Chapter 411: Chapter 411
Why? An Ning thought to herself:
Wasn't the answer actually quite obvious already?
Although the original host was a young lady from the inner chambers, with a casual and easygoing temperament, and didn't have much understanding of matters concerning the imperial harem, just looking at how, after Eldest Sister entered the palace, she had failed to send even the slightest bit of news home for many years, one could know her situation was not good.
Although this was also related to the decline of the Count's household, which had long lost its prestige and was not taken seriously by the truly powerful.
But the current imperial harem was not without favored consorts of lowly origins. Just look at their treatment; not to mention bestowing favor upon their maternal families, it shouldn't be difficult to summon someone into the palace for a talk during festivals, right?
Yet all of the above were absent.
At first, the family found it hard to believe that the Eldest Young Lady, with her beauty, talent, and character all being of the highest quality, could have so easily faded into obscurity within the palace.
However, as time passed, even the most foolish person in the household knew that the Eldest Young Lady likely had no future prospects.
It was also from this time onward that the original host's studies began to intensify. Music, chess, calligraphy, painting, appreciation of music and art, and even embroidery, which she could previously avoid by acting spoiled, were no longer negotiable.
Until the year the original host turned seventeen. The entire household had barely had time to rejoice upon hearing the news that Eldest Sister was pregnant before the news came that the Eldest Young Lady had inexplicably miscarried.
And after that came the earth-shattering bad news...
Unsurprisingly, the original host's wish for this lifetime was simple: to protect her family, especially her several sisters. If possible, don't let Eldest Sister wade into the murky waters of the palace again.
As for who the culprit was and what exactly happened in the previous life, the original host naturally wanted to know as well. But compared to the safety of the entire family, it was no longer so important.
"Huh? It seems the original host actually didn't resent Eldest Sister?"
Hearing her host's explanation, the system couldn't help but ask with some confusion.
You know, for a woman like the original host, not to mention other things, the road of exile was terrifying. If the young girl hadn't been bitten by a rat in prison, fallen seriously ill, and died early, it's likely things would have been even worse later.
Her birth mother and younger brother didn't fare well either. It thought a normal person, if not hating, would at least resent them!
But judging by the original host's wish, it seemed she harbored no blame or resentment.
What if it really was Eldest Young Lady Zhou who made a wrong step, causing this tragedy?
"Because the original host understood in her heart that neither she nor Eldest Sister had any real choice."
Why would she resent someone who had no control over their own fate? Perhaps there might be some fleeting resentment in moments of extreme pain, but it would only be momentary.
Perhaps because of this rare broad-mindedness, a hint of a smile unconsciously appeared in An Ning's eyes, but it soon turned into a soft sigh:
"What kind of place is the palace? On the surface, it's the place closest to power, the most glorious and wealthy. But in reality? Not to mention all the scheming, ruthless plots, and cruel calculations, the sheer monotony and loneliness within its strict rules are enough to drive a person mad."
Otherwise, why do you think the story of the white-haired palace servants was passed down?
In her life before the last, she was the Imperial Noble Consort, the Noble Consort who held harem authority, her status towering above everyone else. And she still spent most of the year at the traveling palace or wandering all over the place.
Even so, she didn't think the palace was a good place to stay.
The four-square sky, everything rigidly bound by rules, just looking at it made one feel irritable.
Not to mention a teenage girl burdened with her family's expectations, struggling to survive in the palace?
"Not to mention other things, at home she was a noble and precious young lady, but in the palace, she became a low-ranking consort who had to constantly bow and scrape, treading carefully, unable to even guarantee her own safety."
Just ask, who could easily accept such a disparity?
It forced her originally gentle, cautious, and family-oriented sister to become like that!
Even if one wanted to hate someone, shouldn't the one truly deserving of hatred be the instigator who insisted on sending their daughter into the man-eating harem?
An Ning agreed with this sentiment. In this era, men had so many paths they could take, so many things they could see, so many resources and conveniences they could enjoy. Yet they insisted on tying the entire family's future prospects to the skirt of a teenage girl.
If a gambler chooses to step onto the gambling table, they can't expect to bear no risk, right? They really think the palace is an amusement park!
After a moment of silence, An Ning chuckled again:
"By the way, A-Tong, you don't really think the noble young ladies of this era are all quite willing to enter the palace, do you?"
The system: "..." No... Isn't that the case?
Ignoring a certain system's silence, An Ning pulled the bed curtains shut, confirmed no one was outside, and soon tried to enter a meditative state, circulating her cultivation method to sense the surrounding spiritual energy.
