The ace special forces who dominated the Sui dynasty's late period

  At the time of getting drunk, Liu Ziqiu had the idea of breaking into the palace. The Eastern Capital was too big, and relying on himself alone, even if he turned all the tea houses and wine shops upside down, it would be difficult to get any news about Gao Xiuer. But Liu Ziqiu was very clear that Gao Xiuer came to Luoyang for revenge. He believed that as long as he kept an eye on Yang Guang, he could find out where Gao Xiuer was. Yang Guang lived in the deep palace, and he couldn't avoid going out for a walk. Now, he could help Han Shiyue while also exploring the path, truly killing two birds with one stone.

  But then Zhang Chuyu asked again: "What is the third thing?"

  Liu Ziqiu said seriously: "Prince Han, if Princess Hou is willing to stay in the palace and accompany the king, we can't force her!"

  This is not Liu Ziqiu's alarmist talk. In the world, women like Zhang Chuyu who have a unique insight are probably rare, Yang Guang and Han Shiyue, one is the master of the world, and the other is just a young general who has just come out of his thatched cottage, who will Hou Susu choose, it's really hard to say.

  Li Jing and his wife exchanged a glance, both with solemn faces. But Han Shixie was full of confidence, patting his chest and saying: "Su Su won't change her mind!"

  This time the selection of women was proposed by Empress Xiao, in order to fill up the Western Garden. At this time, Yang Guang had not returned from his northern tour, and even Empress Xiao accompanied him, so there was no hurry to select the women immediately.

  Coincidentally, the West Linxi Garden No. 16 was recently completed, and the Ministry of Works sent someone to report the good news to Yang Guang by horseback. Yang Guang was overjoyed for a moment, announcing that he would visit the West Garden after returning to Dongdu.

  Yang Guang liked to make a scene, he wanted to tour the Western Garden, and it couldn't be empty. Empress Xiao then sent someone to rush back with a letter, entrusting the two Chen concubines who were left in charge of the palace to select beautiful women for him recently.

  These two Chen consorts also have a great background, they are the two daughters of Emperor Chen Shubao with different mothers. The elder sister is named Chen Xiang, born to Consort Xiao, and was enfeoffed as Princess Guangde. The younger sister is named Chen Yun, her birth mother was Zhang Lihua who was beheaded by Gao Jie. If Zhang Lihua had not been killed by Gao Jie back then, wouldn't it be embarrassing for the mother and daughter to serve the same husband together?

  Even before the northern tour, Yang Guang had already established the system. In the Western Garden, a total of 16 courtyards were built, each with one exceptionally talented woman serving as the head, titled Fourth-Rank Lady. Another 20 beauties were selected to live among them, taught singing and dancing, to provide entertainment during banquets. A total of 336 people. The rest also selected more than 2,000 women assigned to various places for miscellaneous duties.

  After Yang Guang left the Eastern Capital, eunuchs like Xu Tingfu were sent out to search for beauties. Those who were chosen by the eunuchs, such as Wang Guizhi and Hou Susu, were included in the list of 336 people. The insufficient number was made up by selecting women of suitable age from among those like Shi Huiniang.

  Early in the morning, the palace gate was already crowded with candidates. Most of these women were not willing to enter the palace, but now they had no choice but to dress up and look their best. Because everyone knew that once you stepped through this palace gate, it would be difficult to come out again. Rather than being eliminated and becoming an ordinary palace maid or servant, it was better to fight for a position, even if it meant just being a beauty, which at least had some status.

  Gao Xiuer, who had come in place of Shi Huiniang, was also standing in the queue at this moment. All around her were beautiful women with elegant eyebrows and lovely faces, all of whom were charming and refined. The real Shi Huiniang could be considered a pretty girl, but if she were to stand among these women, she would probably be outshone immediately.

  Unlike these people, Gao Xiuer did not apply powder and deliberately came a little later, standing in a relatively backward position. Because Gao Xiuer's purpose is different from theirs, she just wants to mix into the palace, as for whether or not to be a lady or beauty, it doesn't matter, being an inconspicuous miscellaneous servant may have more opportunities.

  Although there were over ten rows, only one person was allowed in each row every half day. The queue moved very slowly. As it approached noon, someone finally became impatient and muttered: "It's so slow, when will it be my turn?"

  Someone said: "Do you know where this is? This is the imperial palace, and security checks are naturally strict. It takes half a day to search your body before entering."

  In this way, nearly three hours passed slowly, and then the procession suddenly moved faster.

  "It's all over!" The girl in front of Gao Xiu'er suddenly sighed and said, "It must be that the 336 people have already been selected, and we're only left with the fate of doing odd jobs and serving others."

  "What's going on?" Gao Xiuer asked, seemingly puzzled.

  The girl sighed and said: "After entering, we need to meet the princess, so the body search will be more detailed. Now that we're walking quickly, it's definitely not necessary to see the princess."

  Gao Xiuer thought for a moment and felt that she was also right, and suddenly relaxed a bit.

  The girl in front was right, the two Chen Niangniangs had been selecting for a whole morning and were gradually getting tired. Their selections became more casual, and soon they had filled the quota of 336 people. There were still hundreds of people left who would be sent to various institutes directly, but they didn't bother to look anymore.

  Just as the two princesses were about to leave, a sudden commotion was heard outside. Chen Furrowed his brow and asked those around him, "What's all the hubbub?"

  One of the palace maids came to report: "Your Highness, someone has secretly brought a deadly weapon into the palace and has been caught by the guards."

  Chen Dou asked: "Who is so bold? What kind of fierce weapon are you carrying?"

  The palace maid said: "Xiu Nu Shi Hui Niang privately brought scissors and said she was doing needlework."

