Chapter 441: Binding the Birth System to Become a Winner in Life Chapter 442: The Rise of a Bystander (10)

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Shen Yao

Cuihua Palace

"Your Majesty, a palace attendant just brought news that Noble Consort flew into a great rage at Yongning Palace."

Yunxiang quickly approached Virtuous Consort and quietly reported the intelligence she had received.

Virtuous Consort was practicing calligraphy in the study, a habit she had cultivated since childhood and never changed even after many years in the palace.

Setting down her brush and ink, she took the handkerchief Yunxiang handed her to wipe her palms, and Virtuous Consort asked what had made Noble Consort unhappy, "She may always enjoy picking fights without cause, but she doesn't get angry at just anyone."

In other words, Noble Consort has a severe sense of hierarchy; those she doesn't look upon have no presence at all in her eyes, unless something directly tramples her bottom line.

Smiling, Yunxiang said, "The master is wise."

Is there really something?

Virtuous Consort's expression lightened considerably, "Speak, is it related to the consorts about to enter the palace?"

Yunxiang nodded, "Among them is a concubine-born daughter of a Third Rank General's household whom the Emperor personally enfeoffed as Pin Yu."

Virtuous Consort:...

Virtuous Consort's expression was playful, "Pin Yu is Third Rank; logically it's impossible."

Yunxiang explained, "The Empress had originally set her rank as Sixth Rank Bao Lin, but after the roster was sent to Qianqing Palace for the Emperor's review, when it came out again it had become Third Rank Pin Yu."

What happened during that period they had no way of knowing, but they could be certain this matter was related to the Emperor.

Perhaps the Empress went too far, angering the Emperor, so he changed one person's rank.

As for why this person would be Consort Shen? Yunxiang also couldn't quite understand.

Virtuous Consort handed the wiped handkerchief back to Yunxiang, "The Empress and the Emperor are dueling magic; perhaps Consort Shen simply had very good luck and was randomly pointed out to become Pin Yu."

"It can't be that the Emperor knew Consort Shen as a person and specially raised her rank."

Even if they met during the selection, they had not formally met; how could the Emperor recognize Consort Shen's appearance?

Virtuous Consort tossed the least likely (most likely) assumption to the back of her mind, then left the table, went to the bedchamber, took a book to read and appreciate.

Yunxiang stepped back slightly, took an exquisitely crafted small wooden mallet, and tapped the master's legs back and forth.

Until Virtuous Consort mentioned those consorts at Yongning Palace who had never been able to see the Holy Countenance, "How is the contact? The new consorts entering the palace is a good opportunity; do they have the courage to gamble for wealth and honor for themselves?"

During the selection she had directly collided with Noble Consort, using Tang Meiren's topic to bring up the matter of Yongning Palace; after all, as long as it made Noble Consort unhappy, Virtuous Consort herself would be very happy.

Yunxiang smiled and explained she had already spoken with those few, "Two said they wanted to thank Your Majesty for your support; the rest have the heart but not the courage."

Virtuous Consort snorted, casually turning a page of the book in her hand, "That is truly a pity; this palace's kindness is not common; if they can't seize the opportunity, let them grow old and die at Yongning Palace."

Who doesn't know Noble Consort's stinking virtue? Staying at Yongning Palace means no future whatsoever.

"The master is kind-hearted; being able to provide a little help is already a great grace; those people are taking an inch and demanding a mile. What does 'willing but powerless' mean? It's just fear that after failing they would directly offend Noble Consort, and they themselves would die even more miserably."

Thinking of selling misery or trying to take shortcuts to get the master to reach out and help them, heh! The abacus beads would pop out; their Cuihua Palace is not a charity hall, after all.

"Whether it succeeds depends entirely on their own abilities; you should know there are many examples of palace maids rising in status these years. Could it be that they, as proper daughters of official families, can't compare to low-born slave girls?"

