You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 94 Have you heard of "Cloud Selection"?

South City.

The area around Chongfu Temple was filled with soldiers, and the first "Manchu Women's Selection" was held in the Hall of Heavenly Kings.

The abbot and the monks were on the verge of tears and were driven to a corner of the temple.

"Sir, the Buddhist temple is a pure place, you can't do that."

"Bullshit! Today, our Imperial Censor is selecting imperial concubines for the Emperor in your dilapidated temple. You bald monks should feel honored. At noon, the Imperial Censor, the concubines, and we men will all be eating vegetarian food in your temple. Hurry up and wash and prepare the vegetables."

After saying this, Zhou Cang strode away.

The monks were heartbroken but had no tears left to shed; they could only go to fetch water, start a fire, and cook, their tears welling up in their eyes.

……

The venue outside Donghuamen has just broken ground and cannot be relied upon for the time being.

The selection of officials required a sufficiently large venue, and in principle, it should have been held within the Forbidden City. However, Jiang Qingyun's single sentence dispelled Shunzhi's idea.

"The palace rules are strict, so we must keep our distance from the Forbidden City. Otherwise, the Beijing women's song and dance troupe will be bound by the palace rules and will not be interesting at all."

Emperor Shunzhi deeply agreed with this.

First, 2 taels of silver were allocated from the imperial treasury, and then the Ministry of Revenue was ordered to make up the remainder. While the venue was being built, a selection of beautiful women was also being held.

……

The Heavenly Kings Hall was bustling with activity.

"We don't have enough charcoal, so add 20 more pots."

“Leave a few large windows, and block the rest with wooden strips. Otherwise, if the wind blows and the young ladies get cold, it's a minor matter. But if the monks see them in the spring, it will break their fast and that would be terrible.”

"The floor tiles are too cold and uncomfortable to walk on, so let's cover the whole place with red carpet."

"Where's the wooden platform? Set it up quickly. We adults need to sit on it to select the brides. How can we do it if we don't have a good view?"

"Add another 50 red candles, each as thick as a bowl."

"Place mirrors around the perimeter."

hahaha~
The soldiers laughed roughly, but their hands moved swiftly.

The head of logistics for today's talent show is Song Er, a member of the Plain Red Banner, a holder of the eighth-rank official hat of the Military Command, and the actual controller of the kitchen.

Now, he should be called Master Song.

"Second Master, what should we do with the statue of Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King?"

“Let’s all come over, kowtow and apologize, then take a cloth and blindfold the Heavenly King. Let’s not let the gods see our mortal affairs.”

……

The monks' quarters next to the Hall of Heavenly Kings were also temporarily requisitioned, with each quarter housing only one young lady and her maids.

The room was filled with the fragrance of incense, and the atmosphere was bustling as if a battle was raging.

For the young women, today was a battlefield; they would apply makeup in front of the mirror, fearing that it wasn't yellow enough.

"Girls~ Listen up, today is different. You can bring your own clothes and cosmetics, or you can buy them from us."

Instantly, a group of maids grabbed their silver and rushed to buy.

It sold out quickly.

"Miss, here's two taels of silver."

"purchase!"

Bai Yunshang remained calm. She was the second daughter of the Bai family, a bondservant family of the Bordered Yellow Banner. She was of the right age, with a beautiful face and figure, but her family background was not good.

Her father worked in the Qingshui government office.

……

Not long after~
The maid returned with a flushed face, carrying a box containing an expensive undergarment.

"There's no such thing as a bad thing when you spend money. Come over and help me figure out what to wear."

"Miss, this dress is really strange; it's tied from the back."

Looking at her figure accentuated by the tightness in the mirror, Bai Yunshang blushed slightly, surprised but not unexpected.

"Tighten it a little more."

"Miss, it's already very tight."

"Pull again."

Knock knock knock~ Someone's knocking on the door.

"This is your number tag. Remember to hang it on your waist later. The adults won't ask your name, they'll only look at the tag."

Another moment passed.

"The young ladies are entering the palace."

Looking at himself in the mirror, Bai Yunshang took a deep breath, put on the only decent brocade robe in his house, and walked towards the Heavenly King's Hall.

