Chapter 18 Su Zhaorong
Yanyu held her face with pride.
"Hehe, I learned it from the girl."
Su Ci sniffed the fragrance of the tribute tea and let out a long breath.
"Now that everything is ready, I just have to wait and see what position Your Majesty will give me. Only then can I carefully consider my response strategy after entering the palace."
Misty and curious.
"Anyway, the young lady will definitely be favored once she enters the palace. What does it matter what position she is given? After being favored, won't she be able to rise step by step?"
"Of course it does."
Su Ci took a sip of tea and narrowed her eyes in satisfaction. "Do you know how hard it is for a woman in the harem to be promoted to a higher level? Either she is rewarded for bearing a dragon heir, or her father or brother has made great contributions, or she is extremely favored."
"If you don't have these, you'll have to endure ten or eight years of hardship, relying on seniority to wait for a chance to be promoted. This is a privilege only available to concubines of higher birth."
Su Ci narrowed her eyes slightly. "But there are so many women in the harem, His Majesty can't even recognize them all. He might summon one to sleep with him on a whim, but forget about her the next day. And how many people die with the same rank they had when they entered the palace?"
Yanyu scratched her cheek and tilted her head suspiciously.
"How come the young lady knows so much about the harem? Nanny Qin never taught her."
"Why didn't you teach me? Didn't you explain to me in detail the rank of the concubines in the harem from the highest to the lowest?"
Su Ci held her chin calmly.
"Let's not talk about the Empress and the four vacant concubines for now. The current harem personnel are ranked by rank, Zhaoyi Zhaorong, Xiuyuan Xiuyi Xiurong, Chongyuan Wanrong Wanyi, Shunrong Guiyi Jieyu, and then Meiren and Renren, etc. There are about twenty people in total."
"Below the Empress, the highest-ranking ones are the daughters of marquises and prime ministers, and the lowest-ranking ones are the daughters of local officials who were selected to enter the palace. However, many of them are daughters of ministers in the court. They are all of noble birth and are not to be trifled with."
Su Ci said as she poured a cup of tea for the fat girl.
"I didn't enter the palace through a selection. Coming out of nowhere already attracts attention, so the position you hold when you first enter the palace is very important. If it's an average position, it's fine, but if it's low, then we'll be bullied right after entering the palace."
"...But the young lady is favored, and doesn't she have His Majesty to protect her?"
"Silly girl, isn't this the same as what happened to my father and aunt? Your Majesty also has to abide by the rules. Your Majesty can't stay in the harem and watch over me every day."
"I am of a low rank. When I meet a concubine of a higher rank than mine, I must greet her according to palace rules. I must kneel when told to kneel, and stand when told to stand. If I resist, I am violating palace rules, and your Majesty will not be able to find fault with me."
"Otherwise, why would Nanny Qin come to teach me the palace rules and etiquette these days?"
"All right."
Yanyu took a sip of the tribute tea and said, "Since you are so smart and learn things quickly, I will just listen to you in everything from now on."
Su Ci smiled: "Not only do you have to listen, you also have to watch."
It’s strange to say, maybe this body has the gift of photographic memory, her memory is really good now.
Learn things very quickly.
These days, apart from studying with Nanny Qin, she basically spends the rest of her time practicing movements and eye signals with Yanyu.
For example, tilting your head to the left means positive, tilting your head to the right means negative, raising your left hand or right hand or which finger, touching which ear, or touching which cheek all have different meanings.
The countless palace fighting dramas that she painstakingly analyzed thoroughly were finally put to good use.
…
In early October, the autumn breeze is pleasant.
The Su family ushered in an exciting highlight moment.
His Majesty's imperial edict and the Empress Dowager's imperial decree came out at the same time, causing a sensation in the whole city.
Su Yan was promoted two levels to the third-rank Minister of Rites, his mother was honored with a second-rank imperial edict, and his wife was also awarded the third-rank lady.
The most surprising thing is that the fourth daughter of the Su family, who was born out of wedlock, was given the title of Zhaorong before she even entered the palace.
