My Lady is well

Yingmao's little palace maid Bier called out hurriedly.

"Ms. Shen, Ms. Shen, please get up quickly. It will be late soon. I will go and call Ms. Xu."

Shen Yueyao stretched out her soft white fingertips to rub her eyes, then slowly opened them.

I talked with Xu Cainü until past midnight last night, and it was really difficult for me to get up.

She lingered on the quilt for a long time before she managed to sit up.

"Sister Shen, hurry up, it's too late, Aunt Shang will punish us soon."

Shen Yueyao sat in front of the bronze mirror, raised her eyelids, and was really surprised at Xu Niannian's speed.

Without Jin'er's help, she had a hard time putting on her clothes one by one. She hadn't even finished combing her hair, so how could she be fine?

She took a hairpin and tied her hair into a bun, then casually inserted two pearl hairpins and went out.

Xu Niannian pulled her, and rushed to the Jiade Hall with her skirt fluttering.

She vaguely heard a clear and pleasant bell sound, Shen Yueyao said breathlessly.

"... Slow down. Why did you go out first when Bi'er called you later?"

Xu Niannian chuckled: "Sister Shen has just arrived, you will know after a while."

Shen Yueyao was really running hard, and she felt a little dizzy because she hadn't had time for breakfast.

He broke free from her hand, bent down, covered his chest and took two breaths.

"Okay... good sister, I really can't run anymore. If you have any good ideas, let me learn from you."

Seeing that the Jiade Hall was right in front of her, Xu Niannian breathed a sigh of relief, stopped her anxious steps, walked over to her and took her arm, revealing two small dimples.

"In fact, I was punished by Aunt Shang several times when I first came here, but later I learned to be smart. I only take off my outer clothes when I go to bed, and only take the pearl hairpins out of my bun, and don't let it loose. This saves a lot of steps."

After hearing this, Shen Yueyao thought to herself that she had indeed been punished to gain experience.

She smiled and said, "I seemed to hear the sound of a bell just now."

Xu Niannian raised her slender wrist and shook it in front of her eyes. On it was a jade bead bracelet with two bells hanging. With every slight movement, a crisp sound rang out.

Shen Yueyao praised: "What a unique bracelet."

Xu Niannian said proudly: "Of course, this is the gift my mother gave me for my coming-of-age."

"I thought it was something precious, but it's just an ordinary bean. Do you think you're showing it off? You really haven't seen the world."

Xu Niannian pouted, her face turned red with anger, and she stared at the person who came.

Shen Yueyao felt very uncomfortable listening to her sarcastic words.

Looking up, it was the same Wan Cai girl who was so arrogant and had her hands whipped yesterday.

Wan Cainv's eyes fell on Shen Yueyao, and she looked at her impolitely for a few times, with a strange look in her eyes.

She caught a glimpse of a translucent jade bracelet on her hand, was startled for a moment, narrowed her eyes, and asked her in a ladylike manner.

"Is this sister new here? The Dushan jade bracelet on your hand is extraordinary. I wonder who your father is?"

Respect the clothes first and then the person. Shen Yueyao smiled in her heart and said the truth.

"My father has never been an official in the court."

Wan Cainu's expression immediately returned to a condescending one and she asked again.

"But which hidden scholar is that?"

"Well, not really. My father is just a small businessman."

Wan Cainu's eyes were filled with surprise. She frowned in disgust, took two steps back, raised her hands at her waist, put them on the tip of her nose, and cleared the air around her.

That look seemed to say, bad luck.

Shen Yueyao expected that her reaction might not be very friendly, but she didn't expect that it would completely shatter her image as a lady. She didn't act like this even when she had an argument with someone yesterday.

"A merchant's daughter can enter the palace? What tricks did you use? Those who can be selected to enter the palace must be at least the daughters of sixth-rank officials. Daughters of eighth-rank county magistrates like Wei Qianqian are rare. I've never seen such a thing before, and today I met a person of no rank."

