Having selected so many concubines to enter the palace, the Empress Dowager hoped they could prove themselves and allow her to hold more grandchildren.
Unfortunately, these concubines failed to meet her expectations. In the three years leading up to the second selection of consorts, only Lady Li gave birth to the Fourth Princess and was thus promoted to Noble Lady Jing. None of the other new consorts became pregnant.
The newly arrived concubines were not very capable, but the veterans from the Prince's residence were quite impressive. Among them, Consort Hai gave birth to the Fifth Prince and was promoted to Consort Yu, and Consort Chun gave birth to the Sixth Prince.
Yunyi will be busy with this year's imperial concubine selection. Yonghuang is sixteen years old this year, and Qianlong should choose a primary wife for him and let him get married.
Besides, the Empress was also busy. Her eldest daughter, Princess He'an, was half a month older than Yonghuang and was also sixteen this year, so it was time for her to be betrothed.
However, royal daughters have no trouble finding husbands. Even if the marriage is arranged this year, Emperor Qianlong is reluctant to let his eldest daughter marry so early. He will definitely wait two more years until his daughter is eighteen or nineteen years old before she gets married.
This year's imperial concubine selection was more lively than previous ones. In addition to those who were interested in Emperor Qianlong, many of the young women were also aiming for the position of the eldest prince, Yonghuang.
Yonghuang inherited the best features of both his father and mother. He was exceptionally handsome with his sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. Because he had practiced martial arts diligently since childhood, he was tall and had an upright posture. His swordsmanship was so good that even dozens of imperial guards could not defeat him.
Previously, during a royal horse racing event in the countryside, Yonghuang's outstanding horsemanship won the hearts of many noble ladies in the capital.
Many Manchu noblewomen admired the eldest prince, a dashing and heroic man, but looked down on the second prince, who was gentle, refined, and gentlemanly.
Of course, it was also related to the fact that the Second Prince had not yet grown up. Yonglian was only twelve years old at the time and was still a child.
Yonghuang, who is quite tall, is only fourteen years old, but he already looks like a young man, so he naturally wins the hearts of the girls.
Because the eldest prince had reached the age for trial marriage, the Empress did not take full charge of this selection of daughters-in-law. Instead, she let Consort Shu take charge and let her choose a suitable daughter-in-law.
Yunyi was truly overwhelmed by the choices. There were so many wonderful girls, each one exceptionally good. Yet, when it came to matching them with her son, Yunyi felt that her son was somewhat unworthy.
Hearing her cousin's words, Fucha Anrong was truly at a loss for words. In her opinion, Yonghuang was a very good boy, and naturally he should find a better wife. How could he not be good enough for her?
With the Empress's words, Yunyi made an excuse that she couldn't choose one and asked the Empress to help her find one, as she trusted her judgment.
Finally, Yunyi discussed with the Empress and selected five young women with good family backgrounds, character, and personality, which were then presented to Emperor Qianlong for his decision.
After examining these young women and carefully considering the various forces they represented, Emperor Qianlong finally selected Yonghuang's primary consort.
Yonghuang was not Qianlong's preferred successor, but his good relationship with his eldest son Yonglian was something Qianlong was happy to see.
As the future prince, Emperor Qianlong hoped that he would only be a prince, so the family background of his primary consort could not be too high, as it would bring too much power to Yonghuang, but it also could not be too low, otherwise it would not be worthy of the eldest son's status.
In the end, Emperor Qianlong chose a member of the Irgen Gioro clan from the Plain White Banner of the Manchu army to be the wife of the eldest prince, and the marriage was arranged by the Imperial Household Department.
The Plain White Banner was one of the Upper Three Banners, and its family background was considered decent among the Eight Banners of the Manchu Army, but it was still not as good as the Bordered Yellow Banner and Plain Yellow Banner, which were directly under the emperor's command. However, it was very suitable for Yonghuang, who was born as the eldest son of a concubine.
Therefore, it is clear that Yonglian's future wife must be of the Bordered Yellow Banner to be worthy of this legitimate son and future emperor.
At the same time as the eldest prince's marriage was arranged, Emperor Qianlong also arranged a marriage for Princess Guren He'an. The consort was from the Hesheli family, the family of the former empress of Emperor Kangxi. He was the eldest son of the current head of the family and was also a young prodigy.
However, Emperor Qianlong said that the princess would not get married until she was eighteen years old, so their marriage was still a long way off. Shuning, as the older sister, would only get married after her younger brother Yonghuang got married.
After the arranged marriage, Yunyi was busy again without stopping. Although the wedding was handled by the Imperial Household Department, she, as the mother, could not be idle. She had to do what needed to be done, prepare what needed to be done, and urge and supervise what needed to be done.
Yunyi was busy until the end of the year, and only when she saw her son marry into the Irgen Gioro family could she finally relax.
My son is married and has started his own family. From now on, it's up to the young couple to live their lives happily together. It's none of my business as his mother anymore.
The tenth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign was a special year. At the beginning of that year, Consort Gao fell seriously ill. After struggling for a period of time, she finally succumbed to her illness and passed away.
At that time, Lady Gao had just been granted the title of Imperial Noble Consort by Emperor Qianlong, but she passed away within a day or two.
After Lady Gao passed away, Emperor Qianlong was deeply saddened and gave her a posthumous title of "Virtuous" as Imperial Noble Consort Huixian.
Before they could recover from this grief, in April, Qingfu, the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi, reported that Tibetans were robbing merchants and even soldiers in the Jinchuan area of Sichuan, and that it had reached the point where "military action was absolutely necessary."
Upon hearing Qingfu's report of the urgency of the situation, Emperor Qianlong immediately issued an edict to dispatch troops to suppress the Dajinchuan rebellion.
At this time, Yonghuang, having just gotten married, had already entered the court to participate in discussions. Upon hearing his father say this, he immediately stepped forward and expressed his willingness to lead troops into battle.
Of course, he was just a teenager, and although he was married, he had never been on a military expedition, so Emperor Qianlong would not agree with his statement.
Emperor Qianlong was very pleased that his son had such courage. He couldn't be the commander-in-chief, but he could be the deputy commander-in-chief.
Yonghuang successfully joined the army, but he was unaware that his second son, Yonglian, was also in the ranks.
Emperor Qianlong's move was also to pave the way for his son. The Jinchuan region had no major power and was not a threat. There was no danger in sending troops this time, but there was a chance to win a war after returning.
Yonglian was the successor chosen by Emperor Qianlong. He had military achievements, which would make him more respected in the future.
For this reason, after agreeing to Yonghuang's request, Qianlong also sent Yonglian along.
After the two brothers returned, Emperor Qianlong could then rightfully bestow a title upon his eldest son, so that he wouldn't still be a bald prince even after getting married.
Yonghuang was happy, but after learning that her husband was going to the battlefield, Irgen Gioro was filled with worry.
They had only been married a short time and were enjoying a blissful marriage when the young couple parted ways. Yonghuang was going to the highly dangerous battlefield, which made Irgen Gioro Shi extremely worried.
However, since the noblewoman from a prominent family introduced her to the best education, Lady Irgen Gioro quickly suppressed her worries and composed herself to pack her husband's travel essentials.
The clothes and such were not important. Irgen Gioro instructed her servants to stuff a lot of medicines into the luggage, all kinds of medicines, for fear that her husband might have an accident and get injured on the battlefield.
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