Chapter 4: An Unexpected Encounter on New Year's Eve

  At night, Qingyu told Qingsang about the matter of facing the emperor.

  The first person granted a title by the Emperor was Yu Le's daughter, Yaoqin, who was given the title of Fangyi and the honorific name Xue.

  Later, Yu Rong, the daughter of Yun Qi General Li Feng, was granted the title of Jieyu.

  Then there was Sito Ma Chen's 'daughter' Wanting, who was granted the title of Jieyu.

  Next was Qingyu. According to Qingyu, at that time the Emperor heard Gonggong's report on family matters and asked Program Gonggong beside him: "Is this the daughter of Pu Jinye, Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Pu Qingyu, who was recommended by Li Qing as 'beauty like a flying fairy, talent surpassing common customs'?"

  Cheng Gong hastily replied: "In response to Your Majesty, this is the eldest daughter of the Pu family, recommended by Minister Li as the third daughter of Minister Pu."

  "So that's why I felt she looked different from her portrait. I remember she also passed the third examination." The Emperor said.

  Cheng Gong hastily replied: "That's right. Just now in the Yuanhua Hall, the Empress Dowager glanced at me with her phoenix eyes and had me sent away."

  "What? Why?" The emperor asked in surprise.

  Cheng Gonggong stole a glance at Qingyu and said in a low voice: "The empress thought that the emperor would ask, so she specially instructed me to tell the emperor that you are not yet grown up, your behavior is improper, and you are also a daughter born out of wedlock..."

  Cheng Gong saw the emperor's displeasure and did not dare speak again.

  The emperor glared at Program Director Gong and narrowed his eyes, saying: "Is your behavior improper?"

  "It's said that when answering questions, you laughed too much and appeared somewhat frivolous." Gong Gong replied nervously.

  "My sister has always been proper in her words and actions, and..." Suddenly, Qingyu blurted out a phrase, but before she could finish, the Emperor rebuked her, saying: "The daughter of the Pu family is indeed ignorant of etiquette."

  Qing 'Yu' was shocked and knelt down to accept punishment.

  "Alright, alright. I see that you are also deeply concerned about your sister's well-being, so I pardon your crime." The Emperor ordered her to stand up straight and issued a decree to promote her to the rank of Cairen, with the title 'Yu'.

  The other four were: Xu Shangshu's daughter, Suju, was granted the title of Mei Ren; Wang Shaoying's daughter, Zhenyi, was granted the title of Cai Ren; Yunzhou Governor's daughter, Shuhui, was granted the title of Bao Lin; and Hezhou's recommended candidate, Lixian County Magistrate's daughter, Rongyue, was granted the title of Cai Nu.

  According to the palace rules taught by Wang Gong'e a few days ago, Qing Sang knew that the imperial harem system of Xuan Dynasty consisted of: four consorts (first rank); six noble ladies (second rank); nine imperial concubines (third rank); nine beauties (fourth rank); nine talented women (fifth rank); twenty-seven palace ladies (sixth rank); twenty-seven imperial maids (seventh rank); and twenty-seven female attendants (eighth rank). Qing Sang recalled some historical records about the ancient imperial harem that she had read in her past life, which mentioned "twenty-seven generations of women, eighty-one imperial wives". After careful calculation, she found that from imperial concubines to talented women, there were exactly twenty-seven, and from palace ladies to female attendants, there were exactly eighty-one.

  After listening to Qingyu's account of the incident with Mian Sheng, Qing Sang finally understood why Qingyu had only been conferred a title of Talented Person.

  "It was me who held my sister back." Qing Sang said with guilt. But thinking that if it was really because she thought of her unintentional smile in the previous life's "Three Obediences and Four Virtues" and was picked on by the Empress, then she should thank her best friend Ye'er instead.

  "There's no need to blame yourself, I was also just momentarily flustered at the time and felt that Her Ladyship's words were biased, but I forgot my manners and deserved this punishment." Qing Yu comforted Qing Sang by gently patting her hand.

  Qing Sang let out a light sigh and said, "If I hadn't made a mistake in front of the emperor, my sister wouldn't have been scolded for defending me." According to Qing Yu's account, the emperor had already prepared the edict, and when he met the real person, if there were no unexpected events, he would have bestowed the title accordingly. The ranking was determined from high to low, and based on Qing Yu's family background, behavior, and appearance, being conferred as a Mei Ren (Beautiful Lady) was expected. If not for her eagerness to protect me, she wouldn't even have been considered for the title of Mei Ren. However, thinking about it again, I feel that the emperor was just slightly punishing us; otherwise, he wouldn't have bestowed the title at all. This can be considered as a mix of reward and punishment.

