You take on two husbands, I'll turn around and marry the tyrant and rule the world.

Chu Nianci walked quickly to Shen Lanbing's side, panting heavily.

Shen Lanbing smiled and reached out to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, then straightened the plum blossom hairpin: "You're not a child anymore, yet you still act so hastily..."

Looking at her gentle and elegant smile, Chu Nianci's panicked and tense heart gradually calmed down.

For Bing'er's sake, and for my own.

She's determined to handle this.

In her previous life, Chu Nianci had asked Chu Shunqing about the specific details of the matter, but her half-sister was so immersed in the joy of becoming a female physician that she had no interest in the details, so Chu Nianci didn't know why.

She only said that the Empress Dowager was unwell and did not participate in the selection of concubines, and the Empress was busy managing the entire process and did not appear in the inner courtyard. In the end, the matter alarmed the Emperor.

Therefore, I must seize this opportunity to achieve a small but significant merit to attract the emperor's attention.

She must be extra careful for the rest of her life!

You have to pay attention to every little thing.

"Sister Shen, I'm so glad I found you! I really don't know what I would have done if I hadn't run into you." A clear voice came from behind.

"Sister Shen, it's been almost a year since I last saw you. I often hear my mother mention you, saying that you've become even more beautiful. Seeing you today, it's truly true."

Chu Nianci turned around upon hearing the sound and saw two girls walking towards him.

The one walking in front wore a bright red cloak over a pink jacket with fox fur trim, and small boots. He looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, with an oval face, deep eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, a high nose and thin lips. A phoenix hairpin with outstretched wings was tucked into his dark hair. He looked heroic and dashing, generous and straightforward, with a captivating gaze that made people forget the mundane.

The girl beside her looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old. She wore a sky-blue soft silver dress, with an expensive kingfisher feather hair ornament in her hair. She had a small face, delicate eyebrows and willow-leaf eyes, a small nose and cherry lips. In particular, her pair of watery, doe-like eyes made people feel sorry for her. In addition, she had a bit of baby fat on her rosy cheeks, which gave her an innocent and charming childishness.

As you get closer, a subtle minty scent wafts over, intoxicating the senses.

Both of them are exceptionally beautiful.

Seeing that Chu Nianci was staring at the two people without blinking, Lan Bing smiled and introduced them to her.

"Nianci, how come you don't remember? I mentioned her to you. She's my confidante," she said, pointing first to the beautiful young woman in the bright red cloak, "Gu Qingmei, the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion."

He then turned to the innocent-looking girl beside him: "This is Bai Qianrou, the granddaughter of Grand Commandant Bai."

Chu Nianci's heart stirred slightly... She had heard Shen Lanbing mention this matter in a letter in her previous life.

Shen Lanbing has a close friend, Gu Qingmei, the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

The granddaughter of Bai Zhanling, another Grand Commandant of the current dynasty, is also not to be underestimated...

Even though these two are younger than her, she's not so naive as to judge people by their age.

Facing the noble ladies, she did not show any obsequiousness, but calmly bowed and said, "Chu Nianci, daughter of the Prefect of Yangzhou, greets the two young ladies."

Gu Qingmei and Bai Qianrou were both stunned upon hearing this.

In principle, only daughters of officials of the fifth rank or above are eligible to participate in this selection process, and Miss Chu's father does not hold a high enough official rank.

The Grand Commandant is a first-rank official, and the Duke of Zhenguo is an even higher rank. The Prefect of Yangzhou is a fifth-rank official, barely qualified, while Chu Nianci's father was only a fifth-rank sub-prefect.

However, neither of them looked her up and down and showed any disdain, simply because Chu Nianci was beautiful and well-mannered.

Within this deep palace, there are also advancements in appearance and demeanor.

"Sister Shen, this Sister Chu is truly a rare beauty," Gu Qingmei exclaimed quickly.

"Sister Gu, please don't say that," Chu Nianci reminded her gracefully. "There are many outstanding people today, so you shouldn't speak recklessly."

She did not explain why she was not participating in the talent show.

With so many people around and so many eyes, why bother vying for favor?

"This lady is too cautious." Bai Qianrou laughed innocently, revealing two dimples at the corners of her mouth.

Chu Nianci smiled but did not respond.

Although he looked the youngest, Chu Nianci knew that in this deep palace, one could not judge a person's harmlessness based on their appearance and age.

The best hunters often appear as their prey.

In her previous life, after Gu Qingmei's accident, Bai Qianrou entered the palace, won the emperor's favor, and gained a reputation for being innocent and naive.

