Traveling through the Tang Dynasty: The Concubine Goes to War

Last time we talked about how Yang Mengxi, the second daughter of the Yang family, went directly to the palace to participate in the selection with the emperor's permission, and lived in a special palace with all the other girls.

These ladies had never met each other before, but now they lived together in the same palace, so many unique and interesting stories happened...

Yang Mengxi was open-minded and carefree, and soon became close to the other concubines who lived with him. Among them was a concubine named Zhu, who was scheming as deep as the sea. Seeing that Yang Mengxi was loved by other concubines, she was jealous and decided to teach Yang Mengxi a lesson.

One day, the sun was shining brightly and the breeze was not dry. Yang Mengxi was strolling leisurely in the garden when he happened to meet Zhu Xiunü.

Zhu Xiu Nu pretended to fall to the ground, but she put all the blame on Yang Mengxi and cried to other Xiu Nu around her. Not knowing the truth, they all blamed Yang Mengxi, and Yang Mengxi was speechless.

At this critical moment, Mei Yingluo stepped forward and defended Yang Mengxi righteously. Mei Yingluo was meticulous and careful. She had long seen through Zhu Xiunv's conspiracy and could not bear to see Yang Mengxi suffer injustice for no reason.

From then on, Yang Mengxi and Mei Yingluo became good friends who could talk about anything. They agreed to fight side by side and jointly face all kinds of difficulties, obstacles and challenges in the palace.

At the same time, an imperial edict came down. This imperial edict announced that in ten days, the current emperor would personally come to the selection site to select his future concubines. For a moment, the entire palace was plunged into a busy state.

Inside the palace, a group of maids are stepping up their teachings to the young ladies who are about to participate in the selection. These young and beautiful women come from all over the country, with their own dreams and ambitions, eager to be chosen by the emperor and become a member of the palace.

Among them, a teaching nanny named Zhang was particularly eye-catching. Although she was nearly middle-aged, she still had charm and elegant temperament.

Standing in front of the many concubines, she said in a serious yet gentle tone: "My dear ladies, I am the palace tutor, Nanny Zhang. From today until the day of the selection, I will teach you the rules of walking, talking, and behaving in the palace. You must study hard and try to master them so that you can serve His Majesty wholeheartedly in the future."

Nanny Zhang's words rang like a warning bell in the hearts of every concubine.

They know that this is an opportunity to change their destiny. If they fail to pass the draft, they may have to return to ordinary life.

Therefore, they all paid close attention, listened attentively to Aunt Zhang's teachings, and constantly imitated and practiced various movements and expressions.

At this time, the Queen Mother's personal maid Liu came to the palace where the concubines were. She glanced at all the concubines present and stopped her gaze on Mei Yingluo. She smiled and nodded and whispered a few words to Aunt Zhang. Aunt Zhang smiled and whispered, "I will do my best to teach you, young lady."

Nanny Zhang began to correct the postures and movements of the concubines one by one.

"Keep your back straight and relax your shoulders." She gently pushed Mei Yingluo's back.

Mei Yingluo's heart tightened, she realized that this Nanny Zhang must have come here to teach her under the instructions of the Empress Dowager.

In the next few days, Nanny Zhang became increasingly strict with Mei Yingluo, and Mei Yingluo also understood that only by performing well could she live up to the Queen Mother's expectations.

However, in such a tense atmosphere, the competition among the beauties gradually became fierce.

Yang Mengxi saw it all, and naturally knew in his heart that Mei Yingluo had already been chosen by the Queen Mother.

She decided to work more closely with Mei Yingluo in the days before the audition, to support each other and face unknown challenges together.

Under the strict guidance of Nanny Zhang, Mei Yingluo made rapid progress. However, other girls were not to be outdone and worked hard to improve themselves.

Yang Mengxi and Mei Yingluo encouraged each other, shared their experiences, and their relationship became closer.

The day of the beauty contest finally arrived, and the beauties dressed up carefully to welcome the emperor's arrival.

The Emperor and the Empress Dowager finally arrived, and the beautiful ladies hurriedly bowed and greeted them.

The emperor walked around the girls and said, "I want to test your talents. You can choose to play the piano, dance, sing..."

The beauties displayed their talents one after another. For a moment, the palace was filled with melodious music and graceful dancing.

Yang Mengxi chose to play the piano. Her piano playing was melodious and like the sound of nature, intoxicating.

Mei Yingluo performed a graceful dance. Her figure was light and graceful, and her dance steps were dreamy, as if she was a fairy descending to earth.

The emperor watched with great interest and nodded in praise from time to time.

However, Zhu Xiunü was very scheming. She deliberately made mistakes during her performance in order to attract the emperor's attention.

The emperor indeed noticed her and asked her why she made a mistake.

Zhu Xiunü pretended to be pitiful and said, "I made the mistake because I was too nervous."

The emperor frowned slightly but said nothing more.

The emperor looked around at the beauties, and finally his eyes stopped on Mei Yingluo, revealing an appreciative smile. Seeing this, the empress dowager nodded with satisfaction and said, "Give me the sachet."

A eunuch was seen holding a bamboo tray with several sachets on it. The emperor walked forward, picked up a sachet gently, and slowly placed it in Mei Yingluo's hand.

Mei Yingluo was successfully selected and became the emperor's concubine.

At this time, Zhu Xiunu moved slightly, and the emperor certainly noticed her. So the emperor pointed at her and asked, "Which family are you from?"

"Your Majesty, I am Zhu Hongxia, the daughter of Zhu Shixian, the Minister of Works." Zhu Hongxia bowed and replied in a clear and pleasant voice.

"Give the sachet" The emperor looked calm.

Zhu Hongxia was overjoyed and bowed quickly: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The emperor walked around the concubines and finally stopped in front of Yang Mengxi. At this time, the queen mother also noticed Yang Mengxi and was shocked...

The Emperor glanced at the Empress Dowager and said slowly, "I have heard that the second daughter of Yang Binghuai, a minister of our dynasty, is beautiful, intelligent, and talented. I wonder which girl she is?"

Yang Mengxi hesitated for a moment, mustered up her courage, bowed her head and saluted, and replied: "Your servant Yang Mengxi pays respects to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. May the Emperor and the Empress Dowager be blessed with good health!"

At this moment, the Queen Mother's expression of shock returned to normal. "Yunxi...Mengxi," the Queen Mother murmured.

"Give me the jade ruyi!" the emperor said word by word.

The chief eunuch, Eunuch Chen, was seen holding a bamboo tray, on which was placed a crystal clear, small and exquisite jade ruyi.

The emperor gently picked up the jade ruyi and solemnly placed it in Yang Mengxi's hand. He said affectionately: "From now on, you will be my lifelong beloved concubine, and I will never leave you!" The emperor seemed to be making a promise...