Chapter 1

    The selection of beauties for the royal palace was an event held every five years, drawing over a thousand candidates each time, predominantly self-applicants, with a few receiving direct invitations from the palace. These invitations were extended only to women from high-ranking noble families, generally from the fifth rank and above.

    The selection process comprised four stages. The first stage assessed appearance, physique, and manners. The second stage tested etiquette and conduct for women and girls. The third stage varied each year, determined by the Empress Dowager [1]or the Empress [2]who decided the criteria. The final stage involved a contest specifically set by the Emperor.

    After revealing her intentions to her parents, Sisi faced strong opposition. They sympathized with Siai, who had grown up sheltered in the Dong family estate and might cope in the palace, but they feared Sisi, who spent more than half her life at sea, would not withstand the confined palace life without despairing.

    Shocked by their words, she asked them if she seem that weak to them. Then, Sisi reassured them that she would undoubtedly fail the selection. Believing her ordinary appearance and age far beyond the typical marital range would lead to a swift rejection, her parents eventually agreed to let her take Siai's place.

    In the first round of selections, Sisi, classified as a second type invitee from the palace, was exempt from the initial screening, advancing directly to the second round. This irked her slightly, as she believed she would not have passed the first round otherwise. Easily clearing the second round, she realized she could not deliberately answer incorrectly this time around. Representing the eldest daughter of the Dong family, failing to correctly respond to basic etiquette and conduct for women would be disgraceful.

    The second round felt more like a test of memorization and penmanship than a measure of intelligence. Any well-educated young woman from a prominent family would likely know the answers.

    One hundred women passed the first round, and the second round was held at the Dazhong Academy, closed for a day to accommodate the beauty selections. The exam lasted half a day with results announced the following morning by five senior professors from the academy.

    Aiming for a middle-ground score, Sisi ranked twentieth in the second round. She glanced quickly at the leaderboard and noticed 'Xu Mingde,' the youngest daughter of her father's boss and the Minister of Finance, ranked first. Sisi had never met Xu Mingde, whose beauty was famed throughout the capital, though whether she matched Siai’s allure was uncertain.

    The top twenty contestants advanced to the third round, with some beautiful enough being invited to the palace as maids if eliminated.

    Sisi regretted narrowly passing, thinking she had overestimated the intellect of Dazhong women.

    The third round's theme was announced: a cooking competition, marking the first such event in the current Emperor's reign. The Empress Dowager wanted to find beauties who epitomized ladylike grace and domestic skills, setting an example for the young women of Dazhong. The focus of the third round was thus on the 'charm at the end of the ladle.'

    Young ladies who could not cook must hurry and learn to prepare at least one dish. Although Sisi grew up mostly outdoors and preferred others to cook for her, there were many meals she had to prepare herself. Cooking was not difficult for her. The real challenge was to cook something not too bad that it embarrassed her father, but also not too good that it advanced her to the next round.

    Before the third round, the palace temporarily housed all twenty contestants to facilitate their acquaintance, ease their needs to travel between the palace and their homes, and prevent any corruption. Sisi believed there was another reason: it allowed closer monitoring of their behaviors.

    Two days later, Sisi moved into the guest quarters of the palace. She was not allowed to bring her maid, but the palace had its own servants to attend to them, so there were no issues.

    She found herself sharing a building with Xu Mingde, who occupied the west wing while she stayed in the east wing. Xu Mingde was as beautiful as rumored, with a petite face, full red lips, and a slender, delicate figure. However, she still did not match the beauty of Siai. Sisi exchanged a few words with Xu Mingde before they each retired to their rooms.

    That afternoon, while walking in the garden of the guest quarters, Sisi saw Xu Mingde and other young women enjoying a stroll as well.

    Approaching the girl, Sisi noticed several hostile glances directed at Xu Mingde. It seemed several ladies were displeased with her, perhaps due to her beauty and because she ranked first in the previous selection, likely earning her competitors' envy.

    Preferring to stay out of palace intrigues, Sisi bid Xu Mingde farewell and returned to her room, deciding to keep to herself until the day of the selection.

    The next day, a young eunuch instructed them to list the ingredients they would need for the third round's cooking competition, which the palace would prepare. Sisi, opting to make a simple shrimp fried rice, required only a few ingredients.

    On the day of the selection, the contestants had four hours to cook. Sisi started by cooking the rice. While waiting, she prepared the other ingredients. Throughout, she heard occasional cries of alarm as some young ladies reacted to splattering oil or accidentally touched hot pot lids.

