The Changchun Palace team travels back in time to Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

Inside the Jiangxue Pavilion, the young women stood in a row, paying their respects to Consort Xi and the Fourth Prince, awaiting the selection of their consorts. The eunuch announced loudly, "Those chosen as the primary consort will be bestowed with a jade ruyi scepter; those chosen as secondary consorts will be given a purse; those who are not selected will be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold..."

Rong Yin: "???"

Although our Great Qing Dynasty is rich in wealth, it has never been so extravagant! The annual salary of a Princess Gulun residing in Beijing is only four hundred taels of silver; when a princess marries, her dowry consists of one hundred taels of gold and ten thousand taels of silver! In this world, even if you fail to be selected in the imperial concubine selection, you can still receive one hundred taels of gold!

Empress Fucha, known for her frugality and grace, was already bewildered before the talent show even began.

Mingyu was also very surprised, but now that she was in the position of Sulian, she could only suppress her expression and stand aside.

The eunuch, however, noticed nothing amiss and continued calling out the names: "Fucha, daughter of Li Rongbao, the General Governor of Chahar, Manchu of the Bordered Yellow Banner; Gao, daughter of Gao Bin, the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai, a bondservant of the Bordered Yellow Banner..."

Rongyin cautiously glanced at the woman bowing beside her out of the corner of her eye.

Is this woman with snow-white skin and a beautiful appearance the Noble Consort Gao of this world?

She remembered that in the world of Yanxi Palace, Gao Ningxin bullied the concubines, almost cut out Yingluo's tongue, and nearly killed the newborn Fifth Prince while she and the Emperor were out of the palace; each and every one of these acts showed her extreme arrogance. The director had once told her that the Noble Consort Gao in the main world was not like this. The Gao Ningxin in the Yanxi Palace was actually a character altered by the Yanxi Heavenly Dao. However, the Yanxi Heavenly Dao laid out Gao Ningxin's tragic death, her father's indifference, and her stepmother's abuse, so Gao Ningxin's viciousness and arrogance were not without reason. Therefore, she was tolerated by the Great Dao and became an independent entity, Gao Ningxin. Now, what kind of person is this Noble Consort Gao?

After the eunuch finished calling out the names, the Fourth Prince Hongli took out a jade ruyi from the brocade box and slowly walked to his side.

Rongyin slowly raised her lowered eyebrows and eyes.

The Hongli in this world was not the person she originally loved; he was merely someone with the same name, surname, and identity. Rongyin understood this from the beginning. In her view, the Hongli in this world lacked the youthful pride and arrogance of the Qianlong Emperor, as well as the decisive, resolute, and ruthless nature. Seeing him holding the ruyi scepter, looking around, and then glancing back at Consort Xi's expression, she could glean some insight.

Consort Xi nodded slightly, and Hongli, as if having made up his mind, handed the Ruyi to himself.

To follow the plot, Rongyin smiled and reached out with both hands to receive it.

Just then, a woman's voice suddenly rang out: "Princess! Slow down! Princess! Wait for me!" The surrounding ladies began to whisper among themselves.

Rongyin: Ah? So not everyone has arrived yet? Wait, is it permissible for a candidate to be late? Also, why are these noblewomen so unrestrained in their speech and behavior, whispering among themselves at the selection ceremony for the Upper Three Banners?

She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman wearing a blue dragonfly-patterned cheongsam with gold trim and a light purple silk scarf, striding towards the procession of young women.

When Hongli saw the woman arrive, he immediately put the jade ruyi back into the brocade box.

Rongyin was startled. How could she take back the jade ruyi that had been handed to her? And who was this eccentric woman? I don't remember there being such a person in the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign.

The woman approached Consort Xi and bowed, saying, "This humble woman, Qingying, is late. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Consort Xi's expression had turned cold, and she said indifferently, "Why is Princess Qingying so late? Since you're here, go stand over there."

Qingying turned around, and Hongli whispered, "You're here."

Qingying said playfully, "Let me see who you chose? How could I miss such a good show?"

A talent show? A good show? Rongyin was very puzzled. How could such an important event as the Eight Banners talent show have turned into a show? Did she think everyone present was a star?

Who is this woman? Why is she speaking to the Fourth Prince in such a frivolous manner?

As Qingying entered the line of young women to be selected for the imperial concubines, the eunuch continued to call out names: "Ulanara clan, Manchu Plain Yellow Banner, daughter of Zuo Ling Narbu..."

Rongyin:! ! !

She keenly noticed the six characters "Nara Narbu," which was none other than Consort Xian's father. Although Consort Xian was from the Huifa Nara clan, Lord Narbu's name and official title matched perfectly.

So, this woman is Consort Xian?

