After the New Year, the Empress Dowager began to arrange marriages for the two princesses.
Princesses who do not need to be married off are naturally more precious than princesses who previously did. They do not need to marry far away to Mongolia; they can marry into the capital, where no family would dare to bully their daughter under the emperor's nose.
Therefore, you need to choose carefully.
The Empress Dowager took it very seriously. As a woman herself, she understood the hardships women faced, and she naturally wanted her granddaughter to have a perfect future.
Thus, the list of eligible young men in the capital was placed before the Empress Dowager.
There are even portraits; it's like a talent show.
Although the Empress Dowager's actions were confined to the palace, news of them spread outside, and everyone in the capital began to pay attention to the matter.
This is no small matter; the princess's consort is someone some families avoid like the plague, while others desperately want to be.
Whoever marries the princess will be wealthy and powerful, given the substantial dowry alone.
Furthermore, no one would be foolish enough to offend the princess's husband; everyone would give him face. For some men who don't want to work hard, this is simply a chance to rise to the top in one step.
Of course, being a princess's man isn't so easy.
A princess is the emperor's daughter. If a prince marries the emperor's daughter, he can forget about taking a concubine unless the princess is unable to bear children.
This is unbearable for men who enjoy having beautiful women by their side and multiple wives and concubines.
Furthermore, if one were to truly become a prince consort, it would mean severing ties with any future prospects in officialdom.
In the eyes of the royal family, the duty of a princess's consort was to serve the princess and bear children with her.
As for powerful positions in the imperial court, they were simply out of reach for the imperial son-in-law.
Ambitious people who want to advance in the imperial court are unwilling to accept a position like that of a prince consort.
Although the Empress Dowager tried her best, it was not easy to find a perfect young talent, let alone two.
After reviewing the portraits and the files on the talented young men, the Empress Dowager already had some ideas in mind.
"Go to the Empress and tell her that I am going to hold a banquet, and ask her to come as well."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Empress Dowager was holding a banquet, and the purpose was obvious: to find a husband for her granddaughter. As for why she insisted on having Youqing attend as well.
The Empress Dowager has thought this through quite thoroughly.
If the Empress doesn't attend the banquet, outsiders will think that she and the Empress don't get along and that the Emperor favors the Empress. If outsiders find out about this, it won't be good for the Empress Dowager herself.
On the other hand, the Empress Dowager was also thinking of saving face for her granddaughter. After all, the Empress was the princess's legal mother, and it was extremely taboo for her not to be valued by her legal mother.
In addition, it was also to preserve the reputation of Empress Youqing.
If the Empress doesn't come, there will inevitably be rumors that Empress Youqing mistreats the illegitimate princess, which will damage both her and Emperor Kangxi's reputation.
After careful consideration, the Empress Dowager made this decision.
Having received the Empress Dowager's message, Youqing naturally had no objections and sent Chengying over to help prepare the banquet. In this way, the banquet was considered to be jointly hosted by her and the Empress Dowager, giving the two princesses ample face.
That evening, Youqing said to Kangxi, "Empress Mother is going to choose husbands for the Second Princess and the Third Princess. I told you about this a few days ago, do you remember?"
Kangxi nodded. He naturally remembered what Youqing had said. Besides, it concerned the marriage of his two biological daughters, so he was naturally concerned.
"I remember, so what?"
"The Empress Dowager has invited many people over for a banquet the day after tomorrow. She probably wants to see it in person. You should come and take a look too. If you value this matter, the Second Princess and the Third Princess will be valued when they get married in the future, and ordinary people will not dare to bully them."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Kangxi suddenly said, "I'd like to see who dares to bully the royal princess."
Youqing glared at him: "I know you're capable, but can a woman's marriage be the same? No matter how capable you are, even if our daughters marry into their own princess's mansion, if the other party is bold and the princess is timid, they won't suffer losses on the surface, but they will suffer a lot in secret."
Emperor Youqing was not as optimistic as Emperor Kangxi.
Throughout history, the relationship between princesses and their husbands has been the most enigmatic. Throughout history, many princesses have found themselves miserable after marriage.
The princess lives in the princess's residence and doesn't have to suffer from her husband's family's difficulties. However, the prince consort is determined to be filial to his mother and has many ways to make the princess suffer. If the princess cannot have sex with him and becomes infertile for several years, no one can stop the prince consort from taking a concubine.
Or do something else, without abusing her. The princess has been noble since childhood. If she is wronged, she will feel resentful and have no one to reason with.
Emperor Kangxi was rendered speechless by what he was being said.
"Alright, I'll do as you say. I'll go there the day after tomorrow."
Emperor Kangxi also had to be involved in his daughter's marriage.
Youqing was satisfied upon hearing this.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. On the day of the banquet, many talented young men from the capital, along with their mothers, came.
The group had accepted the invitation from the Empress Dowager and the Empress, but upon entering, they not only met the Empress Dowager and the Empress, but also the Emperor. As Youqing had predicted, the group did indeed pay more attention to the two princesses.
As the banquet began, everyone was talking to the Empress Dowager, and they mostly flattered Youqing. After hearing this so many times, Youqing naturally became immune to it.
In their back-and-forth exchanges, Youqing, rarely skilled, handled the situation with ease.
The Empress Dowager also took the opportunity to observe these ladies. In the past, she had not paid much attention to them, but now that any of them could become her future granddaughter's mother-in-law, she had to pay attention.
People who used to seem fine now seem to have some serious flaws in everyone, which is worrying, but we still have to observe them.
As for those talented young men, after meeting the Empress Dowager, they were summoned by Kangxi to the garden outside for further evaluation. The Crown Prince and other princes also went with them.
The second and third princesses were their older and younger sisters. Kangxi brought them along to show everyone that his daughters had the support of their father and brothers.
Seeing the way they were being examined, everyone was a little unsure how to react.
Ambitious and talented individuals who want to perform well may be favored by Emperor Kangxi and become his son-in-law. If they don't perform well, how can they stand out in the court in the future?
They were in a dilemma.
Those who have only mastered half of the martial arts don't have this concern; on the contrary, they are more at ease.
Kangxi glanced at everyone's expressions but did not intend to investigate further.
Let them perform one by one.
The first person he named was someone with real talent and learning. He really didn't want to become a prince consort, but since things had come to this point, he couldn't back down. In the end, Kangxi was quite satisfied and nodded at the person.
"Not bad, he's a good candidate for joining the army."
Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this, and then they all began to act accordingly.
They understood some of the meaning behind Kangxi's words, so they acted boldly. This was a rare opportunity, and if Kangxi remembered it, they would avoid many detours in the future.
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