Consort Que suddenly uttered a barbed remark, which made Consort Hui blush, but she was unable to refute it.
Firstly, the Emperor has bestowed great favor by allowing the Second Prince to choose two secondary consorts, and it is an honor to have them serve the Second Prince first. Secondly, what Consort Que said is indeed true.
Xu Lejin glanced at Consort Que and said in a deep voice, "The Emperor has his own reasons for acting. Whether it is the primary consort or the secondary consort, they are all listed in the imperial genealogy and serve the princes."
Consort Hui nodded with a smile.
"Yes, Her Highness the Imperial Noble Consort is absolutely right."
After a pause, Consort Hui continued, "If the Third Prince, born to the Imperial Noble Consort, had not had a predestined affinity with the immortals and had not gone to the heavens to cultivate, he would now be of marriageable age to marry a primary wife and a secondary wife."
He chuckled a few times.
Consort Hui then spoke up, "However, it doesn't matter. Among the princes under the Imperial Noble Consort's care, the Fourth Prince is now six years old, and although the Tenth and Eleventh Princes are still young, they will grow up in the blink of an eye."
"When the Fourth Prince, the Tenth Prince, and the Eleventh Prince grow up, the Imperial Noble Consort will still have to work hard to take care of the primary wives, secondary wives, and the princesses who serve in the rooms."
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin nodded slightly and smiled without saying a word.
With the selection of concubines settled, the imperial concubines in the palace, eager to vie for the emperor's favor and hoping to conceive a child before the new concubines entered the palace, naturally racked their brains to win his favor.
Time flies, three months have passed, and it's September.
The selection process involved preliminary and secondary rounds, eliminating many women from the Manchu, Mongol, and Han banners. Those who remained for the final selection were all from distinguished families or had remarkable appearances.
In the harem, not a single concubine became pregnant during the three-month period.
September 2nd
Xu Lejin looked at Consort He and said in a deep voice, "I remember that Consort Zhangjia in Consort He's palace is eight months pregnant. Although Consort Zhangjia's behavior has been strange since she became pregnant, she is carrying the imperial heir; the imperial physician has diagnosed it as a prince."
"Consort He is the head of Changchun Palace. For the sake of the imperial heir, she should be more tolerant of Consort Zhang."
Consort He paused, hesitated for a moment, and then said respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will remember Your Highness's teachings and will certainly have someone take good care of Consort Zhang's unborn child."
"Um."
Xu Lejin responded.
Consort Hui picked up the conversation, her face beaming with pride, "Your Highness, Consort Zhangjia is merely a little mentally challenged; otherwise, she is perfectly fine."
“Consort Zhang is pregnant with the prince, and her health is precious. It is normal for us concubines to make some concessions.”
Xu Lejin and the others remained indifferent.
Consort Hui awkwardly shut her mouth, inwardly annoyed. She shouldn't have spoken up; she should have focused on selecting two concubines for Yinti instead of meddling in Zhangjia's affairs...
Half an hour later
Consort Wan covered her mouth and spoke in a sweet voice, "The imperial concubine selection will be held in half a month. I've heard that there are many outstanding candidates this year: princesses from the Wanyan family, princesses from the collateral branches of the Niohuru family, princesses from the Tatara clan, princesses from the Dong'e family, princesses from the Irgen Gioro clan, princesses from the Hesheli family, and princesses from the collateral branches of the Tongjia family..."
Everyone pursed their lips and remained silent.
Consort Wan felt awkward during the conversation, and finally awkwardly tried to explain herself, saying, "With so many outstanding young ladies, I wonder which ones are fortunate enough to be selected to serve His Majesty in the palace."
Xu Lejin smiled slightly and exchanged a glance with Consort Que.
September 20
On the day of the imperial concubine selection, the young ladies from various families gathered in the palace to await the emperor's selection. Xu Lejin, as the Imperial Noble Consort, sat to the side, watching with a smile on her face.
"Wanyan Mingmei, daughter of Wanyan Luocha, Commander of the Plain Blue Banner, is sixteen years old."
Emperor Kangxi: "Wanyan Mingmei is hereby registered."
“The eldest daughter of Niohuru Zhuoliqi, a banner commander of the Plain Yellow Banner, is named Niohuru Lingyu, aged sixteen.”
"The second daughter of Niohuru Zhuoliqi, a banner commander of the Plain Yellow Banner, is named Niohuru Linghui, aged fourteen."
The Niohuru family, a branch of the clan, produced a pair of sisters born of the same mother. They were selected in the same year and were arranged in the same row. Xu Lejin joked about it with a smile.
Emperor Kangxi nodded with a smile and said calmly, "Niohuru Lingyu and Niohuru Linghui, write down their names and keep them in service."
Afterwards, Kangxi made sure that the Tatara family, the Hesheli family's collateral branches, the Tong family's collateral branches, the Irgen Gioro clan, the Dong'e clan, and others were all registered and employed. Xu Lejin frowned slightly.
She couldn't figure out what Kangxi was up to for the time being.
There is a difference between being registered and being employed under someone else's name.
Being recorded in the imperial register indicates that the emperor has taken a liking to a woman and intends to bring her into the palace as a concubine or imperial consort. Being recorded for future use means either that she is to be married off to a member of the imperial family, or that she is too young and her future will be decided three years later.
The selection of imperial concubines under the full banners is almost complete; they are all registered and reserved for future use.
Day 2
After the selection of the Mongol bannermen was completed, Kangxi symbolically kept a few, also on record.
Day 3
Han Army Flag Election.
Among them were many outstanding young women, and Kangxi kept them on his record. Xu Lejin thought to herself, "Could it be that Kangxi is planning to play some trick on his ministers?"
All the women selected for the imperial concubine examination were registered and kept on file. Then, the most outstanding among them were chosen to enter the palace as concubines or imperial consorts.
Until
“Wang Qiao’er, daughter of Wang Guozheng, magistrate of Nanhuai County, of the Han Army Bordered Blue Banner, is sixteen years old.”
The Empress Dowager, Wang Qiao'er, knelt down and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your subject, Wang Qiao'er, greets Your Majesty and the Imperial Noble Consort. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Imperial Noble Consort!"
The soft, gentle Wu dialect spoken by women from Jiangnan is distinctive, and their voices are graceful and charming.
Emperor Kangxi said loudly, "Raise your head."
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin sat up straight and looked through the beaded curtain at the girl in light blue palace dress outside. She thought to herself, "This Wang Qiao'er is the first person the Emperor has ever made to raise her head."
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