Chapter 17 Entering the Palace I heard that the Emperor had taken a fancy to a young...
Xiuyu was welcomed by a peach-colored sedan chair, its delicate hue accentuating her bright-red Manchu dress. The road ahead lay before her. Even if she turned back, she couldn't return to the past, to the borderlands beyond the Great Wall, to those carefree, relaxed days of the past. Xiuyu clutched the white handkerchief embroidered with a wintersweet blossom tightly in her hand and, without even turning back, stepped into the sedan chair.
"The princess has truly entered the palace." Outside the inn, Lihua watched the pink sedan chair drift away. She had a feeling that she and the princess were parting ways, and that they would never see each other again. That moment had probably been a farewell forever.
"Gege has been a smart person since she was young. She will definitely live a good life, even in the red walls and green tiles of the Forbidden City." Liuzi looked at Lihua with a smile: "Gege has entrusted you to me. I will treat you well for the rest of my life. What Gege can give you, I may not be able to give you, but I will do my best to give you everything I have."
"Yes." Lihua turned her head to look at Liuzi, her future husband: "We must stay together for the rest of our lives, just like Gege wishes."
As Ye Lihua had said, among this year's selection of beauties, Xiu Yu was indeed the most dazzling, even in plain clothes. In fact, the comparison couldn't be limited to this year's selection; even if all the famous and outstanding girls from Jiangnan and Jiangbei were put together, Xiu Yu would probably be the most eye-catching and perfect one.
Warm sedan chairs stopped one by one in the imperial garden. Xiao Tao had been following Xiu Yu's sedan chair since some time ago. The one who helped Xiu Yu get out of the sedan chair was not a nanny, but Xiao Tao.
"You?" Xiu Yu frowned slightly, feeling a little confused.
Xiao Tao raised his eyebrows mischievously and signaled to Gege with his eyes to pretend that he didn't know her, but not to let others notice.
Xiu Yu lowered her head and smiled slightly. She thought Xiao Tao was still as naughty as he was back then, and she was also grateful for Xuanye's painstaking arrangements.
Which eunuch or maid would dare to embarrass a princess already favored by the emperor? Liang Jiugong had already found the "chief manager" of this selection and gave him a "lecture" early in the morning. Although his words were all about "serious matters", the "chief manager" had been working in the palace for many years and understood the chief manager's intentions without having to ponder them carefully.
So, while other princesses had to go through a series of selections before entering the palace, Xiuyu was essentially just a formality, a process known as "recommendation." When it came time to "touch the jade," the battle-hardened maids didn't dare ask Xiuyu to take off her clothes, and barely even touched her.
In the Palace of Heavenly Purity, although Xuanye's eyes were focused on the memorial, his mind was completely distracted. There were two reasons for this. First, the matter in the memorial was a trivial matter that didn't require his excessive attention. Second, of course, Xiu Yu had finally entered the Forbidden City, and they would probably see each other again very soon.
"Master." Liang Jiugong placed the tea on the tray next to Xuanye and said, "Don't worry. I have already given Wang Zhichun all the instructions. Nothing will go wrong."
"Hmm." Xuanye picked up the tea bowl and took a sip. Finally, he asked Liang Jiugong, "Didn't you send someone to check again?"
Liang Jiugong was stunned for a moment, then replied, "Master, only the people assigned to this matter can be present. Others are not allowed to get close."
Xuanye smiled and shook his head: "I was confused! You are right, I should just let go and wait quietly."
"But..." Liang Jiugong still had a hidden trick: "I heard that Princess Yu wore a bright red Manchu dress today. Princess Yu is already a beauty, and when she put on that Manchu dress, it seems that the candidates for the imperial selection were all dumbfounded when they saw her."
"Really?" Xuanye was already itching after being hooked by Liang Jiugong, and now it was even more itchy: "She was wearing a light red Manchu dress..." Xuanye imagined Xiuyu's appearance at the moment: "She must be quite attractive."
It's definitely more than just 'quite a bit of a flavor'! It's clearly a hit with both men and women! Xiao Tao had already been waiting for Xiu Yu at the final checkpoint. Mei Lan, who was usually close to Xiao Tao, came over and asked, "Which... which princess were you assigned to?"
Xiao Tao rubbed his hands together and simply said, "Aren't we assigning them randomly?"
"But you were originally serving the Emperor." Mei Lan crossed her arms and lowered her voice, "How could you, a good sister, keep this a secret? Don't you know that nothing can be hidden in this palace? I heard that at the end of last year, the Emperor took a fancy to a princess who had just come to the Forbidden City from outside the Great Wall. But was that the one you just served?"
Xiao Tao glared at Mei Lan and said, "Who said that? You don't know how busy the emperor is at the end of the year because you haven't been serving him closely. The reports sent in from all over the country are already piling up. How can he have time to talk to the princess?"
Mei Lan was actually fooled by Xiao Tao. She really treated Xiao Tao as a sister, and she was also quite honest: "I just heard about it. If you say there is no such thing, then it may be true."
