In the following days, Qiao Qiu kept a close eye on Qiao Dong's movements.

As she expected, on the third day, Zhao Yucheng couldn't bear the longing any longer and sneaked into the mansion to meet Qiao Dong. However, Qiao Dong was focused on revenge, and even though she was heartbroken, she advised Zhao Yucheng not to come in again.

Zhao Yucheng was a devoted man; even after she made her choice, he would still stay by her side. Qiao Dong already had feelings for Zhao Yucheng, but his devotion completely shattered her, leaving her struggling on the agonizing edge of making a difficult decision.

This dragged on until the night before the draft.

Inside the imperial study of the palace, the lights shone brightly, illuminating every corner. Before the desk stood the young emperor, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, holding a portrait of a concubine, his brow furrowed. After a while, in a fit of anger, he tossed the portrait aside, leaving it on the desk. The eunuchs, terrified, knelt on the ground.

The emperor walked to the window, opened it to let in some fresh air, and looked up at the bright moon in the sky. The moonlight illuminated his handsome and dashing appearance, and his charming peach blossom eyes seemed to be veiled in mist, making it impossible to see the expression inside.

In the past, when he did not hold great power, he was wary of the Empress Dowager and never touched the women she sent him. But now that he finally holds power, it is time for him to enjoy beautiful women, yet he finds them unattractive.

The emperor sighed. "Get out, all of you."

"Yes." The leading eunuch stood up and led all the eunuchs and palace maids out.

The emperor stood by the window and looked out for a while, then turned around and sat down in a chair.

At that moment, a dark figure darted in through the window, knelt respectfully before the emperor, and held a booklet above his head with both hands.

The emperor picked up the booklet, flipped through it a couple of times, and asked casually, "Is the collection complete?"

"Your Majesty, this booklet contains information on the daughters of officials of the third rank and above. The rest are still on their way."

The daughters of officials of the third rank and above are almost all in Shengjing, and the rest came from other places. He only ordered them to be collected yesterday, and there is really no time to do so today.

The emperor knew perfectly well what was going on, but did not make things difficult for the guard. He simply waved his hand and dismissed him.

The emperor was the only one left in the imperial study. He turned to the first page and couldn't help but frown. The words "Qiao Qiu, a young lady from the Prime Minister's residence" were written on it.

Qiao Qiu's "reputation" resounded throughout Shengjing. He had heard of it before, and initially he didn't believe the rumors. But now, even the information delivered by his secret guards used negative idioms like "unruly and willful," "tricky and mean," and "arrogant and domineering." How could the wise and resourceful Prime Minister Qiao have raised such a daughter?

The emperor frowned and shook his head, then turned to the next page. When he saw the words "gentle and serene" and "a beauty of unparalleled grace," his brows relaxed, and he nodded with satisfaction.

But after nodding, he fell into deep thought. The Prime Minister's two daughters had completely different personalities; why did he prefer the willful and capricious Qiao Qiu to the gentle and beautiful Qiao Dong?

Prime Minister Qiao is not only resourceful but also upright. How could he possibly overlook something just because Qiao Dong was born to a concubine?

Why was this? The emperor couldn't understand and felt a little regretful. If Prime Minister Qiao had favored Qiao Dong, wouldn't it have been a happy thing for him to choose Qiao Dong?

As the ruler of a country, he has endless political affairs to deal with every day. How could he have the energy to deal with a woman like that?

The emperor felt a headache whenever he thought about having to take Qiao Qiu as a concubine.

Meanwhile, inside the Prime Minister's residence outside the imperial city, everyone in the mansion was busy taking care of the two young ladies.

Qiao Qiu sat in front of the dressing mirror, listening to the Prime Minister's wife nagging about things in the palace. Prime Minister Qiao Liu didn't hold back and kept giving her instructions until late at night before the three of them finally let her go and left her Yuhua Pavilion.

Only the two of them, the mistress and servant, remained in the room. Honglan couldn't help but chuckle when she saw how sleepy she looked.

Seeing her smile, Qiao Qiu propped her head up and smiled slightly, her bright black eyes lively and adorable.

Her smile was unreadable, and Honglan felt uneasy and flustered. She immediately stopped smiling and stepped forward, saying, "Master, let me help you to bed. We'll be getting up very early tomorrow, and you might not be able to handle it."

Qiao Qiu could tell that her words of concern came from the heart. She said lazily, "No rush, Hong Lan. From now on, you can just call yourself Hong Lan in front of me. I don't like being called a servant or maid."

"Yes, Master, this servant... Honglan understands."

Qiao Qiu looked Hong Lan up and down carefully and found that she was indeed flawless. She handled things properly, spoke with confidence, and was very professional. "Granny Zhuang has taught her well. She is like a head maid."

"Thank you, Master." Honglan smiled happily. To gain her master's approval made everything she had done worthwhile.

Qiao Qiu smiled, squinted, and turned to look out the window in a certain direction, murmuring, "Tonight is going to be quite lively. Should I go to sleep or try my luck and see if there's any show to watch?"

Honglan didn't hear clearly and asked, "What did you say, Master?"

Qiao Qiu snapped out of her reverie, her bright eyes darting around. It seemed that ever since she was sent to Granny Zhuang's place last time, she no longer called her Third Miss, but Master? Oh well, that's fine too, saves her from having to change it again in the palace.

"sleep."

"oh."

No matter how exciting the show is, she still needs to be well-rested to prepare for tomorrow's audition.

Hanmei Garden, where Qiao Dong lives, is much less lively than Qiao Qiu's place; it's extremely quiet. Aunt Liu only showed concern for her a few times, and then focused on how she should please the Emperor.

Qiao Dong was extremely annoyed, but he could only listen patiently. Finally, after midnight, Aunt Liu got up and went home.

Before she could even catch her breath, Yu Ya suddenly groaned and collapsed to the ground. Immediately afterwards, she was pulled into a warm embrace, and a faint scent of sandalwood wafted into her nostrils, calming her restless heart.

"Dong'er".

Qiao Dong was momentarily captivated by the embrace. Zhao Yucheng's voice was magnetic and gentle, filled with tenderness, and she almost forgot herself.

"Mu Yan".

With a soft, fragrant body in his arms, Zhao Yucheng's eyes revealed a hint of sadness. "Dong'er, please don't go to the talent show, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Dong suddenly came to her senses, pushed him away, turned to the side, bit her lower lip while enduring the grief, and said, "No, I have to go."

Zhao Yucheng watched her retreating figure and sighed, "I'm sorry, I knew your choice, but I still couldn't help myself. Dong'er, the palace isn't that simple. You must be careful. If there's anything you can't handle, just come to me."

Qiao Dong's tears rolled down like jade beads. He had said the same words in his previous life, word for word.

Seeing that she didn't speak or turn around, Zhao Yucheng felt a strong hatred flash in his eyes. Why wasn't he the emperor? Why was the emperor Zhao Yucheng's? What ability did he have? Just because she was born to the empress, just because she was a month older than him? Now even the woman he loved was being taken away. This was just too unfair!