100, choose (below)

  100, choose (below)

  Within two days, the most popular candidate for the prince's secondary consort, Ulanara Nara, and another likely candidate, Hesheri Tulai, got into a fight.

  Tuli?en originally envied Niuhuru's beautiful appearance and thought her noble demeanor was showing off her relationship with the deceased Empress Xiaojing, so she looked at her with disapproval everywhere. She thought that her own Mafa Hexi'er. Fǎlǐmǎ had inherited the title of first-class duke due to her uncle Dàlmǎ's death in the earthquake of the seventh year of Yongzheng and was a legitimate daughter of a dukedom, but couldn't compare with a girl from a Ula Nara clan?

  "Hmph, but relying on the surname of Wu La Na Ra, she clung to the leg of Empress Xiao Jing, and was used to pretending to be elegant. I heard that she even copied scriptures for Empress Xiao Jing at home for half a year... Ugh! Tu Li Chun felt her foot slip, and then she was pulled down to the ground by Ni Mang Yi together. Not only did her beautiful new clothes get dirty, but her white and tender palm also broke some skin. Suddenly enraged, she jumped up and scolded a bunch."

  You're getting angrier the more you listen, you inexplicably stretched out your foot to trip me up. I couldn't let you off scot-free for being the ringleader of this mess! Everyone fell to the ground, and you got hurt, but did I not also scrape my legs? Not taking it to heart was already being kind enough, yet you're scolding me in such an unpleasant manner - and you're a noble lady from a ducal house at that! You have no breeding!

  It was thought that it was still during the time of Emperor Taizong's reign when everyone avoided He Zhenli, and now they all fawned on him.

  The two of them cursed and scolded each other, their anger escalating until they finally came to blows. You pushed me, I pinched you... In the end, they both ended up hurt, with a shallow scratch on Ni Meng's face and Tu Liqin being pushed away so hard that he fell into a nearby flower bush, his neck and hands scratched by branches.

  The housekeeper aunt who rushed over ordered several rough maids to hold them down and send them back to their respective rooms, quickly reporting the matter up.

  The impact is extremely bad. Fighting openly under broad daylight, doesn't this have any bearing on the dignity of a Banner lady?

  He Xi'er is already fifteen years old this year, and next year's selection will be overage. Moreover, her character is not good, so Yongzheng simply let Xi Guifei take away her token and send her back home, and also ordered the eunuch to reprimand He Xi'er's family, teaching them what kind of daughter they have.

  Xiu got He Shedeli. Fuerma immediately married this legitimate granddaughter to Shengjing in a hurry. The other girls who stayed in the duke's mansion in the capital would not be able to find a good family to marry into.

  Nian Siyi was also sent back to the Ulanara household, but she was still young and could participate in the next selection. The Yongzheng Emperor did not scold her, mainly because there were witnesses who testified that it was indeed Hesheri's fault, but his good impression of her had dropped several ranks.

  Yunzhu watched all of this with a cold smile in her heart. First, let me teach you a lesson. You haven't even entered Qianxi Second Branch yet and you're already thinking about plotting against people?!

  As for the internal response, it still roughly used spiritual power to trip up a certain dog-headed military advisor, and ruthlessly slammed into his master Gao Luowei... The result was that Gao Luowei was diagnosed by the imperial physician to have to rest in bed for a month, and only then would the twisted tendon and misplaced bone heal. The abrasion on her palm also couldn't get wet, otherwise it would leave a scar.

  The honeymoon period for the two is over.

  The originally in Jingren Palace serving as a maid, that Lan Mei then made a mistake while serving and was soon sent to work in the Xinzheku by Empress Dowager Cixi - this was the doing of Gu Ruolan and her brother.

  Xigui Fei formally took control of the palace power (previously, important matters still had to be reported to the empress for her decision) more than half a year later, slowly clearing out the remaining forces of Empress Yuan's Ula Nara clan in the palace, but some deeply hidden ones were left behind.

  Yongzheng was naturally aware of the changes in the harem, and although he was somewhat displeased with Xi Guifei Nian Xialü's eagerness to eliminate the remaining influence of Empress Xiaojingxian in the palace, he also understood that there were still people secretly on his side. However, he knew that if the connections left behind by the empress were not cleared up, they would eventually benefit Ulanara Wei, who was destined to be given to Hongli, and give her more power to counteract Yunzhu, which was not what he wanted to see.

  The daughter-in-law is good in all aspects, how can the elders let their son's back house be unstable?! When he was young, although there was an empress, wasn't it his own mother who had concubines on both sides, making him infertile, and only having one legitimate son, Honghui? In the end, he also lost... This kind of irreparable pain he does not want his son to suffer again.

  Yunzhu quite enjoyed the plot of borrowing a knife to kill someone, but she had to admit that taking revenge personally was more satisfying. Sipping her tea slowly, "Have Ta Yi send some medicine and herbs to Gao Gege, let her rest and recover in peace, just say I've excused her from paying respects." "Yes."

