Disease rights policy

Xu Shangjian's gaze swept over each of the people who stepped forward, and he called out the names of those who followed in turn.

"Bai Weiwei, daughter of the Imperial Advisor."

"Yang Hui, daughter of Secretary Lang."

"..."

"Qiao Xiaoran, daughter of the Prefect of Qianzhou."

At this moment, only one of the young ladies remained standing there all alone. However, Qiao Ran was already lost in thought, so when Supervisor Xu called out the last name, she didn't react at all.

It wasn't until everything went black and she saw a court lady approaching, holding an arm-length ruler in her hand with a serious expression, that she let out a bewildered "Ah."

But the ruler had already landed on her waist. The young lady's clothes were thin to begin with, and this time it hit Qiao Ran's flesh solidly, making her eyes widen in pain.

Xu Shangjian's voice was even louder, "Qiao Xiaoran, daughter of the Prefect of Qianzhou! If you hear me, step forward."

Qiao Xiaoran?

Qiao Ran looked around and realized she was all alone. Even though she was reluctant, she took a step forward, rubbing her waist where she had been hit, and kept a straight face so she wouldn't lash out.

How did she become the daughter of the Prefect of Qianzhou?

She didn't know any Prefect of Qianzhou at all, but the name "Qiao Xiaoran" did sound somewhat similar to her own.

"You don't stand properly, you don't move properly, you're just playing dumb!" Xu Shangjian practically pointed his finger at Qiao Ran and said, "Now that you're in the palace, put away your unseemly attitude. If you make a mistake, don't blame the palace for having many rules and being severely punished."

Qiao Ran was furious. She glanced at Supervisor Xu, which others would see as defiance. But to everyone's surprise, she turned around and stood up straight, obediently replying, "Supervisor Xu is right. I know I was wrong."

Xu Shangjian's expression softened considerably.

The other ladies couldn't help but scrutinize Qiao Ran again. She had been pointed at and scolded in front of so many people, yet she could still laugh it off without batting an eye. They really didn't know if she was thick-skinned or just genuinely stupid.

Little did Qiao Ran know that she had assessed the situation and realized that she was not only weak and alone in the palace, but also that the palace was a place where one could easily offend someone. Now that her inner strength was sealed, she could not fight against anyone.

They could only endure the humiliation and slowly seek a way to escape.

Supervisor Xu went on and on, and several young ladies could no longer stand, before she finally fell silent.

"That's all for today, ladies. Please go back to your rooms and rest."

"Yes."

After Supervisor Xu and the others left, the young ladies immediately huddled together. Bai Weiwei, who was not very brave to begin with, became even more frightened after seeing Supervisor Xu's imposing manner, and whispered, "I'm afraid the days ahead will not be easy."

Some people nodded in agreement, but Liu Yun snorted dismissively, "It's just learning some etiquette. We've had good nannies teaching us since we were little. What's so difficult about it? What are you all afraid of?"

Upon hearing this, the others immediately looked at Liu Yun with envy, which Liu Yun found delightful.

Seeing that Qiao Ran was still standing there with her hands on her waist, she immediately laughed and said, "Look at her."

Everyone looked at Qiao Ran again. Qiao Ran felt their gazes and slightly turned her eyes to the side.

The indifference in her eyes provoked Liu Yun, who sneered, "Her father is a prefect, but look at her, she doesn't look like a proper lady at all. She was just reprimanded by the Imperial Supervisor. I bet she was born to that unfavored concubine who seduced her father with her vixen tricks, gave birth to her, and then abandoned her in the backyard."

After Liu Yun finished speaking, everyone lowered their heads and laughed. Indeed, Qiao Ran's appearance was truly outstanding among them. When she stood there quietly, every smile and frown of hers was enough to make the carefully dressed women pale in comparison. Out of jealousy, they agreed with Liu Yun's words even more.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Ran merely raised an eyebrow. She had no time to argue with a bunch of young girls; her world was collapsing, and she had no interest in being jealous or quarrelsome.

You see, she's currently in the palace. If someone sees her in the Qiao residence and recognizes her as Qiao Xiuqi's daughter, she can't even imagine how terrible her death would be.

Therefore, Qiao Ran shook her head at Liu Yun and the others expressionlessly, and turned to go inside to think of a solution.

Liu Yun thought that since Qiao Ran didn't dare to utter a sound even when Liu Yun spoke so harshly, she must be easy to manipulate. Liu Yun then said even more offensive things to Liu Yun's back.

Qiao Ran didn't react much, but when she heard an "Ah!" and turned around, she found Liu Yun's hair being grabbed by Kong Hanyan. Liu Yun's expression was ferocious as she shouted "Let go!" But Kong Hanyan was clearly trained and her martial arts skills were not bad. Lifting the small Liu Yun was no problem for her, and she simply grabbed her and threw her aside.

Everyone else retreated in fear, afraid of ending up like Liu Yun.

Liu Yun's carefully styled hair was now disheveled, and the hair ornament on it had been torn off and fallen to the ground. With red eyes, she cursed at Kong Hanyan, "Are you crazy!"

Kong Hanyan simply looked at her and said coldly, "Please think before you speak in the future. If I hear such nasty words again, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Liu Yun was so frightened that her body trembled, but she was proud and couldn't bear to be taken advantage of. She retorted with trembling voice, "I wasn't talking about you! What's wrong? Did I hit a nerve? Your mother was a vixen who seduced the Prince of Jiangling and gave birth to a pitiful wretch like you who no one loves!"

