The warm pavilion is very spacious, several maids are serving in the corner, and a slim lady is sitting by the window, lost in thought, it is Lu Pingting.

She was wearing a silver-pink cross-neck hang silk jacket. The neckline and cuffs were embroidered with silver thread and rice beads to form a pattern. Below was a pink-orange long skirt. She looked soft and unobtrusive.

She was sitting at the edge of the small table, holding a white porcelain cup plated with silver and floral flowers in her hand.

Seeing Wu Jie coming in, she immediately got up to meet her, and greeted with a smile, "My sister is here too."

"Concubine Lu Gui came early." Wu Jie nodded, took off the cloak and handed it to Chi Rui, and sat on the other side of the small table.

"Thinking of coming to visit the empress today, I was so nervous all night that I didn't dare to close my eyes, which made my sister laugh." Lu Pingting didn't avoid her nervousness. In her opinion, the person in front of her should be more nervous than herself in terms of her background. She didn't expect to be so calm and calm, perhaps she really complied with the old saying that the ignorant have no fear.

Sure enough, stupid people also have the benefits of being stupid. Lu Pingting sighed secretly.

"The lady officer said just now that the empress won't wake up for another quarter of an hour. My sister is bored waiting, why not have a cup of tea. The scented tea here is very delicious." After sitting quietly for a while, Lu Pingting was really bored and began to gossip.

While speaking, she picked up the teacup, inside the delicate white porcelain, there was a strong aroma, and there were a few tender little things floating inside, which seemed to be flower petals.

Wu Jie frowned, remembering that Empress Gao always treated guests with West Lake Longjing and Xinyang Maojian, and never drank scented tea.

It was specially requested by Lu Pingting

"It was burning on the stove in the Nuan Ge. After staying for a long time, I was bored, so I asked Shan Fang to pour me a cup." Lu Pingting said with a smile.

Wu Jie glanced at the half-person-high copper furnace in the center of the Nuan Pavilion, the charcoal fire was burning red, and there was a huge Seven Treasures toad sitting on it. From the holes on the toad's back, it can be seen that the tender white petals are leaping with the boiling water, and at the same time, the curling water vapor overflows from the seven holes of different colors on the toad's back. The fragrance filled the whole room.

Flower petals are boiled in this copper pot, but it’s not scented tea

Boiling water in it is only because it is too hot to use a stove charcoal basin in winter, and it needs to add more water vapor to make people feel comfortable.

Other concubines in the palace like to add spices and dew to it. The whole room is moisturized and fragrant.

Empress Gao didn't like the overly strong incense, so the palace staff of Phoenix Rite Palace added dried flowers to get a little aroma.

Lu Pingting must have never seen this kind of thing before, so she even ordered the maid to drink it.

Well, from a certain point of view, it can be regarded as a pot of scented tea.

It's just that Lu Pingting wanted to drink, but the palace servants in the Nuan Pavilion didn't even remind them, they were probably secretly watching the joke.

Responding to Lu Pingting's kind suggestion, Wu Jie lowered her eyes, "No need, I don't like too strong aroma, I'm still used to drinking green tea."

Immediately, a palace official stepped forward and brought up a cup of tea.

Wu Jie picked up and wiped off the lid, it was light and pleasant, it was Longjing.

The two sat on their seats and sipped their tea. After waiting for a while, a female officer in charge came in and bowed and said, "Invite the two empresses into the palace."

Wu Jie and Lu Pingting got up immediately, followed the female officer in charge out of the Nuan Pavilion, went all the way east, passed through two gates, and arrived at the entrance of the main hall not long after.

Before entering the door, heard voices coming from inside.

Lu Pingting looked terrified, "You ladies have already arrived, but are we late?"

The female officer in charge said with a smile, "The Empress already knows the respect of the two of you, and thinking that everyone in the palace wants to meet the newcomer, she waited until all the people were ready before ordering the servants to invite the two of you over."

While speaking, the palace servants opened the door curtain, and the two entered the hall.

At the first glance, Wu Jie saw the figure sitting in the center. Time went back several years, Empress Gao looked younger, and her pair of beautiful eyes of red and phoenix were shining brightly. She was wearing a bright satin dress with rose patterns, her long black hair was combed into a high bun, and a red gold bead flower inlaid with lapis lazuli was inserted. His elegant demeanor makes people dare not underestimate him.

Looking left and right, there are dozens of seats in two rows, most of which are empty. There were only seven or eight people standing and sitting.