  Guo's mother and aunt brought the imperial physician's medicine to comfort Gao Lümi at her residence, after admiring her tearful gratitude, they severely flogged her twenty boards on the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month in front of her and many servants.

  Gao Luwei couldn't help but plead, if the people around her who were used by him were beaten like this, how could she convince others?!

  "A country has its laws, a family has its rules. This slave not only served the master poorly but also got the master hurt, and it's already being lenient to send her to the storage room, privately, it's up to the young lady to decide how to deal with her, but the rules of this household cannot be relaxed." Madam Guo's faint smile had a hard attitude, which formed a stark contrast with her respectful posture.

  Gao Luomicro hated that he couldn't poke a thousand holes in her, but the situation was stronger than people, and he could only grit his teeth and swallow blood, thinking about how to repay this servant who had lost face for him when Grandfather favored him.

  Back in the main courtyard, two nursemaids reported to Yunzhu about their work. Shang Ayi also said to Yunzhu: "When Guo sister was punishing that lazy servant girl, I saw a maid from the neighboring wing of the Su family sneaking around suspiciously. The mistress should be careful."

  Su Bao Rou was brought in by Xi Gui Fei, and Shang Ayi was showing her attitude of standing on her side in front of Yun Zhu. Yun Zhu had expected her choice, so she nodded slightly with a faint smile, "Thanks to several ayis, the two palaces can be so orderly, from now on, if you see anything wrong, just come and tell me."

  The old lady happily agreed and respectfully gave Yunzhu a big bow, formally acknowledging her as the master. Yunzhu saw that she was so formal, so she said: "Since you have recognized me as your master, from now on you must wholeheartedly do things for me and think of me. Don't take matters into your own hands without permission. If there's anything difficult, just speak up and I'll try my best to help... Can you remember that?"

  "I've remembered it."

  "If you're called again by Xi E Niang to ask questions, just go and respond accordingly."

  "Yes." As expected, she didn't escape the mistress's eyes. Shang Ayi's heart tightened, and then she was relieved about her own choice. From the time she was sent by Xi Fei to serve as a maid for Si Fu Jin, she had been observing Si Fu Jin, discovering that she was an extremely capable mistress who knew how to control her subordinates, speaking and acting with grandeur and elegance. The earthquake disaster in July of the seventh year of Emperor Yongzheng's reign even more clearly revealed her cleverness and resourcefulness... A mistress like this is hard to find in a hundred years, and at that time she had already made up her mind to thoroughly devote herself to Yun Zhu.

  Before long, several days passed and the draft had reached its final selection.

  Xi Guifei, Yu Fei and Qi Fei called several Shu girls to talk, the adult princes in the palace all went out of town on business, so there was nothing to be avoided, Yunzhu let people go and invite Zhao Jia, Yu Guilan, Hui Zhu and others to drink tea at Qianxi Second House.

  Over the past two years, Hui Zhu has changed a lot. It's unclear whether it's because her older sister became the Crown Prince's Fu Jin and she unconsciously raised her expectations of herself, or perhaps because in the Cheng Zheng Earl's residence, only she remained as an unmarried young woman, without any comparison or reference point, her thoughts actually calmed down, and her words and actions gradually became more dignified and composed. The demeanor of a noble lady from the Eight Banners has emerged.

  Yunzhu carefully sized her up, with fine eyebrows and big eyes, a delicate nose and full lips, a smooth and delicate oval face, looking more like Liu Niang's. Her complexion was outstanding among the many beautiful girls. "I haven't let anyone take care of you these days, won't blame me?"

  "The Fourth Mistress wants to make it difficult for us by doing so." Yu Gu replied.

  Huizhu shook her head and said, "Sister must have told the Empress Dowager to take care of me, I can tell that she is much more gentle towards me than the other consorts." Even the arrangement of my living quarters seems better than the others, isn't it all thanks to my sister's good fortune in gaining the Emperor and Fourth Prince's favor?

  "Are you using your brain? Yunzhu smiled and said, "I know about the situation with the selection, I didn't intervene because you guys handled it quite well."

  Ning was slightly surprised, but didn't ask why she knew about this matter. She remained seated quietly, eating the various dried fruits and pastries that Ming Xin had brought up. To be honest, Xiūnǚ's meals weren't bad, but after a month of just those few dishes being rotated, they were getting tired of them.

  "This dessert is really delicious." said Gual Jia Mei Qi. Unlike Niu Ting's slightly dull and unremarkable appearance, steady personality, Mei Qi's looks were even more like the Gual family, with a melon-seed shaped face, shiny black eyes, straight nose, lips as red as flower petals, an outgoing personality, liking to talk, her voice was like a lark, clear and crisp.

  Huizhu nodded and also took a piece of rice cake with a layer of sugar on the outside, lightly biting into it. Underneath the sugar was a layer of soft and fluffy glutinous rice, in the middle were peeled green beans and crushed lotus seeds, still in granular form, giving off a refreshing fragrance when eaten.

