Chapter 48
The day was bright and breezy, with crisp autumn air gilding the dewdrops.
Inside the Imperial Garden, a lively, bustling atmosphere reigned.
The first batch of imperial draft maidens had officially entered the palace, and at that moment they were all waiting in the Imperial Garden, preparing to meet the Emperor.
Every single one of the draft maidens wore a look of mingled trepidation and anticipation, the occasional shy, blushing expression crossing their faces.
A stark contrast to the maidens' giddy, girlish infatuation could be seen off to the side, where many court officials wore frowning, dissatisfied looks, whispering and grousing to one another.
"What kind of Emperor gives draft maidens a problem like, 'Five cups of tea, how do you divide them among six ministers?'"
"My own daughter got eliminated over an even more absurd question! They asked her how to sell combs to Buddhist monks! That's nothing but deliberate torment, isn't it?"
An official who had poured effort into training several draft maidens, only to see all of them get struck down by bizarre questions before even entering the palace, shook his head bitterly and said no more.
Standing nearby, another official who had long been worrying that his outstanding eldest son would catch the eye of the Emperor, who was rumored to prefer men, spoke darkly. "All colleagues, do you suppose His Majesty still has a taste for men, and is deliberately trying to botch this entire draft?"
The officials immediately recalled the terrifying scene from a previous court assembly, when the Emperor, who was said to have a penchant for male favorites, had singled out that very eldest son for attention. They exchanged glances with one another and nodded gravely.
"More than likely!"
"Gentlemen, we must stop this from happening. We have to make sure the draft proceeds smoothly!"
Just as everyone's thoughts were running wild, a loud announcement rang out: "His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!" "Her Highness Consort Miao has arrived!"
Every single person immediately dropped to their knees to pay their respects.
Yun Yaoyao and Tu Shanjin stepped in one after the other, moving slowly into the clearing.
Looking out over the sea of soft pink figures of the maidens, Yun Yaoyao's heart was bursting with joy, but to keep up her dignified, poised persona, she only cleared her throat coldly and said, "Rise."
Those two short words were picked up by Tu Shanjin, who could hear the restlessness in Yun Yaoyao's tone.
She was at it again, using that deep, affected, bubblegum voice that sounded a little ridiculous.
Noticing that ever since Yun Yaoyao had laid eyes on the draft maidens, her gaze had not strayed back to him for a single moment, Tu Shanjin felt a strange, tight twinge in his chest for no reason he could name.
And so, the ever-so-sulky Consort Miao quietly took his seat, his entire body radiating a cold, gloomy aura of wounded pride.
Yun Yaoyao cut straight to the point. "Ten draft maidens at a time, step forward for your audience."
Xiao Wuzi immediately ushered the first ten maidens before Yun Yaoyao. The young women looked up at him shyly, eyes glistening.
This was the Emperor, so handsome and awe-inspiring!
Each of them angled their face to their most flattering side, waiting to be selected.
To their surprise, the Emperor only glanced at them once before putting on a strictly businesslike demeanor, taking up a brush and paper and waving his hand. "First, each of you give a self-introduction."
"Your introduction should include what you are good at, what experience you have, and what you can contribute to the palace if you are chosen. The scope is unlimited, all of you beauties may speak freely."
The draft maidens: ???
Though confused, the first maiden bowed gracefully and spoke in a soft, gentle tone. "Your subject is named Caiwei. I have a passing familiarity with the qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. As for experience..."
"I have thoroughly studied *Women's Virtue*, *Admonitions for Women*, and *Lessons for the Inner Quarters*, and I am skilled at needlework. I am in good health, and I have a constitution that makes conception easy. If I enter the palace, I will surely be able to bear heirs for Your Majesty."
The more she spoke, the prouder Caiwei felt. She had fought her way through the earlier rounds of the draft precisely by highlighting her fertile constitution.
Yun Yaoyao looked up at her when she finished.
Caiwei's heart leaped with excitement. Was she about to be the first maiden selected by the Emperor?
But the Emperor's mouth, which sat at a normal 36 degrees Celsius, let out a frigid line that shattered her hopes.
"Did everyone see that? That is your negative example. No one else is allowed to give the same answer as her from here on out."
"Next."
This highly unorthodox selection standard made the rest of the maidens' hearts skip a beat with unease.
The second maiden to step forward was visibly nervous.
"Your subject is called Qingyan. I am good at... good at... good at blacksmithing."
The words left her own face burning bright red, her voice trembling as she continued. "I have seven years of experience at the forge. If I enter the palace, I can... I can perform blacksmithing for Your Majesty."
The other draft maidens hung their heads low, trying desperately not to burst out laughing. The court officials all shook their heads in disappointment, looking away.
Since the Emperor had forbidden them from saying they were skilled at qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, or needlework, these young women had no choice but to honestly reveal their other skills.
Clearly this woman was one of those commoner girls some official had found, who had only been trained in the refined arts later on.
Yun Yaoyao pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Seven years of blacksmithing experience? Not bad. A real unique skill. You stay."
Someday I can send her over to the Ministry of Works to help out, he thought.
The draft maidens: ???
The court officials: !!!
Passing over the well-bred noble daughter with the fertile constitution to pick a girl who knows how to forge metal? Were they supposed to imagine the two of them in a tender, intimate moment, with her putting on a live blacksmithing show right there, sparks flying everywhere?
