The number of beauties on the left and right was almost the same, but the girls on the left were better than the girls on the right in terms of temperament, looks, and overall feeling.

As the nanny was calling the roll, Shao Wanru and Zhang Qilan stood on the left. Shao Yanru had already stood there early. Even Shao Caihuan was there, but Shao Cailing was on the right. Shao Wanru just glanced at it and knew how it was. Those on the right should be the girls who had lost. It was not surprising that Shao Cailing lost. She was surprised that Shao Caihuan was also selected.

“Fifth Sister, where have you been? We two have been looking for you for a long time.” Shao Yanru, a decent eldest sister, naturally walked over and asked softly.

“I met Miss Zhang and we chatted for a while. I’m sorry!” Shao Wanru said.

“It’s OK. Let’s wait!” Shao Yanru whispered with a smile. She looked at Shao Caihuan who was standing next to her and felt very uncomfortable.

As expected, after dividing all the beauties into two sides, a Nanny in-charge came out and told the beauties on the right that they were unsuccessful. She asked them to pack up their things and go back now.

They had just entered the palace and put down their things. Now they were driven back. Some girls were shocked, and some were crying, and some were very happy. They hurriedly went back to pack their things and hoped that they could go back home just in time for dinner.

When all the beauties on the right left, there was instantly more space in the flower hall. Shao Wanru secretly looked around the remaining beauties. No matter what they were thinking, at least their faces were very calm. Compared to the various postures of beauties on the right when they left, these beauties were better at hiding their emotions.

She lowered her head, looked down at her toes, and quietly listened to Nanny in-charge talking about the various rules in the palace. She warned them that the scope of their activities would be here in Chuxiu Palace. If they weren’t obedient and offended the nobles in the palace, they would have to bear the consequences.

She was implying that was not just their own business, because it might implicate their family.

As soon as she said it, the beauties became dead silent, and some of their faces became pale with fright. The uneasy atmosphere made the originally calm scene a little less peaceful.

After the Nanny in-charge threatened them, she said that the next thing for the beauties was to receive various etiquette training. Among them, painters would draw portraits for them, and then they would be sent to the empress for selection.

After Nanny in-charge finished the speech, she dismissed these beauties. It was the first day they had entered the palace today. These beauties were also very tired. All courses would start tomorrow.

After Nanny in-charge announced that they were dismissed, everyone relaxed, and they walked out together in twos and threes. At least they had passed the first hurdle. Shao Wanru, Zhang Qilan, and other beauties walked back together. They two walked together for a certain distance and fell behind the crowd to chat with each other.

Outside the crowd, Qi Rongzhi looked at Shao Wanru with complicated eyes. Seeing that the latter hadn’t noticed her, she lowered her head and followed the crowd.

She also came to run for the draft, and she had indeed been selected, but she had no idea what would happen next. After three years at the Duke Xing’s Mansion, she was no longer the arrogant girl she had used to be when she was in Jiangzhou. Shao Yanru was excellent, but now she had to admit that Shao Wanru was also excellent. She was excellent enough to make her jealous. She was even more jealous of Shao Wanru than Shao Yanru.

Both of them came from the same place. She was better than Shao Wanru at the beginning. She had looked down on Shao Wanru very much. She thought that Shao Wanru was just an orphan adopted by General Qin on the battlefield. She hadn’t expected that when she came to the capital, she turned into the hereditary eldest daughter of the former Heir of Duke Xing.

Even though she had tried her best, she could only get the title of a goddaughter of Madam of Duke Xing and she had missed a chance to get married because of such a title.

Why could Shao Wanru live so well? After she just saw Shao Wanru’s soft smiling face, she felt more upset. But no matter how upset she was, she now knew the gap between them and didn’t take the initiative to suck up to her. Her eldest brother said that the daughters of Duke Xing’s Mansion should be there when she entered the palace draft this time and told her to be careful. Miss Shao was a calculating girl, and Shao Wanru was not easy to deal with too.

She decided to avoid them now. She wanted to see how they would kneel in front of her begging for mercy when she became successful in the future.

After making up her mind, Qi Rongzhi became more reluctant to be noticed by the young ladies of Duke Xing’s Mansion. Her elder brother told her to keep it low-key and said he would arrange everything.

The house she lived in was located in the far back area. There was almost no one coming along the way. Most of them left were staying in the front near the Chuxiu Palace gate.

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She was no match for them, but this was her only chance. Even if her status was low, she would have to marry into the prince’s mansion. This was her only chance. She had been delayed for so long, and her status wasn’t high, and her family wasn’t distinguished. Now with her age, marriage was even more difficult for her.

