The capital city, which was originally peaceful, was thrown into chaos by the emperor's decree to select concubines.
All the officials knew that the emperor's word was law, and once an imperial edict was issued, no one would dare to disobey it. They all quickly arranged marriages for their beloved daughters.
Their precious daughters weren't meant to be buried with the old emperor; each daughter was used for marriage alliances to solidify relationships.
Parents who used to be picky about their children's choices have stopped being picky.
For example, the daughter of an imperial censor and the youngest son of a vice minister of the Ministry of Works. Although the two young people got along well, the daughter's father always disliked her, thinking that she was not tall and had an ordinary appearance, and he was unwilling to settle for her.
As soon as the imperial decree for the talent show was issued, the daughter's father immediately took his daughter to that house and, in front of everyone, showered the youngest son with praise, his words overflowing with compliments.
Being short means all the nutrients are stored in the brain. Ordinary appearance... well, there were plenty of great sages in ancient times with ordinary appearances.
You can't judge a book by its cover; how can appearance be the standard for choosing a son-in-law?
The two families finalized the marriage that very day, and the wedding date was set before the day the emperor held his selection of concubines.
Suddenly, the famous clothing and fabric shops in the capital were booming, with orders pouring in like snowflakes. The owners plastered the walls with orders and hired people to work day and night to make the wedding attire, the silks for the betrothal gifts, the red carpets laid on the floor, the red flowers for the musicians…
Not only are clothing manufacturers busy, but shoe stores, cosmetics shops, jewelry stores, fireworks and firecracker shops, restaurants... even fortune tellers are so busy that their hands cramp up, calculating auspicious dates and calculating birth charts for newlyweds.
Almost the entire capital city was mobilized.
A group of officials, fearing that things might go wrong if they waited too long, got married very quickly, holding their weddings before October even arrived.
Because the weddings were all happening at once, sometimes four or five families would be queuing up in a single day. They couldn't even find enough musicians to play the instruments, so they had to hire a lot of mediocre ones to fill the gaps.
The musicians played from morning till night, rushing from one house to another. At one point, out of a team of twenty musicians, four couldn't play because their cheeks ached, six fainted from lack of oxygen, and five of the remaining ten still couldn't play.
Despite some unexpected events, the wedding was generally a joyous occasion.
Compared to the streets filled with joyous music and the deafening sound of firecrackers, the Duke's mansion was much quieter.
Bai Zhiyi wore a simple cherry blossom-colored long dress, styled her hair in a fairy bun, and deliberately applied a light makeup to make sure she didn't stand out. Only then did she feel at ease leaving the Duke's mansion with her personal maid.
The maid helped her into the carriage. "Miss, are you deliberately dressed like this to make His Majesty dislike you and prevent you from participating in the imperial concubine selection?"
Bai Zhiyi said, "The imperial decree cannot be revoked. It's mainly because that Consort Li is causing trouble."
Consort Li has invited the daughters of officials and wealthy gentry from the capital to the palace to admire the flowers.
The flower viewing was just a pretext; the real purpose was to find a suitable noblewoman for her son, the fifth prince.
Many court officials who wanted to curry favor with the Fifth Prince would take this opportunity to pass messages to Consort Li.
When the carriage stopped at the entrance of Zhongcui Palace, Bai Zhiyi hadn't even stepped out of the carriage when she heard bursts of women's laughter coming from inside the wall, and it sounded like everyone was in high spirits.
Her heart sank, and she felt no joy whatsoever.
If it weren't for the fact that Consort Li held a high position and great power, she wouldn't want to be in a place like this.
After getting off the carriage, a palace maid came forward to greet her. When she saw Bai Zhiyi arrive, her smile was perfunctory, a stark contrast to her previous careful and obsequious manner, making her seem like a completely different person.
"Miss Bai, you've arrived," the palace maid bowed to her. "Please come in with me."
Bai Zhiyi was once the only choice to marry the Fifth Prince. The Fifth Prince was also deeply in love with Bai Zhiyi, and the palace maids could easily see that, so they all regarded Bai Zhiyi as the prince's consort in advance.
Later, Bai Zhiyi suddenly refused to marry the Fifth Prince, and everyone naturally became indifferent to her.
Inside the magnificent palace walls, all sorts of colorful seasonal flowers are in full bloom, vying for attention.
A large group of beautifully dressed young ladies surrounded Consort Li, chattering excitedly.
When Bai Zhiyi walked over, many people immediately looked at her with expressions of anticipation, as if they were watching a good show.
The Fifth Prince is Consort Li's son, and Bai Zhiyi's refusal of him is a blatant disrespect to Consort Li. A few days ago, for some unknown reason, Bai Zhiyi went to that remote, impoverished northwest region, and Consort Li failed to catch her. This time, she's likely to be punished by Consort Li.
Ignoring the gloating looks from those people, Bai Zhiyi approached Consort Li, crossed her hands over her abdomen, and curtsied, saying, "Bai Zhiyi greets Consort Li."
Consort Li touched her fingernails, her smile vanishing. Without even glancing at Bai Zhiyi, she turned to look at the flowers on the branch and said, "This flower is quite peculiar. I guess it'll be the first to wither as the weather gets cooler."
There was no response, let alone any attempt to get Bai Zhiyi up.
Bai Zhiyi bent her knees, a hint of hatred flashing in her eyes that no one else could detect.
How dare this Consort Li embarrass her in front of so many noble ladies?
This woman's moment of triumph was fleeting.
Does she really think she can become Empress? When His Highness the Crown Prince returns from the Northwest, she will be in a worse situation than him. He will send her to a Taoist temple to spend her life eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures, never to come out. What's the difference between that and being in prison?
She at least gained her freedom because of the jade pendant from that family of legendary healers.
When the noble ladies in the garden saw that Consort Li was leaving Bai Zhiyi out in the cold, they all smiled and admired the flowers with Consort Li, and not one of them spoke up for her.
Previously, Bai Zhiyi firmly held onto the position of the Fifth Prince's consort, and these young ladies had no chance to rise to the top. But things are different now.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
