Proofreader: Zhu Yuan
She remembered that Ruan Yao"s father seemed to be a county magistrate of the seventh rank, while n.o.ble Lady Cheng"s father was Cheng Tongzhi.
After the ladies recognized the two, they whispered with great interest.
"Ruan Yao looks better than n.o.ble Lady Cheng. Why did she receive a lower t.i.tle than Cheng?"
"That is because n.o.ble Lady Cheng is bad-tempered and she will fight for a higher t.i.tle. I heard from ladies of the same group as her that she looks down on other people."
Ann Brocade didn"t raise her head. She had heard of too many ignorant remarks like these.
The rank of deputy prefect was higher than that of county magistrate. Naturally, the ranks of their daughters in the Imperial Harem would be different.
"Oh, see! There are also n.o.ble Lady w.a.n.g and Royal Lady Lin ... it turns out that they are on their way to the Phoenix Palace to greet Her Majesty." Someone came to the conclusion.
Waiting ladies talked with each other excitedly, and all their words showed they were envious of the chosen concubines.
With a sense of contempt in her eyes, Brocade silently looked at the group of concubines walking past.
Marrying the emperor was the dream of all women. However, no one would think about what the emperor was like. Today"s emperor was old and weak, but he was also very ruthless and tyrannical.
Compared with these delicate and beautiful women like flowers, the emperor was like a cruel old monster.
Amid the heated discussion, someone suddenly sighed with a low voice: "I don"t envy these n.o.ble ladies, but if I were to marry His Royal Highness, The Third Prince, I would be willing to die immediately."
All the ladies looked at the one saying that, only seeing a plain-looking girl speaking with shining eyes.
The girl, who was not aware of others, said foolishly, "I saw His Royal Highness The Third Prince the other day. He was dressed in white and acting with graceful manners, just like a fairy descending into the world. His skin color is even fairer than that of women, and his eyes are brighter than the sun in the sky. He looked over and the powerful aura made me dare not to look straight at him. He still smiled at me and said ... and said ... "
"What else?" Others asked eagerly.
The girl"s face flushed, her eyes filled with infatuation: "He said, thank you, young lady."
Other ladies watched admiringly at the one who had immersed in infatuation and began to talk about The Third Prince.
"Yes, His Royal Highness The Third Prince is very kind to people. He is extremely popular in the palace."
"I heard that the mother of The Third Prince is n.o.ble Consort Lin, the first daughter of the Lin family, which is the head of the top ten big families in our country. She was so beautiful that she was conferred the t.i.tle of Consort Shu by His Majesty as soon as she entered the palace. After giving birth to The Third Prince, she was promoted to n.o.ble Consort by virtue of her son. The third prince has been adored by His Majesty since he was born. His Majesty conferred him the t.i.tle of Marquess Jing when he was a just one month old. When he became twenty years old, his father was not willing to let him leave the Imperial Palace to build his own mansion." There was a beautiful woman who knew everything and began to talk.
"The most valuable thing is that the Third Prince is highly cultured and steeped in propriety. His talent in literature is brilliant, which has even won praises from highly-respected scholars, like Scholar Chen of National Academy. His Majesty also likes the prince"s calligraphy very much and says that he has the style of a master. He is often ordered to accompany His Majesty."
The crowd listened with great interest. A handsome man of n.o.ble birth and peerless beauty had always been the leading role in the dream of a girl.
Compared with the old emperor, the young prince was the new ultimate dream for the ladies in the palace.
Ann Brocade listened to the admiring comments, but she didn"t show any interest.
Someone touched her: "Sister Brocade, have you met the Third Prince?"
It was the girl who talked about her experience of meeting the Third Prince, called Emerald Lotus.
Brocade smiled and said, "How could I have seen such a n.o.ble figure? Since sister Emerald Lotus has seen him, please tell me more."
Emerald Lotus was looking for a listener to her unrequited love, so she quickly pulled Brocade and unceasingly talked about her handsome prince. Brocade did not talk much but listened quietly.
At that time, all the ladies were slowly moving towards the Hundred Herb Pavilion of Pharmacopoeia Department. The Hundred Herb Pavilion was remote to where they lived, and they had pa.s.sed several palaces on their way. The young ladies were new to the Imperial Palace, so they were curious about everything and chattered all the way.
Suddenly Brocade saw a dilapidated palace hidden behind many cornices. She glanced at it and suddenly asked, "What palace is this? Why is there such a dilapidated place?"
Several newly-arrived ladies also became curious.
"Weird. How can there be such a place?"
"It doesn"t look like a cold palace, though."
At this moment, the leading Mammy Cheng finally noticed the noise at the end of the procession. She frowned, looked back and her face immediately turned strict. She shouted, "Hurry up! What are you doing? Stop peeping or I"ll dig your eyeb.a.l.l.s out."
All the girls were shocked. Although Mammy Cheng was strict, her voice was never so frightened like today.
They lowered their heads, followed her one by one and walked away quickly.
Brocade suddenly looked back at the dilapidated eaves of the palace. Emerald Lotus beside her quietly pulled her sleeve and lowered her voice: "Don"t look, that"s where The Empress Rende died more than ten years ago. The legendary queen went mad because of the emperor. She is the mother of The Second Prince."
Brocade raised up her eyebrows and stared at the eaves of the palace. Suddenly, she said with a sneer: "It turns out that there are also some people in this palace who were driven mad by the emperor and died with suffering."
The coldness in her eyes flashed and Emerald Lotus could not help shuddering. However, when she looked at Brocade again, she found that she was as quiet and gentle as spring water.
Emerald Lotus persuaded herself that it must be her misconception: How could Sister Brocade, the most good-natured girl, be such a cold person?
Emerald Lotus walked beside Brocade and lowered her voice: "Sister Brocade, The Empress Rende has only one child, the Second Prince. I heard that he has recently returned to Beijing."
Brocade gave her a look: "So what? It"s nothing strange."
Emerald Lotus hesitated, but it was not her nature to keep the news as a secret. She looked around carefully and said: "Sister Brocade, you don"t know, do you? There are rumors that His Majesty"s illness is serious, so it"s time to choose the new emperor."
Brocade looked at Emerald Lotus for a long time. Emerald Lotus was a little frightened when she saw her pure eyes that she could not help but take a step back quietly.
Oh my G.o.d, how could the good-tempered girl Brocade have such cold eyes. It"s like a beast hiding in her spirit, ready to bite people.
Brocade finally lowered her eyes and said slowly, "Didn"t you say that the third prince is His Majesty"s favorite son?"
Emerald Lotus unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief without Brocade"s stare.
But she immediately worried about her dream lover: "Yes, but His Royal Highness is too gentle and humble while The Second Prince is different…"
"Different?" Brocade asked calmly. Emerald Lotus couldn"t recognize whether she was in a good or bad mood.
Seeing the eaves of Medicine Hall, Emerald Lotus knew she had no time to talk during the medicine training, so she said quickly: "I heard that The Second Prince is very violent and murderous. He is a cold-blooded man."