Growing up, Chu Jinyao never thought that she would enter the palace one day.

Then she thought that she would have to spend the rest of her life in the palace, and suddenly she felt dizzy.

In fact, spending half of her life in the palace is still the best plan. There have been so many princes throughout history, but how many of them can successfully become emperors?

Chu Jinyao immediately spat on herself, bah, what are you thinking, you can't curse the prince like this!

Just like when Chu Jinyao went to Zhao Lanhui's banquet, this time no one was willing to accompany her into the palace. Old Madam Chu originally planned to go with her, but the eunuch who came to convey the decree said with a smile that the Empress had only invited the Fifth Lady.

Well, there was nothing to say now. Chu Jinyao could only follow her father-in-law into the palace in a serious manner under the gazes of everyone asking her to take care.

This time, Chu Jinyao did not wear the delicate and elegant red dress like she did last time when she went to Zhao Lanhui's appointment. She changed into a light blue dress, and the fabric was also low-key and steady Lu silk, trying her best to make herself look gentle and soft.

Chu Jinyao followed her father-in-law into the palace. The carriage of the Marquis of Changxing's mansion could only go to the palace gate. Chu Jinyao handed in her name card and waited for a reply from the palace before getting off the car and walking with her father-in-law.

Walking on the road, she did not dare to look left and right. Even so, she was deeply shocked. Along the way, there are red roofs, green tiles, carved beams and painted rafters, high eaves, and beasts with bared fangs and claws sitting on the roof. People passing by are probably walking hurriedly with their heads down. Walking on the palace road, Chu Jinyao can already feel the solemn and majestic pressure of imperial power without deliberately emphasizing it.

This is the supreme power center

of the entire empire. Official residences and houses in the country cannot be higher than the Fengtian Palace, and the number of door nails cannot exceed that of the imperial city. Otherwise, it will be a capital crime of treason and confiscation of property. Scholars all over the world study hard for more than ten years, just to be able to walk into this palace one day.

Chu Jinyao realized this and a tingling sensation ran down his spine. She frowned even more, and walked towards the empress's palace carefully.

After arriving at Kunning Palace, the eunuch who was delivering the message stopped and turned around and said, "Miss Chu, I will go in to report to the empress. Please wait here for a moment."

Chu Jinyao naturally agreed, "Of course, please."

The eunuch who brought Chu Jinyao into the palace smiled at her, flicked his whisk, and then bent down to go in.

After he left, there was no news for a long time.

Chu Jinyao stood outside the palace with her eyes closed. Several palace maids came and went around her, but the eunuch who had reported the news early had not come out yet.

There was no shade in this place, the sun shone directly on Chu Jinyao, and sweat gradually appeared on her forehead. But Chu Jinyao kept enduring, she stood there, not moving a step.

Chu Jinyao didn't know how long she had waited, until the sun moved, and finally a palace maid walked out of the magnificent Kunning Palace. The palace maid was not young, and fine wrinkles had already appeared at the corners of her eyes. She looked like a housekeeper. The aunt said to her, "Miss Chu, the queen was talking to a few princesses just now and didn't pay attention to you. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time. Miss Chu won't blame me, right?"

"How could that be?" Chu Jinyao said quickly, "Since the queen is busy, how dare I disturb her? I just waited outside for a while, it's okay."

The housekeeper aunt smiled, she looked at Chu Jingyao obscurely, stepped aside and said, "Miss Chu is really sensible, the queen is already inside, please follow me."

Chu Jinyao was led by the housekeeper aunt into Kunning Palace. Kunning Palace is worthy of being the residence of the queen, it is extremely spacious. Chu Jinyao was led by someone, passed the screen, and after going around several partitions, she vaguely heard a greeting coming from behind the gorgeous curtain. Chu Jinyao immediately understood that it was the Empress.

Chu Jinyao did not raise her head, and immediately saluted the person inside: "Greetings to the Empress, long live the Empress."

There was a slight friction sound from above, but there was no voice to call her up for a long time. Chu Jinyao had been trained by the nanny for a long time, and at this moment her body did not move, and she still maintained the bow steadily.

The person sitting up there didn't know whether she was satisfied or just felt it was boring. She said lazily, "So this is Miss Chu Wu. When the prince mentioned her a few days ago, I was wondering whose girl she was that could attract the prince

's heart. Today, I see that she is indeed a beauty." "Your Majesty, you are too kind. Your Majesty is the mother of a country and the head of all flowers. In front of you, it is like a firefly competing with the sun and the moon. How dare I accept your praise." The little Queen

smiled softly, "So you are someone who can talk. Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." After thanking her, Chu Jinyao slowly stood up. Taking the opportunity to stand up, she glanced at the room imperceptibly.

