61: Sleeping (Subscribe)

Chapter 61: Attending Bed (Seeking Subscriptions)

Just as the top scorer banquet in the Taihe Hall was in full swing, and even a large number of fireworks were blooming in the sky outside the hall,

deep in the Yonghe Palace in the northeast of the imperial city, Consort Shu, Yang Huan, dressed in green, looked afar in the direction of the Taihe Hall with a sorrowful expression.

Beside her, a palace maid holding a princess was also enviously looking in that direction.

"Your Majesty, the Taihe Hall is so lively. I heard that tonight is the banquet for the imperial examination top scorers, and hundreds of people are attending."

"This year's civil and military top scorers are all people from the Cui Family, which is simply amazing!"

"The Cui Family..."

The maid's unintentional words only made Yang Huan's heart even more sorrowful.

If it were before, before her father had done such a thing, it would have been their Yang family enjoying this thousands of favors!

Now...

"Wow! Fireworks! Fireworks!"

"Sister Huan, look quickly..."

Yang Xueqing was now over three years old, stumbling over, her little Face full of excitement.

"So, so pretty..."

"Huan, Sister Huan, can we go play there?"

"Sob sob sob..."

Yang Huan finally couldn't hold it in anymore, pulling Yang Xueqing into her arms and crying.

"Sister Huan, don't cry, Sister Huan, don't cry. Qing'er won't go, Qing'er won't go..."

Yang Xueqing was startled and hurriedly hugged Yang Huan's head to comfort her.

At such a young age, she was already sensible and obedient.

"Qing'er, it's Sister's incompetence, it's Sister's fault. If on that day, you had gone along with Father and Big Brother and the others, how wonderful that would have been, so you wouldn't have to suffer the hardship of this cold palace..."

Ever since Yang Xuansu's rebellion, the Yonghe Palace was treated as a cold palace. All the palace maids, eunuchs, and so on inside the palace who could find a way out of the palace all ran away, not daring to stay here a single person.

And as Your Majesty forgot this place, the Ministry of Internal Affairs had long since reduced all food and clothing expenses of the Yonghe Palace.

Now in the depths of winter, the Yonghe Palace couldn't even afford charcoal, and could only rely on cotton clothes and quilts for warmth.

Little sister Yang Xuening even froze with a fever, and it was only because she used a gold hairpin from her former dowry to beg people from the Taiyuan Hospital to come and check a few times.

Otherwise, Ning'er might not even have made it through this winter.

"Sis, Sister..."

At this moment, little over one-year-old Yang Xuening seemed to have been woken up as well, staggering out, and looking at the two sisters hugging and crying together, she immediately burst into tears as well.

For a time, the weeping of women in the Yonghe Palace connected into one piece.

"Your Majesty..."

The little palace maid was also extremely sorrowful; she was raised by Yang Huan since childhood, and thus regarded Yang Huan as her own sister.

In such an environment now, she still remained steadfast and unabandoned, which was enough to show the deep affection between Revered Master and servant.

"Your Majesty, I, I heard people say that the Ministry of Internal Affairs wants to move us to the Ganxi Palace."

"Ganxi Palace?"

Yang Huan stopped her tears, held her two young sisters, and asked strangely, "What, what kind of place is that, and why make us move there?"

"Gan, Ganxi Palace is a cold palace, ah. The ones living inside are only three or four discarded imperial consorts from the previous emperor's era, and most of them have gone mad."

"I, I heard from people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the maiden candidates for the draft have already entered the palace, and are currently living in the Zhongcui Palace."

The little palace maid said, "The Father-in-law of the Ministry of Internal Affairs says there are more maiden candidates this year, and if they are favored by Your Majesty, they will be distributed to various palaces. Our Yonghe Palace..."

"Wa wuwuwu..."

Before the voice fell, little sister Yang Xuening burst into loud crying.

Seeming to be frozen, her little Face was completely red, and she kept drilling into Yang Huan's embrace.

"Maiden candidates..."

Yang Huan's expression was sorrowful, but her eyes were full of stubbornness.

"Father once said that the battles in the inner palace are no less than those in the court. This consort has not fought for anything, but now even the place to live is almost gone."

