Consort Ji stared at the dishes on the table for a moment before picking up a piece of vibrant, succulent greens.
"If all I wanted were passable meals, I wouldn't have bothered entering the palace."
...
This year, a total of six newcomers had entered the palace through the selection.
Except for Consort Ji, who had no head concubine in her pavilion, the others were all presented to the Empress by the mistresses of their respective palaces to pay their respects and meet the other concubines after learning the rules.
While they were learning the rules, the Empress bestowed bolts of cloth upon them as a sign of favor.
Even the remote Yizhu Pavilion was not overlooked. Consort Ji compared the fabric she received with Cao Daying's and confirmed that hers was the best of the batch. This showed that the Empress's gifts were distributed according to rank, and she was not being deliberately singled out for poor treatment.
