Please add to your collection: "Dream of the Red Chamber: The Fifth Chapter - Yuan Ning's Journey with a Scumbag" (Quick Transmigration)...

Upon receiving Baochai's confirmation, Yongshu was overjoyed. As soon as he entered the Prince's mansion, he rushed straight to his sister-in-law Hesheli's main courtyard without even changing his clothes.

Hesheli was sitting at the kang table checking the accounts when she saw Yongshu running in, covered in sweat. She laughed and teased, "Did the sun rise in the west today? Why are you back so early?"

"Did you find out that your brother was threatening to break your legs and forbid you from going out anymore?"

Yongshu didn't argue back, but respectfully bowed and said, "Sister-in-law, I've come today to ask you for a very important request."

Seeing that he was unusually serious, Hesheli also abandoned her joking thoughts: "What's the matter? Why are you so serious, you little rascal? Are you short of money? Or have you gotten into trouble outside?"

Yongshu quickly waved his hand, blushing as he carefully recounted how he met Baochai: "...Sister-in-law, she understands me, I...I really like her!"

I heard she's going to participate in the imperial concubine selection this year, so I was thinking, could I ask my sister-in-law to go to the palace and ask the Imperial Concubine for a favor, to... to betroth her to my brother?

As Hesheli listened, the smile on her face slowly faded. She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and pondered, "The Xue family? The descendants of that Xue Gong, the Ziwei Sheren, now the imperial merchant Xue family that controls the imperial treasury's funds and supplies?"

She paused, then frowned slightly. "Their family is registered as a bondservant under the Plain White Banner, which means they are a merchant family."

Shu'er, with your status, marrying her as your primary wife... I'm afraid it would be beneath you, and your social standing is really not a good match.

If you truly like her, after you marry your primary wife, your sister-in-law will help you find a way to bring her into the household as a secondary wife. That will suffice.

Upon hearing this, Yongshu became anxious and stood up abruptly: "Sister-in-law, you know I don't care about those things."

Miss Xue is intelligent and sensible, well-versed in poetry and literature, and has a good temperament. We share the same interests! I sincerely want to marry her and bring her home in a grand and glorious way.

No matter how good someone is, or how high their family background is, if I don't like them, I won't want them." He spoke hastily, his face flushed even redder, and his eyes were full of earnestness and stubbornness.

Hesheli felt a pang of tenderness in her heart when she saw him like this.

Her mother-in-law passed away early, and Yongshu was raised by her. As the eldest sister-in-law, she treated her like a mother, and in her heart, this younger brother-in-law was no different from her own son.

This child had a rather eccentric temperament since childhood. He didn't like riding or archery, nor did he like reading. Instead, he devoted himself to studying the art of investigating things, for which he often got scolded by his older brother.

He was completely clueless about matters of love and sex, and no matter how many good girls were introduced to him, he wouldn't even glance at them.

Now that he has finally found a girl he likes and can get along with, how can she, as his sister-in-law, bear to stop him?

She sighed and reached out to brush non-existent dust off Yongshu's clothes: "Alright, alright, look at you, so easily flustered. What kind of behavior is this, getting all red in the face?"

"Alright, alright, I promise you, I'll submit my petition to the palace first thing tomorrow morning and ask the Imperial Concubine for her opinion on this marriage. Is that alright?"

Yongshu was overjoyed and bowed repeatedly, saying, "Thank you, sister-in-law! Thank you, sister-in-law!"

"Don't thank me yet. Whether it succeeds or not ultimately depends on the Imperial Concubine and the Emperor. I can't guarantee anything."

"Yes! I understand! I'm extremely grateful that my sister-in-law is willing to put in the word!"

Yongshu grinned from ear to ear, bowed again, and then retreated with light steps, his back view so joyful he almost jumped for joy.

Hesheli watched him disappear behind the screen wall, shook her head and smiled helplessly: "This child has finally come to his senses."

"Fine, as long as he's happy, a lower social standing is fine. It's better than being a bachelor his whole life, staring at those wooden and iron lumps all day."

The next day, Hesheli got up early, carefully dressed herself, changed into formal attire, and then rode in a sedan chair to the palace.

After handing over her nameplate, she waited outside the palace gate for about half an hour before a young eunuch came to lead her to Consort Tongjia's palace.

Consort Tongjia was reclining on a warm couch, looking through the patterns of the new silks sent by the Imperial Household Department, when she saw Hesheli enter. She smiled and asked her to sit down.

