"Granny, Xitala Xiu has arrived."
The young eunuch leading the way quickly ran to a familiar old woman standing at the palace gate, speaking to her while carefully pointing to Xiu Ning standing not far behind him.
The old woman looked up and said, "I understand. Leave the rest to me. You can go back now."
After quickly dismissing the young eunuch with a few words, the old woman approached Xiuning and bowed, saying, "Princess, please come with me to the main hall to register."
There were quite a few young women coming today, and they didn't all arrive at the same time. So, to prevent any accidents, such as who came and who didn't, a table for registering names was set up at the entrance of the main hall. Even the places where the young women would be staying were marked on the list.
Xiuning smiled and nodded, "Thank you for your hard work, Granny."
Following closely behind the old woman, Xiu Ning tried her best to keep her eyes straight ahead, instead letting the system in her mind scan the entire Chuxiu Palace for her.
Because of the eunuch's advance warning, Xiuning knew that these old women all came from Cining Palace and must be people around the Empress Dowager. Therefore, it was inconvenient for her to take out the purse she had prepared in advance to bribe them.
'What a pity, just by looking at this old woman, I can know a lot of inside information.' But she currently has no way to get any information out of her.
“Princess, you are staying in room number two in the side hall.” Just as Xiu Ning was lost in thought, the nanny had already found Xiu Ning’s entry on the roster, simply drew a checkmark with a brush, and then took out a wooden plaque and handed it to her. “There are five other young ladies living in the room. If you have nothing else to do, Princess, you may go directly there.”
After finishing her speech, the old woman remained where she was, showing no intention of leading the way.
Xiuning smiled slightly, "Thank you for informing me, Granny."
If not, then so be it. Xiuning isn't blind; the numbers one, two, and three hanging around are so obvious that she could find her place even with her eyes closed.
Because she was only carrying a small bundle (containing mostly valuables such as purses), Xiu Ning walked over easily. In fact, because she had arrived early, there was no one else in the room except her.
What happened? Why did she come alone?
No, there's another bundle left outside next door, but the person isn't there.
Seeing this, Xiu Ning raised her eyebrows. She didn't intend to go over and see who it was. Anyway, these temporary roommates would be living together for more than half a month, and there would be plenty of opportunities to communicate later.
"My esteemed guest, your luggage has arrived. Where would you like us to place it?"
Xiuning turned around and saw that the group of eunuchs who had helped to greet her at the palace gate earlier had also arrived.
Smiling, she pointed to the innermost room, separated by a beautiful floral screen, and said, "It's fine to put it there for now."
After speaking, Xiuning stood aside and waited for the little eunuch to put away the luggage, and then smoothly gave him a purse as a reward.
With extra income, the hardworking eunuchs were naturally happy and showered each other with compliments. If they didn't have other things to do later, they would definitely continue to boast (it's not easy to meet a generous master).
After watching the people leave, Xiu Ning breathed a sigh of relief and turned to put the newly delivered bundle into the room she had chosen.
The room was quite spacious. Although large floral screens were used to partition the space on both sides, it was not a normal room after all, and there were still gaps. However, these gaps were covered with precious gauze to minimize the possibility of outsiders seeing the interior.
After walking around the entire perimeter and nook, Xiu Ning nodded in satisfaction.
Putting everything else aside, at least she doesn't have to worry about outsiders knowing what she's doing in her room.
She got up, rolled up her sleeves, and tidied up some clothes in the bundle. Xiu Ning let out a soft breath and took out a handkerchief to wipe her forehead.
Squeak—
The door was pushed open again, and light footsteps came from outside the screen.
Xiuning didn't even need to look up to know that a new roommate had arrived.
Not yet in the mood to get to know the other person, Xiu Ning first tidied her makeup in front of the bronze mirror placed to the side. Feeling that it was a bit messy, she picked up a clean wooden basin, took the toiletries she had already taken out, and went straight out to ask the nanny where she could wash up.
There was no other way; the weather outside was getting warmer, and these people were wearing a lot of clothes, so they definitely needed to wash and groom themselves frequently to keep clean and tidy.
It's not just a matter of appearance; they can't even eat their daily meals in their rooms.
After all, there were five people living in a tiny space partitioned off from a single room. It was already crammed full just with their own belongings and the things they brought in from outside the palace. There was no room left for anything else.
"Princess, the washing and grooming area is in the room at the very front. Opposite is the place where you eat breakfast and dinner. All the etiquette lessons will be conducted in the main hall in the front courtyard."
The old woman probably didn't expect Xiu Ning to ask so early, so after thinking for a moment, she gave a brief explanation of the basic layout of Chuxiu Palace.
Xiu Ning nodded repeatedly to express her gratitude. Her appearance was already quite striking among the ladies-in-waiting, so being a little sweet-talking wouldn't hurt.
"Thank you for your guidance, Granny."
"You're too kind, Princess."
Xiu Ning nodded, then, clutching the wooden basin in her hands, plunged into the dressing room.
'Phew, it's quite humid here.'
As she entered the doorway, Xiuning couldn't help but sigh. She quickly found a spot to the side, filled a container with warm water, and did a quick cleaning.
To be honest, Xiuning, as the top choice of Lady Xitala, already knew some of the information that the nanny mentioned today before she entered the palace.
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