She was a little surprised to see that there were so many people sitting inside. The one sitting in the middle surrounded by the crowd was naturally the famous Empress Xiao Qi. Since she entered the palace, she had been favored by the emperor for more than ten years. What's more, she was able to persuade the emperor and intervene in the situation of the previous dynasty. She was indeed a powerful figure.

Chu Jinyao had only heard of Empress Xiao Qi in folk legends before. Now that he had seen her in person, he knew that the rumors were true. Empress Xiao Qi was indeed a beauty. Her cheeks were only about the size of a palm, her eyebrows were delicately trimmed, and her eyes were pointed. Empress Xiao Qi was not the glamorous beauty that Chu Jinyao imagined, but a beautiful little woman with delicate features and a lot of spirit.

In fact, only such a "spiritual" beauty could seduce the emperor for more than ten years.

There were several young women sitting next to the Empress. Judging from their hair buns, they were young girls who had not yet left the palace. In addition, they were wearing gorgeous clothes and expensive headdresses. Chu Jinyao easily guessed their identities.

Perhaps these were the sisters of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the princesses of the Great Yan Dynasty.

Chu Jinyao suddenly became curious. Who did the Crown Prince look like? Looking at these princesses, they all had soft and fresh looks. Why did the Crown Prince look so powerful and beautiful?

After Chu Jinyao recognized the identities of the remaining people, he did not dare to delay and immediately saluted the princesses: "Hello, Your Royal Highness."

The princess with the most beautiful eyebrows and the most gorgeous clothes turned her head away and was talking to another princess. She ignored Chu Jinyao. The other round-faced princess nodded and smiled, saying to Chu Jinyao, "Please stand up quickly. You will be our sister-in-law soon. If you still pay respect to us, wouldn't that be a violation of the hierarchy?"

"How dare I? I am just a commoner now, I dare not be presumptuous."

The round-faced princess smiled and said, "Okay, I can't say anything to you." She looked at the other two princesses who were talking to themselves, and said softly, "The future sister-in-law is here, why don't you come over and talk to her?" The other

two princesses, especially the beautiful princess in red, restrained themselves. She was dressed in bright red, with golden phoenixes embroidered on the corners of her clothes, so gorgeous that it could almost burn other people's eyes. The princess sat closely behind Xiao Qi. She looked proud and her eyes were sharp. She was looking at Chu Jinyao unfriendly.

The round-faced princess ignored the red-dressed princess's refusal to cooperate. She pointed at everyone and introduced them one by one: "This is the second princess, named Qin Yan, and this is the third sister Qin Zhuang."

After she finished speaking, she smiled and said: "I am Qin Shu."

Chu Jinyao then matched these people one by one. It turned out that the princess with a chubby face and a friendly look was the eldest princess Qin Shu; the beautiful and arrogant princess in red clothes was the second princess Qin Yan, also the legitimate daughter of Empress Xiao Qi; the one who was pulled by the second princess to talk was the third princess Qin Zhuang, who was only one year younger than the second princess.

This was a bit subtle. It seemed that the third princess's mother was pregnant with the dragon seed during Empress Xiao Qi's pregnancy. No wonder the third princess looked a little afraid of the second princess. Just like before, the third princess wanted to talk to Chu Jinyao, but the second princess deliberately pulled her, and she didn't dare to resist. The emperor

has three sons and three daughters. Today, Chu Jinyao was lucky enough to meet all three princesses.

Chu Jinyao and the three princesses exchanged greetings, and the Queen smiled and sat aside, watching silently, not knowing what she was thinking. After they finished talking, the Queen smiled and said, "Sure enough, the young girls have something to say. You have been in front of me for so long, but where have you been so lively? Fortunately, the girl of the Chu family will be able to enter the palace soon. When the time comes, you won't have to stay here with me and get bored."

These words were full of temptation and threat, and no one dared to respond. Chu Jinyao pretended to be terrified and bowed her head, and quickly apologized, and the other three princesses also hurriedly acted coquettishly with the Queen, and after a long time, the atmosphere

eased. The Empress pretended to be helpless and nodded at the foreheads of the three princesses: "You all know how to say nice things to coax me." Then she looked at Chu Jinyao who looked panicked and smiled gently: "We will soon become a family, why are you so scared? People who don't know me would think I am a man-eating monster, and I actually scared a pretty girl like this."

Chu Jinyao still lowered her head, her voice trembling a little: "I dare not." The Empress

seemed to be satisfied at last. She smiled and said: "Why are you so polite? Stop standing and come and sit down."

