The initial selection mainly checks for obvious physical defects, such as missing limbs, deafness, blindness, facial paralysis, body odor, etc. These are not fatal but will definitely disqualify the candidate.
Xiuning would definitely not have such a situation (even if she did, she could rely on the system to fix it).
The nanny who accepted the gift was indeed lenient in her inspection. Even when inspecting Xiu Ning, she only glanced at her briefly and did not have the intention of checking every inch of Xiu Ning's skin.
"This is a wooden sign. Take it to the room across the street, and then you can leave through the back door."
The old woman took out a clean wooden plaque and handed it to Xiuning. There were no words on it, but a few beautiful flower petals were drawn in the corner.
Xiuning nodded. She didn't want to pry, knowing that speaking less in the palace was the best way to avoid giving herself away. She quickly dressed and turned to leave.
Because she remembered the words of the old woman at the door, Xiu Ning did not go to the middle room, so her preliminary selection was easy and painless. When she came out from the back door, it ended even earlier than she had expected.
The woman who greeted her was an unfamiliar old lady who seemed unapproachable.
Xiu Ning thought for a moment, then decided to do the same thing as before. She took off the jade hairpin from her hair and gave it away without hesitation.
"Granny, now that the preliminary selection is over, can we, the young ladies-in-waiting, leave?"
Whether I passed the preliminary selection or not, I already knew the result after coming out of the second room.
Xiu Ning naturally has no problem; all she needs to do is prepare for the palace re-selection three days later and learn the palace rules.
It will take about half a month, and then they will hold another palace selection.
Those who were selected and whose names were kept in the palace would enter the palace as concubines or consorts, while those whose names were discarded would be rejected and return home. They could then marry on their own (of course, if they were selected during the re-selection, they would definitely not be able to marry into a good family, since being rejected while learning the rules was a clear indication that they had some problems).
“After the princess finishes the preliminary selection, she can leave, but there are two ways to leave the palace.”
"This servant suggests that Your Highness take a longer route. The closer road has a lot of pedestrian traffic, and with Your Highness's beautiful face, it would be a pity if you were to accidentally bump into something."
The last sentence was a kind reminder from the nanny.
The implication was that the nearby road was somewhat dangerous, especially for a beautiful young lady like Xiuning.
"Thank you for your guidance, Granny."
Xiuning thanked the old woman for her kindness, but did not put on airs because of their simple transaction.
After all, it's the imperial harem. We might all be making a living together in the future. Who knows if we'll ever need each other? It's always good to leave room for maneuver, so we can meet again in the future.
The old woman treated Xiuning with neither servility nor arrogance, and after explaining the route out of the palace, she didn't say anything more.
The two nodded to each other, and Xiu Ning turned and left the palace.
Although the journey took about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea longer than the journey there, thankfully, there were no major incidents, and Xiuning successfully boarded the carriage to return home, putting her mind at ease once again.
At this moment, at the Xitala residence, Lady Fucha was waiting at the gate with her servants.
Only when she saw a carriage returning in the distance did a smile appear on Fucha's face.
Mother
"Xiuning, quickly come with your mother to the main courtyard."
Fucha seemed very anxious. She reached out and grabbed Xiuning's wrist, and her steps were very hurried.
Xiu Ning was puzzled, thinking that Fucha was worried about her preliminary selection today, so she quickened her pace and caught up with Fucha beside her.
Fucha felt the change around her. She turned to look at Xiuning and smiled. "Don't worry, Mother just wanted to talk to you about today's preliminary selection."
Xiuning nodded, "Mother, don't worry, everything went smoothly today."
"..."
While the mother and daughter were chatting, they had already arrived at the main courtyard gate.
Upon entering, Lady Fucha pulled Xiuning to sit directly on the couch, then poured her a cup of warm tea and handed it to her.
When is the second round of voting?
As Xiuning sipped her tea, she said, "There's another palace selection in three days. I'm afraid it will be June before my daughter returns."
Fucha nodded. "That's right. There's a general timeframe for the re-selection of imperial concubines each year."
However, since you'll be entering the palace in three days, you'll likely have to rely on yourself.
At this point, Fucha's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
Xiu Ning frowned upon seeing this. "Aren't there two other candidates from the Xitala clan with you?" The three of them are essentially from the same interest group, and there won't be any conflicts during the re-selection period. They can form a temporary alliance.
Upon hearing this, Lady Fucha sighed, "Those two had some bad luck when they left the palace today. One broke his hand, and the other was disfigured. They can't participate in the re-selection."
Xiuning: ...?!
"Mother, what's going on?" Xiu Ning's expression remained unchanged, but her tone became noticeably anxious.
"What else can I do? I was careless and made a mistake, getting caught in their scheme."
Fucha gritted her teeth. To be honest, there were more surprises than in previous selections of imperial concubines. Each family was really going all out.
Xiuning recalled the two Xitala clan ladies-in-waiting. She could only say that they were pretty but not outstanding. They were minor beauties, but none of them could pose a threat to others.
"Why would I scheme against those two?" No matter how I look at it, it's not worth it.
“It might be because of you,” Fucha looked up, staring intently at Xiuning, “You’re too much of a threat, they’re afraid.”
Therefore, when they could not capture Xiuning, they could only choose to deal with the other two members of the Hitara clan, leaving Xiuning, who would enter the palace three days later, in a helpless and isolated situation.
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