When Spring Arrives, Who Takes Charge of Youth (Part 4)

  Ti Yuandian, Yunzhu stood quietly in the Xiu Nu team waiting.

  "Yu Binu has arrived——" The sharp voice of the eunuch rang out loudly.

  Yu Pin Geng's face was round and white, with almond-shaped eyes and slender eyebrows. She wore an autumn-colored palace attire, her hair styled in two buns, with a porcelain flower pin pressed into the middle of her coiffed hairdo. On the right side, she wore two pale pink silk flowers, while on the left, a five-bat gold hairpin was inserted at an angle, its tail holding a pair of dangling golden tassels and red gemstone bats. Her ears were adorned with a pair of Dongzhu earrings, her demeanor elegant and refined, exuding a sense of inner vitality, clearly indicating that she was well taken care of.

  Yunzhu glanced at her and immediately lowered her head, along with the other beautiful women, waving their handkerchiefs and bending their knees, shouting: "Greetings to Princess Yu, wishing Princess Yu good fortune."

  A faint voice: "Qia."

  Everyone then stood up. The eunuch at the gate of the palace shouted loudly again: "Consort Xi has arrived—"

  Only then did Xi Fei Nian Nu Lu wear a orange satin embroidered with gold and jade, full of auspicious patterns, with a blue edge flag dress, on her head wore a gold-inlaid blue gemstone peach hairpin, and slanted inserted a cloud-patterned inlaid gold hairpin, on her ears wore two pairs of gold-accumulated silk dot green East pearl earrings, on the hands of the accompanying nurse wore several gemstone rings and inlaid with various colors of enamel coral gemstones. She was born with an apricot face, peach cheeks, slender eyebrows, big eyes, elegant and gentle demeanor, even though she had just entered the palace to serve as a low-ranking concubine, but after more than ten years of "cultivating her body and spirit", she had also cultivated a noble and dignified bearing. Yunzhu felt that, in terms of appearance, Hongli was still more like Yongzheng.

  "Greetings to Consort Xi, wishing Consort Xi good fortune." The maids curtsied again.

  "Don't be too polite." The voice was soft and powerful.

  "Her Majesty the Queen has arrived——"

  Yunzhu again followed other palace maids to pay respects: "Your humble servant pays homage to Her Majesty the Empress, may Your Majesty be well."

  The Empress Ulanara indicated to the eunuch, and the eunuch shouted: "Rise."

  The crowd rose again, bowed their heads and stood respectfully.

  "Raise your heads and let me take a look." The voice was clear and light, with an unquestionable majesty.

  The crowd slowly lifted their heads, and Yunzhu took the opportunity to glance at the Empress Dowager. With just one look, she felt that the Empress Dowager's appearance was indeed like the historical portraits of her - with a goose egg-shaped face, elegant and refined features, warm and gentle. Her height was similar to Yu Bin's, around 1.7 meters tall, with a slender figure, wearing a blue imperial robe, exuding an air of dignity and grandeur. She swept her gaze over the young women and smiled: "Looking at all of you, I can see that you are all decent people. The fact that you have made it this far means that your 'virtue, appearance, speech' have all passed the test. Today, we will be testing your 'skills'. Needling and embroidery, these basic skills for women should not be difficult for you, right?"

  She nodded slightly to the people below, and immediately a row of palace maids walked in with trays, placing them on the low tables in front of each of the showgirls. Yunzhu looked into the tray and saw scraps of cloth, small pieces of satin, gauze, and various colored silk threads, as well as small pearls...

  "Give you a stick of incense time, use the materials in the tray to create your most satisfactory work. If it doesn't pass, someone will check... Alright, start now."

  Yunzhu picked out a small piece of green satin and a small piece of red satin from the materials on her tray, quickly outlining the fish scale pattern she wanted with golden silk thread. She then cut out the shape she wanted with scissors, chose some silk threads, and sewed the two pieces of satin together into a pair of connected fish, filling them with useless scraps of fabric to make them look more three-dimensional. She also used colored silk threads to sew on the tail and fins. Finally, she used five-colored silk threads to weave a small auspicious knot, threaded it onto a pendant, tied one end firmly onto the double-fish sachet, turning it into a sachet that could be hung from a woman's front lapel.

