"My husband died early, and I have a son. He passed away during the war last year.”The auntie's eyes darkened, and Mu Xiyan's heart ached.
"Auntie, our parents passed away when we were young. We can understand your pain. What we need to do is to live well.”Gu Xiaomai comforted.
"Yes!"
After lunch, Mu Xiyan and Gu Xiaomai bid farewell to the aunt and walked toward Phoenix City, the main city that the aunt mentioned.
Since he was already here, he would take it as it was. It was no big deal!
The Prime Minister's Estate.
It was spring, and the birds were singing and the flowers were fragrant. A beautiful figure was chasing butterflies, smiling lightly.
She was wearing a thin beige shirt with two blooming peonies on her chest. She was wearing a long white dress with golden lotuses on the hem of the dress and peonies on the side. Her soft hair was tied up with two white jade hairpins. A few small flowers were tied together under the hairpins, and her delicate facial features were slightly powdered.
She was Shangguan Zining, the first daughter of the Prime Minister of Nan Yu Country, Shangguan Liancheng.
"Young miss, master invites you to the front hall.”The servant girl walked closer and bowed her head to report.
"Yes, I understand. You may leave." Shangguan Zining retracted her gaze from the beautiful butterfly and walked towards the front hall with small steps.
"Father, are you looking for your daughter?" Shangguan Zining asked the elder who was sitting in the front hall.
" Zining." The elder stood up. He was wearing a dark yellow robe and a blue crown. His eyebrows were strong and his eyes reflected the light of time. He was sharp and cautious. "The Emperor has already issued an edict to choose a consort. He will probably announce it at noon. You are not young anymore. It is time to get married…"
"Father!" Before Shangguan Liancheng could finish, he was interrupted by Shangguan Zining's surprised voice." Brother Yan, are you really going to choose a concubine?"”
"Zining! You can't call the emperor by his name!" Shangguan Liancheng pretended to be angry.
"Then what should I do to enter the palace?”Shangguan Zining asked.
"The emperor has decreed that in ten days, all the unmarried women from the Nan Yu Nation between the ages of thirteen to eighteen must enter the palace. The consort selection this time is different from the previous emperor's. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor would also personally choose.”Shangguan Liancheng said.
"The Empress Dowager will also be here?" Shangguan Zining said in surprise.
"That's right, this is the emperor's first time choosing a concubine, the empress dowager places great importance on it. Zining, Father has already recommended you to the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager still remembers that you played a song for her when she was young and likes you very much. There is no problem for you to be a concubine. The rest is up to you.”Shangguan Liancheng said as he stroked his short beard.
"Empress Dowager still remembers me!" Shangguan Zining couldn't hide her joy.
"Alright, your mother will find someone to make new clothes and custom-made jewelry for you in these ten days.”
"Thank you, Father. I will definitely live up to your expectations.”Shangguan Zining said confidently.
At noon, the emperor issued an order that all unmarried women from the Nan Yu Nation between the ages of thirteen to eighteen would enter the palace to be selected.
"Xiao Mai, what are you going to do? Maybe there's a recruitment, and we don't have to stay in that lousy temple we just found tonight.”That's right. Mu Xiyan and Gu Xiaomai were both exhausted as they walked to Phoenix City. They had just had lunch and wanted to sleep.
Mu Xiyan ignored the strange looks from the people around her and pulled the sleepy Gu Xiaomai to the front of the crowd.
"Tsk, so it's the emperor who chooses his concubines. I thought something was wrong. Go find a job!" This was the first sentence Situ Qirui heard when he walked into the crowd, other than the women's joyful voices.
"Miss, you dropped your jade pendant." Mu Xiyan, who was trying to squeeze out, suddenly heard a voice.
He quickly turned around and saw a handsome man. He was seven feet tall and wore a purple-gold crown on his head. He was wearing a purple robe with green patterns and dark flowers. There was a sachet and a jade pendant hanging from his white jade belt. He was wearing white deer boots. His skin was very fair, and his handsome facial features looked particularly distinct. His lips were as red as rouge, and his eyes were filled with intelligence and mockery.
Her gaze shifted to the jade pendant in the man's hand, and Mu Xiyan quickly snatched it away. Ignoring the contemptuous eyes of Gu Xiaomai, she stared at the jade pendant happily and smiled slightly.
Situ Qirui was shocked when he saw the woman's smile. He sized her up carefully.
Her strange white outfit accentuated her perfect curves. She was taller than ordinary women, and her hair was not tied up but not messy. The most beautiful woman in Nan Yu, Shangguan Zining, had a poetic and classical beauty, while the woman in front of her was exuding an otherworldly beauty. Her body emitted a faint, almost indistinct fragrance. The most unique thing was that her eyes…were actually two different colors!
"Thank you, handsome. There were too many people and I didn't even notice. This was left behind by my ancestors. If I lost it, my parents would definitely chase me out of the house.”Mu Xiyan pulled Gu Xiaomai and quickly slipped away. This jade pendant might be able to be exchanged for a lot of money. Even if she couldn't find a job, she should at least plan for food and accommodation.
Before he could walk far, he was surrounded by a group of soldiers.
"Take him down!" Before Mu Xiyan and Gu Xiaomai could react, the leading officer ordered his men to capture them.
"Hey, hey, hey! What was going on? We didn't break the law!" Gu Xiaomai grabbed Mu Xiyan's hand tightly and stood in front of her, saying confidently.
"How dare you steal Prince Su's jade pendant!”The leading soldier said sternly.
"Where? We didn't steal anything! This was given to me by your Prince Su. I'm very familiar with him!”Hearing this, Mu Xiyan realized that she had been tricked. It turned out that he was the Prince.
"Don't be unreasonable! Take him away!" The leading soldier wanted to take the two women away without any explanation. The people on the street turned from onlookers to robbers.
"Wait!" At this moment, a cold and authoritative voice sounded. Everyone turned around and saw a handsome young man walking over from behind the crowd. He was dressed in white and had black hair that fluttered in the wind. He was more than 1.8 meters tall and had a perfect figure. His skin was faintly glowing, and his eyes seemed to be flashing with a thousand kinds of glazed light. Her appearance was like a painting, so beautiful that she didn't even look like a real person. This kind of fairy-like appearance had already surpassed the beauty of all humans. It was actually indescribable with words.
The man in white walked up to the two of them and said to the officer,"I think you've misunderstood. How can an ordinary woman steal Prince Su's things?”
The official saw that the person seemed to have a great background, but this was something that his highness had personally instructed him to do. How could he make a mistake?
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]