Yongle was counting people; every girl mentioned in the rumors had been "caught." And lo and behold, there were nine of them!

Adding her along makes it a perfect ten, doesn't it?

He's so handsome!

"Princess, what should we do with all these people?" Granny Feng was quite worried about this issue. The Shen residence was only so big; there simply wasn't enough room for everyone!

Their princess could barely move around in this small courtyard, let alone have so many people living here.

"Let them all go to an inn. I don't have time to see them today. Also, their manners are terrible. Granny, send a few more people to teach them manners."

Granny Feng had the same idea. Moreover, these people absolutely could not move into the Shen residence. Once they did, even if they weren't the son-in-law's concubines, in the eyes of outsiders, they would all be considered concubines.

The gatekeeper was instructed to take them to a safe inn in the capital. Granny Feng also selected two senior maids from among her carefully trained maids to take care of the young ladies' food, clothing, and lodging.

The young ladies were also surprised to find themselves being sent to an inn instead of being allowed to enter Shen Qingque's home. Although it was an inn, its scale and decor were far more impressive than their own homes.

After choosing their rooms, the group sat down to discuss their strategy. Some of them didn't get along with each other, but with an external enemy at hand, they naturally put aside their differences and focused on fighting the enemy together.

"We thought we'd be able to move into the Shen residence directly, but we couldn't even get through the door," one person sighed.

They had originally planned that if they could move into the Shen residence directly, even if Shen Qingque later denied them, their reputations would be ruined, and he would have no choice but to take responsibility for them.

So after arriving in the capital, they had their coachman take them to the Shen residence. The plan failed.

But it doesn't matter, they've already arrived in the capital, so why should I be afraid of not being able to stay?

At first, they were all terrified when they heard about the summons from the capital. Later, they inquired with the messengers who came to pick them up and learned that they were there to take Shen Qingque's concubines to the capital.

Although they didn't manage to defeat Shen Qingque, the people in the capital have already acknowledged them, so they can be considered halfway to success!

"No rush. Our most important task now is to convince the princess that we have indeed consummated our marriage with Lord Shen. Only if she drinks our concubine tea will we be considered part of the Shen family, even if Lord Shen doesn't like us."

The girls on the field nodded in agreement, but one girl remained silent.

This woman's surname was Qin, and her given name was Man. She had no desire to marry Shen Qingque as a concubine. She had her own childhood sweetheart, but her father disagreed and forced her to go to the capital by threatening her aunt's life.

Yes, she was the only one born out of wedlock among all the girls present.

Her father wanted to maximize his profits with minimal losses. She was born out of wedlock, so even if she did something in the capital that implicated the family, her father could absolve himself of all responsibility.

Thinking about her situation, Qin Man felt extremely aggrieved. Her aunt hoped that she could marry into an ordinary family, even a peasant man, so that she could at least be the one in charge of her own life instead of living at the mercy of others.

She and her mother had spent the first half of their lives watching their father and mistress's moods, and they really didn't want to spend the second half of their lives watching their mistress's moods.

Moreover, after observing Princess Yongle today, she realized she was not someone easy to get along with. Why should she offend such a powerful figure?

Unfortunately, Aunt's life was still in Father's hands.

"Alright, everyone go back to your rooms and rest." The one in the lead was the daughter of the prefect, whose father held the highest official position, so all the young ladies present listened to her.

As soon as they stepped out of the room, someone outside called them out.

The young ladies were quite puzzled. Two women, dressed in very elegant clothes, walked into the courtyard. The fabric of their clothes was cloud-patterned brocade, which was very common in the capital. Ordinary families would use it to make clothes, but in high-ranking families, this fabric was only used to make purses and the like. The masters of the house did not wear it.

The two maids wore flowers and hairpins in their hair, two small pearls dangling from their ears, and white jade bracelets on their wrists. At first glance, they were even more elaborately dressed than the young ladies present.

"Your servants, Yunlai and Jinfu, are here on the orders of the Princess to entertain the young ladies. You may inquire about their needs for food, clothing, and lodging in the future."

Several young ladies present couldn't help but feel contempt. So what if the other woman was dressed better than them? She was still a servant! She still had to serve them!

However, since they had just arrived in the capital, no one would be foolish enough to offend anyone now, especially the two head maids beside the princess, who remained silent.

"Please rest well, ladies. Starting tomorrow, instructors will come to teach you etiquette."

Everyone present was bewildered.

"etiquette?"

Yunlai chuckled and said, "Of course, Lord Shen's father is the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the Shen family places great importance on etiquette. Today, the young ladies' etiquette was indeed not very good, so the Princess has arranged for you to be taught by eunuchs. These eunuchs are all veterans of the palace and have taught many empresses. The young ladies are truly fortunate!"

Her words caused some people to cheer. Did this mean they already had one foot in the circle of the powerful and wealthy?

Otherwise, the princess wouldn't have sought out someone to teach them!

Many people were very happy, but this joyful feeling vanished by the next day.

Before dawn, the young ladies, who had been traveling for half a month, were knocked on their doors by the maids. It was only because Yongle was wealthy and generous that he had booked a courtyard for them to stay in; otherwise, they would have definitely disturbed the other guests in the inn.

The girl, who was grumpy in the morning, immediately covered her ears, refusing to pay any attention to the sounds outside.

Then the door was kicked open from the outside, and before she could react, she was dragged out.

"What are you doing! Let go! Let go!"

As soon as the woman was dragged out and thrown into the yard, she was about to get up and start cursing when she was hit hard on the waist with a ruler, which made her cry out in pain.

"How dare you! What right do you have to hit me, you old hag!"

She had barely finished speaking when she met a face that was old but still dignified.

Granny Xing snorted coldly: "I've taught so many ladies, and this is the first time I've been called an old woman!"

The young lady who had been hit immediately came to her senses and realized that this was the old lady from the palace who had come to teach them etiquette, so she dared not act recklessly again.

"Granny, do we have to start learning etiquette so early?" someone asked, sounding aggrieved. It wasn't even dawn yet, and they hadn't even had a bite to eat!

“Of course.” The old woman snorted. “In the future, some of you will serve the princess. Look at the powerful families in the capital. Which family’s concubines don’t wait outside the mistress’s room before dawn?”

The expressions on everyone's faces changed. They wanted to marry into a wealthy family and enjoy a life of luxury, not to suffer!

Also, what do you mean by "among you"? Can't they all stay?