  The Empress and Imperial Consort Yu walked over, saw it and brightened up. Imperial Consort Xi was also fond of embroidery, picked it up and examined it left and right, saying to the Empress and Imperial Consort Yu: "Your Majesty, Elder Sister Yu, look, what a clever idea."

  Yes, Yunzhu's work may not be extremely exquisite, but having seen all sorts of figurines in her past life, what she produces is obviously more elegant and lovely than the other Shou girls.

  "It's rare to have auspicious meaning." Yu Bin also nodded.

  The queen glanced at Yunzhu a few times and smiled: "Which family are you from?"

  Yunzhu stepped forward and curtsied: "In response to Master's words, I am a servant of the Embroidered Yellow Banner, and I am the legitimate daughter of Li Rongbao, a second-rank official with scattered rank, Fuca Yunzhu."

  Upon hearing this, Xi Fei's eyes lit up and she gazed at Yunzhu with a faint smile, while Yu Pin's eyes flashed with disappointment, but her face remained warm and smiling.

  "Not bad." The queen nodded and continued walking down.

  Yunzhu returned to her seat, bearing the gaze of envy and jealousy from various people. Next, several other palace maidens received praise from Empress Dowager and Imperial Concubine Yu, including Wu Zhaoku, the future wife of Prince Hongxiao. Hai Kejin made a blue satin pouch with a lotus pattern made of pink silk. The pouch was extremely delicate, and it was impossible to see any signs of stitching. The seams were all wrapped in colorful thread embroidery, and the needlework was fine and even. From these small details, one could see her exceptional skill and craftsmanship.

  Wu Zha Ku was born in the embroidered red banner, is the daughter of Vice General Wu Shi Tu, a second-class official. She is beautiful and elegant, with fluent speech, and is only 14 years old this year. Yu Pin asked very carefully, for Hong Xiao who had no intention of taking the throne, she was a perfect candidate for the position of Di Fu Jin.

  Pouches, sachets, calabaza pouches, handkerchiefs, silk flowers, hairpins, and knots... The young ladies showed off their skills in various ways, with some products being good and others mediocre. Those who did well naturally received inquiries and praise from the noblewomen, while those who didn't do so well were evaluated by the inspection aunties to see if they passed muster. Some were overjoyed, some were just average, some were disappointed, and there were even those who were so disheartened that they silently shed tears - it was unclear whether their needlework was poor or they simply choked under pressure. In any case, the finished products looked really subpar and could only wait for the fate of being discarded.

  Only 153 people passed this level successfully, and 19 were eliminated.

  Back in her room, Yiru Gen Sulan couldn't help but lose her temper. She had made a pendant with a string of pearls on the Ti Yuandian, and the finished product was only mediocre, not outstanding. Seeing Yunzhu enter, she coldly sneered: "Ah, someone wants to fly high now!"

  Yunzhu gave her a sidelong glance, seemingly smiling yet not quite smiling, "The selection isn't over yet, and your true nature will be revealed?" Don't think that just because she's gentle in her daily dealings, she's easy to bully; if you want to vent your temper on someone, you'd better choose the right target.

  "You——"

  Then Korileyte came in, and upon hearing the news, her eyes sparkled with a hint of light, but she didn't say a word and walked to her own room, poured herself a glass of water, and slowly started drinking. Earlier, the female red exam had made a patchwork handkerchief, which was quite beautiful, but its difficulty and needlework were not as good as Wu Zaku's, so she lost graciously. However, she didn't expect Yunzhu to excel in this area as well - those carp-shaped sachets looked lovely to her too. The thing wasn't hard to make, it just took a lot of work. From this, it can be seen that Fuca Yunzhu's needlework skills are not bad, at least she has an advantage in terms of speed.

  Yiru Gen Ruo. Shulan glanced at her and sat back on the couch with a huff. The selection was indeed not over yet, she still had a chance, in the next round, she would definitely not lose.

  "Li Yu, why hasn't he arrived yet?" Hong Li paced back and forth in the study, occasionally stretching his neck to look out the door. Wu Shu came with his head hung low, pretending to be dead: "My master, it's only been a short while, half of the incense stick has burned, you've asked so many times already? Even sewing a patch on a handkerchief isn't that quick!"

  Hongli was naturally tense, he had a crush on Yunzhu, although these days he had laid many ambushes in Xi Fei's place, but to choose the best candidates, it still depends on the performance of the girls themselves. Besides, apart from today's examination at Ti Yuandian, there will be another inspection by the Emperor at Yuhuayuan in two days.

