Chapter 4: Jade Hibiscus Palace

At noon, a carriage quietly entered the Palace through the western Fu’an Gate.

At the same time, an imperial edict on yellow silk arrived at the Yongding Marquis Manor with great fanfare.

Half an hour later, the news that the edict praised Miss Shen for her gentleness and propriety and deemed her fit to enter the Palace for the Imperial Consort Selection would spread through the entire Capital like boiling syrup, rolling hotly alongside the carriages of the candidate consorts entering the palace!

Given Shen Yuezhuang’s notoriety in the city, the news that she would participate in the selection was undoubtedly enough to generate immense momentum for this, the largest imperial consort selection since the founding of Great Liang!

There were many reasons why this year’s selection was so large-scale: the Emperor’s harem was mostly empty; the Emperor still had no heir; the Emperor was young and healthy, unlike the ailing late emperor; and the number, talent, family background, and overall quality of the participating women were all superior.

But the most talked-about aspect for later generations would be the precedent set by Emperor Rongxing and Sacred Virtue Empress Dowager in establishing the Women’s Literati Examination!

Later generations would call it the Women’s Literati Examination. But at this time, it was merely the preliminary screening for candidate consorts entering the Palace.

Women who passed the preliminary selection could choose to enter the Palace as consorts.

If they did not wish to become consorts, they could also receive a reward from the Emperor, be assigned a position, and become a female official.

Or they could simply return home and marry.

A new broom sweeps clean. The Emperor was the highest official, and his first act after ascending the throne a year ago finally caught fire. But at the time, people didn’t yet realize the significant changes this reform would bring.

They just thought that women becoming officials was absurd and amusing.

However, while being an official might be absurd, entering the Palace as a consort, or even becoming the Empress of the Central Palace, was practical. Even if a woman didn’t want to become a consort, with the results of this preliminary screening, her value would skyrocket, and she would have no trouble finding a husband back home!

Therefore, even though there was much criticism about women becoming officials, lured by the vacancy of the Empress’s throne, women were still flocking to participate.

But the most discussed topic was still who would become the Empress. Secondary topics included: Female officials? What female officials! Just maidservants managing some internal affairs in the Palace!

However, the news of Shen Yuezhuang’s entry into the Palace stirred up another wave of discussion about “female officials.”

Shen Yuezhuang’s marriage prospects were poor. Shen Yuezhuang’s conduct was improper. Such a person could not become a mother to the nation as Empress. Nor could people imagine such a person willingly taking a subordinate position as a consort in the harem.

That left only the other extreme. Could it be that Shen Yuezhuang, seeing no hope for marriage, had instead turned her thoughts to an official career?

Shen Yuezhuang herself was too absurd. Female officials were too absurd. Putting these two absurdities together somehow seemed fitting and bizarrely logical!

But the absurdity herself knew nothing of these speculations. She had lunch at the Longevity Palace, then took a nap in the side hall. Free from the interruption of her annoying little brother and her Crouching Dragon maid, Shen Yuezhuang’s afternoon nap lasted long enough to make up for half a month’s worth!

When she opened her eyes again, twilight was creeping outside the window. Shen Yuezhuang lay there in a daze for a long while before she groggily remembered that the unfamiliar bed she was lying on was not her own alcove bed.

At some point, a thin blanket had been draped over her. An eight-panel screen had been placed in the doorway. The screen blocked the cool draft from outside, as well as Shen Yuezhuang’s view. Beyond the faint outline of flowers and birds on the screen, a single candle was flickering quietly.

Shen Yuezhuang sat up against the headboard in a daze, trying to wake up. A young palace maid outside heard the commotion and immediately came in, reporting crisply, “Her Grace has already ordered the evening meal. She said that once Miss wakes up, you should go eat.”

Shen Yuezhuang hadn’t brought her own Crouching Dragon into the Palace. With that mouth of hers, Shen Yuezhuang feared she’d be dead from anger before the selection even ended.

The young maid assigned to attend to her was called Cuizhu. She looked very young and was also very timid. Her gaze towards Shen Yuezhuang was always evasive.

Shen Yuezhuang had just woken up and didn’t have the mental capacity to dwell on it. She just slipped on her shoes and followed her out of the side hall.

She rounded the screen and saw, under the heavy twilight, rows upon rows of palace maids, elderly nurses, and eunuchs standing there in a silent crowd!

This horrifying scene instantly sent a jolt through Shen Yuezhuang. Her pupils contracted sharply. The hairs on her body stood on end. The foot she had just stepped out over the threshold drew back half a step. Her heel hit the threshold, and she lost her balance, slumping to the floor in a seated position.

