Chapter 206 - 180: The Imitator

It was a grave taboo to stare at one’s superiors.

No matter how curious they were, the concubines only dared to steal a hurried glance from the corner of their eyes, not daring to look too closely.

Yet in that single glance, they were stunned by Gu Zhaoyi’s beauty. All her Holy Favor suddenly made sense. Men sought to conquer the world for two reasons: power and beauties. For a celestial being like her, even the Emperor would cherish her in his heart of hearts.

"Of this year’s concubines, has the Emperor seen any that he fancies?"

A lazy female voice sounded from the seat of honor.

Today, the Empress Dowager was not present. Only the Empress, Noble Princess Consort Rong, and Gu Zhaoyi were in attendance. The one who asked the question was Noble Princess Consort Rong.

"They all look the same to Us. We would rather hear the Empress’s opinion."

Xie Che didn’t fall for the trap.

He didn’t frequent the harem much and had little interest in selecting concubines. He saw it as simply completing a task: bringing the ones with good family backgrounds into the palace as required. Only Noble Princess Consort Rong would look at this group of young women, as fresh as spring onions, with mixed feelings. If he were to show favor to any one of them, that girl would immediately become a thorn in the Noble Consort’s side upon entering the palace.

The Empress, having been called upon, followed procedure and asked the concubines about their talents and what books they had read.

The concubines’ answers were conventional. *Women’s Rules* and *Women’s Training* were the designated textbooks. Some even took pride in being illiterate. Their talents were randomly chosen from among zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, and needlework. Only one, Ji Mingyun, said in a crisp voice, "I have loved to dance since I was a child. I perform the *Spring Nightingale* best of all."

Ji Mingyun was from a prominent clan. She had originally planned to enter the palace in the same cohort as Jiang Xian but had to wait for several bitter years because she was too young and had suffered a serious illness. Coincidentally, the illness she had was smallpox, once considered an "incurable disease" by the Yan Chi Ren. Not only did she recover thanks to her own strong immune system, but she was also lucky enough to be left with no scars. She cultivated skin whiter than snow and passed the eunuchs’ inspection, allowing her to advance to the second round of selections.

Because of this, Mrs. Ji became known as a fortunate woman in the upper circles of the Capital City.

’To have survived smallpox without being disfigured, she must be blessed by the Bodhisattvas!’

The former was luck, but the latter was willpower. When the pox made even her internal organs itch, she had to resist scratching. Breaking even one pustule would have left a scar, and she was even stricter and more self-disciplined with her diet.

She wore a light green brocade gauze dress, a freshly picked crabapple blossom pinned askew in her hair. Two plain silver earrings of the same floral design, threaded with gold, swayed gently by her cheeks.

Although there were regulations for what the concubines could wear during the selection, this outfit was still too plain for a daughter of the Ji Family.

The Empress then asked what books she enjoyed reading. Ji Mingyun replied, "My mother wanted me to master *Women’s Rules* and *Women’s Training*. Besides those, I love *Mencius* and *Zuo Zhuan* the most. I also have some understanding of *University* and *Zhongyong*, though I have not studied them in depth."

Her answer made the other concubines glance at her sideways in secret.

’Is she trying to show off how learned she is, how different from the rest of us?’

Xie Che commented, "You read quite a variety of books."

He didn’t say whether it was good or bad.

’In any case, she’s the girl the Ji Family put forward. She’s bound to be chosen eventually.’

"Hmm..."

Noble Princess Consort Rong studied Ji Mingyun intently for a moment. The more she looked, the more familiar the girl seemed, but she just couldn’t recall where she had seen her before. The Noble Princess Consort had a personality that would obsess over trivial details. This unresolved question kept her mostly silent for the rest of the selection process, sparing the other girls from her harsh critiques.

It wasn’t until they were all returning to the harem that the Empress, hearing Noble Princess Consort Rong mention her puzzle, said, "Mrs. Ji’s clothes and style are identical to how Gu Zhaoyi dressed during her own selection. Even the crabapple blossom in her hair is the same. That’s probably why the Noble Consort found her so familiar."

Back then, when Jiang Xian came to the Capital City with her cohort of prospective concubines, her parents sold many paintings, calligraphy works, and pieces of jewelry to cover her travel expenses. But the Jiang family was poor to begin with, and after spending a great deal on the journey, she had just enough to dress herself respectably. Compared to the pampered young ladies from the Capital City’s aristocratic families, she seemed quite destitute.

But poverty has its own kind of beauty. During the selection, Jiang Xian went for a natural, unadorned look. Then, just turn on the Fan Filter!

