The first one to enter the palace was Gao Gege. At this time, the selection of imperial concubines had just begun, and she was only one of the showgirls who had passed the first round.

  She was born into an ordinary family, being just the daughter of a minor official in Jiangsu.

  Her appearance was also delicate and could not be considered too beautiful. After all, in the mansion there were beauties like Li Shi, enchanting ones like Ye Zao, and fairy-like ones like Song Shi, so it was hard for Gao Gege to stand out with her delicate features.

  Gao Gege entered the Fourth Prince's residence with a burden, led by Bie Yatou.

  "Go and rest in the small courtyard first, change your clothes later, then go to the main courtyard to pay respects, it won't be late." The eunuch said with a smile.

  Gao Gege responded with a "yes" and handed him a package.

  Gao Gege thought to herself, now is the perfect time to enter the mansion! The first wife has fallen out of favor and Li Ce's wife is pregnant, it's said that there aren't any decent women left in this household.

  Song Gege has long been out of favor, Wu Gege is not good-looking, isn't it just right that she gets favored?

  So, it can be said that I am extremely satisfied!

  The Gao family was arranged to live in the west wing of the south courtyard, she looked around the house and obviously wasn't very satisfied, but also knew that this couldn't be helped.

  After all, this is the Marquis's estate, not the Duke's.

  Her two personal maidservants were newly transferred from the Nei Wu Fu, one named Hua Nu and the other Hua Qiao, obviously having had their names changed.

  "The two of you have good names, no need to change them, just call them that." said Gao.

  The two of them hastily knelt down: "Thank you, Princess! We will definitely serve the princess."

  "Get up, I'm fine now, you're all good too. Help me change clothes and by the way, tell me about the situation in this mansion."

  Although they all came from the inner court recently, they should have arrived a few days earlier than her and should have already figured out the situation in the mansion.

  Hua Nu smiled and said: "I've only been here for half a month, I know the situation in the mansion, let me tell you about it, Your Highness."

  "Nowadays, Li Ce Fu Jin is pregnant, she has always been favored and has the Second Prince and Da Ge Ge, is the first-class person in the mansion, naturally wants to avoid her. However, this Li Ce Fu Jin is said to be... not very good-tempered. She dares to punish people beyond Fu Jin's authority at any time. Many people in the mansion have been punished by her."

  "The lady of the house is not favored, however, on the first and fifteenth of every month, the master always goes to pay respects."

  "In Song Gege's residence, there lived two concubines. One of them was a maid from the front yard who got pregnant after sleeping with someone. The child she bore later became Song Gege's."

  "There's also a Wu Gege, who doesn't look good, and it's said that Fourth Master has never favored her."

  "There is also a Ye Shi, who is a concubine, but it is said that she comes from a good family and the master loves her very much."

  "This mansion has all sorts of monsters and demons. Is Ye Shi good-looking?" Gao Shi snorted.

  Hua Nu and Hua Qiao thought she was being a bit too forward, but they didn't mind much: "As for what you said, Miss Ye doesn't often come out, we haven't seen her before, but it's said that she's extremely beautiful. Otherwise, even as a concubine, wouldn't she be favored?"

  "Alright, let's get changed and go to the main courtyard to pay our respects to Madame Fu. It's the proper thing to do." That's what she said, but in reality, she didn't have much respect for Madame Fu either. She was just a disgraced old woman after all.

  She changed into a pink cheongsam, re-combed her hair and took two maidservants to the main courtyard.

  In the main hall, Madame had been waiting for a long time.

  She saw her coming and didn't make things difficult for her, so she called her in.

  "The slave greets the young master's wife with good fortune, the young master's wife is auspicious!" The first time she greeted her, she had to perform a grand ceremony, so Gao Gege knelt down and paid her respects.

  "All right, get up and go into the mansion. Serve Master well and follow the rules to help him flourish." Madame Fu smiled and said, "Reward her."

  "I will strictly follow the teachings of Lady Fu and never dare to disobey the rules." Ga Ge replied, only then did she get up.

  "Ah, good, quite a pretty girl, sit down." The mistress said with a wave of her hand.

  "Thank you, Madam!" Gao Gege hastily thanked her and sat down on a chair at the side.

  The imperial concubine was in a good mood, and after saying a few words to her, she said: "I'm sure Empress Li is also waiting for you to go and pay your respects. She's a bit impatient, so don't provoke her, especially since she's pregnant."

  "Yes, I dare not make Li Ce angry." Gao Ge thought to herself, isn't this just provoking?

  Others have two kids and are pregnant with a third, who's still foolish enough to pick a fight?

  After leaving Zhengyuan, I went to Dongyuan and paid respects to Li Ce's wife.

  Chang had been waiting for a long time and saw Gao Gege. He bowed and said, "I pay respects to Gege, wishing you good fortune."

  "Chang Shi? Get up. Don't be polite." Gao Gege smiled, but in her heart she looked down on this poor and humble concubine. However, since they were currently in Li Ce Fu Jun's courtyard, she still had to show some respect.

  Entering the house, she knelt down: "I am Gao Shi, paying respects to Consort Fu, wishing you good fortune!"

  Li was calmly drinking a few sips of goat's milk before slowly putting it down: "It's a bit gamey."

  "Turn back and tell the kitchen staff, Master has been troubled." Qiu Yue smiled apologetically.

  "Mr. Gao?" Madame Li called out.

  Gao Gege was still kneeling and hastily said: "I am indeed a member of the Gao family."

  "Ah, get up, I'm pregnant and feeling weak, I shouldn't have kept you kneeling for so long. Don't be angry." Li said, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief as if there was milk on it.

  Gao Ge hurriedly said: "I don't dare, Cifu Jun has worked hard, I shouldn't have come to disturb you, it's just that this is my first time entering the mansion, I don't dare not follow the rules."

  "Hmm, looks like it's a good thing. Since we've entered the mansion, let's be proper and not think about unnecessary things. If there's any mistake in etiquette, Madame is kind-hearted, but I'm not someone with a good temper." Li Shi hummed.

  "Yes, I will definitely follow the rules!" The lady thought to herself with a cold smile, this person didn't even say anything about serving the fourth master well, how petty.

  "Good, good, you're sensible, that's best. Reward her." Li was satisfied.

  She naturally knew that Gao's family couldn't give up on competing for favor just because of her one sentence, but being able to answer like this now also made her very satisfied.

  Isn't this what it means to suppress someone? She doesn't dare say another word, nor does she dare refute.

  Having given a display of martial prowess, it is only natural to bestow rewards as well.

  Gao Gege hastily knelt down to thank him and then took his leave with the items.

  All the way back to Nan Yuan, she hummed: "Really arrogant, relying on her belly, looking down on people?" Five months pregnant, it seems stable, no wonder she's so unscrupulous.

  "Are you tired? Take a rest first, I'll go take a look at the dining room. We're quite far apart." said Huaqiao.

  "Go ahead. I just entered the palace today and will be serving at night, so I'll have lunch early." This is the key point, there's no hurry in fighting with women.

  First serve the master well, then there will be a future, won't there?

  "Ah, I'll serve you first, Your Highness, take a rest for now." Hua Nu said with a smile.

  Anyway, Gege has just entered the mansion, let's see what it looks like after a while. Ye Shi is indeed favored, but after all, she is only a concubine, and Gege has an opportunity.