Chapter 6 Primary Election
Shenwu Gate is half an hour away from the primary Yuxiu Palace, which shows how big the imperial palace is.
Only then did Liu Yuetang realize that the palace was not short of beautiful women. Among the concubines this time, there were several with extraordinary looks who stood out from the crowd.
When arriving at Yuxiu Palace, the first step is the preliminary selection.
This preliminary selection team is also related to family background and bribery.
Those with good family background can naturally be ranked first and avoid the pain of waiting.
When it was Liu Yuetang's turn for the primary selection, it was the fourth batch.
Fifty people stood in a team, and the palace aunts examined the facial features, body shape and demeanor of the concubines one by one.
The examination requirements are extremely strict. Those with sparse hair, small eyes, low nose bridge, large lips, small breasts, large or small hands and feet, poor body shape, blemishes on the skin, and poor manners will be rejected.
So after a round of fifty people, only eight were left.
Among these eight people, Liu Yuetang is naturally one of them.
After the primary election, the third step is the internal selection.
It is also the most embarrassing process among all the concubines.
Liu Yuetang knew this step would happen. After entering the inner room, she took off her dress gracefully and let the nanny check it.
Accustomed to seeing shy ladies, Aunt Zhang couldn't help but look up at Liu Yuetang, and she nodded with satisfaction at the first glance.
Liu Yuetang opened her arms and let the nanny examine her breasts and private parts.
It can be said that Nanny Zhang has seen more women than the emperor, but Liu Yuetang is flawless from her hair to her toes.
It can be said that her hands are as soft as catkins, her skin is as white as cream, her neck is as smooth as a cicada, her teeth are as white as gourds, she has a beautiful forehead and eyebrows, a charming smile and eyes that are full of longing.
She smiled and said, "My lady is a blessed person. She will be glorious in the future."
A woman with good looks, good manners and intelligence will naturally gain favor in the future.
Nanny Zhang couldn't help but admire her, and she also hoped that if Liu Yuetang really became a favorite concubine in the future, she would remember what she said today.
Everyone in the palace is a shrewd person, and Liu Yuetang naturally understood this. She immediately smiled and said, "If that happens, I will definitely thank you personally for your kind words."
After a day of repeated screening, only eighty were left out of more than three hundred beauties.
These eighty beauties will learn the rules and etiquette in the palace for a month.
Because she had arranged for the etiquette nanny, she was assigned a good place. The young lady who lived in the same room with her was named He. She was taciturn and didn't like to talk much.
The other one's surname is Su, she is also a concubine's daughter, and her temperament is as gentle as water.
She was also extremely beautiful, perhaps from the south of the Yangtze River, with eyebrows like a crescent moon and eyes like autumn water. She had the gentleness, quietness, grace and elegance of a lady from a noble family.
Compared to Liu Yuetang's brightness, she is gentle and charming.
Soon, the day of the palace selection arrived.
Whether you can bring honor to your family and rise to prominence depends entirely on today.
The concubines got up before dawn to wash and dress up.
Due to political matters this year, the emperor will not personally select the concubines, but the queen and the queen mother will choose them.
When choosing a daughter-in-law, the mother-in-law always values moral character and virtue the most, so Liu Yuetang did not wear heavy makeup.
She picked out a water-blue long dress, tied her dark hair into a flowing bun, and inserted a pearl and jade hairpin diagonally. With a little makeup on, she looked like a lotus emerging from the water, fresh and refined.
Liu Yuetang looked at herself in the bronze mirror. She found herself less charming and more gentle. She packed up her makeup box with satisfaction.
"My skirt...my skirt is broken."
Su Nanqing's anxious voice sounded from the side.
Liu Yuetang turned her head and saw that the skirt she was holding had a hole in it.
She quickly stood up and asked, "How could this happen?"
Su Nanqing's forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and her lips trembled: "This was embroidered for me by my aunt herself. It was still in good condition when I took it out last night."
As she spoke, her eyes began to turn red.
