Nanny Chen urged, "Young lady, you need to hurry up. If you are any later, Nanny Zhao from Jingyixuan will blame you."

Zhu Hanxin looked up at the sky, his expression slightly solemn.

He saluted and said, "Mammy, I have palace duties to attend to, so I am afraid I cannot stay for long. I will leave first."

"You should also be careful and don't make things difficult for Nanny Chen again." He instructed Zhu Hanfei.

Zhu Hanfei nodded and smiled gently, "Brother, take care. Don't worry about me."

I am most worried about you!

Zhu Hanxin glared at her fiercely, as if warning her something, then turned and left.

When he left, he quietly clenched his right hand into a fist behind his back, and then extended his two index fingers and shook them left and right, conveying some secret code that only they could understand.

Zhu Hanfei's brows twitched slightly.

She turned around indifferently and followed the eunuch who led the way into the depths of the palace.

…

In this dynasty's beauty pageant, the beauties must first enter the palace to be selected.

There are two rounds of preliminary selection, which aims to select women with outstanding talents and virtues to join the harem.

Only after passing two rounds of assessments will you have the opportunity to stand before the Emperor and Empress.

As a palace built for the beauty pageant, Jingyixuan covers a large area and has been expanding every year. It can now accommodate more than 40 people.

However, for those spoiled young ladies from official families, the rooms here still seem too small.

Jingyixuan has two courtyards, divided into north and south courtyards.

The south courtyard is an old house with two beds in one room.

The North Courtyard was expanded and renovated during the reign of the previous emperor, but each room can only accommodate one person.

By the time Zhu Hanfei passed through the palace walls and reached Jingyixuan, Nanny Zhao had already divided the rooms for all the concubines.

The steps of Jingyixuan were filled with the first batch of beauties entering the palace, all of them young and beautiful girls.

At this moment they stood in four rows and occasionally talked to each other.

"Madam Zhao, this young lady was delayed by something just now. Please arrange a place for her to stay."

The young eunuch led the people forward.

Upon hearing this, the beauties standing in front of the door stopped chattering and turned back to look at the person who came late.

She was wearing a long scarlet dress, which made her skin look so white that it was hard to look away.

Relying on the smooth contours of her face, the person simply tied her hair into a bun at the back of her head.

...She has a beautiful face and an outstanding figure.

"...Another strong enemy!"

The concubines secretly sighed in their hearts, with different expressions on their faces.

Nanny Zhao held up the list and glanced at Zhu Hanfei's face, but didn't say much.

Being beautiful means a greater chance of being chosen.

Since Zhu Hanfei had passed Nanny Chen's test, there was no need for her to make things difficult for her and just ask a few more questions.

Under the extremely stressful gaze of everyone, Zhu Hanfei walked calmly to Madam Zhao and greeted her in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

Nanny Zhao nodded.

She said, "You came the latest, so you can only live in Room 13 of the South Courtyard. Do you have any objection to this?"

"If Room 13 doesn't suit your taste, you can speak up and negotiate with other concubines to exchange it."

The South Courtyard is small, and Room 13 is located in the most remote corner, destined to be the room left over by everyone.

Upon hearing this, the concubines waited with great interest for Zhu Hanfei's next words.

The capital is a circle.

Most of the young ladies from official families in Beijing know each other and are familiar with each other's backgrounds.

Except for Miss Qiao, who obviously had a background, they all looked down upon and despised these foreign beauties.

If this new concubine dares to ask to exchange rooms with someone from the North Courtyard, she will be taught a lesson.

After learning about the possibility of changing rooms, Zhu Hanfei shook her head.

She said softly, "Mammy, you are joking. Why should I be dissatisfied?"

"It is a great blessing for me to be able to enter the palace and live in Jingyixuan."

But Nanny Zhao couldn't let her go like this.

Zhu Hanfei arrived the latest. If she didn't say a few more difficult words, how could she show her dignity and status?