  "Then eat a bit more, do you want to bring some back later?" Seeing that they liked it, Yunzhu was also very happy. While using the small charcoal stove's water to brew tea for them, she asked which xiu nu (dressing girls) they lived with, what talents they had prepared for the selection, and reminded them of things to pay attention to...

  "It's all going to be over soon, everyone is about ready, nothing will go wrong... " Yu Guizhen muttered to herself, she was much calmer than others after experiencing a selection.

  "It's often not until the end that one's mind is relaxed and they are calculated to be gone. You've been through it once, last time you were able to get through safely was because others thought you were young and didn't take you seriously, don't think that just because others are fighting and you're avoiding them, nothing will happen, when the big election comes, those who usually end up in a bad situation are the ones who are affected. Those girls from noble families or with powerful fathers and brothers in the imperial court may be arrogant and domineering, but as long as they know how to behave themselves and carry themselves well in public, it's not a big deal. After all, their high birth means they should have received good education, and their personality won't have much influence on the next generation. On the other hand, those with lowly birth and narrow vision often have a lot of petty airs."

  Everything has its exceptions, but most of the time it is so. Otherwise, people seeking a daughter-in-law would not prefer legitimate daughters over illegitimate ones, mainly due to educational issues.

  Although this draft is not as cautious as the previous one, there are still a few unengaged imperial uncles, and even some members of the royal family who have lost their wives and are waiting to be assigned a new wife... Thinking of this, Yunzhu looked at Hui Zhu again.

  Yu Guan's bright eyes glanced sideways at the lovely Mei Qi and Hui Zhu, knowing that Yun Zhu was reminding them through herself.

  "Did you think I was just reminding Hui Zhu and the others?" Yunzhu put the teacup in front of her and said, "Although your conditions are not high when separated, they are quite good when combined. Don't be careless."

  Yu Gu's appearance looks elegant and agile, three years later, her height has not grown much, about 1.6 meters, in a group of tall and slender beauties, she is still small and delicate, however, her father's title was promoted from fifth-grade Yun Qiwei to fourth-grade Qi Duwei due to his contributions in the northwest.

  Such a background, neither high nor low, is just the right person to succeed Fu Jin. It's barely enough to make her a legitimate Fu Jin even if she was given to a low-ranking and low-born imperial prince as his wife.

  "Got it." Yu Guifei responded helplessly. She was comfortable and carefree at home, not wanting to get married so soon, but according to the rules of the world, marriage was a matter decided by one's parents and matchmakers, and as a noble lady from the Eight Banners, she had many arranged marriages. If she wasn't careful, she would be targeted by those who thought she was an obstacle and designed to be eliminated. She herself didn't care how she was treated, but the problem was that a woman's reputation sometimes affected her father and brother's future prospects, as well as the family's sisters' reputations, so she couldn't afford not to care.

  "Has the imperial concubine heard about the incident involving the Ula Nara and He?eri families' daughters?" Yu Guifei blinked her eyes coquettishly, her face filled with excitement. "I originally heard some rumors that the Empress Dowager intended to select a secondary consort for the Fourth Prince, namely Ula Nara's Niemu Yi. I was worried about it, but unexpectedly they got into a big fight in the Palace of Gathered Elegance and were expelled from the palace."

  Hui Zhu and Gua Er Jia looked at Yun Zhu with concern. Apparently, they had also heard about this matter, and the most popular candidate was Wu La Na Ra Ni Ke Yi, who had been reciting scriptures for Empress Dowager Xiaosheng in her home for half a year. He Shi Li Tu Ri Chun's daughter Tong Jia Hui Lan, Grand Canal Commissioner Gu Cong's eldest daughter Yirgen Gioro Gu Mei... were also among the outstanding women in this selection of imperial consorts.

  Yunzhu smiled and also poured tea for the two of them, saying lightly: "It's all going to be pointed out sooner or later, there's no difference."

  Yu Gu saw that her eyes were calm and her expression was truly carefree, thinking that she still didn't have a legitimate child born yet, he couldn't help but feel a deep respect for her. He thought to himself, could it be that her composure was due to her being confident in the Fourth Prince's favor towards her?

  "Sister, have you seen that Ula Nara family's daughter? Has she been betrothed?" Hui Zhu had indeed met Ni Mantian before, and although she was still young, her looks and figure were even more outstanding than those of Bi Yu at the same age. She was elegant and refined, radiant with beauty, like a peony flower. If she were to enter the palace as the secondary consort of the Fourth Prince, wouldn't she gain the full support of the Duke's household? What if she were to give birth to a prince before sister did, wouldn't that threaten sister's position? This was not good news for the Fuca family.

  "She used to stay in the Jingren Palace, how could I not have seen her?!" Yunzhu smiled and warned: "After returning, be careful with everything, listen more and talk less, don't get into a temporary conflict with others." The handling of such matters is something that the palace maids wouldn't know about. Considering the relationship between the Hesheli First Rank Duke's estate and the late Empress Dowager, the imperial family would not let this matter be spread out either.

  Hui Zhu pursed her lips and responded in unison with Mei Qi Ni Ting and others: "Got it."