In the last month of the Thirteenth Year of Jianxing, Liangzhou was covered with a thick layer of white snow.

Guanzhong may be better than Liangzhou, the snow is not that thick, but as far as the eye can see, it is still a vast expanse of white.

After passing Tongguan and continuing to the east, Luoyang, the core of the Wei State, has only a thin layer.

In many places, because there was too little snow, ice formed instead.

Even so, this year's winter still feels much colder than the previous two years.

Cao Rui's body has never been considered strong.

When his body is weak, he becomes particularly sensitive to cold air, so Cao Rui dislikes winter, especially such cold winter days.

But Cao Rui, like his father Cao Pi, has a hobby that he can't give up: drinking and sex.

Needless to say, sex.

After the Battle of Shiting, according to Wei law, the wives and concubines left by the fallen soldiers were selected to be married to other soldiers.

However, Shangshu Lang Lianzhao, knowing what Cao Rui liked, secretly selected dozens of those with good looks to enter the Xuchang Palace to serve the Wei Emperor.

What is even more surprising is that the number of female officials in Luoyang's harem (i.e. female officials who are eligible to receive salaries) is the same as the number of officials in the court.

There were more than 3,000 people in the palace, ranging from the nobles to those sweeping the palace.

Many ministers came to remonstrate with Cao Rui, saying that it was enough to prepare one hundred and twenty concubines according to the Zhou rites, and the remaining ones were sent home to reunite with their families.

Cao Rui was otherwise a wise king, and he could listen to the advice of his ministers.

Only civil engineering and the harem were things that he cared about deeply and was unwilling to compromise.

However, over the years, Wei's repeated defeats in foreign wars made Cao Rui lack of prestige. Under repeated admonitions from his officials, he was forced to cut back a little and stop the construction of the palace.

As for the harem, they never gave in.

Fortunately, Shangshu Lang Lian Zhao knew the emperor's intentions and secretly sent some of the women in the palace to Xuchang Palace.

This resulted in less discussion among the ministers.

It's just that Cao Rui has heard too many such remarks, and he is irritated, but he doesn't dare to have an attack.

Simply choose a trustworthy woman in the harem who is knowledgeable and courteous, and serves as the female minister to help with matters concerning external affairs and reduce the number of visits to foreign ministers.

Cao Rui was so lustful and frail, so he often resorted to drinking to entertain himself.

After the Battle of Longyou, Liangzhou's peach wine was stopped for several years, and I don't know if it was because I couldn't taste it for a long time.

When there were caravan exchanges between Liangzhou and Guanzhong again, Cao Rui felt that the peach wine passed over from there seemed to be much sweeter than before.

Not to mention the extremely delicious mead.

It's just that wine is a poison that penetrates the intestines, and sex is like a bone scraper. If you have both wine and sex without knowing how to control it, you will meet the king of hell in the underworld.

A certain country turtle who was suffering in Liangzhou now fully agreed with this sentence.

If he knew that Cao Rui was having such a good time, he would definitely feel ashamed and retreat even further.

In this cold winter day, Cao Rui took two sips of strong liquor that he did not often touch in the past. When he felt his body warmed up, he ordered:

"Come here, let's set up a prayer palace."

Lian Zhao, who was standing by, agreed and quickly went down to make arrangements.

The so-called Prayer Palace was a newly built palace in the past two years.

It was not Cao Rui's concubine, but a woman from Shouchun.

This woman could cure diseases with pure water, and she said that she was a goddess who descended to earth and lived in the harem to help the emperor's family eliminate disasters, ward off evil spirits, and receive blessings and increase longevity.

At first, Cao Rui was half-convinced, but at that time Duke Shanyang died and another great epidemic broke out in Luoyang, so he ordered her to try to treat him.

Later, the epidemic in Luoyang subsided, so Cao Rui believed in her.

Not only did he specially build a palace for her in the harem, he even issued an edict to praise her virtuous people.

In the past two years, when Cao Rui felt unwell or was in a bad mood, he often liked to go to the Prayer Palace where the goddess lived.

When the goddess heard that Cao Rui was coming, she stood at the Palace of Prayer to greet her early:

"I have met His Majesty."

"Get up. I said before, you are a goddess, you don't need to be so polite."

Cao Rui stepped forward, helped the goddess up personally, and said pretending to be displeased.