As everyone knows, Meitu is a woman’s best beauty salon.

Once that soft-focus filter was on, she instantly outshone everyone. The effect was just like one of those devious, wicked women in a group photo who only applies the beauty filter to herself.

The moment she heard the Empress’s words, Noble Princess Consort Rong understood. She sneered, "Her face is plain to begin with, and then she dresses so simply. It’s shabby, tacky, and unbearable to look at. She’s only getting by on her family’s prestige. But was this little trick taught to her by the Ji Family? How increasingly unpresentable," she paused, her hand stroking her nail guard, and turned to Jiang Xian. "Don’t you worry. Since she likes to dress plainly, I’ll help her out. I’ll have the Imperial Household cut some plain fabrics for her and give the patterned ones to everyone else."

’Such blatant favoritism!’

The Empress was noncommittal. "The Imperial Household is your responsibility. Just don’t lose your sense of propriety."

"Actually, Mrs. Ji isn’t bad-looking. If she were properly dressed up, she would surely be the most outstanding of this batch of concubines."

Jiang Xian said.

’The girls entering the palace for the selection are all so young, a whole generation apart from my mental age. It’s hard to feel competitive with them; all I feel is a sense of wistfulness.’ Seeing her two superiors defending her like this made her even more delighted.

Noble Princess Consort Rong shot her a glare. "You and your foolish generosity. I, for one, can’t tolerate people like that!"

"True. Gu Zhaoyi suffered your wrath for the very same reason back then," the Empress added coolly, twisting the knife.

Noble Princess Consort Rong huffed again. "I find her annoying now, too."

Seeing this, the Empress said:

"In that case, you can return to Zhaoyang Palace by yourself later. Gu Zhaoyi will come to Jianzhang Palace to discuss the final arrangements for the selection with me."

Noble Princess Consort Rong clenched her handkerchief, extremely displeased but helpless to do anything.

In the end, she placed all the blame for this on the head of Mrs. Ji, who had yet to even enter the palace.

※

When the selected Ji Mingyun left the palace, there was no joy on her face.

After returning to her family’s estate, she sighed to her parents, "Gu Zhaoyi has clearly given birth before, yet her complexion is so delicate and youthful. Even I, after taking such care with my appearance, don’t feel confident that I can surpass her."

Then, Ji Mingyun added, somewhat dejected, "If I hadn’t gotten smallpox back then, I could have entered the palace with her, and the Emperor would have seen me first! That girl from the Guo Family is useless. I’m not like her at all."

Seeing her daughter, who was usually so confident in her own beauty, actually feeling inferior for once, Mrs. Ji comforted her, "Men are all fickle. When you enter the palace, you’ll have the advantage of being new and younger than her. Don’t aim to outshine her. Just focus on winning a share of the favor and try to give birth to a Prince as soon as possible... Don’t be like that girl from the Guo Family, who spent all day fighting with Gu Zhaoyi and ended up annoying the Emperor."

"I understand, Mother."

Ji Mingyun quickly regained her spirits.

She didn’t want to make an enemy of Jiang Xian. On the contrary, she hoped to use her slight resemblance to her to gain a sliver of the Holy Favor. Of course, if the Emperor were to take a liking to her, she felt her future prospects would be far greater than Jiang Xian’s. If she won his favor, she wouldn’t have to rely on the Rong Family like Gu Zhaoyi did.

"Now that the Empress is pregnant, I refuse to believe that Gu Zhaoyi isn’t panicking."

she said confidently.

...

「Bihua Palace.」

The power to assign palace residences this time was in the hands of the Empress and the Noble Consort who assisted in managing the Six Palaces. The Empress first drew up a draft and gave it to the Noble Consort to see if she had any changes. The Noble Consort made her revisions, then unexpectedly had a copy made and sent to Jiang Xian for her amusement.

Jiang Xian had no interest in the dorm assignments for the new recruits, but since her superior wanted her to look, she obliged.

There was a certain art to these palace assignments.

Those with high-status backgrounds who were likely to be promoted soon were best assigned to a palace without a main position lady, saving them the trouble of moving later. Back then, Guo Xiao Yi was directly given Zhongcui Palace, while two concubines with no backing and low birth were bundled off to Yizhu Pavilion—which was not only just a pavilion, but also in a remote location.

For Consort Ji, who already had an advantage in rank, the Empress had designated Xianfu Palace.

But Noble Princess Consort Rong, with a single stroke of her brush, changed Xianfu Palace to Yizhu Pavilion.