Chapter 365

Now, whatever the Emperor said, the second princess could only endure it in silence.0

He hadn't yet agreed to let her go on a study tour.0

"The matter of studying abroad... let's discuss it later."0

A young lady, even if she followed the students of the Imperial Academy, wouldn't be acceptable, and traveling alone would be even more out of the question. As a princess, she represented the face of the royal family.0

"The Emperor is here, the Emperor is here..."0

Hui Yuan excitedly jumped up: "Your Highness, the Emperor is coming."0

Consort Ru's face turned red with excitement, but the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. The Emperor directly bypassed the drawing room and walked away through a side path.0

What was that about?0

Did she bite?0

The second princess wiped away her tears and glanced at the maid standing beside her: "Take this fabric to the Clothing Department and have them make two suitable outfits for me."0

If he really had intentions, why would he send velvet flower snow satin?0

Spring was just around the corner, and by April, the weather would start to get warmer, while velvet fabric was meant for autumn and winter days.0

The Imperial Noble Consort was known for her unparalleled wisdom and foresight, how could she not know?0

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‍second princess suddenly realized, yes!0

How could she not know?0

She knew and still sent it to her, which meant she did it on purpose.0

This realization was even more frightening than when her father discovered her speaking ill of the Imperial Noble Consort.0

Because the Imperial Noble Consort had already known, that's why she sent the velvet satin, and then whispered in the Emperor's ear, prompting him to come see her, just in time to catch her in that moment.0

She didn't even need to lift a finger; the Emperor would take care of the trouble for her.0

Thinking of this, the second princess buried her face on the table and cried again.0

The days of watching her own mother be killed and having to live under the thumb of her enemy were truly unbearable.0

She had to leave the palace, she must leave the palace.0

The next day was a bright and sunny one. The snow in the palace melted, revealing a fresh appearance, and overnight, the scenery seemed to have come back to life, showing endless green.0

Beneath the snow and wind, tender green shoots quietly blossomed.0

A row of mule carts were neatly arranged in front of Shenwu Gate, with the corners of the carts hung with large red, peach red, light red, pink, and white flowers.0

They were arranged according to the official ranks of the xiu nü (court ladies) backgrounds.0

The large red ones were at the front, followed by peach red, and so on.0

Tang Shiliang waved his whisk, glancing at the beautiful ladies who had already disembarked from the carts, and assigned all the little eunuchs he brought along to maintain order.0

The imperial concubines who were to be selected couldn't see the Emperor from the start. These imperial concubines were all beauties between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, and those from official families didn't need to be mentioned, as their titles would naturally be higher.0

Those from the common people were selected by the government with silver coins, sent to the capital by their parents, and then chosen by the eunuchs, and could only enter the palace in groups of a hundred.0

Once in the palace, they would be screened by the Internal Affairs Department, and those who were too fat, too thin, too tall, or too short would be sent back home.0

The next day, the lady-in-waiting would inspect their ears, eyes, mouth, nose, hair, skin, neck, shoulders, and back. If any of these were deemed unqualified, another batch of talented women would be sent out of the palace.0

On the third day, officials would inform the eunuchs of the selected women's place of origin and age, and the senior female attendants would listen to the selected women's voices.0

Those with unclear voices, too masculine, or stuttering would be rejected.0

After that, it was the job of the Internal Affairs Department and the teaching aunt of Chuxiu Palace.0

When Jiang Xinyue crossed over, she had already passed the time of learning the rules, and the court selection was over, so she didn't experience this ordeal.0

Now, as she listened to the progress reports from her subordinates, she felt that the Emperor was quite fortunate.0

Even after passing all the previous tests, the court ladies would still be taken to a secret room, where the senior female attendants would inspect their armpits and... private parts, to see if they were indeed pure virgins.0

Too perverse!0

Jiang Xinyue was relieved that she hadn't gone through this; otherwise, she might have deliberately pretended to stutter during the voice inspection and ended up disqualified.0

It was said that after these inspections, they would measure the young ladies' feet to see if they walked impatiently, and they would have to stay in Chuxiu Palace for at least a month, learning the rules with the instructing aunt. Only when the aunt felt they were gentle in temperament, tolerant and magnanimous, and courteous could they be introduced to the front hall for selection.0

So, as seen in previous TV dramas, it was impossible to bring anyone to the Emperor for selection.0

Thousands of talented women entered the palace, but only a few hundred could reach the selection in the hall.0

And out of these few hundred, those who were sent out due to the intrigues among the talented young women were also excluded.0

It could be said that those who stood in front of the Emperor and Jiang Xinyue, whether in appearance or tactics, were not simple characters.0

The days of learning the rules for the court ladies were also the best time for them to compete for attention.0

Low Level Consort Yu watched a few talented ladies "accidentally" meet the Emperor in the distance, covering her mouth and giggling: "When there are many people, the huge palace seems crowded. The Emperor has to go from Chengqian Palace to Hexi Palace every day, and those talented ladies waiting in groups along the way, their intentions are too obvious."0

Those with high levels wouldn't be so impatient, and now only small fry were coming out.0

Jiang Xinyue saw off Low Level Consort Yu, Consort Wen, and Noble Consort Ye at the door, and the Emperor immediately left the few talented young women who were still reciting poems and ran over.0

"Is that the Imperial Noble Consort?"0

Hearing about it before, and now seeing it, one realizes that the poems describing "a glance over the shoulder brings forth a hundred charms, while the beauty of the six palaces pales in comparison" were indeed real.0

Consort Cheng's handkerchief was almost twisted to pieces. She had deliberately sold the Emperor's itinerary to those talented women, but none of them were useful.0

Since the fall of the Pei family, Jiang Xinyue had been like a fish in water in the palace, free and easy. Only then did she realize that her father had always been working for the Minister of the Pei family.0

Once the Pei family fell, Jiang Xinyue's father discovered her father's behind-the-scenes master. Although he hadn't had time to take any major action, how could Minister Jiang keep a potential danger by his side?0

The Emperor had already demoted her father back to Guangxi, where he worked as a small scribe in the county yamen.0

She had never received the Emperor's favor, and the gap between her and the Imperial Noble Consort was growing wider. She was almost giving up.0

But she just couldn't accept it, she didn't believe the Emperor would remain faithful to Jiang Xinyue, she just wanted to see if the Emperor's betrayal would cause the two to fall apart.0

She just couldn't bear to see Jiang Xinyue happy.0

The competition in Chuxiu Palace was still intense, and the harem was also restless. Soon it would be April 12, the first birthday celebration of the Sixth Prince.0

Consort Ru uninvited herself to the second princess's pavilion: "I heard you don't like the Imperial Noble Consort?"0

The second princess glared at her: "What do you want to say?"0

Her dislike for Jiang Xinyue was her own business, what did this foreigner have to do with it?0

"Then why don't you target the eldest princess?"0

Consort Ru's bright eyes looked at her: "The eldest princess is going to marry a man from the Jiang family, and then she'll be a Jiang. That's your enemy, why don't you target the eldest princess, make her disfigured or lose her innocence? Don't the people of Great Yan value this the most? As long as..."