Consort selection 2

Xiao Yuanqi rolled his eyes at Xiao Jinyi's words. "Do you think choosing a consort is like buying vegetables on the street? That you can just pick one at random and be done with it? Character, virtue, looks, ability, and family background—none of those can be missing.

"The Crown Princess isn't an ordinary consort. She's the Crown Prince's principal wife and the future mother of the nation. She must possess all five qualities.

"The standards needn't be quite so high for a secondary consort or a junior consort, but those positions aren't easy to obtain either."

Xiao Yuanqi had said so much, yet he had never mentioned whether he would actually like his Crown Princess. Xiao Jinyi understood that the Crown Prince's marriage was a matter of state, not a private family affair, but he still hoped his brother could have someone he loved by his side.

"Those things are important, but I still hope you can choose a Crown Princess you like, just like Father and Mother."

Emperor Wu'an and Empress Lin had fallen in love at first sight. Back then, Emperor Wu'an had still been the Crown Prince, and at the banquet held to select his Crown Princess, the young prince had taken a liking to Empress Lin at a single glance.

Empress Lin came from a military family and had grown up with her father in the Borderlands. Compared to the women of the Capital, she had a more spirited bearing.

At first sight, Emperor Wu'an had felt there was something different about her and wanted her as his Crown Princess. After making inquiries and learning that she was General Lin's daughter, he had immediately informed the late emperor that he wanted to marry her.

At the time, the late emperor still valued Emperor Wu'an as his Crown Prince. He was also happy to see an alliance through marriage between the Crown Prince and a general commanding a powerful army, so he agreed.

After marrying, Emperor Wu'an and Empress Lin had enjoyed a long spell of marital bliss. Only after Empress Lin gave birth to Xiao Yuanqi did Emperor Wu'an accept the women sent to him by the empress of that time, who was now the Empress Dowager.

Even then, it was only after Xiao Yuanqi turned one that other children began to be born in the Eastern Palace.

Even now, Emperor Wu'an's harem contained only the few consorts the Empress Dowager had sent him in those early years. Since ascending the throne, he had never held another selection of palace women.

No children had been born in recent years, either. But with the Crown Prince so outstanding, backed by a dependable maternal family and a full brother who stood firmly with him, Emperor Wu'an was even less likely to grow displeased with his eldest legitimate son. The Crown Prince's position was as steady as a mountain.

At first, the consorts with sons had still hoped to compete. But after seeing how differently Emperor Wu'an treated the Crown Prince and his other sons, they had all abandoned the idea.

After all, the Crown Prince was kindhearted. So long as his brothers didn't cross him, he wouldn't move against them.

Besides, none of the consorts or princes had to worry about food or clothing. They might as well all stop trying.

Hearing Xiao Jinyi's hopes for him, Xiao Yuanqi's gaze softened. If there hadn't been so many people around, he would probably have reached out and ruffled his darling younger brother's hair.

"Let's hope so!"

Shen Shixu hadn't said a word throughout their conversation. Something as important as choosing the Crown Prince's consort wasn't for him to offer advice on. He would just sit quietly to one side, eat pastries, and enjoy the show!

Mmm, this milk cake was good, and the peanut crisps were delicious too. Just what you'd expect from palace pastries.

Shen Shixu ate his pastries idly, watching the people around him exchange toasts and the young women across from them gather to laugh and joke. Feeling rather bored, he gave 011 a mental nudge.

[Yiyi, I'm a little bored. Have you got any juicy gossip for me?]

The moment Shen Shixu's inner voice rang out, the people exchanging toasts and the young ladies laughing and joking across from them all stopped what they were doing. They couldn't help pricking up their ears for gossip.

[Got it! But I need to upgrade first, big brother. Once I'm done, I'll be able to detect even more gossip.]

[Oh, you're upgrading? How long will that take?]

[It'll be quick, big brother. Just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.]

[All right, hurry up and upgrade, then!]

A cup of tea's time later, 011's lively, playful voice rang out. [Big brother, I'm back~]

[You're back. How did the upgrade go?]

[Hehe, big brother, now that I've upgraded, I can not only find more gossip, but also have a virtual avatar! Hurry and help me pick the cutest one. Should I choose this little rabbit or this little panda? This Persian cat looks pretty nice too.]

As soon as 011 finished speaking, a virtual panel that no one else could see suddenly appeared before Shen Shixu. A little ball of light bounced around inside it, surrounded by a host of skins: rabbits, orange cats, tigers, and pandas.

As someone from China who had long wanted to keep a panda, Shen Shixu immediately chose the panda skin.

Panda 011 first took a moment to get used to its body, then delivered some juicy gossip to Shen Shixu. [Big brother, Miss Meng Jiyao of the Meng family, who came today to compete for the position of Crown Princess, disguised herself as a man and earned an examination degree. She won Second-Class Palace Examination Third Place this year.]

The moment 011 said that, every woman in the Green Lotus Pavilion turned toward a young woman wearing a lotus-blue brocade dress woven with gold and a mist-like pattern. She had fair skin and an elegant bearing, with her long black hair pinned up by a green jade hairpin. Her lips were naturally red, and her eyes shone with intelligence. She clearly wasn't an ordinary sheltered young lady.

This revelation from 011 left many of the men stunned. They had never imagined that a woman had taken this year's imperial examinations. Not only that, she had earned the title of Palace Examination Third Place, placing her just below the top three.

Still, that did explain why the holder of that title hadn't accepted an official appointment from the Ministry of Personnel after the results were announced. It turned out she was a woman and feared her identity would be exposed.

Xiao Yuanqi was utterly astonished as well, and his curiosity about this woman was stirred. She had defeated so many men to earn Palace Examination Third Place—what extraordinary talent she possessed! He truly wanted to meet her and see what she was like.

*[Meng Jiyao isn't treated very well at home. Both her parents favor her older brother. They think that, as a woman, she doesn't need to study. As long as she can embroider a little and manage household affairs, they can simply marry her off.

*[But Meng Jiyao refused to accept that. Why should only men be allowed to study, and not women? She was determined to give it a try.

*[So she begged her older brother to teach her. Her brother was a decent sort. Knowing she wanted to study, he taught her with care.

*[Who would have thought that, despite having little talent for studying himself, he would turn his younger sister into a gifted scholar?

*[Soon after she began studying, Meng Jiyao created a false identity and found an excuse to go back to their hometown to take the examinations. This year, she entered the Spring Examination under that false identity, wanting to see just how capable she really was.

*[When her older brother, Meng Chang, found out, he helped cover for her. Neither sibling had expected her to earn Palace Examination Third Place on her attempt, and both were terrified that the truth would come out.

*[Before the Ministry of Personnel could appoint her to office, Meng Chang assumed Meng Jiyao's false identity and left the Capital.

[There had been a few people in the previous dynasty who passed the examinations but declined to serve as officials, and Great Qian had seen one such case too. So the Ministry of Personnel didn't investigate closely, allowing the siblings to get away with it.]