Luo Zhizheng arranged for Luo Jingxi to send Yao Niang and the other three girls to the palace. Luo Jingxi usually took care of family affairs at home. This time, he was responsible for the important task of sending his sisters to choose schoolmates, so he got up early in the morning and asked people to prepare the carriage.

No matter which of his three sisters is chosen and has a bright future, he, as their elder brother, will also benefit from it.

Yao Niang seldom saw Luo Jingxi. When she saw him today, she felt that he had the air of a nobleman. He looked like a young master from the imperial court, and he was in good spirits.

The other two were not as leisurely as Yao Niang. Among them, Luo Jingrou was obviously under the greatest pressure. She not only wanted to pass the selection of study companion, but more importantly, she wanted to win the favor of the person in a higher position and cancel the engagement.

Wang Chongmu was only the grandson of the governor, and his mother was only a local lady. Others thought this was good, but Luo Jingrou felt it was far from enough.

But her father never took care of things, and her stepmother wouldn't make plans for her, so she had to rely on herself.

The three of them had different thoughts in the carriage. Luo Jingxi quickly drove to Lin'an Palace, which was the gate of Daqi's palace. They thought they had gotten up early enough, but now there was a long queue at the gate.

Luo Jingxi jumped off the carriage, sweating anxiously: "This isn't a selection of concubines, why are there so many people?"

Yao Niang listened and smiled slightly. The old emperor was old, and she would become a widow in a few years after entering the palace. But choosing a partner was different. Most of them would be sent home to get married when they were old enough. Some of them could marry princes and have exchanges with the royal family.

Men learn literary and martial arts and serve as merchants for the royal family. If women can do the same and find a good marriage partner, it is their good fortune.

In the past, she had never thought about these things because she was obese. Now that she has been reborn, she can't let her mother always look at her father's face, and in the future, even her brother should do the same.

Every time, my mother lowered her head and looked obedient to win my father's favor, but the real happiness should be like what is said in the book, a wife is a perfect match. Since ancient times, love fades with beauty. If my mother gets old in the future and my father has a new favorite, and my younger brother is too young, will she let my mother look at the eldest brother's eyes?

She didn't want her mother to compromise and gain status for herself and her brother. She also wanted to be a support for her mother and brother.

Thinking of this, I had five or six points of desire to be the first, and it became ten points.

There was a commotion nearby, as if there was a quarrel. Yao Niang lifted half of the curtain, and Steward Sun said, "Fifth Miss, two families are arguing over a road."

Yao Niang nodded and lowered the curtain again.

Shi Yu laughed and said, "It's really strange that people are quarreling in a place like this."

"Sixth sister, please be careful with your words. We can't speak carelessly in a place like this." Luo Jingrou reminded secretly. Of course, she was not doing this for Shi Yu's good, but she was afraid that Shi Yu's words would be heard by others and implicate her.

After waiting for about two cups of tea, Yao Niang and the others were asked to get off the carriage and line up to enter the palace. Luo Jingxi said to them, "Sisters, please hold on to this sign carefully. After you enter, the eunuchs will check with you."

At this time, many people of similar age had come, such as Lu Erniang and Lu Sanniang, whom Yao Niang knew. These two were daughters of the same age as their father, and their father had just been promoted from Tongpan to the head of the Ministry of Revenue.

Miss Lu Er quickly smiled and said, "That's great. Let's go together. We finally see an acquaintance."

Luo Jingrou nodded: "Yes, what a coincidence."

"Alas, with you here, Sister Jingrou, I'm afraid all of us have no hope." Miss Lu Er sighed.

Luo Jingrou comforted them again, and after a few words, they were led by the eunuch to a place where officials from the Ministry of Rites were checking. The girls handed their badges to the officials.

When he saw the Lu family, he was a little careless. After all, he was just a director of the Ministry of Revenue, and his rank was not high. Although the Lu family had an ancestor who won the third place in the imperial examination, he was only an editor in the Hanlin Academy, which was the official position given to the third place in the imperial examination at the beginning. In other words, he had no achievements in officialdom, and even his wife did not even have an imperial edict.

The Luo family is different. From the great-grandfather to the grandfather and now the father, almost all of them are high-ranking officials or are working in important government offices.

They knew very well that the chances of the Lu family being eliminated were very high.

From here to the side hall of the Lize Palace, only ten people are allowed to enter at a time. Most of the visitors are girls around ten years old. On the contrary, people like Yao Niang and Shi Yu are a minority, probably because they are afraid that they are too young and not stable enough.

"The daughter of Dali Temple Junior Official Cheng Xuan comes in." The young eunuch called out her name.

Yao Niang watched Miss Cheng, who was at the front, go in. Miss Cheng was beautiful, elegant and generous. Sure enough, she came out within a cup of tea. She looked happy.

Everyone asked her, "Sister Cheng, is it difficult?"

Miss Cheng nodded and said, "It's not difficult at all. The maids just asked me a few questions, and then a doctor took my pulse and let me out."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but the second girl who came out started crying.

"The maidens say I have a rustic accent..."

Oh, so this doesn't work. That's right, this girl always speaks with a dialect accent, not Mandarin.

There were also the Lu family girls I met before. The second Lu girl pursed her lips and didn't say anything. The third Lu girl always didn't get along with the second girl at home because the second girl was born to a concubine and the third girl was born to the wife. The third girl said rudely, "Second sister, it's useless to apply so much perfume powder. It can't cover your body odor."

