The second round of the draft begins!
A group of young women gathered at the palace, and Liu Rou Niang was now on the high platform.
"Long live the Princess!"
Liu Rou Niang stood up, took two steps forward and said, "First of all, congratulations to all the ladies for passing the first round of the selection. Now I will explain the rules for the second round."
The second round is a talent showcase. Whether it's playing musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, painting, embroidery, or cooking, any skill is welcome. Write your name and the skill you choose. We will select the top three in each skill category to advance to the next round, the final examination.
After he finished speaking, the young ladies below began to whisper among themselves.
How should I choose?
"I've heard that Wen Jingyi is known as the most talented woman in the capital. We must avoid the choices she makes."
"I'm doomed, I can't do anything right."
...
A quarter of an hour later, after everyone had made their choices, statistics showed that the most popular skills were in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and singing. After all, most of those who came to the talent show were young ladies from wealthy families, pampered and spoiled, and not many of them knew much else. This doubled the number of people eliminated.
For the ranking and scoring, Liu Rou Niang specially invited an elderly person who was outstanding and famous in the relevant field to serve as the judge, striving for fairness and impartiality.
Within about ten days, there was a great wailing, and two-thirds of the imperial concubines had left!
Liu Rou Niang was under a lot of pressure during this period. Those who had failed the selection but wanted to use connections were all turned away by Rou Niang!
However, when Zhou arrived, she couldn't refuse and had no choice but to meet him.
In fact, Rou Niang knew why Zhou Shi had come; Zhou Ruxue had been rejected.
But she had no choice. She was less skilled than others, and with everyone watching, how could she show favoritism?
"Rou Niang, I shouldn't have come, but my mother is making a huge fuss again, alas..." Zhou sighed.
Rou Niang nodded: "Aunt, I know you are in a difficult position, but please understand my predicament."
"Rou Niang, Ru Xue came in fourth place this time, just a little short, could you please~"
"Aunt, please stop talking. If you continue, things will become very difficult for us." Rou Niang immediately stopped her: "It was a public verdict, I can't do anything about it."
"Sigh~" Zhou sighed and said, "Rou Niang, you actually know that third place winner too, I wonder if you still remember him?"
Rou Niang was bewildered; she had seen too many young ladies-in-waiting recently to remember them all.
"Do you remember last year at Hundred Flowers Manor, when you saved Miss Chen? Later at the poetry gathering, her friend Miss Chu helped her out, and this time, Miss Chu came in third place," Zhou said.
Rou Niang then remembered that at the poetry gathering, when Miss Chen was making things difficult for her, there was a girl who had been helping Miss Chen, but she couldn't remember what she looked like.
"Rou Niang, if Miss Chu really enters the palace, it might be detrimental to you. Why don't you go?" Zhou Shi didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.
Rou Niang sighed, "I know my aunt is doing all this for my own good, but this is so unfair to Miss Chu. She was able to be among the top three out of so many candidates, which shows that she loves writing poetry. I can't do this."
Zhou sighed, said nothing more, and seeing that it was getting late, got up to take her leave.
Madam Zhou naturally made another scene, but the situation was already settled and it was of no use.
Zheng Wanru also failed to be selected, coming in fourth place, but in the dance category.
Madam Zheng, with a worried look on her face, went to plead with Old Madam Liu. She was not as wretched as Madam Zhou. In fact, she loved her daughter dearly and did not necessarily want her to go to the palace. She was just worried about her daughter's marriage.
Finally, Old Madam Liu relented and agreed to help find suitable candidates after the imperial concubine selection, which relieved Madam Zheng.
However, things didn't go as planned. The girl who was ranked third suddenly fell ill, and as a result, Zheng Wanru unexpectedly made it into the final round!
Regardless of how happy the Zheng family was, Madam Zhou absolutely refused to believe in such luck, saying that Rou Niang was discerning in her relationships and had rejected Zhou Shi, which was actually helping Old Madam Liu, and so on.
Zhou frowned. She didn't like hearing these words, but she had no choice but to think about them. In any case, she was feeling troubled and aggrieved!
Rou Niang didn't have time to consider other people's feelings, because she was also very busy. Liu Lianxing, unsurprisingly, advanced to the next round.
Based on this calculation, there are approximately thirty candidates who will advance to the next round. Before meeting the emperor, these thirty candidates will enter the palace and be placed in the Chuxiu Palace to learn etiquette and rules for seven days. After seven days, the final round will be concluded.
Rou Niang was also busy during these seven days, taking meticulous care of the food, daily life, and other needs of all the young ladies.
Even so, accidents still happen!
The one who got into trouble was Li Biyue, but the ones involved were Liu Lianxing and the Chu family's young lady.
"What happened?" Rou Niang asked.
The head maid replied, "Your Highness, someone tampered with Miss Li's rouge, adding a drug that can damage her complexion. An investigation revealed that this drug was found in the boudoirs of Miss Liu and Miss Chu."
"Miss Liu, what do you say?" Rou Niang couldn't believe Liu Lianxing could do such a thing.
"Princess, it was Liu Lianxing who did it!" Before Liu Lianxing could reply, Miss Chu hurriedly stepped forward and said, "I admire Liu Lianxing's talent and have always been on good terms with her. I never expected that she would often complain in private that she was jealous of Li Biyue's appearance, which is why she took such a drastic action!"
"I didn't do it, it wasn't me, Princess, I'm innocent!" Liu Lianxing was both aggrieved and surprised, and her appearance was also very endearing!
"Then how did you come to have this medicine?" Rou Niang asked. Liu Lianxing came to the palace from her residence, so she naturally knew that Liu Lianxing did not bring any medicine with her.
“Princess, I don’t know either. I don’t have that kind of medicine,” Liu Lianxing said.
"Princess, please don't listen to her nonsense!" Miss Chu said anxiously.
"If you won't listen to her, then I'll listen to you. Why is there this kind of medicine in your room?" Liu Rou Niang asked.
"Princess, I was framed by Liu Lianxing! She must have secretly put it in my room!" Miss Chu said.
Liu Rou Niang said helplessly, "They search people before they enter the palace. Her family and friends are far from the capital, so how could they have brought them in? On the contrary, you are very suspicious!"
"Princess, you are innocent! I am innocent!" Miss Chu said.
"Your Highness, I identify Miss Chu!" Just then, Li Biyue stepped forward and pointed her out.
Liu Rou Niang was surprised: "You have evidence?"
Li Biyue nodded: "I saw that she bribed Princess Rongrong to bring her the medicine."
Rou Niang waved her hand, ordering someone to bring in the palace maid Rongrong. The little maid was terrified; she had only been greedy for money and hadn't expected to cause such a big fuss.
Before Rou Niang could ask, she confessed everything: "Princess, spare my life! It was Miss Chu who gave me money to buy medicine. I was momentarily bewitched. Please, Princess, spare my life!"
Liu Rou Niang was furious and ordered that she be dealt with according to palace rules. Miss Chu lost her eligibility and was expelled from the palace.
After this incident, Rou Niang summoned all the young ladies-in-waiting and announced the incident involving Miss Chu and its outcome: "I do not wish for any more instances of such underhanded schemes to harm others to occur here. The Emperor also dislikes cunning and treacherous individuals. I urge you all to behave yourselves!"
Miss Chu was expelled from the palace, and Lord Chu was also demoted by the emperor, which is quite a sad story.
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