Chapter 585: She Did It on Purpose
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Chu Yunn raised her eyes to look at the lady in green and was just in time to catch the flash of mockery in her eyes.
Which of the women standing here didn’t want to enter the Imperial harem and become the Emperor’s woman? She felt that Chu Yunn’s fall just now was intentional.
Chu Yunn didn’t want to explain too much to these women. However, all she could think of was Xiao Jin’s incredibly handsome face even when she was already out of the palace.
In fact, even after she returned to the residence, the maidservant called out to her several times before she came back to her senses.
Chu Yunn frowned slightly and glared momentarily at the maidservant.
The maidservant was slightly shocked when she met her gaze. She knelt down in fright. The ice and snow made her whole body shudder, but compared to the cold her body was feeling, the Eldest Young Miss’s gaze just now made her more terrified.
Eldest Young Miss, please forgive me. Your servant was reckless. Eldest Young Miss, please punish me.”
Chu Yunn merely glanced at her indifferently. “Then wait here until just before the sky turns dark. Come and see me again after dark if you’ve reflected enough on yourself.”
“Yes, yes, thank you, Eldest Young Miss. Thank you, Eldest Young Miss.” Chu Yunn had been eliminated in the second test today, and she felt indignant. Everyone knew that this maidservant had not done anything wrong. She just happened to bump into Chu Yunn at the wrong time.
Knowing that her daughter would enter the palace today, Eldest Mrs. Chu had been waiting for her return in Flowering Crabapple Court after she left.
A maidservant wearing a plain robe with symmetrical lapels crossed the long corridor and walked to the main hall. She lifted the thick curtain and walked in. “Eldest Mistress, Eldest Young Miss is back.”
Eldest Mrs. Chu stood up somewhat anxiously but sat back down in the next instant.
Her daughter had been intelligent since she was young. She heard that the Empress was testing the candidates1 eyesight today, so she was confident that Yunn’er would not make any mistakes.
The thick curtains were lifted once again, and a gust of freezing wind rushed into the room. Chu Yunn came in soon after that.
“Mother.”
Eldest Mrs. Chu looked at her slim and elegant daughter with great satisfaction. Even though there were many young ladies from aristocratic families and beauties everywhere in the capital city, her daughter was definitely one of the best if she stood outside in the public eye.
Are you cold? Why didn’t you bring a hand heater for Eldest Young Miss? If Eldest Young Miss gets frost-bitten, I will hold all of you responsible.” The maidservant begged for mercy. “Please forgive me, Eldest Mistress. It was my fault. Please punish me.”
The maidservants who had served this mother-and-daughter duo for a long time knew that their master would never be wrong. Even if it was their master who did something wrong, it was still the servants’ fault for not dissuading their master.
“Enough. You may leave. If this happens again next time, there is no need for you to serve the Eldest Young Miss anymore.” Eldest Mrs. Chu was very anxious to know the situation in the palace, so she couldn’t be bothered to argue with this servant.
Eldest Mrs. Chu shoved the heater in her hand into Chu Yunn’s hand and asked gently, “Quickly tell Mother. How did the test in the palace go today?” Chu Yunn pursed her red lips slightly and frowned. Eldest Mrs. Chu’s heart was on tenterhooks when she saw this.
If things had gone smoothly, why would she be in this state?
“You didn’t make it to the third round?”
Chu Yunn nodded in a glum manner.
Eldest Mrs. Chu couldn’t accept this fact. Her daughter was beautiful and smart. Even if she stood next to the Empress, she was still comparable to the Empress. How come her daughter didn’t even make it to the third round?
“What happened exactly? Tell Mother everything.”
Chu Yunn told Eldest Mrs. Chu everything that happened in the palace. She also said objectively that the Empress was not singling her out. She did the same to everyone.
“The Empress clearly doesn’t want any of you to enter the palace!” When Chu Yunn told her about the Empress’s question, the first thing Eldest Mrs. Chu thought of was that there must be fewer balls inside, but who would have thought that there were still three balls inside?
“What are the identities of the three who advanced?”
Chu Yunn replied, “They are the daughter from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau official’s residence and the daughter from the residence of an official from the Ministry of Revenue. The third one I am not familiar with her.” Chu Yunn had been active in the capital city’s banquets for the young ladies for many years. The women she had never seen before were either those who had newly returned to the family residence from outside the city or they had such a low status that they could not even get close to Chu Yunn.
“This is clearly intentional!”
Eldest Mrs. Chu was very angry. With her daughter’s status, she could even be an Empress. Now, she was even worse than the daughter of a minor official. She felt that Su Ying was doing this because she didn’t want a woman of high status to enter the palace and compete with her for the Emperor’s favor, lest her position as the Empress was threatened.
From the Empress’s point of view, it was not wrong to think this way, but she would be damaging the young women’s interests by doing so. This could not be tolerated!
“I will discuss this matter with your father. If it really doesn’t work out, you can go and beg your grandfather. You are his most beloved granddaughter. If you beg him, he will definitely be willing to speak to the Emperor for you. There is no hurry. Let’s see what the third round is like.”
Chu Yunn gently hugged the heater in her hand. “Mm-hmm.”
After sending off the 49 noble young ladies, Su Ying returned to the Conjugal Phoenix Palace.
“Your Imperial Highness, today I thought that you would get the palace maid to remove those balls.” Before the answer was revealed, Zhou Qing had no idea what was happening under the cups.
Based on her way of thinking, she also thought that the answer wouldn’t be so simple and that Su Ying wouldn’t really place all three balls inside.
“Anyone who can think nimbly will feel that there will be changes to the balls inside. It’s not surprising that you also think so.”
However, those who answered three balls were not necessarily simple-minded. They could also be extremely intelligent.
“Now there are only three people left. I am really curious to know what Your Imperial Highness wants to test them on in the last round.”
“I don’t know.”
Zhou Qing was dumbstruck.
Su Ying took a sip of the ginger tea. The spicy taste spread from her lips and teeth all the way down her throat and it made her entire body heat up.
“I haven’t thought about it yet. I also came up with this small ball test at the last minute.”
Zhou Qmg didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. To think that those young ladies from the aristocratic families had racked their brains and sent money to the palace to dig for information. It turned out that even the Empress herself hadn’t thought of what kind of test it would be.
Now that there were no major events in the Imperial Court, all eyes in the circle of nobles were focused on the matter of the Empress choosing a concubine for the Emperor.
Now, there were only three unknown young ladies left. Everyone was guessing who would be retained in the end.
There were even private gambling dens that opened up new channels for people to bet.
After Su Ying found out about this, she immediately sent a message to Mo Tu, instructing him to bet that no one would be retained, with a 1,000-fold payout.
Mo Tu’s expression was unfathomable after receiving the message. Su Ying wanted to place a bet on the result that no one would be left. That clearly indicated that she didn’t want any other woman to enter the palace.
The corners of his eyes drooped as he suppressed the bitterness in his eyes. He turned around and threw the note into the fire. “What a jealous woman!” “Men, go to the gambling den and place a bet. Bet that among those three women, none will be retained in the end.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Mo Tu didn’t know that once they placed this bet, it would cause an uproar among the punters.
They were all guessing that the Empress was making things difficult for these noble ladies because, in reality, she did not want them to enter the palace to compete with her for the Emperor’s favor.
However, there were also people who said that it was a big taboo for the Empress to be jealous. No matter how powerful she was, she could not dominate the Imperial harem alone.
For a while, there were many different opinions and the topic was a very hot talking point..
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