The women all went to the backyard and were led by palace maids. The men gathered in the front yard and entered the palace together with the imperial officials.
Su Yu stood in the corner and found that most people were empty-handed. Some were even elegantly fanning themselves. Only he was foolishly carrying a bundle.
"Who is that? He's actually carrying his own luggage." Someone noticed the maverick Su Yu and seemed to have seen something strange.
The first round of the general election began today. Only those who passed the first round would be able to live in the palace. The noble's luggage could be sent to the palace gate by servants after they had settled down. Only Su Yu, who had no servants to serve him, would carry his own bundle.
"He seems to be the illegitimate son of the Su Family, the one who owns the restaurant." Someone recognized him and couldn't help but sneer.
"The Su Family is so poor. They're already like this, yet they still have the nerve to participate in the general election …"
"He's just a fish seller, hahaha …"
Not far away, several youths were pointing at Su Yu. The person standing in the middle of them didn't say a word. When he heard someone laugh, he slightly frowned and said, "The imperial officials are coming. Don't make any more noise."
"You're right, Crown Prince." The person who was laughing immediately stopped talking, and the surrounding youths also restrained themselves a little.
Su Yu glanced at the person. He was tall and had a cold expression. Listening to the others' conversation, he seemed to be the Prince Lu.
The title of nobility was passed down from generation to generation. If one did not perform any meritorious service, it was reasonable to say that one's title would be demoted and inherited. Only a few of the true founding ministers of the country were granted hereditary titles, and High Duke Lu was one of them.
Lu Guogong's family was surnamed Gao. All of the men practiced martial arts and were fierce generals. The current Lu Guogong was still able to fight and kill enemies. A family like the Gao Family was the true noble!
Su Yu looked at the "real" tall, rich, and handsome man. It was hard to imagine how such a person could marry into the palace and serve the emperor. Sure enough, the purpose of this general election was to rope in connections. The focus was still on the women.
As a quail who would be ridiculed at any time while carrying a bag, Su Yu did not intend to make friends with anyone. He simply took out the small fish cake he made in the morning from his bag and ate it with relish. His sauce was in the palace. In order to please the cat, he specially made a lot of snacks, hoping to meet it in the palace.
Prince Lu pretended to inadvertently glance at Su Yu again. Seeing that he was eating as if there was no one else around, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.
Not long after, an official from the Imperial Ancestral Division appeared. He politely greeted everyone and briefly announced today's schedule. He gave everyone a wooden token with their name engraved on it. After verifying their identities, he arranged for everyone to board the carriage. Minister Zongzhen had prepared a special carriage and was personally brought into the palace by Deputy Minister Zongzhen.
Carriages with luxurious canopies and exquisite octagonal carts passed through the tall palace road one after another, heading towards the magnificent Imperial Palace.
The carriages of the nobles were in the front, followed by the sons of the civil and military officials. They entered the palace through the Gate of Divine Force. The women's carriages followed behind. They turned in front of the Gate of Divine Force and changed to the Shun Zhen Sect to avoid meeting the men. Thus, Su Yu did not see his cousin, Su Ying, from the beginning to the end.
After entering the Gate of Divine Force, there was a wide square. Everyone got off the carriage and a eunuch about forty years old stood in front of them. He smiled and bowed to everyone.
"Yang Gonggong, how have you been?" The Prince Of Changchun smiled and returned the greeting.
"Thank you for your concern." The old eunuch surnamed Yang smiled until his face was wrinkled. He then greeted the Prince Of Lu. The latter only nodded and did not say much to him. The old eunuch did not mind. He cleared his throat and then began to announce the rules of the Imperial Palace.
Those "really tall, rich, and handsome" were already familiar with these rules. However, it was the first time that Su Yu heard of it. It was very fresh.
The selection was divided into four rounds. It would take at least ten days to complete. During this period, the harem candidates would live in the Xiang Lan Palace, while they, uh, harem candidates, would live in the Hall of Xunyang. During this period, they were not allowed to step out of the Hall of Xunyang without being summoned. With all these rules added up, they would not even be able to see a high-ranking eunuch, let alone the Emperor.
Su Yu touched his chin. So, the scenes of harem candidates meeting the Emperor in the TV dramas in his previous life were all nonsense.
The Da 'an Imperial Palace was divided into the front hall and the back hall. State affairs were handled in the front hall, while the imperial concubines lived in the back hall. The two halls were separated by a vast imperial garden. The areas occupied by the two ministers were basically the same. In fact, the front hall was even larger. The Hall of Xunyang they were going to was in the front hall.
