The palace was furious, tightened regulations, and announced that the selection process would be extended by one month.
The recent spate of accidents in talent shows has made people wonder if these incidents were orchestrated by the contestants themselves.
This selection process will not only choose wives for princes and nobles, but also wives for members of the imperial clan and ministers. We cannot allow those with wicked hearts to take advantage of the situation, as they might harm the princes and nobles. Therefore, we need to give these young women more time to observe their character.
With the palace tightening its control, no one dared to risk continuing to tamper with things or cause trouble.
Inside the palace, Niohuru, who had been constantly targeted, enjoyed a rare period of good life. However, outside the palace, many people did not find this time of day easy.
For the Li and Wanyan clans, seeing their greatest future rivals standing well right in front of them was not a pleasant feeling.
Besides them, Jiaming also felt that things had been a bit tough lately.
In the Peach Garden, the sun shone brightly, and the flowers, plants, and trees all looked somewhat wilted. Among the trees, even the birds seemed to have shrunk from the heat and rarely chirped anymore; only the annoying cicadas continued their incessant chirping.
A gust of hot wind swept past the peach tree and sneaked into the house through the window.
In the outer room, separated by a screen, Jiaming lay listlessly on the couch, holding a storybook in her right hand and flipping through the pages idly with her left.
"Has anything happened in the manor lately?" She put down the storybook in her hand out of boredom and looked up at Hongtao, who was doing embroidery next to her.
Hongtao stopped embroidering. "Master, are you bored?"
"Nonsense!" Jiaming rolled her eyes, speechless, inelegant, and unconcerned. "It's been a while since I've been able to get any news from the palace. I'm really not used to it without that excitement. Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. What gossip is going on in the manor?"
"Cough cough!" Red Peach was shocked and choked on her saliva. "Master, please be more mindful! Don't be so casual. If people find out, they'll say you're being improper. Also, Master, please don't say things like 'gossip.' If..."
"Alright, stop nagging. I know your master. This is my territory in Peach Courtyard. Have you ever seen your master so casual with the Fujin or other people before?" Jiaming quickly interrupted Hongtao.
Hongtao thought about it and realized that her master was indeed not so casual in other places and was quite sensible, so she nodded in agreement.
"In that case, tell me what has happened in the manor recently?"
Hongtao thought about what she had talked about with others recently, and deliberately chose some things that she thought were interesting to talk about.
Unfortunately, Jiaming didn't find these things interesting, and she got bored as she listened.
"Isn't there anything else?" she pressed on, unwilling to give up.
Red Peach shook her head blankly, "Master, don't you find these things interesting?"
“I don’t think so.” Jiaming’s answer was unusually straightforward. “Tell me, after hearing about all the exciting things that happened in the palace’s recent selection of concubines, how could your master possibly listen to these ordinary things?”
Hongtao thought about it and suddenly realized that what she had just said was too "simple and simple" and not as delicious as a "luxury feast".
For a moment, both master and servant were dejected.
The Fourth Master, exuding a chilling aura, frowned upon seeing Jia Ming looking listless as soon as he entered, his face becoming increasingly tense and serious.
"What's wrong with you?" Fourth Master asked worriedly.
When Hongtao saw the Fourth Master arrive, she immediately perked up, put down the embroidery hoop she was holding, stood up and bowed to him.
Fourth Master nodded slightly and walked straight to the bedside.
Jiaming was about to get up and bow, but Fourth Master thought she was not feeling well, and seeing her increasingly large belly, he was considerate of her and did not want her to go through any trouble or fatigue, so he quickly took a few steps and pressed Jiaming back down.
"If you're not feeling well, there's no need for such formalities. You're carrying my little princess in your belly!"
Jiaming blinked. It seems that the master has misunderstood. Should we go along with it?
It wouldn't be good if a doctor came later, so in the blink of an eye, she decided to tell the truth: "My lord, I'm not feeling unwell." As for the other misunderstanding, the "little princess" thing, well, let it go for now and let him continue to think that way.
"Then why were you looking so listless just now?" Fourth Master noticed that the person in front of him looked quite well. He paused for a moment and then continued, "Why were you so listless just now?"
Jiaming smiled sheepishly, "It's just that I'm a little bored!"
So that's how it is. Fourth Master was completely relieved of his worries.
At this moment, Hongtao brought over tea. Fourth Master sat down on the couch opposite Jiaming, took the teacup, and took a sip. The tea was lukewarm, just right, perfect for this weather.
Then, Fourth Master drank the tea in large gulps. Seeing this, Hongtao quickly picked up the teapot and refilled Fourth Master's tea.
Fourth Master quickly finished his second cup of tea, and Red Peach immediately refilled it.
Something was amiss. Jiaming couldn't help but scrutinize Fourth Master; it didn't seem like he was thirsty.
In the past, it wasn't that the master wasn't unusually thirsty, but he would only drink the first cup of tea quickly, and then slowly drink it afterwards.
Moreover, when he first came in, his face looked terrible and he was radiating coldness. Look, it hasn't dissipated yet; in this sweltering heat, it could be used as an air conditioner.
After Fourth Master finished his third cup of tea, Jiaming couldn't help but ask, "Master, what's wrong?"
Fourth Master remained silent, his face still dark and radiating a chilling aura.
Seeing that he was unwilling to talk, Jiaming didn't ask any more questions. She simply took the teapot from Hongtao and poured tea for the Fourth Master. Then she gestured for Hongtao to bring some of the pastries she had made.
After Hongtao brought the pastries, Jiaming advised the Fourth Master, "Your Majesty, drinking tea all the time will make your stomach bloated and uncomfortable. These pastries are made by me, and they taste quite good. Please try them."
As she spoke, she picked up a pastry and brought it to Fourth Master's lips.
Despite his bad mood, Fourth Master did not take it out on Jiaming. He politely took a bite of the pastry from Jiaming's hand and ate it himself.
After eating three pastries in a row, Fourth Master finally stopped.
Jiaming immediately handed her handkerchief to the Fourth Master, who took the handkerchief and carefully wiped his hands.
"Does having something good necessarily mean you have to keep it?"
"Huh?" Jiaming was a little confused. "Master, are you talking to me?" For a moment, she even forgot to refer to herself as a concubine.
"Hmm!" Fourth Master nodded and continued, "You said that many people are eyeing that good thing. How should I put it, having it has great disadvantages, but it also seems quite good. If it were you, Ming'er, would you definitely want to have it?"
"Well, if it's something I absolutely must have, something that I might lose my life without, then I definitely want it." Jiaming pondered for a moment, then looked at the Fourth Master and replied, "Well, if it's something like this, then I definitely want it."
"Unless it reaches that point, taking it could actually be life-threatening."
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