Chapter 56 Entering the Palace

  One more push for Pink, Pink's overall ranking has dropped, everyone come on, strive to get into the top twenty, now it's just in time for double points, those who have pink votes should cast them!

  Madam Hou, nee Lu, did not know about the matter back then and thought that Lin Zhao had gotten a great bargain, and couldn't help but feel resentful that the three houses would be even more arrogant from now on.

  But Liu's expression was gloomy and unhappy, and others thought she had already been biased towards Lin Ruoyan to an unbearable extent.

  Marquis Zhen did not press the matter further, and after saying these words, he took his leave and returned to the palace. His intention had been made clear, and it was up to the people of the Marquis's residence to decide how to handle the situation - whether they would obediently follow the Empress Dowager's instructions or use some excuse to disobey her and incur her wrath.

  After seeing Mr. Fang off, Old Lady Lin felt a mix of emotions and was exhausted.

  No matter how much I calculated and predicted, I never expected this would happen!

  She glared at Lin Zhaoyan, "That day we went to the front hall to listen to the scriptures, I told you to stay in the wing room, why did you run out? Fortunately, it was the empress dowager that you met, if you had met some scoundrel, your reputation would have been ruined and all the girls of the marquis's manor would have been implicated!"

  Lin Zhaoyan hung her head and didn't speak. Old Lady Lin made it clear that she was transferring her anger, saying that talking more would not help, so they should wait until she calmed down before discussing further.

  Lin Chen stepped forward to explain, "The side house is quiet and boring, Zhao Er just went to the back mountain to admire the plum blossoms. Moreover, this Lingyun Temple has strict precautions, and the back mountain only allows female relatives to enter and exit, where would they meet any bad people?"

  The old lady Lin hummed and said in a bad tone: "Is this what you wanted?"

  Lin Chen opened his mouth, speechless.

  To be honest, he really wanted Zhao Er to enter the palace, not for fame or wealth, nor for power, but purely because...

  "What's to be done now? Should we really let Zhao Er go with him?" Liu's words broke his reverie.

  He said: "Otherwise, what else can be done? If we really offend the Empress Dowager, it's not just that Ruo'er won't be chosen, but also that it might implicate Da Jie and Lin'er."

  Liu thought for a moment and had to admit that he was right.

  The Empress Dowager only said to let Zhao'er enter the palace to receive rewards, and did not say that she would accompany her side by side. It's not necessarily going to take away Ruò'ér's position. Moreover, she felt that since the Empress Dowager chose like this back then, she wouldn't regret it now.

  I'm afraid it's just a temporary curiosity about Siyi!

  Thinking so, she felt a bit more at ease in her heart, and was no longer as opposed to Lin Zhao entering the palace. She said: "In that case, let's have Zhao'er enter the palace then. Her temperament is stable, and she can also help support Ruoyi."

  This was said to Lin Zhao Yan, to make her understand that even if the Empress Dowager looked at her differently, she shouldn't have any crooked thoughts. In the future, the only one who can accompany the Empress Dowager in the palace will be Lin Ruoyan.

  Lin Zhao nodded and softly replied: "Zhao'er will follow mother's instructions."

  Mrs. Lin was also helpless and finally agreed after being stunned for a long time.

  Before the group set off, Lin Zhao once again pulled them over and repeatedly reminded them of one thing: don't show off, just quietly stay put until you leave the palace.

  Lin Zhaoyan was speechless.

  In fact, compared to them, she herself was the one who least wanted to enter the palace, okay?

  Sitting in the sedan chair entering the palace, Madame Hou and Madame Lu were each in one, while the three sisters shared a single carriage.

  Lin Zhaoyan was worried that this time entering the palace would implicate Man Shuang and Man Hua, so she deliberately let them stay at home to guard the house, not bringing a single one of them.

  Lin Xing went without knowing why and also didn't bring a maid along.

  Only Lin Ruoyan brought pomegranates and was placed in the front carriage of their horse-drawn vehicle.

  Just looking at this arrangement, Lin Zhaoyan already knew that Lu Shi was not kind-hearted. She was afraid that the world would not be chaotic!

