Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 119 Palace Selection (Fourth update, please subscribe)

"Brother, is it over?"

Chai Meng was driving the carriage towards his residence when he heard a woman's voice coming from the carriage behind him.

Chai Meng said disheartenedly, "It's not over yet, but it's almost over. I'm afraid this matter is hopeless. Deng can't help... Humph, he still has the nerve to call himself the national master, he's just bullshit."

"Don't take it to heart, brother."

The woman offered comforting words.

"It's you who's suffering."

Chai Meng was a little frustrated. "If you don't get selected, I don't know how many people will gossip about you when you go back. It will be hard for you to get married in the future."

"I'm not worried about this... In fact, it doesn't matter if I'm not chosen. I heard that marrying into the palace is extremely dangerous. Many times, you will die suddenly and silently for no apparent reason because you offended an important person, and you won't even be able to see your relatives for the last time.

"In the past, I stayed at home and did not step out of the house, working under the sky, which was like being in prison. Now I can go out with my second brother to see the majesty of the Great Wall and the prosperity of the capital. It has broadened my horizons and increased my knowledge. I also tasted many snacks with different flavors. I am very happy."

The woman's words were somewhat relaxed and carefree.

Chai Meng smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid that I'll be mocked when I go back... Especially Second Mother. She hates to see you doing well and will definitely criticize you in front of others."

There are four brothers and sisters in the Chai family. Chai Meng and his sister are born to the same mother, while the eldest brother and the youngest brother are born to another mother.

The previous generation of the Chai family was considered to be wealthy, but my father chose to study and did not follow the family's old path of business. After eight or ten years, the family's fortunes naturally declined.

“Don’t worry too much.”

The woman consoled him, "You won't see me again after you get married, so why do you care about what Second Mother says? Or are you arrogant and can't stand any grievances... Can't we just take care of ourselves?"

……

……

Inside Qingning Palace.

Queen Mother Zhou woke up from her nap and took the updated roster for the day. She was pleased to see that a few names had been added, but when she learned that some names had been deleted, her face fell again and she muttered, "There weren't many names to begin with, and you still want to delete them? If you reduce them further, there won't be anyone left."

Chen Gui said cautiously, "I heard that someone concealed his family background. He was born in a family of street vendors and is not suitable to be selected as the concubine of the Eastern Palace."

Queen Mother Zhou looked increasingly unhappy: "If family background is a factor, then why not just choose a daughter from a royal family? Why choose one from the common people? The most important thing is appearance and temperament, and a calm and generous attitude towards others, and a good understanding of others..."

At this point, Queen Mother Zhou seemed to feel that her requests were a bit too much, and she couldn't help but shake her head and smile bitterly.

"What about people?"

Queen Mother Zhou asked without further ado.

Chen Gui said: "After entering the palace, they went through a series of inspections, and finally a total of 35 people were selected. They have been seated in the side hall, waiting for the Queen Mother to grant an audience."

"Only thirty-five people..."

Empress Dowager Zhou looked unhappy again.

Chen Gui looked embarrassed: "Your Majesty is in a hurry, otherwise... the Queen Mother will talk to His Majesty again, maybe..."

Chen Gui was very afraid that Empress Dowager Zhou would think that there were too few candidates and that they did not meet her requirements, and would delay the process. However, the Emperor wanted to speed up the process. As a result, Chen Gui was caught in the middle and dared not offend either side, so he could only express his opinions in a tactful way.

"Since my son is so insistent, as a mother, do I have to go against him and let outsiders laugh at me for nothing? Since we have to choose, let's do it today... Let's go, prepare the carriage, and show it all at once!"

Queen Mother Zhou stood up and stretched out her right arm, meaning, "Help me over."

Chen Gui was completely confused when he heard this.

I thought you were dissatisfied with the lack of people and wanted to hold the event for two days. It turns out that you thought it was too troublesome to meet each of them one by one, so you actually wanted to meet 35 candidates for the Crown Princess at once? You really are...

Do things in an unconventional way!

……

……

Qingning Palace, side hall.

