Hongli had no interest in this selection process, but he still had to vet the imperial relatives, so he had to take a look.
Appearance and family background were both taken into consideration. There were more than two hundred candidates for the second round of selection. Hongli only glanced at a few dozen before feeling dizzy, so he asked the Empress Dowager to make the final selection.
The Empress Dowager loved to make decisions, and she was delighted that her son had entrusted her with the power this time. She ultimately selected twenty-two women for the imperial concubine selection and kept their names on the list.
Although they passed the second round of selection, the fate of these twenty-odd young women was still uncertain, as they still had to participate in the final selection. Only on the day of the final selection would it be determined whether they would be betrothed to members of the imperial family or selected to enter the palace.
Hongli did not get too involved and left the rest to the Empress Dowager. The reason he did not let Su Yushan handle the matter was because he knew that it would be too cruel for her to help him choose women.
The Empress Dowager likes to take charge, so let her make the decisions; otherwise, she'll always accuse him of not respecting her wishes.
Just as Hongli had expected, Su Yushan really didn't like to get involved in these matters. She was happy to let the Empress Dowager handle everything.
When he had some free time, Hongli asked the fifth prince what he thought, saying that he would bestow another concubine upon him. Hongzhou immediately waved his hand and said, "Your Majesty, you should know what kind of person my concubine is. You don't want to ruin my family, do you?"
In reality, Hongli was just teasing him. Since Hongzhou refused so readily, Hongli didn't press the matter. "I gave you the chance, but you didn't take it. Don't say I'm stingy later."
Hongzhou was unwilling to take any more concubines. Hongli had informed the Empress Dowager beforehand, which she found unbelievable. "Isn't the Fifth Prince always fond of beautiful women? There are quite a few beautiful women among this year's candidates. Why doesn't he choose one?"
Hongli didn't say it explicitly, but he couldn't very well say that the fifth prince was afraid of his wife, could he? If he did, the Empress Dowager would have a problem with the fifth prince's wife.
To dispel the Empress Dowager's doubts, Hongli simply said that Hongzhou had recently changed his unruly ways and had begun to focus on handling state affairs, showing no interest in romantic relationships, and therefore was temporarily unwilling to take a concubine.
That would be like the sun rising in the west! However, it's a good thing that Hongzhou is willing to focus on political affairs. After all, they are brothers. If Hongzhou can settle down and help Hongli, that would be excellent.
February 28th is the day of the palace selection.
Although Hongli did not remember what the young ladies looked like, he did remember their numbers. Originally there were only twenty-two young ladies, but today twenty-eight of them came.
When Hongli inquired with the Empress Dowager, he learned that six of them were beauties selected from the common people by officials from various regions, and most of them were of Han Chinese origin.
Han women could not formally participate in the imperial concubine selection, but local officials, thinking of the emperor, would try their best to find beauties and send them to the palace. Han women did not need to care about family background, only appearance. Su Yushan was selected in this way, and was later bestowed upon Hongli by Emperor Yongzheng, which led to a marriage by chance.
Emperor Qianlong always favored Su Yushan, so the Empress Dowager thought that her son would prefer Han women, and specially selected six for the emperor to choose from.
Yu Ying thought to herself: Isn't one Su Yushan enough? Why is the Empress Dowager looking for so many Han beauties?
Gao Xiuwen naturally understood the Empress Dowager's thoughts; the Empress Dowager was planning to find someone to share the Emperor's favor! The Empress Dowager's move was brilliant, but it was unknown whether the Emperor would fall for it.
Su Yushan was originally of Han Chinese descent, and she had mixed feelings about this system. She was a transmigrator and knew nothing about the original owner of this body, but she knew that the original owner had a sweetheart but was forced to follow Hongli.
Although she, who came from another time, eventually fell in love with Hongli, not everyone is so lucky. What about these women in front of us? Do they also have their own thoughts, but are forced to enter the capital for various reasons and be presented to the palace as tribute?
Thinking about it this way, their fate is truly tragic. However, some of them probably wanted to take this opportunity to rise to prominence. So, whether this talent show is a tragedy or a blessing for them, Su Yushan cannot say for sure. Let's leave it to fate!
Two days ago, the Empress Dowager asked the Empress for her opinion, asking which of the candidates she favored. The Empress did not dare to choose first, saying that she would choose for Fuheng after the Emperor made his selection.
The Empress Dowager said it didn't matter, "The Emperor said that I should make the decision. He has no objection. Just tell me your thoughts and I will help you make a decision."
Despite the Empress Dowager's words, Yu Ying dared not be presumptuous, fearing that the woman she favored was someone the Empress Dowager intended to betroth to the Emperor. Therefore, she asked the Empress Dowager for her opinion.
"Which of the young ladies does Your Majesty think is suitable for Heng'er?"
The Empress Dowager pondered and said, "A woman who is a match for the Fucha family must naturally be a daughter of a noble family. Among this year's candidates, there is a Yehenara woman. She is the great-granddaughter of Mingzhu, the prime minister during the Kangxi era. Nalan Rongruo is her grandfather's brother. This woman can be considered a true lady of a noble family. Only her status is worthy of Fuheng."
Upon hearing this, Yu Ying was overjoyed, for she too had taken a liking to this woman. "I also have a deep impression of this woman. She is dignified and has an outstanding temperament. I vaguely remember that her name is Yu Zhen. Since Your Majesty has taken a liking to this woman, then we shall obey Your Majesty's wishes."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law hit it off immediately, and the matter was settled. On the day of the palace selection, the Empress Dowager betrothed Nara Yuzhen to Fucha Fuheng.
Upon hearing this, Yu Zhen's heart sank, but she could not disobey the Empress Dowager's decree, so she could only obey and curtsy in gratitude.
The Empress Dowager asked Hongli to choose, but Hongli had no interest and was too lazy to bother. He respectfully said, "Your Majesty, you can decide. I have no objection."
The Empress Dowager feigned concern and said, "When choosing women for your harem, of course they must be people you approve of."
Hongli thought to himself, "I haven't chosen any of them. If I don't choose, you'll make a fuss. Why pretend to be kind and ask me?" He didn't want to take the initiative to choose anyone. First, he really wasn't interested, and second, he was worried that Yushan would be sad.
No matter how the Empress Dowager questioned him, he always said the same thing: "Your subject trusts Your Majesty's judgment; the one you choose must be the best."
The Empress Dowager did this both to demonstrate her respect for the Emperor's opinion and to allow Su Yushan to witness the Emperor selecting concubines. However, Hongli consistently refused to choose, leaving the Empress Dowager with no choice but to select them herself.
After much deliberation, the Empress Dowager finally made a decision.
The daughters of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, He Nian, were from the Irgen Gioro clan; the daughter of the Minister of Rites, Suo Chuolun; the Han woman, Bai; and Zhang. A total of two Manchus and two Hans, the four women remained in the palace, while the remaining women were given to members of the imperial family.
Throughout the entire process, Su Yushan did not offer any opinion. She did not take a close look at the appearances of the young ladies, but Gao Xiuwen could see them clearly. The two Manchu women came from decent families and were of above-average looks, while the two Han women were top beauties.
Especially Bai Shi, I heard that she also came from Suzhou and had a similar temperament to Su Yushan. She was petite, with delicate and gentle features, and was a typical beauty from Jiangnan.
Gao Xiuwen thought to herself: The Empress Dowager deliberately chose Bai Shi to enter the palace. Her purpose was obvious. But she wondered if Bai Shi could live up to the Empress Dowager's wishes.
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