Then She Would Choose Beauty!

Even now, the thought made her shudder uncontrollably.

Beauty, on the other hand, was what Wen Yunmian considered the finest weapon. What did it matter if she could not bear children? She could still reclaim her glory in the palace!

At last, the marquis turned his gaze to his second daughter. "Yunmian, which one do you want?"

Though he asked her, Wen Yunmian knew that her father's heart had always leaned toward Wen Leyan.

After all, loving someone meant loving even the crow on their roof. Madam Meng was the co-wife he deeply loved; how could he bear to see her daughter disappointed and upset?

Wen Yunmian lowered her eyes calmly, neither fighting nor grasping. "I would like the Beauty Pill."

To the marquis and Madam Meng, this was exactly the sort of good sense they wanted.

Wen Leyan raised her brows smugly. Beauty was utterly useless. In this life, she would bear several children just as Wen Yunmian had, becoming a towering tree in the palace that could never be toppled!

As they left, Wen Yunmian was just about to step over the threshold when she heard Wen Leyan say spitefully, "Sister, once you take the Beauty Pill, your looks will become even more captivating. Perhaps you'll be the one carried to Chanyang Palace on the first night of serving His Majesty. You must make the most of that opportunity."

Once they entered the palace and that first night came, she would be waiting to watch Wen Yunmian's humiliation!

Wen Yunmian looked at her as though bewildered. In the end, she merely watched her retreating back and curved her lips faintly, as if speaking to herself. "Indeed. I certainly will."

Madam Meng pulled Wen Leyan away. "Have you lost your senses? We agreed beforehand that you would choose the Beauty Pill. With captivating looks and the methods I've taught you, why would you ever worry about failing to hold a man's heart? Yet you insisted on choosing that useless Childbearing Pill! I've already sent someone to make discreet inquiries. His Majesty doesn't merely have difficulty fathering children-he's impotent and incapable of having offspring! If no man beds you, how are you supposed to bear a child?"

Wen Leyan was utterly unconcerned. Anticipation for the future rose across her pretty face. That place of red walls and yellow tiles was the very pinnacle of power.

"Mother, don't worry. His Majesty can absolutely have children. Once I enter the palace, I'll seize my opportunities and keep bearing children for him, stepping over every other woman as I rise! And I'll certainly reach the highest position and secure an imperial title for you, too!"

Such a splendid life rightfully belonged to her, Wen Leyan.

She awaited the day Wen Yunmian would be imprisoned in the cold palace and die a miserable death!

For now, she could hardly wait to enter the palace.

Over the past two days, everyone throughout the estate had been busy preparing for the sisters' entry into the palace. The maids and nannies had not had a moment to spare, and people were constantly coming and going.

After taking the Beauty Pill, Wen Yunmian became even more stunning in a single night. Her skin was as delicate as snowy jade, and her eyes were as lustrous and captivating as peeled lychees.

Even when she moved about the estate attending to things in ordinary clothes, many servants and maids stared at her, spellbound.

Though the change in her features was slight, the true improvement lay in her skin, her hair, and her slender, graceful figure.

It was as though every bit of flesh had grown exactly where it belonged.

Her figure truly was exquisite.

When Wen Leyan saw her, she nearly ground her teeth to pieces.

She had become more beautiful in her previous life, too, but her original looks had not been as good as Wen Yunmian's, so she naturally had not been this alluring. Now, seeing beauty so breathtaking that no one could look away, the flames of jealousy surged in her heart.

But the moment she thought of becoming Imperial Noble Consort, then Empress Dowager when her son ascended the throne, that anger abruptly vanished.

What did it matter how beautiful she was? Wen Leyan had still stolen her destined fortune.

The palace chose an auspicious date for Wen Yunmian and Wen Leyan to enter fifteen days later. The imperial decree granting their titles arrived that afternoon, and the entire marquis's household knelt to receive it.

The titles bestowed by the decree were exactly the same as in their previous life: Wen Yunmian became Attendant Yun, while Wen Leyan became Joyous Promise.

Besides conferring their titles, the palace also sent instructional nannies to teach them its rules.

Wen Yunmian had been Empress Dowager for far too long. Having occupied such a lofty position for years, surrounded by flattering, deferential people eager to please her, she had long forgotten some of the rules for newcomers. Thus, she studied far more earnestly with her instructional nanny.

