Chapter 40 The show begins
The newly elected lady had just entered the palace and was already being watched by countless eyes, not to mention that she was related to the emperor.
First, there were the rumors about Lin Yanrong and the Emperor. Then, she fainted on the day she entered the palace, and the Emperor went to see her in person. Then, there was the sudden reward given to Bai Yuxin, personally bestowed by the Emperor. These two events immediately sparked widespread discussion in the palace, and not only the newly appointed concubines, but even the old palace staff became somewhat restless.
Lu Haozhi was a diligent king. Ever since he became the crown prince, he rarely cared about the harem. He only went to the harem for a few days in a month, and he always asked Meng Yan to serve him.
Others have been out of favor for many years, and now with the arrival of newcomers, there is even less hope.
There were some concubines who had long lost hope of receiving favor and were just waiting to see Meng Yan make a fool of herself.
She is the mistress of Changchun Palace and the most favored concubine before. If the emperor really likes Bai Yuxin, there will probably be a lot of trouble in Changchun Palace.
Although Concubine Meng's temperament seems to be different in recent days, it is difficult to change one's nature. No one would believe that Concubine Meng will no longer be jealous.
These old people have lived in the deep palace for a long time and have seen many storms. Although they have their own thoughts in their hearts, they can still maintain their composure on the surface.
However, the young ladies who had just entered the palace were causing quite a stir.
Time flies, and ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.
March 17th is the day when the entire palace meets the emperor.
The position of Queen in the palace is now vacant, and these newly elected concubines only have to pay homage to high-ranking concubines such as Imperial Noble Consort Liang Chengbi, Noble Consort Meng Yan, and Virtuous Consort Ren Shuyi.
Therefore, the venue for the audience was set at the Yiku Palace where the Imperial Noble Consort lived.
That morning, Meng Yan got up early, washed up, and was just telling Yunxiang and Ruizhu to get dressed when someone outside announced, "Bai Da Ying is here."
Meng Yan was drawing her eyebrows in front of the mirror. When she heard the message, she smiled happily and said, "Please come in."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of brisk footsteps and Bai Yuxin walked in.
After entering and paying her respects, she went forward to help Meng Yan with her makeup.
Meng Yan smiled and let her serve her. Ruizhu, who was combing her hair behind her, saw this and quietly retreated.
At first, Bai Yuxin wanted to come and serve, but Meng Yan just said that she was also a master, and there was no need to be so humble and polite. However, Bai Yuxin insisted and said that she lived in Changchun Palace and was well taken care of by the imperial concubine. If she just spent her days in leisure, she would feel bad.
Furthermore, she had some unique insights into makeup and hairstyles. Whenever she made up Meng Yan, she always looked particularly beautiful, refined, elegant and generous, which was completely different from the common looks in the palace.
Ruizhu has been serving Meng Yan and combing her hair for nearly ten years. After seeing Bai Yuxin's skills, she felt ashamed of herself.
Therefore, Meng Yan simply let her dress up.
After she finished dressing up, Yunxiang brought out the dresses that she had prepared the night before - an apricot-yellow thin silk shawl with gold embroidered patterns, a light red brocade shirt with golden pomegranate flowers, and a light clear crepe pleated skirt for Meng Yan to wear.
Bai Yuxin took a look and felt a slight admiration in her heart. She smiled and said, "Your Highness, your dress is so dignified and elegant, yet graceful and charming. It is truly ingenious. I am far behind."
Meng Yan looked at herself in the dressing mirror. Her beautiful face was even more radiant after this make-up. She couldn't help but smile knowingly, "Are you meeting the newly selected concubines today? It's not right to be as casual as usual. It's because you know how to dress, otherwise you wouldn't be so well-dressed."
As she spoke, she sighed slightly in her heart. Ever since Bai Yuxin entered Changchun Palace, she had always abided by her promised status in front of her. If she hadn't stopped her, she would even have come to serve her three meals a day.
This is certainly the benefit of her prudence and stability, but it is also a bit strange.
After all, there is still a long way to go.
When everything is ready and the ceremonial procession outside has been assembled, Meng Yan will go to Yiku Palace with Bai Yuxin.
She knew that there had been many rumors in the palace recently, and that Lu Haozhi's pot of red-crowned inkwood had caused a lot of trouble for Bai Yuxin. Those people didn't dare to go to Changchun Palace to make trouble, but Meng Yan could guess with her eyes closed whether they would try to trip up Bai Yuxin behind her back.
