With their fates sealed, some of the young women were happy while others were sad, but they could only keep their feelings hidden deep in their hearts, and none of them dared to reveal them.

Both the Empress and Consort Gao were pondering Su Yushan's future situation. After the new concubine entered the palace, would Su Yushan continue to be favored, or would she gradually be forgotten by the Emperor?

Su Yushan herself had nothing to fear, because she knew that this was Hongli's own business and she couldn't control his heart. Whether he was devoted or fickle was entirely up to him, so she shouldn't waste her emotions.

After the palace selection, the betrothed girls returned home, while the four girls whose names were kept were temporarily housed in the Chuxiu Palace.

As for whether they can win the emperor's favor and leave the Chuxiu Palace, that depends on their fate.

After the imperial concubine selection ended, Hongli returned to Jingren Palace and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's finally over. This selection process was more of a headache than reading memorials."

With a slight turn of her beautiful eyes, Su Yushan teased with a smile, "You're not happy to see a beautiful woman?"

He lifted her chin with a finger, his eyes full of admiration. "The beauty is right before me, why bother searching for other beauties and choosing another?"

"If you don't choose, the Empress Dowager will choose for you. Four have come at once; you'll be busy from now on!" Su Yushan teased casually. Hongli, not wanting her to misunderstand, explained seriously:

"Selecting women for the imperial concubine selection is just a formality. Who says I have to favor every woman who enters the palace?"

He thought so, but the Empress Dowager didn't think so. "Just you wait! The Empress Dowager will definitely urge you."

"She's just saying, and I'm just listening. I don't even go to Changchun Palace, let alone a mere Chuxiu Palace," Hongli said nonchalantly. Su Yushan kindly reminded him:

"Don't talk big. When the Empress Dowager forces you, don't worry."

"Just because she forces me, does that mean I have to give in? Yu Shan, you underestimate me. You should know that I have my principles. If the Empress Dowager wants to select concubines to enter the palace, I can agree, it's just a matter of spending some money to keep them in the palace. But if she wants me to favor them, there's no room for discussion!"

Hongli spoke with righteous indignation and a very firm attitude, while Su Yushan smiled but remained silent. Hongli pressed on, dissatisfied, "What? You don't believe me?"

Su Yushan raised her starry eyes slightly and met his gaze, her smile gentle. "I believe you. I'm just worried that you'll clash with the Empress Dowager again."

Hongli was already used to this. "Haven't I had enough conflicts with her?"

Su Yushan also didn't understand why the Empress Dowager refused to accept her. Was it simply because she was Han Chinese?

"If it weren't for me, your relationship with your son probably wouldn't have become so strained, would it? What about Han people? What about Manchu people? We are all Chinese, so why discriminate against each other?"

At first, Hongli also had such doubts, but later he suddenly realized, "The Empress Dowager has a problem with you not entirely because of your Han Chinese identity, but because I favor you the only one. She has never been favored and is often neglected by her father, so she can't stand the woman who is favored by the emperor."

Even if you are a Manchu woman, she will still be angry if I only dote on you. She thinks I should listen to her and obey her every command. If I go against her wishes because of other women, she will feel neglected.

This is her inner demon; no one can change it unless she changes her mindset.

Su Yushan couldn't help but think of herself; she also had two sons! "Are all parents like this? When Yonghuang and Yongzhang get married, I can't possibly make things difficult for my daughters-in-law, can I?"

Hongli believed this was related to personality, and not every mother-in-law was like that. "If you are happy and have a positive outlook, why would you deliberately make things difficult for others? I don't think you will be a foolish mother-in-law in the future. Besides, they are still young and have a long time to get married, why are you worrying about this?"

His words of comfort brought Su Yushan a moment of peace, but she secretly warned herself never to follow in the footsteps of the Empress Dowager and never to meddle in other people's business, lest she be disliked by her own son and daughter-in-law.

On the second day after the group of young ladies entered the palace, according to the rules, they had to go to Cining Palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager and other concubines.

During the previous selection process, only the Empress and two Imperial Concubines participated; Lan Rong and Xi Lan had never met these newcomers before.

This morning at the Cining Palace, I finally got to see him for the first time.

Upon seeing the four new brides, each more beautiful than the last, Xi Lan felt rather melancholy, fearing that the Emperor would be captivated by these beauties. Lan Rong, however, was secretly delighted, thinking that there would finally be a good show to watch.

"These young ladies are gentle and beautiful. Even I, a woman, can't help but take a few more glances. I suppose our Emperor is quite satisfied with them?"

Neither the Empress nor Consort Gao responded. Su Yushan pretended not to hear, lowering her eyes and smoothing the plain white silk handkerchief embroidered with camellias in her hand, too lazy to pay attention to her.

The master seemed somewhat embarrassed by his self-talk. After a moment's hesitation, one of the young ladies-in-waiting, dressed in a lake-green cloak, spoke up, blushing and embarrassed:

"Your Majesty flatters me. How could we, with our meager appearances, compare to Your Majesty?"

Rarely did anyone respond, Lan Rong was finally not too embarrassed, and immediately replied with a smile, "This young lady is..."

The young lady replied truthfully, "My father is He Nian, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi. I am of the Irgen Gioro clan, and my maiden name is Yan Shu."

Among these young women, the one from the Irgen Gioro clan had the best background. She was dignified and beautiful, but in terms of looks, she couldn't compare to the two Han women.

Although Lady Bai and Lady Zhang were exceptionally beautiful, their humble origins made them unfamiliar with palace rules, so they dared not speak much and remained silent to one side. They would only answer a few questions when the Empress Dowager asked them something.

The Empress Dowager was unsure who could win the Emperor's favor. Even if only one person could catch Hongli's eye, it would not have been in vain that she had spent so much time and effort selecting him.

After paying their respects, they returned to Chuxiu Palace to wait for the emperor to choose a concubine.

However, even though the new concubines had been in the palace for four or five days, Hongli had never chosen any of them and continued to go to Jingren Palace as usual.

The Empress Dowager grew anxious; she needed to find a way to bring them together...

In the warm March weather, various flowers and trees in the garden bloomed in succession. Emperor Hongli, having a rare moment of leisure, went to the Imperial Garden to admire the flowers.

As they approached the artificial hill, they faintly heard a mournful and low melody. Upon closer listening, Hongli realized it sounded like the sound of an ocarina.

Following the sound, Hongli walked around the artificial hill and his view suddenly opened up. He saw a graceful woman in a light pink embroidered hibiscus cloak standing by the waterside pavilion, holding a pottery flute and playing a tune with great concentration.