……

Jiang Qingyun stood with his hands behind his back.

"Has the area been cleared?"

"Reporting to the doctor, the area has been cleared. Apart from you, there is not a single man within 15 zhang."

Thirty strong women were maintaining order inside and outside the Hall of Heavenly Kings. The statement was correct, but it sounded a little awkward. "Let's begin."

Outside the hall, the wind was biting cold, but inside, it was warm and cozy.

"Ladies, remove your armor."

The women felt somewhat embarrassed because a strange man was sitting on the stage. If the man were really the emperor, it would be understandable, but he was not the emperor.

Seeing the women hesitate, Jiang Qingyun spoke up.

"I am selecting candidates on behalf of Heaven, which is a solemn and important matter. Anyone who is still concerned about the separation of men and women is simply being disrespectful."

"Remove armor!"

"Take off your shoes and socks!"

"Wash your face and remove your makeup."

The orders stripped away all the disguises of the young women, revealing their true colors.

……

The nanny announced loudly:

"Starting with the first lady-in-waiting, walk along the red carpet, introduce yourself in front of the envoy, then spin around three and a half times on the spot, and then perform a grand salute. The imperial envoy will be watching you closely; whether you can become a concubine depends on your performance."

"Drums and music, begin!"

The people from the etiquette department are professionals when it comes to music; they performed "A Beautiful Woman Accompanied by a Lonely Lamp" live, with a cheerful and peaceful rhythm.

Jiang Qingyun nodded repeatedly as he read.

Great! This is what it means to be a carefree, reckless, and absurdly happy 18-year-old.

Short, stocky, dark-skinned, and ugly; no thanks.

Fat and strong, not good enough.

Don't have a fierce look on your face.

Wide-faced and broad-eared, no.

Looking left and right, no.

Don't be able to let go.

I didn't buy any underwear, so I don't want any.

The old woman next to her kept calling out, watching her own hand gestures:
"Number 1, drop the sign."

"Number 2, drop the sign."

~
"Number 16, keep the sign."

Jiang Qingyun would occasionally pick up a pen and mark up important points in her notebook.

……

The Qing Dynasty's selection of imperial concubines followed two lines:
The Manchu, Mongol, and Han women from the Eight Banners were chosen to become masters in the palace.

The young women from the bondservants' families of the Upper Three Banners entered the palace as palace maids.

The latter can never reach the former's starting point in their entire lives; with good luck, they may come infinitely close but never intersect. Therefore, as soon as news of the talent show spread, the "baoyi" (a term referring to young men who are devoted to their social circle) flocked to it.

The Beijing Song and Dance Troupe is a shortcut, with a high probability of successfully infiltrating the imperial palace.

……

For three consecutive days, Jiang Qingyun stayed at Chongfu Temple, eating vegetarian meals every day and participating in the selection of concubines. This was a way for him to experience the joy of "riding a swift horse in the spring breeze and seeing all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day" in another form.

After the talent show, he could confidently say: "I've seen all the eligible bacheloresses in Beijing."

Few meet the requirements; it's a matter of selecting one in a hundred.

They need to be good-looking, talented, and have a good temperament.

But the more picky he was, the more people outside scrambled to get in.

People came to offer gifts in droves, loitering outside Chongfu Temple and Jiang Mansion, and some even went to the Tongzhou Town General's Office to give gifts.

He had only one goal: to get his daughter into the song and dance troupe.

Take the shortcut.

……

The 4st day.

The Heavenly King's Hall finally returned to tranquility, and the red cloth covering Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, was finally removed.

The hall was filled with a wonderful fragrance.

A total of 92 women were selected for the imperial concubine selection.

After the physical fitness test, we proceeded to the written test.

"You are now filling out the personal and family information form. You must fill it out carefully, honestly, and completely. If there is any concealment or omission, you will be disqualified at the very least, and your entire family will be implicated at the worst."

"After you finish writing, go to the room over there and have a private interview with Physician Jiang. Remember, you must knock on the door; etiquette is essential."

"Yes."

The young women dared not disobey, and each of them wrote furiously.

The table contains a wide range of items, covering not only an individual's physical condition and family background, but also unspeakable privacy issues.

(End of this chapter)