Chapter 6: Review
The Imperial Noble Consort, in a bad mood, started picking fights with everyone.
The next group of palace maids came up, and coincidentally, there was a bold one among them who didn't understand the rules of the palace and was looking around indiscriminately. Before the two ladies could say anything, she looked up and started glancing around indiscriminately, and was immediately scolded by Que Ri.
The aunt in charge of teaching the rules to the maidens immediately lost her composure, as if she had been slapped in the face. She knew that this maid had no future, so she wasn't afraid of offending her. First, she went forward to apologize to the two empresses, and then she scolded the maid thoroughly.
Those who enter the palace, fear not other things, but fear most of all not knowing the rules and offending the master. Not to mention whether the daughter of a minor official from outside the capital can even enter the palace, even if she does, she probably won't gain any high position. Before she even gets a chance to climb up, she'll be brought down by her own actions.
Consort Shen watched the farce with great interest, and after a while, lazily adjusted her sleeve and slowly said, "Enough."
Aunt Chu immediately fell silent.
"Why bother talking to someone so unruly? Let's call it a day.”
The little eunuch Qingzhou beside the noble consort immediately took a flower and handed it to the beauty. Those who passed the second selection would receive a token and a fragrant pouch, and if all went well, they could enter the palace. The final selection would only affect their final rank. Those who did not pass the second selection were given a flower and sent out of the palace, which is similar to the selection rules of the Qing Dynasty.
Being labeled as unruly by the noble consort, if this girl were from the capital, she would probably never get married. The daughter of a minor official outside the capital wouldn't be too affected; if she married someone far away, no one would know about these matters.
That talented woman was taken away in a huff, unable to leave with the remaining four companions. Just then, a convoy came to take the unsuccessful candidates out of the palace, and Aunt Chu took the initiative to put this particular candidate into the convoy, so she didn't have to wait in line with the others to leave.
Such a disaster, she can't dare to stay in the palace any longer. What if she accidentally offends some noble...
Although today's selection is presided over by the Noble Consort and the Empress, no one can say for sure whether other concubines will come to watch the excitement.
Inside the grand hall, Consort Shen, lacking interest, nestled back into her throne and waved her hand, dismissing the four palace maids. The Empress didn't say anything, which meant she disapproved, so the four women were dismissed.
Several groups in a row have been rather dull. The queen indeed picked a few seemingly well-behaved girls to perform their talents, but as soon as they opened their mouths, it was clear they were anything but well-behaved.
There was a girl who seemed quite quiet, but when she spoke, her words were shockingly mercenary. You could tell right away that she wasn't the type to stay in her lane. Not only does the Empress look down on her, but the Noble Consort has also directly issued a decree.
The emperor doesn't plan to select too many women for the palace, but to silence the censors, he still has to symbolically choose a few. At the very least, there should be about ten. Excluding those who are definitely given high positions, the rest are basically just conferred with sixth or seventh rank titles to make up the numbers. As for whether one can make a name for themselves, it all depends on their own abilities.
A few years ago, the emperor changed the rules for the selection of candidates. Now, apart from the daughters of officials of the third rank and above within the capital who must participate, those from outside the capital and those of the third rank and below are not as strictly required to do so. If you don't want to participate in the selection, you don't have to come. Those who came are basically either not willing to do so themselves or were forced by their families.
Empress Fu and Consort Shen had no intention of harming others, so naturally, they wouldn't choose those reluctant-looking candidates; that would ruin them. However, there were quite a few who wanted to enter the palace themselves. Although the conditions were strict—one had to genuinely wish to enter the palace and not have any ulterior motives—after much selection, a few who met the requirements were finally chosen.
But after entering the palace, they won't achieve much either; they're just picked to fill the ranks.
Halfway through, the main event finally arrived.
Su Qiaoxin came in.
Consort Shen, shedding her previous arrogant and fierce demeanor, smiled kindly at Su Qiaoxin and said, "Is this the daughter of Minister Su? She really is quite striking."
Empress Fu glanced at her, not knowing what kind of trouble she was planning to stir up again.
"A skillful hand and a clever heart, good name." Shen Yuqing pointed at her from the roster and said with a light laugh. (T/N: From the Chinese 巧 (qiǎo) meaning "artful, skillful, clever")
Su Qiaoxin was very pleased. She had heard that the Concubine Shen in the palace was very arrogant and overbearing. Before she came, she had even thought about how to deal with the Concubine's difficulties.
Unexpectedly, this Concubine Shen has some sense. Upon seeing her, she immediately started acting nicely.
She is the most favored concubine in the palace, why would she need to curry favor with others? Unless, Shen Yuqing was certain that once she entered the palace, she would receive the emperor's favor, so she didn't dare to compete with her.
Su Qiaoxin slightly raised her chin, thoroughly enjoying it, while also savoring the envious and jealous gazes of the four other young ladies around her.
A flicker of understanding passed through Empress Fu's eyes; she roughly knew what Concubine Shen was up to.
First, lift someone up to the heavens, then bring them crashing down. This tactic seems so familiar, doesn't it?
After a brief thought, she remembered the current Shufei and the Yunxiang Palace where Su Qiaoxin would be moving in shortly... Empress Fu chuckled, suddenly realizing why it seemed familiar. Isn't this the emperor's usual strategy?