However, Consort Xian is five years younger than me and is not yet a teenager. Moreover, she was chosen by Emperor Yongzheng to be the secondary consort of the Fourth Prince after participating in the Eight Banners selection in the twelfth year of Yongzheng's reign. How could she appear at this time and place, and not look like a child? Furthermore, Consort Xian is usually very reserved and quiet, and pays attention to etiquette. The title "Xian" is meant to praise her peace and tranquility. How could she be so frivolous?

At this moment, the Fourth Prince said, "Fucha is dignified and composed, a suitable choice for a secondary consort. Here is a purse."

Rong Yin was completely disoriented by wave after wave of mental shocks. Upon hearing these words, she finally lost her composure and revealed a look of astonishment. This was only the beginning; had the course of this world already become so unpredictable?

Mingyu's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

This was a "beep" in their minds. Yuan Yi said, "Gentlemen, please calm down! These are the remnants of the Heavenly Dao of this world. This is how this world began. It can be inferred that the Heavenly Dao of this world itself seems to be somewhat strange. Next, I need to share my vision with you. Thank you for your cooperation."

Then Yingluo's voice was heard: "Your Majesty, Mingyu, I am now in the Imperial Household Department. I have also found this place quite strange, so no matter what strange things you encounter, do not panic, just observe the situation."

It turned out that Yuan Yi had also noticed the strangeness and even detected the huge fluctuations in the consciousness of the two. Fearing that the two would give themselves away, he quickly turned on the team voice chat and reminded them. Fortunately, the two's reaction at this moment was in line with the situation and they were not exposed.

When Rongyin and Mingyu heard Yuanyi and Yingluo's message, they calmed down: "Shared vision" was already explained in the previously signed contract, meaning that Yuanyi would see the world through their eyes; since the world's direction was bound to be unexpected, they might as well calm down and act as bystanders to look for clues.

The Fourth Prince continued, "Gao, as her name suggests, is like the dawn before sunrise, the moonlit wind and frost, a suitable choice for a secondary consort. Here is a purse."

Rongyin: "......"

Rongyin couldn't help but think to herself: Dongfang Weixi comes from the Book of Songs, Qi Feng, and the next line is "the clothes are upside down". The original meaning of this poem is to satirize those who lack integrity. Although there is a line in the Tang Dynasty, "The mountain moon is as bright as a candle, and the wind and frost sometimes move the bamboo", what kind of sentence is this about moonlight and wind and frost!

Although His Majesty's poetry is not comparable to that of famous poets, he is well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics. How could he make such a mistake! Oh well, this world is so unpredictable. This "alternate time and space counterpart" is not the emperor of my world. A mistake in one or two lines of poetry is not so important.

Yingluo: Your Majesty is flattering the Emperor too much! His poems are not only inferior to those of famous poets, but even I can't stand them! Only the few poems he wrote for you are somewhat acceptable!

Yuan Yi reminded her, "No, Ms. Rong, the collapse of the Heavenly Dao often begins in an earlier timeline, and the remnants of language and writing are a microcosm of the past. Therefore, errors in spoken language and poetry may contain loopholes in the Heavenly Dao or traces of its erosion. I will write this down. Please pay more attention to these kinds of errors in the future."

The ladies around her began to whisper among themselves again, which was clearly against etiquette, but Rongyin was already used to it.

Hongli gave the jade ruyi to Qingying, who said, "I came here to appraise you, why are you giving me this?"

Hongli replied, "I said I'd give it to you, so I will."

"I was just kidding!"

"Who are you kidding!"

Qingying threatened, "This is a matter of life and death for you. If you keep making trouble, I'm leaving."

Mingyu couldn't take it anymore and started ranting in the team voice chat: "What's wrong with the Fourth Prince and Qingying! It's one thing for Qingying to be late and the Fourth Prince to go back on his word, but now he's starting to back down and refuse! Saying he's going to 'look at the candidates' is ridiculous. The Eight Banners selection is about the Emperor's harem and the princes' marriages. How can a mere candidate like her have any say in it! If she doesn't want to be the primary consort, why did she even come to the selection? She clearly got the benefits, but she still wants to be fawned over before she'll accept them. She's really getting a good deal and then acting innocent!"

Hongli smiled and said, "What? You don't dare to take it?"

Qingying hesitated for a moment, but still accepted the jade ruyi.

The eunuch announced loudly, "Congratulations to Princess Qingying on becoming the primary consort—thank you for your grace—"

Mingyu rolled her eyes inwardly in anger, and in the team's frequency band, Mingyu's avatar displayed an "eye-rolling" emoji.

Rongyin comforted her, "Mingyu, why are you so sharp-tongued? Alright, things have come to this. Let's help Yuanyi see if there's anything else wrong. Whether it's the primary wife or a secondary wife, as long as they enter Prince Bao's mansion, the two of us can reunite with Yingluo. That's the most important thing right now."

At this point, things took another turn.