Xu Niannian wrinkled her nose at her and turned back to comfort Shen Yueyao.

"Sister Shen, don't pay attention to her. Her father is a fourth-rank imperial censor, so what? She is just a concubine's daughter. If she enters the palace, her position will be the same as ours."

"Xu Niannian, you dare to say that I am a concubine's daughter. Don't forget that we were all chosen by Prince Qi to be given to the emperor. By the way, your father originally wanted to use you to exchange with Prince Qi for the position of the chief historian..."

"Shut up!"

Xu Niannian was so angry that her eyes turned red and she stared at her, gritting her teeth and interrupting her next words in a cold voice.

Shen Yueyao saw Xu Niannian's tears rolling down her cheeks, and thought that the story behind this must be very sad, so she hurriedly pulled Xu Niannian along and tried to persuade her while walking.

"Don't be angry, hurry to the Jiade Hall. Aunt Shang will punish you if you are late."

Only then did she come back to her senses and nodded hurriedly as she walked.

In the Jiade Hall, more than a dozen concubines stood in two rows, with Shen Yueyao and Xu Niannian standing at the end.

Aunt Shang stood in front, glanced at the concubines in the hall expressionlessly, and said in a calm voice.

"let's start."

The little palace maid was holding a measuring tape in her hand. A concubine walked over hesitantly, took a deep breath, and tried to hold her head high and chest out and tighten her abdomen.

The palace maid measured her waist with a ruler, and Aunt Shang shook her head.

"Qi Cainu's meals have been halved."

"..."

Shen Yueyao was stunned. What was going on?

She turned her head to look at Xu Niannian, only to see her trying hard to tighten the silk belt around her waist, holding her breath, and pulling her waist in hard, as if she wanted to make her waist into a willow branch.

Shen Yueyao asked in a low voice: "Is it necessary to do this?"

"Of course, if it's thicker than the ruler in the maid's hand, Aunt Shang will ask us to reduce our food intake. I'm already hungry, and if I reduce it further, I'll really..."

Shen Yueyao couldn't help but look down at her waist when she heard her aggrieved tone.

She sighed in her heart, it's not easy to be a concubine.

When it was Xu Niannian's turn, she pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and walked over bravely, as if she was going to the execution ground.

Shen Yueyao stretched her neck to look forward. Aunt Shang glanced at the ruler and said mercilessly.

"Xu Cainu is only allowed to eat half a bowl of rice and half a plate of vegetables every day."

Upon hearing this, Xu Niannian staggered back two steps, like an eggplant hit by frost, finding it difficult to accept this bad news.

"Next person."

Shen Yueyao swallowed, walked over lightly, and took a breath like Xu Niannian.

He tightened his waist and abdomen, lowered his head to look at the bamboo ruler in the palace maid's hand, and felt inexplicably nervous.

No breakfast, not more, not less, just right!

Aunt Shang nodded gently, and Shen Yueyao finally felt relieved. She walked back to her seat calmly and stood still.

Aunt Shang began to lecture: "Once you enter the palace, you must abide by all the etiquette and regulations of the palace. Our Great Jin Dynasty has always paid attention to women's manners, and there are strict rules for standing, walking, and sitting. What you need to practice today is walking, but you can't underestimate it. Walking in the palace is different from walking in the folk. If you walk slowly, you will lose your swaying beauty, and if you walk quickly, you will lose your stability."

The palace maid inserted a hairpin in the hair of the concubines, and then took a bowl and placed it on the concubines' heads.

Shen Yueyao normally walks decently, and can fool people by pretending to be so intimidating in front of others, but if she really has to walk for half a day with this thing on her head, it is like torture.

Aunt Shang said, "If the bowls on the heads of the concubines fall, you will be punished to kneel for an hour as usual."

"..."

Shen Yueyao was really afraid that it would fall, so she kept her eyes on the ground with every step, and her nanny reminded her loudly.

"Look ahead."

Shen Yueyao's body was suddenly pushed forward by a force, and with a bang, the bowl above her head shattered to the ground.