You should know that in the harem today, there are only three people above Zhaorong, the queen and two Zhaoyi of noble birth.
Below Zhaorong, most of the women were daughters of ministers of the second or third rank.
The key is that the Empress Dowager issued the decree herself.
This is different from His Majesty's personal selection. It has less possibility of using beauty to seduce the emperor, and more of the approval and appreciation of the elders.
However, there were also some obscure rumors in the streets, suggesting that the Empress Dowager had abused her power, causing the eldest prince, born to her, to be the only one in power in the harem for many years, and that he was jealous and immoral. In addition, the Shen family, the Empress's in-laws, was involved in a corruption case, and Su Yan was one of the main people who uncovered the corruption case.
Therefore, Your Majesty promoted Su Yan and the Queen Mother promoted the Su family's daughter, all to warn the Shen family and the Queen.
But no matter what the rumors are, it all comes down to one thing.
This time, the Su family picked up a big pie for nothing, and their ancestral graves are filled with joy.
Matters concerning promotion and conferring titles were originally the job of the Ministry of Rites. Although Su Yan was very excited, he became more cautious and humble.
Using busy official duties as an excuse, he declined all social engagements and did his job in a disciplined manner, and no fault could be found.
Su Ci has received the Queen Mother's order, her status has been confirmed, and she will enter the palace tomorrow.
At this time, Qin Zheng led several palace maids and knelt down together.
"This servant pays homage to Su Zhaorong."
Su Ci sat in the main seat and raised her hand slightly.
"No need to be polite, please stand up."
"Thank you, Su Zhaorong."
Qin Zheng stood up and waved her hand to let the palace servants leave.
The serious-looking little girl heaved a sigh of relief and returned to her cute look.
"Mammy, am I not being rude?"
"Haha, no, Zhaorong has followed all the etiquette from the moment she received the imperial edict and expressed her gratitude to the moment she accepted the gift."
Su Ci smiled happily: "That's good. Actually, I was very nervous. I was afraid that something would go wrong and embarrass Master."
Qin Zheng paused slightly, then smiled.
"Zhaorong, you are too kind. This is what I should do."
"Madam, please sit down. Yanyu Guyu, bring Madam tea."
Guyu is Su Ci's newly bought maid, who is one year older than her. She is very quiet, learns things quickly, works efficiently and never talks much.
As expected, Zhao Yu was going to send a beautiful maid over, but she used Guyu to lightly block her away.
As for this person, if he has status, he has power.
Zhao Yu gritted his teeth but could only remain angry and not say anything.
The two maids served tea and then stood outside the door with their heads bowed.
Qin Zheng took a few more glances and was quite satisfied.
After all, you are going to enter the palace. Regardless of whether you are smart or not, you must understand the rules.
When she first came, she felt that Yanyu was a little eccentric, and she even gave her some advice. However, after only half a month, she seemed like a completely different person.
Su Ci was looking at the ceremonial palace robes and the various intricate and exquisite jewelry in the box.
In the original novel, after His Majesty saw Su Yin, he returned to the palace half a month later and sent a sedan chair and two maids to pick Su Yin up. She was only given the title of Chongyuan after entering the palace, and there was not as many procedures as there is now.
"Mammy, is this the dress you made for me?"
Qin smiled and nodded. "Yes, I wrote down Zhaorong's measurements earlier. The palace embroiderers have been working on this for three consecutive days. Zhaorong will wear it tomorrow to enter the palace to express her gratitude."
"Oh, I see."
Su Ci didn't look at clothes and jewelry anymore, but hesitated shyly and pulled her handkerchief.
"…Mammy, did His Majesty say anything about the gift he gave me?"
"Ah, yes, His Majesty did have a message for Zhaorong, and he also ordered this servant to speak to her alone."
"Really? What did His Majesty say?"
Qin Zheng looked at the little girl's face full of joy and anticipation, and laughed inwardly: "Your Majesty said that Zhaorong's paintings are good, but her handwriting is ugly. Please remember to practice more privately..."
"…ah?"
…
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