Day of the palace election

Unlike the preliminary selection, all the young ladies changed into clothes and jewelry they brought from home. They gathered together, radiant and beautiful, with a stronger scent of cosmetics, but it wasn't unpleasant.

Zhang Jia, who stunned everyone on the day of the preliminary selection, continued her steady performance today. She wore a flawless light pink embroidered cheongsam, adorned with pearls in her hair, also in a soft pink hue. However, her naturally aloof and refined temperament was softened by the pink embellishments, giving her a charmingly naive and endearing quality.

Today, when Yihua looked at Zhangjia again, she felt strange. She thought about how she had been inspired to paint and sketched a beautiful woman with just a few strokes, but she never expected that it would attract Yinzhen's attention.

He asked in a somewhat sour tone, "There is a beautiful woman who makes me mad with longing. Your Majesty, tell me, which little beauty has captured your heart?"

"Um, it's just pure appreciation." Yi Hua didn't know why she felt guilty, so she quickly explained, "This Miss Xiu is the most beautiful woman of this year. Even Lady Nian pales in comparison to her. I just couldn't resist the urge to record it. What do you think of my drawing, Your Majesty?"

"Hmph." Yinzhen glanced at it casually, without commenting on the painting. "I was wondering why the Empress had been so busy these past few days. I couldn't find her during the day. Turns out she's been busy admiring beautiful women."

"I just don't know whether this selection is for me or for the Empress."

"Are you sick in the head?" Yi Hua held back the retort that was about to come out. The person in front of her was like a lion that could be stroked with a gentle touch, and she wondered what kind of madness he was going through now.

"Your Majesty, this is to congratulate you on soon having a beautiful woman by your side. I'm giving you my opinion in advance." Yi Hua glanced at Yin Zhen, then finished writing the words on the painting and had it removed.

"..." Yinzhen was speechless for a moment, and the couple changed the subject.

"Tangtang, Honghui doesn't like any of the palace maids I sent. Every generation of the Aisin Gioro family produces romantics, but romantics can't be good emperors." Yinzhen was somewhat worried.

Yi Hua's heart skipped a beat. This was the first time Yinzhen had explicitly said in front of her that he wanted to pass the throne to Honghui. She couldn't accept such a statement: "Honghui has been raised by me to be a bit naive in this regard. He just hasn't figured it out yet."

“Hongyan is different. This kid only knows how to ask pretty older women for bedtime stories. He’s bound to be a playboy in the future,” Yihua said through gritted teeth.

Yinzhen couldn't help but chuckle and didn't mention Honghui again, which relieved Yihua.

On the day of the palace selection, the Empress Dowager also came to join in the fun. She and the Emperor sat in the first seat, both of them expressionless and their expressions were very synchronized. Yi Hua sat below them and waved to signal that they should start quickly.

The candidates for the imperial concubines were divided into groups of five. Each group would call out the names of the candidates one by one. When the Empress Dowager was interested, she would ask what books they had read and what their hobbies and special skills were. The Emperor, on the other hand, would remain silent and sometimes even close his eyes.

Yi Hua was forced to become the chief interviewer. She now understood why the mentors of a certain music program in her previous life always asked her what her dreams were. With so many people, how could there be so many unique questions? Among the same questions, it would be good if you could have two outstanding answers.

Half a morning had passed, and Yi Hua was getting restless. If the Emperor didn't speak, then none of them would be kept. For these young ladies who had passed the initial selection but were not retained in the palace, there were generally two possible outcomes.

First, after the imperial selection process, the palace would issue a batch of imperial edicts to bestow marriages upon the masters or ministers, which was considered a relatively good outcome. Second, one could be registered in the imperial register, essentially a stamp from the palace indicating that they were not accepted now but might be in the future, thus preventing them from marrying freely and forcing them to postpone their marriage.

For the women who have been registered as imperial concubines, those with connections and money can pull strings and get a clear answer from the palace sooner. However, it is common for those without any background to simply waste their lives and die of old age.

Seeing that the Emperor wasn't keeping any of the selected women for official positions, and with the Empress Dowager having already given her several glances, Yi Hua forced herself to say, "Your Majesty, the quality of this year's selected women is very high, each with their own unique beauty. What do you think?"

"Hmm, not bad." Yinzhen opened his eyes, gave a perfunctory reply, and then fell silent.

Yi Hua had no intention of continuing to persuade him. Given her duties as Empress, she had already done what she was supposed to do. As for kneeling and begging Yinzhen to accept a concubine, that would be insane.

Seeing that Yi Hua remained silent, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but speak up: "Your Majesty, offspring are of utmost importance. No one is perfect."

"The Empress Dowager is right, next group." Yinzhen replied with a smile.

And so, from morning till sunset, the palace selection finally came to an end. Everyone’s eyes turned to Zhangjia, the most likely candidate, and a hint of schadenfreude appeared in their eyes.

What use is it to look like a celestial being? The emperor did glance at her a few times, but that was all.

In a sense, the first imperial concubine selection during the Yongzheng era, which can be considered a successful conclusion, has come to an end.

The Ulanara family made a point of learning about Yi Hua, the girl Mingxuan had chosen for him. She was the eldest daughter in the family, her birth mother had been busy for a long time, and her stepmother, after having her own child, used every means to suppress the son and daughter from the first wife. Fortunately, the girl was strong; she protected her younger brother with one hand and painstakingly protected her birth mother's dowry with the other, proving herself to be a shrewd and capable person.

Ulanara Fujin hated her eldest daughter-in-law's muddle-headed nature the most, so she specially chose a person with a firm mind. Yihua thought about it and decided to comply with her family's wishes. After all, her mother was not young anymore, and she could see the white hair on her forehead the last time she came.

That evening, Yinzhen took the roster and began to act as matchmaker. He had obviously planned ahead; many people came to Yihua, but even more came to Yinzhen.

Yi Hua watched silently from the side, pondering the relationship between the two families, and gradually found it interesting.

Sometimes it seems like Yinzhen is just randomly matchmaking people, but upon closer examination, one can always find the underlying logic. Indeed, not everyone can be the matchmaker.

When it was Wuya Huixia's turn, Yihua saw that Yinzhen had assigned her a distinguished Hanlin scholar.

Seeing that Yihua was interested, Yinzhen would casually explain, "This Minister Hu is talented, but too pedantic, so his family is poor. My cousin can live well with her dowry after marrying into the family. The Crow family may seem to float in the sky, but they are actually empty inside. People who are easy to control are the best choice."

Yi Hua remained silent. She didn't know if Hui Xia would be satisfied, but the Empress Dowager was bound to be angry; that was foreseeable.

As for Lady Zhangjia, Yinzhen pondered for a long time before bestowing her upon Prince Yu as a concubine.

Yi Hua opened her mouth wide. Prince Yu was certainly extremely noble, but he was old enough to be Zhangjia's father.

"From now on, she will be of the imperial uncle generation. Remember not to mess up the seniority." Yinzhen reminded Yihua and continued with the division of seniority.

Yi Hua was somewhat speechless, but such stunning beauty could only be protected by the royal family. Since the emperor himself was unwilling to accept her, he pushed her to someone else.

That's understandable, Yi Hua thought uncertainly.