Su Yu didnât expect to see Sauce on the first day of entering the palace.
He rubbed the cat excitedly for a long time, and ultimately, he was knocked down on the bed by the paw of His Majesty, who was at end of his patience.
âSauce, how did you know I was here?â Su Yu lay on the bed like a corpse, using his nose to reach the catâs tail that was above his head.
The tail was hanging softly in front of him, and when he stretched his neck to touch it, it would suddenly move away. This was a very boring game but Su Yu was having fun.
An Hongche stood on top of Su Yuâs head and looked curiously at the upturned lacquer layer on the bed column. He stretched his paw and scratched it, the lacquer layer shook, scratched it again and it shook again.
âLetâs eat something first, I brought you something delicious.â Su Yu sat up, picked up the cat who was on top of his head into his arms, peeled off the lacquer layer, and threw it aside, so as to not fall on his face in the middle of the night and scare him.
An Hongche flicked his tail, jumped onto the only table in the room, and looked around condescendingly.
The room was very dark, and no one came to light the lamp, but this didnât affect the catâs vision at all. Old furnishings, furniture with paint falling off, half-used bed curtains, and mottled mildew spots on the wall, all of this looked terrible.
The air was full of a damp smell, An Hongche shook his fur, he was very displeased. He didnât expect that there was such a shabby palace room in the Imperial Palace, how did those dogs do things!
When almost all the rooms were lit, only then did a small eunuch slowly sent Su Yu a candle and told him to put out the candles on time, to not violate a taboo.
Su Yu didnât care, when he was in the Su Residence he often didnât light candles in order to save money. After thanking the little eunuch, he took out the cat hidden in his sleeves.
He brought out the small fish cakes and enjoyed the comfort of feeding the cat happily.
Knowing that cats didnât like this humid environment, Su Yu used the only candle to heat the pillow, so that Master Cat could sleep more comfortably.
An Hongche scratched the pillow in disgust, scratching the thread of the embroidery, that already wasnât very strong, until Su Yu lay on it, and then reluctantly wrapped himself around his neck.
Stupid slave, without Us at your side, youâre really getting worse and worse!
Su Yu rubbed the warm fur on his neck.
âSauce, if only you could stay with me all the time.â
Really, acting spoiled again!
An Hongche turned his head and wagged the tip of his tail slightly.
Thereâs really nothing We can do about you, but itâs no use acting coquettishly. If you want to be Our person, you have to really on your own ability. We will never play favorites!
ââââââââââââââ
Before dawn, An Hongche left.
Today, the second election will begin. Due to the early morning court, the officials and the royal clan members were basically not free in the morning.
In the morning, Su Yu and his group had nothing to do except gather in the main hall and get familiar with the afternoon process.
In the Tianzi rooms, there was a small eunuch serving in each room and breakfast would also be delivered to the rooms on time. The people in other rooms were served by several eunuchs, Su Yu leaned against the door, looked at the food box in the distance, and visually measured the distance.
It would probably be cool when it gets to him, so he shrugged his shoulders and planned to take the initiative to get his own meal.
Before he had taken two steps, he ran into Yang Gonggong who came in a hurry.
âYoung Master Su.â Yang Gonggong still had the same expression.
âI have something to ask of you.â
Yang Gonggong raised his chin to the two little eunuchs behind him, and they entered Su Yuâs room and packed Su Yuâs luggage in two to three moves.
âIâm truly sorry, in todayâs election the young masters brought many things to use, and there was no place to put the swords, spears, and halberds. This Xuanzi room 13 was to be used as a warehouse, so I can only wrong Young Master Su to move.â Yang Gonggong said as a matter of course.
Su Yu frowned, the Xuanzi room 13 was in the corner of the first floor. It was fine for it to be a warehouse, but there were several rooms over there that were obviously empty, why did he have to move?
Although he was full of doubts, he was leaving under anotherâs roof and what they said seemed high-sounding, so Su Yu couldnât argue with anything.
After thinking about it, it was not really worth these peopleâs effort to deal with him who came from a dilapidated noble house.
Although he felt that it didnât matter where he lived, Su Yu was still shocked when he stood in front of the new room.
Facing the sun on both sides, excellent feng shui and richly ornamented, Tianzi room number 2!
âGonggong, thisâŚâ Su Yu hesitated.
It was impossible for him to live in this room, Duke Lu Shizi lived in room number 1, why should he live with a small shrimp in room 2?
âMarquis Changchun Shizi didnât like the word âtwo(TL_Note: In Beijing dialect stupid)â, so this room is empty.â Yang Gonggong said naturally.
âThe other Xuanzi rooms are going to be warehouses, now only this room is left, I can only wrong Gongzi.â
Su Yu blinked, he was not wronged at all, really.
The two little eunuchs neatly cleaned the room and Yang Gonggong pointed to one and said.
âHis name is Xiao Shun, he will serve Gongzi Su in the next few days.â After saying that, without waiting for Su Yu to answer, he turned around and left.
âGonzi, please wait in the room, this little one will bring breakfast now.â Xiao Shun invited Su Yu into the room to have a rest, then he ran downstairs in hurry.
There were only five Tianzi rooms, all on the third floor, each facing the sun, bright and spacious. In front, there was a red-painted carved railing, looking out from the railing you could see most of the Front Palace of the Imperial Palace.
The area of the room was comparable to three Xuanzi rooms, it was divided into a suite with screens and partitions. There were tables, chairs, and soft beds outside, and on the inside, there was a bedroom, with a bath bucket behind a screen.
The front and back windows were transparent, the windows were open and the cool morning wind passed through the room, dispelling the sultry heat of early summer.
