The prince only allowed me to have a baby, so the pressure is a bit high!

Chapter 45: Kejing's Wedding (Part 2)

Early the next morning, Burhe went to the Imperial Household Department to get the dowry list of previous princesses. Putting aside the exquisite fabrics and porcelain, Burhe believed that the most important thing for Kejing to marry into Khalkha was to survive in that poor and harsh place.

A careful observation will reveal that most of the problems faced by the princesses or daughters of the royal family of the Qing Dynasty were that they were unable to adapt to such a harsh living environment, which led to many of them dying at a young age.

Another point is that Mongolian men actually prefer the kind of tough and unyielding character. If you look closely at these Mongolian noble ladies who married into the capital, you will find that if they had not died in the inner house struggles, they would have lived very well.

Although she had no experience with dowry arrangements, there were historical examples, such as the famous Princess Wencheng's journey to Tibet. Historical records indicate that Princess Wencheng brought with her a dowry of over 300 volumes of sutras, a large amount of precious treasures, seeds, silk, over 60 works on construction and engineering, over 100 medical prescriptions, and four medical treatises.

These dowries not only made Princess Wencheng's status in Tibet unprecedentedly high, making Tibet more loyal to the Tang Dynasty thereafter, but also brought Tibet the prosperity it had always dreamed of.

With this in mind, Burhe added a number of commonly used herbs and medical books to the new dowry list. He had previously heard from the Crown Prince that Kejing's pacification of the Mongols was partly due to the Emperor's desire to stabilize the Khalkha region. After all, while these Mongols publicly obeyed the Qing, no one could be sure if they truly believed that.

Then when the time comes, the dowry guards can bring this up with Yinreng and see if the emperor can add some more.

Meanwhile, there should be less gold, silver, and jewelry from the capital. These are a bit frivolous for Mongolian women, not as valuable as the large pieces of gold and stone they bring home. They prefer turquoise, agate, and the like. However, pearls, especially sea pearls, which are rarely found in the inland grasslands, could be added. I've heard that Korean ginseng, a specialty of North Korea, is quite abundant this year, so we could also add more...

So, when the palace servant came in to announce that the fourth princess was coming to visit, Burhe had already written a lot of good things on the dowry list.

Burhe wasn't surprised by the Fourth Princess's visit, but he hadn't expected her to arrive so early. It seemed the Crown Prince's earlier comments about this Fourth Princess being no ordinary person were true. After all, only a few people in the palace knew that the Crown Princess was in charge of the Fourth Princess's dowry. According to Burhe and the Crown Prince, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were aware, but even the Imperial Concubine might not be aware.

The Fourth Princess received the news and came to visit this morning. It seems that the Fourth Princess's influence in the palace cannot be underestimated.

Burhe had doubts before. Although she was the Crown Princess and her status was slightly higher than that of the emperor's concubines in the previous dynasty, there was the Imperial Concubine in the palace, so this matter would never fall on her. However, when Burhe told this to the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince gave a direct answer: first, the Imperial Concubine had not taken care of things for many years, and second, the Imperial Concubine had been ill recently.

Buerhe has not taken the Imperial Concubine's illness seriously. It is really that the Imperial Concubine's presence in the palace is too low. The four concubines are more active than her. However, Yinreng, who has experience, knows that the Imperial Concubine will die of illness this year, and by then the Tenth Prince's wife will also be decided.

The Fourth Princess had arrived. Buerhe put down his brush and walked to the door to greet her. From a distance, the Fourth Princess, dressed in a plain cheongsam, was striding towards the main courtyard, led by a servant. Her movements seemed modest, each one within the proper framework. Yet, as she walked, one could sense the Fourth Princess's heroic spirit.

According to Burhe, the Fourth Princess is the most energetic among all the princesses in the palace. Every time he sees the Fourth Princess, Burhe can always feel her positive and vibrant vitality.

The Fourth Princess also saw Buerhe waiting at the main door and hurried forward, a big smile already blooming on her face: "Kejing pays his respects to the Crown Princess. May the Crown Princess be blessed."

