Although this is a blessing and certainly a good thing for the young girl, it still needs to be discussed with Prince An.

Therefore, today Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang summoned Hesheli to the palace.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang summoned her urgently without bringing Jingrou, but she did not insist that the little girl be brought along.

This time, she was summoned alone, but you knew in your heart that there was something he wanted to say.

Today is He Cen's birthday. She was going to the mansion early this morning to celebrate He Cen's birthday. She had even prepared a birthday gift several days ago. Although it was not expensive, it was something she made herself.

Jingrou had been looking forward to this day for a long time.

"You said that His Majesty wants to confer the title of County Princess upon He Cen..." Hesheli was somewhat surprised.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang summoned Hesheli to her side and explained the matter to her.

The reason his daughter was granted the title of Princess was twofold: firstly, Nalan was the only daughter of Prince An, and secondly, Prince An had distinguished himself in battle and achieved great military exploits. Emperor Shunzhi relied on him, which is why he bestowed this honor upon her.

Even her later marriage was entirely up to her.

In fact, the Qing Dynasty was always rather stingy with the positions of princess and county princess because princesses bore special political responsibilities.

Even if the royal family were generous, the person bestowed with this honor might not dare to accept it, fearing that they might be using their daughter for some kind of political exchange.

Because the vast majority of princesses bore the mission of marrying into the Mongol tribes, the honor of being named a princess was indeed precious.

However, few girls would be willing to spend the rest of their lives away from their parents in distant Mongolia.

However, this was originally a political transaction, and some daughters who were born as princesses or princes had no choice but to accept it.

"The position of a county princess is indeed a bit too low... However, a princess got married recently, and there were some unpleasant incidents..." Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang smiled and continued.

Sending a prince's daughter to marry into Mongolia as the emperor's adopted daughter was a last resort, given that Emperor Kangxi was only thirty years old and his eldest daughter was just over ten. There's no need to mention those who died young.

This resulted in the emperor not having a suitable candidate among his daughters, so he had to choose from among the princes.

However, not everyone is driven by greed and wants to exchange their daughter for any benefit; naturally, some people will be unwilling to do so.

Hesheli understood. Fortunately, she was only a county princess; if she had been a county princess, she would have definitely persuaded the Empress Dowager to rescind her decision.

Zhuzhu is only three or four years old now, and she has already been granted the title of county princess. Will she become a county princess in the future?

Even when it came to the marriage alliance with Mongolia, did they ever think of her?

Perhaps the Emperor wouldn't do something that would offend Prince An's mansion, but outsiders might not consider that!

The county princess is just a harmless favor, but the county princess is different. Besides, Zhuzhu is only the prince's granddaughter, not just his proper daughter or granddaughter!

Hesheli would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen!

However, she also understood that if this honor was given to Jingrou, then Prince An would not receive any other rewards, and Hesheli did not intend to show off.

Moreover, Prince An is already a prince, and there is no further title to be bestowed upon him.

Recently, the brute in the family has recovered and his energy has become even more vigorous. He has been spending several days in a row in the training ground. Hesheli is terrified, fearing that he might suddenly decide to go to the battlefield again. The battlefield is not an easy place to go. Although he looks as healthy as many people now, swords have no eyes, and no one can predict what will happen on the battlefield!

As a woman in the household, she naturally supported Prince An. However, staying at home and waiting for news of him on the battlefield was not a pleasant experience, and she worried about him every day.

If there was even the slightest disturbance on the battlefield, she would have to pray to the gods and Buddhas.

Moreover, if one were to achieve some military merit on the battlefield... wouldn't that be exactly what it means to make the emperor wary?

However, it is too early to say these things now.

Empress Dowager Hesheli composed herself and bowed to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.

“Zhuzhu is a blessed person. Although she was weak before, she was still remembered by you, Ancestor. Now she has been granted this honor. However, Zhuzhu is not here today. She will have to thank you in person another day.”

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang smiled with satisfaction. She figured the woman wouldn't refuse such an honor and would handle the situation perfectly.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang pulled her up, "What are you saying? We're old acquaintances... I think Zhuzhu is a good child. Minghui is the same age as her. The Emperor recently wanted these princesses to study, and now we're short of a tutor. I wonder if Zhuzhu would be willing to come to the palace? You know, it's called a tutor, but it's really just finding a playmate..."

Hesheli was startled and instinctively wanted to refuse. Being a county princess was fine, at least it was an honor.

But what a joke! Where in the palace, such a complicated place, could they possibly send their young lady? Her first instinct was to refuse outright.

With her innocent and adorable appearance, if she were bullied, Hesheli would be heartbroken!

Of those who come to the palace, none of them come from humble backgrounds. Those pampered girls can be quite unruly when they're playing around, and Jingrou is physically weak...

However, when she met Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's gaze, Empress Hesheli frowned.

Ultimately, staying in the palace wasn't without its advantages. Firstly, the imperial physician who had been treating Jingrou couldn't leave the palace for long.

It would be very troublesome to call her out frequently, and it would also require the Empress Dowager's permission. Just dealing with these things would take half a day to get back.

If Jingrou were also in the palace, at least the imperial physician could give her a proper treatment.

The palace may be the most dangerous place, but in other words, it can also be the safest place.

As Prince An's granddaughter, Jingrou is guaranteed safety by the palace to the greatest extent possible, regardless of anything else. Even if the young princes and princesses have an accident, she will be fine.

“Zhuzhu is still young and her temperament is unstable. The little girl has her own ideas. Why don’t we wait until I go back and ask her before giving the Empress Dowager an answer?” Empress Dowager Hesheli said.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang smiled and agreed, "It is appropriate to consider the young lady's thoughts. I was oversight... Minghui met her once when she was in the palace last time, and she seemed to like Zhuzhu very much, which is why I brought this up."

Princess An's refusal was within her expectations. As for the rest, she would let them think it over. Both of them knew perfectly well that this was a matter of mutual benefit.