Volume 5, Chapter 316 – Her Acting is Too Poor

“Look, everyone! She… she… she…!”

A palace maiden washing clothes pointed at Ouyang Tong, stammering in shock.

“What about her? Haven’t you seen someone wear a veil before? Have you never worn one?”

Her companion rolled her eyes.

“Every maiden selected to serve in the palace is a girl meticulously chosen from every prefecture and county. Wearing a veil outside to conceal one’s beauty and avoid trouble is only natural.”

“Her reaction just means she’s never worn one. But then again, with her looks, she probably never needed to.”

“Still, this woman is so pretentious. Even after entering the palace, she keeps her veil on. Who does she think she is? Every girl here is the finest from their respective regions!”

The surrounding maidens chimed in with their own criticisms.

“Are you all blind? I’m not talking about the veil! It’s the mark on her forehead! Don’t you recognize what that is?”

The first girl, now flustered and angry, tried to clarify.

“What is it? A tattoo?”

“Oh, so she’s some delinquent girl? How dare she enter the palace with a tattoo! If the stewards see it, she’ll be thrown out on the spot!”

“Thrown out? You’re being too kind. For such a disgraceful act, she’d probably be dragged out and publicly executed!”

Several girls gloated, pleased at the thought of one less competitor among them.

“You’re all such bumpkins! That’s the mark of a female cultivator’s doppelgänger! How do you not know this?”

The first girl sighed, pressing a hand to her fair forehead in exasperation.

“What? A doppelgänger? Why would there be a cultivator’s doppelgänger in the Office of Palace Ceremonies?”

“There is! Haven’t you heard? Among our batch of palace maidens, there’s one particularly famous girl, Qi Huang, personally selected by His Majesty to serve as an Imperial Consort.”

“Right, right! I remember now! She’s the doppelgänger of the Honghua Sect’s Fairy Hongling. She lost her True Qi, so she had to enter the palace as a maiden.”

“She and the Holy Maiden of Shuiyu Valley are known as the Twin Moons of the Western Radiance Dynasty’s cultivation world. No wonder she wears a veil, it makes sense now.”

“The Twin Moons of the cultivation world don’t include the mortal realm. I refuse to believe she’s any more beautiful than I am!”

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“Shut up! Do you have a death wish? An Imperial Consort personally selected by the Emperor will most likely become the Empress. If you keep slandering her, you’ll have no future here!”

A single stone stirred a thousand waves, the entire Office of Palace Ceremonies erupted into commotion.

Ouyang Tong hadn’t expected such a huge reaction. She was now on edge, jumping at shadows.

Qi Huang, however, was the complete opposite. Through the Shadow-Retaining Mirror, she observed the lively scene inside the Office of Palace Ceremonies. The place was filled with beautiful young girls, most around sixteen or seventeen, each with their own charms, some plump, some slender. Since there were no men around, none of them bothered to hide their appearances, resulting in a garden of spring scenery.

The thought of blending in and staying there for a few days filled Qi Huang with admiration for her own brilliant decision.

The noise outside eventually drew the attention of the stewards, who hurried out to investigate.

“Greetings, Chief Steward Zhong. Is this Lady Qi?”

A middle-aged woman with high cheekbones bowed respectfully as she spoke.

“Indeed, this is Lady Qi. This old servant has brought her here to register. I trust you will take good care of her from now on.”

Chief Steward Zhong introduced her.

“I wouldn’t dare! I wouldn’t dare! She is an Imperial Consort personally selected by His Majesty. Serving her is this humble official’s honor.”

The middle-aged woman, Zhou Shangyi, replied nervously, her subordinates echoing her sentiments.

“Lady Qi, this is Zhou Shangyi, the head of the Office of Palace Ceremonies. If you wish to establish yourself in the inner palace, you must learn poetry, music, and etiquette from her.”

Chief Steward Zhong turned to Ouyang Tong.

“Y-yes… P-please… t-take care of me in the future, Zhou Shangyi.”

Ouyang Tong’s voice trembled slightly. Three years ago, when she had first entered the palace, Zhou Shangyi had already been in charge. Though she had only stayed for a few days back then and was now wearing a veil, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Zhou Shangyi studied Ouyang Tong with slight confusion. ‘So this is a cultivator’s doppelgänger? She’s stuttering just talking to me. Not very impressive.’

“Zhou Shangyi, given Lady Qi’s special status, please arrange a private room for her. Avoid disturbing her unnecessarily, and do not assign her any strenuous or dirty tasks. If she gets hurt, all of you will bear the consequences.”

Chief Steward Zhong instructed sternly.

“Yes, yes, yes.”

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Zhou Shangyi nodded repeatedly before adding enthusiastically, “Should this humble official assign a couple of maids to attend to her?”

“That won’t be necessary. She has no official rank yet.”

Chief Steward Zhong quickly declined. The whole point of these arrangements was to ensure Ouyang Tong’s identity remained hidden. Adding maids would only complicate things.

“Understood.”