Chu Jinyao showed a look of being flattered and sat down tremblingly. She sat on the round stool timidly, and then she felt the coolness on her back.

She was so nervous just now that she didn't realize that her back was sweating and her underwear was soaked.

Fortunately, it was just a false alarm, and Chu Jinyao breathed a sigh of relief. It seems that showing weakness is right. She guessed that with the prince's temper, it is unlikely that he would give the young queen a good face, so no matter what the young queen's position is, she prefers a princess who is not from a high family, cowardly and good at showing off.

Chu Jinyao certainly knows that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a good person, no matter what, she will stand on the side of the Crown Prince. However, the problem is that the Crown Prince and Empress Qi are step-sons and step-mothers. It would be fine for the Crown Prince to contradict Empress Qi, and the court officials would even think that the Crown Prince is righteous and brave. But Chu Jinyao and Empress Qi are daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. If she dares to contradict the Empress,

the Crown Prince will probably have to change a new wife soon.

Therefore, Chu Jinyao can only carefully maintain a balance, helping the Crown Prince while not annoying Empress Qi.

Chu Jinyao thinks that she does not have a high level of scheming or superb acting skills, and dares not try difficult strategies such as pleasing both sides and cooperating inside and outside. She can only pretend to be timid and pretend not to understand, and will never be on the same level as the Empress.

After Chu Jinyao sat down, Empress Dowager Xiao Qi asked, "You just came to the capital. Have you gotten used to it these days?"

"Thank you for your concern, my lady. Everything is fine, arranged by the elders."

Arranged by the elders... are you really that obedient? Empress Dowager Xiao Qi asked again, "I heard that you are about to reach the age of marriage?"

Chu Jinyao was shocked. Empress Dowager Xiao Qi knew this? She immediately thought of Princess Baoqing before, and understood. It seems that these bigwigs in the capital know her better than she thought.

Queen Qi looked at Chu Jinyao's expression and said slowly, "Baoqing told me last time that the person the prince has his eyes on is an extremely beautiful girl. Today I see that she is indeed as her reputation says. I heard that the Qintian Supervisor has been selecting for several days. After seeing you today, I want to bring you into the palace as soon as possible so that you can talk to me. Baoqing can't be with me all the time, and the eldest princess is also going to propose marriage, so I suddenly feel half empty in front of me. Fortunately, you are coming in. It is comforting to see a young girl like this in front of me."

However, from Queen Qi's tone, Chu Jinyao did not think that she was really relieved.

Chu Jinyao just smiled shyly, as if she didn't know how to reply. She just kept saying, "Your Majesty, thank you for your kindness."

Empress Xiao Qi sighed softly in her heart. This girl is really not good at speaking. She only says these few sentences over and over again. But it would be better if she was quieter. Those who are good at speaking would probably cause trouble. There are too many people who are good at speaking in the palace. There is no need for one more. It would be better to have someone like Chu Jinyao, who looks quiet and obedient.

Empress Xiao Qi was secretly surprised. Qin Yi had been making trouble for so many years, but when choosing a concubine, why did he suddenly choose such a worry-free one?

Empress Xiao Qi still didn't quite believe it, and continued to test her: "I like you more and more every time I see you, I can't wait to bring you to the palace tomorrow. I will tell His Majesty later to ask him to urge the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Palace to hold a wedding for you and the Crown Prince as soon as possible."

Is Empress Xiao Qi showing off her influence on the Emperor? Chu Jinyao really wanted to tell the Queen not to urge her, but she couldn't, so Chu Jinyao had to lower her head and let her elders make the decision.

The Queen smiled at Chu Jinyao's shy look, and suddenly changed the subject without warning: "Are you used to the two maids I gave you?"

Chu Jinyao was surprised, and said reservedly: "The two maids are very good, responsible and strict."

"Are they good to you?"

"The maids are of course responsible, and I have benefited a lot from them."

"That's good!" The Queen smiled, "You are about to enter the palace, and two maids may not be enough. How about this, you take four maids back from me and let them take good care of you."

Still want to give her? And four? Chu Jinyao was really shocked this time. Just two maids were already troublesome, and the queen actually wanted to give her four maids? Is the Queen planning to get rid of all the people around her?

Chu Jinyao felt the situation was difficult. She smiled and showed a grateful look: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty, but I already have six maids around me. I can't use them even if you give them to me. Instead, I will let down Your Majesty's kindness and waste the talents of the four palace maids. Your Majesty is kind, but it would be a waste of talent if I took them away. It also caused Your Majesty to have no one to use here. This is really my fault. It's better to let these four sisters stay by Your Majesty's side to serve you."

