Dugu Jingyao is reborn as Li Chu's beloved

In just two or three days, all the women who met the age requirements were reported to the Yiting Bureau at lightning speed. Liu, the steward in charge, carefully reviewed the long list in his hand, a look of satisfaction on his face. Then, he carefully tucked the list into his arms and hurried towards the Eastern Palace.

At that moment, the Crown Princess was sitting around the table with Li Neng and Li Ruo, enjoying a delicious breakfast. The sunlight shone through the window onto them, creating a warm and peaceful scene.

Suddenly, there was the sound of light footsteps outside the door, and then a palace maid walked in gracefully. She bowed respectfully to the three people and said softly, "Greetings to the Empress and the two princes."

The Crown Princess gently put down her chopsticks, looked at the palace maid with a smile, and asked softly, "What's the rush?"

The maid bowed her head slightly and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, it's Manager Liu from the Ye Ting Bureau who wants to see you."

Hearing the words "Ye Ting Bureau," the Crown Princess knew what Steward Liu had come for. He must have been delivering a list of women of marriageable age. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but secretly praise the efficiency of the Ye Ting Bureau. Her smile grew even brighter as she said, "Please come in."

The maid took the order and left. Not long after, Nanny Xu followed closely behind. Seeing Steward Liu standing outside the palace, she quickly stepped forward and said with a broad smile, "Steward Liu, our queen invites you!" She then made a "please" gesture, signaling Steward Liu to follow her into the palace.

Steward Liu said quickly, "Oh, thank you Madam Xu for coming out in person."

Aunt Xu waved her hands and said, "It's okay, it's okay, let's go in quickly, the queen is still waiting!"

Steward Liu nodded and said "Hey hey" twice, then quickly followed Madam Xu into the main hall of Aoxue Palace. Once inside, Steward Liu bowed and said, "This subordinate pays his respects to the Crown Princess and the two princes!"

The Crown Princess called out, and although she knew what he was doing there, she still asked symbolically, "Manager Liu, why are you here at this hour?"

When Steward Liu saw the food still on the table, he couldn't help but feel that he had come at the wrong time and should have come later. So he said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Your Majesty, I was too impatient. I thought I had collected the information of the beauties from all over the country and wanted to show it to Your Majesty as soon as possible, but I didn't expect that I was still a little impatient..."

The Crown Princess was very pleased with Steward Liu's attitude, so she smiled and said, "Steward Liu is so diligent, how could I blame you? Get up quickly."

Upon hearing this, Steward Liu thanked her and stood up. He then took out a booklet and said, "Your Majesty, this is the list of the candidates for this selection. There are 156 women of appropriate age. Please take a look."

After saying this, Nanny Xu stepped forward, took the booklet, and returned to the Crown Princess.

Li Ruo listened from the side and couldn't help but sigh, "So many? I'm going to be overwhelmed by the choices!"

Manager Liu smiled and said, "Your Highness, you're worrying too much. We have standards for this selection. Our Ye Ting Bureau will screen out some people first. By the time Your Highness and His Highness Prince Guangping come to the final round of selection, there will only be about ten people left."

Li Ruo had a look of "I see." The Crown Princess said, "How about this, Manager Liu, you go back and do something else. I'll have Madam Xu pass on her opinion to you after I'm done with this."

Manager Liu agreed, and then Aunt Xu helped to send it out.

After Steward Xu left, the Crown Princess ordered the table to be cleared, then sat on a pearwood chair beside her, opened the booklet and began to read it.

Li Ruo and Li Neng were also very curious and came forward. The Crown Princess said, "You two should stop joining in the fun. If you really want to join in, wait until the final round of the palace selection."

Li Ruo blinked her big eyes and looked at the Crown Princess expectantly: "Mother, please keep your word~"

The Crown Princess nodded and said, "You are allowed to join in the fun, but you cannot be chosen. You can only watch."

Li Neng, who had not spoken for a long time, said, "It's okay to take a look."

Looking at these two naughty ones, who looked like they didn't even come from the same family as the calm one, the Crown Princess said, "Okay, I promise you."

The two men looked at each other, then bowed and left.