"Father...!"

She gritted her white teeth tightly: "Why did you have to rebel, leaving your daughter lonely and helpless in this palace, suffering endless torment."

"In order to survive, your daughter can only do this."

"You once said that that secret could protect your daughter's glory and wealth for a lifetime."

"But now, for Qing'er, Ning'er, and me, even survival is a problem, so why would we need glory and wealth?"

"I only hope that Your Majesty, for the sake of my daughter Yuyao's Face, can let the three of us live a little better."

"Dong'er."

The little palace maid hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please give your orders."

"Tomorrow, go find Liu Chengen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and say that this consort has an important matter to report to Your Majesty."

"This... Very well, Your Majesty, this servant understands."

...

Fireworks still shone brightly in the mid-air, and on the roof of the Zhongcui Palace far to the south of the Taihe Hall stood a female figure.

The woman wore a moon-white light gauze long robe, and her raven-like hair covered her shoulders like a waterfall, almost reaching the ground.

Her Face was as tender as snow, and her black-and-white distinct eyes were as brilliant as stars.

Unfortunately, half of her Face was covered with a white light gauze, completely blocking the lower half of her Face.

I don't know what kind of peerless beauty this light gauze hides beneath.

"The Imperial Palace, Emperor Zhengyong, and the dual civil and military top scorers... Is this the person destined for me mentioned by Revered Master?"

The woman's voice was crisp and pleasant, like pearls falling on a jade plate, and even more like the sound of a zither.

"The Great Yu Dynasty court is forming cliques for private interests, extremely corrupt, and officials are feathering their nests and lacking enterprise. The entire world of Great Yu has powerful clans seizing land, and the common people cannot even eat their fill."

"This court should have been overthrown long ago. But why does Revered Master want me to enter the palace to assist Emperor Zhengyong? Could it be..."

"Giggle giggle..."

Suddenly, a burst of charming laughter sounded, and another figure appeared on top of the main hall.

This figure was completely different from the woman in white light gauze; she wore a pink palace dress, but exposed her tender white arms and calves, and wore miniature bells on her wrists and ankles.

With a casual movement, crisp bell sounds rang out.

"I was wondering who it was, turns out to be Fairy Qin of the Cihang Nunnery."

"Doesn't your Cihang Nunnery boast of being the leader of the Righteous Path, willing to assist the world with a woman's body."

"What? The Fairy Qin of the Cihang Nunnery of this generation actually wants to enter the palace to serve the emperor. If the young heroes and talents in the Martial Forest were to find out..."

"Zhu Wanwan?"

Qin Qingxuan frowned: "How my Cihang Nunnery does things, what does it have to do with your Baihua Sect?"

"If you don't want to die and have your Dao destroyed, leave quickly!"

"Die and have your Dao destroyed?"

Zhu Wanwan gave a charming laugh and said: "I'd like to see, who dies and has their Dao destroyed today?"

"This is the imperial palace, oh~ I don't believe that Fairy Qin dares to make a move against me."

"You...!"

Qin Qingxuan's eyes were even colder: "What is the witch of the Baihua Sect entering the palace to do? To bewitch Your Majesty under the pretext of chaos in the world? Do you believe it, I will immediately memorialize Your Majesty about your identity as a witch of the Baihua Sect..."

"Witch of my Baihua Sect?"

Zhu Wanwan also said coldly: "The reason why I could enter the palace to become a maiden candidate, do you think the court doesn't know our identities?"

"To tell you the truth, the reason why my two Junior Sisters and I were able to enter the palace as maiden candidates is all because the emperor issued an imperial decree!"

"Giggle giggle... My Baihua Sect is infatuated with bed-chamber arts, serving people with beauty, yet I never expected to attend to the current Son of Heaven today!"

"It is truly... getting what I wished for!"

"You...!"

Qin Qingxuan's Face was even uglier. This vixen actually spoke of such filthy things in broad daylight.

It was simply... unreasonable!

"Two older sisters, are you also here to watch the fireworks?"

"Who?!"

"What person is here!"

Qin Qingxuan and Zhu Wanwan immediately let out a low shout and turned around one after another.