The scene was too absurd to picture.
Clearly, the Emperor was deliberately trying to ruin this draft!
One official immediately stepped forward to remonstrate.
"Your Majesty, the imperial draft concerns the proper order of the inner palace. This cannot be treated as a trivial game! Is Your Majesty's selection standard not mistaken?"
"Your Majesty, you have been on the throne for almost a year now, and the inner palace still only has Consort Miao. This draft is meant to take in more concubines to fill the rear palace, so that heirs can be born to continue the royal line!"
The imperial censors even surged forward, ready to ram their heads against the pillars to force the Emperor to listen to their advice.
Yun Yaoyao had long anticipated this exact scene. He reached out to take Tu Shanjin's hand in his, huffing coldly. "By my side, I will not keep women who only have a passing familiarity with qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, and needlework. I will only keep those who, like Consort Miao, have real, distinctive talents!"
"Consort Miao, show all of the officials what you can do."
Tu Shanjin, who had just been called out of the blue: ?
Right then, following Yun Yaoyao's directions, Tu Shanjin reluctantly demonstrated his skills.
In martial matters, he could ride a horse and shoot a bow, every arrow hitting the bullseye dead center!
He could wield blades and spears with effortless ease, every move executed perfectly.
In scholarly matters, he could write elegant calligraphy, do rapid mental arithmetic, and had full mastery of political history!
Every time he finished showing a talent, Yun Yaoyao nodded in complete satisfaction, praising him nonstop: Consort Miao is amazing! Consort Miao is so talented! Consort Miao is a true genius!
When Tu Shanjin turned his head, he saw Yun Yaoyao's eyes were full of nothing but admiration for him. That made him perform more and more enthusiastically, his heart light and buoyant, until he ended up crushing the senior official sitting across from him at chess completely.
Realizing what he had just done, Tu Shanjin's expression turned dark, as he placed his final game piece.
"You lost. Go home and practice more."
The senior official, who was known across the court as a chess master, paled, covered his face, and stormed off in a huff, his old dignity completely in tatters.
Another official standing nearby, who had previously lost a mental arithmetic contest to Tu Shanjin, saw this and immediately felt a lot better, even patting the defeated chess master on the back to comfort him.
It's always miserable to be defeated yourself, but nothing stings more than seeing a colleague succeed where you failed.
But now that even that esteemed colleague had lost too, he could laugh to his heart's content...
Tu Shanjin's display of sheer competence left every single official present completely speechless.
Anyone who had been about to remonstrate further now held their tongue, terrified that Consort Miao would humiliate them just as thoroughly and leave their own old reputations in shreds. The officials were finally fully convinced. What a rare, extraordinary talent this "Consort Miao" was—just how well had the Emperor been treating this person all this time?
This also left all the draft maidens feeling enormous pressure. Consort Miao was already so stunningly beautiful that she outshone every other woman in the palace, and now it turned out she possessed such earth-shaking skills on top of that.
How could they ever hope to compete? They couldn't hold a candle to her at all...
Yun Yaoyao glanced over the crowd, seeing the dejected looks on the draft maidens' faces, and he decided to offer them some guidance.
"I know all of you here are blessed with striking looks and graceful figures. But as time goes by, once you grow old and your beauty fades, your appearance and figure will become nothing more than useless things. The only things that can stay with you are knowledge and skills. Mastering a unique skill that sets you apart from others is what allows you to settle down and make a living..."
Yun Yaoyao kept talking for quite a while, and did not stop until she had all these young palace candidates so fired up that their eyes were practically glowing.
"I have face blindness, so I can't even tell the difference between pretty and ugly." The moment these words left her mouth, Yun Yaoyao glanced over at the stunning Consort Tu standing beside her, and suddenly realized how unconvincing that line sounded.
So she pointed at Niu Xiu'er standing off to the side and asked, "Do you know why she was chosen to serve Consort Miao in the palace?"
All the young palace candidates shook their heads. This woman had such an unusual, plain look on her face, they truly could not figure out how she ever got into the palace in the first place.
"Xiu'er, show them how strong you are."
Niu Xiu'er respectfully bowed in greeting, then walked over to a nearby tree.
One punch, and the tree snapped clean in half.
Seeing every single person there gape in utter shock, Niu Xiu'er scratched her head sheepishly like a big, gentle bull and said, "This servant was born with superhuman strength. Please excuse my poor show."
Yun Yaoyao continued, "If any assassin ever got close enough to harm Consort Miao, Xiu'er could take him out with a single punch. Now tell me, isn't this kind of unique skill incredibly valuable?"
All the young palace candidates and court officials fell completely silent. There was no arguing that it absolutely was.
"The three hundred and sixty lines, every single line can break you down to tears..."
Oh my god, she had spent so much time reciting that line in her past life that it just slipped out before she could stop herself!
Yun Yaoyao did not let a single flicker of panic show on her face, and corrected the remark in a solemn, dignified tone, "That saying is completely wrong.
The correct saying is: In the three hundred and sixty lines, every line produces its own top master."
Yun Yaoyao put on the faint, familiar smile that every seasoned capitalist wears.
"So, all you lovely ladies, do not hold back. Show off your greatest strengths boldly."
All of you future members of the trainee camp for palace female officials, come right into my fold!