In order to eat, I signed a contract with the system

September 18th, the first year of Yongzheng's reign, was the day when new concubines in the palace paid their first respects to the Empress. Wen Yuan got up early in the morning and dressed up to make a stunning appearance, with no intention of keeping a low profile at all.

Nuanchun, the maid specially selected by Yuyin and arranged to follow Wen Yuan into the palace, opened her mouth to persuade her, but found Xiuxia shaking her head at her. In the end, Nuanchun said nothing and obediently listened to Wen Yuan's arrangements to dress her up with jewels and gems, looking very gorgeous.

Accompanying Wen Yuan to the outside of Jingren Palace, Nuanchun finally couldn't help it as she watched Wen Yuan go in. She approached Xiuxia and whispered, "Sister Xiuxia, today is the first time the young lady has come to the palace to pay respects. The young lady is dressed too outstandingly. Won't this be eye-catching?"

"It's okay. Before entering the palace, Princess Yuyin said that among the concubines entering the palace this time, our young lady has the most outstanding family background and is the first in rank. Even if she dresses in a low-key manner, it will not let the people in the harem relax their vigilance. It is better to let the young lady dress up well, which will shock them instead."

"Besides, our young master is a spoiled child. With a face like that, it's very easy to please others as long as she doesn't talk nonsense."

The seat for Concubine Hua in Jingren Palace was still vacant. The Queen was just about to announce that she would not wait any longer when she heard a notification. After Concubine Hua was seated, Jianqiu led the newlyweds to the center of the hall and stood there. Wen Yuan was about to stand in her own seat when she found that the first row had already been occupied by two unfamiliar concubines.

Wen Yuan was so angry that she didn't care that she was still in the Queen's Palace. She directly said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say. I wonder if Your Majesty is dissatisfied with the Manchu military flag girls entering the palace."

When Wen Yuan said this, not only did Yi Xiu, who had been smiling, change her expression, but even Hua Fei, who had been looking impatient before, raised her eyebrows and looked over with interest.

"how do I say this?"

"The Qing Dynasty's rules are to put the Manchus first and the Khan second. I am the highest-ranking newcomer to the palace, Concubine Rong. When I pay my respects for the first time, I should stand in the first row. The next person to stand should be Concubine Fucha."

"If Your Majesty is not dissatisfied with the beauties of the Manchu flag, then why did Aunt Jianqiu in Your Majesty's palace lead these two concubines of the Han flag to stand in front of me just now?"

As soon as Wen Yuan finished speaking, everyone's eyes instantly turned to the positions of the newlyweds. Indeed, as Concubine Rong said, the leading position was occupied by two outstanding-looking ladies.

Concubine Hua glanced at the angry Wen Yuan and rolled her eyes. She had thought that this noble lady Rong would be a difficult person after entering the palace, but she didn't expect that she was good-looking but her brain didn't seem to be working very well.

Originally, she was planning to take the opportunity to embarrass this noble lady Rong, but after meeting her, she gave up. With a personality like her, the emperor's favor would not last long. It seems that she could become the number one newcomer only thanks to her father, who was a second-rank official.

In fact, Wen Yuan's behavior not only made Concubine Hua less vigilant, but also made other people present feel less vigilant towards her. Although the Queen was somewhat embarrassed by Wen Yuan's questioning, she was relieved in the end, thinking in her heart: "This Concubine Rong is so beautiful, but she is really stupid. It seems that she is not the kind of person with deep thoughts."

Jianqiu took the opportunity to kneel down and plead guilty: "Please forgive me, Queen. I was careless and forgot the rules. Please punish me!"

The moment Jianqiu apologized, she positioned the matter that Wen Yuan questioned about the Queen's dissatisfaction with the concubines under the Manjun Banner as her own fault, turning the originally intentional event into an unintentional arrangement.

"The aunts in the Empress' palace have actually forgotten the rules. It seems that the Empress is really lacking in energy and discipline. No wonder the Emperor asked me to assist in managing the harem!" How could Concubine Hua miss the opportunity to find the Empress's faults?

