Chapter 178 Zhao Xing's Criteria for Selecting Concubines
"Okay, you've asked enough questions, so just go ahead and let us have a conversation."
After arriving at the main hall in the backyard, Sheng Shulan exchanged some greetings and distributed the gifts she had brought back to her elders, her two sisters-in-law, and her younger sister.
The old lady started to chase people away.
She wanted to ask about Shulan's situation in the East Palace. It would be inconvenient for the men like Sheng Wei to stay here.
Upon hearing this, Sheng Wei took his two sons and left.
"You go back to your room too." The old lady said to Pinlan who was hiding behind Li.
Pinlan muttered, "Grandma, I miss my sister too, and I won't interrupt you guys when you're talking."
"Go back to your room quickly, stop wasting time." Li stood up and pushed her daughter.
Pinlan had just turned fourteen and was not married yet, so how could she be allowed to listen to these things?
"Really? You have to avoid people when you have anything to say."
Although Pinlan was unwilling, she had no choice but to walk out muttering.
"Shulan, has His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ever favored you?" asked the eldest old lady.
Upon hearing this, Sheng Shulan blushed and lowered her head. Not to mention the elders in the room, there were also her two sisters-in-law. This kind of thing really made it difficult for her to talk about it.
"Oh, why are you shy at this time? Hurry up and tell me! I'm really anxious." Sheng Yun said anxiously.
"Yeah." Sheng Shulan nodded and lowered her head even more.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't dislike you because you've been married, right?" Li asked.
"No...no."
Sheng Shulan shook her head and told the story of how Empress Cao sent a nanny to the palace to teach her the rules and how Zhao Xing protected her after she was punished.
He was quite embarrassed at first, but became more and more fluent as he spoke, with joy in his eyes.
Most women of this era don't actually ask much of their men.
After all, they were all blind marriages. Except for a few like Old Lady Sheng, who were extremely favored and had a certain degree of autonomy in marriage, the vast majority obeyed their parents' orders.
As long as the person they marry is considerate and compassionate to them, they will be happy and devoted.
Especially people with a gentle personality like Yu Yanran and Sheng Shulan, they are easily satisfied and will do whatever you say as long as you treat them well.
"That's good. I can go back to my hometown in Youyang with peace of mind." The old lady nodded with relief.
"Grandma, why are you in such a hurry to go back?" Sheng Shulan asked anxiously.
"Song Ge'er is going back to take care of the business in Youyang. I can't get used to living in Bianjing, so I'm going back with them."
The eldest old lady warned: "His Royal Highness is still young, it is inevitable that he is a little greedy, you must persuade His Highness more and not let him do whatever he wants."
"My granddaughter knows." Sheng Shulan lowered her head in shame again.
Knowing that Sheng Shulan was living well in the East Palace, everyone felt relieved and laughed happily.
Sheng Yun even pulled Sheng Shulan aside and asked in a low voice how many times she had been favored, something that made people blush.
As they were chatting, a maid came in and saluted, "Old Madam, Madam, the old lady and the eldest lady of the second house are here. The master has gone to greet them and asked this servant to inform them."
"Hurry, let's go and welcome them." The old lady said anxiously.
"Grandma, don't worry." Sheng Shulan quickly supported her grandmother.
"Yes, mother, you are older now and not the same as before." Sheng Yun advised.
"If it weren't for your aunt, there wouldn't be the eldest wife today." The old lady shook her head and walked out.
After leaving the yard and walking halfway along the corridor connecting to the outer courtyard, I saw Sheng Wei, Old Madam Sheng and a large group of people walking in from the corner gate.
"Sister-in-law, why did you come out to greet us?" Old Madam Sheng stepped forward and grabbed the eldest old lady's hand, complaining.
"Haha, I just want to stretch my legs." The old lady said with a smile.
"You."
Old Madam Sheng glared at the eldest madam in a reproachful manner. She also knew that the eldest madam respected her very much in her heart because of her help to the first wife in her early years.
It was not appropriate for her to say this in front of the younger generation, so she said quietly: "Hong'er is going to attend a banquet in the palace today, so I thought that the two families should just spend the night together."
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the government would hold a banquet and invite court officials to enjoy the moon together. Sheng Hong was now a fourth-rank official, so he was naturally qualified to attend.
However, the banquet in the palace was in the evening, and Sheng Hong also came along.
"Haha, this is a great honor." The old lady laughed.
After some greetings, the group returned to the main hall.
The two old ladies sat at the top and chatted, while Sheng Hong and Sheng Wei sat at the lower left and talked in low voices.
Madam Wang on the right took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Li, which was rare.
Madam Wang has always looked down on the first wife's family, and when she meets Li, she just says hello.
Whenever Li talked to her, she would ignore him, let alone take the initiative.
Today, Old Madam Sheng said she wanted to come to the eldest house to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together, but she was not very willing to do so.
Later, I heard that Sheng Shulan had returned, and I thought of coming to inquire about the situation in the Eastern Palace.
After all, Rulan will enter the Eastern Palace in the future.
Only then did he humble himself and take the initiative to talk to Li.
As they chatted, Madam Wang asked about Shulan's situation in the East Palace.
Li repeated what Shulan had said before with a smile on her face.
Shulan lived well in the Eastern Palace, and as a mother, she was naturally very happy.
After hearing this, Madam Wang felt that it was her family's blessing that Shulan, a divorced woman, was favored.
