I dress up as a poor noblewoman, and I bring my whole family home with my literary talent.

Chapter 32 Starting a new journey

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. It's unbecoming for sisters to quarrel all the time!" The old man, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up. "Alright, tell me more about what happened to your elder sister last night."

His expression is rarely serious
Song Lingyi carefully recalled her elder sister's strange expression and speech last night:
"It was so dark last night. My elder sister seemed like a different person. She appeared behind me inexplicably. She was a little manic and her tone of voice was different from that during the day. I was very scared. Fortunately, Azhu arrived in time..."

After listening to Song Lingyi's description, Master Song asked again, "She said she took the money to buy medicine, but did she say what medicine she bought?"

Song Lingyi shook her head and frowned: "All medicines are poisonous. You can't take them all the time. I don't think my elder sister is sick. She seems to be addicted to the medicine." She boldly expressed her guess.

Mr. Song sat on a wooden stool with a dull expression, muttering, "It's over, it's over."

Everyone looked at Mr. Song's strange reaction and was puzzled.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Song Lingwan asked softly.

Madam Song, who had just recovered her breath while lying on the bed, also hurriedly asked, "What are you doing? What's over?"

Mr. Song looked away, and after a long pause he said, "Nothing, I just suddenly remembered some small things, let's go."

Song Lingyi could see that her father was hiding something, but she didn't ask any more questions. Since her father was unwilling to say anything, it meant that he couldn't do anything about it, so there was no need for her to ask further questions.

From that day on, Song Zhirou never returned to the Song family again.

Although Madam Song was angry about her stealing the money, she also took her reputation into consideration and did not tell the Pang family. She only sent Mother Qiu to check on the situation at the Pang family.

…………

Soon, the day to enter the palace arrived
The female officials of the Liang Dynasty were mainly selected through imperial examinations. However, there were a few people with both moral integrity and talent who were favored by the saints and were promoted into the palace as exceptions.

But whether taking the imperial examination or being promoted by the emperor, one must undergo strict training in court culture and professional skills.

Carriages carrying newly promoted female officials stopped outside Xuanwu Gate.

Song Lingyi jumped off the carriage lightly, and among the towering palaces and the endless stream of people, she felt like a fish swimming into water.

There are five female officials selected this time.
After entering the palace, he was led into the inner court by Liu Ma, the most experienced maid in the palace.

Along the way, Nanny Liu told them a lot of things that the palace ladies should know.

For example, there were countless palace maids in the palace, including more than 8,000 palace maids and more than 3,000 officials.

Although there are tens of thousands of people, most of them are ordinary palace servants without rank. There are a total of 215 palace maids with ranks, and only 13 female officials of the fifth rank.

This ratio is even more difficult than the modern civil service examination.

The palace maids in the imperial city were divided into six departments: the Shanggong Bureau, the Shangyi Bureau, the Shangfu Bureau, the Shangshi Bureau, the Shangqin Bureau, and the Shanggong Bureau.

Their positions are as their names suggest, and they basically take care of the food, clothing, housing and transportation of everyone in the palace.

The six bureaus are further subdivided. For example, the Shangyi Bureau is divided into the Sibao Bureau, Siyi Bureau, Sishi Bureau, etc., but we don’t need to go into details for now.

On the first day of arriving at the inner court, the five newly arrived female officials lived together in the Tingyu Pavilion. The golden sunlight shone through the leaves of an apricot tree in the courtyard, and sprinkled on the ground like spots. At first glance, it looked like a field of golden apricots.

Madam Liu stood on the stone steps, looking down at the five newlyweds lined up in the courtyard. "Today is your first day in the palace. Please take a break here. The female officials will come to arrange the subsequent procedures for you later."

The five people replied in unison: "Yes, thank you for your advice, Madam."

As soon as Madam Liu left the corner gate, Tingyu Pavilion was in an uproar. The five newly promoted female officials were all about the same age. The other four had met during the palace examination and were all from official families, so they were much more familiar with each other than Song Lingyi.

Watching them gathered together and laughing, Song Lingyi felt a little disappointed. She reached out to catch a little sunlight in her hand, and looked up at the leaves reflected by the sunlight, which were as green as jade.

"Sister Makeup"

A clear female voice broke Song Lingyi's discomfort in the unfamiliar environment.

She turned her head to look at the girl, who had her hair in a bun, which was popular in Chang'an, with a delicate red hairpin on her forehead. She had a pretty face and a dignified smile. "My name is Xiao Minglan, and my father is a scholar in the Hanlin Academy."

"I have heard of Sister Song's reputation for a long time. I was surprised to hear that Sister Song was promoted to the palace as an exception last month. Now that I see her today, Sister Song has an extraordinary appearance. No wonder she caught the princess's eye."

With Xiao Minglan leading the way, the other three also gathered around. One of the girls in blue joked, "Her Royal Highness is the kindest. She couldn't bear to see Sister Song buried, so she made an exception and promoted her. I have been studying by your window for ten years, but I am still not as lucky as your sister."

After all, he is a well-read person, and he can speak with sarcasm and even if he looks down on someone, he can still be polite and distant.

Song Lingyi could understand their indignation. After all, "airborne troops" have always been unpopular.

But who was spreading the rumor that Princess Qi Yang promoted her? It was clearly the order of Her Majesty the Empress. Promoting a female official out of turn is no small matter. Without permission from above, who would dare to do it privately?

Song Lingyi bowed and smiled: "Sisters, you are joking. How can I be so lucky? I just happened to be appreciated by the nobles, so I can work in the palace with you sisters. In the future, I will definitely need your help."

She hoped that her modesty would make the other party relax.

When she first entered the palace, she didn't want to make enemies.

Xiao Minglan said, "That's not true. With the princess as your backer, my sister has a bright future. Maybe we'll need you to help us more in the future."

"..."

Xiao Minglan's words made the other three people dislike Song Lingyi even more.

The beds in Tingyu Pavilion are shared beds. As soon as the blue-clothed girl and others entered the room, they occupied the three best beds, leaving one near the door and one at the innermost position.

There is a window at the head of the bed, so there is no ventilation problem. If you sleep near the door, you will inevitably be disturbed if someone gets up and walks around in the middle of the night.

Song Lingyi and Xiao Minglan entered the room one after another. She saw what the three of them were thinking and wanted to go to the bed inside, but was stopped by the girl in blue, "Sister Minglan, sleep next to me. We can still communicate more at night."

The girl in blue patted the empty bed at the back and didn't give Song Lingyi any chance at all.

Xiao Minglan walked over and put down the luggage. "Sister He Wei, I heard that there will be a polo match at the Wu'an Marquis Mansion at the end of the month?"

The girl in blue is named Li Hewei, and her aunt is the eldest lady of the Wu'an Marquis Mansion.

"The polo club at Wu'an Marquis's Mansion? That must be very lively!"

The other two also sat over to join in the fun.

Talking about the glory of her aunt's family, Li Hewei was very proud. "It will definitely be lively. Who in Chang'an City doesn't want to make friends with the Marquis of Wu'an Mansion and get some glory? All the sisters can go there when the time comes."

"Really? But my family didn't receive an invitation."

"That's not difficult. I'll just let my aunt know." Li Hewei said.

(End of this chapter)