The wish of the Qing Dynasty is fulfilled

Changhe Courtyard has always been filled with all kinds of novel objects, which show the owner's eccentric personality. In the past, everyone who came here would stop and watch for a while, but today no one has time to take a second look.

Jixiang and Ruyi's eyes were swollen like walnuts at this moment, but they stood guarding Qi Yuebin's bed like two ferocious wolf cubs.

Only when they saw Yinzhen and Yixiu rushing over did they lose some of their strength. The two girls kowtowed repeatedly and begged Yinzhen and Yixiu to save their master.

Yixiu stumbled to the front of the bed, and was stunned when she saw Qi Yuebin, who looked pale, and couldn't utter a word.

"What's going on?! How are you taking care of the master?!"

Yinzhen was so angry that he threw away the Buddhist beads in his hand and ordered Su Peisheng to take the token and go to the palace to ask the imperial physician to come back.

The court physician knelt beside her, wishing he could find a rope to hang himself. He could tell from the pulse of Concubine Cheng that she was at the end of her life. Even if he had two heads, he wouldn't dare to say it out loud. He could only kneel on the ground and say that he was not well-trained and waited for the imperial physician to come.

Yixiu held Qi Yuebin's wrist for a moment. His pulse was so weak that it seemed like it would disappear at any time. Yixiu's hand began to tremble uncontrollably.

"How is this possible? She has always been in good health. How could this happen? Someone must have harmed her!"

Yinzhen helped Yixiu up gently. The woman in front of him had red eyes, but her face was three times paler than Qi Yuebin who was unconscious beside her. He was afraid that Yixiu would fall down on the spot if he turned around.

Yixiu grabbed Yinzhen's sleeve tightly and begged the prince to take charge of Qi Yuebin and to thoroughly investigate the entire mansion. She absolutely did not believe that a cold could make Qi Yuebin so sick. There must be some underworld trick that she was not aware of!

Suddenly, there was a noise getting closer, and Nian Shilan, with disheveled hair, strode in with the hem of her cheongsam lifted up, and behind her were two old gentlemen who were almost fainting.

"Quick! I'll ask my brother to invite the doctor from Huichun Pavilion. Tell them to check on Sister Cheng!"

The doctor, who was trying to catch his breath, adjusted his hat and prepared to salute, but Yinzhen waved his hand and told them to go and check Qi Yuebin's condition first.

The two of them took turns to take the patient's pulse, then looked at each other. When they saw the court physician kneeling and shivering with the medicine box in his arms, they knew that something was wrong and that they were in big trouble.

……

When Su Peisheng and the imperial physician returned to the palace, he saw three people kneeling neatly beside him, holding medicine boxes. Su Peisheng immediately felt something was wrong. As expected, the imperial physician shook his head after carefully taking the prince's pulse and could only kowtow to Prince Yong and apologize.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. Lady Cheng's pulse... is like a sparrow's pecking, beating three or five times in a row and then stopping, then returning after a long time. Please forgive me for my incompetence..."

Even though Yinzhen asked other imperial doctors to take turns diagnosing her, the final answers all vaguely mentioned that Cheng Fujin had only been alive in the past few days.

The married Huaiyu ran back to Prince Yong's mansion. Even Honghui, who was studying in the palace, asked for leave from the Queen Mother and stayed in the mansion. Yixiu stayed by Qi Yuebin's bed and refused to rest. Everyone in the backyard always liked the bright and generous Lady Cheng, and they all worshipped Buddha and copied scriptures to pray for her.

……

One hundred days had passed since Concubine Cheng passed away, but there was still no sign of joy in Prince Yong's mansion, and every place in the mansion was still plain.

Yinzhen recalled what the imperial physician had said during his diagnosis: Concubine Cheng's life span had already been shortened when she was stabbed internally. Her old illness hadn't healed, and it wasn't visible on the outside. A cold had triggered the old injury, leading to her complete...

"She was trying to save me, alas."

His first woman, who had never been scheming, had injured herself while trying to save him, leaving her childless, and now she had passed away early. In his mind, Yinzhen placed one halo after another on Qi Yuebin, and through each layer of filters, he felt that she was the most holy woman in the world.

Yixiu felt that his behavior was disgusting, but she was jealous that Yinzhen had enough reasons to miss her in a high-profile manner, while she could only sit quietly in Changhe Courtyard, thinking about something but no one could tell her.

