Chapter 11: New Concubine's Lecture
The next morning, Lian Qiao and Qiu Xia woke Jiang Yingli up half an hour early as instructed.
Because she stayed up too late last night, Jiang Yingli was still yawning when she woke up.
Jiang Yingli was responsible for giving the speech to the newlyweds, but the location was not Zhaohua Palace, but a large hall for concubines to gather, called Baohua Hall.
I heard that it was a special order from His Majesty.
Because Zhaohua Hall is a bit far from the Empress Dowager's Wanshou Palace, Baohua Hall is closer by comparison, so the Empress Dowager will not have to wait too long after the lecture.
So, after Jiang Yingli had packed up, she had to rush to Baohua Palace.
Jiang Yingli was not the only one who was nervous. Many concubines who had just entered the palace also got up early in the morning to put on their makeup, fearing that something might go wrong.
Therefore, even though it was still early in the appointed time, many people had already arrived at Baohua Hall.
Several concubines of lower rank, such as Zheng Baolin, stood at the door, not daring to go inside, let alone sit down.
Of course, apart from these reserved newcomers, there are some others who seem much more relaxed.
Song Wanyan, dressed in a persimmon-colored light silk long dress, was particularly conspicuous as she led her palace maids through the crowd, attracting everyone's attention.
Her black hair was piled high, with many intricate and exquisite hair accessories, which made her already sharp facial features stand out even more, especially her slightly upturned eyes, which looked even sharper.
The concubines who looked at her only dared to glance at her secretly, for fear of meeting her eyes.
But Song Wanyan disdained to look at anyone. She walked to the second seat on the left and sat down as if no one was around.
When she entered the palace, she was given the title of Xiuyuan, and her rank was the same as Su Xiuyi's, both of them being among the third of the nine concubines. However, according to convention, Xiuyuan was ranked a little behind Xiuyi.
So, the first position on the left belongs to Su Xiuyi, and the next one is naturally hers.
Song Wanyan sat down as if it was a matter of course, which caused the concubines of high status gathered at the door to whisper among themselves.
"That must be Song Xiuyuan, who came from the Grand Tutor's Mansion. She's quite flamboyant."
"If you were from the Song family, how dare you act so arrogantly?"
The Song family was originally ranked first among the eight great families, but was squeezed out by the other seven families.
It is said that the Song family is aloof and conceited, and that such an incompatibility will lead to their own destruction sooner or later. However, looking at the court, the Song family's clansmen and disciples are spread everywhere, and their foundation is deeper than that of the other families.
After all, the other families were aristocratic families that developed with the founding of Daye, while the Song family had been a prominent family since previous dynasties and had stood firm for generations.
Therefore, although some concubines could not stand Song Wanyan's ostentation, more of them were envious.
Zheng Lan'er was in the crowd, looking at Song Wanyan through several figures, and she couldn't help but clench her handkerchief.
It is a great fortune for a person to be one of the nine concubines as soon as he enters the palace.
She was from a humble family, a mere Baolin. Looking around, there were others who held Baolin's status. However, their family backgrounds were all higher than hers, and given time, their status would be much higher than hers.
In this palace, the one with the lowest family background is probably Concubine Jia, who came from a merchant family.
But she is luckier. Despite her background, she can stand in a higher position than Song Wanyan today and give lectures to everyone.
Zheng Baolin was still feeling sad in the corner, and a loud voice of "Jia Jieyu is here" made everyone quiet down in an instant.
The concubines of lower rank were already half-kneeling and preparing to salute. Although those with higher rank than the imperial concubines did not need to salute, they also nodded slightly to show respect to their predecessors.
Song Wanyan stood up slowly and looked towards the door.
The light at the door flashed, and the person who walked in was wearing a low-key lake blue long dress with wide sleeves, and a few simple and elegant butterfly-patterned blue beaded hairpins were pinned in her bun.
But this low-key outfit did not suppress the person's beauty in the slightest. On the contrary, the face that seemed to be coated with a halo of skylight made the outfit look much more elegant.
