Dinner was ready, and everyone was chatting and laughing. Just as they were about to take their seats, an imperial decree arrived summoning Mo Bei and his wife to the palace.
Rou Niang was also surprised to hear the news. Her wedding was originally a royal decree, a great honor indeed. However, she had not chosen to marry into the princess's residence, so she did not go to the palace to express her gratitude during her homecoming. She feared this would be against the rules.
Mo Bei then remembered that Liu Rou Niang was also a princess. The two of them exclaimed their rudeness and quickly tidied themselves up before heading to the palace.
In the imperial study, the emperor wore a long face, looking displeased.
No matter what, Liu Rou Niang is a princess personally appointed by him, and everyone in the world knows that she is his sworn sister. He also sent people to send congratulatory gifts for her wedding. Although he stopped the Crown Prince from going, wasn't that because he was considering the overall situation?
The fact that the Crown Prince himself went there made everyone feel awkward, which is why he stopped them. As a result, the Crown Prince got angry with him, and not only did the two of them not express their gratitude, they didn't even come to visit him on their return visit. It's outrageous!
Seeing the emperor's expression, Mo Bei quickly apologized, "Your Majesty, it is my dereliction of duty. I failed to enter the palace to express my gratitude. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
Upon seeing this, Liu Rou Niang quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it was my mistake. If anyone should be punished, please punish me."
Seeing the couple like this, the emperor quickly waved his hand and said, "Who said I was going to punish you? Today we won't leave until we're drunk!"
After saying that, Rou Niang and the three of them, along with Mo Bei, prepared to have a big meal that night. Various delicious dishes were laid out. At this moment, Rou Niang also saw Crown Prince Mo Xiaojin and felt a little sorry for him. He seemed to be thinner than when they last parted.
Seeing the Emperor and Mo Bei enjoying their drinks, Rou Niang pulled Mo Xiaojin aside and asked, "Have you not been eating properly lately? The academic pressure is too much. Why have you lost so much weight?"
Mo Bei said in a low voice, "Don't worry, my royal aunt, I'm not thinner, I've just grown taller, that's why I look thinner."
Rou Niang felt even more heartbroken upon hearing this. Mo Xiaojin had changed; he had become more mature. Sometimes, she didn't know how to get along with him.
My identity has changed, and everything has changed. But the care and concern I felt for them are still very real.
"Aunt wishes you a happy wedding," Mo Xiaojin said with a smile, presenting a brocade box.
Rou Niang accepted the gift and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Ultimately, the two could never go back to the past.
Seeing that the Emperor and Mo Bei had finished eating and drinking, Rou Niang and Mo Bei joined hands and prepared to leave the palace.
Just as he was about to leave, the emperor suddenly said, "Rou Niang, the harem seems rather deserted to me, so I'm planning to hold a selection of concubines. However, I think it's best to have a woman carefully oversee this, since the crown prince is still living in the harem. It will affect the child. I don't have any suitable women around me, so I'll leave it to you."
Rou Niang was taken aback. She hadn't expected the emperor to say such a thing. She really didn't want to take on this hot potato.
Even if she had experience, she would know how complicated it would be. So her instinct was to refuse first: "I'm afraid it's not possible for Your Majesty. I have no experience and I don't appreciate the talents of women. I'm afraid I can't help Your Majesty in identifying women with outstanding talents. Wouldn't that be a waste of Your Majesty's trust?"
The emperor waved his hand and said, "There's no need to put too much pressure on me. Just select some experienced judges to oversee the selection. You just need to help me pick out the ones that catch my eye. In the end, I will appear with the crown prince, right?"
Mo Xiaojin nodded. He was already mentally prepared for the emperor's plan to select concubines, and he thought it was a good thing; if his father had other women, he wouldn't be interested in anything else.
So he nodded. The emperor was actually quite aggrieved. He had originally wanted to delay further, thinking that the crown prince could be raised more fully. If he were to never choose a concubine, it was unlikely that the ministers would press him so hard. But why did he agree so quickly? It was because the crown prince was so infuriating. He was convinced that the emperor had improper thoughts about Liu Rou Niang and was constantly watching and guarding against her.
From that day forward, he treated her like a lecherous scoundrel with ulterior motives. Whenever she glanced at a palace maid more than twice, he would look at her with that kind of gaze, as if to say, "If Father Emperor likes her, why not take her into the harem?"
Although he didn't say it out loud, that was the gist of it. So the emperor was very angry. On the one hand, it was indeed necessary to select concubines for the harem from a macro perspective. On the other hand, it was also partly out of spite for the crown prince. He was waiting to have concubines and two more children. "Look how anxious you are! Do you still have to put on such a cold attitude towards me?"
Rou Niang realized that she would probably have to put in more effort herself. She couldn't refuse, after all, she was still the emperor's nominal sister, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.
The Emperor said happily, "In that case, Rou Niang, please come up with a plan. Come to the palace tomorrow and discuss it with me so we can make arrangements for the imperial concubine selection."
The Crown Prince was alarmed. Could it be that his lecherous father was deeply infatuated with his mother? It turned out that the imperial concubine selection was just a pretext; his real intention was to get closer to his mother. This would not do!
Seeing the Crown Prince's expression, the Emperor knew that the Crown Prince had misunderstood again. He was both angry and amused, but he deliberately teased him.
Rou Niang nodded, not thinking about anything else. That's how relationships between men and women are. The little awkwardness between her and the emperor last time had long since disappeared. They understood each other without saying a word. Rou Niang knew that the emperor had no feelings for her, and Mo Bei also believed in the two of them.
The emperor was well aware of his own intentions. Only the crown prince, who was still a child, was worrying unnecessarily. The crown prince said, "Father said that your selection of concubines would affect me. Why don't I participate in this matter as well?"
The emperor smiled and said, "It's not impossible."
So when Rou Niang entered the palace again, the Crown Prince was surprisingly standing beside the Emperor, seemingly quite interested. Rou Niang was also troubled; could the Crown Prince, at such a young age, really be so interested in something like the imperial concubine selection?
The crown prince was also helpless; he didn't want this to happen. The emperor suppressed a laugh; no matter what, he found the innocent, childlike expression on the crown prince's face quite amusing.
"Your Majesty, my sister and I discussed it yesterday and adopted the original procedures from the Ministry of Rites. Since this is the first time we've held a selection of women, we should have a nationwide election. Of course, what kind of women we want? Ultimately, that will be up to Your Majesty to decide." Rou Niang briefly explained the steps.
Generally speaking, the process involves first selecting eligible women from across the country to enter the palace, then conducting various assessments of the women according to His Majesty's needs, setting passing scores for the assessments, and finally assigning a final rank to the women who remain.
The emperor nodded after hearing Rou Niang's general idea. He thought so too. Rou Niang's main question now was: "What are Your Majesty's requirements for this woman? For example, her family background, her family situation, her talents, and so on."
The emperor looked at the crown prince and asked with a smile, "Since the crown prince wants to participate, then you may speak."
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