However, Concubine Hua was jealous of the two beautiful brides who were leading the group, and she didn't want to let them go at all: "It's okay that Aunt Jianqiu was careless for a moment, but how come these two have also forgotten the rules? Or are you two dissatisfied with your positions and really want to go further?"

After Concubine Hua said this, Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang could only kneel down and admit their mistakes: "I, Xianfu Palace Shen Meizhuang, was careless for a moment. Please forgive me, Queen and Concubine Hua!"

"Your servant, Sui Yuxuan Zhen Huan, was careless for a moment. Please forgive me, Queen and Concubine Hua!"

Although she felt that she was not wrong and that it was a problem arranged by the Queen's palace, Zhen Huan and the others knew that if they really said that, they would definitely offend the Queen, so they had no choice but to admit their mistakes.

Yixiu was secretly resentful at this moment. When Concubine Hua mentioned the issue of palace power, she was simply pulling down the Queen's face in front of the newlyweds. As the Queen, she did not have palace power in her hands. How could the newlyweds not suspect that the Queen's position was unstable and was in name only!

Taking a deep breath, Yixiu put on a gentle smile, "Noble Rong, this is because Jianqiu made a mistake due to carelessness. I will punish her by making her recite the palace rules ten times, reducing her salary for one year, and demoting her to a second-class maid."

"As for Concubine Shen and Concubine Wan, they are innocent because they entered the palace for the first time and did not know the rules. They were also influenced by Jianqiu. They should only be punished by copying the palace rules ten times."

"Oh, can such a serious mistake be explained away with just four words: not knowing the rules? The Queen's punishment is too light. It seems that I have to ask the nanny who was recently assigned to take care of Concubine Shen and Concubine Wan whether she didn't teach them well. How come one or two of them don't know the rules, and why didn't the others make any mistakes?"

Concubine Hua's few words pushed the atmosphere to another level. Seeing this, Zhen Huan and Shen Meiyu could only continue to admit their mistakes, saying that they were careless for a moment, and did not admit at all that the governess nanny did not teach them well. After all, no one wanted to offend the governess nanny.

"Then according to Concubine Hua, how should the punishment be?"

"In my opinion, Jianqiu doesn't know the rules and should be demoted to the laundry department. Concubine Shen and Concubine Wan should copy the palace rules a hundred times and be confined to their homes for half a year."

"It's too much to confine newcomers to the palace for half a year right after they enter! Just make them copy the palace rules thirty times and confine them for a month."

"What about Jianqiu?" Concubine Hua was dissatisfied and didn't want to let go of the opportunity easily, so she pressed on step by step.

"Jianqiu is my palace maid and I have the right to decide for myself!" When mentioning Jianqiu, Yixiu finally stopped smiling as if she was a good person. She put on a stern face and firmly rebuked Concubine Hua.

"The Queen is too kind that she let the Emperor hand over the power of the palace to me!"

The scene froze for a moment. Even Wen Yuan, the culprit who caused the incident, felt something was wrong. She couldn't help but shrink her neck. The smile on the Queen's face seemed a little stiff at this time. She looked at Concubine Hua, and Concubine Hua looked back at her unwillingly.

"Hua Fei, I am the queen!"

"The time for greeting is almost over, let the newlyweds pay their respects first!"

Wen Yuan and the others said nothing this time. They stood quietly in their seats according to their status and background and saluted. The Queen called them and said a few brief words about continuing the lineage, and then it was time to salute Concubine Hua.

Hua Fei was now only thinking about what the Queen had said before: "I am the Queen!" She was so angry that she no longer had the mood to torture the newcomer.

When Yu Yin received the letter from the palace, she was quite surprised. She didn't expect that Wen Yuan's reckless and direct character could cause such a big change to the plot.

Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang were under house arrest, and they were punished for their first greeting. They felt very embarrassed and did not wait for An Lingrong after the greeting as in the plot, but quickly fled back to their residence.

However, Xia Dongchun still went after An Lingrong to humiliate her. Without the cooperation of Zhen Huan and the others, An Lingrong dared not do anything and could only endure the humiliation silently. Concubine Hua was furious to see the Queen's lackey, and in the end Xia Dongchun could not escape the beating and became the first newcomer to be eliminated.