But she had only learned half of them when Wen Leyan came to steal the woman away.

"Sister, they're both nannies from the palace anyway. You wouldn't mind switching, would you?"

Of course Wen Yunmian knew what she was plotting. In their previous life, this instructional nanny had served in the emperor's presence, so naturally Wen Leyan wanted to snatch her away.

But she only knew that Nanny Luo had served before the emperor; she knew nothing of what happened afterward.

So Wen Yunmian readily agreed.

If Wen Leyan sought her own death, she could blame no one else.

"Of course I don't mind."

Nanny Xiang, whom Wen Leyan had disdained, was someone Wen Yunmian liked very much.

Because this woman would be immensely useful!

On the day they entered the palace, the two were carried away in a sedan chair before dawn. Wen Fu'an and Madam Meng were both outside the gates to see them off.

Wen Yunmian silently stepped into the sedan chair. Listening to Wen Leyan firmly assure Wen Fu'an and Madam Meng that she would surely become the emperor's most beloved woman, she could not help curling her lips into a cold smile.

Did a loser in the palace struggles of her previous life think she could change her fate simply by living again?

As long as I, Wen Yunmian, am here, this imperial palace will never be Wen Leyan's domain.

Lifting the curtain, Wen Yunmian cast her distant gaze toward the red walls and yellow tiles hidden indistinctly in the mist. As they drew closer and the sight became clearer, the melancholy in her heart grew more tangible, too.

When the sedan chair reached the palace gates, her personal maids, Yun Yang and Yun Fei, helped her down. A young eunuch was already waiting.

Looking at the small side gate before her, Wen Yunmian's expression grew solemn. After passing through the palace's grand main gates for half her life, she found it rather difficult to adjust to suddenly entering through a side gate.

Wen Leyan gazed at the vast, imposing main gates of the palace, a trace of greedy longing appearing on her face.

How wonderful. One day, my son will let me enter through those main gates in all my glory!

Wen Yunmian was taken to the residence arranged for her in advance. She would live in the Palace of Eternal Joy, where Consort Rong resided, with the Peony Pavilion in its eastern wing as her quarters.

When she had been Empress Dowager, the emperor had shown his filial devotion by connecting the eastern and western wings of the Palace of Eternal Joy to its main hall, merging them into one great palace. He had brought in a Buddha statue for her to worship, making it a place where everyone in the palace came to bow and offer incense.

Seeing the residence she had occupied upon first entering the palace again left her momentarily dazed.

All the furnishings were just as they had been.

Yun Yang surveyed it composedly, while Yun Fei exclaimed in wonder again and again, unable to get her fill of the sights. "The palace is so magnificent!"

Consort Rong, the ranking consort of the Palace of Eternal Joy, disliked meddling. During the days spent waiting to serve the emperor, Wen Yunmian was happy to enjoy her freedom.

According to the rules, a portrait had to be sent to the emperor before a woman served him in bed. Wen Yunmian deliberately made herself look somewhat uglier with her makeup.

Once she removed it, Yun Fei stared in amazement. "My lady, you're truly beautiful-far more beautiful than you were with your makeup on today. You clearly look better with light, elegant makeup, so why did you wear such heavy, garish makeup for your portrait?"

Instead... she had looked less beautiful than she did now.

Wen Yunmian smiled and set down her comb, lightly pinning up her cloudlike hair. Her fair neck was like porcelain, her beauty captivating. "Lower expectations first, then surpass them. That's the key to making a sight unforgettable."

They were all newcomers. Whoever left the deepest impression on the emperor would be able to seize the opportunity.

Then came the night of serving the emperor.

Sure enough, Wen Yunmian became the first woman whose name tablet the emperor turned over.

The newcomers were already thorns in the other consorts' eyes. Now, Wen Yunmian had seized all the limelight.

Of course she knew that was not a good thing. But if she wanted to win his favor and become someone the emperor could never forget, she had to claim all that excessive attention tonight.

Because tonight would be quite eventful, giving her more room to act.

The emperor was not a man who placed great importance on looks. He would never choose someone to serve him simply because she was beautiful.

In their previous life, it had been Wen Leyan. In this life, it was her turn. Thus, the person selecting the portrait certainly was not the emperor.

It was that... old acquaintance!

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