After all, my husband is now a fourth-rank official, a high position, and he is also the Shaoyin of Kaifeng Prefecture, handling all matters of Kaifeng Prefecture for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
His son Sheng Changbai is highly valued by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
When the Crown Prince favors a concubine, besides liking her, sometimes there are some political factors involved. She didn't think there was anything about Shulan that the Crown Prince liked, and the reason he favored her was nothing more than to give the Sheng family face.
And this Sheng family is naturally the second branch, not the first branch.
When she thought of this, Mrs. Wang felt relieved.
The prince dotes on Shulan so much, and Ruolan is the real daughter of the Sheng family. She will definitely be even more favored after entering the palace.
Maybe, in the future she will be the most favored one after the Crown Princess.
"What's there to be happy about? It's all thanks to our family."
Madam Wang looked at Li, who was smiling happily, with wrinkles on her face like blooming daisies, and muttered to herself.
On the other side, Rulan and Shulan were asking about the situation in the Eastern Palace.
She and Minglan had celebrated their birthdays not long ago, and she is now fourteen years old.
In another year, she will be of age, which means she will also enter the Eastern Palace.
At this time, Rulan had become much more sensible than before and knew what it meant.
Shulan did not hide anything and told Rulan everything she knew.
Minglan was talking to Pinlan, but she was listening to the conversation between Shulan and Rulan.
Pinlan noticed that she was always distracted and complained a few words.
"Oh, right." Shulan finished telling Rulan about the situation in the East Palace. Seeing that Rulan did not ask any more questions, she turned to look at Minglan and said, "Minglan, why didn't you tell me that Yanran was your good friend? She took good care of me in the East Palace."
"Sister Shulan, I forgot about that before." Minglan said apologetically.
In fact, she deliberately didn't mention it. After all, she didn't know the real situation of Yu Yanran in the East Palace and didn't want to cause trouble for Yu Yanran.
Shulan didn't think much about it and smiled, "Sister Yanran also said that after the Mid-Autumn Festival, she will invite you and Rulan to the East Palace to enjoy the flowers."
"Big sister, can I go then?" Pinlan asked excitedly.
"What are you going to do?" Shu Lan frowned.
Ruolan's status as the prince's concubine had already been decided, and Minglan would also be married into the Eastern Palace as a dowry.
Speaking of which, both of them will enter the Eastern Palace in the future, so there is nothing wrong with them visiting the Eastern Palace.
But Pinlan is different, and what if Zhao Xing falls in love with Pinlan?
Although she thought Zhao Xing was a good man, she didn't want Pinlan to follow him into the Eastern Palace.
Firstly, it is Pinlan's personality, and secondly, the prince is destined to have many concubines, and no one knows what will happen in the future.
She was a divorced woman, so she would be satisfied to be able to serve the prince, even if it was just to receive his favor for a period of time.
Even if she is neglected in the future, she can accept it.
But I didn’t expect my sister to be like this.
If Zhao Xing knew what Shulan was thinking, he would definitely cry out in injustice.
Although he was lustful, he would not take every woman he saw to the East Palace.
In Zhao Xing's standards, appearance is only one of them.
Character is what matters most.
This character does not require how virtuous one is, but refers to a different personality.
Different personalities have different moods and feelings.
Pinlan's personality overlaps greatly with Rulan's, both are innocent and straightforward.
There are no two leaves in the world that are exactly the same, and naturally there are no two people with exactly the same personalities.
But their personalities are basically the same.
Speaking of which, Shulan and Yu Yanran have overlapping personalities, and her advantage lies in her age.
Otherwise, Zhao Xing would not have allowed her to enter the Eastern Palace.
However, since Rulan and Pinlan not only have similar personalities but also similar ages, he naturally has little interest in them.
"I just want to see what the Eastern Palace looks like. Big sister, please take me with you." Pinlan pleaded coquettishly.
"I'll ask later." Shuli said perfunctorily.
She had made up her mind not to take Pinlan to the East Palace. She said this only because she was afraid that Pinlan would keep talking to her about this.
…………
Royal Palace
The square outside the Jiying Hall was brightly lit at this time, and there were tables on both sides.
Officials of the fourth rank and above, as well as lords in the court, were now sitting at their desks, talking in low voices with the people around them.
"Your Majesty, the Queen, and the Crown Prince have arrived!"
Suddenly, the eunuch's loud shout made the originally noisy square quiet down instantly.
All the civil and military officials stood up, bowed towards the high platform above, and shouted in unison: "Your Majesty, the Queen, and the Crown Prince!"
The Emperor and Empress Cao walked side by side, Zhao Xing followed beside his father, and behind them were several of the Emperor's favorite concubines.
The group of people climbed onto the high platform, and the emperor stood in front of the dragon throne, waved his hand and said, "Everyone, please stand up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After all the officials expressed their gratitude, they waited until the emperor, the empress, and the crown prince were seated before they sat down.
The emperor first said some festive words, drank a glass of wine with all the officials, and then announced the start of the banquet.
As the music started, a group of dancers came out one after another and came to the stage in the middle to dance gracefully.
The civil and military officials drank fine wine, tasted delicious food, and appreciated the graceful dance, feeling very comfortable.
"Father, I will go downstairs for a while."
Zhao Xing looked for a while and then retracted his gaze, looking towards the stage below. His eyes stopped on one person. He said something to his father, then walked down the stage with his wine glass in hand.
(End of this chapter)