……

At the end of the 61st year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, the emperor was bedridden and passed away soon after. The Nine-Gate Commander-in-Chief Longkodo and other ministers followed the emperor's will and honored the fourth prince Yinzhen as his successor. The following year, the reign was changed to Yongzheng.

After ascending the throne, Yongzheng personally drafted an edict, conferring upon Ulanara Yixiu the title of Empress and granting her residence in Jingren Palace. He also conferred upon Nian Shilan the title of Huafei and granted her residence in Yikun Palace. He also posthumously conferred upon his former concubine, Qi Jiayuebin, the title of Yixian Imperial Noble Consort, and her daughter the title of Gulun Princess.

In the first year of Yongzheng's reign, after the late emperor's hundred-day mourning period, Empress Ulanara and Empress Dowager Uya requested permission to select a concubine on the grounds that there were few offspring in the harem. The emperor refused several times before agreeing.

Yixiu knew that those Han officials outside the court were constantly accusing her of being unfilial, but so what? The old officials who wanted to use this opportunity to send their daughters to the palace were all sitting there watching and doing nothing. Could it be that those imperial censors would dare to rush into the harem and drag her down?

Jianqiu handed the list of beauties to her master in silence. Thinking of how her own mistress had gone crazy a few days ago and ran to Shoukang Palace, even pulling out the empress dowager to persuade the emperor to hold a beauty contest, she dared not say a word.

(Empress Dowager Uya: What show are you choosing?! They are my worst enemy! They are all my worst enemy! Hey, Yixiu, stop dragging me down! Let’s talk things over nicely!)

As the first imperial beauty pageant after the new emperor ascended the throne, the Empress and Consort Hua spent a large sum of money to organize it, making it a grand affair. An endless stream of beauties from all over the country flocked to the capital. Families who didn't want their daughters to enter the palace and filed sick notices were secretly warned by the Empress that not a single one could be left out of the selection this year!

Before going out, Yixiu drank a large bowl of ginseng soup to keep herself alert. She sat upright on a high seat and watched the many beauties take turns to perform.

Zhen Huan, dressed elegantly, was whispering to Shen Meizhuang, lamenting that there were still so many beauties in a year other than the selection, and that the small garden could barely hold so many people.

"Tell them—An Lingrong, Yi Bingqing, Jiang Rulin, Dai Ying, Liu Lianzi, and Qi Siqin, come to see the emperor!"

Yinzhen was feeling a little irritated as he sat at the top, and the empress dowager next to him was even more annoyed than him. Only the empress was full of energy, staring at them one by one with her eyes wide open, as if she was choosing a wife for herself.

The emperor pointed at An Lingrong casually. He was dazzled after looking at her for the past short day. Among the colorful women, the one with plain hair stood out. He waved his hand casually and gave her the sachet, but he didn't expect Yixiu to speak suddenly.

"Dai Ying, the beautiful lady, please come forward."

"Your humble servant Dai Ying pays respects to the Emperor, Empress, and Empress Dowager. May the Emperor, Empress, and Empress Dowager be blessed with good health and happiness."

"Keep your head up."

"Yes."

Yixiu tightened her hand in her sleeve for a moment, then turned to praise the girl for her good manners, saying that she deserved to be chosen to serve the emperor in the palace.

The Queen Mother took a look and was shocked, "This Dai is exactly..." Considering the current situation, she swallowed the second half of her words.

After three days of auditions, more than twenty people were finally selected!

Even Yinzhen, who was favored by her, felt a little embarrassed, but Yixiu remained dignified, saying that it was their blessing to serve the emperor. After Pangju left, flattered to the point of being flattered, Yixiu asked Jianqiu to add candles and work overtime overnight to arrange the training of the concubines.

Jianqiu, who had been accompanying her master the entire time, was horrified. She had watched the entire audition and could clearly see that some of the candidates chosen by her master had familiar faces, familiar voices, and familiar temperaments... They all had the shadow of Imperial Noble Consort Yixian. Was her master looking for a substitute?

Zhen Huan was not selected.

Because the Emperor couldn't sit still and left midway, he didn't engage in any of the name-calling and poetry-comparing tricks. The Empress Dowager also remained silent, believing that choosing one less concubine would save her the punishment she would suffer. Yixiu was busy looking for a figurine for herself, unmoved by the face that resembled Rouze, so she ultimately didn't make the cut.

Shen Meizhuang, who was given a name tag, secretly congratulated Huan'er for getting what she wanted, but she didn't know that she was selected because her figure was most similar to Qi Yuebin. From then on, a new story of the Forbidden City slowly began.