Buerhe was already smiling broadly at this time: "Excuse me, we are a family and there is no need to be so polite. Fourth sister, you are so honored to have us here. Yuqing Palace is so proud of you!"

Ke Jing: "Second sister-in-law~ If you say that again, Ke Jing will ignore you~"

Buerhe took Princess Kejing's hand and pressed it hard. "You are so naughty. I told you not to greet me and to call me Second Sister-in-law, but you always bow and call me Crown Princess. You are such a naughty girl. It seems you don't like the sachima in Yuqing Palace today. Liuli, take that sachima away!"

Ke Jing took Buerhe's hand and shook it left and right: "Second sister-in-law, good second sister-in-law, Ke Jing was wrong, please leave the snack. Ke Jing hasn't eaten the snack from the second sister-in-law's palace for a long time. I was thinking about this one, good second sister-in-law..."

Buerhe, feeling dizzy from being shaken by Princess Kejing, finally calmed down and waved to Liuli, who was slowly clearing the snacks. "No need to clear them. Liuli, bring up two more cups of hawthorn tea."

Liuli: "Yes, Master."

Seeing this, Ke Jing cheered, "Thank you, second sister-in-law!" Then he ran to the snack table without hesitation, sat down, and started to feast on the food.

It's no wonder Ke Jing acted like a greedy cat. He really didn't know how Liuli was made. They used the same recipe, but the Imperial Kitchen's recipes were never as delicious as those from Buer and the small kitchen. And this flavor was the Fourth Princess' favorite; she never got tired of it.

But Liuli was Buerhe's maid-in-law who came with her as a dowry. Even if Buerhe didn't mind, the Fourth Princess couldn't have the audacity to ask Liuli to make sachima for her every day. So if the Fourth Princess wanted to eat the most authentic one, she had to come to Yuqing Palace or have it delivered by Buerhe.

Seeing the incense Ke Jing was using, Buerhe smiled and sat aside. "You like it so much? I'll ask Liuli to pack some for you to take away later. Seeing that you're still so little and only care about these snacks, I really can't imagine what it will be like for you to get married. Do you think you can take charge of Khalkha when you're still so immature?"

Ke Jing's eyes flickered when he heard what Buerhe said. "Second sister-in-law, that's two years away. It's too early to talk about it now. I might not like it by then. Besides, I'm still young now. Let's talk about it when I'm getting married."

Buerhe: "Nonsense, the Emperor has already decided that you should get married in July of this year. Although the Emperor has graciously agreed that the Khalkha Prince will come to Beijing to hold the wedding, you will still be going to the grasslands by August at the latest. If you are not prepared, how will you endure the hardships of life on the grasslands?"

Ke Jing was really panicking at this point, and quickly asked, "Second sister-in-law, the Emperor said the wedding date has been moved up? Wasn't it originally planned for the end of next year?"

Bu Erhe looked at Ke Jing's slightly flustered eyes. It seemed that Ke Jing knew that he was preparing a dowry, but he didn't expect the wedding date to be advanced. He thought it was according to the original plan, and he just prepared the dowry in advance.

He sighed, "Kejing, don't panic. There's still some time left. My second sister-in-law went to the Qianqing Palace yesterday. According to the Emperor, the Khalkha Prince asked the Emperor for early approval of the marriage, citing his age and the desire to continue the family line. They had originally planned for May of this year, but the Emperor considered it and agreed to July. My second sister-in-law is following the Emperor's instructions and is preparing your dowry list. In fact, if you didn't come today, I would have asked you to take a look at it once I'd finished. After you agree, I'll present it to the Emperor, and only then will your dowry be finalized."

After thinking for a moment, Buerhe pulled Ke Jing, who had stood up excitedly, to sit down on the couch. "Fourth sister, you have always been intelligent, and you are not too young to marry into Khalkha. Originally, according to the Royal Father's plan, your marriage to Khalkha would not have been a problem for me. However, we have been getting along very well these past few years, and I have been sincere to you. I thought I would take some time to talk to the Royal Mother and ask her to come to Yuqing Palace when she has time. I will personally teach you how to manage the government affairs. What do you say?"