She sat in the room silently and gritted her teeth…

Shao Wanru didn’t know that Qi Rongzhi had also entered for the draft, and wanted to marry into the prince’s mansion just like Shao Yanru. She talked to Zhang Qilan and walked very slowly. By the time they broke up, the two of them had fallen far behind. The girls in front were gone.

After saying goodbye to Zhang Qilan, Shao Wanru turned around to go back to her residence, only to see Xiao Xuanzi’s smiling face at the intersection in front of her. So she could only move forward.

“Fifth Miss, our prince invites you over!” Xiao Xuanzi smiled and came out from behind the bushes where he had been hiding, and bowed respectfully to Shao Wanru.

“Now?” Shao Wanru looked at the sky. Although it was not night yet, the sun was setting. It got dark early in winter.

“Yes, now, but it will be over soon.” Xiao Xuanzi smiled and stretched out his hand to lead the way.

Looking at him, she knew that she had to go. Shao Wanru reluctantly moved forward. After a round of selection, those who had failed were still packing their things, and those who hadn’t left were resting. There was no palace maid in sight. The palace gate was quiet.

Shao Wanru followed Xiao Xuanzi out of the gate of Chuxiu Palace and went outside. After walking for a while, she found that the route did not look like the way to the back door of Prince Chen’s Mansion where Chu Liuchen lived.

“Where are we going now?”

“The prince is waiting for you ahead. We are almost there!” Xiao Xuanzi smiled and pointed with his finger ahead. Shao Wanru looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a familiar pavilion, just behind the rockery in front. She tightened her grip on the handkerchief in her hand and slowed down.

How could she not know the pavilion in front of her? In her previous life, she had lived here after entering the palace. It was close to Chuxiu Palace, and it was very convenient for the beauties to come over and draw portraits.

At that time, four painters were responsible for painting the palace maids, three men, and one woman. She was one of them, but the other three lived in another place, far away from her. Only she lived in the pavilion ahead.

There was a reason why she was separated from other painters. On the one hand, she was a girl, and only three painters could live there. On the other hand, Qi Baiyu helped her in secret and found her such a quiet residence so that she wouldn’t have to share the house with others. “The prince… why is he here?”

“This was the place for our prince to rest. It is also close to the side door of Prince Chen’s Mansion. The Empress Dowager was afraid that our prince would be tired from walking sometimes and had no place to rest, so she gave this place to him to rest!”Xiao Xuanzi said nonchalantly.

Shao Wanru’s fingers holding the handkerchief trembled as something seemed to flash through her mind. “The prince… has been using it?”

“Yes, the prince has been using it all the time. People in this palace know that the whole building is arranged by the prince himself. The prince likes it very much. Other nobles in the palace know it. But now there are so many people, so he may not come over very often!” Xiao Xuanzi said.

He led Shao Wanru along the winding path. It looked right in front of them, but in fact, it was still some distance away. “Is it possible that your prince doesn’t want the pavilion anymore…” Shao Wanru said, “Or is he going to give this place to someone else to live in?”

“How is it possible? The prince likes this place the most. It is better than the palace where he lived before, and that palace is still vacant. Empress Dowager said that our prince can sometimes live in the palace and doesn’t have to go back. But he doesn’t want to. He would rather rest here for one night sometimes than go back to the palace where he lived when he was a child!” Xiao Xuanzi shook his head repeatedly.

The handkerchief was wet with sweat in Shao Wanru’s palm, and she could sense the slight dampness. Her fingers moved slowly, with a feeling of stiffness that she hadn’t moved for many years. “In the draft in Chuxiu Palace, I heard that they were looking for painters to paint the portraits. It is so close to Chuxiu Palace… Will this place be used by the painter for painting the beauties?”

Shao Wanru heard her extremely calm voice. Her voice sounded calm to an outsider, but for her, she felt as if she were not saying this. “No, everyone in this palace knows that it belongs to our prince. Even the empress won’t give the order to use this place.” Xiao Xuanzi laughed, thinking that Fifth Miss Shao was really interesting today. She was asking the prince to give up this place, which was different from the past. Could it be that she was implying something?

Thinking about this, Xiao Xuanzi tentatively asked, “Fifth Miss, do you want to live here?”

Xiao Xuanzi thought that she might want to live here. This place was much better than the Chuxiu Palace. Of course, if someone asked this question, Xiao Xuanzi would think it was too whimsical, and the prince would never give up this place. But if it was Fifth Miss Shao, Xiao Xuanzi thought this shouldn’t be a big problem.

“No, I’d better live over there.” Shao Wanru shook her head. She had no right to ask him to do that. She certainly wouldn’t have such thoughts.

After thinking about it, she still felt weird, “Does the prince dislike this place?”