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"... Your Majesty," Li Chenjing called softly.

"Um?"

Thank you.

"Thank me for what?"

Li Chenjing raised the scroll in his hand, smiled slightly, and gently shook it, his meaning unspoken.

He was saying that nothing was more important than the trust between them. Even though the Liu Family was a powerful clan, Rongrong's father had paved the way for her to enter the palace and bribed the painters, he could afford to offend them for the sake of their trust and would never invite Rongrong into the palace.

"I've already said it... I don't like girls who are like porcelain dolls."

"Then you don't have to force yourself to like a woman with dark circles under her eyes, who doesn't know any manners, and who can fall asleep even Imperial Consort Selection Album, right?"

"She has her strengths too. Look, her handwriting is quite nice."

Li Chenjing leaned forward and looked at a line of small print at the bottom of the picture book. "Green reeds and red ripples accompany the spring breeze, orioles sing and carp leap red."

The font is small yet powerful, unlike the delicate and feminine strength of a woman's wrist; it has a rather heroic and bold feel to it.

"He does seem to have some talent. But the verses don't really suit the person depicted in the painting."

"I think she did this on purpose."

"Intentionally? What do you mean?"

"Wait for me to finish the sentence." He stroked his chin. "She's probably unhappy that she's the only one being chosen, and wants to test my knowledge. Let's see if I can match her desired line."

"...Oh? Then can you explain from below?" Li Chenjing raised an eyebrow, already completely used to his monologue.

"Not yet. So..."

"So?"

"Accompany me to see her."

"..."

"If I see her, perhaps I'll have the inspiration to compose the matching couplet!"

Inside the Zhu Household Compound

At the stone table in the courtyard, five-year-old Zhu Xiaojiu stood on a chair, her hands behind her back, looking down at her older sister who was writing furiously. "What are you writing?"

"I emulate the literary figures and poets, to express my feelings of frustration and unfulfilled ambitions!"

"Heh? What's wrong with you? You just didn't get selected as a concubine, right?" Zhu Xiaojiu sneered coldly. "But you can't blame anyone else. With your ugly sketchbook presented to the Dragon Desk, it's a miracle our Zhu Household wasn't executed. And you're still expressing your feelings?"

"Hey! Xiaojiu, what do you mean? How can you insult your own sister like that? Am I that bad? Among those young ladies, in terms of writing skills, I'd easily be in the top five, no, no, in the top ten, right? How come that Pan Family who can only write his own name got selected, while I'm ranked so far back! Look at this ranking... almost at the bottom!" At the height of her anger, she pulled out the ranking list from her bosom and slammed it on the stone table. "Look at this! Is there any justice in this world?!"

"Other people's fathers pay painters, do you really think our pure, White Lotus father would sacrifice his integrity to collude with them and bribe painters to portray you as a celestial beauty? Dream on." Zhu Xiaojiu crossed her arms, scoffing at her father's lotus-like noble sentiments. "So what if you weren't chosen for the palace? I think it's a good thing you weren't. With a sister like you serving the Emperor in the palace, my head would probably be chopped off before it even grew up."

"That's not how it works! This is about face! Do you understand the importance of face? A man's face is determined by passing the imperial examinations, but a woman's face depends on this. With this kind of ranking, how am I supposed to face the young ladies' circles in the future?" The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She picked up the ink block and began to grind the ink with all her might.

"Blame yourself for not being good enough." Zhu Xiaojiu shrugged, deciding to get straight to the point. "Who was it that hid under the covers reading their newly bought novel 'The Good Man, Bad Man' the day before the imperial examination? With those two dark circles under their eyes, they rolled into the examination hall like a panda. What good is good handwriting and literary talent if you get such a low score? This is a selection of concubines; appearance and virtue come first. I think it's quite fair and strict. Otherwise, if you didn't bribe anyone, wouldn't they have painted you as a celestial being?"

"... That's because... it just so happens to be right when the male lead falls off the cliff..."

"Falling off a cliff is all a lie. The protagonist law means you're not going to die, so don't make excuses. You got bad grades because of yourself." Zhu Xiaojiu tapped her older sister's nose with her little finger.

She opened her mouth and bit the soft little hand. "It's a law that candidates who fail the exam have to express their frustration! If I can't vent because I didn't pass, I'll be suffocating!"

She scratched her head, pen in hand, confident, and began to write swiftly.

Half an incense stick later, a doggerel full of unfulfilled ambitions and pedantic style was born. It was posted on the back door of the Zhu Household family, whose concubine selection had failed. Two young noblemen looked at the poem posted on the door. One frowned and pursed his lips, while the other smiled.

My family has a daughter who is talented and beautiful, comparable to a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

Gold and silver wares were delivered to the mansion gate, and a palanquin carried them to the boudoir.

Red, orange, yellow, green, purple, blue, cyan; the tailor shop is an empty city.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, thousands of gold coins line up to make wedding dresses.

"Pfft, hahahahahaha--" Holding Li Chenjing's shoulder, he laughed so hard he bent over, almost bursting into tears.

"You can still laugh? Such vulgar language deserves to be punished."

"What a wonderful example of rich girls lining up to get married! A brilliant and scathing satire!" He couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration, lifting his robes and leaning against the wall.

"Hey! Your Highness, what are you doing?"

"Use a VPN."

"... Nonsense."

"I really want to see her, what she looks like without panda eyes."

"And then?" Li Chenjing began, "Don't forget, the decree has been issued; she—was not selected."

He stopped climbing the wall, a bitter smile playing on his lips. "Ah... I forgot, I had completely entrusted Prime Minister Li with the selection of my consorts. So, the imperial decree has already been issued?"