The two cousins ​​chatted for a while and drank half a cup of tea before Hesheli tactfully revealed Yongshu's request.

After hearing this, Consort Tongjia pondered for a moment, then lightly traced the lotus pattern on a piece of Suzhou satin with her fingertips: "The Xue family... the Xue family of imperial merchants, registered as bondservants."

Since your brother-in-law himself doesn't mind and is determined to marry you, then I will grant his wish. When the Emperor arrives later, I will mention it to him.”

Consort Tongjia had no children in this deep palace, and her favor with the emperor was lukewarm. She always knew how to protect herself and didn't meddle in other people's business.

However, it was rare for her cousin, Lady Hesheli, to come to the palace to ask for her help, and she even offered to bestow a marriage upon her. Although the other party's family was of low social standing, since both parties were willing to give and receive, she was happy to do a favor and not be the villain who would break up the marriage.

Heseri felt a great weight lifted from her heart upon receiving this confirmation, and her smile broadened even further. She then reminisced with her cousin about their past life together, sharing many intimate thoughts. Seeing that the Imperial Concubine looked tired, she tactfully took her leave of the palace.

As soon as she left the palace, she immediately sent her trusted family members on horseback back to the mansion to inform Yongshu, so that the child wouldn't be anxiously waiting at home.

That evening, Consort Tongjia specially instructed the kitchen to prepare several light dishes that Emperor Kangxi usually liked, and then sent someone to the Qianqing Palace to invite the Emperor to have dinner.

Emperor Kangxi was quite surprised to receive the news, as his cousin was of a reserved nature and rarely invited him. After finishing a few urgent official business matters, he set off for her.

Emperor Kangxi found it very strange. After finishing his affairs of the court, he went to the palace of Consort Tongjia.

At the dinner table, Consort Tongjia made no attempt to hide anything and directly stated what Hesheli had requested.

Kangxi found it strange and put down his silver chopsticks: "Is the Aisin Gioro family going to produce another romantic? Is a girl from the Plain White Banner, a bondservant and a royal merchant, really worth all this fuss over, insisting on a marriage decree from the palace?"

He was just a leisurely member of the imperial clan, not his own son. Therefore, he was merely curious and had no intention of getting angry.

Emperor Kangxi was even more surprised. Was another romantic about to emerge from the Aisin Gioro family? A bondservant of the Plain White Banner, the daughter of a royal merchant—was she really worth going to the palace to have a marriage arranged for her?

Consort Tongjia sighed: "My cousin told me that Yongshu has a somewhat independent personality."

He was neither enthusiastic about poetry and literature, nor good at riding, archery, or socializing. He was only obsessed with the study of physics and mechanics, spending all his days researching instruments and Western arithmetic. No one could persuade him otherwise.

In addition, he lost his parents at a young age and was raised by Yongshou and his wife as their own son, so they inevitably spoiled him a bit.

He used to be idle all day long, and didn't care about matters of love at all. He was getting old and still hadn't gotten married, which worried his older brother and sister-in-law to no end.

If he finally finds a girl he likes and gets along with, his sister-in-law will be overjoyed and won't care about family background.

After hearing this, Emperor Kangxi pondered it for a moment, and realized that it made sense.

There are plenty of idle members of the royal family, and it is rare to find someone like Yongshu who can live a peaceful life and only cause trouble in his own home.

So he nodded: "If that's the case, then so be it. You can decide what to do."

From then on, the marriage was officially approved by the emperor.

When the day of the selection arrived, Baochai entered the palace with the other young ladies to participate in the preliminary selection.

Wang Ziteng put in a lot of effort, using connections with the Ninth Prince and spending a fortune, all in the hopes of getting Baochai a job in the palace of Consort Yi or Consort De. He then planned to find an opportunity to send her to the residence of the Fourteenth Prince.

He had planned it all perfectly, but he never expected that just as the Ninth Prince had finished communicating with the palace, the imperial decree for the marriage was issued.

The object of his affections was not a prince or nobleman, but an unknown, idle member of the imperial family.

When Wang Ziteng received the news, he was so angry he almost vomited blood. He had originally favored the Eighth Prince, Yinzhi, the most, but the eagle-killing incident in the fifty-third year of Kangxi's reign completely ruined the Eighth Prince's path to advancement, so he had no choice but to switch his allegiance to the rising Fourteenth Prince, Yinzhen.

