An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

During these three to five days, Ling Rong had been embroidering the plain handkerchief. Occasionally, Aunt Xiao would bring a few little maids for her to look at, but she had not found a suitable one.

In ancient times, only men practiced medicine, and there were very few women who could learn medicine, let alone slaves.

After going back and forth for a while, Lingrong finished embroidering the handkerchief and exchanged it with Miss Liu Tingt's money, but still couldn't find it. Seeing that the day for entering the palace to select the concubines was tomorrow, she could only settle for the next best thing and find a smart maid who could do her hair and decorate it.

This time it was very quick. Within an incense stick of time, the human trafficker brought two little girls over. One of them had a happy face and her name was Tinghe. She had smiling eyes whenever she saw anyone and could make Lingrong very happy with just a few words.

The other one was named Zhaoshui. He was calm and steady, but he spoke clearly and fluently. However, he had a lot of calluses on his hands, as if he had done a lot of rough work.

"They are both so outstanding, it's hard to choose." An Lingrong looked at the two girls and secretly compared them with the Baojuan of the past. She thought they had to be smart and loyal enough.

"Then tell me, is there anyone else at home?"

"My dear lady," Ting He spoke first, "my parents died early, and I only have one brother in the family. He is now working as a groom in General Nian's mansion. I hardly see him for several months."

"To answer Miss, I am from Qiantang. A few years ago, there was a disturbance by bandits, and my parents were... killed by the bandits. I have no other relatives in this world."

Lingrong couldn't help but sigh when she heard this. She used a handkerchief to wipe away the non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes, and murmured to herself, "How could this be possible?"

One has a relationship with the Nian family, so who knows when she might be useful; the other has no one at home, so there is no need to worry that she will betray her master because of her relatives.

"To be honest, I am a beauty who came to Beijing for the imperial selection. If I am selected, you will have to accompany me into the palace, and you can only leave when you are 25 years old. Are you willing?"

"My slave is willing."

Unexpectedly, both girls agreed. Ling Rong was a little conflicted for a moment. After all, if she agreed, she could only bring a maid into the palace. With her family background, even if she looked exactly like Queen Chunyuan, she could only be given the title of a concubine.

However, she was planning to bring her mother to the capital, and it would be a good thing to have a trustworthy maid to take care of her. However, the rent in the capital was high, and the money she earned from Miss Liu Rongrong was only enough to rent this small courtyard for a year. If she wanted her mother to live well in the capital, she not only had to win favor, but also had to work hard to keep favor for a longer period of time.

After much thought, Lingrong decided to keep both maids. Zhaoshui, who was calm, followed her into the palace, while Tinghe, who was lively and sociable, stayed with her mother and Aunt Xiao.

The next day, Ling Rong entered the palace on time, accompanied by Aunt Xiao and Zhao Shui. Among the beauties, she wore a green dress, and her appearance and temperament were still ordinary. It was just that her experience in her previous life made her more calm than before, and she could deal with various rules more freely.

She quietly walked under a crabapple tree and glanced at the acquaintances from her previous life. Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang were holding hands and reminiscing about the past, and they seemed to be shining in the sunlight. As if she noticed the gaze, Zhen Huan nodded to Ling Rong from a distance and gave her a polite smile.

An Lingrong also nodded, but her heart was in turmoil. They didn't have much sisterhood in the previous life. Zhen Huan could be said to be a good person, but she was not. If she would not be Zhen Huan's best sister, it would be better for them to have no connection from the beginning.

"Hey!"

A scolding interrupted Ling Rong's thoughts. She looked up and saw a figure leaning towards her. She subconsciously raised her hand to help, but before she could say anything, the person stood up, swung his handkerchief and scolded angrily.

"How can you be so blind? Didn't you see me?"

"S-Sorry, I was just careless."

"It was an accident. Today is the day of the talent show. You bumped into me. Can you get away with it by saying it was an accident? If I fall and get scratched on the face by this branch, can you bear the responsibility?"

Ling Rong listened to the conversation between the two, glanced at the person she helped up, and suddenly remembered that this was the daughter of the Xia family - Xia Dongchun.

The scolded girl was just like Ling Rong back then. She was too weak to refute Xia Dongchun. She could only look at the people around her pitifully, hoping that someone would come to help her.

"Today is the talent show, and the eyes of the most important people in the capital are all here. It's better for the two sisters not to argue." Sure enough, it was Zhen Huan who stepped forward first and pulled the girl to comfort her.

