At the end of August, the Qing Dynasty's palace selection, which lasted for almost three days, finally came to an end.
Why three days? It's because the Emperor and Empress Dowager are entangled in a power struggle, and neither wants to back down first.
Empress Fucha Jin Yi wanted to finish this task as soon as possible, since she had other people to attend to, and her son was more important than any concubine.
Moreover, all the unused palaces in the harem that needed to be vacated had already been vacated, so what use was the number of people coming in? Fucha Jinyi didn't care at all.
As a result, Empress Fucha Jinyi had no say in the matter, and neither the Emperor nor the Empress Dowager would yield to the other. What should have been a simple palace selection that could have been completed in one day was instead divided into three days according to the Manchu, Mongol, and Han military banners.
Fucha Jinyi felt nauseous whenever she recalled sitting foolishly on the throne in the Golden Palace, watching row after row of young ladies walk down the ground.
That was truly terrible!
Fortunately, the final palace selection was successfully completed. Regardless of whether they were satisfied or not, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor could only take a step back and choose to compromise with each other.
Eight people were selected to enter the palace this time.
The Manchu bannermen made up the majority, with a total of five people. Among them, the Niohuru clan had the most, with three people in total. Both the direct and collateral branches were included, making it seem as if the selection of concubines was organized by the Niohuru clan. All eyes inside and outside the palace were on them.
As for the remaining two women from the Manchu banners, one was from the Wanyan clan and the other from the Zhaojia clan. They were neither particularly outstanding nor particularly young, and seemed more like temporary additions given to them after the selection of the Niohuru clan, serving no purpose whatsoever.
The remaining three were two from the Mongol banner and one from the Han banner.
The Mongol bannermen were all from the Borjigit clan, whose families were either princes or Taijis. They were nominally wealthy but lacked real power. However, their powerful and influential families made them easy targets in the palace. Once inside, they were treated like mascots, well-fed and cared for, and could be disposed of at will as long as they were kept alive (and they were not allowed to have children).
The Han Army Banner girl, though called a "beauty consort," was more like a young girl who hadn't fully grown up. Lu Xuening, daughter of Lu Shilong, was just thirteen years old at the time, an adorable little girl who hadn't yet matured.
The reason why the little girl was able to enter the palace was rather bizarre: because of her status.
Her father, Lu Shilong, had considerable influence with the Empress Dowager, who was now planning to recruit her own people to fill the harem and compete with others.
Thinking about one sheep is like herding, thinking about two sheep is like grazing.
After thinking it over, the Empress Dowager decided to take this opportunity to bring them all in.
In any case, because of this imperial concubine selection, the relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor has almost completely fallen apart.
If the Empress Dowager doesn't seize this opportunity to gain more benefits, all this commotion will have been for nothing.
Then, three women from the Niohuru clan entered from the Manchu banners: one concubine and two noble ladies. One woman from the Han banners also entered, also a noble lady.
Compared to the remaining four, the two Borjigit women from the Mongol military banners who received the title of Noble Lady, and the other two who only held the rank of Attendant, were much better off.
"Isn't Your Majesty being a little too hasty? Three of your nieces are from the same family, one a concubine and two a noble lady. Aren't you afraid of offending the Emperor and Empress?"
Is the Empress Dowager brainless, or does she hold some powerful weapon that makes her unafraid of the Emperor and Empress? Otherwise, no matter how much she challenges them, she wouldn't have such a mental lapse.
In the main hall of Yikun Palace, Chen Yuwei, who had just heard about the selection of concubines, was completely stunned by the news that Xia He had brought back. She had thought that the Empress Dowager would definitely go crazy this time, but she never expected that the Empress Dowager would go crazy to such an extent.
What does it mean to have three nieces from the same clan? One-third, no, half of the candidates in this selection process come from the Empress Dowager's sphere of influence.
Chen Yuwei cannot forget Consort Lu. She was supposed to have entered the palace in the fifth year of Qianlong's reign, but before she had even fully grown up, she was sold (crossed out) by her relatives and sent to the harem to please the Empress Dowager. She was also one of the Empress Dowager's people.
Hmm, it seems this person eventually rose to the rank of concubine, but was not favored in the harem and did not have any children.
Chen Yuwei turned her head and left Lu Xuening aside, while she continued to ponder the three cheap nieces that the Empress Dowager had gone to great lengths to bring in.
Xia He was also shocked by the Empress Dowager's generosity. She had never seen anything like it before. Not only did she eat and take things, but she also carried the bowls and plates with her. She didn't want to leave anything for anyone else.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager's actions will surely have endless consequences in the future."
Even if the Emperor and Empress do not react now, or even accept it with joy.
But how can one read someone's mind from their appearance? In the palace, everyone has two faces.
In any case, Xia He herself was already very uncomfortable, let alone the Emperor and Empress, who were directly attacked and had their authority challenged.
Shaking her head, Xia He muttered a few more words under her breath, especially about the residences of these three Niohuru clan members. One was in Yongshou Palace, and two were in Jingren Palace. They had occupied all the remaining good places. Including the Yanxi Palace where Consort Lu of the Han Army Banner was located, it was truly a great harvest for Cining Palace.
"I heard that the Empress Dowager personally spoke to the Empress about Yongshou Palace."
Yongshou Palace was the former residence of the Empress Dowager, and according to palace regulations, it needed to be sealed off.
This time, it was the Empress Dowager who gave special permission for Consort Hui to move in alone.
The Consort Hui that Xia He mentioned was the highest-ranking imperial concubine among the three members of the Niohuru clan.
Niohuru Huixin was mentioned by the Empress Dowager as early as the first year of her reign, and for the past two years she had been accompanying the clan chief's wife to the palace to pay respects and exchange gifts. She was also the person the Empress Dowager valued most and on whom she placed most of the hopes of the Niohuru clan.
If Niohuru Huixin's life in the palace is not going well, or if things don't go according to the Empress Dowager's or Niohuru's wishes, well, I don't even want to think about what will happen next.
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