Although Jia Yuanchun was betrothed to Prince Yong by Consort De to be a princess, Prince Teng had no opinion of that cold-faced prince at all.

Who in the entire court didn't know that the Emperor's favorite and most valued son was the Fourteenth Prince?

He painstakingly tried to send the talented and beautiful Baochai, with her calm temperament, into the Fourteenth Prince's mansion. Even if she became a concubine first, with Baochai's character, appearance, and intelligence, how could she not have great fortune in the future?

On the other hand, Baochai can be seen as his pledge of allegiance to the Fourteenth Prince. Previously, the Eighth Prince had the Ninth Prince as his financial backer, but after the Eighth Prince's faction was completely taken over by the Fourteenth Prince, the Ninth Prince was clearly not as dedicated as before.

If Baochai were to enter the Fourteenth Prince's residence, the Xue family's vast wealth would naturally be able to alleviate the Fourteenth Prince's urgent financial crisis.

Who would have thought that the cooked duck would fly away and end up in the arms of a royal descendant with no rank or position?

Wang Ziteng was both frustrated and angry, feeling that all his efforts had been wasted. When he saw the good news from the Xue family, his face was so gloomy that it could drip water.

But the situation was quite different at the Xue family's place.

Upon receiving the imperial decree, Aunt Xue wept with joy and lit three incense sticks for the ancestral tablets, saying, "Thank you for the blessings of our ancestors. Bao'er has such great fortune to become a proper imperial consort."

She held Xue Pan and Baochai's hands, overjoyed and not knowing what to do. As for Wang Ziteng's disdain for Yongshu not having a title, in her opinion, if he had a title, would it have been her Bao'er's turn?

Their family had nothing but plenty of money. She wanted Bao'er to prepare a generous dowry, including farms, shops, gold and silver jewelry, the more the better, so that her daughter could have a grand wedding and live a harmonious and happy life with her husband.

Xue Pan's mind was still sharp, and with Master Ling's guidance, he realized after a moment's thought that his sister's marriage to Yong Shu was mostly for the sake of the Xue family and for his future as her brother.

Thinking of the plans and sacrifices her younger sister made to protect the Xue family, she felt both grateful and guilty. She studied even harder.

He wanted to pass the imperial examination and secure a good future so that he could support his sister and prevent her from being looked down upon.

When the news of Baochai's arranged marriage reached the Jia family, Old Madam Jia was surprised: "I never expected that the Xue family's girl would be betrothed to a son of the Prince of Shuncheng's family?"

Wang Xifeng sighed, "I never expected that Baochai would have such good fortune. She participated in a minor selection and actually became a princess consort of the imperial family."

Although that gentleman doesn't currently hold a title, he is still a descendant of the emperor, a legitimate member of the imperial family.

Madam Wang pursed her lips: "Although Yongshu was born into the lineage of Prince Shuncheng, their branch of the family has long since separated."

His older brother was alright; he had a title inherited from his ancestors. But he had nothing. I heard that the boy was a bit eccentric, didn't do anything productive, and only liked to tinker with strange and unusual gadgets.

"When Bao'er marries into the family, it's said she'll be the mistress of the house from the moment she enters. It sounds glamorous, but the hardships inside and her future prospects are really hard to say."

The three sisters, Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun, who were talking to each other, listened quietly.

Yingchun and Tanchun had only met Baochai once, but they had a very good impression of her.

Hearing that she has settled down, I am happy for her, but thinking of myself, I can't help but feel a little melancholy and confused.

Xichun was younger, but her mind was more detached. She felt that Baochai, with her good looks and character, was ultimately used as a bargaining chip to climb the social ladder because of her family background.

Although she had gained the title of Fujin (a high-ranking concubine), it was not necessarily a good thing. I secretly felt sorry for her.

Baochai didn't care what others thought; she was too busy to care about anything else.

She had to prepare her dowry, help her brother Xue Pan with the imperial examinations, and also find time to build a greenhouse at her estate in Xiaotangshan, a suburb of Beijing.

In early February, Beijing was still chilly, with occasional snowfalls that chilled the bones.

The imperial examination consisted of three sessions, each lasting three days. The candidates stayed in cramped and cold cells, and the most important first step was to keep warm.

According to the rules, candidates' clothes cannot have any layers, but they are allowed to wear several single layers.

Baochai, along with her maids and servants, had already sewed several thick, compliant single-layer cotton robes for Xue Pan, using light and warm Songjiang cotton and soft wool fabric, in case he got cold in his cell.

