The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 88: Accidents Always Happen (asking for monthly tickets)

In the early morning on the main street outside Shenwu Gate, there was a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps, and the security was extremely tight.

The fourth brother led Yinyou and stood side by side in front of the Shenwu Gate.

The eunuch Liang Jiugong, the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace, and the deputy chief eunuch Wei Zhu stood on both sides.

At the beginning of the morning hour, the fourth elder held the imperial edict in his hand and shouted sternly, "Yes, there is an imperial edict!"

"Hualala..." All the officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department knelt down.

"I, the Empress Dowager, have ordered a grand review of the eight banner ladies... I hereby decree this!"

After the decree was issued, the three-yearly selection of the Eight Banners officially began.

A doctor from the Ministry of Revenue, holding the list in his hand, read out loudly: "A Manchu of the Bordered Yellow Banner, the daughter of the Grand Minister of the Imperial Guards, the First-Class Duke, Orondai, Tong Jia."

I saw a young girl in a Manchu dress dressed in silk and satin, wearing embroidered shoes with flowerpot soles, slowly walking into the Shenwu Gate under the guidance of a eunuch.

Yinyu was young, and this was his first time participating in the selection of the Eight Banners. The fourth brother whispered to him, "In the past, women from the Hesheli clan would always be ranked first."

Yinyou understood immediately after hearing it. After Soetu was ousted, the power of the prince's maternal family plummeted.

The richest family in Manchuria today can only be the Tonggiya clan, Kangxi’s maternal clan.

The rules in the palace are strict, and only a name can be read by the doctor of the Ministry of Revenue before a concubine can be admitted.

The concubines lined up in a long queue, wearing embroidered shoes with flowerpot soles, and walked past the fourth prince and Yinyu one by one, heading towards Shunzhen Gate.

The selection of concubines is based on their background.

The beauties from the upper three banners entered the palace in an orderly manner according to the queue pattern of the Bordered Yellow Banner, the Plain Yellow Banner and the Plain White Banner, and then according to the shifts of the Manchu, Mongolian and Han armies.

After looking at dozens of Manchu and Mongolian beauties, Yinyu really couldn't stand it anymore. Alas, they were all ugly!
To be frank, among these so-called beauties from the Eight Banners wealthy families, not even one has scored 3 points so far.

It would be fine if they were just ugly, but most of them have dark skin and a figure that is unbearable to look at, and most of them have a little belly.

It’s really too terrible to look at!
No wonder Kangxi liked to bring beauties from Jiangnan and hide them in Changchun Garden to enjoy them slowly!

The fourth brother acted very seriously as a prince in charge and examined the walking posture of each of the concubines one by one.

Yinyou knew in his heart that the current Fourth Brother’s so-called non-lustfulness was definitely an act.

After the Thirteenth Prince died of exhaustion, the Fourth Prince not only turned into an alchemy maniac, but his lust was also far greater than that of Kangxi.

Therefore, the supreme imperial power has a cancer that can never be solved: his words are followed by laws, and no one can stop him.

After the concubines entered Shunzhen Gate, the Fourth Prince and Yinyou were not qualified to follow them in.

Because, when a concubine enters the palace for the first time, she must take off her clothes and have her body examined by a senior maid in the palace. At the same time, she must be checked for any hidden diseases or unsightly birthmarks.

Under the strict palace rules, everyone can only obey and dare not resist.

Even the future queen had to take off her Manchu dress and pose in extremely shameful positions, allowing the maids in the palace to examine her body at will.

However, when it was the turn of the beauties from the Han Army Banner to enter the palace, Yinyou finally saw two women with scores above 7.

However, according to the palace's aesthetic standards, those with long legs, those who are charming and seductive, are all ugly. Just wait for your turn!

There's nothing we can do about it. It was because Shunzhi doted on Concubine Dong E too much that the trouble arose!
To put it bluntly, if Prince Rong, born to Concubine Dong E, had not died young, Kangxi would have had no chance of succeeding to the throne of the Qing Dynasty!

