When Spring arrives, who will be the master of youth? (1)

  In Yu Pin's expectation, Xi Fei's hesitation, Empress Ulanara's unpredictable and casual attitude, the selection of the fifth year of Yongzheng finally kicked off on April 20.

  Yunzhu wore a simple and elegant blue flag dress, sat on the mule cart prepared at home, and followed the order arranged by the leader of this flag, led by the leader, and marched in a fish-like procession.

  The selected girls enter the palace in order, with the previous selection's leftover cards first, followed by this time's re-selected women, and then the newly selected women, all arranged in order of age. They set out at dusk, enter through the Gate of Earthly Peace at night, wait outside the Gate of Military Prowess until the palace gates open, and then alight under the guidance of eunuchs from the Ministry of Revenue, entering the Palace of Heavenly Purity in sequence.

  Yunzhu belongs to the Yellow Banner, one of the upper three banners in the Eight Banners system, ranking first. After listening to the words of the eunuchs and the governesses, she enters the house assigned to her for rest after the governesses check the record card.

  One room was divided into three compartments for the three sisters, and Yúnzhū was the first to enter. The room was very spacious, with partitions made of soft silk and embroidered flowers on both sides, considering privacy, safety, and cleanliness, she gave up the bright compartment facing the door and chose the left compartment with a window to arrange her things.

  At this time, another young girl walked into the house. The girl was also wearing a lake blue cheongsam, with a round and lovely face, shining big eyes, staring at her in surprise... She looked familiar, Yunzhu lightly blinked her eyes, remembering that this was the little girl from the Zhuang family who had squeezed her together with He Lan? A faint smile floated on Yunzhu's lips: "Hello, I am Fuca. Yunzhu, my father is Li Rongbao, a member of the Huang Banner, and I'm 15 years old. What's your name, little sister?"

  "Didn't she remember herself? The young girl's pale face flashed with gloom and displeasure, but still bowed politely: "Hello, I am Koriyate. Guoxin, my father is E'ergute, a Mongolian Baochu banner person, and I'm 13 years old this year."

  Keruiyete? Such a familiar surname... Isn't this the future Empress Yu? In the official history, she has a long life but her son dies young. In "Huan Zhu", she dies young and her son is mentally disabled...

  "Don't block the doorway." A crisp voice rang out, and Gu Xin turned around in annoyance to look at the doorway with Yunzhu. There stood an aunt and a few maidservants, followed by a small palace maid. The aunt glanced at Yunzhu inside the room, her eyes flashing, and said in a measured tone: "Although you are noble ladies at home, here you are still just maidservants... If something goes wrong, it will be too late to regret." The Qing dynasty's laws were strict, with no room for emotional appeals. Being beaten or suddenly dying and implicating one's family was not unheard of.

  Guo Xin and Na Xiuniang's aura on their bodies indeed dissipated a lot after hearing the words. Guo Xin glared at Na Xiuniang, then walked into the room on the right to tidy up her own things.

  The housekeeper aunt didn't mind, pointing to the palace maid standing beside her: "Her name is Xiaoye, she's a palace maid assigned to you, you can order her to do chores like fetching water."

  "Xiao Ye greets the young master." Xiao Ye bowed and stood to one side with her head lowered, while the housekeeper aunt smiled slightly before turning around and leaving.

  "Go get me some water for washing." The new maid, Hui, walked in slowly and put the things on the couch. She smiled at Yunzhu and said: "How should I address this sister?"

  Xiao Ye went as soon as he heard the voice.

  She seemed to be from a good family, and Yunzhu didn't mind her rudeness, so she repeated what she had just said to Koriyate. The young woman listened intently, her eyes sparkling with interest, and said: "So you're Yunzhu sister. I'm Yilu Genjiu Shulan, my father is Yikesen, and I'm 15 years old, just like you from the Bordered Yellow Banner. I heard that you wrote two great poems at the 'Golden Petal Society', unfortunately, I was ill and couldn't attend."

  "My younger sister is quite impressive. Who doesn't know that her grandfather, Yi San-Ah-Nai, was a scholar of the Wen Hua Temple University and the chief editor of 'The History of Three Dynasties'? With such an illustrious family background, my sister must be well-educated too. My humble writing skills are no match for hers."

  Shulan smiled upon hearing this, her eyes gleaming with pride. As a member of the Irgen Gioro clan, one of the most prominent Manchu families, she was indeed superior to other noblewomen in terms of artistic talent. Everyone knew that this selection of consorts was actually for the fourth and fifth princes to choose their primary consorts, and the fourth prince was being groomed by the emperor as a future crown prince. Choosing a primary consort for him was essentially choosing a future empress. For the sake of the fourth prince, it was unlikely that the emperor would give a woman from a prominent Manchu family like Shulan to the fifth prince. She had a good chance of being chosen. Of course, the current Fuca lady posed a threat, thanks to her family's deep roots in the Imperial Guard and their considerable influence at court. Although one of them, Ma Wu, was gone, there was still Ma Qi, who had been promoted to earl and appointed as a Grand Protector...