She has beautiful eyebrows, clear eyes and fair skin, and looks like a piece of finely carved jade.
It was not until Jiang Yingli walked to the top that many dazed newcomers came to their senses.
Wasn't it said that things weren't going well at the palace last year? Why is Concubine Jia in such good health? She doesn't look like someone who's been through hardships with Your Majesty, but rather someone who's been carefully nurtured.
"Everyone, please stand up. We're sisters, there's no need to be so reserved." Jiang Yingli tried her best to make her voice sound natural. She looked at the newlyweds who were a little confused at the door, and signaled with her eyes to Lian Qiao and Qiuxia who were following beside her.
"You, go and show the ladies to take their seats."
Soon, the low-ranking concubines who were in a mess at the door were led to their seats, and the hall became much more orderly.
Song Wanyan glanced at him secretly, feeling very disdainful.
The seats have already been arranged. What's the point of standing there pretending to be polite to each other? It's a waste of time.
After everyone was seated, it was obvious that someone was missing.
Especially in front of Song Wanyan, the highest position on the left was vacant.
Su Xiuyi, who had the highest rank, did not come.
And behind Li Liangren, Lu Cairen's position was also vacant.
After waiting for a while, Song Wanyan became very unhappy and complained directly: "Why are you dawdling? Everyone is here, but you are just waiting for those one or two people."
The newcomers were not as high-ranking as Su Xiuyi, so they didn't dare to agree. The scene was very quiet, and Jiang Yingli was having a headache trying to resolve the situation.
"Some are early, some are late, that's all normal. Today is the first day my sisters enter the palace. Good morning, it's okay if you're a little late because you're not familiar with the road. Lianqiao, go check on Xiao Xiazi at the door."
"No need to look. I'm late. I hope Concubine Jia won't blame me."
I heard his voice before I saw him.
Those who had experienced Su Xiuyi's ostentatious aura during the talent show were now standing up tremblingly and preparing to salute.
Song Wanyan sat in her seat and watched as if she was watching a show.
Su Xiuyi wore a pomegranate red skirt with a wide-sleeved shirt of the same color. As she walked, her hairpins and earrings swayed, which was very eye-catching.
At this moment, she did not look at all apologetic for being late. Instead, she looked indifferent and walked straight to the center of the hall.
She was late on purpose, of course. She just wanted everyone to look at her when she appeared.
At this moment, looking at the newlyweds bowing to her in the hall, Su Xiuyi felt more and more proud. She did not ask everyone to stand up, but raised her head high and looked straight at Jiang Yingli.
She looked at her without any concealment, and after finally seeing the appearance of this old person in the residence, a hint of jealousy and unhappiness appeared in Su Qingrong's eyes.
Following behind Su Xiuyi was Lu Cairen. She had changed her eye-catching outfit from yesterday and wore a plain dress, which made Su Xiuyi stand out even more.
She stood behind Su Xiuyi and said loudly, "Sister Su and I took a little longer to dress and put on makeup in order to appear attired appropriately for the Empress Dowager. We are late, I believe the Concubine will understand."
All the concubines knew that Su Xiuyi's maternal family, the Su family, was second only to the Xue family in status among the aristocratic families. The Xue family did not send anyone into the palace this time, but the empress dowager was from the Xue family, so she must be close to Su Xiuyi.
Lü Cairen relied on the power of Su Xiuyi and the Queen Mother to intimidate Jiang Yingli.
Su Xiuyi didn't say anything, but she felt very happy about what Lu Cairen said.
This lackey is deeply in her heart.
Jiang Yingli said nothing more, only saying, "Since you're here, please take a seat. After the lecture, we still have to go see the Queen Mother, so there's no time to waste. Sisters, please stand up and take a seat as well."
Seeing that Jiang Yingli didn't dare to complain to them, Su Xiuyi became even more proud. She turned around and looked at the concubine who was about to get up and take her seat, and said rudely:
"What's the hurry? I haven't asked you to get up yet."
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