Although Liu Shaoyi has been in the capital for the past few years, he has not made many friends with outsiders because he is observing mourning for his parents.

In addition, his marriage was somewhat sudden, so not many people came on his wedding day, making it look rather shabby.

As for Liu Shaoyi, he couldn't hide his disappointment when he saw that only Shumulu and Tong Xuean had come from the Tong family.

He couldn't explain why, but he felt that something was different.

Liu Shaoyi's marriage did not cause much of a stir in the Tong family. In the blink of an eye, spring passed, summer came, and it was time for Tong Cheng'er to participate in the talent show.

Speaking of talent shows, Tong Cheng'er is actually a little nervous.

Don't let her laziness fool you; she remembers everything the nanny said about what you absolutely must not do in the palace!

They were afraid of doing something taboo that would bring them bad luck.

During the initial selection, her appearance was checked to see if she was presentable, and after the imperial physician took her pulse, her health was also checked. Then she was taken to a room full of people.

She knew this step was to check a woman's chastity. When she went in, there were two old women inside. Tong Cheng'er looked at them and was about to offer them some money for tea. Even if she had to go through this, it would be good if she could suffer less!

Before she could speak, one of the old women smiled and said, "You're Princess Tong, right? There's a stool here. Please sit for a while, and I'll call you when you're done."

Tong Cheng'er looked at the stool next to her and the small bed beside her. Shouldn't they take off their clothes for the inspection? This is different from what she knew. She thought she could just sit down?

Are the palace maids this amazing these days? They can examine everything with their eyes without even lifting a finger.

Tong Cheng'er was filled with doubts until she left the small room completely, and then she was convinced that the palace maids were indeed extraordinary and could tell whether a woman was a virgin just by looking at her.

No sooner had she come out than another person emerged from the small house next door, their face flushed.

Looking at Tong Cheng'er, whose expression remained unchanged, the man couldn't help but ask, "The nannies in my room are all very fierce. Are the nannies in your room any better? I don't see that you're very shy."

Tong Cheng'er said, "The nanny in my room isn't fierce at all." She was quite polite to her and didn't even accept any money.

Upon hearing this, the man said enviously, "Then you are really lucky."

Tong Cheng'er nodded hastily and said, "I guess so!"

The man was more lively and greeted her with a smile, "I am Niohuru Yingyu. What is your name?"

Tong Cheng'er: "My name is Tong Cheng'er."

The two exchanged names and talked for a while. Then, after a while, another person came out of the room where Tong Cheng'er had just come out. The person's face was flushed and he looked shy.

Then Niu Gulu Yingyu looked at that person, and then at Tong Cheng'er, her eyes gradually becoming somewhat puzzled.

What's going on?

Tong Cheng'er also found it strange, but since she had benefited from it, she didn't care what it was all about.

Tong Cheng'er remained in a daze until she left the palace.

Inside the Fourth Prince's residence, after Tong Cheng'er safely left the palace, Su Peisheng entered Yinzhen's study.

"My lord, Princess Tong has left safely."

Yinzhen nodded: "Understood, well done."

After Tong Cheng'er returned home, she told her mother about the preliminary selection. Upon hearing this, Shumulu Shi was not as confused as her daughter.

She was willing to make arrangements for her daughter's entry into the palace, but after the internal reforms of the Imperial Household Department, she was powerless to do so.

After hearing this, Shumulu felt uneasy, but looking at her daughter who was about to be reinstated, she smiled and said to her, "It shouldn't be a big deal. Although the Imperial Household Department is a bondservant department, it has many ties with us bannermen. I suppose the nanny who examined you is an old acquaintance of the family. I'll ask her about it later. You don't need to worry about it."

Tong Cheng'er wasn't one to overthink things, so upon hearing this, she didn't take it to heart and went back to prepare for the re-selection.

Tong Cheng'er thought that even if she would eventually be sent home, she absolutely could not be sent back halfway. It didn't matter to her, but if it caused the other girls in the same clan to lose face, then that would be her fault.

Tong Cheng'er returned home and stayed overnight. The next day, she took a mule cart to the palace to begin her journey for re-selection.

Upon entering the palace, she underwent a series of complicated and tedious checks before being assigned a room. Coincidentally, she shared a room with an acquaintance.

Yingyu was delighted to see that her roommate was Tong Cheng'er. The two of them had come out of two different rooms one after the other during the preliminary selection, which was already a matter of fate. Now that they were assigned to the same room, it was an even greater fate.

Tong Cheng'er was also very happy. In any case, Yingyu was at least not an arrogant or difficult person to deal with.

Yingyu was able to strike up a conversation with the girl next door during the preliminary selection without blushing, which shows that she is a lively and talkative person.

Even though Tong Cheng'er doesn't talk much, she keeps talking, and through her words, Tong Cheng'er gets to know her as a person.

Niohuru Yingyu was a relative of Consort Niohuru in the palace, and the two were quite close. Yingyu was considered Consort Niohuru's niece.

Yingyu's father holds an important position in another city. She grew up away from home and came back specifically for the talent show. Moreover, you can tell from her speech that she was spoiled growing up. She is somewhat innocent and lively, and she is quite generous and polite in her dealings with others. Although she talks a lot, she doesn't ask any offensive questions.

This made Tong Cheng'er feel very good about her.

The two lived in the same house and got along fairly well.

The second round of selection was a bit tedious for Tong Cheng'er. The rules she had to learn every day were ones she had already learned, which was quite boring.

After studying for two days, Tong Cheng'er missed her storybook, but she was searched several times before entering the palace. How could she possibly bring the storybook into the palace?

By the third day of learning, Tong Cheng'er had lost all her energy.

Yingyu looked at her with some concern and asked, "Sister Cheng'er, are you feeling unwell?"

Tong Cheng'er shook her head weakly: "I don't feel unwell."

"What's wrong with you?"

"It's just a bit boring. I really didn't expect the palace to be so boring, learning rules every day." I've had enough of it.

Upon hearing this, Yingyu sighed and said, "Who says otherwise? We've been learning these rules since we were little, and now we have to learn them again. Moreover, we don't even have anyone to serve us personally. Learning the rules every day is so tiring, and we have to do everything ourselves. It's only been three days. How are we going to get through this?"

Tong Cheng'er nodded: "Yes, how do we cook it?!"

Ever since Tong Cheng'er entered the palace, Yinzhen had been keeping an eye on her, so he naturally knew that she was not in good spirits.

The reason is now clear.

Learning etiquette in the palace was indeed boring, and it didn't suit her personality. Yinzhen, however, could understand Tong Cheng'er.

The second round of selections will take about a month, and it's only just begun. Tong Cheng'er is already like this; what will happen in the future?

So Yinzhen decided to think of a way to shorten the selection process as much as possible, or to organize some interesting activities so that students could learn the rules every day without anyone serving them.

What if you tire people out!