Sure enough, at the morning court session the next day, someone suggested that the Fourth Prince should not favor one person exclusively, but should extend his affections to all his consorts, so as to ensure the continuation of the imperial family.
Some people even blamed Lanqin, saying that she lacked the magnanimity and demeanor of a harem mistress.
The Fourth Prince neither reprimanded nor accepted their accusations, allowing them to submit their memorials as they pleased. He continued to go wherever he was supposed to go.
On this day, Lanqin was busy selecting husbands for the three princesses. In addition, the emperor deliberately concealed the affairs of the previous dynasty, so Lanqin knew nothing about the recent situation in the court.
That day, the Emperor came to Changchun Palace to inquire about the situation from Lanqin. Lanqin presented the Fourth Prince with a list of candidates she had chosen, asking him to make his decision. The list included Ye Ci, the son of a high-ranking official, and five other sons of noble families. Lanqin's intention was to select three of these five men to become the Emperor's consorts.
The Fourth Prince glanced at the five men; their social standing was a match for the princess, and their character and appearance were also of the highest caliber. It turned out that Lanqin had specifically asked Hongli to thoroughly investigate the portraits and character of these men, to have her review them, and then submit them to the Fourth Prince for his final decision.
"Your Majesty, what do you think?" Lanqin glanced at the Fourth Prince, secretly amused, as she herself had been troubled by this matter for a long time.
"I think the ones you've chosen are all quite good, but they still need further evaluation. As imperial consorts, their family backgrounds and moral character must be excellent. Although they are not my biological daughters, their marriages must be handled with utmost care, understand?" the Fourth Prince said.
What the Fourth Prince said was exactly what Lanqin was thinking. She knew that the entire court was watching her, watching how she would arrange marriages for her adopted daughters. Especially since these three princesses were all of Aisin Gioro blood, daughters of princes, they could not be taken lightly, and the matter had to be handled even more carefully than marrying off one's own daughter.
If anyone were to find even the slightest fault in Lanqin and the Fourth Prince, they would be the subject of gossip. Simply put, marrying these three princesses was a matter of prestige for the royal family.
Lanqin suggested, "Your Majesty, do you know this Ye Ci? He is the son of General Ye Ming."
The Fourth Prince looked at Ye Ci's portrait and recalled that Ye Ci had apparently made great contributions in the war against the Turks. "This Ye Ci has won many wars for me." Thinking of the many talented people in the court, the Fourth Prince felt very comforted.
"I have a very good impression of Ye Ci. After personally observing him, I really like his character and humble attitude. I think he and Qingping from the Third Prince's residence would be quite suitable. They are both gentle and of similar age. What do you think?" For some reason, Lanqin always felt that the two of them could create sparks, so she strongly recommended Ye Ci and Qingping.
"I have no objection. You shall decide this matter!" The Fourth Prince thought that since he had already entrusted all matters of the harem to Lanqin, it would be more appropriate to leave these matters to her.
“Your Majesty, this Li Sheng is also a candidate I have high hopes for. He is the son of the Vice Minister of Rites, and he is ambitious and driven.” Li Sheng is a good friend of Hongli, which is what Lanqin learned from Hongli. Lanqin thought that since he was someone Hongli associated with, he shouldn’t be too bad, so she had high hopes for Li Sheng.
Lanqin glanced at the Fourth Prince, who showed no objection, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Your Majesty," she said, "why don't we bring these five talented men into the palace and let the princesses see them and choose for themselves, to see who is a better match? What do you think?" Lanqin wanted to respect the princesses' choices as much as possible while still allowing them to arrange marriages; she wanted them to experience modern matchmaking. The Fourth Prince nodded, finding Lanqin's method feasible, and agreed.
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