Ning Wanyin returned to Yonghe Palace, spread out the selection list, and assigned accommodation to the new concubines.
There are four concubines this year.
Xiao Yunyao: Sixteen years old, the younger sister of Xiao Yunjing, the first-rank governor of Southeast.
Xue Jinshu: The legitimate daughter of the Duke of Suguo's family, younger sister of Empress Xue, sixteen years old.
Fu Jiaoyi: The legitimate daughter of Marquis An Si, aged fifteen. Marquis An Si is the maternal family of Empress Dowager Zhao Ci. After the emperor ascended the throne, he granted her a lifetime title, which cannot be compared with a hereditary marquis. However, as the uncle's mansion, she has the closest relationship with the emperor.
Wen Shutang: The daughter of the Minister of Revenue, 16 years old. Wen Concubine's younger sister, her father was promoted to the Minister of Revenue last year, and she is still trusted by the emperor.
There are four beauties.
Except for Su Ruhuan, all of them are daughters of high-ranking officials.
The rest include nobles and some Baolin, totaling twenty-eight people.
Ning Wanyin looked through the list of selected candidates carefully.
Nobles accounted for 20%, and except for the daughter of Xue, all of them only had the rank of nobles.
In the last round of the draft list, 90% were nobles, and there were two imperial concubines and four beauties.
The situation was very different now. Now, important officials, noble families, and royal relatives all sent their daughters to the palace in order to gain the emperor's favor.
Among the four imperial concubines and four beauties this year, except the daughter of Xue, the others can be considered the emperor's people.
Everyone's fathers and brothers all serve the emperor, but there are differences in their closeness and official positions.
"Your Majesty is truly a romantic man, promoting four imperial concubines at once." Holding the painting and looking at the list, he was worried about his master:
"The master has deep feelings for your majesty, but I am afraid that your majesty will forget the old one after seeing the new one."
Ning Wanyin shook her head slightly, "Your Majesty, it's time to honor the newcomer."
Although the emperor used Concubine Kang to assist in managing the six palaces.
But after living with her for a year, Ning Wanyin discovered that Concubine Kang was an extremely docile person. She had no intention of fighting for power at all. She was content to listen to instructions and was willing to be inferior to others.
Queen Mother Xue stopped her activities and no longer cared about the affairs of the six palaces.
Therefore, Ning Wanyin is the only one who has the final say in the harem now.
It is impossible for the emperor to entrust the entire harem to one person. If the other party deliberately deceives, it will be difficult to detect.
Only when there is mutual checks and balances can the emperor feel at ease.
If nothing unexpected happens, he will pick one of the newcomers to share the power of the six palaces with Ning Wanyin.
Ning Wanyin was actually happy to see this happen.
It is not a good thing to have all the power in one person. Too much power breeds suspicion.
The emperor still believes in her for now.
It was just right that there was one more person at this time, as the emperor could feel at ease and continue to trust her.
Otherwise, if she held all the power alone, no matter how cautious she was, the emperor would sooner or later become suspicious.
Ning Wanyin's gaze finally fell on the three words in the first column of the list.
Xiao Yunyao.
…
The first-rank general’s mansion, the Xiao family.
The eunuch announced the decree: "The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims: Xiao Yunyao, the sister of Southwest Governor Xiao Yunjing, is to be canonized as a fifth-rank imperial concubine and enter the palace on the first day of March. I decree this."
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace! Long live Your Majesty!" Xiao Yunyao bowed and accepted the order.
The eunuch Xiao Dingzi, who announced the decree, hurriedly flattered him:
"My dear Lord Xiao, tomorrow the palace will send a maid to teach you the ten-day palace rules. I heard that your name is the first one canonized by His Majesty! My dear Lord Xiao, you will definitely have a bright future!"
Xiao Yunyao smiled lightly, "Thank you for your good wishes, eunuch."
Her personal maid Suxian stepped forward and stuffed the silver as a reward into Xiao Dingzi's pocket.
After the person who announced the decree left.
Xiao Yunyao's gaze remained on the imperial edict for a long time.
"Master, if you hadn't thought the reputation of tribute was bad, you could have entered the palace last year! You've finally waited for it!" Su Xian congratulated.
Xiao Yunyao said softly, "I'm not afraid of waiting, I've been waiting for so long..."
They had not seen each other for six years since His Majesty ascended the throne. She had waited so long, and one more year was not a big deal.
When the emperor was still in the palace, he sent Xiao Yunjing to the southwest to plan the border.
Xiao Yunjing's parents died early, and he entrusted his only remaining sister to the emperor, who was a prince at the time.
So Xiao Yunyao actually grew up under the secret care of Helian Qi. Because Xiao Yunjing was a hidden chess piece, the palace had no relationship with her on the surface.
But her tutor was a famous teacher who was invited by Helian Qi under other pretexts.
She was almost sent by her clan elders to be a concubine to a high-ranking official who liked young girls, but it was Helian Qi who secretly made a move to send her elders away.
Xiao Yunyao knew very well that since his brother was working for him, he should protect himself.
But there is no other person in this world who is worthy of her attention.
"Master, I heard that Concubine Chen is the most favored among the six harems. I'm afraid that you will find it difficult to compete with her after entering the palace..." Su Xian said worriedly.
Xiao Yunyao lowered her eyes, "Really? I think that she is too favored. Will His Majesty allow anyone to hold all the power? Even in the southwest, there is the Dong family to restrain my brother. He can't even trust my brother completely, let alone Ning Wanyin."
"Moreover, I will remind Your Majesty that Ning Wanyin can kill anyone she wants in the entire harem..."
She had already made a plan. Once she entered the palace, the first thing she would do was to frame Ning Wanyin.
She buried infertility drugs in the courtyard. Her palace maids were all assigned by Ning Wanyin, and she arranged the palace. Who do you think did this?
There is no need to prove Ning Wanyin's guilt, just let the emperor know that it was easy for Ning Wanyin to do it.
Many times, evidence is not important, suspicion is enough.
…
On the first day of March, newcomers entered the palace.
The maids were waiting for the new concubines at the gate of the palace early in the morning to show them the way.
Xiao Yunyao had already learned that she was assigned to Shuyu Garden, but the guiding nanny took her directly to a palace in the Imperial Garden - Tinglan Palace.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
