1. Xu Huaizhen
Xu Huaizhen was the younger brother of Empress Xiaoshuren, born of the same mother. Xu Huaizhen was born the year Empress Xiaoshuren entered the palace. A few years later, when Empress Xiaoshuren was favored and was made a concubine, and then promoted to Consort Yu, Consort Yu, and Noble Consort Yu, Xu Huaizhen was still a child under ten years old.
In the twenty-fourth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Empress Xiaoshuren gave birth to the tenth and eleventh princes and was granted the title of Imperial Noble Consort. Xu Huaizhen was fifteen years old that year.
At fifteen, she was of marriageable age.
Xu Huaizhen, under the strict supervision of his mother Xie, studied diligently from a young age. He was quite gifted, and after ten years of hard work, he had passed the examinations for the lowest level (童生, 秀才, 举人) and was on track to become a Jinshi (进士).
Because of the Imperial Noble Consort in the palace, many ministers in the court and several families of the imperial clan wanted to marry their daughters to Xu Huaizhen. This was partly because Xu Huaizhen was indeed a good student, and partly because of the Imperial Noble Consort in the palace.
In that year, Duke Tao Sai, the Assistant State...
Well, Tao Sai was the son of Emperor Taizong (Huang Taiji). His mother was a concubine who was not favored, so he was only granted the title of Duke of the State.
Tao Sai married three wives in succession. His thirteenth and fifteenth daughters were born to his second wife, Ulanara, and were fifteen and thirteen years old respectively.
Tao Sai submitted a memorial proposing to marry his thirteenth daughter to Xu Huaizhen.
Following an investigation by the Imperial Noble Consort in the palace, Emperor Kangxi ultimately betrothed Tao Sai's fifteenth daughter to Xu Huaizhen, with a rescheduled marriage to be held three years later.
Xu Huaizhen ranked among the top ten in the imperial examination. Because of his outstanding talent, he was personally appointed by Emperor Kangxi as the Tan Hua Lang (third-ranked scholar) and entered the Hanlin Academy.
later,
Xu Huaizhen married Tao Sai's fifteenth daughter. The couple had a loving relationship and had six sons but no daughters.
Besides his principal wife, Xu Huaizhen, at her urging, also took two concubines, both of whom were docile and obedient women who bore him three sons.
Xu Huaizhen was later granted the title of First-Class Duke and rose to the position of Minister of State Affairs.
2. Xu Huaiming
Xu Huaiming was Xie's youngest son.
After Xu Fu was exiled to the Mulan hunting grounds to herd horses for several years, he returned. When Xie was over forty years old, she became pregnant again and became pregnant with Xu Huaiming. Because of Xu Huaiming, the Xu family had two more daughters who married into the imperial family, namely Xu Manjin and Xu Zijin.
The saying "youngest son, eldest grandson" is absolutely true.
As the youngest son of the Xie family, Xu Huaiming was more than ten years younger than his elder brother Xu Huaizhen, so from birth he not only received all of Xie's love, but was also cared for and protected by his older brothers and sisters.
In Xu Mu'er's family at that time, Xu Huaiming was the little tyrant.
However, although Xu Huaiming was spoiled as a child, he was not a playboy. At most, he would tease and prank the maids, and he was neither good at literature nor martial arts.
When he was around ten years old, his elder brother Xu Huaizhen married a woman from the imperial clan, and shortly after, his sixth brother, Xu Huainian, who was born out of wedlock, also married the daughter of a general from the imperial clan.
Although she was only the daughter of the Duke of Fuguo and the General Feng'en, her status as a member of the imperial clan was undeniable.
That year, Xu Huaiming suddenly felt that he should follow in the footsteps of his two older brothers and marry a woman from the imperial clan, even if she was the daughter of a Feng'en General, a Fuguo General, or a Zhenguo General, as long as she was from the imperial clan.
And so, Xu Huaiming looked forward to growing up and marrying a member of the imperial clan, full of anticipation.
