The Empress Dowager glanced at her son, then at the young women below, her brows furrowing slightly before calmly relaxing.
"This humble woman greets Your Majesty, long live the Emperor!"
"This humble woman pays her respects to the Empress Dowager. May the Empress Dowager live a thousand years!"
"rise."
Tang Baozhu nodded to herself again. Her voice was quite pleasant; she had passed the test.
"Your Majesty, is there anything in this batch that you like? If not, shall we just pass on it?"
The Empress Dowager didn't want to bring a temptress into the harem, but she wasn't a strong person herself, so she could only give her son a slight reminder.
"Counting from the left, the second lady-in-waiting, raise your head."
Tang Baozhu glanced to her left and saw that the second one was herself. She quickly raised her head, lowered her eyes, and looked down at the emperor's neck and below.
Looking at that stunningly beautiful face, Situ Rui suddenly felt his mouth go dry. It would be such a waste not to bring such a beautiful woman into the palace.
"Good, keep it."
"This humble woman thanks Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager."
Seeing that the emperor had lost interest in the other candidates, the eunuch next to Situ Rui quickly called out, "Leave."
As soon as Tang Baozhu left the main hall, a palace maid who was waiting nearby led her in another direction.
Tang Baozhu wasn't afraid and followed her directly. They arrived at a pavilion where many people were already waiting. It was clear that these were the girls who had been chosen.
The young women who had been waiting there all felt a sense of impending doom when they saw Tang Baozhu approaching from afar, as if she were a formidable foe.
After all, if no one can have children, the only way to gain favor is through beauty. Fortunately, no one dares to say much, because who knows if someone is secretly observing them? What if they are seen as shrewish and immediately sent away?
Tang Baozhu noticed that everyone had become quieter since they arrived at the pavilion, and no one was talking to each other. She was actually relieved; it was better that no one was talking, as it would hide her nervousness. As long as she put on a cool and aloof demeanor, who would know how nervous she was inside?
I don't know how long I'll have to wait to leave, but it's probably going to be quite a while, considering there are so many people behind me.
Every half hour or so, a new woman would arrive; they were all somewhat pretty and healthy.
None of those who were not good-looking but were healthy came; it seems the emperor was also a sucker for good looks.
Tang Baozhu felt that she had spoken too soon. The next few were not good-looking, but they had thick waists and big hips, and were considered to have a lucky appearance. This was the kind of woman the old woman thought would be able to give birth to a son. It was obvious that she was chosen by the Empress Dowager.
They waited until about three or four in the afternoon when an eunuch came to deliver an imperial decree. In addition to Tang Baozhu being a noble lady, there was another young lady who was also a noble lady. Judging from her demeanor, she must have come from a noble family.
I suppose I'm able to get such a high position because of my face, while the other girl must come from a good family!
The other 20-odd girls were all concubines. Tang Baozhu thought the emperor was really lucky to have more than 20 girls enter the palace at once. Except for a few who were not very good-looking, the rest were all quite pretty.
The eunuch who delivered the imperial decree nodded in satisfaction when he saw that everyone accepted it well. Regardless of what they thought in their hearts, as long as they could appear dignified and proper, that was enough.
"A palace maid will soon lead you ladies to your assigned palaces. Apart from the eunuch who has been serving you all along the way, nothing else is allowed to be brought into the palace. Please be aware of this."
As soon as the eunuch delivering the imperial decree finished speaking, he ignored everyone present and left, leaving Tang Baozhu speechless.
Does this mean they look down on everyone? Their attitude is a bit off.
Although everyone looked grumpy, no one said anything. What if this was a deliberate test to see how everyone felt?
Anyway, Tang Baozhu would never be the one to stick her neck out. She was completely clueless about the palace and knew nothing about it, so it was better to keep a low profile.
Although it's impossible to keep a low profile with that face, you still need to give people the impression that you're not one to cause trouble.
Soon a palace maid led Tang Baozhu to a palace, which was named Changchun Palace.
Unfortunately, her rank was too low to be qualified to live in the main hall, so she could only bypass the main hall and come to the side hall.
Although I didn't get to live in the main hall, it was still much better than for others. Those who didn't reach the rank of noble didn't even get a side hall. Thinking about it made me feel much better.
Several people were already standing in the side hall. When they saw Tang Baozhu coming over, they immediately bowed and greeted her, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness. This servant greets Your Highness."
Tang Baozhu knew these must be the people who served her, but she didn't know if there were any spies planted by others. However, given the small number of people in the palace, she figured she shouldn't be too unlucky, but she still couldn't be careless.
My old friend Xiaodouzi was also there; he must have heard that I had been selected and was waiting in advance.
"Get up."
Tang Baozhu sat in the main seat, watching the palace maid who had led the way leave. Looking at the remaining people, she didn't know what to do.
Fortunately, a blank expression is quite effective at fooling people.
"Tell me your names, and also tell me where you were assigned from?"
“This servant, Xiao Anzi, was originally in charge of pruning flowers and plants in Changchun Palace.”
"This servant, Xiao Luzi, is usually responsible for running errands. In the future, if Master has any requests, just give me orders. I'll run errands very quickly."
"Your servants Xiao Cui and Xiao Mei greet you, Master."
"Um."
Xiao Cui and Xiao Mei exchanged glances, and finally Xiao Cui stepped forward first. "My lady, I used to be in charge of cleaning the Imperial Garden. This time, many concubines were selected, and I was worried that there wouldn't be enough people to serve them, so I was chosen to come here."
"Your Majesty, I was originally responsible for cleaning the Imperial Garden, just like Xiao Cui. We were assigned here together."
Tang Baozhu glanced at them; judging from their expressions, they seemed quite honest. As for what they were really thinking, that was anyone's guess.
"Xiaodouzi, Xiaoanzi, and Xiaoluzi will not have their names changed; they can go back to their original names! Xiaocui and Xiaomei will be renamed Yulian and Yumei."
"This servant thanks Your Highness for bestowing this name upon me."
"Little Bean, did you bring my original luggage?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, it has already been placed in the bedroom."
"Hurry up and get some water so we can wash up. It's really uncomfortable after sweating all day."
"This servant will go immediately."
Xiao Luzi was very clever; as soon as his master said he wanted water to wash up, he immediately ran off.
Fortunately, no one was competing with him, so he stayed quietly.
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