Xiao Tao felt a little guilty; Mei Lan was, after all, a rare friend she'd chosen. But for her master, she'd do anything, especially if it was just a trick on her best friend. Still, she couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart. She pulled out a small piece of jade and placed it in Mei Lan's hand. "This was given to me by the Emperor last year for my efficient work. Didn't you say you liked it? I'll give it to you today."
"Isn't this the authentic Hetian mutton-fat jade you mentioned?" Mei Lan held the small piece of jade carefully and asked, "Are you really giving it to me?"
Xiao Tao patted Mei Lan's shoulder nonchalantly. Of course, she also had another thought in mind: in the future, when her master, her teacher, became the most favored of the harem, what would she, the personal servant and the most intelligent disciple, not be able to ask for? "I'm really giving it to you! I really treat you as a good sister!"
"Thank you." Mei Lan was easy to coax and instantly forgot about the gossip she had just had.
Xiao Tao saw Xiu Yu coming out from afar. People who come out from this door are commonly known as "leaving a name tag". Of course, if anyone dares to leave Xiu Yu's name tag, I'm afraid that person would think that his head is too heavy on his neck!
With Liang Jiugong's prior arrangement, Xiao Tao simply walked up to Xiu Yu, bowed and said, "I am Xiao Tao, your servant, here to serve you." Then he stepped forward and held Xiu Yu's arm.
The Emperor had dispatched his former maid, a fact that had already confirmed the rumors circulating in the palace. Naturally, more gossipy servants flocked to Mei Lan to pry for information. Mei Lan secretly put the jade away and simply said, "Xiao Tao has requested the Emperor's permission, saying he wants a new mistress to serve. Besides, look at that princess just now—her appearance and demeanor. Would you be happy to have her serve you?"
"Indeed..." The gossipy little maid was actually fooled: "If I could really serve that princess, it would be like serving a flower every day, very pleasing to the eye."
"Yes!" Mei Lan also felt a little envious of Xiao Tao: "But Xiao Tao is also the most outstanding one among us. It's fitting for him to serve such a princess."
"She's the most outstanding?" The maid rolled her eyes in disdain, glared at Mei Lan, and said, "You're the only one who's stupid!"
Xiao Tao helped Xiu Yu gradually leave the team that was participating in the audition. Xiu Yu couldn't help but ask, "Where are you taking me?"
"To see the Emperor," Xiao Tao said in a low voice, "In the early Kangxi period, the rules of the imperial harem were not so strict. Besides, you are someone the Emperor has chosen from the beginning. Liang Jiugong must have already informed the maids and eunuchs. I believe that the journey will be smooth, Princess."
"It was indeed very smooth." Xiu Yu thought of how respectful the old maids and eunuchs were to her, and actually she had already guessed that Xuanye had secretly put in some effort.
Xiao Tao added, "But honestly, you're already the most conspicuous among the ladies in this year's selection, and the Emperor doing this is a bit ostentatious."
"Are you afraid I'll be in trouble soon?" Xiu Yu lowered her eyelids, but the smile on her face, as warm as the sun, never faded. "I think that even if I don't look for trouble, trouble will probably find me. So, I should become stronger, and when trouble comes, I can deal with it."
"That's quite true, Princess." Xiao Tao hadn't known about Xiu Yu being targeted before she even entered the palace, so she felt safe for now. "But as long as Princess and I are together, no matter how great the dangers, Xiao Tao will always be by your side. Perhaps I can even be a blessing to you."
Xiu Yu asked casually, "Don't you want to leave the palace? Palace maids are allowed to leave when they reach the age."
"Why would I leave the palace? There's no skilled work for me in the entire Qing Dynasty." Xiao Tao's words were joking, but they were also true: "Ever since I was little, I've wondered if you, Master, have also 'traveled' through time. It would be so great if I could meet you. Thank goodness, the heavens have shown mercy and allowed me to see you again. If I leave the palace again, I'm afraid I'll be struck by lightning."
"You little girl." Xiu Yu tapped Xiao Tao's nose. "Now I don't have any 'technical work' for you to do. Later on, we can embroider together in this palace. What do you think?"
Xiao Tao knew her master was joking, so she joked back, "As long as you don't feel bored, I won't feel bored either."
The two of them walked towards Xuanye's "secret base" while whispering to each other. At that time, Xuanye was waiting like an ant on a hot pan and could not sit still.
"Your Majesty, Princess Yu will be here soon. Would you like to sit down and wait?" Liang Jiugong came over with a dictionary and handed it to Xuanye: "This thing is very heavy. You should sit down and read it."
Xuanye flipped open the dictionary, raised his head and asked Liang Jiugong, "Did you bring that thing I told you to bring?"
"Master, don't worry. I brought it." Just as he said this, Liang Jiugong took down a small box from the Duobao Pavilion and said, "I put it here."
"Yeah." Xuanye nodded, flipping through the dictionary for a while, then glancing out the door. When the water-red figure appeared, he quickly walked to the desk and sat down, but he pushed the dictionary under a pile of books and randomly opened the top one.
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