Just who on earth could get close to them without their knowledge.

If it were a life-and-death battle...

Looking back, they found that on the eaves of the main hall's roof sat a young girl who looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, swinging her little feet and excitedly watching the fireworks in the sky.

The woman was not of peerless beauty, but she was very cute.

Wearing the ethnic costume of the Nanyue Tribe, adorned with some silver ornaments, her eyes were also very bright.

Qin Qingxuan asked first: "Who are you?"

"Giggle giggle..."

Zhu Wanwan smiled instead: "Little sister must be little sister Yuechan of the Nanyue Tribe, truly pitiful to behold, making people dote on her~"

"Older sister is also very pretty~"

Yuechan said earnestly: "The fireworks are almost finished, are you sure you want to keep arguing instead of hurrying up to watch the fireworks?"

"Watch the fireworks..."

The two women looked at each other with strange expressions, but still nodded slightly, standing on both sides of the main hall respectively, looking afar at the distant fireworks.

Long after, the fireworks dissipated, and Yuechan patted her bottom and stood up, pouting her mouth and saying: "The fireworks of the Central Plains are so pretty, it's just a pity there are too few."

"Alright, two older sisters, Yuechan is going to rest. Tomorrow I still have to continue following the nannies to learn court etiquette, which is simply hateful!"

"You guys keep chatting oh~"

After saying that, she dropped down from the roof, clearly also possessing high-level lightness kung fu.

Qin Qingxuan and Zhu Wanwan looked at each other again, instantly feeling insipid, and left one after another.

The entire Zhongcui Palace once again became completely silent.

...

Taihe Hall.

"Chen Hongxiu, what about you?"

As soon as Zheng Yi's voice fell, the originally noisy main hall instantly became silent.

Only outside the main hall, a group of military examination candidates on the side of the military exam were still loudly laughing, making noise and drinking, their voices faintly drifting over.

Inside the grand hall, many ministers looked towards Chen Hongxiu's direction with contemplative eyes.

An invisible pressure immediately fell upon Chen Hongxiu.

In Great Yu, there has never been a precedent of women serving as officials.

At most, female Martial Artists only appear in special departments such as the Hall of Offerings and the Royal City Division.

Now, with Chen Hongxiu being the runner-up of the military examination, if she were to ask Your Majesty for an official position...

Amidst countless scrutinizing and cold gazes, Chen Hongxiu slowly spoke, "Your Majesty! This commoner is willing to inherit her father's last wish and rebuild the Xiaoji Camp!"

"Uproar~!"

As soon as her voice fell, a commotion came from the surroundings.

"The Xiaoji Camp? A military camp disbanded by Yang Reverse, how does she know about it?"

"Chen Hongxiu, Chen Hongxiu... It sounds somewhat familiar?"

"The commander of the Xiaoji Camp back then seemed to be called Chendao!"

"I have an impression. Back then, the Xiaoji Camp was arrested by Yang Reverse under the crimes of 'military mutiny and suspected rebellion', and their entire family was executed. The entire Xiaoji Camp also fell apart... Who is she?!"

The surrounding ministers discussed animatedly, and Zheng Yi also spoke, "The Xiaoji Camp? What relation is Chendao to you?"

"Chendao is my late father!"

Chen Hongxiu continued, "Nine years ago, when Yang Reverse failed to win over my father, he wrongly accused my father of suspected rebellion. All thirty-eight members of my Chen Family were killed by Yang Reverse. Only this commoner was studying outside, barely escaping with her life."

"Of the more than four thousand men in the Xiaoji Camp, more than eight hundred were killed, and the remaining three thousand or so were taken under Yang Reverse's command!"

"Before my father passed away, he once sent a carrier pigeon to me, telling me to stay away from the capital and never become an official in my lifetime."

"However, how could the hatred of my parents be forgotten? Within four years, this commoner launched a total of seven assassinations against Yang Reverse, but all of them ended in failure."

"Now Your Majesty has wiped out Yang Reverse in one fell swoop, which is truly the blessing of our Great Yu."

"This commoner is willing to emulate her late father, rebuild the Xiaoji Camp, and protect Your Majesty!"