Virtuous Consort had a knack for sharp and biting words, indiscriminately attacking Yunxiang as well.

Yunxiang:...

Yunxiang had long been used to her master easily losing control whenever she encountered Noble Consort; anyway, when her master got fierce she even scolded herself, so being swept up in the attack was nothing—just pretend not to hear.

These bustling matters in the palace were unknown to Shen Yao outside the palace; after all, no matter how gossipy the system was, it wouldn't tell her everything without reservation.

Shen Yao was now busy packing her belongings, organizing her bundles, and arranging the personnel of the small courtyard.

Entering the palace definitely required bringing people; those above Third Rank could bring two personal maids, Fourth Rank and Fifth Rank could bring one personal maid, and below Fifth Rank had no personal maids, only those allocated by the Imperial Household Department.

Shen Yao originally thought she could snag a Fifth-Rank Talented Lady or Fourth-Rank Beauty, and bringing Xiao Fu would be enough; as a result, the Emperor gave her a huge surprise, so she would have to prepare another candidate.

"The Host can tell Lady Shen," the system suggested, because matters of the inner household were always handled by the women of the family.

"Then Lady Shen takes the opportunity to secretly trip me up and plant nails, I first hold my troops in place, waiting for the timing to mature before revealing my cards and taking revenge?"

Shen Yao took up the conversation without thinking, saying she wasn't that idle; competing with Lady Shen would affect her career too much, and besides, to deal with Lady Shen she would have to sacrifice the entire Shen Family, which was very uneconomical.

"Just pick one from the small courtyard; as long as the attendant has no connection to the palace, they won't become our enemy."

Shen Yao had no great requirements for a personal maid—obedient, sensible, loyal, and honest; anyway, she wasn't entering the palace to duel magic with those in the harem; as for her subordinates, as long as they didn't let her down, they were qualified.

System:...

The Host's requirements were unexpectedly simple and straightforward; by the way, the enfeoffment edict for the palace should also be sent out; Third Rank already counts as a Main Position of a palace; surely she could bring quite a few things into the palace.

Far more than just quite a few; she could practically double the amount on the original basis; it was just that their Shen Family was too conservative; they should learn from the Zheng Daxueshi family—his daughter was enfeoffed as Second Rank Zheng Shi, and their own family wasn't lacking anything, was it?

The Shen Family party received the Imperial Edict enfeoffing Shen Yao as Third Rank Pin Yu and immediately busied themselves.

Shen Chunbai even instructed Lady Shen not to be stingy; whatever should be taken from the Ku Fang must be taken; it wasn't a private treasury, so don't be reluctant.

Lady Shen:...

Before Lady Shen could cry, make a scene, and threaten suicide to complain bitterly, Shen Changyu added a sentence about increasing her private allowance, which completely broke Lady Shen's defenses.

Wasn't her Shen Yao just enfeoffed as a Third Rank Pin Yu? Why was she taking everything and eating everything? Did she really think the Shen Family was a phoenix nest made of gold? No, no!

"Mother, whether it is Father or Son, we both support and agree.

Son advises Mother not to play any petty tricks; Fourth Sister entering the palace as a Main Position of a palace—what glory is that for the Shen Family?

Mother was unwilling for Third Sister to marry the Yuan biaoge; now that Fourth Sister has this backing in the palace, isn't Mother worried about not being able to pick a high-born noble husband?"

How was she thinking? Opportunities to draw closer were visible to the naked eye, yet she pushed them away for just a few taels of silver.

Not giving a little more to Fourth Sister—was she going to keep the silver in the Ku Fang to raise the concubine-born younger siblings?

Shen Changyu would rather give everything to the concubine-born younger sister entering the palace than have more half-siblings in the family.

Lady Shen was successfully persuaded by Shen Zhanghe's words; although she kept muttering under her breath, she at least knew she should spend money to draw closer.

