Lady Shang had a lively and easygoing disposition, while Li Jiubao was gentle and agreeable. After sharing a handful of melon seeds, the two quickly became familiar with each other.
Lady Shang said, "I'm thirteen, and you're fourteen. I'll call you Sister Li, and you can just call me by my given name, Qinglan."
Li Jiubao praised, "Qinglan? Like the blue mist in the forest—so poetic and picturesque. What a lovely name."
"My father went through many books to choose this name for me," Shang Qinglan replied. "Your name is wonderful too, Sister. Jiubao—it sounds like someone blessed with great fortune."
Li Jiubao smiled without responding: Her father was fond of gambling, and nine was the highest number in the game of Pai Gow, hence the name Jiubao. It was a hard life—where was the fortune in that?
Young palace maids delivered four sets of clothing, shoes, socks, and accessories. The matrons instructed them to change, as all participants in the Imperial Concubine Selection wore identical attire: a gold-woven cross-collar short jacket paired with a green satin horse face skirt, adorned at the hem with a gold-woven tassel of pearls and gemstones forming the Eight Treasures pattern.
As the weather had turned cooler, they also wore a sleeveless plain silk vest over the short jacket. The vest featured a front opening, with gold-woven brocade trim along the collar, cuffs, and front edges. From the collar down to the hem, there were four pairs of butterfly-and-flower-themed gold buttons inlaid with gemstones.
Shang Qinglan ran her fingers over the gold, gemstones, and the pearl-and-gem Eight Treasures tassel on the skirt hem. Her already round eyes widened even further. "All this gold, these gems, and pearls—they're not even used for jewelry but just as decorations on clothing! Heavens, never mind the fabric cost, just the gold, silver, and jewels on one set must be worth one to two hundred taels of silver!"
Li Jiubao had never seen such lavish garments either—and there were four sets! Excluding the accessories, the clothing alone was worth five hundred taels of silver.
The palace matrons urged them, "Hurry and change, then line up outside to learn etiquette from the female officials. In the palace, every action—sitting, walking, retreating, and stopping—has its rules. If you fail to learn the etiquette, you'll be directly eliminated. Don't embarrass yourselves in front of your superiors."
Shang Qinglan asked, "Matron, if I'm too foolish to learn and get eliminated, can I take these clothes home?"
After years of overseeing the selection, this was the first time a candidate had asked such a blunt question. The matron took a closer look at Shang Qinglan: This girl had nerve as big as her eyes.
The matron replied, "The Forbidden City is the wealthiest place in the world. Who would want your used clothes? If you're eliminated without major offenses, out of the imperial family's benevolence, you may take all the clothing and accessories with you. You won't have made this trip for nothing."
"Such a wonderful deal!" Shang Qinglan hugged the pile of new clothes, closing her eyes in delight. "Coming to the palace for the selection is truly rewarding! When I leave, I'll show each piece to my father—let him see such splendor too!"
The matron glanced at her with disdain, thinking this shallow girl probably wouldn't last beyond tomorrow. "Everyone must style their hair in double snail buns. Choose your own accessories to wear. We'll take attendance in the courtyard in one ke (15 minutes)—no lateness allowed."
The two hurriedly changed into their new clothes and styled their hair into two buns. Li Jiubao adorned hers with a pair of beaded flowers, while Shang Qinglan simply tied her buns with red satin ribbons. She explained, "With so many candidates crowded in the courtyard, what if I lose my accessories? I need to bring everything home to show my father."
Shang Qinglan mentioned her father in every sentence, clearly a girl who shared an exceptionally close bond with him and had been deeply cherished by him while growing up.Li Jiubao thought of her gambling-addict father and could only sigh. Picking up a red satin ribbon, she said, "Let me help you tie it."
In the courtyard, groups of twenty selected women were taught walking and etiquette by female officials from the Shangyi Bureau. The entire afternoon passed without a moment's rest except for drinking water and using the toilet.
Having single-handedly managed all household chores and even climbed roofs to repair tiles, Li Jiubao was no stranger to hardship. The etiquette training didn't fatigue her. With Chen the Agent in the palace, she was determined to stay and not be eliminated, learning with exceptional diligence.
However, Shang Qinglan, clearly accustomed to a pampered life at home, couldn't endure it. She repeatedly raised her hand requesting bathroom breaks. Each time she accompanied her request with an ingratiating smile—and since one doesn't strike a smiling face—the female official permitted it. But after too many repetitions, the official visibly grew displeased.
Hesitating momentarily, Li Jiubao raised her hand alongside Shang Qinglan. "Lady Cui, I need to go too."
Li Jiubao had performed outstandingly, learning quickly and never having raised her hand before. Out of consideration for her, the official permitted: "You two, make it quick."
Shang Qinglan began, "I need to make a big—mmph!"
Li Jiubao covered her mouth and led her away.
Without even removing her trousers, Shang Qinglan sat on the chamber pot massaging her calves and waist. "It hurts so much. I've never stood for so long before."
Li Jiubao helped massage her legs. "Just persevere a little longer. We can rest when dinner comes at dusk."
"I can't do it," Shang Qinglan said pragmatically. "Don't worry about me—I'll only hold you back. Someone like me will definitely be eliminated sooner or later. I've already gained four sets of dresses and a case of gold and silver jewelry. With these, my father won't need to prepare a dowry for me anymore."
Li Jiubao responded, "Since you're here for gain, who's to say there won't be more and better rewards after tomorrow?"
"You're right. We got these on the first day in the palace—since we're already here, we might as well earn more. I'll take it one day at a time." Thinking of the gold-silver jewelry and exquisite dresses, Shang Qinglan immediately found strength and persevered until dusk.
