In the Tiyuan Hall, the emperor sat at the head of the room, dressed in a bright yellow robe embroidered with golden dragon patterns, his hair tied up with a brocade crown. His cold, stern eyes reflected the thin, cool sunlight, and a faint, almost imperceptible scar ran across half of his right face.
He remained silent, leaving only the voices of Empress Dowager Su and the candidates for the Imperial Selection conversing in the hall.
“You seem quite clever. What books do you usually read at home?”
Lin Yue, dressed in a pink skirt, beamed with joy and confidently replied, “Your Majesty, my father and mother believe that ‘a woman without talent is virtuous,’ so they only allowed me to read Instructions for Women and similar texts.”
Nanny Liu, standing beside the Empress Dowager, lowered her head and nearly laughed out loud upon hearing this.
This was already the fourth… fifth, no, the sixth candidate who claimed to have only read Instructions for Women.
It was unclear where they had all heard the phrase “a woman without talent is virtuous,” but each of them recited it as confidently as if they were answering an exam question.
Little did they know that Empress Dowager Su had been a talented woman before entering the palace, proficient in poetry, songs, and essays, even surpassing her brothers in literary discussions.
Nearly forty years old, Empress Dowager Su was well-preserved, with fair skin showing no trace of age. Dressed in a palace robe embroidered with cloud and phoenix patterns, her figure remained as slender as that of a young woman.
She had always detested the notion that women need not study and should only cultivate feminine virtues. However, having heard it so many times today, she had gone from initially showing disdain to now feeling utterly indifferent.
“Hmm, I didn’t expect your father, a military official, to raise his daughter with such grace and elegance,” Empress Dowager Su said perfunctorily before turning to her nominal son beside her and asking gently, “What do you think, Your Majesty?”
Lin Yue took this as praise, her face flushed with excitement and her heart pounding. If not for the palace rule forbidding direct eye contact with the emperor, she would have immediately looked up to see His Majesty’s reaction.
Shen Heng hadn’t even glanced at the people below. Withdrawing his gaze from the hall entrance, he parted his thin lips and replied calmly, “Let the Empress Dowager decide.”
Empress Dowager Su hadn’t expected him to make a decision anyway. After a moment of thought, she made her choice: “Then let her stay.”
Lin Yue’s father was the newly appointed Minister of Personnel. With the emperor newly enthroned, it was beneficial and harmless to grant a favor to the families of newly promoted officials through this Imperial Selection.
Empress Dowager Su gave a subtle signal below, and immediately a eunuch announced loudly, “Lin Yue, daughter of the Minister of Personnel, is selected and granted a sachet!”
Overjoyed, Lin Yue hurriedly knelt to express her gratitude.
She was the first in her group. When it was Chen Yanqiao’s turn, Empress Dowager Su pondered briefly and also chose to keep her.
After all, among those selected in the first Imperial Selection after the emperor’s ascension, there needed to be daughters of high-ranking officials as well as those from humble backgrounds. Otherwise, it might invite speculation that the new emperor’s authority was unstable, forcing him to use marriage alliances to consolidate his court.
Chen Yanqiao’s father was an eighth-rank capital official, as low as one could go, but her appearance was among the best in the group, making her a suitable choice.
The others were all dismissed. After expressing their gratitude, a eunuch led them out to make way for the next group.
As Lin Yue stepped out, brimming with pride, she spotted Su Yuewu still waiting outside the hall and couldn’t resist the urge to go over and boast or mock her. However, she was tugged back by someone beside her.
Frowning, she glared at Chen Yanqiao.
Chen Yanqiao’s voice trembled slightly: “Sister, your selection was expected, but I never thought I would be chosen too. I’m both overjoyed and terrified now, afraid something might go wrong and I’ll be removed from the list. If that happens, I’d be too ashamed to show my face. Can we leave the palace first?”
She looked extremely nervous. Lin Yue felt disdain at first—indeed, a girl from a humble background would remain a sparrow even if she soared to a high branch.
However, as Lin Yue considered her latter words—being removed from the list due to an incident? Given Su Yuewu’s earlier shameless and defiant attitude, it was entirely possible she might drag Lin Yue down out of jealousy!
Lin Yue suddenly realized she had acted impulsively and felt a wave of fear.
She feigned impatience and said, “Fine, let’s go, let’s go. Look at how timid you are—how will you manage after entering the palace?”