The Crown Princess then shook her head and returned to her bedroom, where she sat on the beauty couch and began to look through the list of concubines. She flipped through it briefly, deleting those who were far from Chang'an, and crossed out those who were nearby or lived in Chang'an, including those of lower-rank officials of the eighth and ninth ranks.

In the end, sixty to seventy people were eliminated in the Crown Princess's round. The Crown Princess was truly dizzy after reading through the list of over a hundred names.

Nanny Xu took the book and placed it on the table beside her. She then returned to the Crown Princess and rubbed her temples with her index finger. The Crown Princess then said, "After all, you are getting old. You feel tired after reading the book for a while."

Aunt Xu comforted the Crown Princess: "You are only in your early thirties, how can you be considered old? Besides, look at your skin, it's as white as cream. You don't look thirty at all. You look only about twenty!"

The Crown Princess was amused by Nanny Xu and covered her lips with her hands, saying, "You, why are you so sweet? Okay, go find Manager Liu and ask him to make the arrangements as soon as possible. Don't let him change his mind later!"

Nanny Xu agreed and walked out of the hall with a smile towards the Yunting Bureau.

Steward Liu was also surprised by Nanny Xu's arrival, and thought to himself: It seems that the Crown Princess is really anxious, I have to be more careful.

Steward Liu hurried to the door to greet Aunt Xu: "Oh, Aunt Xu, why are you here in person? Is the Empress ready?"

Nanny Xu smiled and said, "Yes, the Queen is afraid that His Highness will change his mind, so she wants to complete the selection quickly, preferably within a month."

Manager Liu was a little embarrassed, but after hesitating for a moment, he said, "Okay, then I will wait and see."

When Aunt Xu saw that Manager Liu agreed, she said, "Then Manager Liu, you guys are busy. I'll take my leave now." Manager Liu personally saw Aunt Xu out before turning around and returning to the Yunting Bureau.

Manager Liu sighed, and then called together everyone in the Ye Ting Bureau and said, "It's time to start working! You better pay attention!"

One of the eunuchs asked suspiciously, "Manager Liu, is there anything else besides choosing a concubine for Prince Guangping?"

Steward Liu stepped forward and knocked the eunuch on the head with a booklet, then said, "You're the one who talks too much! But this matter only needs to be completed within a month, so you must hurry up!"

Everyone sighed when they heard this: Looks like we have to work overtime again!

After Manager Liu held a mobilization meeting and assigned tasks, he let everyone go about their own business.

Some were checking the family backgrounds of the selected girls, some were drafting notices for the remaining girls to be selected, and some were preparing the things needed for the subsequent examinations and cleaning the rooms for the girls to live in. For a time, the Yiting Bureau was extremely busy.

The concubines were divided into four groups and entered the palace for the second round of examinations, where they were judged on several aspects, such as body shape, appearance, and physical condition. After about ten days, the second round of examinations was finally completed, and only forty-three people remained.

Those who were not selected went home directly, while those who were selected for the next round lived in the palace for the convenience of management and took the next round of examinations three days later.

This round of examinations was about music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and women's work. The remaining people were divided into four waves for examinations. For four consecutive days, five or six people were eliminated every day.

There's no way around it. Actually, most people are pretty good. It's just that when choosing someone for the emperor's eldest grandson, even if it's just a concubine, there's no telling what position she might reach in the future! Naturally, we have to choose the best of the best.

At the end of this round, only twenty people remained. Among these people were the two wives of Prince Guangping.

It happened that Li Chu was going to have a day off in two days. On that day, while having lunch with the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, the Crown Princess asked, "Chu'er, if I remember correctly, you will be having a day off in two days?"

Li Chu nodded slightly and said, "Yes, mother, what's the matter?"

The Crown Princess continued, "The selection has reached the final round. If you are free the day after tomorrow, please come along. After all, we are selecting someone for you, so it would be best if you were present."

Li Chu readily agreed because he also wanted to know who the remaining people were. He wanted to choose two people who would not pose a threat to Jingyao.

The Crown Princess was delighted from the bottom of her heart when she saw that Li Chu agreed so readily. Li Ruo and Li Tan were equally happy as they could join in the fun!