Su Yu looked at the furnishings in the house and immediately felt that he had moved from an express motel to a five-star suite.
Before he had time to be stunned, Xiao Shun already set up the meal. It was four small dishes with meat and vegetables, two baskets of snacks that were exquisite and delicious, and a bowl of porridge that was still steaming.
Su Yu, who hadnât eaten well all day yesterday, immediately moved his fingers. Anyway, they didnât take his money, only a fool would not take advantage of this. Soon, the whole table of food was eaten into his stomach at a staggering rate.
When he went out he happen to meet Duke Luâs Shizi. He looked at Su Yu and was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at Su Yu who appeared there. Then he recovered his paralyzed face, greeted him, and went downstairs.
When they arrived at the main hall of the Xunyang Palace, everyone stood together in groups of twos and threes.
As soon as Su Yu entered the hall, he felt more than dozen lines of sight sweeping over him, making him feel uncomfortable.
This morning's events had already been spread all over the world.
Everyone seemed to agree that Su Yu was currying favor with Duke Luâs Shizi, otherwise, no one had such great ability to move him to a Tianzi room.
As a result, the teenagers that used to point fingers at Su Yu restrained themselves a lot today. Even when Marquis Changcunâs Shizi saw Su Yu, he smiled and nodded to him.
Su Yu, who doesnât know why: â...â
The baffled Duke Luâs Shizi:â...â
The Imperial Concubine Selection was said to be divided into four rounds. After the primary election, there was a secondary election, then a final election, followed by a grading.
In the primary election, the directory is verified and the ugly, disabled, and other unqualified candidates shall be screened out.
In the secondary election, they meet the royal family and are selected based on their character, appearance, and talents.
In other words, if you wanted to pass the second round, you must at least have the same amount of talent and looks.
In the afternoon election, everyone should show one talent for the appreciation of the royal family, and the final decision was made by the royal family members.
The royal family attached great importance to this Concubine Selection, which was held only once every three years. Even the Emperorâs two royal uncles who were guarding the border made light of traveling a thousand li to come over.
The Daâan Imperial household was prosperous, but there were few Qinwangs in each generation.
For example, in the generation of the former Emperor, only the thirteen Su Wangye and the seventeenth Ling Wangye were bestowed the title of Qinwang, and the rest were at most Kings appointed to a small fief from afar.
Su Wangye and Ling Wangye were stationed in the West and North forts respectively and were not in the capital all year round.
For Su Wangye it was better, it only took a few days to get to the Imperial City by taking the official road in the West, but Ling Wangye ran back from the barren wilderness in the North and only arrived at the capital today.
âSeventeenth Uncle is tired from the long journey, why donât we do the secondary election another day.â King Zhao looked at his travel-worn uncle and couldnât help suggesting to the Emperor.
The Emperor raised his eyebrows and looked at the seventeenth uncle kneeling under the imperial steps, full of disgust.
The meaning was very obvious, you bragged that you were extraordinarily brave and heroic, and you just rode a horse for two days and reached the point of death?
Ling Wangye was in his mid-thirties and looked very energetic, even if he just got off the horse, one couldnât see any fatigue at all. Hearing the speech, he immediately glared at his fat nephew and then looked up at the Emperor.
âThe Concubine Selection is no small matter, it must not be delayed for your minister alone.â
âLing Wangye is right, the border is important. The two Wangyeâs have to rush back early. Naturally, the faster the selection, the better.â Lu Maogong, the Prime Minister said.
From the beginning, he did not agree to let the two Wangyeâs with massive military forces enter the capital, but the Emperor would not listen.
âThe border is so peaceful that birds donât lay eggs anymore, this Wangye and his seventeenth brother plan to stay in the capital for a few more days.â His thick voice sounded like a bell, it was Su Wangye who stood as the top military general.
Su Wangye had a burly stature with a cold face, he had the wild temperament of the northwest and he spoke straightforwardly. In the past few days, he had made the group of literary officials tremble with anger every day.
An Hongche on the throne narrowed his eyes.
âThat being so, the afternoon secondary election will be presided by the two royal uncles, We wonât be involved.â
ââââââââââââââ
âBrother Emperor, your younger brother also wants to go with you.â After leaving court, King Zhao immediately ran to the Emperorâs bedroom and begged his brother to let him go too. He was really curious about what kind of talent Su Yu wanted to perform.
An Hongche lay lazily on a huge cushion, he lifted his eyelids and took a look at his brother, then closed his eyes again.
An Hongyi reluctantly walked over, trying to be pitiful in exchange for the afternoon benefits. Who would expect that he couldnât stand firm and fell down on the carpet with a bang?
A white light flashed, and His Royal Highness King Zhaoâs clothes scattered on the floor and the person disappeared instantly. A chubby kitten, dizzy, crawled out of his clothes.
The kitten had yellow and white striped fur, and because it was too fat, one could hardly see its neck.
His Majesty the Emperor, who seemed to be asleep, instantly opened his eyes and looked at the yellow and white furball clumsily crawling out. A wicked smile arose from the corners of his mouth.
As soon as the little fat cat broke free of the shackles of his clothes, he looked up and saw a golden blur coming. He suddenly screamed and was bitten by a kitten with golden fur.
âElder Brother, let go!â The little fat cat struggled and fluttered.
The golden kitten completely ignored his younger brotherâs resistance and held the little fat ball with his four paws and scratched for a while.
âReporting to the Emperor, Su Wangye and Ling Wangye are asking for a meeting.â The voice of the chief eunuch suddenly sounded outside the door.