  A small eunuch walked in with his head bowed, and Hongli saw that it wasn't Li Yu, so he ignored him. The small eunuch went to Wu Shu's side and whispered a few words to him.

  "Your Majesty, Gao Gege has painted a new painting and would like to ask for your guidance." Wu Shu came over and whispered to the small eunuch to wait aside, then walked over to Hong Li's side and reported. This newly promoted palace maid, Gao Shi, had some power in the Imperial Household Department and was not someone Wu Shu wanted to offend.

  "What's the painting?" Hongli's eyes flashed, and he really didn't have the mood to play this game with them today. He said directly, "Let her go back and tell her that I'm busy today." His voice carried a kind of cold indifference that was characteristic of those in high positions towards those below them, which was quite different from the warm and gentle manner he showed when he was with Gaoshi.

  "Ah." Wu Shu came out of the study himself and said to Gao Luwei, "Gao Gege, please go back, Master has something else to attend to... can't be delayed." A round face with a more affable smile than Gao's.

  "Wu Gonggong, you're working so hard, why don't I go make a nourishing soup for you to bring over?" Gaolü muttered under her breath. If she had known it would be like this, she might as well not have gotten involved with the Fourth Prince so quickly and lifted her status to that of a princess, which not only reduced her chances of developing feelings with him but also put herself in direct opposition to Fucha's (Fuling'a) faction.

  But if she doesn't quickly give herself a good face, she's afraid that the legitimate Fu Jin will enter the Yuqing Palace and find an excuse to get rid of her... An unnamed palace maid is not comparable to a "Gege" (princess), and with even a small mistake, she can be controlled by others. No matter how much power she secretly holds, it's useless.

  Wu Shulai smiled: "Early on, Fucha Gege had already sent someone to deliver the pheasant soup......" He had long since made up his mind to stand on the side of the future legitimate Fu Jin, these gege... if they couldn't get the master's intention, then they could only apologize.

  Fu Cha's sister is really thoughtful. Gao Lu slightly raised her eyes, revealing a hint of admiration, and said, "I still need to learn." Reluctantly, she took her personal maid, Cui Juan, back to her own courtyard.

  Cui's eyes were fixed on her master's face, whose expression was becoming increasingly gentle and soft, but with a flash of ice at the bottom of his eyes. If she hadn't been serving him personally, she would have really thought that her master was a delicate and lovely pure lady.

  "Go and call in Song Niangniang." Gao Luomi took the tea brought by Qing E and instructed Cui Xiaoyu. Song Niangniang, along with Qing E and Cui Xiaoyu, were people who had been painstakingly cultivated by the Gao family in the inner court for many years. Once she was promoted to be a gege by Hongli, she made an effort to arrange them around her to serve, so as not to use others whose backgrounds were unclear and whom she didn't trust.

  "Yes."

  Soon, Song Niangniang entered the house, "I have seen Master."

  "Mother, please get up and sit down." Gaolü Wei had only just been promoted to be a princess not long ago, but she quickly adapted to the master's demeanor, managing the people and things around her without appearing flustered or at a loss. Apparently, she had also learned this at home.

  Mrs. Yu sat half on the embroidered stool, saw Cui'er lead the maid out of the room and felt a sudden chill in her heart, knowing that what the master was going to say was not meant for others to hear.

  "Mother, how's the training of these servants in the courtyard going?" Who can be used and who is a nail should be clear.

  "Master, please rest assured. Among the people sent by Fuca Gege, many are our own, and they have been arranged in important positions. As for the others, the slaves have also been watched. Whether they can be used or not remains to be seen. As for those few nail-headed slaves mixed in by Fuca Gege, I have a plan in mind. When the opportunity arises, we will get rid of them..." Song Niannian had a confident look on her face.

  "No need, let them be, they might come in handy later." She smiled lightly and looked at Nurse Song with a restored calm expression, "Just keep a close eye on them."

  "Yes." Matron Zhang became even more respectful, not expecting the young master to have such a mind at such a young age. But this was also good, the more capable the master was, the better off these slaves would be, wasn't that so?

  "Recently, Fu Chai Ge Ge..."

  ……

  They didn't mention the Gao family's side discussing how to suppress Fu Chai Gege, on the other hand, Hong Li finally waited for a stick of incense to burn out, and Li Yu's figure also rushed over quickly.