When Queen Mother Zhou walked in, supported by Chen Gui and accompanied by several palace maids and young eunuchs, what appeared before her were five rows of seven women kneeling on the ground.

Although it was said that they were "given seats", it was of course impossible for everyone to prepare a chair. There were not so many chairs in Qingning Palace for these women to sit on. They were only given cushions, and even the colors were not uniform. Many of them were borrowed temporarily and were usually used to entertain ladies at banquets in the palace. At this time, these women who were selected were asked to kneel on them and wait.

When Queen Mother Zhou arrived, the palace was silent.

Queen Mother Zhou was very satisfied with this kind of tranquility. For someone like her who was old and liked to worship Buddha, what she hated most was too much noise.

"Please take a seat, Queen Mother."

Chen Gui followed closely and helped Queen Mother Zhou to sit on the seat that was temporarily prepared for her.

This room was also where the ladies of honor in Beijing came into the palace during festivals to pay their respects to Empress Dowager Zhou, receive banquets bestowed upon them, and where Empress Dowager Zhou gave instructions to the imperial concubines. Although the space was limited, it was wide overall, and usually there was room for one or two hundred ladies to stand, not to mention the young women waiting to be selected as Crown Princesses.

After Empress Dowager Zhou sat down, Chen Gui said loudly: "My dear young masters, please pay your respects to the Empress Dowager."

The women did not receive any systematic training in court etiquette, mainly because time was too tight and there was not enough time, so the women present could not perform their movements in a uniform manner, and they did not say any words of greeting. Most of them just kowtowed to the Queen Mother Zhou on the spot.

This made Chen Gui, who saw everything, very anxious. At least those ladies of honor entered the palace with strict etiquette, not as chaotic as it is now.

Just when Chen Gui wanted to say something, Queen Mother Zhou waved her hand and said loudly: "Forget about the clichéd etiquette... Some of you will stay in the palace in the future. To be more specific, one of you is my granddaughter-in-law. In a month, she will be the Crown Princess, or even the Queen in the future."

These words sounded so terrifying to Chen Gui and other palace servants.

Perhaps in the palace, only the biological mother of the current emperor dared to say this. Who could openly point out that the Crown Princess is the future Queen when the Emperor is still alive and well?

Isn't this a curse to the emperor to death?
Empress Dowager Zhou said, "Everyone raise your heads so that I can have a good look."

Then all the women present straightened up from their kneeling position, and each of them looked like shy little girls who were too embarrassed to see anyone, not daring to even raise their heads.

But there were a few brave ones who were not at all nervous and just raised their heads to let Empress Dowager Zhou look at them.

Queen Mother Zhou frowned and scolded, "Why, you two still want to hide your faces? I told you to raise your heads, so don't let them hang down... Do you want me to see your foreheads?"

The women present were somewhat puzzled by what they heard.

Isn't it said that the nobles in this palace are all well-educated and naturally noble?

How come this... old woman who claims to be the empress dowager, who should be the emperor's mother, speaks so directly and sounds like a common woman?

The tone of her speaking is probably no different from that of my uneducated mother or grandmother.

Then all the women present raised their heads.

When Empress Dowager Zhou glanced at the women with a critical eye, a wrinkle immediately appeared on her forehead.

Chen Gui could see that Queen Mother Zhou was very dissatisfied, because in terms of the most basic appearance of the women present, they were simply... a disaster!
I can’t say it’s ugly, but at least it’s not that good-looking. To describe it in one word, it’s mediocre!
But if you think about it, you can understand that to select these dozens of people from two or three hundred, and to eliminate unfavorable factors such as family background, talent, appearance and behavior, at a ratio of ten to one, most people are at best not ugly.

As for the average level of their beauty, it is definitely not that high.

And who knows if there is any trick behind this, why such a beautiful candidate was deliberately eliminated?
Wasn't it because Wang Zhaojun didn't pay the painter that she was lonely in the harem for many years? It was not until she was about to go to the frontier that the emperor discovered her stunning beauty and beat her chest in frustration?
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(End of this chapter)