  "I didn't expect you to have been persuading me not to enter the palace all along, it turns out to be this kind of thing! I really underestimated you Lin Zhao Yan!" As expected, Lin Ruo Yan fell into the trap and began to mock him as soon as he got on the horse carriage.

  "This time, even the usually smooth-talking Lin Xingyan couldn't help but choke out: 'I really didn't think that Fourth Sister would be so formidable, this kind of cunning and skill is probably something that even ten of me can't match.'"

  Lin Zhaoyan turned her head to look at the scenery outside the car.

  "Don't always have that 'I don't care' look on your face!" Lin Ruoyan was furious, stepping forward and grabbing her arm, gritting her teeth: "Lin Zhaoyan, were all the good things you did for me before just fake?! You were just pretending to trick me into willingly agreeing not to enter the palace?!"

  "If you really think so, what's the use of explaining more?" Lin Zhaoyan raised his head, and his clear eyes stared at her unblinkingly. "Yu Yan, being a person doesn't just require having eyes and ears, the most important thing is to have a brain."

  "You say I don't have a brain?!"

  "I just hope you can think for yourself and not always be led by others."

  “……”

  Lin Zhaoyan withdrew her hand, turned her head and continued to gaze at the scenery as if nothing had happened.

  Lin Xing spoke in a mysterious and eerie tone, "Fourth sister is really formidable, always able to dismiss people with just a few words. It seems that I, your younger sister, still have much to learn from you."

  Lin Zhaoyan smiled without confirming or denying, "Then I'll teach you a trick now. Later when we enter the palace, there will definitely be many other young ladies from high-ranking families. If you don't want to become a laughing stock, it's best for you to behave yourselves now and think about how to win over Empress Dowager's favor instead of fighting with me."

  It was what she had said before, once they left the Jian'an Marquis's estate, they were a unit, and no matter how much they quarreled or fought at home, it didn't matter, but outside, don't lose face.

  Lin Xingyan was unhappy, but he understood that he had to prioritize the bigger picture.

  No matter how annoying Lin Zhaoyan's sudden interruption was, she had to remain calm. At worst, she would just close her eyes and ignore him!

  Afterwards, they walked in silence for about two quarters of an hour before arriving outside Xihua Gate.

  The imperial city is heavily guarded, and even when women enter the palace, they must be thoroughly inspected.

  Several other provincial mistresses and girls have arrived first and are waiting inside the palace gate after examination.

  Lu also got off the carriage and nodded to several familiar ladies. Seeing the three sisters get off the carriage, they were all safe and sound, and he couldn't help but be secretly surprised.

  She subconsciously took a glance at Lin Zhaoyan, this four temper was really good, couldn't quarrel with anyone, she had never seen her blush before.

  She glanced at Lin Ruoyan beside her, this girl could pick a fight with anyone, and her explosive temper didn't know who she took after. If it weren't for the fact that Liu had personally witnessed her pregnancy and childbirth, sometimes she even doubted whether Lin Ruoyan was really Liu's biological daughter.

  Lu led her sisters into the palace gate with the imperial token, and exchanged pleasantries with several madams who had been waiting inside early.

  It's inevitable that they would compliment and praise each other mutually.

  "Oh my, your three daughters are really outstanding, which one is yours?" asked a lady who was not familiar with the Jian'an Marquis's household.

  Lu's smile was somewhat awkward, "My sister Jin'er is ill and couldn't come, these three are all from Old Three's family."

  "Are you ill? What a pity." The lady shook her head, her expression of regret beyond words.

  Lu's smile was even more awkward, with a hint of resentment.

  Fortunately, at this time there was a palace maid who came to lead the way, and everyone stopped talking and went deep into the palace.

  As soon as they entered the first gate, several sedan chairs were already waiting there.

  According to the rules, they should have gone to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager first, but the leading palace maid said: "The Empress Dowager still has something to attend to, so let everyone go ahead and have some fun in the Imperial Garden for now, and then enter Cining Palace for dinner later."

  The empress dowager may not necessarily have something on her mind, but rather is secretly testing the young ladies of various manors.