The young maid beside her was nearly scared to tears. This was someone Her Grace had personally instructed to be well taken care of!

Cuizhu’s voice trembled. “Miss Shen, are you alright?”

The curtain of the main hall was lifted. The suddenly bright light streaming from inside instantly pulled Shen Yuezhuang away from that gloomy scene. She let out a long breath and waved her hand at Ruixue, the senior palace maid who was walking towards her.

“It’s nothing. Tired of walking. Just sitting down to rest for a bit.”

Ruixue glanced into the room, then at Cuizhu beside her. She asked with amusement, “…From the bed to the door?”

Shen Yuezhuang nodded. She sighed and looked up at the crescent moon in the sky. “As you can see, every step in the Palace is fraught with difficulty!”

Take her, for example. She had been in the Palace for less than four hours and had almost been scared to death!

Ruixue seemed to let out a cold laugh, or maybe not. The perfectly masked face quickly became expressionless. She said very softly, “In this world, if some people are to have a smooth and peaceful life, then others must walk a path of hardship.”

Having said that, she took half a step back. “Miss Shen, please. Her Grace has been waiting for some time now.”

Ruixue’s hostility towards Shen Yuezhuang was very clear. Shen Yuezhuang guessed it was because Ruixue felt her mistress had been kept waiting and hadn’t eaten because of her. But it really wasn’t Shen Yuezhuang’s fault. Liu Yun was genuinely very busy!

Right now, the Palace didn’t even have an Empress. The Empress Dowager was the master of the harem. Matters like the Imperial Consort Selection naturally fell to her to arrange.

If it were just the selection, following the old rules wouldn’t have been too difficult. At least the Empress Dowager wouldn’t have had to do everything herself. But this year’s selection was large in scale, and the Emperor had added this preliminary screening. So the candidate consorts’ lodgings, the examination venues, the invigilators, the subjects and content of the exams—nothing could escape her personal review and decision.

Problems piled on top of problems. She didn’t even have time to eat or drink water. It wasn’t until the third watch that the palace attendants reporting on various matters finally dispersed.

Shen Yuezhuang had slept too much in the afternoon. Now she was wide awake. She lay in bed, watching the lights in the main hall go out. Only then did she pick up a small lamp and step out of the room.

Her movement startled Cuizhu, who was sleeping on duty outside. Cuizhu shot up from the daybed. “Miss, is there something you need? Just tell this servant and I’ll do it.”

Shen Yuezhuang casually put on her cloak. “I’ve slept too much. I’m going out for a walk. Just nearby. It’s fine.”

“Miss wants to leave the Longevity Palace?” The young girl woke up completely with a fright. “You can’t do that!”

“It’s fine.” Shen Yuezhuang fumbled with the ties of her cloak, not noticing that she had tied an awkward knot. “I grew up in the Palace. Don’t worry about me. If someone finds out, just say it was my own idea. It’s just that the palace gates are locked for the night right now. You’ll have to open them for me when I come back, alright?”

Blending coaxing with a bit of intimidation, she finally managed to get the young girl to stay in the palace.

The night was deep. Shen Yuezhuang carried her small lamp and followed the path from memory. After nearly two cups of tea’s time, she finally stopped in front of a dilapidated palace gate.

An old lock hung on the gate, worn by years, the lock core already rusted. The plum blossoms in the courtyard had just finished falling. A faint smell of earth mingled with a barely-there fragrance of flowers. Lush green branches and sparse red blossoms peeked over the wall, adding to the desolate scene.

Shen Yuezhuang skillfully took out a hairpin, fiddled with the lock core for a moment. There was a soft click, and then the heavy iron chains fell to the ground with a clatter.

~~~

In the main hall of the Longevity Palace, the Empress Dowager sat at her desk in a plain white undergarment. A single lamp was in front of her. Ruixue came to report. Liu Yun paused her beautiful, sharp handwriting and asked, “She went to Jade Hibiscus Palace?”

A flash of surprise crossed Ruixue’s face before she nodded. “Yes. The secret guards followed discreetly. They confirmed that Miss Shen entered the Jade Hibiscus Palace. However…”

Liu Yun glanced at her. “Say what you have to say.”

“Yes. This servant is just puzzled. The Jade Hibiscus Palace has been sealed for years, with almost no one visiting. Miss Shen… Miss Shen was even startled today when she saw the servants reporting to Your Grace. How is it that, in the middle of the night, she has the courage to go to a place like that?”

The tip of Liu Yun’s brush left a heavy mark on the written list in front of her. Her brows were tightly knit, but she didn’t notice.

“She was startled today?”