Xia Dongchun was naturally unconvinced. She snorted and was about to speak, but Lingrong pulled her sleeve from behind, but she was waved away. Xia Dongchun turned her head and rolled her eyes in disdain when she saw An Lingrong's outfit.

"Since you helped me, I won't bother with you. Humph, don't even think about asking for credit or reward from me."

An Lingrong was choked by the indiscriminate tone of disgust. In her heart, she had already treated Xia Dongchun as if she were a fallen flower under her feet and stepped on her many times.

"Miss Xia, in the palace, it is best to be careful with your words."

As soon as these words were uttered, Ling Rong was summoned into the inner hall by oral order, and knelt side by side with several other beauties, waiting to be selected by the emperor on the high platform.

"An Lingrong, daughter of An Bihuai from Songyang County, is sixteen years old."

On the high platform, the emperor put down the plaque, and An Lingrong thanked him just like in her previous life, which prompted the empress dowager to say a few more words. Even without the flower, the emperor left the plaque.

An Lingrong thanked him again and stood up along with the other ladies. At this moment, the butterfly from her previous life came quietly, landed on the green lotus on the handkerchief, and flapped its wings.

Lingrong was allowed to leave the palace only after all the beauties had been selected. Zhaoshui and Aunt Xiao were still waiting at their place of separation, holding up paper umbrellas to shade her from the sun.

"It's already late August, and the weather is still so hot. The audition took several hours. Rong'er must be exhausted."

"Not tired, auntie, Rong'er has been left with a sign, now you and mother can rest assured."

"That's great. Rong'er has finally escaped from the clutches of County Magistrate Qian, but..."

The three of them turned their heads together to look at the majestic palace. Ling Rong raised her hand and gently patted Aunt Xiao's hand, revealing a rare soothing smile.

"It won't be worse than at home, aunt. What I worry about most is mother. When I enter the palace, you will have to take care of her."

"Don't worry, I have Tinghe to help me. She is smart. And now that you, Lingrong, have entered the palace and become the master, our lives will only get better."

"Yes, life will be better..." Ling Rong turned her head and looked at the place that trapped her for her entire life. For a moment, she felt that all the joy had disappeared. She was not happy at all to be back in that cage.

But no matter how unhappy she was, even if her father treated her badly, she couldn't bring herself to harm him, and she even craved a little bit of pity and attention.

I hope that the useless father can change his mind and be nicer to her mother and her.

But everything was illusory. She could not get the love of her father, nor the love of the emperor. She only had illusory favor, which disappeared after she had used it.

Now that entering the palace was a done deal, Ling Rong and her aunt decided to let her bring her mother to the capital in the name of treating her eyes before the nanny arrived.

However, in order to make this go more smoothly, we still have to wait for Lingrong to enter the palace for a while. After all, her incompetent father doesn't know how she can live in the palace, so a little threat will do the trick.

Everything was arranged, and the days passed quickly. Ling Rong was still given the title of concubine, because she lived alone and did not have to share a teaching nanny with Zhen Huan like in her previous life.

The nanny's name is Fang Jing. She and Aunt Fang Ruo who serves in front of the emperor are both palace maids who entered the palace. Now they are serving the Concubine Dowager.

"My lady, you should smile more often, and don't look stern when you are performing formal greetings. Shy and timid women from the south of the Yangtze River are rare in the palace." The nanny supported Ling Rong's chin slightly, "It is best to have an upright posture and a calm expression."

Ling Rong had never thought that even though she had become a concubine, she still had not learned the so-called rules clearly. Except for the final confrontation with the emperor, she always bowed her head and looked timid when performing the ceremony. No wonder she was often ridiculed because of her family background.

"Thank you, Aunt Fangjing," Ling Rong nodded and thanked him, "Look at the tea by the water."

"Master An, you don't have to be polite. I haven't seen such a smart master in a long time. You understand everything at once. I can't help you much. I just hope I can help you in the future. It won't be in vain for this job."

Lingrong was well aware of what was said, knowing that her aunt was a smart woman. She did not receive much reward for serving the Dowager Concubine, and if she wanted to enjoy a comfortable life in her later years, she would have to rely on these young concubines.

However, just like listening to the lotus and observing the water, whether she is loyal or not, and whether she can be used or not, she still needs to observe slowly.

On September 15th, the Han army flag entered the palace. This life was completely different from the previous one. No one had expected that something unexpected would happen that night.