“Although I can’t serve tea or water, I can still help with other things. You heard what Ling Wei said today. You have to be more careful in the palace. Don’t take it seriously when someone calls you out. Just like today, luckily it was the Third Cousin who called you. If it was someone with bad intentions toward you, I’m afraid you would have been tricked by now.”
Ling Zhuo looked at Ah Wu disapprovingly.
“In the future, never go to an appointment alone. At least, in this palace, never let yourself be alone. Also, if you encounter any trouble, don’t deal with it yourself. You may not understand the twists and turns behind it. If you believe me, you can come to me. At least, in the palace, you and I represent the daughters of our parents.”
These words came from Ling Zhuo’s heart.
“Okay.”
Ah Wu was not as panicked as Ling Zhuo because she knew that someone was quietly protecting her from behind and would protect her from harm and from people with bad intentions.
This was Ah Wu’s unconditional trust in her brother. But she also understood that she couldn’t take advantage of her brother’s protection and enjoy this love unscrupulously.
She was no longer a child. She also wanted to move from the position of being protected to the position of a protector.
***
After nearly half a month of training, the day of the palace selection was finally approaching.
Just three days before the palace selection, a rumor came from nowhere.
It turned out that the palace selection this time was not only to select a companion for the Third Princess, but it was also to select the principal wife and side concubines for the several princes who had grown up now.
Because Emperor Qian was obsessed with alchemy, the harem had not been filled with new people for more than ten years.
The harem draft, which was originally held every three years, had been suspended three times. The only draft in recent years was to select a concubine for the First Prince.
This time, when such a rumor suddenly came out, most people believed it because the Third Prince was not young anymore and the Fifth Prince was also of marriageable age.
The candidates for the Third Princess’s companion this time included the daughters of officials of the fifth rank and above in other counties and officials of the second rank and above in the capital. The harem draft in previous years was also of this scale.
Compared to being the Third Princess’s companion, being the prince’s consort was of course more impressive. The former only raised the value, while the latter soared to the sky.
Now, all the girls of marriageable age couldn’t hold back anymore.
However, Ling Zhuo, who was only eleven or twelve years old and clearly realized that it was difficult for her to be betrothed to the prince at her age, could still deal with it calmly.
At this juncture, Concubine Li Shu finally took the initiative to summon these young ladies who entered the palace for the selection.
The granddaughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei, the youngest daughter of the Minister of Revenue, the niece of the commander of the Imperial Guard, and Ling Zhuo and Ling Wu, the legitimate daughters of the Eldest Madam of the Marquis of Changping, were all on the list of those summoned this time.
This was the first time that Concubine Li Shu had summoned these ladies after entering the palace.
Who was Concubine Li Shu? She was the biological mother of the Third Princess. So, this summoning was also seen as a signal.
Ling Wei stayed in the room. The handkerchief in her hand was almost twisted into a handful of pickled vegetables.
On the one hand, she was resentful of Concubine Li Shu’s summoning.
Why did Concubine Li Shu only summon her two cousins, but she skipped her, the older sister, when they were all girls sent to the palace by the Marquis of Changping Mansion to participate in the selection?
Ling Wei ignored her sister Ling Ying, who was also ignored, and was upset about not being summoned.
On the other hand, she was a little secretly happy.
The two cousins had been summoned by Concubine Li Shu, so they were most likely to be the companions of the Third Princess.
Ever since there was a rumor in the palace that Emperor Qian wanted to take this opportunity to choose concubines for several princes, Ling Wei was no longer so obsessed with the position of the Third Princess’s companion.
The granddaughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei, the youngest daughter of the Minister of Revenue, and the niece of the commander of the Imperial Guard were all wealthy daughters of noble family backgrounds.
If these people were selected as the Third Princess’s study companions, didn’t it mean that she was more likely to become the Third Prince’s principal wife or the First Prince’s side concubine?
Thinking of this, Ling Wei couldn’t help but feel happy and even developed a secret pride, guessing how lonely Ling Zhuo and Ling Wu would be after getting this news.
Then, she was really overthinking it. Ling Zhuo and Ling Wu were both too young and had not even thought about getting married.
One of them was already determined to become the Third Princess’s study companion and increase the opportunity to get along with her brother.
Marrying the prince was not in their consideration from beginning to end.
At this time, Ah Wu and several other young ladies who were also summoned were led by palace servants to the Qingyang Palace of Concubine Li Shu and saw Yu Yan, who was dressed in crimson uniform, coming toward them with a group of eunuchs from afar.
According to the rules, Yu Yan was also a sixth-rank official, so he didn’t need to bow to these ladies who were born into a wealthy family but had no titles.
He just bowed his head and lowered his eyebrows politely, but the eunuchs behind him made a few greetings.
When Yu Yan raised his head and looked in a certain direction, the girl’s smile was as bright as a flower, lighting up the scattered autumn colors.
Bold and stupid sister!
Yu Yan sighed in his heart. But he couldn’t help enjoying the joy that Ah Wu showed with a smile when she saw him.
He felt that his heart was illuminated by this smile.
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Lucien On ABRWF Chapter 43.2