Chapter 858: 818. Imperial Maids Selection
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Ying Yue’s eyes widened slightly at the public display of support, but she accepted it gracefully. She stepped forward, voice calm and resonant. “Rise. Be at ease.” The young won obeyed instantly, straightening and clasping their hands before them, awaiting further instructions.
A few dared to glance up at their Emperor and Empress, their expressions a mix of awe and nervousness.
Soon, two officials approached, the first was an older woman in formal robes bearing the seal of the Imperial Household Departnt, and the second a younger man representing the Departnt of Service. They bowed respectfully.
“Your Majesty, Your Grace,” said the older woman. “Everything is prepared. The dossiers are on the terrace. Please take your seats.”
The terrace had been arranged with a long lacquered table, several chairs, and stacks of ticulously organized parchnt.
Each dossier bore a candidate’s na, background, test scores, personal history, and evaluation remarks from their instructors. A selection of ink brushes, stamps, and scrolls was placed nearby.
Ying Yue took her seat in the central chair. Lie Fan seated himself beside her, not at the center but to her right, a deliberate gesture.
As they began to look over the first set of docunts, Ying Yue’s brow furrowed with the focus of a scholar reviewing imperial edicts. As she did so, Lie Fan leaned closer, murmuring just loud enough for her to hear.
“Rember, my love, this is your decision. I trust your judgnt.”
She smiled faintly, her fingers brushing against his on the table. “Then don’t complain if I pick only the plainest, most boring won.”
Lie Fan snorted. “As if you would.”
Ying Yue chuckled at that. “Then let’s start, call the first candidate in,” she said calmly.
One by one, the candidates were called forward.
The first was a slender woman with sharp eyes and an air of quiet competence. “Your Grace,” she said, bowing again. “This humble one is called Lan Hua, daughter of a minor clerk from Runan.”
Ying Yue scanned her records. “Your literacy scores are exceptional. And you’ve trained in basic dicine?”
“Yes, Your Grace. My grandmother was a healer. She taught .”
“Hm.” Ying Yue’s gaze flicked to Lie Fan, who gave an almost imperceptible nod. “Approved.”
Lan Hua’s face lit up before she schooled her expression into respectful gratitude. “Thank you, Your Grace!”
The next candidate was bolder, a sturdy girl from a farming family, her hands still calloused from labor.
“Your Grace! I’m Wu i! I can lift twice my weight and work from dawn till dusk without complaint!”
Ying Yue arched a brow. “Impressive. But palace work requires more than strength. Can you read?”
Wu i deflated slightly. “…No, Your Grace. But I can learn!”
Lie Fan, intrigued, leaned forward. “Why do you want to serve in the palace?”
The girl blinked, then answered bluntly. “Honestly? The pay’s good. And I heard the food’s even better.”
Ying Yue burst out laughing. “At least she’s honest. Approved, but assign her to the kitchens or gardens.”
The next one was a tall girl with sharp eyes who stepped forward. Her na, Lie Fan noted, was Ren iling, daughter of a minor rchant from the outer districts of Xiapi.
She had scored exceptionally well on mathematics and palace etiquette but lacked combat training or martial background.
Ying Yue began to ask her, “Ren iling, why do you wish to serve in the palace?”
The girl straightened her spine. “To bring honor to my family, Your Majesty. I wish to serve loyally and contribute to the harmony of the Inner Palace.”
“Do you have experience with administrative tasks? Ledger keeping, correspondence, or procurent?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I helped manage my father’s accounts and bartering agreents.”
Ying Yue gave a subtle nod. “You may be suited for the supply managent wing. We’ll assign you there.”
The girl bead with pride and bowed deeply.
One by one, the candidates stepped forward, each offering a window into a different life and motivation. So had been orphans raised in temples. Others ca from large families, or had once served as tutors, scribes, or midwives.
One quiet girl from Pingyuan had composed an impromptu poem for her introduction, earning a rare smile from Ying Yue.
Throughout the morning, Lie Fan offered no comntary. Occasionally, he scanned a dossier or leaned in to quietly discuss an applicant’s score with Ying Yue, but his presence was otherwise observant.
What struck him was how seriously Ying Yue took this task. She did not rely select based on scores, she questioned character, examined posture, tone of voice, and whether the girl blinked too much when answering.
Every decision bore the weight of trust. After all, these maids would serve not just the royal family but influence the very atmosphere of the palace.
By midday, the courtyard had grown warr. A canopy had been drawn to shade the terrace, and palace servants brought chilled plum juice to cool the air. Lie Fan sipped his glass slowly, eyes drifting toward the long line still remaining. He admired how composed Ying Yue remained.
“You’re handling this better than most courtiers,” he said quietly.
Ying Yue smiled but kept her eyes on the current interviewee. “That’s because these courtiers often forget they’re dealing with people, not just resus.”
Nearing the end of the selections, a commotion erupted at the courtyard’s edge. A latecor, a young woman with striking features and an air of defiance, was arguing with the guards.
“I have every right to be here!”
Ying Yue frowned. “Bring her forward.”
The woman strode up, her chin high. “Your Grace. Your Majesty.” Her bow was perfunctory at best.
“Your na?” Ying Yue asked coolly.
