Disease rights policy

Qiao Ran woke up in the carriage. She opened her eyes groggily, and the bright light almost blinded her. It took her a while to adjust before she could see the interior of the carriage clearly. It was a simple carriage, and there was nothing inside except a blanket for warmth.

She heard the wheels rubbing against the road with exceptional clarity, and from the sound of footsteps, she knew there was more than one carriage outside.

what happened?

Where is this place? Who kidnapped her?

Qiao Ran slowly sat up, feeling a little dizzy. She supported herself with her hand and then noticed her clothes: silver-embroidered cuffs, a long white dress with light purple hues, made of silk brocade, with a high waist to make her look more agile, and a silver bracelet on her wrist, which was very exquisite.

She touched the top of her head again and saw a pearl hairpin in it. It should be a set with the pearls on her earlobes. She was wearing upturned shoes. She recalled in her mind that it was the proper attire of a young lady from an official family, and it was quite formal.

What happened?

Qiao Ran felt inexplicably panicked. She was about to lift the carriage curtain to take a look when she realized that her whole body was sore. Her pupils contracted sharply. Qiao Ran tested her internal energy and felt a sharp pain in her acupoints. Her face turned pale. Her internal energy had been sealed.

Or perhaps, she was crippled!

Nothing could be more terrifying than this. Qiao Ran felt like her scalp was about to explode. She struggled to get up and yanked open the curtain with a "whoosh." The noise must have been too loud, because it seemed like countless people outside turned their heads at once.

Qiao Ran didn't bother to look at them, because she saw the magnificent scene of red walls, green tiles, and glazed terraces. At this moment, the carriage was traveling along a passageway with high walls reaching the sky on both sides and blue bricks paving the ground. Several datura plants climbed the red walls from the outside, showing a bit of vitality in the deathly dullness.

A bad feeling rose from the bottom of my heart. This is... the palace!

The world spun around her, and Qiao Ran clutched her chest, nearly falling off the carriage. Luckily, a pair of hands caught her in time, and then a person said in a high-pitched voice with concern, "Miss, are you feeling unwell? Oh dear, hold on a little longer, don't collapse at this crucial moment."

Qiao Ran's gaze returned to focus. She should be in the last carriage; there were seven or eight ahead of her. The person speaking to her was a eunuch. He looked kind, but his effeminate manner made him unlikable.

With her last glimmer of hope, Qiao Ran asked, "Where is this?"

The eunuch looked at her with surprise, his eyes scanning her up and down, wondering if Qiao Ran was mentally challenged. But because of his status, he still answered.

"Miss, it seems you've forgotten that you're all here to be selected as ladies-in-waiting for this spring and summer. With your performance like this, it's unlikely you'll pass the test."

Qiao Ran felt utterly devastated. She obediently retreated to the carriage. She had actually entered the palace!

Who on earth wants to harm her and deprive her of her freedom?

God, just kill her.

She's more like a female thief than a female official.

Before she could finish her rant, the carriages in front stopped one after another. The eunuch said, "Ladies, this is Shufang Palace. You will be staying here for the rest of your studies in the palace. Please get out of your carriages."

Qiao Ran's carriage curtain was also opened, and a palace maid stepped forward to help her. Despite her reluctance, Qiao Ran still got off with a long face. This was the palace, heavily guarded, and she couldn't run away.

Looking up, she saw seven or eight young ladies, all dressed in their finest attire and adorned with gold and jade. After comparing them, Qiao Ran looked down at herself and realized she was the most shabby.

The others also sized each other up. A few clearly recognized each other and called out "sister" or "younger sister" with smiles. But when their gazes fell on Qiao Ran, most of them showed disdain.

Qiao Ran was puzzled. How did she offend someone as soon as she appeared?

That's so unlucky.

"Ladies, please enter the hall on your own. Rooms have been arranged for you. After you are settled, please gather in the courtyard. The head of the ceremonial staff will be in charge of looking after you and will make arrangements if needed."

Upon hearing this, the young ladies all swayed slightly, bowed, and said, "Yes."

Qiao Ran stood there dumbfounded, not having reacted yet, while the others went to Shufang Palace one after another. By the time she went in, all the rooms had been taken, leaving only the smallest room in the southeast corner. She looked around and went in to put her bundle down.

It was actually the palace ladies' selection for spring. How did she get in?

Qiao Ran was still racking her brains to figure out what had happened when the courtyard suddenly became noisy and chaotic, which was really giving her a headache. She couldn't stand it any longer and stood at the door watching.

The others in the courtyard also turned around and looked around. It was truly a colorful and beautiful sight. To be honest, the young ladies in the courtyard were all quite beautiful, each with their own unique charm.

They stared at Qiao Ran for a while, seemingly feeling that she was inferior, and then gathered together to discuss it.

Before long, Qiao Ran figured out the relationships between the people. The most outstanding among them was Liu Yun, the daughter of the Imperial Censor. Qiao Ran looked closely and realized that her father held the highest official position among the fathers of these young ladies, reaching the rank of Third-Rank Imperial Censor.

Therefore, Liu Yun appeared very arrogant and had an extremely flamboyant personality. With a red dot between her eyebrows and delicate features, her eccentric expression made her look particularly irritating.

The person bowing and scraping beside her was none other than He Zhengyuan's daughter. She knew from her time in Sichuan that He Zhengyuan, that rigid old man, was working under the Censor-in-Chief, and it seemed that it was true.

The rest were almost all from the capital, except for one who was the illegitimate daughter of the Prince of Jiangling, Kong Hanyan.