Shen Yao looked at the wooden box sent from the Main Courtyard; inside were several stacks of banknotes of varying denominations.

Besides the banknotes there were also some loose silver pieces and gold; in short, every form of currency usable for transactions had been sent over by Lady Shen.

Shen Yao: ……

"Cheap Father doesn't have this ability; it should be Shen Zhanghe's handiwork."

Compared to Shen Chunbai, who could only move his mouth and whom Lady Shen didn't even listen to, Shen Zhanghe was the apple of Lady Shen's eye; even though Lady Shen outwardly appeared to favor Shen Zhanghe and Shen Rong more, she clearly knew who she would rely on for her future livelihood.

"Host is clever; it was Shen Zhanghe who worked on Lady Shen's thinking, making her put down some unnecessary knots," the System had eavesdropped on this mother-son conversation, and could only say Shen Zhanghe was a moldable talent; with him in the Shen Family, whatever they did in the future would succeed.

Opening the wooden box to admire the banknotes inside, she put them away directly into spatial storage; Shen Yao raised her head to look out the window, "In five more days I must depart for the palace; I wonder how lively it will be inside."

This Imperial Selection conferment: above Third Rank there were four positions total; aside from Shen Yao who picked up a bargain, the other three had backgrounds of at least Second Rank, among them a First-Rank General's daughter was conferred Third Rank Jieyu — from this one could see the awkward status of military officers in Yu Guo.

However, it was precisely this awkward situation that let the Shen Family see the possibility of rising.

The borders were unstable; people were greatly needed.

Yet Yu Guo's so many Generals, Vice Generals, and Canjun were all garrisoned in Jingcheng; the root cause was the Emperor feared they would gain military authority and threaten the throne.

Even if something happened at the border, after the Emperor dispatched personnel to handle it he would urgently recall them, fearing that leaving the tiger tally even one more second would cause losses to his own side.

Being this careful and timid, Yu Guo's failure to fall would defy heaven's reason.

"Eh, somewhat looking forward to palace life; truly hope time passes a bit faster."

Shen Yao propped her chin and unconsciously sighed; although her face was calm, the fire named "ambition" in her heart had already ignited and could not be extinguished.

Like a chessboard covered in stars, bright dots everywhere, constantly attracting people into the vortex.

…………

Five days later at dawn, Shen Yao set out from the Shen Family, bringing Xiao Fu and Xiao Ji, and boarded the carriage headed for the Imperial Palace.

Unlike the state of mind when entering the palace last time, this time it was the composure of dust settled.

No need to disembark at the city gate, no need to be lectured and inspected by the palace nainai; all the way to outside Furong Palace, Shen Yao let Xiao Fu and Xiao Ji support her, and saw the residence where she would live for decades.

She signaled Xiao Fu to dismiss the waiting palace servants; Shen Yao stepped into Furong Palace.

Fengyi Palace

The Empress was still kneeling in the Small Buddhist Hall reciting scriptures and praying for blessings; only today was not like usual — she opened her mouth to ask about the consorts entering the palace today.

Gui Mama reported everything went smoothly, "Awaiting tomorrow's formal audience with Niangniang, the green nameplates will be hung, and they may formally perform bedchamber service."

Originally new consorts entering the palace had to rest for three days, but this was because the palace had long lacked pregnancy news of offspring; the Emperor nowadays entered the Huang Hou twenty-odd days each month, so some unimportant family rules were abolished early.

"Tomorrow no need to come pay respects to this Palace; just perform a salute at the Palace Gate."

The Empress's one sentence again raised the difficulty for Gui Mama; the master's increasingly willful conduct meant His Majesty would give less and less face; why can't Niangniang learn to behave?

Gui Mama earnestly advised, "Niangniang, new consorts entering the palace — whether Front Court or Huang Hou — are the focus of all eyes; why must you act this way?"

The Empress insisted, "Mama, this Palace's mind is made up; no need to persuade further."

Gui Mama: ……