When they returned to the capital, it was already the end of July. The imperial concubine selection was nearing its end, but since neither Emperor Kangxi nor the Empress Dowager were in the palace, the final selection could not be held.

On the day they returned to the capital, Aunt Qiao, who served Consort Hui, arrived—or rather, Granny Qiao—and presented He Zhuo with a list of candidates for the imperial concubines.

Consort Hui is too hasty. The young ladies-in-waiting are there, how could they possibly run away?

After He Zhuo had his nanny properly see Qiao Mama off, he studied the list sent by Consort Hui. The lists of candidates for the imperial concubines were in three groups: Manchu, Mongol, and Han.

Originally, Xiao Liu was supposed to be betrothed to a girl from the previous year, but he expressed his unwillingness. Consort Hui could not persuade him otherwise, so she gave him a girl from the Han Banner Army as an introductory girl.

This young lady who received her initial training is still gathering dust in Xiao Liu's room. Xiao Liu needs to preserve her vital essence and learn from her elder brother in order to improve her skills to a higher level.

This year, there's no escaping it; not only is sixth grader getting married, but seventh grader is also at the age where they need to be tied up in marriage.

The next morning, Khoja entered the palace.

First, they went to the Empress Dowager's palace. The Empress Dowager was exhausted from the journey and hadn't recovered yet. Since they didn't see her, they kowtowed outside and left.

Then I went to Chuxiu Palace to see Consort Hui.

"My dear eldest son, this year the seventeenth prince is to be married off, as are our sixth and seventh grandsons, the heir of the third prince's family, Hongsheng, and the fifth prince's family, Hongzhi." Consort Hui pointed lightly.

"Oh. By the way, there's also Hongshu, the heir of the seventh son's family, and Hongzhuo, the second son of their family. I wonder if they'll be forced into marriage this year."

"In addition, there are quite a few members of the royal family who are getting married. Take a look at this batch of resources."

"Grandmother, Mother, your granddaughter-in-law is going to see the child. It's been so long since we've seen him, I miss him terribly." Accompanying He Zhuo were the Crown Princess Balin and Hongfang's wife, Durbet.

"Go ahead," Consort Hui instructed her maid to take her two granddaughters-in-law to see the children.

The Crown Princess had given birth to two sons and a daughter. She took the two older sons with her when she went to the border region. The younger son was too young to stay at home, so she asked He Zhuo, who directly passed the responsibility to Consort Hui.

Hongfang's wife also gave birth to a son and a daughter. Her son was only 3 years old and was also placed in Consort Hui's palace during this period.

Consort Hui understood what He Zhuo meant; she was saying that this year's imperial concubines were not very good.

It is undeniable that Consort Hui's most valued grandson was Crown Prince Hongyu, and her favorite grandson was the sixth son, Hongshang, whom she raised from a young age, since he was brought to Consort Hui's care when he was just a month old.

He Zhuo had already finished reading the booklet that Granny Qiao had brought yesterday. He flipped through it a couple of times and said:

"Mother, there are also girls from your maternal family participating in the selection this time."

"Yes, those two, Mother thinks they're quite pretty, but their fathers aren't good enough, otherwise they could be our Sixth Prince's primary consorts."

"My mother is a member of the clan who is as beautiful as my mother."

Women of all ages love to hear this, and Consort Hui was no exception, beaming with joy.

"You're all talk."

"By the way, among the candidates for the imperial concubine selection this year, there is one from your clan. I see she is the daughter of a high-ranking official. I wonder if Xiao Qi would be a suitable match for her."

"Mother decides." The first page He Zhuo opened to read Huihe Shi, daughter of Deputy Commander Boji, and he knew that Consort Hui must favor her.

The highest-ranking member of the Manchu Banner was the niece of Consort Wenxi, daughter of Aling'a, of the Niohuru clan.

Besides Princess Mingzhu, who had previously stopped Yinzhi from confessing his love, the highest-ranking member of the Mongol Banner was the Empress Dowager's grandniece, a noblewoman from the Khorchin.

“Mother, I’ve studied the list of candidates for the imperial concubine selection, but I don’t know what Consort Yi’s mother and Consort Rong’s mother said. Also, there’s the Seventeenth Prince, and my third brother is being arranged to marry the heir apparent. I guess we’ll be ranked after them. How about you let the Seventh Prince be in the next batch?”