In the scorching heat of July, the door of Fengqi Palace was tightly closed. The lake-blue gauze curtain blocked the sunlight coming in from the carved windows, and the room was filled with sea blue, making it feel like entering a dragon's palace under the sea.

A hint of air-conditioning came from everywhere in the hall. In the emerald green gilt basin on the table, the lotus flowers just picked in the morning still maintained their graceful appearance. Water droplets condensed on the tender and lovely petals, and from time to time they fell from the water.

The petals slipped from their tips and were passed into the clear water in the basin, making a crisp sound.

In the main hall, there were gathered all the concubines in the harem. They were fat, thin, red, pink, and green. They were all beauties admired by everyone. At this time, all of them were sitting there with great dignity, either holding a teacup in one hand or lowering their head in meditation.

What's going on? Wearing red clothes and green clothes, green skirts and yellow jackets, looking up and down with endless amorous feelings, looking at the fireflies. This should be the most beautiful painting in the world, but because of the strong rouge aura coming from the concubines, the main hall has become a mess.

It was so smoky that if you didn't look carefully, you would have thought it was a group of banshees serving tea and laughing in the smoke...

As soon as Shangguan Qi stepped into the hall, he was hit by the strong smell of rouge and frowned. Looking into the hall through the bead curtain, he saw that the wide hall was packed with people.

There were familiar figures and unfamiliar faces, all of them dressed dignifiedly and elegantly. Only Ye Bin, whom she had newly named not long ago, was sitting timidly in a dark corner, wearing nothing more than a pair of clothes.

In her simple palace attire, if you don't pay attention, you won't notice her figure at all.

After all, she was a concubine, or she was promoted by a palace maid, so she should be disliked. Shangguan Qi readjusted her facial expression, trying to make the disgust between her brows appear lighter. Then she said "Empress, Empress"

"Jia arrived" walked into the hall with elegant golden lotus steps, and then sat on the high seat belonging to the queen.[

"I have met the Queen." The concubines stood up one after another and curtsied.

"Okay, let's all get up." Su raised his hand and motioned for them to sit down.

"Thank you, Queen." The concubines bowed their heads to express gratitude, and then raised their eyes to look up. But at this sight, they were instantly dumbfounded.

Her dark eyebrows are spread far and wide, and her green temples are dyed thickly with the spring smoke. She does not apply powder and her face is as bright as morning glow reflecting the snow, her teeth are red and her lips are cut, her eyes are cut like water, and her skin is like fat orchid. She is dressed in a soft and dark flower.

Cloud pleated satin skirt, the dark green satin surface has no flaws, the silver silk thread is embellished with several slightly dewy lilies at the skirt, and the outer cover is fine-lined rosa, covering up the original dark green color

The "color" makes it looming, rather hazy, elegant yet stable. Three thousand green silk hairs are pulled into a smokey hibiscus bun, and a tasseled white jade hosta with moonlight is inserted diagonally to complement the earrings. Lily

It seems to be exuding a quiet fragrance, covering the whole body. A pair of purple eyes are as cold as a deep pool, as if they have seen through the world and the world of mortals. She is sitting lazily on the high platform, looking down at them like a queen.

With just one look, their makeup, which they had carefully put on for a long time, was instantly defeated. Shangguan Qi, the most beautiful person in the world, must be like this!

"What important matters do you all have these days?" His cold eyes glanced downwards indifferently, and then looked forward as if without focus.

"Sister, yesterday..." A concubine hurriedly stood up and said with a smile, but before she could finish her words, she was choked back by Shangguan Qi, her face turned red with embarrassment.

"I am not yet sixteen this year, and the coming-of-age ceremony will not be held until next month. My mother only raised me and my brother, and I have not heard anything new has been added to the Prime Minister's Palace.

Young Master." He glanced at the concubine and said in a cold tone.

"It's... it's sister... it's my concubine who is rude." The concubine was embarrassed to continue talking. She bowed and sat back in her seat.

And this incident also made the concubines who were about to move quiet down one after another. It was obvious that Shangguan Qi knew that they came with bad intentions and had already made full preparations. So they all lowered their heads and thought about their words again.

"The Queen." At this time, Lan Bin suddenly stood up, knelt in the center of the hall, and looked at her with a humble expression. "The Queen, I had a conflict with the former concubine Duoduo, and my father accidentally got the glass two days ago.

A colorful bead, I specially offer it today to express my apology. I hope the Queen will not forget the faults of others and forgive me for my past mistakes." After saying that, he glanced at his personal maid.

, and then saw the palace maid bringing out a tray. On it was a fist-sized orb, which was shining brightly, and the light was as colorful as a rainbow. It could indeed be called a treasure.

