The Lunar New Year's Eve that year was still busy and lively. Because the Crown Princess suggested to the Empress Dowager that she wanted to keep Qingqing for another two years, the old lady put aside her thoughts of finding a husband for Qingqing and focused all her efforts on the selection of a concubine in May of the following year.

The so-called "small selection" refers to choosing daughters from the families of officials in the capital.

It doesn't necessarily mean entering the palace to become a concubine; one can also marry a member of the imperial family. Moreover, some princes and noblemen have reached marriageable age this year.

Therefore, as soon as the first month of the lunar calendar was over, the palace began to busy itself with the selection of young officials.

Inside Yanxi Palace, Consort Hui watched as the two children, one big and one small, wolfed down their food, her eyes rolling so wide they almost cramped up.

"Mother, what's wrong with your eyes? If there's a problem, see the imperial physician. Don't delay." Yinti said with great concern.

Upon hearing this, Consort Hui grabbed the pastries beside her and was about to throw them when Tinghe, who suddenly rushed up from behind, stopped her.

"Your Majesty..."

Tinghe looked at Consort Hui with a bitter face, thinking to herself, "Prince Zhi, if you want to eat, just eat it. You don't have to say anything."

Hongyu, however, saw through the situation. He looked at his father and then at his grandmother, and kindly came to the rescue, saying, "Grandma, Father is starving."

Facing her eldest grandson, Consort Hui's expression immediately improved. "Hongyu is growing up now. We can take advantage of this selection to choose a suitable consort."

Hongyu froze, a face flashing through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

Yinti glanced at his son and said, "A year later is fine. Thirteenth Prince and Thirteenth Prince are not engaged yet. What's the rush for a junior like him?"

Hongyu suddenly realized that the girl was only eight years old and definitely couldn't participate in the selection, so he quickly nodded and said, "That's what I think too."

Consort Hui was somewhat displeased and simply turned her anger towards Yinti.

“Hongyu’s marriage can be postponed, but your mother has already discussed it with your father, and we will take advantage of this selection to choose a second wife for you.”

Seeing that Yinti was about to speak, Consort Hui hurriedly said, "Shut up."

Yinqi swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and could only bury his head in his food.

Seeing that her son and grandson had devoured all four dishes, Consort Hui ordered the plates to be cleared away while muttering, "You're working in the capital now, so why are you still like this? Is it so difficult for you to even eat? I've never heard of the Ministry of War being this busy before."

After taking a sip of tea, Yinti finally felt better and said, "I ate a little more because the food in Mother's palace was so delicious."

Consort Hui wanted to say that he was glib-tongued, but then she thought that the other party's residence didn't even have a mistress. It was good enough if they could get one meal a day. Who would care whether it was delicious or not?

With this in mind, Consort Hui became even more eager to choose a second wife for Yinti, and immediately ordered Tinghe to bring over a bunch of portraits.

"Your mother has selected a few good ones from Xiaoxuan's list. Take a look and see if there are any you like."

Tinghe unfolded all the portraits and placed them directly in front of Yinti. "Your Highness, please take a look and see if there are any you like."

Hongyu also joined in the fun, craning his neck to look. Seeing this, Yinti simply laid the portrait down in front of him.

"I'm choosing a stepmother for you; you can decide for yourself."

Consort Hui...

Hongyu...

After saying that, Yinqi got up and strode out, leaving Consort Hui, who was so angry she was grinding her teeth, cursing at the air.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Kangxi and the Crown Prince were both looking at portraits.

Kangxi picked out a few good ones and handed them to the Crown Prince, "Baocheng, what do you think of these?"

Yinreng glanced at it and raised an eyebrow. "Father, can you bring yourself to eat it?"

Kangxi...

Liang Jiugong...

"I wanted to select a few for you..."

"Never mind then." Yinreng didn't give him a chance to continue. "The current ones are fine, they're obedient and don't cause trouble. Little Jiu is ten months old now and very cute. Two princes and one princess in Yuqing Palace are enough."

Emperor Kangxi closed his eyes in anger.

What does "enough" mean?

Isn't it better for a plant to have as many branches and leaves as possible?

What does "enough" mean?

“You only have three children in your backyard? Isn’t that too few? Look…”

Emperor Kangxi originally wanted to find a completely opposite example for the crown prince, but after thinking it over, he really couldn't think of anyone.

Most of the sons' families have two or three children, while some don't have any children at all.

Thinking about it this way, the number of children in Yuqing Palace is not small, but rather normal.

“Baocheng, you are the Crown Prince, you are different from your brothers.”

"What's different?" Yinreng tilted his head and asked earnestly.

Kangxi...

Is this child mentally challenged?

"You are destined to be an emperor, so naturally you need to have many offspring."

Yinreng said very seriously, "Father is in good health now and can be emperor for several more decades. In those decades, I estimate that I will have a son or daughter. Even if I don't, it doesn't matter. When Hongxi grows up, we can let him have more children. If that doesn't work, we can just bypass me and make Hongxi the emperor."

Kangxi watched as Yinreng endured and endured, and finally pointed to the palace gate, "Get out!"

"As you command."

Yinreng got up and left, which angered Kangxi so much that he roared at the air behind him, and Liang Jiugong was so frightened that he wished he could bury his head in the cracks between the bricks.

"What's wrong with the Crown Prince? How could he suddenly become so outrageous?" Kangxi roared as he paced back and forth in the hall.

"It must be the boss who led him astray."

Liang Jiugong...

"Did the eldest brother go to the palace to see Consort Hui today? Summon him to come here."

Liang Jiugong went out to deliver the imperial decree without saying a word. He returned less than a quarter of an hour later with a bitter face and said, "When this servant arrived, Prince Zhi had already left the palace."

Kangxi was surprised, "So fast?"

Because Yinti was often away fighting wars, he rarely had time to spend with Consort Hui. Therefore, whenever he entered the palace to pay his respects to Consort Hui, he would stay a little longer.

Liang Jiugong recounted the news he had heard: "It is said that after Prince Zhi finished speaking, he slipped out of the palace, which angered Consort Hui so much that she cursed for a long time in Yanxi Palace."

Emperor Kangxi remained silent.

It's clear that the eldest brother corrupted Bao Cheng.

"How's things going with the boss at the Ministry of War lately?"

Liang Jiugong was somewhat at a loss for words.

Why are you asking the Minister of War about how Prince Zhi is doing in the Ministry of War?

Emperor Kangxi was furious when Liang Jiugong remained silent. "I'm asking you a question."

Liang Jiugong immediately knelt on the ground, pleading, "Your Majesty, spare my life! This servant knew nothing about the Ministry of War's affairs!"

Kangxi glared at him, strolled around for a moment, and then walked out of the hall. "Let's go and take a look at Shou Kang Palace."

Fine, if you're not happy, then wander around the palace.

Who knows what trouble this trip to Shou Kang Palace might cause?

Sure enough, as soon as Kangxi entered, he saw Prince Gong's wife chatting with the Empress Dowager. The two seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation.

The two were taken aback when they saw Kangxi enter. Before the wife of Prince Gong could even bow, Kangxi gestured for her to sit down.