Suddenly, the fourth brother pursed his lips and motioned Yinyou to look over.

Yinyu followed the direction of the fourth brother's pursed lips and took a closer look. Wow, there was actually a golden peacock among the pile of sparrows!
I saw a beautiful girl with long legs, thin waist, big breasts and a coquettish aura slowly passing by them.

The fourth brother deliberately lowered his voice and whispered, "She is the second daughter of the former Huguang Governor Nian Xialing, and is affiliated with the Bordered White Banner Han Army. Alas, she is too beautiful and will definitely be dismissed."

Seeing the fourth brother's protective look, wanting to keep the wealth within the family, Yinyu felt both amused and annoyed.

Hehe, when Concubine Nian moves into the fourth prince's mansion, Yinyou and the fourth prince will become even closer.

After the fourth prince got Concubine Nian, he really doted on her. For more than ten years, in the entire Prince Yong's mansion, only Concubine Nian continued to give birth to children, and all other women became abandoned women that the fourth prince didn't want to touch.

Why should I make the fourth brother unhappy just for a mere woman?

Yinyou simply didn't say anything, and the fourth brother took it as his consent.

It seems that Kangxi had the final say on the selection of concubines. But in fact, due to the constraints of ancestral rules, Kangxi could not keep the name card of anyone he wanted.

It has long been an open secret among the Qing Dynasty's Tianlong class that the top dignitaries secretly interfered in the selection of concubines behind the back of Emperor Kangxi.

Even if Concubine De, who had power over the six palaces, disliked the fourth prince, it was impossible for her to fall out with her own son over such a small matter.

Besides, should such a charming and seductive beauty be awarded to the Fourteenth Prince?

Humph, don't dream, unless Concubine De is dead. Otherwise, the Fourteenth Prince must be surrounded by dignified and beautiful women whose maternal families are powerful.

When the concubines entered the palace for the first time, they were mainly judged by their manners, appearance and chastity.

Half a month later, when all the information was collected and sorted out, the fourth prince and Yinyou jointly asked for imperial decree.

Kangxi immediately issued an edict to review the concubines in Chuxiu Palace three days later.

On the wedding day, the fourth prince brought Yinyu into Chuxiu Palace.

When he entered the palace, he saw that Concubine Hui, Concubine Rong, Concubine De, and Concubine Yi were actually sitting in a row. "Your son Yinzhen, please wish Concubine Hui's mother, Concubine Rong's mother, Concubine Yi's mother, and Concubine mother, all the best!"

"Your son Yinyu wishes mother Huifei...well and safe!"

Among Kangxi's early four concubines, Huifei was canonized the earliest, so she was always respected in public.

"Get up." Concubine Hui had no problem with the fourth prince, but she hated Yinyou to the core.

There's nothing we can do. Who asked the eldest brother to be demoted from a prince to a beile? It's all because of Yinyou.

Instead of reflecting on the evil they had done, this mother and son resented Yinyou for secretly doing bad things. Hehe, they will get their retribution sooner or later!
After the ceremony was completed, the De Fei, who held the real power, asked the fourth son, "Are you ready?"

The fourth brother bowed quickly and said, "My dear mother, everything is ready outside."

Concubine De turned around and asked Liang Jiugong: "As for the Empress Dowager..."

Liang Jiugong dug a deep hole and said respectfully, "My Lord, I just sent someone to Ningshou Palace, and Zhang, the chief steward over there, said that the Empress Dowager had just finished her breakfast and was digesting it in the garden."

De Fei immediately stood up and said with a smile: "Then shall we go and welcome the emperor?"

So, the four concubines got on the warm sedan chair and took the fourth concubine and Yinyou to Ningshou Palace.

Concubine De's skill in calculating time is truly unique.