Later, she rose all the way to the rank of Imperial Concubine, becoming a rival to the Empress.

After the emperor's death, she supported the late emperor's illegitimate son, Prince Yong, to ascend the throne, and she herself became the Holy Mother Empress Dowager.

Chu Nianci was too busy dealing with the mess at home to pay much attention to her final fate.

But a woman who can fight her way to the top in the harem is definitely not as innocent and harmless as she appears on the surface.

Chu Nianci became wary, but showed no sign of it on her face.

At this moment, the imperial eunuch came out and summoned the first batch of candidates for the imperial concubines to enter.

The remaining people were a little nervous.

Although Chu Nianci's family background was at the bottom among these noble ladies, she had already been appointed as a concubine and did not need to participate in the selection process, so she was more composed than others.

She gently comforted Shen Lanbing beside her, "Don't panic, the palace servants will make arrangements in a moment, just follow their instructions, sister."

Just then, a palace maid came over with a tray on which were several teacups from the palace.

Shen Lanbing felt thirsty, so she grabbed three cups and handed them to Chu Nianci, Gu Qingmei, and Bai Qianrou, saying with a smile, "After talking for so long, have some water to moisten your throat."

Gu Qingmei smiled and accepted it: "You're still so considerate. His Majesty will definitely like someone like you."

Shen Lanbing blushed: "Stop teasing me..."

Chu Nianci's heart suddenly tightened.

In her past life, Gu Qingmei was poisoned, so she naturally paid attention to what she put in her mouth. Could it be that there was something wrong with this cup of tea?

And no wonder Shen Lanbing was implicated.

It turned out that she had handed this cup of tea to Gu Qingmei.

She subtly brought the teacup to her nose and took a gentle sniff.

The tea has a normal aroma and a sweet taste, with only a very faint hint of sesame oil.

Although the tea was not poisonous, she was still extremely cautious.

"Don't drink yet," she gently stopped them, "Just hold back a little longer, so it won't be inconvenient later."

Shen Lanbing's dignified face showed a look of sudden realization: "Yes, yes, let's be patient, it'll be our turn soon."

Chu Nianci glanced at Bai Qianrou out of the corner of her eye, only to see that Bai Qianrou's expression was normal, and an admiring look appeared on her face: "Sister Chu is so thoughtful."

Just then, the eunuch in charge of ceremonies came out and announced the names: "Shen Lanbing, Gu Qingmei, and Bai Qianrou, by imperial decree, enter to pay your respects to His Majesty!"

Shen Lanbing hurriedly put down her teacup, but Bai Qianrou seemed to be startled and suddenly stumbled, spilling all the tea in her hand onto Gu Qingmei's dress.

"Oh dear!" Gu Qingmei exclaimed softly.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Bai Qianrou apologized repeatedly.

Gu Qingmei waved her hand and bent down to wipe it.

Fortunately, only a little water got on the hem of her skirt, so it wasn't noticeable and wouldn't affect her meeting His Majesty.

The three turned to enter the Xiefang Palace, but just as they reached the door, Gu Qingmei suddenly changed her expression, clutching her calf: "It hurts so much..."

Before she could finish speaking, she collapsed to the ground, her body convulsing.

"Sister Gu!" Bai Qianrou exclaimed and was about to step forward, but she suddenly trembled and stood still, pointing at the hem of Gu Qingmei's skirt and screaming.

A venomous scorpion, about the length of a finger, emerged from beneath Gu Qingmei's skirt and slithered rapidly toward Shen Lanbing...

"Scorpion!" the girls screamed and scattered.

Chu Nianci didn't care about anything else and stepped forward to stomp the poisonous scorpion to death.

She quickly lifted the hem of her skirt, revealing a small, dark spot on her snow-white ankle.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Chu Nianci secretly took out a poison-avoiding pill from her bosom and stuffed it into Gu Qingmei's mouth.

He then rolled up her trouser legs and bent down to suck out the poisonous blood bit by bit.

Fortunately, I had already taken antidote pills.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to suck the poison out for her.

Chaos erupted around them. Bai Qianrou, her voice trembling, cried out, "Quickly, summon the imperial physician! Hurry!"

Chu Nianci spat out the last mouthful of poisonous blood and looked up at Bai Qianrou... Her innocent face was filled with panic and worry, revealing no flaws.

But she knew in her heart that this was probably how Gu Qingmei in her past life fell for this trick.

Shen Lanbing was implicated in this way.

The instigator of all this is probably this fifteen-year-old girl, but this time, with her there, Bai Qianrou will never succeed...