However, at sixteen and seventeen, his mother, Xie, had no intention of arranging a marriage for him. Xu Huaiming, at sixteen or seventeen, was young and impetuous, and curious about women.
At this moment, a young and beautiful maidservant came to Xu Huaiming's side.
This maid was restless; she would always deliberately or unintentionally stumble in front of Xu Huaiming, or expose her slender, fair neck, arms, and so on.
After a while, Xu Huaiming lost control and was seduced by the maid.
At first, it was just a ridiculous dream, but three months later, the maid became pregnant, and that was it!
Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. Just then, the Imperial Noble Consort in the palace was pregnant. When Xie found out, she immediately and decisively gagged the maid and sent her to the estate to be locked up.
The official explanation given was that she was sent to a farm to rest and recuperate during her pregnancy.
Later, the maid gave birth to a girl after ten months of pregnancy. The girl was taken back to the Xu family. When Madam Xie saw her granddaughter in swaddling clothes, her heart melted. She decided to take pity on her and raise the baby in her own courtyard.
As for the maid who seduced Xu Huaiming, it was publicly claimed that she died in childbirth, but in reality, she had been kept locked up on the estate, with no worries about food or drink, just not free to roam.
The matter concerning Xu Muer's family was seized upon and spread.
After discussing the matter, Xie and her eldest son Xu Huaizhen, along with Xu Huaizhen's wife and their youngest son Xu Huaiming, quickly arranged a marriage for Xu Huaiming.
The woman's surname was Sakda, an old Manchu surname.
However, the Sakda family was not high-ranking officials or nobles; they were just ordinary wealthy people who had no worries about food and drink.
Xu Huaiming quickly married Sakda, and under Xie's strict constraints and Sakda's gentle affection, their relationship rapidly warmed up.
Xu Huaiming and Sakda had four sons, one son born out of wedlock, and their youngest daughter, born to one of Xu Huaiming's concubines.
Years later, Xu Huaiming's eldest daughter, who had grown up with Xie, was betrothed to Yinzhen, the then Prince of Gushan, as his wife, and registered under the name of Sakda, thus becoming a half-legitimate daughter.
3. Xu Huainian
Xu Huainian was born to Xiao Yiniang, the second concubine of the Xu family.
When Xu Huainian was three years old, his stepmother, Xie, forcibly took him in and raised him. Afterwards, Xie arranged for a tutor to teach Xu Huainian to read and write.
Although Xu Huainian lacked talent, he was diligent, and after many years of hard work, he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi.
After passing the imperial examination, one can enter officialdom!
At this time, Xu Huainian was only twenty years old. He had already married the daughter of a member of the imperial clan, a general of the Feng'en family, and had been serving as a civil official in the capital for about half a year.
Xu Fu died of illness, and Xu Huainian and his elder brother Xu Huaizhen observed a three-year mourning period.
Three years later, Xu Huainian was transferred to a county as magistrate, where he achieved some political success. In addition, the Imperial Noble Consort was later elevated to Empress, and Xu Huainian was also promoted.
Xu Huainian rose through the ranks and soon became a fourth-rank prefect.
Years later, Xu Huainian had become the third-rank Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and his second daughter, born of his principal wife, was betrothed to Yinwu, the Prince of Gushan at the time, as his wife.
During the Yonghe era, Xu Huainian was promoted to Minister of Rites.
Xu Huainian and his wife, the daughter of General Feng'en, had a harmonious relationship. They initially had two daughters, followed by four sons. Their second daughter, born of the principal wife, was raised by her stepmother, Lady Xie, from birth.
In addition, Xu Huainian's wife also took the initiative to arrange for Xu Huainian to take two concubines, who gave birth to a son and a daughter respectively, both of whom were born after Xu Huainian was thirty-five years old.
(The other sons of the Xu family, not to mention, were all useless, good-for-nothings who relied on the three Xu brothers for their livelihood. They were constantly coming to their door to beg for money, which was extremely annoying.)
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