Zhou Shangyi naturally didn’t dare argue.

“Good. Now, proceed with her registration.”

Chief Steward Zhong motioned for them to begin.

The rest of the process was straightforward. Since Ouyang Tong had been personally selected by the Emperor, the stewards didn’t question her veiled appearance and quickly completed her registration.

Ouyang Tong, however, was consumed by guilt, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind.

Chief Steward Zhong’s expression darkened with displeasure, but with so many people around, he couldn’t openly reprimand her.

“Zhou Shangyi, how many maidens have arrived in this batch so far?”

After the registration, Chief Steward Zhong inquired.

“Reporting to you, my lord, this batch consists of three hundred maidens in total. So far, one hundred and fifty-one have arrived.”

Zhou Shangyi answered respectfully.

“It’s already the twenty-fourth day of the month. The first selection is on the first day of next month. Why is only half here?”

Chief Steward Zhong’s aged face fell.

“My lord, you must understand, these are troubled times. Some prefectures and counties are far from the capital. Surviving the journey here is no easy feat. Even in the past, the situation wasn’t much better.”

Zhou Shangyi reminded him gently.

Qi Huang was shocked upon hearing this, but after a moment’s thought, it made sense. Not everyone had the privilege of safe passage like she did. Most maidens had to rely on escorts hired by their families or local constables. It was only natural that some wouldn’t make it.

“Of course, I understand. But this time, the numbers are truly lacking. By the first day of next month, I doubt we’ll even reach two hundred.”

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Chief Steward Zhong sighed helplessly.

Zhou Shangyi fell silent. Each of those numbers represented a living, breathing girl.

Afterward, Ouyang Tong collected the living supplies provided by the Office of Palace Ceremonies and followed Chief Steward Zhong to her assigned room.

The moment she entered, she collapsed onto a chair, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead in relief.

“You’ve disappointed me greatly. Such a simple situation frightened you so much. If those female officials hadn’t trusted me implicitly, your identity would’ve been exposed long ago.”

Chief Steward Zhong shut the door behind him and scolded her harshly.

“Forgive me, my lord. This servant did her best, but the pressure was too great. When I came here three years ago, these same stewards were in charge. I don’t know if they still remember me.”

Ouyang Tong explained, her voice choked with tears.

“How long did you stay here three years ago?”

Chief Steward Zhong asked coldly.

“Less than ten days. After failing the first selection, I chose to stay as a palace maid and was assigned to serve Consort Yu in the Cold Palace.”

Ouyang Tong exhaled deeply.

“Then what are you afraid of? Each batch has two to three hundred maidens. You barely interacted with them, and now you’re wearing a veil!”

Chief Steward Zhong said, exasperated.

“B-but I’m still scared. One wrong move, and it’s my head.”

Ouyang Tong whispered weakly.

“That’s because you’re not immersed in your role! If you were, you wouldn’t be afraid.”

Chief Steward Zhong lectured.

“In this situation, how can this servant possibly stay calm, let alone immerse myself?”

Ouyang Tong’s eyes reddened.

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“Figure it out yourself! Either act properly, or die.”

Chief Steward Zhong snapped impatiently. He then pulled out a Thousand-Mile Communication Tube from his sleeve and handed it to her. “Use this if you need to contact me. If you can’t act, then stay in your room as much as possible. Just endure these six or seven days, and everything will be fine.”

“Yes.”

Ouyang Tong accepted the tube with trembling hands.

“Good. This old servant has other matters to attend to and can’t stay with you forever. Remember my words, stay inside, and don’t show your face. We can’t guarantee none of these maidens have seen Cheng Hongling or Qi Huang before.”

After one last warning, Chief Steward Zhong left, glancing back every few steps.

Ouyang Tong opened her mouth as if to say something but ultimately closed it in resignation.

‘Tsk tsk, this girl’s acting is just terrible. She’s nowhere near my level. Good thing I decided to stay behind—otherwise, she wouldn’t last three days, let alone six or seven.’

Qi Huang couldn’t help but grumble internally.

“You’re being too harsh. She’s just an ordinary person. If her identity is exposed, she dies. She’s acting with her life on the line, anyone would be scared!”

The cat-eared demon girl, Yaoyao, retorted.

“Acting with your life on the line is just basic professionalism for an actor. I’ve done it countless times before, you just don’t know about it.”

Qi Huang lifted her delicate chin proudly.

“Enough nonsense. If you’ve decided to help her, then figure out how to sneak in quickly. Who knows what could happen if we delay?”

Yaoyao urged impatiently.

“I want to! But how do I get in there openly and stay for a while?”

Qi Huang rubbed her temples in frustration. Beside her, the cat-eared girl also frowned, deep in thought.

As the day passed, a group of men in the neighboring guest room caught Qi Huang’s attention. These men kept sneaking to the palace gates, peeking inside before returning with sighs of disappointment. She had no idea what they were up to.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Qi Huang used the Shadow-Retaining Mirror to spy on them.