Yunrong and Yinzhen were busy until early May. Although the Environmental Protection Law had been initially drafted, how to implement it and how to enforce it were still questions.
He came to Xiaotangshan in March. No matter how comfortable Xiaotangshan is, he couldn't stay there for long. Xiaotangshan has a limited area, which is not conducive to Yinzhen's control over the court's movements.
After discussing it with Yunrong, Yinzhen decided that it was time to go back.
In mid-May, Yinzhen ordered that they move back to the palace.
The imperial selection will be held in July, followed by the triennial imperial examinations, so Yunrong and Yinzhen will both be very busy.
Regarding the selection of concubines, Yinzhen and Yunrong discussed it and said that it was impossible to abolish the system immediately. After all, the people who participated in the selection had different thoughts, and the original purpose of the selection was to prevent the major families from arbitrarily forming marriage alliances.
If you want to abolish a system, you need to think in advance about how to solve the problems that will arise from abolishing it.
Because of the established procedures from previous years, Yunrong only needed to review some lists. Of course, she also had to deal with the noblewomen who came to the palace to gather information.
Yunrong handled this matter quite well.
...
This year, five princesses from the Hesheli clan will be participating in the selection. Three of them are from collateral branches and have no connection to the main family. Two of them, in terms of seniority, should be the nieces of the late Empress and the granddaughters of the late Empress's uncle, Suo'etu.
The two granddaughters of Songgotu who were nominated for the imperial examination were one legitimate and one illegitimate. The legitimate granddaughter bore a resemblance to Empress Hesheli.
Soetu's backyard.
Hesheli Jiayi said somewhat uneasily to her aunt, "Aunt, do you think the Fujin might blame my daughter for my elder sister falling into the water?"
Aunt Chen was also afraid, but having been in the inner courtyard for so many years, she was more composed than her daughter. She comforted her daughter, "Yi'er, don't be afraid. The imperial concubine selection is approaching, and the list has already been submitted. The Fujin (principal wife) won't do anything to you. Besides, the eldest daughter falling into the water has nothing to do with you. You just stumbled upon her affair. As long as the Fujin doesn't want her daughter to be disgraced, she won't do anything to you."
Jiayi was the illegitimate daughter of Suo'etu's eldest son. Because the daughter of the Fujin was born in the same year, she was inevitably used as a comparison.
As for her elder sister Jia Hui falling into the water, it wasn't directly related to her, but it couldn't be said that it was completely unrelated.
She accidentally stumbled upon her elder sister's entanglement with the wife's nephew, who was her cousin. Fearing trouble, she tried to leave the place quickly before anyone noticed, but her plans were disrupted by a young maid's greeting.
In her haste, her elder sister accidentally fell into the water.
Although she was rescued in time, she still hadn't woken up by nightfall. As Jiayi, who was practically invisible in the mansion, she was naturally extremely worried and frightened.
Just when the mother and daughter were filled with fear and anxiety, someone finally brought good news: the eldest princess had woken up.
Aunt Chen immediately smiled: "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright."
Aunt Chen naturally didn't have any good intentions towards the Fujin and her daughter, but this matter was somehow related to her daughter. If something really happened to the eldest daughter, she and her daughter probably wouldn't be able to live in the mansion anymore.
Jiayi breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that her elder sister was alright. With her sister safe, the Fujin (principal wife) would at least not harm her, considering the upcoming imperial concubine selection.
Just as she was feeling relieved, she couldn't help but sigh again: "Aunt, how could my elder sister be so reckless? She even dared to meet with her cousin from her maternal family in private before the selection of concubines. I feel that I probably won't have anyone to take advantage of me now."
Aunt Chen: "You were used? I was in such a hurry that I forgot to ask you what happened. Tell me in detail."
Jiayi: "Daughter didn't plan to go to that secluded place in the backyard today. It was a maid in Granny Ma's courtyard who said that Granny Ma wanted to put some fresh flowers in the room. Daughter didn't think too much about it and believed her. The freshest flowers in the backyard were all placed in that secluded place. When I went there, I saw my elder sister and her cousin from her maternal family fighting. I wanted to sneak away, but a maid I had never seen before suddenly came over to greet me, which startled my elder sister. Then, my elder sister fell into the water in a daze."
After listening to her daughter's account, Aunt Chen felt that there was indeed something fishy about the matter, but she was powerless to do anything about it.
Aunt Chen: "Go back and get some sleep. I'll think of a way to help you with this."
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