"It's just four maids who have been dismissed." The Queen smiled and said, "I have plenty of people here, you don't have to worry about it. On the contrary, you only have six maids around you. You are the future Crown Princess, and you should have at least a hundred people serving you. You are too wronged. You can use these people first, and I will arrange for you later."

Chu Jinyao's scalp tingled when she heard this. She wanted to try to refuse, but suddenly found that the Queen was looking at her with a smile, and there seemed to be inquiry in her eyes. Is

the Queen still testing? Chu Jinyao's mind froze, and she immediately took back what she was about to say.

She lowered her head and smiled, "Your Majesty is so kind. I'd like to thank the Empress first." Empress Xiao Qi was satisfied with what she said. She took Chu Jinyao's hand and patted the back of her hand affectionately, "You will be my daughter-in-law in the future, and you are no different from my daughter. Of course, I will consider you."

Chu Jinyao sighed in her heart and could only smile and agree.

Chu Jinyao was alone when she entered the palace, and when she left Kunning Palace, she was followed by four beautiful palace maids.

The eldest princess followed Chu Jinyao and left together. After leaving Kunning Palace, the two walked together for a while. When they passed a small garden, the eldest princess stopped and took the initiative to invite Chu Jinyao to go in and appreciate the flowers

. Chu Jinyao agreed. The two took a slow walk. After the eldest princess introduced a few famous flowers to Chu Jinyao, she suddenly said with a smile and a sigh: "You are younger than me, and you haven't even had your coming-of-age ceremony yet."

Chu Jinyao couldn't respond to this and could only smile awkwardly. The crown prince is four years older than her. Chu Jinyao is about to turn fifteen, while the crown prince is only nineteen. In fact, they are not that old, so why does the eldest princess make it seem like there is a big difference in age when she says that?

The eldest princess looked at Chu Jinyao and continued, "The crown prince specifically told me to take care of you. How about I be your sponsor when you come of age in a few days?"

The eldest princess as a sponsor? Chu Jinyao was stunned for a moment, and immediately agreed, "Thank you, princess. I am honored."

The eldest princess smiled, and the matter was settled. The eldest princess must have come out today just for this matter. Sure enough, after she finished speaking, the eldest princess and Chu Jinyao stood for a while and then went back to the palace.

Chu Jinyao continued to lead people out. There were factions everywhere in the palace. Obviously, judging from the situation today, the eldest princess was on the side of the crown prince.

In fact, the eldest princess did not ask Chu Jinyao if she had supporters. She spoke in an affirmative tone. Chu Jinyao sighed in her heart. To put it bluntly, she was still a member of the royal family. Even the gentle eldest princess would not consult with others.

The carriage of the Marquis of Changxing's mansion had been parked outside the palace gate. Linglong and the coachman waited in the carriage for a whole afternoon. Linglong looked eagerly and finally saw Chu Jinyao's figure from the palace gate. Linglong was overjoyed, but the next moment, she was stunned.

Linglong asked in astonishment: "Miss, who are these?"

"The Empress is considerate. These are the maids she gave to me."

Linglong's expression was obviously a little helpless. Chu Jinyao motioned her not to say anything, to take everyone to the car first, and to discuss everything after returning to the mansion.

When it was late at night, the two maids from the Empress and the four maids today went to bed. While making the bed for Chu Jinyao, Linglong whispered: "Miss, those four maids are dressed up coquettishly. I always feel that they have ulterior motives."

More than just ulterior motives, the Empress' intentions were just as clear as it could be. Chu Jinyao sighed and said, "You have to pick on the weak. The Queen is taking advantage of the fact that I dare not and cannot refuse her, so she is forcing spies into the Eastern Palace through me."

"Girl, what should we do?"

"What can we do? Let's take it one step at a time. We can't touch them now. We will solve the problem slowly after entering the palace." Chu Jinyao said, "Besides, we may not be the defending party. Since they are human beings, they always have their own thoughts. If we use them well, there may be a chance of sowing discord. How did you recite that sentence? Doubt within doubt is better than doubt within oneself."

Linglong looked at her in surprise, her expression was too obvious Chu Jinyao couldn't help but touch his face: "Did I recite it correctly?"

Linglong sighed: "Girl, you have been like a devil these days. You recite books whenever you have some free time. Learning the rules every day is tiring enough. You are not going to take the imperial examination, so there is no need to force yourself like this." Chu

Jinyao thought of Qi Rong who was familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics, and then thought of Zhao Lanhui who went to school with his brothers. He felt that the road ahead was difficult, and he was thirteen years behind him! Chu Jinyao shook his head, but still insisted: "This is what my second brother taught me. He said that if I want to enter the palace, it would be more useful to read the Thirty-Six Strategies first."