Other than the main hall, the rest of the buildings in the Hall of Xunyang were three-story buildings that surrounded the main hall. When everyone arrived at the main hall, there were already many eunuchs waiting there. Three people dressed in official robes stood behind a long table. The first round of the selection was about to begin.
In Su Yu's opinion, the first round of the selection was just a roll call and a simple physical examination. Everyone held their nameplates and came forward to answer a few questions in order to verify their identity. At the same time, a portion of people would be filtered out. Those who were ugly or disabled would have their nameplates taken away.
Su Yu watched as a man with a full beard was mercilessly eliminated. He was still unwilling to give up. He suddenly felt that his attitude in participating in the selection was very proper. At the very least, he remembered to shave before going out.
The order of standing was also very particular. Those with high status in the family would be at the front. After the selection, they could go to the side hall to choose where they would live for the next few days. When it was Su Yu's turn, there were only a few people left.
"Name." The official from the Ministry of Rites absent-mindedly raised his head to look at him and ticked "above average" on his appearance.
"Su Yu, courtesy name Jintang." Su Yu respectfully replied. He stole a glance at the booklet on the table and discovered that above "above average" were "high quality", "above average", and "exceptional". Aside from the Prince Of Changchun, who was ticked "above average", the rest were all "above average" and "below average". Even the Prince Of Lu, who had the highest status, was only "above average".
It seemed that there wasn't too much of a conspiracy behind this, Su Yu thought absent-mindedly. He had seen the Prince Of Changchun at the Shenwu Gate. He had a jade-like face and was indeed a handsome man. If this wasn't "exceptional", then what was? A face suddenly flashed in his mind. His facial features were so exquisite that they were almost impeccable. It was the Shadow Guard who had taken away the sauce that day …
Su Yu suddenly felt some sympathy for the Emperor. He had treated a mighty man like the Prince Of Lu as a "high quality" resource, but he didn't know that the real exceptional beauty was hidden in a corner that he couldn't see. It was truly a reckless waste of God's gift!
"Next." Just as Su Yu's mind was wandering, he had already passed the preliminary selection. Zong Zhengsi's wooden tablet was taken away and replaced with an even more exquisite waist tablet. There was a long green tassel on it, and the civil official's son received a waist tablet with a blue tassel.
After leaving the main hall, a eunuch instructed Su Yu to head east. The old eunuch surnamed Yang was standing below the small building to the east. Seeing Su Yu's sluggish manner, his face showed some impatience, "Young Master Su came late. Stay in Xuan Room 13."
"Gonggong, Room 13 …" The young eunuch next to him heard this and looked at Su Yu. He wanted to say something but hesitated.
Yang Gonggong raised his eyebrows and unhurriedly said, "The Sky rooms are all full. The Xuan rooms don't face the sun. It doesn't matter what number it is."
When he said this, there was naturally a hidden meaning behind it. The Sky, Earth, and Xuan rooms were all full. The Xuan rooms didn't face the sun, so there was still the Earth rooms to choose from. If one wanted to stay in a better room, they naturally had to pay a good fee.
Su Yu naturally understood, but he didn't plan to spend this money in vain. He pretended not to know, "It's fine. It's the same wherever I live. Thank you for your trouble, gonggong."
"Humph." The old eunuch coldly snorted and threw a key to him.
Xuan Room 13 was in the corner of the first floor. It really didn't face the sun at all. When he opened the door, a damp smell hit him in the face.
He looked around. After all, it was the imperial palace. The conditions were actually quite good. At least it was better than Su Yu's own room. Other than some moldy spots in the corner, the furniture was also a bit damp.
Su Yu threw the cloth bundle on the table and threw himself onto the bed.
He finally understood what it meant to "travel a long distance without weight". A cloth bundle that wasn't heavy in the first place could be very tiring to carry it in his hands for an entire day.
The courtyard gradually became lively. The servants of the noble families brought the gifts over. The young eunuchs were busy sending gifts to each room and packing things. However, no one came to pay attention to Su Yu. He was drowsy and fell asleep.
When he woke up, the sky was already dark. Su Yu got up and rubbed his stomach. Unexpectedly, no one came to call him to eat. He opened the window and looked … but he couldn't see anything. It was because the window of his room was facing the courtyard wall. When he opened the window, he saw the wall.
Bored, he raised his head and saw a touch of gold jumping on the wall. Su Yu's eyes suddenly lit up, "Sauce!"
The golden ball of hair staggered and almost fell. An Hong-chul glanced at Su Yu, who was foolishly waving his hand. He was suddenly angry. Stupid slave, you actually dare to call me by my name in the imperial palace!
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
