Chapter 437: Bound to the Child-Bearing System and Becoming a Winner in Life Chapter 438: The Rise of a Passerby (6)

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

Three days passed in a flash; during that time, apart from a few who cried and shouted that they didn't want to leave, the atmosphere in the group was fairly harmonious.

'Harmonious?'

Where was the harmony? They were just short of coming to blows openly.

Shen Yao lowered her eyes and hid in her room organizing her packages, all of which had undergone heavy inspection by the Imperial Household Department before being allowed in, to ensure there was nothing bad inside.

Shen Yao thought to herself that some things were harmless even if nothing happened, but once the user harbored certain ill intentions, they could achieve their goal.

For example, the maiden surnamed Yu who lived next door to her had mild asthma and had to take pills.

This had already been reported to the Chief Matron, including an examination by an Imperial Physician in the palace. But one of the herbs in the pills had an allergic reaction with the cosmetics sent by the Imperial Household Department, causing anyone who touched them to break out in a rash.

'Some methods are impossible to guard against; before knowing how the various consorts in the palace are, I've already gotten a taste of my future colleagues' tricks in Weiyang Palace.'

Shen Yao said these words to the system; as her hand movements slowed down, after organizing the packages, Shen Yao stood up intending to go out for a walk.

"Shen Meimei"

"Yu Jiejie"

"Meimei is going out? Not—" Before she finished speaking, suddenly several clear laughs came from behind them; they lived in a four-person room.

The topic was thus cut short; Shen Yao smiled faintly, and when turning to leave, she brushed past the two people entering the door.

Seeing this, Yu Zhen was slightly disappointed and could only put down the pill bottle held in her palm and straighten her clothes.

As for the two who interrupted their conversation, they paid no attention and sat back in their own places to chat loudly, making Yu Zhen frown tightly; she really wanted to give them an Allergy Set.

Trash! Wasting time!

…………

The maidens for this selection were mainly from official families, currently residing in various rooms within Weiyang Palace.

Shen Yao walked down the stairs; lifting her eyes, she could see the people coming out to walk around.

Some gathered in twos and threes to laugh and chat, while others sat alone in the Pavilion to admire the scenery and catch the breeze.

The most eye-catching were those few maidens who were already famous: some were quiet and elegant, some gentle and compliant, some well-read, and some possessed both virtue and talent.

"Zheng Jiejie speaks eloquently and with substance; truly makes meimei envious."

"Zheng Jiejie is the daughter of a Grand Secretary; she has read poetry and books since childhood, and her learning is outstanding."

"The talents of all meimeis are not inferior to mine; you are just too modest. For example, Liang Meimei's ci poem—the two characters 'lingling' were used extremely well..."

Shen Yao silently withdrew her gaze and walked forward with her back turned.

'That one is one of the pre-determined Nine Pin; Zheng Shiyi, daughter of Grand Secretary Zheng Qianzh.'

From the start, she was a popular choice for entering the palace, and also one of the few protagonists not dragged into rumors.

You must know that the rumors in Jingcheng during that period were simply comparable to Ghost Seeing Sorrow.

'Host, ahead is the daughter of the Guanglu Temple Minister.'

The Guanglu Temple was responsible for purchasing food for the Imperial Palace; don't look at the description as not being great, this was a legitimate fat position, and food was the easiest aspect to tamper with.

'The Guanglu Temple Minister is Third Rank; openly he is of the same rank as a Canjun military officer,' but what status do military officers have in Yu Guo? Those who understand, understand.

'Not going to say hello?' Seeing the host decisively turn around and leave, the system was stunned.

'Civil officials and military officers are naturally opposed; if I go, am I asking for insult?' Shen Yao seriously reminded the system to be good at observation; even the Nainais in the palace assigned them rooms by separating civil officials and military officers, and her three roommates all came from military families.

System:...

Huh?!

The system remained silent, doubting its own professionalism, and also gave Shen Yao some time to rest quietly.

Finding the back of a rockery with no one around, Shen Yao leaned against a rock and sat hugging her knees.

Inside the palace, outside the palace, the court, the imperial family... Shen Yao idly folded a branch and drew traces on the ground.

Shen Yao thought that the current situation of Yu Guo was already critical; not to mention the Emperor's governance level, just speaking of the borders being frequently harassed without taking harsh measures to rectify, but instead further compressing the survival space and promotion routes of military officers—this dynasty really was not viable!

Using the wooden stick in her hand to smooth out the drawn pattern, Shen Yao stood up intending to go back and plan carefully.

At the very least, she had to first steady herself in the Huang Hou before she could make the Shen Family rise; she wanted to rely on the Shen Family's power to bit by bit achieve her ultimate goal.

"Is what Jiejie said true?"

"Why would I lie to you? The Emperor recently favors Tang Meiren; Changle Palace is located behind Weiyang Palace; if you are interested, you might as well go try."

"I, I am worried"

"Worried about what? Meimei is beautiful and has charm that people like. Doesn't meimei want to serve the Emperor and become a mistress consort in the palace?"

"I, I, I am willing."

"......"

Shen Yao rolled her eyes and complained to the system that Weiyang Palace was good everywhere, except there were too many people; no matter where she went, she could hear this kind of whispered talk.

'Host, are they trying to have a chance encounter with the Emperor? A Palace Maid climbing onto the Dragon Bed?'

A classic scene that happens in every Huang Hou, and there are indeed successful cases supporting these Palace Maids climbing up one after another.

'Probably; she mentioned the recently favored Tang Meiren and Changle Palace.'