Liu Yuetang looked at the skirt in her hands. Although the skirt was not made of precious silk, the embroidery on it was excellent, with delicate needlework, even brightness, and elegant colors. Only the embroiderers in Suzhou could embroider with such exquisite craftsmanship.
"Someone must have deliberately sabotaged it, preventing you from participating in the talent show. Sister Su, who did you offend?"
Su Nanqing thought for a moment, tears in her eyes. "I've never offended anyone, except... except the daughter of the Yangzhou governor. On the way to the palace, I accidentally walked in front of her, and she was very dissatisfied and disgusted with me."
Liu Yuetang saw that the skirt was too big and it was not easy to mend it. Even if there was an embroiderer, it was too late now.
"Okay, now we should think about how to solve this problem. Did you bring any other clothes?"
Su Nanqing shook his head: "It would be great if there was."
"My aunt saved up a lot of money to make this dress for me. The other dresses are too old. If I wear them in the palace, I'm afraid I'll be accused of being disrespectful in front of the palace."
Liu Yuetang thought for a moment, turned around, opened her package, and took out a green Ruyi Yunyan skirt.
"This dress was prepared for me by my father. Although the embroidery is not as good as yours, it is more graceful and elegant. Do you think it can be worn by the emperor?"
Su Nanqing was only the daughter of a seventh-rank county magistrate. Even though Liu Yuetang's dress seemed crude and cheap to other daughters of officials, in her eyes, it was a rare silk fabric.
More importantly, Liu Yuetang’s kindness in helping others in their time of need.
Her eyes were eager and sincere as she bowed deeply to Liu Yuetang and said solemnly, "Thank you so much for your help, Sister Liu. If I am selected this time, I will definitely repay you in the future."
Liu Yuetang helped her up and said gently, "Hurry up and get up. It's just a small favor for me. How can I bear such a big gift from you? It's getting late. You should change quickly."
Su Nanqing nodded heavily with tears in her eyes: "Okay, I'll go right away!"
When she changed her clothes and came out, Liu Yuetang was stunned.
It's not about how beautiful it is.
Instead, this dress seemed to be tailor-made for her, like the Jiangnan region in March in an ink painting, soft and quiet, and at first glance she could tell that she was a gentle woman from a scholarly family in Jiangnan.
When the prefect's daughter saw Su Nanqing coming out, she was stunned for a moment, and then snorted coldly in disgust.
Liu Yuetang and Su Nanqing became even more certain that the person who destroyed the dress was her.
But at the moment, what is more important is the upcoming palace selection.
After the beauties arrived at the courtyard and stood there, they were led by the eunuchs to the Yinghua Gate and their names were called out one by one. The beauties whose names were called came out and saluted. The empress dowager or the queen would ask a few questions and then decide whether they should go or stay.
The ladies standing at the back were extremely nervous, their hands and feet were weak, and they couldn't help wiping the sweat from their foreheads.
In the first round, there was a beautiful lady with a stunning appearance.
Liu Yuetang had never seen such a charming woman. Her every frown and smile was captivating, and she seemed a little overshadowed in front of her.
But what no one expected was that such a stunning beauty was eliminated!
When she came out, her eyes were red and she was sobbing uncontrollably.
Liu Yuetang didn't know whether she should feel sad for her or be happy for herself.
It was inevitable that she would be favored with her looks, but if she entered the palace, it would probably be a stumbling block to her being favored.
The concubine standing by also started to panic.
"She's so pretty and she didn't get picked, so we're probably doomed."
Others were almost crying: "It's over, it's over, I have a bad feeling too."
Liu Yuetang pondered for a long time before he understood a little or two.
If the emperor were to hold a beauty contest today, that woman would definitely be chosen.
The current Queen Mother values moral character, and the Queen probably doesn't want such a beautiful woman to enter the palace.
Liu Yuetang began to be thankful that she did not dress up too much today, otherwise, in the eyes of the Queen Mother, her bright face would also be charming.
Her face looks fresh, refined, graceful and generous without makeup, but once she puts on makeup, she becomes bright and charming.
So after entering the palace, she focused on simplicity.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