Ke Jing asked in surprise: "Really? Second sister-in-law? I do."

Although Ke Jing was very smart, and history had proven this, at that time Ke Jing was just a princess who had not yet stepped out of the ivory tower. She knew about the struggles between the ladies in the palace, and she also knew that where there were people, there were rivers and lakes.

But the same thing goes, no matter what, she is just a princess, and a princess of Fu Meng. Even if her status is high and she is favored by the emperor, she is still no match for a prince, no matter which prince.

In such an environment, no queen would target her. All she could experience were the minor quarrels between her and the Fifth Princess, and at most the simple matters in the West Third House where she was located, not to mention the so-called management of government affairs.

After all, it is impossible for the emperor to hand over the affairs of the palace to a young princess who is about to get married instead of experienced concubines, right?

Seeing Buerhe nod, Kejing was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. Buerhe felt embarrassed. Seeing Kejing's sentimental look, he quickly changed the subject: "I just made a list today. Do you want to see what I have first?"

Changing the subject really worked. When Ke Jing heard the closely related dowry list, his mind immediately flew to it. Buerhe took Ke Jing into the study and picked up the fruits of his labor for an hour: "Here, take a look. If you need anything, just ask. As long as it's not out of the ordinary, I'll add it to yours."

Ke Jing picked it up and looked at it carefully. The phoenix coronet and bridal robe at the head could be ignored. It was prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and was all according to the rules. But Ke Jing just wanted to skip it and quickly shifted her gaze back. She looked at it once, confirmed it again, and then looked at Bu Erhe: "Second sister-in-law, isn't the specification wrong? This phoenix coronet and bridal robe is not for the Heshuo Princess, right?" She had this guess in her mind, but did not dare to confirm it.

Buerhe immediately reassured her: "Oh, that's right. The Emperor said that it should be prepared according to the specifications of a Gulun Princess. There is no problem with this phoenix crown and bridal robe."

After saying that, she raised her eyebrows and smiled at Ke Jing. At this time, Ke Jing didn't understand why the Crown Princess was so eager to let him see the unfinished list. It turned out that she wanted to give him a surprise.

Ke Jing: "Second sister-in-law, if you continue like this, I will ignore you." But his mouth opened involuntarily. You know, this is the standard for Princess Gulun, she is the first in this dynasty!

Buerhe ignored her pretentiousness and pointed to a place on the dowry list. "Here, my second sister-in-law is going to give you two more doctors, and we'll also prepare more herbs and other things. We don't know what the situation is like in Khalkha, but your second brother said that the conditions there are very bad, and the medical and sanitation facilities are extremely poor. Moreover, there is a shortage of water there. Although you are a princess and you don't need water, it's better to prepare more, right?"

After thinking about it, even though the female doctor he had prepared was not mature enough, he still asked Ke Jing for his opinion: "There is one more thing. When your second sister-in-law was pregnant, your second brother secretly found a female doctor. You should know this."

Ke Jing nodded: "Is she the wife of Doctor Zhang from the Imperial Hospital?" It was a question, but in fact, everyone in the palace must know the truth.

Buerhe: "Yes, that's her. After I gave birth, I asked her to look for similar female doctors. It's been effective for the past three months. I heard from Madam Zhang that she has found two promising candidates. They are still learning from her. I plan to let Madam Zhang teach them first, and when you leave the capital, I will add the most outstanding one to the list of palace maids for your dowry."

Ke Jing didn't know what to say at this point. His usual eloquence and graceful manner were all forgotten. He just stared blankly at Buerhe: "Second sister-in-law, thank you so much."

In this palace, apart from her aunt who usually cares about her life, the emperor only greets her when he remembers to do so. However, the crown princess, who has only known her for two years, thinks more far-sightedly and comprehensively about her.

Thinking back, she wanted to make her life better and have a higher status in the hearts of the Emperor and the Empress, so she deliberately made friends with the Crown Princess. Unexpectedly, she actually made a close friend. She will never regret it in her life!