However, Shen Yuqing actually had the audacity to show goodwill to others. Empress Fu had always thought that Shen Yuqing was proud and arrogant, the kind of person who would never lower her head. It seems she still doesn't know this woman well enough; those past behaviors were probably all just a facade put on by Shen Yuqing.
"Mew." Adult leaned against the queen, licked her chin, and brought her attention back.
The queen gently scratched its little belly and was held by its hand.
Without thinking too much, the Empress listened to the Noble Consort's decision to keep Su Qiaoxin and then took the initiative to select a few other maidens from the same group as Su Qiaoxin, leaving their tokens as well.
This group of people is probably the most envious of Su Qiaoxin among the elected to stay in the palace so far. If the emperor doesn't allow them to be placed in the side hall of Yunxiang Palace, then just shove them all into the small palaces around Yunxiang Palace.
The Noble Consort was busy until the afternoon before she and the Empress finished selecting all the maidens. Afterwards, the final selection no longer required her and the Empress to make an appearance; those young ladies had to go meet the Empress Dowager and showcase their talents.
There are only about ten people in total. After the presentation, the Empress Dowager decides who should be given a higher rank. After conveying the idea to the Empress, she made the final decision, then presented it to the Emperor for his approval. If he had no objections, it was settled.
Originally, the final selection was the emperor's job, but since the emperor was unwilling to go, he handed it over to the empress dowager.
After the final selection, all the successful candidates returned to their homes, while those from outside the capital went to the inns arranged by the royal family, waiting for the officials from the Ministry of Rites to come and announce the decree of their appointment. Then they would pack up and prepare to enter the palace the next day. However, no matter how high their rank, at most they could only be carried into the palace in a small sedan chair. There were also regulations on how much dowry they could bring into the palace. In short, it was not comparable to a proper marriage, and the treatment was similar to that of a concubine.
The women in the palace, except for the empress who had experienced a grand wedding and the noble consort who had experienced a minor wedding, all received the same treatment. Even those two concubines of palace maid origin were spared the process of being carried into the palace. After the emperor's favor, they were directly granted a palace to live in, quietly, as if nothing had happened.
"So these women, do they want to enter the palace no matter what they do?" Concubine Shen didn't understand at all.
It's all about competing with a group of women for men. Marrying another man at least allows you to be the main wife, and there won't be as many concubines. In the Dayan Dynasty, there were restrictions on the number of concubines one could have. People of different ranks could have a different number of concubines, which was far fewer than this unrestrained emperor.
Moreover, the men outside aren't as difficult to please as the emperor; they won't kill you at the slightest provocation.
The second-rank eunuch Qingyuan knelt by the concubine's feet, massaging her legs. Hearing her sigh, he didn't know how to respond; as a eunuch, he didn't understand the thoughts of the ladies. After Manxing handed over Adult to the palace maid Biran, who was responsible for taking care of the cat, he smiled and added, "Perhaps they were blinded by wealth and luxury."
Only seeing power and favoritism, not the stark reality.
Concubine Shen waved her hand to send them all away, then took the struggling cat that was trying to leap towards her. Who cares about them? Anyway, her only goal was to work hard to save up the betrothal gifts and find an opportunity to bring the queen home.
"Has everything been delivered?" Concubine Shen sat on the bed and asked.
Manxing replied while taking down the bed curtains for her, "It's been delivered, the Empress liked it very much."
How could she not like it? The Adult (the cat) doll pillow made by the skilled embroiderers in the palace is one of a kind in this era. Before her time travel, Concubine Shen was an up-to-date NPC. Although she lived in a holographic game set in a martial arts world, it didn't mean she didn't understand trends. Little girls all like cute dolls, and big girls are no exception.
Shen Yuqing was extremely pleased: "Reward."
"Here you go." Manxing agreed with a beaming smile.
Once the noble consort bestows a reward, it is given to everyone in the palace, and she is never stingy. Anyway, with the big spender Emperor footing the bill, why should she save money for that rotten man?
Early to bed and early to rise is good for your health. The noble consort rolled around a few times on the huge bed with the cat, buried her face in the soft belly for a while, and then fell asleep with a satisfied expression, her face covered in scratches. Today is the first day of the newly promoted concubine entering the palace, and they don't know who the emperor has summoned to his bedchamber. Tomorrow morning, the Empress's Fengyi Palace will definitely not be peaceful. She needs to rest well and prepare to watch the show.
The next morning, without any surprise, Miss Manchen brought Miss Bige, whose cultivation was still lacking, to help the noble consort with her makeup and grooming. Bi Ge, with a twitching mouth, took out some high-quality ointment and applied it to the noble consort’s face, then covered the scratches with powder. After finally making her presentable, she watched as the noble consort got into the palanquin leaving the palace.
"Has the lady been scratched on the face by the master again?" Biliu was tidying up the dressing table, trying to suppress a laugh as she asked.
Bige sighed with a frown, "Your Highness really doesn't care about your appearance."
“Fortunately, Adult's claws aren't that sharp; otherwise, what would you do if they left a scar? You can't possibly cover it up with makeup every day, can you?”
"You are being overly worried and fretting for no reason." Biliu didn't mind, "The consorts abilities, that girl doesn't know? You still don't know?"
Saying this, she glanced at the door, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.
"True." Bige nodded and said no more.
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