Madam Zhao held the list and said, "Miss Zhu, you may not know yet."

"Room 13 is located at a corner of Jingyixuan, which makes it inconvenient to live in. Moreover, you need to live with another person."

"If you have any complaints, you'd better raise them now."

Nanny Zhao pointed to the darkest corner on the south side of Jingyixuan.

Room 13 is the most remote, and it takes a long detour to get to the main gate.

In winter, we have to light charcoal to keep warm. Living in a small room is stuffy and uncomfortable.

Zhu Hanfei did not show any dissatisfaction.

"In reply to Madam, although I don't know what Room 13 looks like, I don't mind."

She bowed slightly, and her words and actions revealed the demeanor of a lady from a noble family.

"The selection of candidates focuses on the talent and virtue of the women, not the comfort of their homes."

"If I lack talent, virtue and morality, it would be useless even if I were to live in Room No. 1 in the North Courtyard."

After hearing this, Nanny Zhao couldn't help but nodded, and was quite satisfied with what Zhu Hanfei said.

"In that case, the rooms for the girls have been decided."

Madam Zhao closed the list and concluded, "If you still have objections, you can discuss the exchange privately. I will no longer be responsible."

"yes."

"I will follow Madam's orders."

The beauties rushed to pay their respects, and then stepped into Jingyixuan with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation.

The eunuchs had been standing on the steps of Jingyixuan for a long time.

They led the concubines to their respective rooms with expressionless faces.

"Girls, this is room 13."

The young eunuch led Zhu Hanfei and another slender lady through the winding corridors. After walking for nearly a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the door of Room 13.

There were fewer and fewer people along the way. Perhaps because there were low walls all around, the cold wind blew through unhindered, making this place even colder than other places.

Zhu Hanfei's expression was normal.

Her future roommate turned pale and looked like she was going to faint if she didn't sit down.

"Sister, I...I feel dizzy...Can you let me lean on you for a while..."

The frail young lady's lips trembled slightly as she uttered a few words with difficulty.

One of her hands quietly reached out to Zhu Hanfei's right arm, hoping to use it to support herself for a moment.

Zhu Hanfei turned sideways, avoiding her touch calmly, and turned to ask the little eunuch about a series of matters concerning his stay.

The young eunuch replied respectfully: "Miss, each room is equipped with a maid to serve. Three meals a day are delivered on time by the servants to ensure that the girls have no worries about food and drink."

Zhu Hanfei nodded and asked, "How do I take a bath?"

Bathing in winter is an extremely tedious task.

The young eunuch said, "The palace maids will fetch hot water for the girls every day for cleaning."

How much hot water can a palace maid fetch every day?

Besides, there are about forty people living in Jingyixuan, and the hot water might run out before it is their turn.

Zhu Hanfei kept asking, "Can we just rub against each other?"

The young eunuch looked embarrassed and said, "Miss, the space in the South Courtyard is limited. If you want to take a bath, you might as well ask the girls in the North Courtyard."

Each room in the North Courtyard is equipped with an independent bathroom, which is much more convenient than the South Courtyard.

The delicate girl murmured softly, "How can this be done? Do we have to share the bathtub with them?"

The young eunuch smiled wryly and said, "The palace is not like your home. If you feel that Room 13 is not good, you can discuss changing rooms with the girls in the North Courtyard."

The sarcasm in his words was obvious.

The delicate girl's face froze, and her already frail body seemed even weaker.

She bit her lip lightly, but didn't say anything else.

Zhu Hanfei was not surprised by the honor or disgrace and thanked him.

The young eunuch waited for a while, and found that neither Zhu Hanfei nor the other had any intention of giving him any money, so he left unwillingly.

"How poor." The young eunuch cursed inwardly and left angrily.

No wonder I was assigned to Room 13 in the South Yard! I don't know any rules!

Then don't blame him for bringing some cold food.