The clothes, shoes, and exam basket were all insulated with heat-retaining talismans, and the charcoal was made from specially treated fruitwood from the space, which was durable and smokeless.

The food, writing brushes, candles, and other items in the exam basket were all produced by the space, lest these external factors affect Xue Pan's grades.

The imperial examination was such a grueling ordeal. Baochai hoped that her brother Xue Pan could pass it on the first try, even if he ranked low. As long as he passed, it would be fine, and he wouldn't have to suffer twice.

Xue Pan had taken countless mock exams in the simulated study room. When he finally walked into the examination hall carrying his exam basket and the hopes of his whole family, he was surprisingly calm.

After all, the simulated exam cubicle in the study room was almost exactly the same as the one he drew now.

He was lucky; he drew the best cubicle in the front row, which was also the furthest from the outhouse.

He had several talismans pasted on his thick cotton robe, some for warmth, some for blessings, some for academic success, and some even for warding off evil spirits and protecting him.

Thanks to these talismans, he didn't draw a bad number, and the cell was exceptionally clean, without any old stains or strange smells.

Xue Pan simply assumed it was a stroke of good fortune and didn't think much of it.

When the exam papers were handed out, he ground the ink, dipped his brush, and found his thoughts flowing exceptionally smoothly. Classic sentences he had read in the past came out one after another, and he wrote with remarkable ease.

After three days of exams, I went home to catch my breath and get some sleep before continuing with the exams.

Perhaps because of the heavy snow and unusually low temperatures during this year's examinations, many candidates fell ill from the cold.

When Xue Pan's examination results came out, his ranking was surprisingly high, much to the surprise and delight of his family.

In the past two years, Baochai has been feeding Xue Pan a lot of good things, with a constant stream of brain-boosting and energy-enhancing pills. She even fed him beauty pills that the small system traded from other systems.

Xue Pan was already quite good-looking to begin with. After losing weight, he was nourished by elixirs and his complexion became excellent. He was tall and elegant, with clear and bright features, making him stand out in a crowd.

On the day of the palace examination, Emperor Kangxi glanced down and immediately spotted Xue Pan, who stood out as exceptionally tall and handsome among the crowd.

I paced a few steps behind him, then looked down at the policy essay he was writing and found that the essay was well-organized and insightful, unlike what I would expect from a bookworm.

As Emperor Kangxi grew older, he became more tolerant and fond of the younger generation of his veteran officials, especially those who were handsome and had a dignified demeanor, whom he was more willing to give opportunities to.

Based on Xue Pan's actual abilities, it wouldn't be a problem for him to be in the top twenty in the palace examination, but it would be a bit of a stretch for him to squeeze into the top ten.

When Emperor Kangxi received the list of candidates for the top rank prepared by the examiners, he saw that the third-ranked candidate they recommended was already over forty years old and his appearance could only be described as decent.

The decision was made immediately, placing Xue Pan's name third, and moving the original third-place finisher one place down to become the fourth-place finisher.

When the results of the imperial examination were announced, Aunt Xue was so excited that she almost fainted on the spot. She was helped by her maid and drank several sips of warm tea before she recovered.

Not only was Xue Pan surprised, but even Baochai was stunned. How blind must the examiner be to rank her brother's essay third?

Could it be that Wang Ziteng pulled some strings behind the scenes? Logically speaking, he shouldn't have that much ability, since it was the imperial examination personally presided over by Emperor Kangxi.

But if it weren't for her uncle Wang Ziteng, her brother's performance, which barely made it into the second tier, wouldn't have been enough to make him the third-ranked scholar, even with an exceptional performance.

Baochai looked her brother up and down a few times, and suddenly another possibility occurred to her. Perhaps among the top-ranking candidates, her brother was the most handsome.

Upon closer reflection, it's not impossible. The most important thing for a third-place scholar isn't just academic knowledge, although of course, his knowledge must be top-notch and not too bad.

But more important than academic knowledge is being both talented and good-looking. Emperor Kangxi was such a proud emperor; if the third-ranked scholar he appointed was not good-looking, how much would that be a disgrace?

When Emperor Kangxi selected the third-ranked scholar, it wasn't just about judging his writing skills; it was also about showing the world that the court's chosen talents were not only gifted but also handsome—truly accomplished in both literature and martial arts, possessing both virtue and appearance. This was a matter of the court's prestige!