In an instant, before the other girls could even cover their mouths, Kong Hanyan's aura changed. She looked down at Liu Yun on the ground, her eyes filled with a chilling coldness that could kill.

He Yingying had already whispered to Bai Weiwei to go out and call for help, and it seemed that she was about to cause a big trouble on her first day in the palace.

Suddenly, Qiao Ran strode over and slapped Liu Yun twice before Kong Hanyan could react, leaving Liu Yun stunned.

Liu Yun's face was visibly red and swollen, and she looked at Qiao Ran in disbelief.

Qiao Ran rubbed her aching hand and said with a half-smile, "If I hear you talking nonsense again, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Liu Yun screamed and completely broke down.

Qiao Ran bent down and made a "shh" gesture. Her eyes were dark and deep. At that moment, Liu Yun didn't know why she really didn't dare to speak loudly. Qiao Ran looked around at the others with satisfaction. Although she had a smile on her face, she didn't feel warm at all, which made people tremble with fear.

"I'll pretend this never happened. If you want to gossip in the future, find a secluded corner where I won't hear it. If I do, I'll kill her."

She emphasized the last few words, and the young ladies all shuddered, having no doubt that she was telling the truth.

After this commotion, Kong Hanyan's cold demeanor dissipated, and she and Qiao Ran standing together actually seemed to be evenly matched.

She said, "Hurry up and carry Miss Liu inside. Her face will be swollen tomorrow, and she won't look good."

After saying that, he and Qiao Ran walked away, their only interaction being a smile at each other before they went back to their respective rooms.

The young ladies left in the courtyard staring at each other blankly. Someone said, "Quickly help Liu Yun up," and everyone then joined hands to lift Liu Yun into the house. Liu Yun covered her face, gritted her teeth, and sobbed, never raising her head.

Xu Shangjian said that they would gather in the courtyard at 5:15 AM the next day, but she herself was already waiting in the courtyard with two Shangyi before 5:15 AM. He Yingying was the first to come out. As soon as she came out and saw the three people in the courtyard, she immediately lowered her head and bowed, "Greetings, Shangjian, greetings, two Shangyi."

Xu Shangjian, with his bright eyes, immediately noticed the dark circles under He Yingying's eyes, as if she hadn't slept well. He asked, "Shufang Palace is not like home. You may not be used to it at first, so it's normal that you can't sleep. Go to bed early after class so you'll have energy the next day."

He Yingying was flattered and surprised to be cared for by Supervisor Xu. The early bird really does catch the worm, and it was worth the effort she put in last night to serve the irritable Liu Yun.

She smiled and replied, "Thank you, Supervisor."

Before long, the doors of the other rooms gradually opened, and one by one, they came out dressed neatly. The clothes were prepared for them in their rooms yesterday, all in light yellow. The clothes were made to fit well, and the cuffs were small, which made the young ladies look even more slender. If they slouched or hunched over even slightly, it would be noticed at a glance.

Everyone stood in line. Supervisor Xu asked the attendant next to him to count who was missing. His gaze fell on Liu Yun. Everyone had their hair neatly combed today, but Liu Yun deliberately left a strand of hair covering her left cheek. Supervisor Xu frowned.

"Liu Yun".

Liu Yun was startled, but still answered "yes" with her head down. This was completely different from her excited demeanor yesterday. Today, she was timid and didn't dare to raise her head.

Xu Shangjian coldly said, "Can't you even comb your hair properly after leaving home? Go back and comb it like a courtesan!"

Liu Yun covered her face and ran back to her house.

At this moment, Shangyi finished taking attendance and said in a low voice, "Qiao Xiaoran hasn't arrived yet."

Everyone noticed that Xu Shangjian's face had turned green, and they were all ready to see Qiao Ran make a fool of herself. Only Kong Hanyan shook her head slightly, feeling both worried and helpless.

"Go and call her out."

Upon hearing this, Sun Shangyi immediately went to the room in the southeast corner. She pushed the door, but it was bolted from the inside. So she could only knock heavily on the door and call out repeatedly, "Qiao Xiaoran, come out!"

Qiao Ran was indeed woken up by Sun Shangyi. Perhaps she had stayed up too late last night thinking about things, and in her dazed state, she slowly turned over and fell back into a deep sleep. She could hear the knocking on the door, but she couldn't wake up as if she were being held down by a ghost.

Sun Shangyi knocked for a quarter of an hour before returning in despair, saying, "I can't wake him up."

Xu Shangjian, unable to bear it any longer, ordered his men to break down the doors!

Consort Sun accepted the order and went with several strong and capable old women.

Everyone held their breath, never expecting to see such a good show so early in the morning. Those who disliked Qiao Ran wanted to clap and cheer.

The old women quickly pushed the door open, and Qiao Ran was completely awakened from her nightmare. She sat up abruptly and saw several people standing in the room. Sun Shangyi was glaring at her with an extremely ugly expression. Qiao Ran was stunned.

What are you doing now?!

Sun Shangyi said, "Miss Qiao, hurry up and get ready. Everyone is waiting for you in the courtyard."

Qiao Ran: "..."

She quickly put on her clothes, washed her face, and went out. Just as she was about to stand next to Kong Hanyan, Xu Shangjian shouted to stop her.

"What time is it? Miss Qiao, you've really ignored everything I said yesterday!"

"..." Qiao Ran laughed awkwardly and said innocently, "Supervisor Xu, would you believe me if I said I was experiencing sleep paralysis?"

Xu Shangjian's face darkened further. She had probably gone through all the happy things in her mind, but couldn't find anything that could calm her current terrible mood. She scolded, "You, stand over there and stand there for two hours!"