“Xiao Qing. Of the Xiao clan.”
Lie Fan’s eyes narrowed. The Xiao were a noble family, one known for opposing his reforms but stepping back from the Gentleman’s Concord when the faction wanted to revolt.
“Why would a noble daughter seek to beco a maid?” he asked, his voice deceptively mild.
Xiao Qing t his gaze without flinching. “Because the Xiao clan has fallen out of favor. This is the only path left to restore our standing.”
A murmur ran through the crowd. Such bluntness was unheard of in the palace.
Ying Yue studied the girl for a long mont. Then, to everyone’s shock—
“Approved.”
Lie Fan shot her a questioning look. Ying Yue rely smiled. “I like her spirit. And if she causes trouble…” She patted Lie Fan’s hand. “I’ll handle it.”
When the last girl stepped forward, trembling, cheeks flushed, voice barely above a whisper, Lie Fan felt a mont of deja vu. He rembered another young girl, years ago, whose na was Ying Yue. Before she was Empress. Before he was Emperor. Just a girl with a shy but brave heart.
Ying Yue offered the girl a soft smile. “Speak clearly. We’re listening.”
The selection ended just before the sun reached its zenith. Final nas were recorded, decisions sealed, and docunts marked. Ying Yue stood and announced the chosen candidates formally, her voice regal.
Lie Fan joined her, clapping politely alongside the staff as the selected won wept quietly in joy. The rejected ones were not dismissed harshly, they would be offered alternative placents elsewhere in the dical services as nurses or receive stipends to continue learn. None were discarded.
As they walked back toward the main halls, Lie Fan glanced at Ying Yue. “You didn’t just pick palace maids. You chose the future guardians of our family.”
Ying Yue turned to him with a calm but aningful look. “That’s why I took my ti.”
He smiled. “I’m glad I ca to watch.”
She reached over and briefly touched his hand. “Then co again tomorrow. There’s still the final phase of the senior maid appointnts.”
“I’ll be there,” Lie Fan replied, then added with a faint smirk, “Unless I’m otherwise occupied… by four curious wives demanding demonstrations in the night, I can’t wake up tomorrow.”
Ying Yue blushed and flicked his arm. “Scoundrel.”
They laughed together, side by side, as the palace resud its usual rhythm around them.
As Lie Fan walked away from the selection courtyard, his mind lingered on Ying Yue’s ticulous process. She had not rely chosen servants, she had handpicked potential allies, future envoys, and perhaps even protectors of the imperial household. The thought filled him with quiet pride.
‘She will be rembered as one of the greatest empresses in history,’ he mused. ‘And I will make sure of it.’
His fingers curled slightly at his side. If any of these new maids turned out to be spies or saboteurs, the Oriole Agents would deal with them swiftly and silently. Ying Yue’s reputation would remain untarnished. Her legacy would be one of wisdom, grace, and strength, untainted by the bloody necessities of power.
That was his vow.
anwhile, far to the west, the cliffs of Jiann Pass echoed with the sounds of battle. The Han army, once firmly entrenched behind their formidable defenses, was now buckling under the relentless assault of Cao Cao’s forces.
Yan Yan, his armor splattered with blood, barked orders as Wei soldiers poured through a breach in the outer wall. “Hold the line! Push them back!”
But it was futile. The misimplentation of Fa Zheng’s defensive strategy had left a fatal gap, and Guo Jia alongside Xi Zhicai, ever the cunning duo, had exploited it ruthlessly.
On the Wei side, Cao Cao watched from atop his steed, his expression unreadable. “The left flank is weakening,” he observed.
Guo Jia, at the side, nodded. “Cao Pi has nearly broken through. Another push, and the outer defenses will fall.”
Cao Cao’s gaze flicked to his eldest son, Cao Ang, leading the right flank with disciplined precision. “Order the reserves forward. We take the outer wall by nightfall.”
Both Yan Yan and Zhang Ren were continuously trying their best to defend whatever first defensive line which was showing signs of going to be broken through.
So they sent a letter to Fa Zheng, Zhang Song, and ng Da, asking on what they should do. Should they continue to defend or pull back into the second defensive line, allowing Cao Cao and the Wei Army to take control of the outer wall of Jiann Pass.
When the letter reached Fa Zheng and the others’ hands who were headquartered several li from Jiann Pass, they began to think and discuss on what they should do.
Fa Zheng’s brow was furrowed deeply as he read through Yan Yan’s urgent ssage. Zhang Song, seated across from him, looked grim. ng Da, pacing behind them, was muttering to himself, clearly agitated by the turn of events.
Zhang Song tapped the table, his voice low. “We underestimated how fast Guo Jia and Xi Zhicao would anticipate our adjustnts and when he saw an error they took it. We believed the two of them would be more conservative in their counter response, but it looks like we are wrong.”
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Na: Lie Fan
Title: Founding Emperor Of Hengyuan Dynasty
Age: 34 (201 AD)
Level: 16
Next Level: 462,000
Renown: 2325
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)
SP: 1,121,700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 966 ( 20)
VIT: 623 ( 20)
AGI: 623 ( 10)
INT: 667
CHR: 98
WIS: 549
WILL: 432
ATR Points: 0
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