Today, before dawn, a long line of various carriages and small sedan chairs had already formed on Changning Street outside the East Gate.
Registration, identity verification, arrangement of lodgings, assignment of palace maids… The entry of the candidate consorts involved tedious procedures. All parts of the Palace became busy.
However, despite the busyness, there were not many matters that required the Empress Dowager’s personal decision at the moment. When Liu Yun had some free time, she accompanied Shen Yuezhuang to the Phoenix Splendor Palace.
For this selection, Liu Yun had designated six palaces in the Eastern Courtyard for the candidate consorts’ temporary residence. The Phoenix Splendor Palace was one of them. The main hall of the Phoenix Splendor Palace was also where the candidate consorts would register and later take the preliminary exam.
The Longevity Palace was in the Western Courtyard. The two palaces were separated by half the Imperial Palace. The journey was filled with lush tree shadows and blooming flowers. Although the two palaces were quite far apart, the walk was not boring.
Especially when passing by the Huifeng Pavilion, the view overlooked most of the Imperial Palace.
Shen Yuezhuang immediately spotted a familiar figure heading towards the Phoenix Splendor Palace.
The woman was dressed in blue, her hair styled in a cloud-like bun. Led by two palace maids, she was walking on a gravel path. From Shen Yuezhuang’s angle, she could only see her appearing and disappearing among the tree shadows, as elegant as a fairy.
Shen Yuezhuang stared at the figure for a long time. Her eyes grew brighter and brighter. “Sister Pei? Sister Pei is also participating in this selection?!”
Liu Yun followed Shen Yuezhuang’s gaze. After recognizing the person, a trace of displeasure gathered between her brows.
Pei Shangyu. The granddaughter of the previous Grand Preceptor. Her grandfather and Shen Yuezhuang’s maternal grandmother were cousins several times removed. She used to live next door to the Yongding Marquis Manor and had known Shen Yuezhuang since childhood. Later, after Pei Shangyu’s grandfather retired and returned to his hometown, she went back with him to Yongzhou.
It had been over ten years since they last saw each other. Yet Shen Yuezhuang’s eyes were still sharp, being able to recognize her from such a distance.
Shen Yuezhuang completely missed the displeasure on Liu Yun’s face. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called out to the woman a few times. But they were too far apart, and the woman didn’t hear. Seeing this, Shen Yuezhuang turned around and was about to run down to find her.
Liu Yun reacted quickly, grabbing Shen Yuezhuang’s wrist. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to find Sister Pei.” Shen Yuezhuang struggled, but couldn’t break free. She looked anxiously into the distance.
Liu Yun had said that the candidate consorts’ lodgings were arranged according to the order of their arrival. So if she and Sister Pei registered together, they could live together for the next few days!
Seeing more candidate consorts arriving behind her, Shen Yuezhuang was afraid of missing the chance. She said urgently, “There are only a few people in a room. If I’m late, I won’t be able to stay with Sister Pei!”
“No…”
At the sound of that “no,” Shen Yuezhuang’s urgency turned into decisiveness.
“No!”
She shook off Liu Yun’s wrist, lifted her skirt, and ran down the pavilion.
The mountain may be far, but a galloping horse can tire itself out. After running past two palaces, Shen Yuezhuang finally arrived panting at the rockery that Pei Shangyu had just passed.
From a distance, she leaned over, resting her hands on her knees, gasping for air.
“Sister, Sister Pei!”
Pei Shangyu turned around at the sound.
“Little Walnut?”
A flicker of surprise crossed her face, which was as beautiful as a celestial maiden’s. Then her expression turned to concern. She quickly retraced her steps back to Shen Yuezhuang.
“Why are you running so fast?”
Shen Yuezhuang had only slept for a little over an hour last night. After running all this way, her vision was swimming with dizziness.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blue figure arrive in front of her. She leaned in and rested her weight against Pei Shangyu’s shoulder.
Pei Shangyu chuckled softly, letting her lean. She took out a handkerchief and wiped a dried leaf off Shen Yuezhuang’s skirt, smoothed her hair, and straightened a crooked hairpin.
Shen Yuezhuang’s heart was still pounding, but she had caught her breath. She raised her head, took Pei Shangyu’s arm, and started walking while talking.
“Sister Pei, why didn’t you tell me when you came to the Capital? If I hadn’t seen you, I wouldn’t have known you were also participating in this year’s selection!”
“You didn’t know I was going to participate in the selection, but I heard the news of you entering the Palace yesterday!” Pei Shangyu’s polite and proper smile grew much warmer. Her eyes shimmered like March peach blossoms. Her tone was playful as she patted the back of Shen Yuezhuang’s hand.
“We arrived in the Capital yesterday. I was going to visit Old Madam Huo first, then go find you. But before I could even leave the Grand Preceptor Manor, I heard you had already entered the Palace. What, did the Marquis finally persuade you? Did you have a change of heart and decide to enter the Palace?”
