to refute, they all agreed yes, and followed the little eunuch he sent to the place where they were going to live in the next few days.

They live in Zhongcui Palace, and Chuxiu Palace, where two yellow flags and two white flags live, are located on both sides of the imperial garden.This made Shu Ning a little worried. It might be very inconvenient to visit Xu Xu.

In the front yard of Zhongcui Palace, there were already people waiting for their arrival.The leading lady-in-waiting looks to be nearly 30 years old, and she calls herself Wen Jing, who is the aunt in charge here.Although she looks mediocre, she has a fair oval face, which is very comfortable to look at. She speaks and acts neatly, but her words also show that she is kind and should not be difficult to get along with.

There are also four court ladies, namely Ruifu, Ruixin, Ruidan and Ruizhi, who are dedicated to taking care of the daily life and food of the beautiful ladies in Zhongcui's palace, although there are also little eunuchs guarding the palace gate and rough clothes slaves. People like them, but they are in charge of all the daily affairs.

When the show girls heard that there were 38 of them and only four maids could handle them, they all complained.But Wen Jing coughed lightly, glanced at the show girls, and said lightly: "There are rules in the palace, no matter what the young masters are at home, they must abide by the rules in the palace. You can follow the rules, be cautious in your words and deeds, and don't do things that violate the rules of your ancestors, otherwise..." She didn't continue talking, but just smiled.

Instead, it made people feel chills in their hearts, and they couldn't help but think of the two before.The show girls all stood up straight again, saluted dignifiedly and said: "Thank you for your teaching, Auntie."

Shuning saluted along with everyone, seeing Wanning not moving, she gave her a hand.Wanning frowned and blessed Fushen, and followed the maids to see the assigned room together with the others.

Zhongcui Palace is a compound with two entrances. The main hall is used for dining and gatherings of beautiful women, and there are exactly twenty vacant rooms in the other wing rooms.The show girls share a room with each other, and live in the front and back yards separately.Wanning lives in a room with Da Niu, while Shuning shares a room with Yuanning.The room is quite big, with two beds, cabinets, washbasins, etc., and a table and four chairs.A large screen is placed behind the house, behind which are toilets and bathtubs.The room is not luxurious, and it can be seen that it has been a few years old, but the things inside are gorgeous and very different from the things outside.

The show girls are roughly divided into houses according to their banners and ages, but there are also people who want to live with people from other banners.A room was vacant because a Zhenglan flag had gone before.A court lady discussed with Aunt Wen Jing, and the latter announced that there were not enough rooms in Chuxiu Palace, so she had to transfer someone over.

Shu Ning didn't care much about this matter, in fact almost all the show girls didn't care too much.Because right now, after everyone entered the room, they were busy arranging their things, and calling for water to wash up, so they had no time to pay attention to others.Seeing that there were too many people queuing for water, Shu Ning went back to her room to pack her luggage.

In fact, there is nothing to pack, just put the baggage in the cabinet.The things brought in, such as jewelry, gold and silver, were all missing, but there were two missing purses for rewards, fortunately, they were only two taels of envelopes.In order to reduce the weight, most of what she brought were small-value bank notes ranging from 50 taels to [-] taels, which were wrapped in cloth and kept close to her body. I didn't find anything more valuable in the clothes next to me.

As soon as she collected the salute and made the bed, Wanning yelled that she had fetched water. When she went out to take a look, she realized that Wanning paid the maid Ruixin to help bring two large buckets of water. There is no Yuanning's share.Shuning sighed, took a pouch to Ruixin, and asked her to bring another bucket, but Ruixin went away with a smile.

After Yuanning found out, she just thanked Shuning, but she was very indifferent to Wanning's actions.Shu Ning didn't want to persuade her too much, she just offered her help when she saw something that could help.

After taking a bath, Shuning changed into homely clothes, and went to the main hall with Yuanning to have dinner.She went to find Wanning first, but Wanning seemed to be still washing her hair, so she took a step first.There were not many people in the main hall, and there were only a few tables in the room, but there was something to eat.Each show girl has the same portion, three meats, one dish, one meal, and soup, which is quite hearty.

Shu Ning was chatting with Yuan Ning, waiting for the food to be served, when suddenly a person sat down beside him.

That is Princess Nadanzhu of Horqin.

Shu Ning was very surprised, and Yuan Ning was even more baffled.The princess stared at Shu Ning with resentful eyes, and said with a sneer, "You still have the face to appear in front of me?!"

What is this all about?

Shu Ning frowned and said, "What does the princess mean by this?"

"Why are you pretending to be stupid? You two, brother and sister, are treacherous, wolf-hearted..."

"Stop!" Shu Ning glanced around, and said calmly: "The princess should be cautious when speaking, when will our brothers and sisters break their promises? I don't know what kind of trust and righteousness there is between the princess and us. You are now a beautiful girl , and it’s in the palace again, it’s better not to say these words.”

Na Danzhu raised her brows upside down: "You!"

But Shu Ning smiled and said: "Speaking of which, my brother got married in the first month of this year. It was a marriage bestowed by the emperor. I heard that the princess's family is also preparing a dowry for you? Congratulations."

Na Danzhu bit her lip and went angrily.

Yuanning asked: "Is this still a princess? What's going on?"

But Shu Ning shook her head and said: "It's nothing, it's just that I was ignorant and awkward when I was a child." This matter is related to her brother's reputation, so it's better not to let so many people know.

Yuanning didn't care either, she seemed to see a friend she knew, said something to Shuning, and then went to another table.

After dinner, everyone returned to their rooms, some gathered together to chat, some entertained themselves, and some wanted to go out for a stroll, but were stopped by Aunt Wen Jing.Because Wanning's hair was still wet, she couldn't get out of the palace, so she had to take a walk in the front and back yards.Shuning stayed in the house to practice the piano.

Yuanning didn't come back from outside until one o'clock, and said to Shuning: "Third sister, do you know why that beautiful girl was beaten to death today?"

Why?Isn't it because she was found out to be a virgin?

Yuan Ning shook her head and said, "I have already experienced it once before. If not, how could I not find out until the re-election? Is anyone really so bold after only a few days of hard work?"

Shuning paused, and immediately sat down and listened carefully.

(End of this chapter)