Shen Yao obviously did not take these words to heart, making the system marvel repeatedly; the host handled matters without alarm, actually having no thought of a chance encounter with the Emperor.

Shen Yao:... Was the system insulting her? How stupid would one have to be to try to have a chance encounter with the Emperor in the identity of a participating maiden? Did she think her reputation was too good, or did she feel the difficulty wasn't enough? Wasn't suffering enough?

'Don't always think about taking shortcuts; those all require paying a price.'

Taking a wrong step in the palace could cost one's life; indeed not a few Palace Maids climbed onto the Dragon Bed, but even more died on that Dragon Bed, countless in number.

The coincidence that two palace maids scheming to climb onto the Dragon Bed would actually meet was striking; they ran to the crowded Weiyang Palace to discuss it, and even avoiding others didn't stop them from speaking loudly.

Shen Yao didn't want to suspect they were deliberately using pearl earrings as bait to fish, but even this could be caught; she could only say they weren't suited for the Huang Hou—the sooner they left, the safer they'd be.

By the time Shen Yao finished wandering a few circles around Weiyang Palace and returned to her room, her three roommates had already become familiar with one another.

As expected, Shen Yao was ignored and isolated by the three of them—not invited to eat, walking together to wash up, even scheduling times to go to the latrine together.

Shen Yao:... Childish~

If they wouldn't play with her, she'd play by herself; Shen Yao's talent for amusing herself was long since mastered, and because she avoided them, she lived much more easily.

Every day she went on time to the main hall to learn the rules, moved around within Weiyang Palace after class, and went to bed early at night, closing her eyes under the covers; even those who disliked Shen Yao found no chance to strike.

Living such a disciplined life in Weiyang Palace for a week, this group of concubine candidates who had already learned half the rules began to have accidents one after another.

The first unlucky one was a concubine candidate surnamed Cai living in the room next to Shen Yao's; she went to the latrine one evening and was frightened into insanity.

Then there was the room farther from Shen Yao's side, which was also haunted by dirty things; of four people, two had persistent fevers, and the other two only recovered after changing rooms.

Behind that was the room Shen Yao lived in, where three out of four were directly eliminated, causing the probability that she was suspected of using black hands to skyrocket; it was only because similar incidents happened in other rooms that Shen Yao's reputation slowly recovered a bit.

But that was the limit—no one was willing to switch rooms with Shen Yao, so she could only temporarily stay in her original room, which carried some bad luck.

The system had teary eyes and loudly cursed Yu Zhen for not acting like a person and harming her own Host.

"What does Yu Zhen poisoning herself and backfiring onto herself have to do with the Host? The other two are also stupid eggs, actually daring to run into an encounter with the Emperor, ahhhhhh"

The system let out a gopher scream, apologizing for previously doubting the Host's words.

Indeed, not everyone could be thought of as smart; some people were just stupid and foolish yet full of themselves—unable to honestly endure until leaving the palace, they insisted on using their three-legged cat skills to stir up trouble and bury themselves.

Ahhhhhhh

The system screamed and crawled, dark and twisted, looking exactly like a mental patient.

Shen Yao remained as calm as ever, crossing off names on her personnel list one by one; the remaining ones were just those few that needed attention.

As for the elderly people who had already entered the palace, one couldn't deny they each had forces and had secured a foothold, but the Emperor had no freshness toward them either.

The current Holy Emperor had the common ailment of all men—liking the new and tiring of the old. The Imperial Consorts in the palace who didn't receive favor found it as hard as climbing to heaven to regain Holy Favor.

This was the main reason why more and more people entered the Huang Hou, but only those few received favor.

"System, you need to perk up; the situation in Weiyang Palace next might be even more brutal."

The system cried out, "Isn't sending away nearly a quarter of the concubine candidates enough?"

Shen Yao lowered her head and fiddled with the bead string in her hand, "The palace doesn't need so many Imperial Consorts."

With more newcomers entering, the elderly ones found it even harder to regain favor and rise in rank.

Too many monks, too little porridge; the porridge portions were fixed, so the only thing that could change was the unlimited number of monks.

Whether inside or outside the Imperial Court, among the Huang Hou consorts, or even the Emperor on the Dragon Throne, all were pushing this invisible war without smoke.

System:...

The system felt its brain wasn't enough, dazed and confused, not knowing what to do.

But it didn't matter—just obediently listen to the Host's arrangements and be a tool (even though it originally was one).

As Shen Yao said, the situation in Weiyang Palace next was indeed even more brutal.

Because Shen Yao's room had only her, and apart from learning palace rules she usually rested, she received the least harassment—at most small tricks like midnight knocks on the door—but with the system's cheat, Shen Yao even designed to catch someone in the act.

The story's climax came from a Zhenyuan General's daughter injuring her arm and having to be eliminated and leave the palace, causing people to notice the Military Faction in Weiyang Palace suddenly decreasing while the Civil Official Faction skyrocketed.

This seemed like a true portrait of the Yu Guo court; the military side naturally wasn't willing, facts spoke louder than words—they were all citizens of Yu Guo, why should they still be divided into three ranks and nine grades?

The spreading smoke vanished in an instant, as if a short dream had been dreamed; after waking, everything returned to its original state.

"There's no going back; the concubine candidates who left can't participate in the selection, and among the remaining candidates, the Civil Official Faction accounts for more than half."

Shen Yao sat by the bedside packing her package; the time for learning palace rules had ended, and these concubine candidates who had smoothly passed would decide whether to stay or leave through the final selection.