Everyone held their breath for a while, looking at Lan Bin with jealousy, contempt, and disdain. The one with the best relationship with Ye Bin in the palace was Lan Bin. Now that Ye Bin was deposed, Lan Bin immediately turned to her side.

Queen. What she said just now was extremely generous and flawless, and her attitude was extremely sincere and serious. If the Queen accepts the thing, it means that she has forgiven Lan Bin, and the past will not be dealt with. She even punished her for taking advantage of her shortcomings.

If she refuses, she will lose the maternal courtesy and generosity that a queen should have, and Lan Bin can also take this opportunity to spread some rumors that are not conducive to Shangguan Qi.

With the rumors in front of everyone, her position as queen may be unstable in the future because of these rumors. No matter what Shangguan Qi does, it will cause a lot of losses to her, so for a while everyone was secretly surprised at Lan Bin's scheming. Originally,

I thought she was fawning over Ye Bin because of cowardice, but now I saw that Ye Bin was being used by Lan Bin. But in addition to being frightened, they all looked nervously at Shangguan who was sitting crookedly above him.

Qi, guessing how she would answer Lan Bin.

Glancing at the glass bead, Shangguan Qi's purple eyes flashed. The temptation to stay in bed was so great, so he easily brought out Lan Bin hiding in the dark, a poisonous snake wearing a cowardly skin, risking his life like this

She was impressed by Yi Yi's approach. But if she was the target of the plot, it would be a different story.

"This is serious, Concubine Lan. I always act in accordance with the palace rules. Even if you were wrong, I punished you on the same day. So why should you offer me a treasure to apologize? If you don't forgive me, that's just a joke."

He replied to her calmly, then looked at the glass bead again, and said with a smile, "It's useless for me to hold this bead. Since it was given to you by your father, you should keep it. Why would you give it away?"

What? If your father knew about it, I’m afraid it would break his heart.”

Lan Bin originally thought that Shangguan Qi would not give in to her face and take the things in consideration of the overall situation in public, but who knew that things went against her wishes. Not only did her words render her speechless and unable to refute, but she also inexplicably buttoned up her clothes.

Unfilial hat, now, I am afraid that if the purpose is not achieved, she will lose face and be given the name of greed and vanity. At this time, she only felt that the blood in her body was rushing to her head, although she wanted to turn around and run away.

But that would only make me more embarrassed. So I had to pretend to be calm, forced out a smile, and said still gently: "Your Majesty is right, but I was negligent." After saying that, he left in dejection.

, sat back in his seat, bowed his head and said nothing.

There was no expected result, but a perfect counterattack. Looking at Shangguan Qi, who was lazily above him and defeated a concubine without even moving, everyone couldn't help but feel a little more wary. They thought she was just a bit arrogant.

The imposing little girl now realizes that she is the most hidden person in the harem. So one by one, they rearranged their postures and faced the enemy seriously. They also understood more and more in their hearts that what they asked for today would probably become more and more difficult.

.

"Everyone, is there anything else you can do? If you have nothing to do, let's get over it. I'm tired." He picked up the tea cup on the side, his tone was cold and without a trace of warmth. He lowered his eyes, which had been observing everyone secretly, and his lips had not yet touched each other.

Beside the tea cup, Concubine Shu, who couldn't hold her breath, suddenly stood up.

"Empress, I have something to ask you." Concubine Shu couldn't help but panic when she saw that she had given the eviction order. She stood up suddenly. She didn't care how eager her tone was and lost etiquette.

The cherry lips hidden behind the tea cup slowly raised, and her eyes glanced at the gently floating tea leaves. Then she put down the cup and looked at her: "Ask me." [

I thought she would refuse, but who would have thought that she would speak in such a cheerful tone. Concubine Shu felt for a moment that she had been tricked by Shangguan Qi. But now that she had asked the question, it was impossible to take it back, so she had to bite the bullet.

, asked the question that all the concubines wanted to ask: "Empress, I heard that the emperor has left the arrangements for his bed to your Majesty. Is this... is it true?" The last half of the sentence was clearly mentioned.

Asked sincerely.

Finally she asked, a flash of light flashed through her eyes, but her face was calm and unblemished. Instead, she was more worried: "That's right. Your Majesty has left this matter to me." She glanced at Xia Yu who was standing aside.

He understood and stepped back, and not long after, he walked in with the tray brought by the little boy.

"That's the tray sent by the emperor. I haven't touched it yet. You guys can take a look." Waving his hand, Xia Yu took the tray and walked past the concubines one by one. Wherever he went, all the concubines were...

He was so excited that his face turned pale. A pair of eyes stared at it like a wooden sign on the plate, which made Shangguan Qi above feel funny.

This is just a sign, and it’s not Ye Di himself lying on the plate. Why are you so excited?