Chen Yanqiao meekly agreed. As she followed Lin Yue to leave, the nervousness on her face vanished completely, replaced by a glimmer of light in her eyes.
She had actually been selected…
Su Yuewu was in the final group.
Under the direction of the eunuchs and matrons, she entered the hall alongside Jiang Junrou.
Having seen so many candidates earlier, Empress Dowager Su was already feeling somewhat weary. However, the moment she caught sight of that slender, graceful figure, she suddenly perked up and looked at the emperor beside her in astonishment.
She had forgotten that this distant niece of hers was also of the right age this year.
But even if Su Yuewu had participated in the selection, she shouldn’t have appeared in the main hall.
She remembered the emperor had personally reviewed the preliminary selection list—how could he have failed to strike her name off?
In contrast, Shen Heng appeared indifferent, as if it had nothing to do with him. Empress Dowager Su frowned, wondering whether to quietly inquire about it, but the eunuch on the other side had already begun announcing the names.
“Jiang Junrou, second legitimate daughter of the Assistant Commander of the Cavalry Battalion, aged fifteen.”
Upon hearing her name, Jiang Junrou hurriedly knelt and bowed, her voice trembling slightly: “Your humble servant pays respects to Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.”
In the past, Empress Dowager Su would have looked down upon such a timid and hesitant girl. But today, with the Imperial Selection nearing its end and few candidates chosen so far—after all, this selection was held under the pretext of enriching the new emperor’s harem—if too few were selected as consorts, it might inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the court officials.
Now, only these two remained. Su Yuewu was out of the question, but while this girl’s temperament was lacking, her appearance was decent enough, at least not something that would displease the emperor.
Empress Dowager Su had already made her decision. After casually asking a few questions, she said, “Keep her nameplate.”
“Jiang Junrou, daughter of the Assistant Commander of the Cavalry Battalion, nameplate retained, granted a scented pouch!”
Jiang Junrou never expected that someone like her, who was even looked down upon at home for being unfit for such occasions, would be selected. For a moment, she didn’t know whether to feel joy or panic, and she hurriedly knelt in fearful gratitude: “Your humble servant th-thanks Your Majesty, th-thanks Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.”
After she rose, the eunuch continued: “Su Yuewu, daughter of the Director of the Imperial Academy, aged seventeen.”
Compared to the restrained and uneasy Jiang Junrou, Su Yuewu was the complete opposite. After all, both the emperor and the empress dowager were old acquaintances to her.
Su Yuewu stepped forward confidently, her slender, pale fingers smoothing her skirt as she knelt and bowed. Her voice was clear and melodious, with a hint of laughter upon closer listening: “Your humble servant pays respects to Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. May Her Majesty the Empress Dowager enjoy blessings, longevity, and good health. May Your Majesty…”
She deliberately paused for a moment before continuing in a clear, resonant voice: “Enjoy eternal joy and freedom from worries.”
Empress Dowager Su didn’t notice these minor details, merely sighing helplessly as she rubbed her forehead, unsure what to ask next.
What books do you enjoy reading?
This girl gets a headache at the sight of books—she’s already ruined quite a few ancient texts in the Eastern Palace.
What do you usually do at home?
Probably climbing walls and trees—in any case, she has no interest in music, chess, calligraphy, or painting.
Just as Empress Dowager Su was fretting, she suddenly heard a short, cold chuckle from beside her.
Upon hearing this laugh, Su Yuewu immediately felt reassured.
This was the sound Shen Heng made when he was so furious he wanted to kill someone but couldn’t.
Su Yuewu directly raised her gaze and, as expected, met Shen Heng’s exceptionally beautiful yet slightly distorted phoenix eyes.
The young emperor had sharp brows and bright eyes, with a face as fair as jade. Compared to the gentle and refined demeanor he had in the Eastern Palace, he now appeared steady, cold, and imposing, his authority radiating intensely around him.
At this moment, his expression was dark and brooding as he stared down at her from the dais, his sharp gaze seemingly capable of cutting someone down.
Every expression and gesture of the emperor drew attention. The eunuchs and palace maids nearby, seeing this, were already trembling in fear, assuming that the audacious candidate below had angered His Majesty.
A newly promoted imperial eunuch immediately rebuked, “How dare you, candidate! How dare you look directly at His Majesty? Do you know this is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine clans?”