    Sisi glanced at Xu Mingde cooking next to her. A quick look suggested she was preparing ginger-baked prawns. Her proficient movements indicated that Xu Mingde was likely a skilled cook, with a high chance of being chosen as a concubine.

    Focusing back on her cooking, Sisi finished quickly due to the simplicity of her dish. However, as she was transferring the fried rice to a plate, she heard Xu Mingde muttering "Oh no" repeatedly. The slender girl seemed to be searching for something, then hurriedly ran to speak with the eunuch at the door.

    After a brief conversation, Xu Mingde returned to her stove looking dejected. Curious, Sihi asked,

    "Is something wrong?"

    Xu Mingde bit her lower lip, hesitating, but finally said,

    "Someone secretly added salt to my dish."

    "Hmm?"

    Sisi responded with a frown, then asked Xu Mingde for a taste. The overpowering saltiness almost numb the tongue.

    "Was there a time when you weren't watching your stove?"

    "Yes... An eunuch came to tell me a servant called for me, so I stepped out for a moment, but there was no one there when I checked."

    "This must be someone's scheme to sabotage you... But do you have any prawn left? This dish will have to be discarded, but there's still time to make a new one."

    Xu Mingde looked distressed, shook her head, and responded,

    "I used all my prawn for this dish. Earlier, I told the overseer that I was sabotaged, so I asked for more prawn to make a new dish. He questioned how he could know that I didn't spoil it myself and then claimed I was sabotaged. He said that rules are rules; I had to use whatever ingredients I had."

    Xu Mingde's voice cracked as if she was about to cry. Sisi asked her to wait a moment and soon returned with a bowl covered with a lid. Glancing around to see everyone else busy with their cooking, she quickly said,

    "Here are some shrimp I had left over. They might be smaller than yours, but they should be enough."

    "You!" Xu Mingde exclaimed with a smile, causing Sisi to hurriedly shush her.

    "Don't look so happy. You need to keep looking worried, so those who sabotaged you will be convinced."

    Xu Mingde nodded vigorously, mouthing 'thank you,' and quickly returned to her stove with a feigned look of sadness.

    "The Empress Dowager has arrived!"

    All twenty young women bowed in unison to offer their respects as they now stood in the large dining hall, behind the dishes they had prepared.

    'The Empress Dowager, Yiren,' looked much younger than her age, her face beautiful but her expression stern and her eyes fierce.

    She started with the sweet and sour fish prepared by 'Jin Jiaomei', a niece of Marquis Yi. After tasting it, she showed a pleased expression, which Sisi suspected was more due to the family connection than the dish's flavor. The Empress Dowager seemed to prefer having a daughter-in-law from the same clan rather than establishing ties outside.

    She tasted each dish, moving towards Xu Mingde's. That's when Sisi saw Jin Jiaomei and three other young women secretly smiling to each other.

    Ah, the culprits!

    Unaware of the smiles because she was too focused on the Empress Dowager tasting her food.

    "Delicious."

    Xu Mingde beamed when the Empress Dowager commented, while the 'culprits' looked at each other, puzzled.

    This was the first time the Empress Dowager had complimented so openly, even Jin Jiaomei only received a smile despite her close ties, indicating Xu Mingde's dish must have truly impressed.

    When the Empress Dowager reached Sisi's plain-looking fried rice, she glanced at the simple dish and then at its maker, thinking,

    'It's as ordinary as its creator.'

     After tasting it, she found it slightly better than it looked but still ordinary.

    After finishing all the dishes, the Empress Dowager whispered to her close servant. After a moment, the servant announced loud enough for all to hear,

    "The following have advanced to the final round: Xu Mingde, Jin Jiaomei, Chao Xinrui, Wu Mingyao..."

    Distracted, Sisi was pondering whether to stop by Dongluan's to buy roast duck for her parents on her way home.

    "Dong Sisi."

    Sisi perked up upon hearing her name, looking up to meet the gaze of the Empress Dowager’s servant.

    Did she just call my name?

    Wait... why would she call my name?

    "Sisi, we've made it to the final round!" Xu Mingde's excited voice rang in her ear.

    Suddenly, Sisi felt as though someone had struck her head with a hammer without her being prepared.

     How on earth did she advance to the final round!

[1] The "Empress Dowager" refers to the Emperor's mother.

[2] The "Empress" is the Emperor's chief consort.