Good news: although it was still very sparse, there was at least some spiritual energy.
Bad news: with the original host's aptitude, if she worked hard, she might reach the first level of Qi Refining before she turned twenty?
As for the wood-type ability from her previous life, after ordering the system to monitor it, An Ning then took out a pure wood-type energy crystal from her space. This was something she had crafted in her previous life, modeled after zombie crystal cores.
Without the special magnetic field of her previous life, advancing was probably out of the question. But such pure wood-type energy wasn't completely useless either.
After testing everything one by one, An Ning finally let out a soft sigh of relief and put everything away.
There was about a month left before the imperial selection began. Before that, she had to think of a way.
As for her entering the palace in Eldest Sister's stead... let's just say, what a ridiculous notion, don't even think about it!
She slept soundly through the night. The next day, An Ning woke up right at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM). After washing up, getting dressed, and having a simple breakfast of a few snacks, she headed to the main house with her little maid.
Although the Count's household was in decline, they hadn't slacked off in the slightest when it came to rules and etiquette.
According to custom, the children of the household had to go to the main wife's quarters every morning to pay their respects and inquire after her well-being.
By the time An Ning arrived, her two older sisters were already present. They were chatting about something together, and seeing An Ning arrive was already a common sight for them.
The eldest sister, Zhou Yun, was the first to speak with concern. Dressed in a smoke-blue, plum-blossom patterned half-sleeved gauze jacket over a brocade long robe with flowing patterns, she held a round fan. Her faint smile accentuated her twelve parts of dignified grace and composure.
She was now looking in An Ning's direction with concern in her eyes:
"Fifth Sister is here. Did you rest well last night?"
Before An Ning could reply, Third Young Lady Zhou Zhi, sitting to the side, couldn't help but let out a soft snort:
"Eldest Sister, do you even need to ask? Even if the sun really rose from the west, with Fifth Sister's personality—she could nap even if the sky were falling—she... could she possibly sleep poorly?"
Skillfully finding her seat and sitting down, An Ning, equally accustomed to this, pursed her lips in the other's direction:
"That's still better than some people. A painting turned into a complete mess, getting scolded by the teacher a few times is enough to make them so depressed they can't sleep all night. The next morning, the powder under their eyes is caked thicker than anyone else's."
"People who don't know might think it snowed in the room!"
Clearly, when it came to verbal sparring, An Ning was no slouch either.
Before Third Young Lady could get angry, Zhou Yun at the head of the table first raised her round fan, covering the lower half of her face completely, then spoke to mediate:
"Alright, both of you, quiet down now!"
"Hmph, as if anyone wants to bother arguing with her!"
While the sisters were bantering, accompanied by the sound of jingling bead curtains, a woman around thirty years old slowly walked out from the inner chamber.
This was undoubtedly the legitimate mother of this body, the mistress of the Count's household, Lady Jiang. Being the one who gave birth to a beauty like Eldest Young Lady Zhou, Lady Jiang's youthful beauty naturally went without saying—bright and beautiful with an air of dignified grace. Unfortunately, the habitual three parts of sternness and seriousness between her brows robbed her of some liveliness.
Hearing the sound, the young ladies immediately sat up straight.
After briefly inquiring about their daily studies, and seeing that among the three, especially Eldest Young Lady, answered appropriately and carried herself with graceful ease, Lady Jiang's face finally showed a hint of a smile.
Before leaving, the three of them coincidentally ran into the original host's birth father, the head of the Count's household, Zhou Baiyan. Behind him followed three young boys.
They were respectively: the eldest young master, Yiwen, born of Lady Jiang; the fourth young master, Yili, born of the original host's birth mother; and another, the seventh young master, Yiwu, born of the household's Concubine Sun.
In the blink of an eye, the three sons and three daughters of the main branch were all present. An Ning subconsciously looked up:
Like most fathers of this era, Master Zhou was not a particularly amiable father in front of his children.
Moreover, after years of failing to achieve his ambitions, a trace of the gloom characteristic of middle-aged men always lingered between his brows.
However, at this moment, Father Zhou's face rarely carried a hint of a smile, especially when he looked at his several daughters before him, each as beautiful as flowers and the moon, each with her own unique charm.
On the other hand, Lady Jiang's eyes clearly held some displeasure, especially when she saw his gaze resting on their daughter.
Seeing the unspoken exchange in their eyes, An Ning's face remained one of pure innocence, but inwardly she couldn't help but sneer coldly:
So they were already making plans this early?
They really were... impatient!