"Greetings to the old nanny!" Lanqin bowed respectfully to the gruff old nanny.

She had a clean little face and dark eyes. She wasn't particularly outstanding in appearance, but she had a very endearing look.

Aunt Dai was thinking to herself that yesterday, Granny Gui from Consort De's side had come to tell her to keep an eye out for the young ladies among them, as she wanted to keep two for each of the Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince, and had specifically instructed her to "keep an eye on the Niohuru family." But wasn't there a Niohuru Holland just now? Had Consort De already taken a liking to a girl from that family? But which one was it? Actually, she had checked the records of the Ministry of Revenue, but since Niohuru Holland was added later and her name wasn't next to Niohuru Lanqin's, she hadn't noticed that they were sisters.

"Is Niohuru Holland also from your family?" Aunt Dai asked.

This question startled the Dutchman who had already returned to stand in the crowd!

“It is indeed my elder sister,” Lanqin replied.

Now it was Aunt Dai's turn to be surprised. They really were sisters! The Niohuru family had actually sent two daughters from one household; it seemed they were aiming for the inner palace. No wonder Granny Zhuang had hinted at it to her.

"Miss, please come to the inner room." She personally led Lanqin to the inner room.

Oh my! Thank goodness, the room was full of palace maids and nannies, and there were no eunuchs in sight.

When Aunt Dai saw the records from the Ministry of Revenue, she learned that this Niohuru Lanqin was born of the principal wife, while the previous Niohuru Holland was born of a concubine, which made her feel more affectionate towards Lanqin.

"You lot, be careful with Miss Niohuru, don't embarrass her!" Aunt Dai instructed the palace maids responsible for examining the young ladies-in-waiting. Granny Zhuang from Yanxi Palace had privately approached her, asking her to take extra care of the girl sent by the Niohuru family. How could she refuse? Although Granny Zhuang wasn't as powerful as when Consort Wenxi was in power, she was now a rank-holding nanny under Consort Xiang, and moreover, she had her mistress backing her up.

Lanqin glanced gratefully at Aunt Dai and said sweetly, "Thank you, Aunt. I wonder if you could leave me an extra layer of clothing? The weather is so cold."

Aunt Dai has been in charge of the first round of selection for the imperial concubine selection for many years, and no candidate has ever dared to make such a request. Even Empress Xiaozhaoren went through the same process.

Looking at her delicate and charming appearance, and her deep, clear eyes, she was a little annoyed, but she couldn't help but gently comfort her, "Miss, since the Shunzhi Emperor, it has been an established rule to check the bodies of the candidates for imperial concubines for any injuries. Please don't make things difficult for them. If we make an exception for you, I'm afraid more and more people will want exceptions in the future. If people find out, you won't be able to keep your head."

Wow! That's serious! Working for the emperor must be really tough; you could lose your head over the smallest thing!

Lanqin immediately put on an expression that said, "I didn't know it was so serious," and bowed to Aunt Dai, saying, "Thank you for your reminder, Aunt." After saying that, she went over to let the palace maids begin the examination.

After the thirty-odd young women in the room had all gone through this process, only ten remained: "Guarjia, Dong'e, Fucha, Niohuru (two), Shumulu, Zhaojia, Chen, Zhao, and Dong." Clearly, seven were Manchu bannermen and three were Han bannermen.

The other candidates who failed the inspection have already been sent away by palace maids, and some are probably already on their way home in carriages.

"Congratulations to all the young ladies! Those of you who are able to stay here can rest for today. Tomorrow there will be another selection to meet the Emperor. Whether you go or stay depends on your fate. Now, you will be divided into groups of three and assigned to a room to rest. Palace maids will bring you lunch later. After lunch, you will have an hour to stroll in the Imperial Garden," said Aunt Dai.

Lanqin and Holland were naturally assigned to the same room, along with Madam Dong. Madam Dong was the daughter of the Sichuan prefect, with a round face, a cute little tiger tooth, and crescent-shaped eyes; she was truly adorable when she smiled.

They were assigned to a side room in this side hall. After each of them chose a bed, they began to make their own beds.

Having grown accustomed to being waited on by nannies and maids at home, Holland stood disdainfully by his bedside, refusing to lift a finger.

Lanqin felt cold, so she immediately went to the brazier, picked up an iron rod from the ground, and poked at the embers inside.

She still has some psychological trauma! She leaned against the fire to warm her heart, which had been frightened by the palace maid's behavior.

Holy crap! What were these people thinking?! They actually stripped her naked, made her stand with her legs spread in front of a basin of incense ash, and forced her into a horse stance. Then, a palace maid brought a small basin and held it under her nose, making her smell it. She only smelled a pungent odor, shivered, and sneezed violently! Then the palace maid squatted down to examine the basin of ash, and only after looking at it for a long time did she let her put her clothes back on. Supposedly, this was to check if the young women were virgins—how pseudo-scientific, isn't it?

"Wait a minute, we can go to the Imperial Garden. Would you two sisters like to take a walk there?" Madam Dong had traveled a long way to the capital. In fact, she was still a young girl and just wanted to see what the Forbidden City looked like and what the Emperor's Imperial Garden looked like. As for whether she could enter the palace or be assigned to a member of the imperial family, she didn't care that much.

Her accent had a Sichuan flavor, which made Lanqin feel quite at ease with her.

When Lin Mengyao was studying at the University of Beijing, her bunkmate was a girl from Sichuan. Her thick Sichuan accent often made the girls in the dormitory laugh.

So Lanqin chimed in, "It's so cold, I don't want to go. Second sister, are you going?" She asked this only because she saw Holland ignoring Dong Shi with a look of disgust, so she had to take the initiative to ask so as not to embarrass Dong Shi.

Holland also wanted to visit the Royal Gardens, but she thought she might run into the Emperor there! So, feigning concern, she asked, "Third Sister, are you really not going?"

Lanqin nodded like a chick pecking at rice, shivering slightly as if to say, "It's too cold, I really don't want to go out."

A palace maid brought lunch, though it was long past lunchtime. The three women, no longer caring about their ladylike image, ate the meal that had been brought to them, leaving it completely clean.

After finishing their meal, Holland and Lady Dong went out. When they arrived outside Chuxiu Palace, they saw a large group of young ladies saying they wanted to stroll in the Imperial Garden. Holland and Lady Dong then followed the group and, led by a palace maid, went to the Imperial Garden.

After eating and drinking her fill, Lanqin warmed herself by the fire for a long time. When she wanted to go to bed, she climbed into her own bed, covered herself with the blanket, and went to sleep.