  "Ah, you've brought her to see me."

  "Little sister, privately bringing forbidden items into the palace is a crime punishable by being dragged out and beaten to death. What's so special about her?"

  "Eldest sister doesn't know, but younger sister is in need of someone to do needlework for her."

  While speaking, Gao Xiuer had already been brought in, hanging her head and saying: "I beg Your Ladyship to make a decision, that pair of scissors is indeed what I normally use, there's no evil intention. There are still some silk threads in my sleeve."

  Just now, I heard that entering the palace requires a body search. Gao Xiuer was helpless and took advantage of the queue to slowly remove some threads from her clothes and hide them in her sleeves. She just said she didn't know the rules of the palace because she was used to doing needlework and brought scissors and threads together.

  If it were just a pair of scissors, it would be suspicious, but now there's even a thread, Chen Dun couldn't help but believe it, and said: "Lift your head up."

  Gao Xiuer raised her head and only then did she clearly see the two noblewomen in front of her. Both had faces as radiant as a sunrise, skin as white as snow, eyes like autumn water, and eyebrows like distant mountains. They were truly resplendent and extremely beautiful.

  Chen Dun let out a "huh" and said: "Sister, who does she look like?"

  Chen Huan hadn't paid attention before, but after listening to Chen Zhou's words, he took a closer look and was shocked, asking: "Where are you from?"

  "Your Majesty, I am from Luoyang in the Eastern Capital. My humble name is Huimai, and my father's name is Shi Shun. He runs an inn on East Gate Street. My mother's surname is Wang."

  Chen Xiang said disappointedly: "So you are not a native of Jiangnan after all."

  Chen Dou smiled and said: "Sister, look at her, she looks just like you did when you were young. Why don't you keep her by your side?"

  Gao Xiuer was shocked and only then noticed that the slightly older noblewoman indeed bore some resemblance to herself.

  But then Chen Xiang said: "This is the woman specially chosen by Your Majesty for the Western Park, how dare I detain her? Alright, have someone arrange a lighter task for her."

  "It's a pity that she and her sister are so alike, it would be a waste to make her do miscellaneous chores." Chen Yun shook his head and said, "It's better to count her in the number instead."

  Chen Xiang hesitated and said: "All 336 beauties have been prepared..."

  Chen Duo smiled and said: "What's difficult about this? It's still just a matter of one word from us sisters."

  Chen Xiang thought for a moment and said, "That's also true. I remember that yesterday, Xu Tingfu brought over a woman with the surname Hou, who was indeed beautiful, but she cried all along the way and looked very unwilling. If she were to disturb the emperor in the future, it would not be good, so why not replace her?"

  Because of this little Chen's words, Gao Xiuer was selected among those 336 people. However, with this came the opportunity to get closer to Yang Guang, but also became the focus of everyone's attention, making it even harder to hide her tracks. Gao Xiuer was very unwilling, but had no choice.

  In the late afternoon, a group of beauties were taken to the west gate of the palace. Once out of the palace gate, there was another world outside, which was Yang Guang's newly built Xilin Western Garden.

  In the garden, a pool is dug to be the sea, and stones are gathered to form mountains. Pavilions and terraces wind and curve, halls and kiosks shine brightly. Moreover, rare flowers and strange grasses are planted everywhere, peach blossoms and willow trees line the paths, and green shade covers everything; precious birds and auspicious beasts are also raised, golden apes and blue deer, moving in groups. What a paradise on earth! All the beauties were stunned at the sight.

  In this Western Garden, except for the three fairy islands in the lake whose names have been decided, the remaining five lakes and sixteen courtyards do not yet have names, waiting for Yang Guang to return and personally decree them. Even these 336 beautiful women are only temporarily residing in the sixteen courtyards. As for who will be in charge and who will be the beauties, it will have to wait until Empress Xiao returns to the Eastern Capital.

  Gao Xiuer was assigned to the Fifteenth Court, along with a rejected girl who became her personal maid. Another twenty girls were also assigned there, all learning music and dance every day, waiting for the Empress's return.

  But that evening, Li Jing finally returned home. Liu Ziqiu and Han Shiyue came forward together and asked in unison: "How was it?"

  Li Jing shook his head and sighed: "I'll try again tomorrow."

  He was a member of the Ministry of Works, assisting the Minister in charge of vehicle management and scheduling. As a result, he had to deal with the Ministry of Works from time to time, so he had several acquaintances among the officials. For a whole day, he stayed in the Ministry of Works, under the pretext of studying vehicles, but actually wanting to sneak a peek at the palace layout, but ended up gaining nothing.

  After some probing, Li Jing finally figured out that all the plans for building Dongdu, including the palace and Shanglin Western Garden, had been taken away by Yuwen Kai, the Minister of Works. Without his order, no one could see them.

  Don't say Yuwen Kai is following Yang Guang on his northern tour at this moment, even if he is in Dongdu, Li Jing and he have no private relationship, and it's not possible to borrow.

  Liu Ziqiu looked at Han Shiyan's disappointed face and suddenly smiled: "No map is no problem, tonight the clouds are thick, it's just right for action. I'll go to the palace tonight to take a look around, even if I don't find Hou Gongzhu, recognizing the path first is also good."

  Li Jing's home was in Yongkangli, southeast of Luoyang, while the palace city was to the northwest, with the Luo River separating them. According to regulations, each neighborhood had a neighborhood officer, and each market had a market officer, even the bridges over the Luo River had bridge officers. Every evening, the neighborhood officers would close the gates, then take turns keeping watch until dawn the next day before opening them again.

  It was not yet the third watch of the night, and the two gatekeepers on duty had already dozed off. Suddenly, a dark shadow floated over their heads.