Going with her was also to let everyone in the palace know that Bai Yuxin was from her Changchun Palace, and anyone who wanted to act rashly had to consider their own weight and whether they dared to go against her, the imperial concubine.
Bai Yuxin politely declined, "Your Majesty, your kindness is too great for me to accept. I'm just a concubine, how dare I accompany you? This is also against the rules. Please go ahead, and I'll follow." She lowered her eyes slightly as she spoke, "Your Majesty, your intentions are good, and I understand. However, I'm new to the palace, so I don't dare to be so high-profile."
Meng Yan looked at her with her brows lowered and her eyes submissive, and sighed slightly.
How could he not know that she wanted to keep a low profile and bide her time? But when one is in the middle of something, many troubles can be avoided unless one wants to.
Well, since she insists on doing so, there is no need to force it. I don't think anyone would be so tactless as to dare to touch upon her.
At that moment, Meng Yan left Changchun Palace, took a sedan chair, and headed towards Yiku Palace.
Bai Yuxin waited for the imperial concubine's procession to leave, and then she took her own sedan chair, but she was accompanied by two eunuchs and two palace maids. Compared with the grand ceremony when Meng Yan set off before, it was much more shabby.
Hongdou followed beside the sedan chair and whispered, "Young lady, why didn't you go with the Imperial Concubine just now? If you go together, wouldn't it be more impressive? It would let those people at the selection know that you are no longer someone to be bullied."
Bai Yuxin only wore light makeup and plain clothes today. She only wore two hairpins on her head according to her rank in the palace, which were sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs when she was selected.
Her face was calm as she spoke softly, "The Imperial Concubine is naturally well-intentioned in protecting me, but we also need to be more discerning. It would be best if there were less trouble. We can't always bother the Imperial Concubine with everything."
As she spoke, her little hands twisted a plain handkerchief again and again.
At the beginning, she passed the preliminary selection and learned the rules in Chuxiu Palace. Because of her humble background and being from another place, she inevitably spoke with an accent, and was often ridiculed and bullied by those noble ladies from the capital.
Everyone looked down on her and was certain that she would not be favored by the emperor, and it would be in vain even if she entered the palace.
On the day the title was bestowed, it rained in the capital. She lay on the bed in the inn, wrapped in a thin quilt, but her body was shivering from the cold.
But it was just a promise. She knew that her talent was mediocre and it was a fluke that she could enter the palace.
She originally had no desire for the emperor's favor or to compete for honor and advancement. She agreed to come to Beijing to participate in the election only because the Bai clan forced her parents to do something.
My father was a bastard and was not valued by my grandfather, so all the members of my family had no status in the clan.
In order to save face, my father joined the army in his early years, risked his life for military merit, and went through life and death many times. When he was awarded the title of General of Cavalry, some members of the Bai family came to curry favor with him.
But later, my father was injured and broke his leg, and he could no longer fight, and the people in the clan changed their attitude again.
When the selection quotas were allocated, she was reluctant to come, but the clan leader forced her to go, threatening to confiscate his family's land if she was not sent to the capital.
To protect her parents, she agreed to run for election.
I remember that on the day of departure, my mother cried so hard that she almost fainted, and her two younger siblings grabbed her skirt and lay on the ground, refusing to get up.
She gritted her teeth, broke free, and got into the carriage.
My father came to see me off with tears in his eyes, leaning on a cane.
The carriage traveled a long way, and she leaned out of the window and looked back. In the billowing smoke and dust, she could still see her father's staggering figure.
This scene appeared in her dreams countless times. When she woke up in the middle of the night, her pillowcase was soaked.
When she entered the palace, her heart had already turned cold. She was tired of the faces and deep thoughts of those forces, and even the magnificent imperial city seemed dim and dull in her eyes.
Until he entered Changchun Palace and met the imperial concubine.
The bright and lively character, straightforward and cheerful nature, and meticulous care of the imperial concubine warmed her heart again.
Whenever she saw the Empress smile, she couldn't help but feel happy too.
Maybe her status is not worthy of her, but deep down she regards the Empress as her own sister.
Meng Yan rode on a sedan chair and arrived at Yiku Palace in the blink of an eye.
When the sedan chair landed, the palace servants guarding the gate all bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."
Looking at the seemingly respectful Yikun Palace maids, Meng Yan's bright red lips curled up slightly.
Today is a good show.
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