Emperor Yongle ate an apple and then had his nails painted.

"Although those girls may not know much about their own families, they might know a lot about other people's families, right?"

After hearing her words, Song Yaozhu suddenly felt that this little girl was quite smart now.

How do you plan to get information out of me?

"There's no need for me here! Granny Xing and the others aren't just sitting around doing nothing."

Granny Xing and her ilk knew exactly how to sow discord among these people. By telling them that only three could remain, they had already subtly made them enemies of one another.

They didn't know the rules for elimination; it all depended on Granny Xing's word, so they all wanted to curry favor with her. Granny Xing was getting old and naturally wanted to earn some extra money, while also testing the waters to see what these people's financial situation was like.

"Just keep it in mind." After saying that, Song Yaozhu took out a letter from the box. "This is a letter for Shen Qingque. Do you think there's any way to deliver it to him without anyone noticing?"

Yongle immediately bit into the apple, wiped his hands on a handkerchief, and then went to take the letter.

"Me?" she mumbled, her tone slightly flattered.

This must be something very important. The fact that Song Yaozhu asked her to deliver it shows that she truly trusts her!

“However, there’s one thing I need to mention,” Song Yaozhu reminded her. “You should ask your father about this first. If he agrees, then you can proceed with it; if he doesn’t, then forget about it.”

Yongle wasn't stupid; he knew she was trying to test his father's intentions, to see if he wanted to get on this pirate ship.

"Okay, okay, I'll go ask right away!" With that, she hurriedly got off the bed to find her shoes.

Song Yaozhu couldn't help but laugh at her clumsy and impulsive manner.

“Caijin, I remember I have a set of white jade and silver jewelry in my box. Take it out and send it to a shop to be maintained. We can give this set as part of Miss Shen’s dowry for her wedding.”

Cai Jin accepted the order and left.

Yongle's visit today wasn't just to tell her these things, but also to deliver Shen Qingyu's wedding invitation.

Although Cao Zhi's current official position is not prominent, he has gained the emperor's favor and received some benefits after writing a "self-reproach edict" for the emperor last time.

He managed to buy a small house in the city, which, though small, had all the necessary amenities. His father visited it once and suggested that he buy a servant to guard the house, and then agreed to the marriage.

The very next day, Cao Zhi brought a matchmaker to propose marriage, as if he was afraid that if he was too late, his wife would be snatched away by someone else.

Song Yaozhu felt that this couple's ability to be together was a testament to their successful relationship.

Yongle rushed back to the Xuan Prince's residence, where the Xuan Prince was fishing with his wife. The two of them were being all lovey-dovey in front of the artificial lake, which even Yongle, the daughter, couldn't stand.

"Father! Your daughter has found you work!"

King Xuan: "..." He truly is my good eldest son.

"What is that?"

Yongle then told him about the letter.

"Where's the letter? Let me see it first."

"How can that be! That's for Shen Qingque!"

King Xuan rolled his eyes at her. "You're dragging your father into this mess, and you're not even letting me know what kind of mess it is?"

Although he deeply disliked his emperor brother, he was still his own brother. Even though his brother had always been wary of him and had even prevented him from having a son, he couldn't possibly conspire with outsiders to kill his brother, could he?

"I can't look at it!" Yongle also wanted to see it, but hesitantly and reluctantly took out the letter.

Prince Xuan immediately snatched the letter, tore open the envelope, and began to read it. Yongle also leaned closer, and after reading it, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Where did this information come from?"

With a deep look in his eyes, Prince Xuan put the letter back into the envelope. "Have your mother prepare some things and send them back with those... later."

The brief pause that King Xuan took refers to the ladies who were eliminated.

Yongle nodded, "Then Mother Consort, please begin preparations. It should be done in the next day or two. Granny Feng will select the candidates."

However, in just three days, these young ladies from Yanzhou felt as if they had spent three long months.

Their original plan was that after arriving in the capital, they would have a big house to live in, delicacies to eat, and endless silks and satins to wear.

But the reality was that they weren't getting enough sleep or food. In just three days, their belts had all loosened a size.

"I think that old hag was deliberately sent by the princess to torment us!"

"So what if you know? Do you dare to cause trouble?" Qin Man said sarcastically.

Everyone else fell silent. Qin Man wasn't a likable person, but what she said was true. Did they dare to make a scene?

What if they cause a scene and are sent back to Yanzhou?

“But that old nanny said that even if we pass the training, whether we can stay or not depends on the princess’s approval. I have no idea that the princess will keep us.”

“Yes, that’s because we’re not even as good as a maidservant.” Qin Man continued.

"Qin Man! Don't think that just because Granny Xing tolerates you in every way, you can get into the Shen family!" Someone couldn't bear Qin Man's sharp and mean-spirited appearance any longer.

It was as if Qin Man was venting all her pent-up resentment from the past few days on them; she became sharp-tongued, mean-spirited, and unreasonable. She would retort to everything they said, making sure everyone was unhappy before she would stop.

"You can't even handle this little bit? Aren't you all scrambling to become concubines in wealthy families? Being a concubine is like this: you have to be subservient and listen to other people's cold words every day."

"Indeed, I can't compare to your experience, Sister Qin."

Qin Man sneered, "If Xu Jiajia hadn't started this, I wouldn't be here. She's been betrayed by Lord Shen and is comfortably recuperating in Yanzhou, while I'm suffering here! And you all, I don't know what's wrong with your brains! 'Better to be a poor man's wife than a high man's concubine!' You're all so eager to climb up and become someone's concubine!"

"What do you know! That's Prince Xuan's son-in-law! Prince Xuan only has one daughter, Princess Yongle. In the future, his mantle will pass to his son-in-law, Lord Shen!"

"Oh, so you all think Lord Shen will exploit your family's lack of offspring, thus elevating your own family to a higher status?" Qin Man sneered, lifting her skirt as she headed towards her room. "Don't you even look at yourselves? What do you have to compare with Princess Yongning! Looks, family background..."

Before she could finish speaking, she screamed "Ah—" as her hair was grabbed from behind and dragged back violently. Qin Man, not to be outdone, retaliated with a slap.

Seeing someone attack Qin Man, the other five were seized by a surge of malice and charged at him. Five against one, screams of agony erupted from the crowd.