Chapter 232: Like It, I Will Protect You
Chapter 232: Chapter 232: Like It, I Will Protect You
The elder aunt gathered all the young ladies at Xayun Building.
Then, she had the palace maids distribute a booklet of palace regulations for female officials to each of them.
It wasn’t thin. Shen Ningning flipped through it briefly and saw it was over fifty pages long.
The elder aunt looked at the young ladies with a stern expression. "You have only this afternoon to familiarize yourselves with these palace regulations."
"This evening, I will come to test you. Any young lady who fails to pass will be denied her evening meal."
As soon as she said this, Ye Shangyi immediately expressed her displeasure.
"What? That’s far too harsh."
But the elder aunt turned to her, her tone severe. "This is only the beginning, and Miss Ye already can’t handle it?"
"You must understand, to become a female official, you must excel in all things. If you aren’t willing to put in the effort, on what grounds do you expect to stand out?"
Her words left Ye Shangyi speechless. Fuming, she crossed her arms, opened the book, and resigned herself to cramming.
After giving her instructions, the elder aunt left, leaving only four palace maids behind to pour tea and water.
Shen Ningning was already memorizing the book.
She overheard the other young ladies whispering among themselves—
"There are only fifteen of us left now. But from what I can see, the tests are getting stricter and stricter. By the end, there might not be a single one of us left."
"This is less like selecting a female official and more like choosing a Prince Consort!"
"Sigh, this isn’t easy at all. If I had known, I wouldn’t have come. I thought it would be so grand, but who knew we’d have to endure so many grievances right from the start."
While everyone else complained, only Shen Ningning and Qi Xiuwei kept their heads down, focused on their books.
Xie Yuanjiu and Ye Shangyi were sitting near each other.
Ye Shangyi nudged Xie Yuanjiu with her elbow and whispered, "Believe it or not, Princess Funing will definitely be the one chosen in the end."
Xie Yuanjiu’s fingertips, holding the book, tightened and turned slightly pale.
Her tone betrayed nothing, and she even managed a calm smile. "That won’t happen. Ningning is the Ninth Prince’s companion. The Crown Prince wouldn’t agree to it, would he?"
Ye Shangyi gave her a surprised, up-and-down look.
"You don’t know? The Crown Prince and Princess Funing had a falling out. It’s hard to say if he even cares anymore."
"Don’t think that just because you’re close with Princess Funing, you don’t have to see her as a rival. In fact, she’s the one you should be most wary of."
Just then, the elder aunt passed by the door. The two of them hastily lowered their heads and fell silent.
The afternoon passed quickly. When the elder aunt arrived to conduct the test, several of the young ladies looked pale.
Over fifty pages of rules... becoming a female official was even more difficult than they had imagined.
Just looking at it was enough to make one’s head spin.
Palace maids provided everyone with paper, brushes, and ink.
The elder aunt said, "I will read the questions. There are ten in total. Please write your answers on the paper."
"First question: What is the latest hour a female official may return to the Prince’s Palace?"
This very first question made many of them suck in a sharp breath.
The aunt’s questions were tricky, designed to see if they had memorized the material carefully.
A short while later, after all ten questions had been asked, the palace maids went around collecting the answer sheets.
Before the results were even announced, two of the young ladies stood up timidly.
"Aunt, may we withdraw?" Becoming a female official was nothing like the easy life they had imagined.
The elder aunt was already mentally prepared for this; it was a common occurrence.
So she nodded and said coolly, "Wait here. Once I’ve finished the examination, I will return your jade slips and inform your families. You may leave tomorrow morning."
After that, the elder aunt began to check everyone’s answer sheets.
Finally, she raised her head and announced, "Only two people answered every question correctly: Princess Funing and Miss Qi."
Shen Ningning and Qi Xiuwei exchanged a look, and both of them smiled happily.
Ten other young ladies had missed a few questions, but were still within the elder aunt’s range of tolerance.
Among them was Ye Shangyi, who, despite having memorized everything diligently, still got two questions wrong.
Lastly, there was one who didn’t get a single question right.
When the elder aunt read out Xie Yuanjiu’s name, everyone was surprised.
After all, Xie Yuanjiu’s scholarly knowledge was usually not poor.
She had even been known as a young talent. Simply memorizing palace rules was something everyone could do, so why was she the only one who didn’t get a single question right?
Xie Yuanjiu’s face was deathly pale, as if she had suffered a terrible blow.
She felt feverish and terribly unwell. Just now, when the elder aunt was reading the questions, she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering!
And she was the only one who hadn’t gotten a single question right!
The elder aunt closed the book and said sternly, "Miss Xie, you may return to your room directly."
"Your meal for this evening is forfeit. Please take the regulations back with you and study them properly. Do not be perfunctory."
"I would like to remind you that being a female official is far from as easy as you imagine."
Having been reprimanded, Xie Yuanjiu didn’t dare talk back. She lowered her head, her expression mortified.
The elder aunt told everyone to return to their rooms to rest. In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they were to go to the dining hall for their meal.
When Shen Ningning and Xie Yuanjiu returned to their room, Xie Yuanjiu suddenly burst into tears.
"Ningning, can you help me?"
The little one, who was drinking a cup of hot tea, quickly went over to her. "Of course! What do you need me to do?"
Xie Yuanjiu wiped her tears. "Tonight, your meal... could you... could you eat a little less and bring some back for me?"
Having to beg for food like this was an utter humiliation for Xie Yuanjiu!
But she knew she was sick and couldn’t afford to skip a meal, or her condition would worsen.
Hearing this, Shen Ningning blinked.
Her original plan was to get some delicious food from the Immortal Realm for Xie Yuanjiu and just say her brother, Mo Lingwei, had given it to her.
However, Xie Yuanjiu’s idea was much more convenient.
Shen Ningning was already willing to help her, so she nodded. "Okay, no problem. I won’t eat mine; I’ll give it all to you."
Xie Yuanjiu was stunned for a moment, then gave a tearful, gentle smile. "You’re so kind."
However, inside, she thought, ’It’s only right that Shen Ningning doesn’t eat either.’
’After all, it was Shen Ningning’s choice of the north room that made me sick in the first place.’
She felt no sympathy for the little one going without food. She only felt that what Shen Ningning was doing to make it up to her wasn’t nearly enough.
When it was time for the meal, the little one felt a bit warm and took off her white rabbit-fur scarf.
She said, "Sister Xie, you rest here. I’ll bring the food back for you in a bit."
Xie Yuanjiu nodded weakly, not forgetting to add, "Don’t tell the elder aunt."
Shen Ningning agreed, and her small figure darted out the door like a cute little bird.
Just as she reached the dining hall, she saw the elder aunt speaking with Wu Fang, a guard who served the Crown Prince, at the entrance.
When Wu Fang saw Shen Ningning, a cheerful smile spread across his face. "Princess, you’re finally here! The Crown Prince has ordered me to escort you to Zichen Palace."
"Huh?" The little one was slightly surprised and instinctively looked toward the elder aunt.
The elder aunt, who was usually stern and serious, gave her a rare, faint smile and a slight nod.
"Go ahead, Princess. Guard Wu has already spoken with me. However, please be sure to return before 7 p.m."
Shen Ningning hemmed and hawed, wondering what to do about Xie Yuanjiu’s meal.
But Wu Fang walked up with a chuckle and urged her, "Princess, let’s go. If the Crown Prince gets impatient from waiting, he might just come over to scold you himself."
The little one was half-pushed into leaving.