The skin of the goddess is slightly dark, but this does not affect her noble temperament that is not stained by the fireworks of the world - at least in Cao Rui's eyes.

Because her expression is always so calm, like those soft lines on the edge of a calm lake where the water and the sky meet, quiet and soft.

This calmness alone can make Cao Rui always feel at ease.

The goddess in front of me is dressed very differently from the women in the world.

The open peach-shaped collar of the outer garment is uniquely embroidered with golden wavy lace, which adds a bit of nobility to the goddess.

Even though he is the emperor, Cao Rui has never seen clothes of this style.

Her long, shiny, slightly curly hair was tied behind her head by a piece of red silk. It seemed simple, but against the backdrop of her pure black dress, her whole person seemed to show a kind of enchantment. Extraordinary alluring beauty.

This is probably the goddess of heaven. Everything is different from the women in the world, but yet they appear so harmoniously in her body.

"Although I am a goddess, I don't care about ordinary people, but Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven and is above the goddess. How can I be rude?"

The goddess said calmly, her voice was like hers, and seemed to have a calming charm.

Cao Rui is delighted:

"It's cold outside, let's wait until we go in."

"Your Majesty, please."

The goddess turned sideways and extended her hand to greet him.

Lian Zhao and others stood there knowingly, not daring to follow them in.

After all, it is the residence of the goddess, how can it be allowed to be polluted by the world?

Except for your majesty, the only men who can enter here are all female officials carefully selected from the harem.

After passing two arches, the goddess opened a door and saw a large closed corridor appearing in front of her.

Both sides of the cloister are carved with gold and painted with patterns. There are a dozen white candles placed on the walls on both sides, each as thick as a baby's arm, and the flames dance.

The light and black shadows intersect and sway, making the carvings seem to come alive. They are exquisite, ingenious, and bizarre.

This white candle alone made Cao Rui, an emperor, look in admiration.

I heard from the goddess that these candles, as white and as smooth as jade, were given by God Haotian, and only those blessed by Haotian are qualified to enjoy them.

The thicker the candle, the greater the blessing.

Cao Rui At present, such candles can only be seen in the palace where the goddess of heaven lives.

He also asked the goddess when he would be able to use such candles.

The goddess only said that when your majesty's blessing comes, it will appear in the world. If it does not appear, it means that the time has not come yet.

After Cao Rui heard these words, it was hard to ask any more questions.

Stepping into the grand corridor, reaching the end, you will find a spacious and luxurious bedroom directly with several tables, curtains, etc., which are unique in style, luxurious and extravagant, and have a mysterious allure.

The most eye-catching thing is a huge bronze mirror standing opposite the couch. All activities in the couch area are reflected in the mirror.

The long gauze tents of various colors all around hang down to the ground, and the wind blows the gauze, making it confusing and confusing, making people drifting and intoxicated.

"Your Majesty, please."

Cao Rui was not polite and just lay down on the couch. His body immediately fell into the warm and soft couch, making him sigh comfortably.

Smelling the faint but unknown fragrance made Cao Rui feel relaxed all over, and he felt a little fluttery, as if he was riding the wind.

Compared to the cold emperor's palace, Cao Rui preferred this place.

Because here, he can always fall asleep quickly.

"I heard that you recently left the palace again?"

"Yes, the eldest princess invited me, but I couldn't do it, so I went to the princess's house to pray for the princess."

The concubines in the harem are not allowed to see their families lightly, but the goddess of heaven is an exception.

After all, praying for blessings for the imperial family includes not only His Majesty, but also the princes and princes of various sects.

Of course, ordinary princes cannot invite the goddess, nor are they qualified to do so.

However, those who are close to Cao Rui by blood, or close to Cao Rui himself, can still occasionally invite the goddess to pray at his house as long as they have Cao Rui's permission.

The eldest princess mentioned by the goddess is Princess Qinghe, Cao Rui's aunt and Cao Pi's sister. Her status is certainly extraordinary.

Although she is married to Xiahou Mao, in the past few years, the three Xiahou families have actually been ignored by Cao Rui, and even Luoyang is not allowed to leave easily.

Therefore, Princess Qinghe had long been separated from Xia Houmao and lived alone in the princess mansion.

"Well, my aunt has always been ignored by Xia Houmao. I used to misunderstand her and thought she was a jealous woman."
To be continued...