  "You and I are sisters, no need to worry about this loss. The emperor's selection of concubines is very rare, remember the big selection in Hongjing 2 years, a total of 39 famous women from all over were selected, Hongjing 7 years selected 33 people, after that there was no selection until Hongjing 18 years, a total of 21 people were selected. This time, only eight people were selected, and they are all daughters of noble families, few are commoner girls." Qingyu actually listed the year and number of concubines selected in our dynasty one by one, making Qingsang somewhat surprised.

  "Sister, how did you know about this selection of the imperial consort?" Qing Yu asked. Qing Sang was only seventeen and it was currently the twentieth year of the Hongjing era, so she shouldn't have known such details.

  Qing picked up the clear tea on the table, took a light sip, and then said: "It was Mother who told me. She was once a candidate for Hongjing's seven-year-old selection. After losing the election, it happened to be Father's high school, and she was married to Father by her grandfather."

  Qing Sang only then understood that Liu Zaixiang had long wanted to take the path of the imperial harem, but unfortunately his only 'daughter' was not chosen, so he settled for second best and married off his 'daughter' to the new jinshi.

  Qing Sang wondered why he wasn't chosen. In terms of appearance, Liu didn't lose to others, even though she was already over thirty, she still had a lingering charm, and sixteen years ago she should have been a stunning beauty, plus the background of being the prime minister's daughter, logically she shouldn't have been rejected, but because of her family's past, he didn't dare ask.

  "This time, my sister was unable to enter the palace. My older sister must take good care of herself alone. There are many rules in the palace. My older sister is a straightforward and simple person, she must be careful with her actions." Qing Sang knew that the palace's inner workings were complex and thought of the cruel struggles between women, and couldn't help but worry.

  Qing 'Yu' nodded, Qing Sang couldn't enter the palace together with her, it was also her regret, but thinking about it, entering the palace might not be a good thing either.

  The two sisters poured out their hearts to each other, chatting till the small hours of the night before they went to sleep. As it was already late at night, Qingyu asked Qingyang to stay in her room and rest there for the night.

  Listening to Qingyu's steady breathing, Qing Sang had no intention of sleeping. The emperor first sealed the daughter of General Zhenjun and General Yunwei, obviously with the intention of promoting military generals. Qing Sang once inadvertently heard his father mention that the war with Beijun in the past two years was tight, the national treasury was empty, and the emperor wanted to increase taxes. Judging from the selection of the imperial concubine today, the battle situation is not optimistic. And this time, only a few concubines were selected, which is also due to the emptiness of the national treasury.

  I thought of the Empress saying that she was "not yet grown up, lacking in manners, and born out of wedlock". Suddenly, I seemed to understand some things. The Empress may have considered the balance issue and found a reason to let her fall behind. A family with two daughters entering the palace is extremely likely to cause dissatisfaction among other families. In a situation where only one can be chosen, Qingyu has already come of age, is born to the first wife, and is the granddaughter of the Prime Minister, making it reasonable for her to enter the palace. As for her, she is still young and born out of wedlock, so her status is not as high as Qingyu's. The Empress can use this as a reason to exclude her name. Thinking about this, Qing Sang suddenly felt that this year's grand selection was entirely due to political reasons, the Emperor wanting to win over various families to stabilize the imperial court.

  Once a woman becomes a political sacrifice, there are hardly any good outcomes. Thinking this way, Qing Sang couldn't help but wipe away sweat for Qing Yu.

  Seven days later, Qingyu entered the palace as scheduled.

  Although it was a joyful occasion, everyone still shed tears, and no one knew when they would meet again. Especially Liu, who held onto Qingyu and refused to let go, had never seen her so out of control before.

  "The hearts of all parents in the world are pitiful" is really true, Qing Sang thought while wiping away her tears.

  After Qingyu got on the car, Qing Sang looked up and saw that under the clear sky, a pair of swallows were chirping and playing in the blue sky, sliding past and hiding into the white clouds.

  Qing Sang clasped her hands together in front of her chest, silently praying that Qing Yu would be like this pair of spring swallows, a perfect match made in heaven, with harmonious zither and se. Even though she knew that this prayer was an unattainable luxury for a woman marrying into the deep palace.

  Two years later, in the twenty-fifth year of Hongjing, on the night of the Lantern Festival.

