Like all the other young ladies-in-waiting, Geng Youran entered the capital in a mule cart and arrived at Di'anmen in the evening.
Standing beneath the red walls, Geng Youran's thoughts raced. In her past life, she had visited Beijing with her best friend and taken photos beneath those walls. Who would have thought she would now be entering the palace as a concubine?
However, she had no time to reminisce about the past. After waiting for a short while, they arrived at Shenwu Gate under the guidance of the head eunuch, waiting for the officials to arrange the order of entry into the palace.
Before coming to Beijing, Geng Dejin had a private conversation with his daughter, which included some information he had gathered about the talent show.
The selection process generally follows the principle of first Manchus, then Mongolians, and finally Han Chinese. Under this principle, priority is given to relatives of the imperial concubines, women who have been selected before, and newly selected women. The remaining women are then arranged according to their age.
Although the Geng Dejin family were nominally Manchus, they were actually Han Chinese bondservants, so Geng Youran was actually Han Chinese. Furthermore, Geng Dejin was merely a powerless steward in the Imperial Household Department, so Geng Youran was almost always placed last in the order of entering the palace.
The next day, the selection process officially began. All the candidates lined up in groups of five to be selected. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, Geng Youran was actually selected and assigned to Consort Hui's quarters as a maid.
"This is Yanxi Palace. From now on, you will be working here."
"Thank you, Eunuch."
Geng Youran originally thought that although she had been given a nameplate, she would at most be assigned to do odd jobs in a remote part of the palace. However, she never expected to be assigned to Yanxi Palace.
This is where the First Prince's birth mother, Consort Hui, lives.
As one of Kangxi's earliest concubines, Consort Hui was not as portrayed in some film and television works, with few scenes and little mention of her.
Consort Hui was one of the highest-ranking concubines in Emperor Kangxi's harem. Geng Youran had a bad feeling about working as a palace maid there.
However, she did not expect her premonition to be so accurate and to come so quickly.
The first thing to do upon entering Yanxi Palace is to pay respects to the master of the house.
"Your Majesty, the new people sent by the Imperial Household Department have arrived."
"Qingzhi, go and bring them in."
"yes."
The group approached Consort Hui and carefully paid their respects.
"Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
As a servant, one cannot look directly at one's master's face, so even though she was standing in the last row of palace maids, Geng Youran kept her head down.
"Which of you is named Geng Youran?"
Upon hearing the name, Geng Youran paused for two seconds, then quickly stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and paid her respects to Consort Hui once again.
"This servant is here."
“Raise your head.”
Geng Youran raised her head slightly, looking down. She was actually quite flustered, wondering why Consort Hui knew her name.
"She's quite good-looking. Qingzhi, from now on she'll be in charge of the meals with you."
"yes."
Although Qingzhi was surprised, she did not show it. After accepting the order, she led Geng Youran out.
Of the remaining people, one named Xinyi was assigned to Qinglan to be in charge of dressing up; another named Taohua was assigned to Qingyu to be in charge of palace cleaning and maintenance.
That evening, the palace maids prepared to rest in the side room, and Zhen Youran also took this time to tidy up her clothes and bedding.
However, people are all different, and in any group, there will always be people who like to nitpick.
"Alas, we are just not as fortunate as others. We feel that entering the palace is a great favor, but it's not as good as those who are remembered as soon as they enter."
"Yes, I've been serving my master for two years now, and the other day he even called me by the wrong name."
Geng Youran knew immediately that the person was talking about her. Not wanting to cause trouble, she remained silent and lay down to rest after making the bed.
The other troublemakers found it boring, pursed their lips, and went to rest as well.
However, Geng Youran couldn't sleep at all.
Becoming the target of everyone's criticism on her very first day in the palace was hardly a good omen. What puzzled her even more was how Consort Hui knew her name.
After walking all day, Geng Youran was exhausted and fell asleep while lost in thought.
The next morning, the palace maids got up to tidy up. Because she was assigned to the kitchen, Geng Youran got up even earlier.
Good morning, Sister Qingzhi.
You're a quarter of an hour late.
Qingzhi was always the most meticulous and disciplined of the three senior palace maids, which was why Consort Hui entrusted her with the management of the kitchen.
Therefore, being late or being lazy are big mistakes in Qingzhi's eyes.
“With me, there is no first or second time. Since you can’t remember the time, I’ll punish you by making you copy the palace rules three times and hand them in to me tomorrow morning.”
"yes."
Before entering the palace, Geng Youran had learned cooking from Madam Geng and was familiar with most of the kitchen utensils.
To her surprise, when she followed Qingzhi to the small kitchen yesterday, she was shocked by the sheer number of utensils. In addition to meals, Qingzhi was also in charge of Consort Hui's tea, so it took Geng Youran almost half a month just to memorize all the utensils.
In the past two weeks, apart from being ridiculed for being late, Geng Youran has not had any conflicts with others.
During this time, Geng Youran also became friends with Tao Hua, who was also a second-class palace maid.
Because Tao Hua was learning palace cleaning and maintenance from Qing Yu, she had relatively more contact with Geng Youran.
"Taohua, why don't you let me clean up the small kitchen? You haven't slept well for days."
"It's okay, I'll get used to it. But you, you've been getting up early for several days in a row, haven't you?"
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