Chapter 4: First Entering the Palace
Early the next morning, the imperial carriage came to the Song Mansion to pick up Song Zhao into the palace.
When he was about to leave, Song Shicheng saw him off outside the mansion gate.
He cried bitterly and kept reminding Song Zhao to take good care of himself after entering the palace.
As a family-born slave, Yunshan could enter the palace with Song Zhao.
After the imperial carriage drove away from the Song Mansion for a distance, Yunshan said with emotion: "In fact, in the final analysis, the master still loves you, the second young lady. I have worked in the mansion for so many years, and I have never seen the master cry like this."
Song Zhao smiled, looked at the scenery outside the window, and said nothing.
Is he crying for himself?
He was just crying in front of the emperor, hoping to earn himself a reputation as a loving father.
After entering the Meridian Gate of the Imperial Palace, the imperial carriage stopped outside the Jiangxue Pavilion.
Just as the carriage came to a complete stop, a shrill voice was heard from outside the palace carriage.
"I am Xiao Shunzi from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, respectfully wishing the young lady well."
The car door opened from the outside. Song Zhao glanced at the eunuch standing at the front of the car and nodded to him with a smile.
Xiao Shunzi was smiling at first, but his expression changed instantly after seeing Song Zhao's red and swollen face.
The servants in the palace are the best at judging the situation and flattering the powerful and bullying the weak.
Especially those who work in the Imperial Household Department are the best at understanding the emperor's intentions. They can tell at a glance which kind of people can please the emperor and which kind of people will be disliked.
From Xiao Shunzi's attitude, it can be seen that he thinks Song Zhao will never be favored with this appearance, so he is too lazy to even give a smiling face to deal with it.
After getting off the imperial carriage, Xiao Shunzi led Song Zhao and his servant into Jiangxuexuan.
Yunshan asked him, "Excuse me, eunuch, but will the emperor come here later?"
But Xiao Shunzi pretended not to hear and just led the way in front, not even bothering to turn his head.
Yunshan thought he didn't hear her, so he cleared his throat and tried to raise his voice to ask again.
At this time, Song Zhaoyu pulled her, shook his head at her, and signaled her with his eyes not to ask any more questions.
After arriving at the Jiangxuexuan cabinet, Song Zhao saw that the other three beauties who were selected with her had all arrived.
Xiao Shunzi treated her badly, but smiled at these newcomers.
"Li Guiren, Xiao Changzai, Liu Changzai, this is Consort Song. Please wait here for a while. After the Emperor finishes his morning court session, he will summon you to the Imperial Court for an audience."
Song Zhao was the lowest-ranking among the group, so she bowed to the three of them first.
When they saw Song Zhao, they just nodded faintly as a return gesture.
Standing at the front was Concubine Li, who was wearing a rose-purple brocade cloak with flowers and birds, and her hair accessories and earrings were mostly made of gold and silver. It was obvious that her family background was much better than that of Concubine Xiao and Concubine Liu standing next to her.
She was a man of good sense, and ordered her personal maid to take a few ingots of silver for Xiao Shunzi.
"I have just entered the palace, and I don't know the rules for many things. I hope that Eunuch Shun can give me more advice in the future."
Xiao Shunzi took the silver and smiled, "My young lady is smart and pretty, so she will surely be favored by the emperor."
Xiao Changzai and Liu Changzai also gave good news.
Only Song Zhao kept stirring the silk handkerchief with his hands, looking embarrassed.
"Eunuch Shun, I didn't bring much money with me into the palace, so how about this..."
She took off a silver earring and handed it to Xiao Shunzi, "Take it. Please come back later..."
"Forget it." Xiao Shunzi waved his hand and declined Song Zhao's kindness without even touching the silver earrings.
"How can a servant take your personal ornaments? They are precious. Please keep them for yourself."
After speaking in a sarcastic tone for a while, he left, causing Concubine Li and the others to laugh at him.
Song Zhao blushed with shame, lowered his head and walked to a corner and sat down.
Li Guiren and Xiao Changzai looked in Song Zhao's direction and talked loudly behind his back, as if they were afraid that Song Zhao couldn't hear them.
Xiao Changzai said, "Oh, the Duke of Protectorate is at least a second-rank official in the imperial court. She is from the Duke of Protectorate's mansion, after all. Why is she so shabby?"
Liu Changzai said: "Sister Li is different. Her father is the governor of river transport and also a second-rank official. But Sister Li entered the palace as a noble lady, and her family also brought a dowry. I don't know how much better she is than a concubine~"
Xiao Changzai smiled and took over the conversation, "Sister, are you confused? Sister Li is the legitimate daughter, and the Song girl is just a concubine's daughter. The emperor didn't let her rise from the position of an official girl, that was all because of the face given to the Huguogong family by the emperor. Look at her appearance, I don't know if she has any hidden illness, we must stay away from her."
Listening to the flattery from these two people, Concubine Li was delighted.
So she smiled and waved her hands, pretending to be polite and said, "Forget it, we are all sisters in the palace, so just say less."
These words were like bayonets, and Yunshan felt sad when he heard them.
But she saw that Song Zhao had an indifferent expression and even had the leisure time to lower his head and pick at the nail polish on his fingernails.
Yunshan whispered, "My lady, before we entered the palace, the master clearly gave us two hundred taels of silver, just so that we could give bribes to the servants in the palace. Everyone else gave, so why didn't you just follow them and give some money to that eunuch?"
Song Zhao raised his eyes to look at Yunshan and said with his lips:
'He's not gonna get it.'
Yunshan understood what was said, but he didn't know what it meant.
Just as I was about to ask, I heard Xiao Shunzi's screams coming from outside the hall:
"I know I was wrong! Please spare my life, Madam!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xiao Shunzi being detained and kneeling on the ground. The benefits he had just received fell out of his arms and scattered all over the ground as he kowtowed too hard.
In front of him stood a tall and graceful woman, wearing a crimson shirt with gold embossed patterns, a silver silk jacket, her hair combed into a bun, and a gilded and kingfisher-embellished hairpin.
She stroked her hair lightly, glanced at Xiao Shunzi with lowered eyebrows, and said solemnly:
"The emperor was a political corrupt official in the previous dynasty, and you dare to extend your claws to the harem? Which hand did you use to receive the favorable money just now?"
Xiao Shunzi hesitated and dared not reply, so the maid beside him said:
"Replying to Concubine Ying, it is the right hand."
Concubine Ying held her nose with her hand and pressed the powder off her face, then said lightly:
"Then cut off his right hand and send him to serve in Xinzheku."
Cutting off hands is a capital punishment, but coming from Concubine Ying's mouth, it sounded as casual as killing a chicken.
Killing the chicken is to scare the monkey. Xiao Shunzi was gagged and dragged away, and Concubine Ying turned and entered the inner hall.
Li Guiren and the others, like Song Zhao, were little girls of only sixteen years old. They had been pampered at home. How could they have ever seen such a bloody thing?
What's more, it was indeed they who gave Xiao Shunzi the benefit, so before Ying Fei even walked in front of them, they were already trembling with fear and could hardly stand.
When they all knelt down to pay their respects to Concubine Ying, Concubine Li's knees went weak and she staggered, almost falling to the ground.
"I pay my respects to Concubine Ying. Long live the Queen."
Ying Fei glanced at them sharply, and suddenly smiled.
"Look at them, they were talking and laughing just now, what happened now? Could it be that I am dealing with a criminal slave and scared you sisters?"
After he finished speaking, his eyes naturally fell on Song Zhao who was standing in the corner.
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