  Qing Sang took her sister Qing He, brother Jia Bao and two maidservants, two young servants to Yongxing Street to watch the lanterns, performances and join in the excitement. Qing Bi did not want to go with Qing Sang, so she made an appointment with Xu Shangshu's daughter Su Lan to attend a nearby lantern riddle party to guess lantern riddles.

  Jiabao, who was five years old, was at the age where he was mischievous and full of energy. Seeing the colorful lanterns on the street, he excitedly darted through the crowd, causing the servants from his household to chase after him in a frantic manner, leaving everyone crying with laughter.

  "Jiabao, slow down, be careful not to trip and fall." Qing Sang shouted anxiously as she saw him running hastily.

  Jiabao didn't listen, ignoring the servants' advice and only playing in the crowded streets. Qing Sang knew the servants didn't dare to use force, so she ordered the maid to take care of Qinghe and chased after him in small steps.

  "Watch out!" A clear male voice rang out, and it turned out that Jiabao had bumped into someone.

  Qingsang quickly stepped forward, hugged Jiabao and scolded in a low voice: "Jiabao, how can you be so mischievous!"

  "Don't be too hard on her, she's just a child, it's normal for kids to be a bit naughty!" the man who was bumped said in a soft voice.

  Qing Sang looked up and saw a slender, jade-like youth standing before him, about sixteen or seventeen years old. Beside him stood an older youth, with a fresh and handsome face like polished jade. Both of them had an air of grandeur and refinement. Judging from their attire, they should be young masters from a wealthy family.

  Qing Sang bowed his head and apologized: "Please forgive me, two young masters. My younger brother is still young and has offended you both."

  "It doesn't matter, it's the Lantern Festival today, and there are so many people on the road. Be careful with your little brother." The boy who was bumped smiled and comforted him.

  "Thank you, young master, for reminding me. Jia Bao, don't you apologize to the two young masters yet?" Qing Sang saw that Jia Bao was staring at her with a pair of big, round eyes, and quickly turned his small body around to face the two young masters to apologize.

  Unexpectedly, Jia Bao looked at the two princes for a moment, then turned his head and asked in a childish tone: "Sister, why is your face red?"

  Qing Sang was taken aback and felt extremely embarrassed, so she gently pushed Jia Bao away and covered it up by saying: "What are you talking about? It's just that the rouge is applied a bit too heavily and the flower lanterns made it look even redder. Apologize quickly!"

  Jiabao then gave a slight bow to the two young masters and said loudly: "Sorry for the rudeness!"

  The lovely appearance made two young men laugh out loud.

  "What's your name and where do you live?"

  "My name is Jia Bao, I live in Pu Fu. This is my third sister, Sang Er! What are your names, brothers?" Jia Bao had only heard the elders at home call Qing Sang 'Sang Er', so he said it that way.

  "Is it Pu Fu? Which two people are Pu Jiayuan, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?" asked the older youth.

  Jiabao blinked his eyes and looked at Qingsang with a puzzled expression, tilting his head to the side.

  Although Qing Sang is from the 21st century, she is still in ancient times and must follow the rules. Men and women do not interact closely, and chatting with a stranger on the street can lead to gossip. Qing Sang does not want rumors about the three daughters of the Pu family spreading throughout the capital tomorrow. Two years ago, the Empress Dowager's praise had already made her somewhat famous, and she just wants to live a low-key life. So she said: "The young son is ignorant, let the gentleman laugh at him. We will take our leave first."

  Qing Sang said and pulled Jia Bao's hand to leave.

  "Brother hasn't told me their names yet?" Jia Bao refused to leave, chattering away and asking for the two young men's names.

  Qing Sang felt that more and more people around them were staring at them, anxious to the point of wanting to stomp their feet.

  "My name is Tang Huo, and this is my brother Tang Hao." The boy who was bumped bowed his head and gently scratched the small nose of Jia Bao, smiling.

  "Is your surname Tang?" Due to Qing Sang's past life also having the surname Tang, she couldn't help but glance up at the two of them. Seeing that they were staring back at her, her face turned red as she hastily bowed and said: "Thank you for telling me, young master. I'm sorry for the trouble!" After finishing speaking, she quickly pulled Jia Bao's hand and turned to leave.

  "Tang Huo, Tang Hao, two brothers, we will meet again!" Jia Bao shouted in a spoiled tone while walking away and turning her head back.

  Tang Huo and Tang Hao smiled lightly: "We'll meet again!"