It was only then that Wu Jie remembered that most of the eminent concubines in the palace did not enter the palace in this year. After all, it was only the second year of Tianzhao. Not long after the emperor succeeded to the throne, most of the people in the palace were old people from when he was in the hidden residence.

"The concubine sees the empress." Lu Pingting beside her had already knelt down.

Wu Jie hesitated for a moment, then knelt down on the mat provided by the palace man.

Empress Gao was not embarrassed either, and immediately smiled and said, "Let's get back together, both of you."

The two of them, Shi Shiran, stood up, and suddenly there was a delicate smile, "The two new sisters are as fresh as green onions. Looking at them really makes people have to accept their old age."

The one who spoke was Concubine Hongshu who sat first under Empress Gao.

She was born with a very delicate round face, with delicate makeup, looking like a spring flower, and unparalleled in romance. It's just that they looked at Wu Jie and the two with some unkind eyes.

Most of the bad things were directed at Lu Pingting. Just look at the clothes of Concubine Hongshu to know the reason. She was wearing a lotus-pink double-breasted long skirt, and a pink-orange skirt underneath, which happened to be just like Lu Pingting's, but the patterns and styles were better than Lu Pingting's. The butterflies were embroidered with gold thread, and the butterfly's wings and The eyes are embedded with crimson gemstones, which are drawn by gold wires. The gemstones tremble as they move, and their brilliance flows, just like a butterfly spreading its wings to fly. On the jet-black fairy-looking bun was a bead flower made of pink gemstones, dotted with a few bees made of red gold.

This whole-body demeanor really echoed the phrase "attracting bees and attracting butterflies."

"You are not as old as Concubine Lu Gui, but you say you are old. Isn't that mocking us as old women?" Empress Gao said with a smile.

Concubine Hongshu snorted and didn't say anything more.

Although the make-up is heavy on the domineering little face, there is still a kind of childishness when you look closely.

Wu Jie recalled that Concubine Hongshu should only be fourteen years old this year, and had just entered the palace not long ago. She is the niece of the Empress Dowager's direct relative, and the Hong family is very powerful in the court. Concubine Hongshu's father, Hong Heting, is now the Prime Minister of the Left, so it is true that there is no need to pay too much attention to Empress Gao's face.

It stands to reason that Concubine Hong Shu's status as a queen also makes it necessary. In the early years, Queen Mother Hong really wanted to kiss her niece as a daughter-in-law, but Emperor Zhanghe appointed Yuan Jing as the first daughter of the Gao family. The cousin can only be wronged and become Concubine Shu.

In Yuan Jing's early years, the harem was the seedling head of Empress Gao and Concubine Hongshu, until Concubine Hongshu died of illness two or three years later.

A concubine on the right side in beige palace attire smoothed things over with a smile, "You two sisters, please sit down quickly." Wu Jie recognized Concubine Lin Xian, who is now Zhaoyuan, one of the nine concubines.

The female officer in charge led the two of them to the middle seat.

Because of the small number of people, the positions of the two were quite high. In fact, apart from Concubine Hongshu, only Lin Zhaoyuan and Li Chongrong, who was also among the nine concubines, could be ranked in front of them. Then there are Wu Jie and Lu Pingting.

The remaining three or four people are all beauties and talents. According to the palace rules, they can only stand behind the main seat and are not allowed to sit.

The ranks of the Great Wei harem are not complicated. Below the empress, there are the first-rank concubines Guishu Dexian, then there are six concubines of the second rank, nine concubines of the third rank, and Wu Jie's current noble concubine. There are nine concubines as usual. After that, there are twelve concubines of the fifth rank. These are the official status of the jade disc gold book, and they have to be listed in the genealogy. There is no limit to the number of nobles, beauties, talented people and so on behind, and their status is also low, so they can be canonized at will.

Wu Jie was looking at everyone, and everyone was also looking at them.

Both of them had beautiful faces, among them, Lu Guifei had clear and graceful features and a natural bookish air. She was worthy of being a lady of a scholarly family, and heard that she was a talented woman who was well-known in her hometown.

Looking at Wu Guipin again, feel even more icy muscles and bones, as clear as a god. The appearance of Shanlun is probably higher than that of Concubine Lu Gui. Is such an outstanding talent actually just a servant? It must have been carefully selected by Dongyue from the people to assist in inviting pets.

This kind of lowly person can actually sit on an equal footing with them, even above several concubines who were born in official families. Everyone couldn't help feeling uneasy.

Two court ladies stepped forward and served tea to the two of them.

