On the other side, Ye Jun and Zhou Wanrong sat in Yimeixuan for half a day and left after having lunch.
And the topic of their conversation is nothing more than one thing: whether to attract new people.
Ye Jun refused directly and decisively.
With her current favor and status, she feels that she no longer needs to win over anyone.
The reason why Zhou was recruited into his fold was simply because he had not yet established himself and needed a boost, and forming an alliance with Wang Shunyi would also bring considerable benefits.
It would be better to forget about trying to win over a newcomer whose future and character are unknown.
Ye Jun would rather support Zhou, or, taking a step back, Zheng Baolin is also an option.
Obviously Wang Shunyi had already chosen a candidate at first, but after a few people talked about it, she gave up the idea.
After all, Ye Jun is the one who is carrying the banner among this group of people.
Wang Shunyi has a daughter and has long lost the desire to compete for favor. He always revolves around his daughter and forms an alliance with Ye Jun in order to make his life better in the future.
Needless to say, Zhou Wanrong now follows Ye Jun's lead.
So this matter was settled.
As for Yao Xiang, she has no advantages now and it is not easy to win over new people.
She was not favored at all, but was pulled down from the position of the Nine Concubines by Ye Yun and Yi Shunrong, and her position was not high enough.
For the time being, I can only fight alone.
Of course, she can also choose to rely on others.
But obviously Yao Xiang wouldn't do that, she is also very proud.
The palace election was held as scheduled.
It would be unreasonable for Ning Chen not to attend this last day, and the Queen Mother was also invited.
There were only forty people left, divided into eight groups of five, who came to the audience in turn.
Ning Chen didn't keep any of the first two groups of ten, and the empress dowager couldn't help it.
"Emperor, the purpose of the selection is to expand the royal family. Don't be too demanding on appearance."
Ning Chen lowered his eyes, "Son knows."
The Queen was sitting nearby and spoke softly, "People with excellent talents, like Yi Shunrong and Ming Xiurong, are few in number after all."
"It is not a good idea to serve the emperor with your beauty. As the empress, it is your responsibility to advise the emperor." The empress dowager snorted coldly.
This statement was a bit harsh, directly implying that Yi Shunrong and Ye Jun were using their beauty to serve the emperor.
This also shows that the Queen Mother doesn't like them both.
Of course, the Queen's words also reminded the Queen Mother not to choose someone with too outstanding appearance.
Ning Chen glanced at the queen calmly.
In the end, nothing was said.
But only two were left among the next batch of beauties.
One is the great-grandniece of Taifu Qi Chengru, and the other is the legitimate daughter of Jingzhao Yin Li Daoqin.
Both of them have excellent looks, each with their own merits.
Qi was born into a family of Confucian officials, and she herself was known as a talented woman, with a rather aloof and arrogant air.
Li was very well-behaved, a typical appearance of a lady from a noble family, very dignified, and somewhat similar to Yi Shunrong who had just entered the palace.
In the next group, two more were left.
One was Wan, the legitimate daughter of the prefect of Shenzhou, and the other was Yu, but she had no family background and her father was an eighth-rank official.
Speaking of it, the Yu family was chosen by the Empress Dowager.
Although the Queen Mother had said before that she could not use her beauty to serve the emperor, but seeing that Ning Chen had a calm expression, and thinking that men still like beautiful women, she decided to choose Yu.
Later on, the person Ning Chen decided on was Huo Pingbei's younger sister.
When Huo was chosen, Concubine Shu's face became extremely ugly.
She was also selected in the same group with a woman named Qin, who also came from a humble family.
But she was smart. When she introduced herself, she recited a poem about fighting on the battlefield. She also had a heroic appearance, which made her stand out among the delicate ladies.
Ning Chen nodded, kept her, and said a few words to her.
After Qin, Ning Chen passed away, and the empress dowager followed him.
Among the remaining concubines, the Queen kept two, Han and Wang.
Without exception, they all come from humble family backgrounds but have outstanding looks.
With this, Nanqi’s second round of talent show came to an end.
This time, eight new people were selected, four from good family backgrounds and four from average family backgrounds, which is considered average.
The first few with good family backgrounds did not attract the attention of the people in the harem. Instead, Yu, who was extremely beautiful, and Qin, who spoke a few words to the emperor, received special attention.
To be able to enter the final round, apart from family background, the most important thing is appearance. So even though no one knows what Qin looks like, she must be good just because she was able to enter the final round.
She was also the only one who received special treatment from the emperor, so Qin was particularly conspicuous among this group.
The following day, the positions of the new ladies were announced.
Among this group, no one had a particularly high starting point. The highest ones were Qi and Wan, both of whom were conferred the title of Talented Women.
Their family background is also the highest among this group.
Both the Huo and Li families were granted the title of Baolin.
Surprisingly, Qin was also given the title of Baolin, while the other three who had poor family backgrounds were all, without exception, the lowest-ranking concubines.
This time, the Qin family was pushed to the forefront.
Everyone thought that the emperor was particularly fond of Qin Baolin, but in fact Qin's position was determined by the empress.
Ning Chen only decided on the positions for the four newcomers with good family backgrounds, and gave the rest to the queen.
The queen then deliberately praised Qin to a higher level.
The intention is very obvious.
The newcomers entered the palace a month later, and by the time everyone finally saw this batch of fresh blood, it was already mid-June.
On the first day of entering the palace, they would first go to Fengqi Palace to pay respects to the high-ranking concubines, and then go back to wait. When they had the chance to sleep with the emperor, they would be considered full-fledged concubines and could come to pay their respects every day.
Looking at the eight beauties kneeling in a row below, Ye Jun wished he were the emperor.
What a pity, she is now the emperor's favorite concubine.
As for a favored concubine, one must at least show some of the power of a favored concubine, and give her a proper vaccination first, lest these new and ignorant ones provoke him as soon as they enter the palace.
So after the Queen finished her lecture as usual, Ye Jun was the first to speak.
"I've been curious about who Qin Baolin is for a long time. Let me take a look."
"Your humble servant Qin is here to greet Ming Xiurong."
A clear voice sounded, and a well-proportioned woman stood up from the opposite end.
He bowed and slowly raised his head.
He knew the rules and didn't look directly at Ye Jun, but lowered his eyes slightly.
"She looks pretty good. No wonder the emperor likes her."
Ye Jun looked at her, curled the corners of his lips slightly, leaned his body, and put his hands on the handles of the chair, with a lazy look and a bit of coldness.
"I heard that you read a poem written by a military commander in the palace selection. I was born in a family of military commanders, so I have a very bad temper. If you have the same temper as me, please be more restrained. I hate it most when others have a worse temper than me."
Before Qin could speak, Yi Shunrong took over the conversation.
"Oh, Ming Xiurong, don't scare the newcomer right away. Qin Baolin, don't be afraid. As long as you follow the palace rules and understand the situation, we can all get along well."
The two most proud concubines spoke one after another. After all, Qin had never really been involved in palace fighting, so her face showed a bit of nervousness.
He seemed a little anxious when he was blessing his body.
"I will definitely keep in mind what the two majesties have said and will not dare to go beyond the limit even a little bit."