Disdain flashed through her eyes, and then she motioned to Xia Yu to put the tray on the table next to her. "Actually, this arrangement of sleeping arrangements has been bothering me for a long time. After all, this is considered as a way to open up new opportunities for the royal family.

Important matters must be handled with caution. However, it is difficult for me to think of some fairer methods for a while. Now that Concubine Shu has proposed it, why don't we all think about it together and solve this troublesome matter for me." Looking at the side.

On the tray, Shangguan Qi's eyes were full of sorrow. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he looked like he had been entangled with troubles for a long time and his brows had not shown up. I felt pity for him. The Yaya people behind him had a few swishy streaks on their foreheads.

black line.

When the sun goes down, you go to bed, and when the sun comes up, you are still awake. Every day you eat a small basket of fruits, served by a group of maids and eunuchs, take a rose bath when you have nothing to do, and tease the emperor and prince every now and then when you are bored.

If you beat the concubines and get angry, you will have the most leisure time in the whole palace and live the most comfortable life. Why do you say that you still have troubles? How can you let these people be embarrassed?

Although she strongly felt the disdainful glances cast by the palace ladies behind her, Shangguan Qi still had a calm face and pretended to look at the concubines below with a sad look on her face, which made Yaya and the others

Once again I felt my master's admirable cheekiness and solid acting skills.

"This...this, we can't come up with any solution. I'm afraid...it's hard to help the Queen." A group of concubines discussed for a long time, and finally Concubine De stood up and spoke. In fact, it's not that they have no solution, but this solution

They just think about themselves. After all, this opportunity only comes once in a century. Who doesn’t want to take advantage of it? It’s better to be pregnant with a dragon fetus and give birth to a dragon son, so that they can achieve success in the harem and have no worries for the rest of their lives. But

You can only think about this method in your own mind and never say it out loud. Otherwise, you will be the one who suffers the loss and is embarrassed in the end.

"Oh, in that case, I have a solution that is not a solution." Shangguan Qi pursed her lips and smiled as she wished. Seeing everyone looking at her with longing expressions, she said unhurriedly, "This method is my solution."

What I just came up with is not perfect, but it is still a good idea."

"Then, my concubine, listen quietly to the Queen." The concubines said at the same time.

"Well, the method is...bidding!" Seeing the confusion flashing in their eyes at the same time, they explained, "To put it more simply, it's like the auction of a girl's first night in a brothel. Whoever pays the highest price will get the beauty's arms.

"

As soon as these words fell, everyone blushed with embarrassment. They also murmured secretly, why did the Queen say such vulgar words, but after a random thought, it turned out to be a good idea. Especially for the three concubines.

Said, this method simply favors them!

"Does the Empress want us to bid for this night?" Li Fei stood up and said. Since she lost a lot of face in the cold palace last time, she remained silent for a while.

Now when I heard this method, I couldn't help but speak.

"Well, that's right. Whoever bids the highest price will get the chance to sleep with you. However, for the sake of fairness, anyone who bids for the chance to sleep with you once will have to bid twice before bidding again. With your thoughts in mind, Your Majesty

Due to my poor health and busy schedule recently, I have decided to only bid five times a month. Each time I bid for two items, one is an opportunity to sleep with the emperor, and the other is an opportunity to have dinner with the emperor." Looking at the people below, their eyes lit up, and they

He held his chin with one hand and asked, "How is it? Do you think my method is feasible?"

There are five opportunities to sleep with each other every month, and there are five opportunities to have meals together. Even if you can't take a photo of the opportunity to take a photo of the bedtime, you can take a photo of the opportunity to have a meal together. And the person who was photographed this time needs to be photographed twice.

It is the third time that you can start bidding again. So no matter what, even if one of the three concubines gets an opportunity each time, then they still have another chance to bid. Thinking about it this way, it seems that each of them has the possibility to bid.

arrived. So they all nodded and said yes. Those who originally thought they were favoring the three concubines also raised their hands to express their agreement. After all, who married into the palace and climbed to the position he is today, whose family does not have some power? And he is still one who can.

It's a great opportunity to help them gain favor. I wonder which family will object? I'm afraid they will all be competing to send money to the palace!

"Since everyone has agreed, then the matter is settled. However, I hope that all sisters will not make any noise, otherwise it will be reported to the emperor. I am worried that in the emperor's anger, everyone will go to the cold palace to spend their remaining years.

Of course, I don’t care. The Cold Palace is my annex, but the concubines here are here. I think no one will be willing to go in." With one hand, he entangled the long hair hanging on his chest, with a pair of eyes like

He looked at them with a non-smiling smile. The corners of his lips were curved, as bright as the autumn moon.
To be continued...