Of course, Miss Lu San was not chosen either because she had black holes in her teeth and her voice smelled bad, and they were afraid that it would bother the princess.

Yao Niang was thankful that she had stopped eating sweets and snacks over the past year or so, and she also washed her teeth carefully with tooth powder every day. Although her teeth had changed, she did not have any bad teeth.

Thinking back, Luo Jingrou was indeed very cunning. If she really ate Luo Jingrou's snacks every day, she would probably have rotten teeth and obesity. Even if she participated in the primary election today, she would definitely be eliminated.

"Come in, the eldest daughter of Luo Zhizheng, a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Department." The young eunuch finally called out Luo Jingrou.

Luo Jingrou grew up in the Marquis' Mansion since she was a child, and rules have long been ingrained in her bones. She is the oldest and had a good reputation in the capital before, so everyone thinks that Luo Jingrou will definitely be selected.

Even Miss Lian Cheng said, "Although Luo Jingrou is not very beautiful and cannot compare to her two sisters, she is quite talented and has a distinguished family background."

"Yes, her father's family is the Gaoping Luo family, a well-known official family, and her mother's family is the Wang family, which has made great contributions. She also has an aunt who is a concubine of the emperor."

Luo Jingrou also walked in with full confidence. After bowing as Luo Shilan said, she presented two packets of red envelopes. The maids spoke a few words to her first. Seeing that she spoke Mandarin very well, was eloquent, had no strange smell on her body, had bright eyes and white teeth, they could not help but nod.

But when she came out and asked the imperial physician to check her pulse, the physician frowned and said, "If it's about other things, it's fine, but the pulse is slow and weak, and the kidney yang is insufficient, which is a sign of uterine cold."

Luo Jingrou was shocked. She was already 13 years old. She knew what uterine cold meant and it was very likely that she would be infertile. For a woman, being unable to have children was a very serious matter.

No matter how beautiful you are, if you cannot give birth, your life will be very difficult, especially in the royal family.

Look, the biological mother of the current emperor was just a foot-washing maid of the former empress dowager. Because she gave birth to the current emperor, there were two palaces later, and the empress dowager born to a concubine bullied the empress dowager of the principal palace. In the end, the empress dowager who was originally the principal palace died of depression.

However, the imperial physician was a good man and consoled Luo Jingrou, saying, "You are only selecting a study partner, not a concubine, so it's okay."

However, Luo Jingrou knew that she had absolutely no hope. If it was just a simple companionship, of course it would be fine. But what she wanted was not just a companionship, but to be a prince's consort, or even a princess of a county, or the wife of a duke. These medical records showed that she definitely had no hope.

She just asked: "Can this disease be cured?"

The imperial physician glanced at her and said, "It's not something that happens overnight, I won't go into details.

The maids also heard what the imperial physician said. When Luo Jingrou was about to say something, they suddenly said, "Miss Luo, let's just tell you that your zodiac sign is not compatible."

This is to select a reading companion for Princess Zhaoping, and everything should be perfect, especially since women with cold palaces have difficulty giving birth, so such an unlucky person is not suitable.

Reporting that their zodiac signs are incompatible is also a good thing for Luo Jingrou.

Yao Niang waited outside for a long time. She and Shi Yu looked at each other in bewilderment. "Why has Third Sister been in for so long and hasn't come out yet?"

Nothing should happen.

Just as I was thinking about it, Luo Jingrou came out. Her face was a little pale. Everyone asked about her situation: "Mrs. Luo San, how are you?"

Luo Jingrou said, "The maids said my zodiac sign is not compatible."

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on, even Cheng Shaojin said in a rare voice: "This is such a pity." Originally, she considered the three sisters of the Luo family as her opponents, and Luo Jingrou was about the same age as her, so she was wary of her. Unexpectedly, Luo Jingrou was eliminated first.

Yao Niang didn't expect that Luo Jingrou was not selected because of this situation, but she also felt that this was not the case, because Qin Tianjian should have calculated the incompatibility of the zodiac signs long ago and should not have said such a thing at this time.

Then someone outside called out, "Luo Shiwei, the second daughter of Luo Zhizheng, a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel, is here."

Yao Niang tidied her clothes and walked back in. When she pushed the door open, two maids saw her face and couldn't help but be delighted: "She is a beautiful lady with a round face and a radiant appearance."

"Thank you two maids for your praise." Yao Niang walked into the inner room. They saw that Yao Niang had bright eyes and white teeth, no strange smell in her body, and her hair was shiny black. They couldn't help but nod.

This eight-year-old girl is even prettier than the young lady Cheng Jiancheng mentioned earlier. If she gets older in a few years, I'm sure her beauty will spread all over the world.

After the maids had passed the test, the imperial physician took the patient's pulse and stroked his beard, smiling, "You were weak when you were young, but thanks to proper care, you are now very well."

Yao Niang smiled and said, "I usually eat light food, work at sunrise and rest at sunset. Besides, I play shuttlecock whenever I have free time."

"No wonder, you are in very good health now." The imperial physician nodded.

Healthy? She's not a cow, why does this word sound so weird?

But no matter what, Yao Niang's primary election probably won't be a problem. She breathed a sigh of relief when she walked out the door.