Concubine Hongshu suddenly sneered, "Why does the Queen need to prepare tea, just pour a cup from the ready-made stove. Concubine Lu Gui likes to drink these fragrant things."

Empress Gao raised her eyebrows, a little puzzled.

Concubine Hongshu continued to laugh and said, "In the Nuan Pavilion, I heard that Lu Guifei drank the water used to smoke the house, and poured several cups in a row. The water in this smoker tastes very good."

Lu Pingting was extremely intelligent, and immediately realized that she had made a fool of herself, her cheeks were flushed, and she hung her head in silence.

Concubine Hongshu refused to let her go so easily, and said with a smile, "I asked you a question, why didn't you even answer me. I heard that Master Lu is also from a famous local family, tsk tsk"

Li Chongrong frowned and said, "Oh, why does Concubine Lu Gui directly drink these water mixed with spices into his stomach, so he is not afraid of getting sick, so let's find an imperial doctor to take a look." This sentence sounds concerned, but the connotation is also very Fu Fu, if she really wanted to find an imperial physician, Lu Pingting's little embarrassment would turn into a big embarrassment.

Lin Zhaoyuan smiled and said, "Sister Li, don't worry, the palace people often drink this water sometimes, and there is nothing wrong with it. What's more, the ones on the side of the empress are all flower petals collected by the palace people a few months ago, not ordinary spices. When you look up, it’s no different from scented tea.”

Xia Guiren smiled and said, "Your Majesty is more knowledgeable. I don't have anyone to drink it, but I heard that some girls use this water to soak their feet."

Listening to their discussion, Lu Pingting looked embarrassed, she just wished she could find a crack in the ground and slip in.

Li Chongrong suddenly realized, "It's because I rarely see it and it's strange. It turns out that the servants of the palace often drink it. No wonder the two younger sisters drank it."

"Li Chongrong's words are wrong, it's just that Concubine Lu likes to drink scented tea, but Concubine Wu likes green tea." Concubine Hongshu said slowly, "No wonder people say that this is the reason why little maids are not as good as everyone's maids. "

Wu Jie's eyebrows twitched, this sentence stepped on two people, and even provoked two people, so vicious.

Lu Pingting couldn't stand such a blunt slap. Her cheeks were flushed, and after some hesitation, she simply stood up and said, "It's because my concubines are too inexperienced, and I made you laugh at me. Although my father said he was in charge, he always He keeps his body upright, lives a simple life, and has never seen any utensils in the palace."

She said these words in a righteous way, although she did not directly excuse herself, and even admitted that her knowledge was shallow, but by praising her father, she turned this shallowness into integrity. It is not unwise to deal with it.

But no matter how clever the response, as long as you want to find faults, you can always find loopholes.

Concubine Hongshu snorted coldly, "As expected of a talented woman who has read sage books, Concubine Lu Gui has something in her words. Is this a sarcasm of extravagance in the palace?"

She hated the two of them extremely, because in Great Wei's harem, except for the queen, the concubines have always been drafted into the palace, and there are very few recruits. In the harem before, only he had enjoyed this kind of treatment, but now two at a time. That's all for the concubine Wu Gui, but if the state government needs it, she will enter the palace on behalf of the lord. This Lu Pingting, but she didn't know the reason why she fell into the eyes of the emperor's cousin.

Before Lu Pingting could answer, Empress Gao frowned, "Okay, a cup of tea can elicit so many words from you. Mr. Lu is upright and upright, and he is good at teaching his children. No wonder even the emperor is famous."

The queen spoke, but Concubine Hongshu didn't say much, and a small quarrel disappeared without a trace.

Empress Gao said to the two of them again, "Now you two are lucky enough to enter the palace and serve the holy driver. In the future, you need to abide by your duties, serve with all your heart, and spread your branches and leaves for the royal family."

The two quickly stood up and saluted, thanking the queen for her instruction.

Afterwards, Empress Gao raised her hand and ordered everyone to retreat.

Walking out of the main hall, the sky was gloomy, and it seemed that another heavy snow was brewing.

Wu Jie gathered up her clothes, and the wind was even biting colder than when she came here. In this kind of weather, it's better to go back and sleep quickly.

Before lifted foot, suddenly felt something.

She turned her head and met Lu Pingting's gaze behind her.

Caught off guard, Lu Pingting lowered her head guiltily, then quickly turned into the corridor on the other side.

Wu Jie looked at her receding back, a little speechless.

That look just now was clearly filled with resentment.

It's just such a small thing, if you want to hate it, it should be Concubine Hongshu, why do you hate yourself?