If it were her own sister, Yu Shan might have taken the risk, but Rong Zhen was a distant relative of the Empress, and the Empress had always been at odds with her. It would not be wise to anger the Empress Dowager for the sake of an outsider.
In the end, she will be the one reprimanded by the Empress Dowager, while the Empress will remain unscathed. No matter how you look at it, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.
After much deliberation, Su Yushan ultimately remained silent. Helping others requires protecting oneself first; if one cannot guarantee their own safety, there is no need to take risks out of kindness.
Besides, even the Empress didn't say anything, so why should she be the first to speak up?
Su Yushan remained silent, while Yu Ying hesitated, deeply troubled, and ultimately did not dare to plead with the Empress Dowager.
Rongzhen, sitting in the hall, was pale-faced. Ever since she passed the second round of selection, she knew that her fate was beyond redemption, but she still hoped that there would be a turning point. Her older sister, Yuzhen, said that she would do her best to help her and asked her brother-in-law, Fuheng, to ask the Empress for help.
Rongzhen was very grateful for her sister's good intentions, but the rules were set in stone, and the possibility of a miracle was extremely slim. Before the palace selection, there might still be room for maneuver, but today the Empress Dowager personally named her, so it was a done deal, and there was no chance to change it...
Rongzhen's heart sank to the bottom and shattered. She lowered her eyes, held back her tears, and curtsied to the Empress Dowager in gratitude.
The Empress Dowager was unaware of the thoughts of these young women. In her eyes, this was an immense honor. Being kept in the palace as one of the Emperor's concubines was a blessing earned through many lifetimes, and they should be grateful.
Besides Rongzhen, two other candidates were also kept in the palace. One of them, Xilinjueluo, was the grandniece of Grand Councilor Ortai.
This woman was also from a noble family, and the Empress Dowager valued family background the most, so she brought her into the harem.
The other was Niohuru, the daughter of Hongli's maternal uncle. They were cousins. The Empress Dowager had been waiting for the girl to grow up. After all, she was family and her own niece. The Empress Dowager favored her even more and wanted her to enter the palace so that she could personally help her rise to power.
Niohuru was only sixteen years old. She hadn't seen her cousin, the emperor, much. She thought she had been taken advantage of, since a thirty-year-old man was no longer attractive and was only of noble status. But when she saw the emperor in person, she was surprised to find that her cousin was actually so handsome and dashing!
He looked very young; if she hadn't heard her elders say so, she would have thought her cousin was only in his twenties!
If he were such a handsome man, she would still be willing to be his woman.
The young women each had their own thoughts; some were dejected, while others were relieved. Hongli, however, was quite troubled. He didn't favor them, so keeping them around was a waste, squandering their youthful years.
But that's the rule, and the Empress Dowager insisted on keeping it, so let it stay! Consider it just for decoration.
After the palace selection, the young women were placed in the Chuxiu Palace, where they began their new lives.
Su Yushan breathed a sigh of relief, secretly thinking that the talent show was finally over and she no longer had to worry about it.
The busiest person today was Hongli, who was particularly troubled by bestowing marriages upon members of the imperial family. After looking at so many young women, he was tired and annoyed, and sighed that selecting young women was more tiring than reading memorials.
Seeing him pinch his brow, as if he were very tired, Su Yushan walked behind him and massaged his temples. "Looking at beautiful women is a blessing that others can only dream of, and you're not happy about it."
Her soft fingers pressed gently, easing his fatigue. Hongli closed his eyes contentedly, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"The most beautiful woman in the world is right beside me, and everyone else pales in comparison."
Sweet words are touching, and everyone likes to hear them, but Su Yushan still knew her place. "Stop being so glib. I'm thirty years old this year. How can I compare to a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl?"
In Hongli's view, age is not important, especially since the two of them had been together since they were young, making it easier to overlook age. "You are in the prime of your life, how can they compare to your charm?"
Su Yushan felt a sweet warmth in her heart, and the corners of her lips unconsciously curved upwards. "You have such a sweet tongue; you're always good at sweet-talking people."
He raised his fingers to grasp her hand and solemnly said to her, "I'm telling the truth. In my heart, no one can compare to you. No matter how many women come to the harem, I will only dote on you."
She understood Hongli's intentions, but dealing with the Empress Dowager would be difficult.
Hongli could neglect other women in the imperial harem, but Niohuru was the Empress Dowager's niece and cousin. How could the Empress Dowager allow him to neglect his own family? She would probably cause trouble again.
Just as Yu Shan had predicted, the Empress Dowager was going all out to promote her niece to a higher position. Before the niece had even been summoned to the palace and had even served the emperor, the Empress Dowager bestowed upon her the title of Noble Lady Cheng, so that she could move freely within the palace.
Since Hongli did not summon the new concubine, the Empress Dowager summoned Consort Cheng instead. After a brief chat, the Empress Dowager noticed the silver nail guard on Consort Cheng's little finger and shook her head.
"Your clothes are so plain, your armor is so simple, there's nothing particularly eye-catching about you. How can you possibly catch the emperor's eye?"
When Consort Cheng was at her maiden home, she was used to wearing brightly colored clothes. However, she heard from her tutor that the clothes of Imperial Noble Consort Chun were mostly plain. She thought that the emperor probably did not like women to dress up in a flamboyant way, so she changed into plain clothes after entering the palace.
To everyone's surprise, the Empress Dowager didn't like it. She even specially assigned a palace maid to her, saying that she would teach her how to dress and groom herself in the future. She also had a set of cloisonné nail guards brought to her and asked her to put them on.
"Young girls should dress in bright colors to look energetic."
The Empress Dowager's hospitality deeply moved Consort Cheng, for she knew very well that cloisonné was reserved for the imperial court and that ordinary people could never possess it in their lifetime. The fact that the Empress Dowager gifted her cloisonné nail guards so soon after she entered the palace was a testament to the Empress Dowager's favor towards her.
Overjoyed, the nobleman immediately accepted the nail guards, expressed his gratitude repeatedly, and changed them right away.
After she changed into her nail guards, the Empress Dowager said, "I have ordered someone to prepare ginseng soup. Go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and deliver it to the Emperor."
Upon hearing this, Consort Cheng was both expectant and apprehensive. "Aunt, I have only just entered the palace, and the Emperor has not yet summoned me to serve him. May I go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation? Will the Emperor be angry?"
Although Consort Cheng had not grown up in the palace, she had heard many palace rules from her tutors, so she was very cautious, fearing that if she made a mistake, the Empress Dowager would not take it seriously.
"You are the emperor's cousin, closer than others. Just for that reason alone, you can go. With me backing you up, what are you afraid of?"
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