  "Sister, that little girl who just went into the eastern wing," she pointed at Gu Xinyin and asked, "which family's daughter is she?" Can't be all of them are noble ladies, right? Fu Cha Yun Zhu looked at Wen Wenyi with a gentle smile, don't let someone lead her astray and isolate herself.

  "What's so-called noble family style is just gossiping behind people's backs? If you want to know who I am, ask me directly." Gu Xinyue walked out and smiled provocatively at her, "My name is Keliyete. Gu Xinyue, my father is E'erjitu, a member of the Mongolian aristocracy, and I'm thirteen years old this year." What's so great about being from a noble family? There can only be one legitimate wife, and she has more opportunities than that, being a Manchu person with not-so-high but also not-so-low birth, isn't it just like the current Empress Xi's situation back then?

  Shulan's face changed, and she snorted, walking over to her own bed to tidy up her clothes, ignoring them.

  What a petty mind. Gu Xin ignored her and directly spoke to Yun Zhu: "Sister Yun Zhu, I'm going to fetch water for washing up, do you want to come together?"

  "It's okay." Yunzhu didn't dare drink or wash with water brought by others.

  Two girls carried water pots out of the door and went to the place where the eunuch and aunt had told them to boil water. After leaving the courtyard, there was a small eunuch on night duty, who listened to Yunzhu's words about going to fetch water and quickly led the way for them. After fetching the water, he also helped them carry it back.

  "Thanks a lot, Little Lu." Yunzhu handed him a package behind his back.

  Xiao Luzi was clever and diligent, and he took on the task of serving Xiunu just to earn some money to send back to his poor family. Although he had helped many Xiunu today, not everyone treated him with kindness and respect like Yunzhu did. As he received the pouch, he sincerely said: "Young master, feel free to give me orders if you need anything in the future."

  Yunzhu smiled and followed Guoxin into the house to wash up and prepare for rest.

  The next day, the girls began their preliminary selection. The so-called preliminary selection was to check the registration cards, and according to the name list, they were led to a house in a courtyard where the wet nurses checked for any physical defects or unusual odors.

  Yunzhu was well-prepared and as soon as she went in, she gave each of the several ayis a thin荷包. It's likely that her family had also given these inspecting ayis some advance notice, because they were unusually gentle with Yunzhu, their movements light and quick. When it was time to leave, Yunzhu smiled at them gratefully, thinking to herself, "That woman Hong Luoshi earlier took half a day to get through the inspection and came out looking pale... she really scared a lot of people."

  She didn't know that after she walked out of the house, those maids had a look of satisfaction on their faces. This Fu Cha Xiuniang was indeed not disappointing to those who had chosen her from above. Although slightly nervous, her demeanor was calm and composed, saving them a lot of trouble. And that smooth skin of hers was flawless, without even a small mole, let alone scars... and the faint scent of orchid on her body was unmistakable, a natural gift, one in ten thousand...

  Although they are responsible for checking the bodies of the concubines, they are not perverts. If the concubines were all straightforward and excellent in every way, without needing to be checked from head to toe, it would also make things easier for them. Spending all day smelling other people's body odor is no good deed. Although they are noblewomen, there are many who love to perfume their bodies and apply cosmetics, but if you encounter one who loves to play tricks, she can disgust you to death.

  Yunzhu easily passed the checkpoint, but Yiru Genro. Shulan didn't return until almost noon, and Koriyute. Guoxin didn't return to the house until afternoon. The three of them tacitly didn't say much about today's inspection, a teenage girl still felt embarrassed and ashamed about this kind of examination.

  The examination lasted for three days, and on the third day, the eunuch in charge summoned all the girls who had been selected. Those whose names were called out were all eliminated, crying with sad faces and wiping away tears... Not one of them was left behind as they were sent out of the palace.

  There were 347 candidates in this session of Xiū Nǚ, and nearly a hundred were eliminated in just one round.

  The second item selected was the eunuchs checking the show girls' eyes, ears, nose, hair, skin, neck and back. If any part did not meet the standards, they would be eliminated; those with poor tone, awkward demeanor, unclear speech, hoarse voice, or who answered questions nervously were also eliminated... This item eliminated nearly forty more show girls, who were similarly sent out of the palace.

  The above is the preliminary election.

  The remaining 209 palace maidens continued to stay in the palace for a second round of selection.