Disgraced Consort Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Mistakenly Made A Consort

Their carriages stop.  Palace maids are already waiting for them, lining all 32 young maidens into two long lines as they walk past the corridor of the Forbidden City.  They are currently at the two gates entrances.  Other than the emperor and the empress’ chariots, all carriages are not allowed to pa.s.s through it.  Even concubines must leave their carriages and walk.

This is one of the palace’s rules.  For the maidens to be selected, there are many more waiting for them.  The rules seem light but once you broke them, the consequences will be severe.

The selection this time is the current emperor’s third in the span of ten years since his ascension to the throne.  The maidens selected are all from n.o.ble families with impeccable backgrounds, so naturally, they have perfect manners and upbringing.

There were sounds of sobbing while they were on the chariots, but the moment they descended them, the ladies all appeared beautifully elegant and radiant.

Yes, the tears that needed to flow had all flowed.  Now, all that is left is their hope to be selected by the emperor.  To be selected as the monarch’s women are after all the dreams of a lot of ladies of n.o.bility.  Because ranks and pride stood above all.

The palace is a magnificent golden cage and at the same time a grave that had swallowed countless beauties.  For most of them, this is the place they yearn for in their dreams.  To receive the love for three thousand women put together, that is the aspired ending of the dream, but that is also not the only ending.

It is exactly because of that reason that even though all maidens are required to wear pink gauze skirt and coil their hair into a bun, their hair ornaments are all different.  That alone can be considered the first kind of compet.i.tion between them.

Xi Yan is at the very back of the right line, her hair ornament being the Xi Yan hairpiece Mu Yan gifted her.

Her father’s funeral has not been held.  There was no way for her to get out of wearing the pink attire. With such plain hairpiece, she could at least show some consideration to her father’s death.

Through her veil, she can see Mu Yan in front of the left line, but her hair ornament is merely a couple of pearls.  She too is not eye catching amidst the charming crowd of women.

Could it be that she is unwilling to enter the palace as a concubine?

Xi Yan fixes her veil that was blown by the cold wind.  This year’s winter is really cold.  But what makes her heart even colder is the fact that her father and brother are no longer there.  The fate of her second brother’s leg on the other hand is unknown, whether it can be salvage or not.

This is the only thing the winter represents to her this time.

She can no longer cry at her own whim.  The tears she shed inside the carriage is already a luxury.

A eunuch wearing green clothes bend his waist as he lead the way.  Within a cup of tea time, they arrive in a hall.  There are already palace’s mamas waiting for them there.  This is where Xi Yan has her first physical inspection and has a mama gives her a little red dot on her right arm.

The dot signifies her status as an untarnished maiden.

The red dot will only be bestowed to young ladies of n.o.ble birth as a sign of their chast.i.ty and the indication that they had once been given the honor to have the chance to become the emperor’s woman.

The emperor’s woman.  The moment Xi Yan thought of those 3 words, her lips curve in a shallow arc.

Half of these maidens will be unsuccessful.

Following a mama’s guidance she enters another part of the hall where maidens who have received their dot gathers, waiting to be summoned.

A couple of young ladies who already knew each other sat together, chatting.

“Yue Jie Jie, you are the Grand Tutor’s daughter, you must have seen the emperor before?  How does the emperor look like?  Tell us,” a girl asks to the girl next to her who is smiling lightly.

The Grand Tutor’s daughter is indeed beautiful.  She still stand out amongst the rest of the girls even though she is wearing a veil.

“In this entire world, no other man can exceed His Majesty’s G.o.dly aura.  His physical appearance is unsurpa.s.sable by any other man.”  As the Grand Tutor’s daughter said that, a flash of bashfulness can be seen in her eyes, the kind of shyness a daughter would have while talking about the man in her heart.

“Eh, what kind of flower is that?  It smells so sweet,” a young lady suddenly says.  After she said that, the attention showered on the Grand Tutor’s daughter changes elsewhere.