When they arrived at Ningshou Palace, the Empress Dowager had just returned to the palace and was sitting there drinking tea.

After another round of formalities, the Empress Dowager, surrounded by the crowd, arrived at Chuxiu Palace.

The Empress Dowager naturally sat in the center C seat, while the four concubines sat on both sides.

The fourth brother and Yinyou could only stand behind Concubine De and wait for her orders at any time.

Defei held great power in the inner palace. She was the biological mother of the fourth prince and the adoptive mother of Yinyu. Neither the fourth prince nor Yinyu dared to refute what she said, let alone talk back.

The Empress Dowager has never liked to meddle in other people's affairs, and Concubine De has the final say on all matters big and small in the palace.

"I think it's getting late, shall we start?" When the Empress Dowager said this, she was looking at Concubine De.

Concubine De quickly stood up, stepped on the bottom of the flower pot, and walked to the Empress Dowager's seat with a dignified manner. She squatted down and swung her handkerchief to salute, and said very respectfully: "Your servant will obey the order of my mother, the Empress Dowager."

In the palace, everyone, including the Queen, had to call themselves slaves in front of the Empress Dowager and Emperor Kangxi.

As for, 'your humble daughter-in-law', 'your humble concubine', 'your humble concubine', haha, they are all extremely disrespectful!
When the beauties were officially reviewed, they were arranged in rows of six and, led by Liang Jiugong, entered the hall one by one to be selected by the royal family.

There are nearly a thousand beauties. If they come in one by one, how long will it take to choose?
To be honest, it was Yinyu's first time attending such an occasion and he felt somewhat fresh.

After being there in person, Yinyou suddenly realized that all the talent tests and competitions in music, chess, calligraphy and painting were just jokes.

To put it bluntly, before the concubines entered the palace, there was already a preliminary arrangement plan based on their social status.

The fourth brother and Yinyou each carried a copy of the draft plan.

The future of the concubines mainly followed one basic principle: they must not disappoint the important Manchu officials.

Therefore, Tong Jia, who was standing in the first row, simply left a nameplate.

Yinyu looked at the short and fat Tong Jia with a bit of evil taste.

Hehe, Kangxi, who is used to seeing beautiful women, what does it feel like to have sex with a short and fat girl?

The Empress Dowager usually didn't care about anything, but whenever she saw a concubine with a big butt, she would call her over with great interest and study her buttocks carefully.

Whenever this happened, the fourth brother and Yinyou would look at each other and think of the same thing: big butt means good fertility!

In the royal family, having children and spreading their family has always been a woman’s top priority and should never be underestimated.

When it was Nian's turn to enter the palace, the Empress Dowager's expression immediately changed, and she stared viciously at Nian, who exuded the aura of a coquettish woman.

Seeing the other three concubines all looking at her sideways, Concubine De took advantage of the situation and said, "Mother, Empress Dowager, I raised Little Fifteenth by myself, and he is no different from my own son. After he was conferred the title of Beizi, there are fewer people serving him, so just give him a reward!"

In the Empress Dowager's eyes, there were only the Fifth Prince and Princess Wenxian. Since Concubine De said so, she nodded.

The fourth brother turned his head and looked at Yinyou. The meaning was very clear: Brother, what I say always counts.

Yinyou also smiled at the fourth brother and said, "Brother, you love your younger brother very much."

However, what no one expected was that as soon as Defei finished speaking, she heard someone asking a soul-searching question.

"Why don't you give such a beautiful girl to Yinzhen?"

Everyone turned their heads and saw that Kangxi was actually standing behind the Empress Dowager with a gloomy expression on his face.

"Servants, respectfully greet the Holy Saint."

"My subjects, I wish you the best of the world."

Everyone in the hall, except the Empress Dowager, who was sitting firmly, knelt.

PS: I replied late. This is the second update today. The extra update will be delivered in the early morning. Thank you all for your grace, which helped me get into the top three of the new book's monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)