Rebuild the Xiaoji Camp?

As soon as Chen Hongxiu finished speaking, the surrounding ministers once again gasped in shock, followed by intense discussions.

Immediately, an official from the Ministry of Rites stood up and shouted, "Your Majesty! Women serving as officials has never existed since ancient times, absolutely not!"

Another official from the Ministry of War stood up and shouted, "Your Majesty! Now with Wu Country's military examinations and civilian rebellions in the northern border, military expenditures are already exceeding limits. We must never add more troops!"

"Your Majesty! Currently, troops such as the Imperial Guards, the Jinyi Guard, the Five Cities Garrison, the Imperial City Troops, and the Shenji Camp are already stationed in the capital. There is no space to accommodate the Xiaoji Camp!"

"Your Majesty, the entire Xiaoji Camp is structured as cavalry. There are no suitable horse farms around the capital for the Xiaoji Camp to raise and train horses, making it impossible to form."

"We hope Your Majesty will think twice!"

Suddenly, more than a dozen officials rushed out and knelt before Zheng Yi, rejecting Chen Hongxiu's request.

Zheng Yi's expression remained as usual, showing no particular emotion.

Zheng Yi did not feel surprised at all that Chen Hongxiu wanted to rebuild the Xiaoji Camp.

The Jinyi Guard had already investigated everything Chen Hongxiu had experienced over the past few years.

For so many years, she had been traveling and practicing martial arts in the northern lands, single-mindedly seeking revenge for her father.

Now that her archenemy was killed by Zheng Yi, coupled with her late father's testament, she immediately wanted to dedicate her body to the country and rebuild the Xiaoji Camp.

Towards such a heroic woman, Zheng Yi held deep admiration.

As for words like tight military funds and full barracks, they were merely excuses made by the officials.

Confiscating Yang Reverse's estate had made the national treasury abundant. Let alone forming one Xiaoji Camp, even forming a hundred Xiaoji Camps would be more than enough!

Of course, it was impossible for him to ignore the opposition of so many ministers and forcefully rebuild the Xiaoji Camp.

His decrees could be issued, but if the people below complied in public while opposing in private, that was not something he could control.

After all, right now, he did not completely control the imperial court politics.

"Since all my beloved ministers object, I will not force the issue, but I cannot break my promise either. How about this..."

"Chen Hongxiu."

"This commoner is here."

"I want to establish the position of Imperial Guards, selecting people with a clean family background and loyalty to the ruler and the country to enter the palace and protect me and my Beloved Consorts."

Zheng Yi said, "As a Martial Artist of the First Grade Realm who has now won the position of the third place in the military examination, and as the descendant of loyal officials, you are well-suited for this role. What do you think, Beloved Minister?"

"This..."

As soon as Zheng Yi's voice fell, the expressions of the surrounding ministers changed slightly, and a few even revealed inexplicable smiles.

What kind of Imperial Guards lets a woman serve?

It was simply an excuse for Your Majesty to find women.

One Empress and four consorts were not enough, selecting talented maidens from all over the world, and now he wanted to take in this third-place military examination winner?

This Majesty of ours is really... lustful!

"Imperial Guards?"

Chen Hongxiu's expression also changed. Since when did Great Yu have this position?

Hearing the low discussions of the surrounding ministers, her expression suddenly turned very ugly.

Was he going to take her as his consort?

Or rather... a plaything?

Although she was loyal to the ruler, her martial arts skills were meant to repay the imperial court. How could she do such a thing of pleasing people with her looks?

"Your Majesty, this, this commoner..."

Just as Chen Hongxiu was thinking of an excuse to refuse, Zheng Yi had long seen through her thoughts and could not help feeling speechless.

He indeed liked beautiful women, but he hadn't reached the point of being completely indiscriminate.

There were millions of beauties in the palace, and Chen Hongxiu was not an absolute beauty; on the contrary, she was somewhat ordinary.

Moreover, the Jinyi Guard reported that during her disappearance these past few years, she had once married a man in the army. How could he possibly take a fancy to Chen Hongxiu?

Recruiting her into the Imperial Guards was merely a stepping stone for forming the Xiaoji Camp.