“A change of heart, my foot!” Shen Yuezhuang muttered. “Who knew that Groom-Snatching Below the List would end up catching the Empress Dowager!”
As she said this, her gaze unconsciously drifted towards the tall Huifeng Pavilion… The trees hid the view, but she could vaguely make out a gleam of imperial yellow. She figured the other person hadn’t left yet.
Pei Shangyu hadn’t caught what she just said and asked, “What did you say?”
“Ah, it’s a long story. Can’t explain it in a few sentences.” Shen Yuezhuang sighed and turned to look at Pei Shangyu.
Reuniting with an old friend lifted her spirits again. “Never mind about that. Did you come to the Capital alone? Didn’t the elder and Uncle Pei come? What about A Sang? She didn’t come either?”
“Father can’t get away from Yongzhou. Grandfather is old and can’t handle the travel. He just asked me to bring some mountain herbs to Old Madam Huo. Of course A Sang came with me, but she can’t enter the Palace. She’s staying in a house on Yongle Lane for now.”
As they spoke, the Phoenix Splendor Palace was already in sight. The leading palace maid bowed and withdrew. Pei Shangyu watched them leave, but didn’t enter the palace. Instead, she pulled Shen Yuezhuang to hide behind some nearby trees.
Pei Shangyu lowered her voice and asked, “Let me ask you seriously: have you thought it through? Do you really want to become a Palace Consort?”
“I know you and His Majesty are on close terms. If you want to enter the Palace, he might be able to help you for a time. But you need to think carefully. The Palace is different from other places. Even if you have no intention of harming others, it’s hard to guarantee you won’t be harmed yourself. His Majesty is the sovereign of the world; he can’t protect you forever.”
“Think about the Seventeenth Princess back then. She was favored like that, but in the end…”
“No.” Shen Yuezhuang interrupted her. “I don’t want to be a consort!”
She met Pei Shangyu’s serious gaze, a faint flush of embarrassment coloring her face. She said sheepishly, “I want to be…”
Before she could finish, a cold, sarcastic female voice came from the eastern corner of the Phoenix Splendor Palace. “If you don’t want to be a consort, what? Do you think, with your qualifications, you could be the Empress?”
Then came the sound of light footsteps. A figure in a light yellow dress, with a pretty face, walked slowly towards them.
She let out a derisive snort, looking at Shen Yuezhuang. Her tone was mocking. “Shen Yuezhuang, your Sister Pei risked being overheard to advise you to turn back while you still can. But you still can’t see yourself for what you are?”
“Empress? Hah. How dare you even say that! It’s one thing to make people laugh until their jaws drop, but don’t waste her good intentions!”
To be honest, most of the candidate consorts this year were in their teens. Shen Yuezhuang had been cultivating her character at home for the past few years and didn’t know many of them. But the two who were of similar age and whom she knew were both here.
One was Pei Shangyu. The other was He Dan.
One was a childhood friend. The other was a nemesis.
When Shen Yuezhuang faced He Dan, she couldn’t even be bothered with pleasantries, let alone sincerity. She let out the same derisive snort. “Only pig’s head meat at the market is sold by the jin. If you know that, just keep it to yourself. Do you have to flaunt it? Trying to prove that your piece of meat sells well?”
He Dan’s face turned an ugly black. She clenched her teeth. “You… vulgar!”
“Yes, yes, yes. How could I be as noble as you, who’s always eavesdropping on others’ conversations? Oh, speaking of which, you’ve gotten really good at being sarcastic. Could it be that you’ve spent too much time in cold, dark places and it’s made you mean and nasty? Tsk, tsk, tsk. That skill is really a unique gift!”
“Shen Yuezhuang!” He Dan’s temper was easily provoked by Shen Yuezhuang. Her expression looked like she wanted to eat someone. “I’m going to tear that mouth of yours!”
Pei Shangyu’s initial caution quickly turned into a headache. These two really were…
She shielded Shen Yuezhuang and backed into the open space in front of the palace. “Miss He, we are in the Palace right now.”
She turned and pressed down on the still-agitated Shen Yuezhuang. “Stop it. If this blows up, you’ll be in trouble!”
Just then, another wave of candidate consorts arrived at the Phoenix Splendor Palace to register. He Dan, after all, had more restraint than Shen Yuezhuang. She gave a cold snort. “Just you wait!” Then she stalked angrily into the palace.
Shen Yuezhuang, who couldn’t care less about consequences, tried to rush after her indignantly. Pei Shangyu had to persuade her repeatedly to hold her back.
Pei Shangyu was both amused and exasperated. She pinched Shen Yuezhuang’s chin. “Grandfather often said you’ve been cultivating your character at home these past few years. Is this how you cultivate it?”
Shen Yuezhuang said without changing her expression, “She hurt me, so I’m going to insult her.”
Pei Shangyu: “…”
“So, what she did was… asking for trouble?”
Shen Yuezhuang laughed. “Her bad luck!”
