The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

"You still didn't coax her enough. Women need to be coaxed. Besides, even if she hasn't lost her virginity yet, she's already been married twice, so she's still considered unlucky."

Du Mingwei thought of something and whispered, "If all else fails, you can use some tricks. You go out every day, right? Go find some drugs and administer them without anyone noticing. That way, you can get the job done."

Wu Erniu wasn't exactly a decent person to begin with, but when he heard Du Mingwei's reminder, he immediately perked up. "Okay, okay, I'll go buy it and figure out a way to put it in her food."

"Well, you also need to find a way to prove your alibi, so that no one knows you were the one who drugged me."

Wu Erniu nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I will definitely handle it well. This matter is a sure thing."

"That's good."

As they walked home, talking, Du Mingxian thought about what they had said and knew that they would definitely try to prevent Du Mingwei from entering the palace, but she didn't know what methods they would use.

However, in order for things to go smoothly, she secretly sent Lian'er out to find someone and spread a message.

Once the selection process was finalized, the date for the first selection was announced soon afterward. Of course, the date was announced in advance so that the contestants could prepare properly.

Du Mingxian has been very busy these past two days. She has to control the rumors outside and also go to see what Miss Wen's sweetheart looks like and what the guard is like.

Ling Silang has been very busy lately because the selection of candidates requires the Ministry of Rites to arrange certain matters. He has only recently joined the Ministry of Rites, so he is basically just a gofer in this matter.

There's been a rumor circulating that Wen Shiyan, on her way back from her arranged marriage, was no longer a virgin and had fallen in love with the ordinary man who brought her back. She's now willing to marry him.

But with the draft about to begin, they're immediately going to separate the two. The rules of this draft are really not good at all.

The Great Shun Dynasty had a rule that once the imperial concubine selection was announced, all eligible girls could no longer be engaged. Unless they were not selected, they had to participate in the selection, which was a serious crime.

The rumors spread far and wide, eventually reaching even the emperor's ears.

The Emperor was reviewing memorials at that moment. Upon hearing this news, he was speechless. He put down the red paper in his hand and said, "Go and summon the Crown Prince."

Soon the Crown Prince entered the palace hall and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

"Come and sit down." The Emperor got up and walked to the side, and the Crown Prince immediately followed.

The two sat down on the soft couch by the window. The Emperor stared at the Crown Prince and said, "You look much better lately. I also asked the imperial physician, and he said your health is much better than before."

"Yes, I've been coughing less lately."

"That's good. Let the Imperial Hospital continue to prescribe medicine for you and keep you healthy." The Emperor still liked the Crown Prince very much, and he had high hopes for him, but the Crown Prince's health had always been poor.

The Crown Prince paused for a moment and said, "It's not the imperial physician's doing, it's Miss Wen's doing."

"Oh, what's the explanation for that?"

"I accidentally ate a meal cooked by the eldest daughter of the Wen family, and afterwards I felt better and really wanted to eat her cooking. So I shamelessly asked her about it, and the eldest daughter of the Wen family agreed. So recently I have been sending someone to the Wen residence almost every day to get food."

"You mean, you've been feeling much better ever since you ate her food?"

"That's it."

The Emperor didn't believe it. "Can a meal really be medicine? Tell me, do you have any other thoughts about the eldest daughter of the Wen family?"

"No, it's just that she seems very amazing. It's hard to say what will happen to her son. Miss Wen is already engaged, and they will get married soon."

Seeing that the Crown Prince spoke without any emotion and too quickly, the Emperor said, "Don't worry, even if she is already engaged, since you are willing, your father will definitely grant your wish."

"Father, you absolutely mustn't!"

"Oh? Why not?"

"The person engaged to Miss Wen is Lord Qi of the Ministry of Rites. Previously, regarding the reception of envoys, the Ministry of Rites selected some people, but in order to prevent them from being harmed, they all stayed at my Crown Prince's residence."

"I had contact with them at the time, and I greatly admired Lord Qi."

The Emperor understood immediately upon hearing this. The eldest daughter of the Wen family was engaged to Lord Qi, so even if his son, the Crown Prince, liked her very much, he had no habit of trying to take her away.

"Is Lord Qi very capable?"

"My son thinks he is cautious and upright, and will be a good official in the future."

The Emperor suddenly laughed, “Good, I just happened to be worrying about something. Since my son thinks so highly of Lord Qi, I will send him over to help me. That way, when he comes back, he can be promoted again and be a good match for Miss Wen.”

After hesitating for a moment, the Crown Prince said, "Father, do you want to send him out to a foreign land? So that they can get married later."

"Why? If he leaves, I still want to give you the eldest daughter of the Wen family as your wife. Since her cooking can improve your health, it wouldn't be bad to let her cook for you for the rest of your life."

If Du Mingxian, who was tidying up, heard what the Emperor said, she would definitely smash his head in.

The Crown Prince was also shocked. His father, the Emperor, had always been a fair man. How could he say such a thing today? "No matter how delicious her cooking is, Father, I can't take it from someone else."

"This isn't called robbery, it's called being a wise person when you know when to yield. She's just an ordinary commoner, it's only because her ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke that she was able to enter the Crown Prince's residence."

The Crown Prince looked at the Emperor very seriously. “Father, I know you love me, but I can’t do such a thing. I only admire Miss Wen.”

The Emperor was somewhat disappointed to see that the Crown Prince had no intention of marrying the eldest daughter of the Wen family, but he still said, "I will summon Lord Qi to the main hall and ask him whether he is willing to stay in the capital or go elsewhere."

The crown prince did not interrupt at this point.

Seeing that the Crown Prince no longer objected, the Emperor was very satisfied. "At that time, I will test Lord Qi again. If his character is indeed good, I will give him an important position."

The Crown Prince nodded slightly. Ling Silang was capable, but his identity was still a problem. Perhaps the Emperor's high regard for him was an opportunity for Lord Qi.

"Miss Wen, are you really not going to give it another try? As long as an imperial decree is issued, Miss Wen will have to enter the Eastern Palace."

The Crown Prince gently shook his head, "I only feel that she is young and treat her like a younger sister."

The Emperor: "..." I don't know what this child is thinking.

"Alright, we'll do it your way. There's another reason I called you here today. Have you heard the rumors circulating in the capital lately?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have heard about it too." As soon as there was any disturbance in the capital, his household would find out immediately, so he naturally knew about everyone's aversion to the imperial concubine selection.