"Chen Hongxiu, you do not need to rush regarding the position of the Imperial Guards. You may go back and consider it; I will await your reply."

Chen Hongxiu breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed this matter was negotiable, and she immediately said, "This commoner obeys the decree!"

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, they have all been granted official positions, what about old Zhao here!"

At this time, Zhao Tieshan on the side hurriedly shouted.

Cui Xiawu was conferred as a Brigadier General, which was a third-rank official position.

Chen Hongxiu was conferred as an Imperial Guard. Although he didn't know what it was, it was definitely a close minister of the Son of Heaven.

He wondered about himself...

Zheng Yi became interested and asked, "What kind of official do you want to be?"

Zhao Tieshan immediately said, "Your Majesty, as long as the official position is bigger than my previous one!"

"Oh? What was your previous official position?"

"This subordinate was previously a Bazong in the Imperial Guards!"

A Bazong was a seventh-rank military official position, managing around a hundred people under his command, and was also a middle-level official position in the army.

Zheng Yi immediately said, "Zhao Tieshan, you are naturally endowed with Divine Power and are honest and loyal. Why don't you also come and be an Imperial Guard for me!"

"Imperial Guards?"

Zhao Tieshan blinked and said, "Your Majesty, old Zhao doesn't know many characters. I wonder what kind of official position this Imperial Guard is?"

Great Yu did not have Imperial Guards. Usually, the guards protecting Your Majesty were all rotated on schedule by the Imperial Guards, the forbidden army, or the Royal City Division, and there was no dedicated official position to guard the emperor.

The Imperial Guards could also be considered Zheng Yi's original creation.

"The Imperial Guards are guards dedicated to protecting me, and are not subject to the coercion of any military commanders."

"I specially established the Imperial Guard Bureau, with each Imperial Guard personally selected by me. First-class guards are third-rank military officials, second-class guards are fourth-rank military officials, and third-class guards are fifth-rank military officials."

Although Zheng Yi did not elaborate, the ministers present had already guessed something.

These Imperial Guards... were completely an overt armed force commanded by the emperor.

It was independent of the Ministry of War, the forbidden army, the Hall of Offerings, and the Jinyi Guard.

Taken as a whole, it was even an organization that gathered all the advantages of these organizations into one place.

Moreover, being close to the emperor all day and protecting him, they were also the emperor's most trusted people.

Being so trusted by the emperor, once they made great contributions, they would inevitably be assigned to official posts outside.

If that was the case...

Zhao Tieshan didn't think that much, but as soon as he heard about a third-rank military official, he immediately said, "Your Majesty! Old Zhao will do it! Hahaha, third rank, old Zhao is also a third-rank military official now!"

Zheng Yi smiled and said, "That is wonderful!"

Chen Hongxiu on the side also reacted at this moment. It seemed that Your Majesty really wanted to form a new military establishment rather than taking her into his chambers.

Without time for regret, she immediately said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this commoner is also willing to enter the Imperial Guards to serve as an official."

"Good!"

Zheng Yi immediately stood up and held up his wine cup, saying, "Today, I have obtained all the sages and men of virtue from the civil and military examinations, which is the fortune of Great Yu."

"Everyone! Please drink this cup to the full!"

Matters having reached this point, and the emperor's words being final, the many ministers could only helplessly stand up, hold their wine cups high, and say:

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

Late at night, the ministers gradually dispersed, and the successful candidates of the civil and military examinations also left the imperial palace under the leadership of the eunuchs.

Meanwhile, Zheng Yi's sedan chair slowly arrived at Jiao Fang Palace, accompanied by Consort Cui.

Under the dim candlelight, the sandalwood fragrance was serene.

Perhaps having drunk too much wine, Zheng Yi felt his body suddenly relax and grow weak.

Consort Cui before his eyes also became extremely beautiful and moving, exuding endless charm.

"Your Majesty~ This concubine will wait upon you to undress and wash up."

"Mhm..."

Zheng Yi staggered and pulled Consort Cui into his arms in one sweep.

"My, Beloved Consort, you, you are so pretty, I, I..."

"Xiaoer, quickly, quickly put out the lights!"