This woman was named Queen He. She was the youngest daughter in her family and was spoiled from a young age. She was raised like a boy and read a lot of books such as the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as many historical and political treatises.
After Lu Qingyan summoned her, the woman actually admitted that she had thought about disguising herself as a man to participate in the imperial examination, but she had to give up because the examination required a body search. She never expected that Lu Qingyan would give her such an opportunity.
Lu Qingyan talked with her for a while and felt that this woman was indeed extraordinary, so she sent her to the Ministry of Works to start practicing in a simpler and less demanding department.
By the time those who were working behind closed doors found out about this, it was too late to stop them, and they could only go back to their work.
While everyone was busy with their own affairs—some writing books, others participating in politics—someone suddenly brought up the matter of the Empress's harem.
The Empress has no children to date, and the position of Crown Prince or Crown Princess has not been decided, which makes some veteran officials uneasy.
However, considering that this emperor was different from the previous ones—she was an empress—they didn't think they were bold enough to openly talk about male consorts in court. So, they initially wanted to entrust this task to the retired emperor, Lu Zhizhi. Unfortunately, the retired emperor was nowhere to be found, so they could only entrust the matter to the emperor's friend, Lin Rongqian.
Lin Rongqian's lips twitched as he was suddenly entrusted with a heavy responsibility. He himself had not yet married, yet he was to persuade the Empress to expand her harem. Why was life so cruel?
When his "good brother" became the emperor, he was one of the chickens and dogs who benefited from the "one man attains enlightenment, and his chickens and dogs rise to heaven" phenomenon.
His family had considered marrying him a gentle and virtuous wife, but he had never thought about it. Although he was a bit playful, he was absolutely chaste when it came to women, and no one had ever made him break his vows.
Having read some storybooks in his youth, the innocent Lin Rongqian still harbored a tiny bit of fantasy about his other half.
Lin Rongqian shuddered as these people suddenly assigned him this task: Could it be that they think he has something going on with the Emperor?
Heaven and earth can bear witness that he had no idea that his good brother was actually "her," so how could he possibly have any feelings for her? Even now, Lu Qingyan is still his good brother in Lin Rongqian's eyes.
Or is it that Lu Qingyan really has feelings for him...?
Lin Rongqian braced himself and went to see Lu Qingyan, bringing up the matter of selecting a concubine.
Lu Qingyan's reaction to their request for an audience: "Okay, granted."
"That simple?" Lin Rongqian was dumbfounded. How could this be completely different from what he had initially thought? He had agreed to only have his eye on one person, which was why there had been no movement for so long.
“You’re overthinking it,” Lu Qingyan said quietly from the side. “Actually, I’ve long wanted a harem of three thousand beauties, but I was busy conquering the country before, and then busy governing it after the founding of the nation. I’ve finally waited until you remembered this matter.” Lu Qingyan said with a smile, “After all, my harem is empty, and I still need an heir.”
"If that's what Your Majesty thinks, I'll go and talk to them and let them make the necessary arrangements."
Lu Qingyan nodded: "I'll leave this to you. You'll have to choose this person carefully."
The candidates were not chosen easily, not only the candidates themselves, but also the fathers of these heirs to the throne, who had to be of excellent character and appearance.
Three months later, Empress Lu Qingyan began her harem selection process.
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