On the day the young ladies entered the palace, Su Lufu rose early and had her maidservants dress and groom her. Since it wasn't a formal selection, Su Lufu applied only a light touch of makeup. She wore a light green, fashionable palace dress with double-breasted cloud and wild goose patterns, tailored to the proper standards. The dress was simple in style and color, neither particularly striking nor extravagant. It perfectly suited Su Lufu's gentle and quiet nature as a woman from Jiangnan.

The servant's carriage was waiting in front of the Fugui Gate. Su Lufu was helped out of the gate with small, hesitant steps. Before getting into the carriage, she looked up at the building.

The maidservant, sensing Su Lufu's thoughts, gently tugged at her arm, reminding her, "Miss, we should go now. If it gets too crowded, we might miss our best time." Su Lufu replied apologetically, "Wouldn't it be impolite for us to leave like this? Miss Gao has helped me a lot these past few days; I should say goodbye to her..."

The maidservant thought for a moment and said to Su Lufu, "Miss Gao has been suffering from chickenpox these past few days, and I haven't seen her leave the house. She might have already left. Miss, let's go..."

Uneasy, Su Lufu obeyed her maid's advice and boarded the carriage. The carriage swayed and rocked, carrying the equally anxious Su Lufu to a side gate of the Forbidden City. In the distance, she could see several matrons waiting there. Su Lufu alighted from the carriage and respectfully bowed to the matrons. The matrons were delighted to see Su Lufu's appearance and, after allowing Su Lufu to leave with only her personal maid, led her to the palace where the young ladies-in-waiting were gathered.

The room was filled with young women, some of whom shared a room in the same inn. They looked familiar but had never spoken. Su Lufu was naturally shy, and seeing the others chatting and laughing, she secretly hid in a corner. Suddenly, a pair of soft, warm hands covered Su Lufu's eyes, startling her so much that she almost screamed.

"Guess who I am?" Su Lufu exclaimed excitedly upon hearing the voice, "Miss Gao?" Gao Xiyue released her hands, turned around with a grin to face Su Lufu, and pulled her along, feigning anger, saying, "I went to look for you early this morning, wanting to go to the palace with you, but your room was empty. The servant said you left very early. I was so sorry, worried that I wouldn't see you again without even saying goodbye..."

Su Lufu's eyes reddened, and she was about to cry. She said apologetically, "I... I also want to say goodbye to Miss Gao, but..." As she spoke, large tears fell down her cheeks, which startled Gao Xiyue, who quickly took out a handkerchief from her bosom and gently wiped Su Lufu's tears.

"Alright, alright, I don't blame you. I was also locked in my room when I had chickenpox. I knew you were scared but I couldn't come out to see you, and I already felt bad. I was just joking with you and you took it seriously..." Gao Xiyue comforted her gently, and Su Lufu immediately stopped crying and started laughing.

Soon, the palace matrons began assigning rooms. Gao Xiyue wanted to stay alone with Su Lufu, but unfortunately, each room had to accommodate three people, so they had to share a room with a young lady named Zeng Xiwen.

When Gao Xiyue and Su Lufu returned to their room with their luggage, they found that Zeng Xiwen had already arrived and had chosen a good spot on the bed to put her things down. Seeing Gao Xiyue and Su Lufu enter, Zeng Xiwen looked them up and down, noticing that they were both more attractive than herself. Feeling a pang of jealousy, she began to dislike Gao Xiyue and Su Lufu.

Seeing that there were already people in the room, Su Lufu gave Zeng Xiwen a gentle smile as a greeting.

But Ms. Zeng turned her head away and ignored her.