Linglong wanted to sigh after hearing this. She had no choice but to look into Chu Jinyao's eyes, not knowing whether to convince Chu Jinyao or herself: "Miss, you are blessed by heaven, and you will definitely live a good life in the future."

Chu Jinyao laughed after hearing this: "I hope so."

She had no foundation, no family to back her up, and had to carefully maneuver between the prince and the queen to survive. Now, before she even entered the palace, the queen had rewarded four beautiful maids to share her favor. It can be expected that there will be no shortage of women in the East Palace in the future.

In fact, it can't be said that way. She may not be valued by the prince, so how can she share the favor?

Chu Jinyao was very confused about her future life. She was grateful to the prince and wanted to be a kind, obedient and diligent wife. However, the prince had all kinds of women he wanted. Did he really need such a wife?

As the wedding date got closer, she became more anxious. Before Chu Jinyao noticed, her coming-of-age ceremony was here.

The news that Chu Jinyao could get the eldest princess to come out of the palace as a sponsor immediately caused a sensation. Sponsors at the coming-of-age ceremony are usually the girl's friends or sisters. Being able to invite the princess is obviously a very face-saving thing.

This seemed to be a signal. On March 16, there were many spectators at Chu Jinyao's coming-of-age ceremony. Perhaps out of a neutral attitude, Zhao Lanhui did not rashly agree to Chu Jinyao. But when she saw that Chu Jinyao had invited the eldest princess, Zhao Lanhui was surprised and decided to give Chu Jinyao face and come in person. The Zhenbei Marquis Mansion may have received the order from the young Queen Qi, and the two sisters of the Qi family also came on the same day. Several of the most prestigious ladies in the capital came to watch the ceremony, and other young ladies smelled the trend and naturally did not want to be left behind, and came one after another.

Chu Jinyao's biggest gain on her fifteenth birthday was not to put her hair in a bun, but to meet many people she had never dared to think about before.

In addition to many princesses, county ladies and other royal women, she also met the legend among the literati, the granddaughter of the chief assistant of the inner cabinet, Mr. Fan. When someone introduced her to her, Chu Jinyao almost thought she was dreaming.

It was amazing. How could Chu Jinyao have thought that her birthday could shock so many people?

The granddaughter of Prime Minister Fan was not in the same circle as Zhao Lanhui, Qi Rong, etc. After all, one was a clean civil servant and the other was a royal relative. Although the two groups were friendly on the surface, they might look down on each other in private.

However, at Chu Jinyao's coming-of-age ceremony, both of them were very friendly and gave Chu Jinyao, the future crown princess, enough face.

Chu Jinyao had the most grand birthday she could remember. The respected lady of the royal family pinned her hair, the eldest princess of the royal family stood beside her as an applauder, and the girls watching the ceremony all came from wealthy families. The future life seemed to slowly open a corner to her, allowing Chu Jinyao to glimpse what kind of bizarre world she was about to enter.

After Chu Jinyao's coming-of-age ceremony, more and more people in the court mentioned the crown prince's wedding. As a crown prince, Qin Yi became famous early because of his bad temper. At the age of sixteen, he shot and killed the queen's favorite maid in front of thousands of troops, was thrown to the border at the age of seventeen, and disobeyed the order at the age of eighteen and led the army to attack the Tatars. Now he is only nineteen, but all the civil and military officials feel that Qin Yi has been dangling in front of them for too long and should have started a family long ago.

In April, the matter of the crown prince's wedding was sent to the inner cabinet. Fan Shoufu and several other cabinet elders jointly petitioned the emperor to preside over the crown prince's wedding. The memorial was quickly heard by the emperor. One morning during the court session, the emperor personally gave an oral instruction to the Ministry of Rites: "The crown prince has grown up, and the wedding ceremony should be held. The Ministry of Rites will discuss it with the Hanlin Academy and report it to the emperor."

The Minister of Rites agreed immediately, and then half of the court was in motion. The

Crown Prince's wedding was just around the corner.

The author has something to say: Preview of the next chapter: Wedding

"Suspicion within doubt is not as good as suspicion from within." - From "Thirty-Six Stratagems".

"Now that the Crown Prince has grown up, the wedding ceremony should be held. The Ministry of Rites will meet with the Hanlin Academy to investigate and report." - From "The Veritable Records of Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty"