This year's draft was postponed for a long time and happened to be the coldest day in Beijing.

The women in the city might still be able to live safely in their boudoirs, but it was hard for those beauties who had traveled long distances to participate in the selection.

Outside the Shenwu Gate, several richly decorated carriages were parked quietly on the roadside.

The curtain was lifted, and one young and beautiful girl after another got out of the carriage, helped out by maids.

The deep red palace walls are solemn and heavy, isolating the life inside the palace from the hustle and bustle outside.

The walls are so high that they seem to connect with the sky, making it impossible to see what is happening inside the palace.

The girls had different expressions.

Some people had serious expressions, while others tried hard to hide their excitement.

An elderly maid stood at the door, holding a list and checking the passes of the concubines.

Two more eunuchs were on both sides, checking the packages that the concubines brought into the palace.

There are a total of eighty-six beauties who meet the criteria for entering the palace in this selection, and they will be divided into two groups to live in Jingyixuan.

——Today is the day when the first batch of beauties will come in.

More than forty young ladies from official families tried their best to maintain their demeanor, but their young hearts could not hide their longing and expectation for life in the palace.

Once entering the palace, they will have the opportunity to become the queen of the current dynasty and enjoy supreme glory and honor.

Such a beauty is enough to make any woman's heart beat fast.

Some people couldn't suppress their ambitions, and their eyes looked towards the palace walls more and more passionately.

Only when they came in front of the nanny did they timidly lower their heads and ask their maids to hand them the pass.

The nanny who was in charge of the people always had a cold face.

She was old, slightly hunched, with graying hair on her temples, and looked not much different from the grandmothers of some of the concubines.

Palace maids usually leave the palace before the age of thirty, but this maid looks to be nearly fifty years old.

The maids who stayed in the palace can be roughly divided into two categories:

One is that they accidentally offended the powerful, or a master held a grudge against them and refused to let them go when they reached the age. They were never allowed to leave the palace and could only die in the palace.

Second, these palace maids have achieved a certain status in the palace and are highly valued by their masters. The best ones can even become "female officials".

For these palace maids, rather than leaving the palace to face an unknown life, it is better to continue serving their masters in the palace.

Obviously, the nanny in front of Shenwu Gate is the latter.

No matter what the contestants handed her from their sleeves, her expression did not change.

The ladies who tried to bribe her had unhappy looks on their faces, but they did not dare to offend her, so they had to step back and shut up.

"Madam Chen, I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you doing lately?"

Everyone was silent, but some people greeted the maid with a smile.

A young lady walked towards Nanny Chen with a kind and sincere smile on her face.

When Nanny Chen saw the person coming, the skin on her face instantly softened.

"Miss Qiao, you are here! Why didn't you tell me? I made you wait here for so long."

Nanny Chen's attitude towards "Miss Qiao" was completely different from that towards previous concubines.

Miss Qiao's expression did not change, as if Nanny Chen's attitude was just normal in her eyes.

She was tall and pretty. She was not particularly outstanding among the other beauties, but she was the most pleasing to the eye.

Miss Qiao raised her lips and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Everything should be based on first come first served. Since I am already a step late, how can I take over and rush to the front before the sisters?"

"Besides, I know Mammy will recognize me, and I want to give you a surprise."

"It is the biggest surprise that the young lady can come. I don't deserve it."

When Nanny Chen heard her familiar tone, her face became even happier and she couldn't stop smiling.

——This person’s selection is a foregone conclusion.

The two had a very pleasant conversation.

Nanny Chen glanced at Miss Qiao's pass and asked the maids to take it back.

Unlike the previous concubines, Nanny Chen would carefully examine their passes, and would question their identities even if the ink was slightly blurred.

Now, the concubines felt a little unbalanced when they saw Miss Qiao and Nanny Chen being so intimate.

After the imbalance, there is a sense of crisis.

The two familiar ladies looked at each other and whispered.

"This person looks a little unfamiliar? Have you seen him before?"

"I don't know him. He doesn't seem to be a local of Beijing." Another person shook his head, with a hint of doubt on his face.

"But look at Nanny Chen's attitude towards her..."

The young lady who was speaking was even more confused. "The two seem to have a lot in common. If they are not from the capital, where did they come from?"

The conversation between Nanny Chen and Miss Qiao lasted for a long time, so long that the concubines behind them began to show signs of fatigue.

They are all daughters of officials. They live a life of luxury and rarely stand for long periods of time.

The weather was cold, and the faces of several thin beauties had turned slightly blue.

Seeing this, Miss Qiao pursed her lips and said, "Mammy, it's all my fault."

"I saw that you were happy, so I talked a little more and didn't consider the sisters behind me. It was my fault that they were kept waiting in this cold wind for a long time."

Nanny Chen smiled and said, "Where did you get that from, young lady?"

"Let them wait for a while, it won't be a problem."

She said this lightly, not caring about the other ladies at all.

Nanny Chen advised again, "It's freezing cold, you should go into the palace quickly, the eunuchs will take you to Jingyi Pavilion to rest."

Miss Qiao bowed to Nanny Chen and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Nanny."

The young eunuch who had been waiting for a long time took her package and said with a flattering smile: "Miss Qiao, I will lead the way for you now, please be careful with your steps."

Miss Qiao nodded and said, "Thank you."

She glanced at everyone's expressions, and the corners of her mouth curled up very slightly. She was very satisfied with the effect of her show of power.

When Miss Qiao disappeared from sight, Nanny Chen's expression returned to its previous solemnity.

She carefully checked the passes and attire of each showgirl, frowning from time to time and pointing out any irregularities.

Although a lot of time was wasted at the beginning, the verification was completed before the Shenwu Gate was closed.

Nanny Chen flipped through the list in her hand, her brows gradually furrowed.

She had basically crossed out the names above, but there was still one person who hadn't arrived.

——Zhu Hanfei, daughter of the Censor of Zhejiang Province.

The Censor-in-Chief held the seventh rank in this dynasty.

In the eyes of ordinary people, it is out of reach, but in the eyes of Nanny Chen, it is not good enough.

If she was a daughter of a fourth or fifth rank official, perhaps she would give her a chance.

Nanny Chen closed the roster and had no intention of staying for Zhu Hanfei.

"Close the door, and let's put today's affairs to an end for now." She ordered calmly.

As he turned around, a burst of hurried and chaotic horse hoof sounds broke the tranquility in front of the palace gate.

A carriage rushed towards Shenwu Gate like an arrow from a bow with great momentum.

The guards at the gate widened their eyes.

Who is so daring as to ride a horse in front of the Shenwu Gate?

As the carriage approached, everyone was surprised to find that there was nothing in front of the carriage except a frightened horse running wildly.

The guards outside the door were stunned, and the curses they were about to say were swallowed back.

No, where is the driver??!

When I was in doubt, a hand as white as jade suddenly stretched out from the car.