Su Minhuai was originally a military official, a man of integrity.
One would hardly expect him to have such a domineering daughter. And Su Nian'e had only a few scenes in the book. Could it be that because she had driven the plot forward, even the characters in the book had changed?
It was quite possible.
So, Tang Youyou cast her eyes on Yan Zhihua.
Yan Zhihua was pointing at Su Nian'e haughtily, with disgust in her eyes and a faint sneer on her lips. "This is the palace. Every word and deed here represents the safety of your entire clan. You'd better think twice before you speak."
Suddenly, the spearhead was pointed at Su Nian'e. The courtyard erupted in an uproar, like a boiling pot. The girls started to blame Su Nian'e.
Sensing that the situation was turning against her, Su Nian'e's delicate face paled. "What are you talking nonsense about! If this person hadn't slandered me, I wouldn't have argued with her."
Seeing the three of them arguing non - stop, Tang Youyou walked towards the palace gate. At once, the words on the three's lips died away.
At the same time, the bustling Qingliang Palace fell silent instantly.
She thought to herself: Good. So far, most of the characters in the book were here.
Seeing the defiance in Su Nian'e's eyes, Tang Youyou pointed her sharp finger at Su Nian'e's eyelid. With an air of authority that dominated the whole place, she sneered, "You can stay in the palace to serve the emperor."
After a moment of stunnedness, Su Nian'e's panicked face instantly turned excited.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Yan Zhihua, who was indignant, frowned tightly and was about to step forward to argue with Tang Youyou.
But Tang Youyou turned around and met her eyes. Under her unparalleled majesty, the usually eloquent Yan Zhihua was instantly speechless.
"As for you, it will be up to the emperor to decide."
She made such an arrangement precisely because of the original plot.
In the original plot, Yan Zhihua was a woman who hated evil as much as poison. What she hated most were the affected women. Wen Ruxue was a case in point.
Whenever the two of them met, the war would break out immediately. And Yan Zhihua was more talented than Wen Ruxue in terms of literary grace. So Wen Ruxue had repeatedly defamed Yan Zhihua.
That was why Yan Zhihua only lived for a short month in the book.
After all, a showy woman often invited trouble in the palace.
In the distance, Rong Xun was striding towards the Qingliang Palace. Although his face was cold, he was actually overjoyed in his heart. He thought that Tang Youyou finally knew to come to him on her own initiative.
However, what he saw was such a scene. The place was full of women, all heavily made - up, looking at him expectantly as he entered the palace.
Rong Xun was slightly stunned. He stopped in his tracks and then looked up at Tang Youyou. "Who are these people?"
Before he could say anything else, Tang Youyou suddenly raised her head and said in a rather sarcastic tone, "Some days ago, I noticed that Your Majesty was busy with the matter of having an heir, so I made this decision on my own. I opened the imperial harem for a concubine selection to relieve Your Majesty's worries and share your burden."
These few words instantly enraged Rong Xun. Kang Fuhai was already trembling with fear at this moment, cowering in the corner and not daring to look.
Rong Xun's face was expressionless, and his voice was cold. "The empress really does everything to share my worries! Good! Very good!"
He immediately stepped forward and sat down in the Qingliang Palace. He watched Tang Youyou's every move, forcing himself to calm down.
Tang Youyou said leisurely, "Your Majesty, can we start now?"
Hearing this, Rong Xun said coldly, "Start."
As his words fell, everyone present lowered their heads. The eunuch Xiaodengzi waved the whisk in his right hand and said in a shrill voice, "The concubine selection officially begins."
Sitting upright, Tang Youyou naturally saw Rong Xun's emotions. She gave a strange smile and said, "Your Majesty, if the people I choose don't satisfy Your Majesty, I'll replace them immediately."
In an instant, he glanced at Yan Zhihua in the distance. "Just her. You can decide the rest for me."
After saying that, Rong Xun turned around and left.
Tang Youyou looked at the many girls. She frowned and only left a few of them who were good - looking and from decent families. Then the concubine selection ended in a hurry.
Kang Fuhai presented the list with both hands. Tang Youyou just took a quick glance and gave a meaningful look.
"Eunuch Kang, please hand this list to the emperor. Let the emperor decide the final candidates and their titles."
Actually, her words carried a deep meaning. She remembered that in the plot, the main reason why Wen Ruxue and Su Nian'e turned against each other was the issue of titles. So it would be better to let Rong Xun be the bad guy.
Kang Fuhai was silent for a moment and then obediently left with the register in his hand. When he arrived at the Xingzheng Palace, Rong Xun's face was already icy cold.
"Your Majesty, your servant Kang Fuhai pays respects to Your Majesty."
Rong Xun was impatient. He waved his hand and said coldly, "What's the matter?"
Kang Fuhai was instantly flustered. He knelt down in a hurry, rubbed the ground with his knees, and carefully presented the register in his hand.
He was sweating profusely and stammering nervously. "Your Majesty, this was given to me by the empress. She said that Your Majesty should confer titles on these ladies in the harem."
Rong Xun casually picked up the register in his hand and flipped through a few pages. He saw that most of the girls on the list were from noble families, but one of them was a bit strange.
This was Li Sulan, the daughter of the county magistrate of Jizhou County. She actually appeared on the list.
He suppressed his suspicion in his heart and pointed out Su Nian'e and Yan Zhihua on the list. "Promote Yan Zhihua to a concubine and Su Nian'e to a noble lady. All the other concubines will be named maid - in - waiting. All matters will be handled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
Understanding Rong Xun's instruction, Kang Fuhai finally let out a sigh of relief. He carefully wiped the sweat off his forehead, still feeling scared. He didn't dare to be the least bit negligent and quickly took the register and left the palace.
Rong Xun looked at the stack of documents on the table and let out a long sigh helplessly. He didn't know how to get along with Tang Youyou, nor did he know why they had been in a cold war for so long.
It seemed that it was time for him to have a talk with her.
It was already dark, but the door of the Xingzheng Palace rang again.
Xiaodengzi saw Wen Ruxue with her delicate face and greeted her with a smile. "Concubine Wen, why are you here so late at night?"
Wen Ruxue frowned slightly and tightly grasped the bamboo basket in her hands. She said worriedly, "Is the emperor still reviewing memorials at this hour?"
Xiaodengzi nodded repeatedly when he heard this. He looked anxious and said, "Yes. Recently, I don't know what's wrong with the emperor. He reviews memorials until the middle of the night every day. He never seems to rest well. Please persuade the emperor, Your Ladyship."
Hearing this, Wen Ruxue asked again, "The emperor has been sleepless for many days. Has the empress come to see him?"
After she said that, Xiaodengzi was slightly stunned at first and then slowly shook his head. "She hasn't come. I heard that the empress has been busy with the concubine selection these days and has just finished today."