Qiao Ran, the Prince of Jiangling, had also heard of him. He was stationed in the Jingzhou area and had made great military achievements. Therefore, he was specially appointed as the Prince of Jiangling to guard the key fortresses in the east and west. In these years of peace and prosperity, he has also lived in seclusion and rarely interacted with others.

Kong Hanyan was a concubine's daughter, and it seemed to be a concubine's daughter who was not very favored. This time, the selection of female officials required that the position be sent to Jiangling. The King of Jiangling never cared about these things in the capital, so he just sent someone to do it casually. Kong Hanyan was that lucky girl who was neither loved by her father nor her mother.

Although everyone secretly mocked Kong Hanyan, she was, after all, from a family of military generals. Her face was extremely indifferent, and she looked even more unpleasant than Qiao Ran. She just stood quietly to the side, ignoring everyone else. If she got annoyed, she would just give them a look. She was hardly friendly, so everyone was a little afraid of her and kept their distance from her.

Liu Yun had just finished trying to establish a connection with Qiao Ran when, as if she had finally remembered her, she walked out of the group of girls with her head held high and said to Qiao Ran, "What are you standing there for? Come here."

Qiao Ran leaned against the door, ignoring her.

Liu Yun had been flattered everywhere she went since she arrived, but this was the first time Qiao Ran had ever embarrassed her. Her face immediately darkened, "Are you talking to me? Can't you understand human language? Everyone's talking here, why are you putting on airs? Dressed so shabbily, you didn't even introduce yourself, you're such a country bumpkin!"

Qiao Ran raised an eyebrow, remaining unmoved.

This will infuriate that young lady.

Those who are selected as female officials are all from families with little power and no access to the highest levels of authority, but they still want their daughters to enter the palace and make a name for themselves. Therefore, none of these women are truly daughters of first-rank officials.

A true young lady, like the original Qiao Ran or the current Chen Jinning, doesn't need to show her face in public; princes and nobles will come to her door to propose marriage. Why would she rush to the palace?

Liu Yun clenched her fists, her gaze burning with fury as she stared at Qiao Ran, but Qiao Ran completely ignored her. She was still wondering why she had ended up here.

They even asked her to introduce herself. What kind of family could she possibly introduce?

Could it be that she claimed to be Qiao Xiuqi's daughter, and then got arrested and thrown into jail?

Seeing Liu Yun's anger, He Zhengyuan's daughter, He Yingying, immediately whispered to her, "Sister, don't bother with such a person. She looks like she's from some unknown state, so it's understandable that she has no manners."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Ran rolled her eyes. As she lowered her eyelids, her gaze met Kong Hanyan's. Kong Hanyan smiled slightly at her, and Qiao Ran returned the smile.

Before the farce could even begin, word came from outside the palace that the Lady Consort had arrived. The young ladies immediately lined up in an orderly fashion, and Qiao Ran followed suit, naturally standing next to Kong Hanyan.

A female official in her thirties entered through the door. Her hair was tied up high, and she wore a female official's hat. The hair on her forehead was neatly arranged. Her well-fitting female official's robe covered her face. She walked with a measured gait, chest out and head held high, her waist perfectly straight and her expression serious.

The lady-in-waiting stood before everyone, counting them from left to right before separating her hands, which had been resting on her waist, and said, "Greetings, ladies. I am the Palace Supervisor, you may call me Supervisor Xu. There will be a three-month probationary period. Those who pass my examination after three months will be able to stay in the palace and be assigned to various departments. Those who fail will be sent back. I hope you will all cooperate."

Xu Shangjian was the head of the female officials, and the decision of whether or not they could stay rested in her hands. The young ladies dared not be careless and all bowed their heads and replied, "Yes."

Qiao Ran didn't want to stay at all, but she still had three months before she could be expelled. How was she going to get through that?

While Qiao Ran was still lost in thought, Kong Hanyan nudged her. When Qiao Ran looked up, she found that Xu Shangjian's gaze was fixed on her, looking very displeased, as if he had already discovered that she was a good-for-nothing before even starting to teach her. Qiao Ran felt a chill run down her spine for no reason.

Immediately afterwards, two ladies-in-waiting followed in and stood very properly on either side of Supervisor Xu. Supervisor Xu said, "Tomorrow, the young ladies will start by learning manners and etiquette, as well as cleaning and tidying up. You may rest today. Tomorrow at 1:15 AM, gather in the courtyard."

The ladies responded with another chorus of "Yes!"

Only Qiao Ran, upon hearing the words "Mao Shi" (5-7 AM), was already thinking about how to climb over the wall and escape.

But with such high palace walls, wouldn't you get shot to death by arrows while climbing over them?

Qiao Ran thought that was the end of it, but Xu Shangjian slowly took a booklet from the Shangyi next to him, glanced at everyone, and said, "Let me verify the identities of all the young ladies. Those whose names are called, please stand up."

"Yes."

"Liu Yun, daughter of the Imperial Censor."

Liu Yun beamed with joy, stepped forward proudly, and said ingratiatingly, "Shangjian, it's me."

Xu Shangjian glanced at her, his expression unchanged, and then read, "He Yingying, daughter of the Imperial Censor."

He Yingying went out with her head down.

Next comes, "The daughter of the Prince of Jiangling, now only smoke rises from her heart."

A chill ran down her spine. Qiao Ran turned her head and saw that Kong Hanyan had stepped forward. She was neither humble nor arrogant, and nodded slightly. Surprisingly, Supervisor Xu nodded back at her.