  Everyone present is a connoisseur and naturally understands this.

  But on the surface, she pretended to be ignorant of everything and got into the sedan chair in an orderly manner.

  The sedan chair stopped outside the inner palace gate, and a group of people walked on foot to the Imperial Flower Garden.

  The Imperial Garden is located at the northern end of the central axis of the Forbidden City, with the Gate of Terrestrial Tranquility to its south, connecting it to the three palaces behind. To either side are the East and West Gates of the Jade Garden, which connect to the six eastern and western palaces. The layout of buildings in the garden follows a symmetrical central axis pattern.

  Lin Zhaoyan had been to the Forbidden City in his past life, although it was an impression from when he was very young and not this time-space's Shengjing, but the overall layout was roughly the same, mainly using rare and beautiful flowers and strange rocks to attract attention.

  Inside the garden are planted ancient cypress and locust trees, lined up with strange stones, jade seats, golden unicorn copper statues, potted flowers and scenery pillars. Even the ground is paved with various colored pebbles inlaid into auspicious patterns of good fortune, prosperity and longevity, rich and colorful.

  It's early spring now, the weeping forsythia in the garden has bloomed everywhere, with a gentle breeze, petals fall, like snowflakes fluttering down, as if I were in a fairyland.

  Many foreign ladies often come to the imperial garden for banquets, seeing this scene is still quite calm, some young ladies and maids who have never entered the palace all show eyes of surprise and admiration, their saliva almost dripping down.

  They thought that since so many people wanted to enter the palace, the scenery inside must be different from elsewhere. This time, no matter what, they had to seize the opportunity and let the Empress Dowager take a good look at them!

  Lin Ruoyan had been to the palace twice before, and it was still okay. This time at the banquet, there were also many of her usual friends and confidantes, after greeting Mrs. Lu and a few familiar madams, she went to chat with those girls.

  Lin Zhaoyan was originally a cold and aloof person, after being surprised for a second, she returned to normal and quietly stayed in place to watch the scenery elsewhere.

  She is facing a stacked rockery, named Duixiu Mountain, which is the place to climb high on the Double Ninth Festival in the palace. The stacked rocks are unique, the stone path is winding, and there is a stone-carved coiled dragon spraying water below, with the Royal Scenic Pavilion built above, offering a panoramic view of the surrounding scenery.

  She was considering whether to go up and take a look, when Lin Xing's sarcastic voice came from beside her ear, "Fifth sister is really something, we are just one family, but she has become close with outsiders."

  Lin Zhaoyan turned his head and glanced at her sideways.

  Lin Xing had never been to the imperial palace before. Although he tried his best to appear calm, the longing and inferiority in his eyes could not be hidden.

  She was a concubine's daughter, and she had always been somewhat self-abased. At this moment, seeing Lin Ruoyan getting along so well with the other young ladies from noble families, she couldn't help but feel envious and resentful.

  She spoke to her like that, obviously blinded by jealousy, forgetting her identity and wanting to pull her into an alliance.

  Lin Zhaoyan just smiled lightly and didn't say a word.

  "Xiao Yan's sister!" At this time, a excited shout suddenly came from a distance.

  Lin Zhaoyan's ears were familiar with the sound, and he turned around to face a clear and delicate smile.

  It was indeed the Fifth Young Lady of the Chengnan Bo Manor, Zhou Wan Yu.

  Report on injury: Hands are not fractured, just severely bruised. Although it hurts a bit, it doesn't affect typing. Knees have some issues, minor fracture, fortunately, the problem is not big, just need to rest and recover, I'm still quite resilient~

  Hearing my numb and aching reaction from falling down the stairs.

  My dad: New Year's fortune comes from falling, the more you fall, the more fortune you get, as long as nothing breaks, it's a success.

  My mom: Haha haha haha haha, how did you fall down from the stairs? You're too careless! Haha haha haha haha!

  Me: ……【Are you sure I'm your biological child? 】

  Thank you for everyone's concern and support. Thank you to Qianlian, He Shi Bi, Mu Hong, Xiao Su Da 33, Re Lian ^^ for the rewards ~ RS