Returning to their room, they found young palace maids had already delivered meal boxes containing six dishes and one soup with both meat and vegetables. As they sat down to eat, Shang Qinglan held her rice bowl in her right hand and a steamed roll in her left. "Even the rice and steamed buns in the palace are whiter and more fragrant than at home!"
She picked up a fist-sized braised meatball with her chopsticks and took a bite. "Sister Li, this is delicious! The meat is tender and springy, not greasy at all! The imperial chefs are truly different!"
Shang Qinglan had come purely to experience palace life, accepting circumstances as they came without concerning herself with the outcome.
Her cheerful eating mood infected the preoccupied Li Jiubao, who couldn't help smiling. Except for the soup, they nearly finished all the dishes.
Stuffed and lethargic, they lounged on the kang unable to move. At night, an elderly matron returned with bedding and slept on the kang. With an outsider present, Shang Qinglan restrained herself. Combined with the day's exhaustion, she exchanged a few laughs with Li Jiubao before sinking into deep sleep.
The next morning, some selected women were already eliminated, weeping softly. Most came from humble backgrounds and, having glimpsed the Forbidden City's opulence, were reluctant to leave.
Witnessing this with trepidation, Li Jiubao asked the matron cleaning their room: "Matron, what mistakes did they actually make? If their etiquette was poor yesterday, they could learn today. Are they not even given one chance to improve?"The nanny smiled, "It has nothing to do with etiquette—who could master it in just a day or two? Yesterday, we deliberately exhausted you without breaks so you'd sleep deeply at night. Those who snore, grind their teeth, talk in their sleep, have terrible sleeping postures, or even sleepwalk revealed their true selves. Such girls are unsuitable."
So it wasn't about etiquette—it was surveillance.
Li Jiubao said with lingering fear, "Nanny, what about the two of us—"
The nanny replied, "You both passed. The girl in the room next to us nearly lifted the roof with her snoring—I barely slept half the night. If a girl like that were to attend the Emperor, how would His Majesty ever rest?"
Shang Qinglan widened her eyes again, "What? We have to sleep with the Emperor? I've always slept alone and am not used to having anyone beside me. Even my night-duty maids sleep in the adjacent room—I can't share a bed with others."
Li Jiubao wished she could bury her head in the ground.
"You—" The nanny paused for a moment, then said, "Don't overthink it. Hurry and eat breakfast; there's more practice today."
The etiquette training that day was much more relaxed, with breaks every half-hour for tea and snacks.
The palace offered a variety of pastries. Shang Qinglan, being greedy, overate. The sweets made her thirsty, so she drank too much tea, which caused the pastries to expand in her stomach. She felt nauseous and queasy, holding it in several times until she finally couldn't during a bow—she vomited with a retch.
Shang Qinglan was sent back to her room, and Li Jiubao returned to accompany her. As Qinglan continued vomiting, the elderly nanny in charge of them promptly reported to the eunuch in charge of the Palace of Gathered Elegance, requesting a palace female physician to treat Qinglan.
The elderly nanny said, "That female physician named Wei Caiwei is quite good. Let's summon Doctor Wei into the palace."
The eunuch in charge replied, "This person has never been summoned to the palace before—it might not be appropriate. You're responsible for these two talented candidates. If anything goes wrong, Granny Song, you must consider the consequences."
Granny Song said, "Doctor Wei treated me during the imperial physician examination. At that time, I was grieving over the death of an old palace sister and developed a qi stagnation illness. I didn't improve for half a year and was sent to the Hall of Peaceful Joy to await death. She treated me with acupuncture and medicine, using methods from the famous female physician Tan Yunxian's 'Miscellaneous Records of a Female Physician.' She also comforted me to ease my mind. I recovered within a month, left the Hall of Peaceful Joy, and resumed my duties. I trust her."
So it was a bond of goodwill Wei Caiwei had formed during the imperial physician examination.
The eunuch in charge said, "Fine, since you're the one summoning her, you'll bear the responsibility if anything goes wrong."
Someone from the Directorate of Ceremonial went to Sweetwater Lane to summon Wei Caiwei into the palace.
This was her first summons, so she didn't dare delay and quickly grabbed her medical bag to board the carriage.
Arriving at the gate of the Palace of Gathered Elegance, Granny Song greeted Wei Caiwei, "Doctor Wei, do you remember me?"
Wei Caiwei smiled, "It seems your qi stagnation illness has fully recovered." No wonder she was summoned to the palace—it was the patient she'd met on exam day.
Granny Song said, "One of the candidates is vomiting incessantly. She was fine yesterday but started vomiting suddenly this morning, even bringing up her breakfast. She vomits even after drinking water and is now just retching up sour fluid. Doctor Wei, please go see her quickly."
Wei Caiwei entered the room and saw a candidate with a Double Loop Bun tied with a red satin ribbon lying on the large kang by the window, holding a spittoon and dry heaving.Another selected maiden, dressed in identical attire but with pearl hairpins adorning her bun, sat beside her, gently patting her back to soothe her.
Granny Song announced, "The physician has arrived."
Both maidens turned to look at the doorway, and all three froze in recognition.
They were old acquaintances.
The two maidens exclaimed in unison, "Doctor Wei?"
Wei Caiwei responded, "Li Jiubao? Shang Qinglan?"
What a remarkable coincidence. In her previous life, she had shared quarters with Shang Qinglan, but in this lifetime, Li Jiubao had taken her place.
In her past life, Shang Qinglan had sprained her ankle during etiquette practice, and Wei Caiwei had treated her. Now, in this life, Shang Qinglan's feet were fine, but she was suffering from nausea instead.
Author's note: The three armies reunite with joyous laughter. These three women are about to turn the Forbidden City upside down.
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