Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2817 Master Qingsong 35.0
"The late Empress Ding," Shen Cha recalled for a moment and slowly said, "If I remember correctly, she was from Huzhou Prefecture. Her family was in the timber business. It wasn't a large business, but it was enough to make the whole family live a comfortable life with no worries about food or clothing."

"Why would someone from such a family participate in the selection of the Crown Princess?" Jin Miaomiao asked, puzzled.

“It’s not that she wants to run for the Crown Princess. It’s that after the selection process begins, each prefecture has to screen all the eligible candidates within its jurisdiction and then report them.” Song Yaojia spread her hands. “So, whether or not to run for the Crown Princess, and whether or not to be selected, is not something that these candidates and their families can decide. Of course, many families prepare early on, but some families feel that they definitely won’t be selected, so they don’t take it seriously at all.”

"Isn't this just..." Jin Miaomiao blinked and whispered, "casting a wide net? Is it really that hasty?"

“It can’t be called hasty, after all, daughters of noble families and officials are not eligible to participate; only daughters from respectable families are. Therefore, the number of candidates is much smaller. Moreover, each prefecture has dedicated personnel responsible for this. They started preparing long ago, even after the birth of the Emperor’s uncle. They know what the requirements are, so it’s not a case of casting a wide net.” Song Yaojia waved her hand. “Of course, as you know, some families, to avoid having their daughters selected, have adopted orphaned girls long ago to represent them in the selection.”

"My imperial uncle's Consort Hui was chosen to enter the palace in place of a girl from a respectable family," Shen Cha nodded. "Such things are indeed not uncommon in Jiangnan, and are even taken for granted. The local government will help with it. Besides, the selection of consorts is not forced; it's all voluntary. If someone doesn't agree, we can't go too far, right? However, my imperial uncle selected consorts after he ascended the throne, but the Crown Princess was in the Eastern Palace. Such a situation shouldn't have occurred then, right?"

“Definitely not.” Song Yaojia shook her head gently. “It’s possible for the selection of imperial concubines to be faked, but the selection of the crown princess is related to the heir apparent and the future empress of the country. It’s absolutely impossible for that to be faked. In the past, some people tried to fake it, but the consequences were terrible. All those involved in the faking were confiscated. Many people died that time, which left a deep impression on all the prefectures. No one dared to tamper with the selection of the crown princess again.”

"I've heard that it was a powerful family that tried to bribe the local government to get their own people on the shortlist, but they were caught."

“That’s right.” Song Yaojia smiled. “Since that time, the verification has become more rigorous. After each prefecture submits its candidates, the Ministry of Rites and the palace will send people to each prefecture to conduct secret investigations and verify the candidates’ authenticity, character, knowledge, and other aspects. In other words, they are very likely to be screened out before they are notified that they are candidates for Crown Princess.”

"According to Your Highness, it's very likely that the candidates and their families are unaware that they've been chosen, is that right?"

“That’s right.” Song Yaojia nodded to Jin Miaomiao. “In the end, only six people, including Empress Ding, were selected in the capital. There were three from the north and three from the south. In the end, Ding passed the very strict test and became the Crown Princess.”

“But…” Shen Cha touched her chin, looked at Song Yaojia, and hesitated before speaking.

"I know what you want to say. Among these candidates for Crown Princess, Ding is not the most outstanding, but she has the advantage of family background and birth date."

"Family background?" Shen Cha thought for a moment. "Her family is indeed simple. Master Ding and Madam Ding, no concubines, the couple has two children, one is the late Empress, and the other is the late Empress's eldest brother, right?"

“Yes!” Song Yaojia nodded. “This aspect greatly pleased the Emperor. Another point is that the late Empress’s birth chart, according to the calculations of the Imperial Observatory, is very compatible with the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. There are no conflicts or contradictions. As for the others, they all have some issues to some extent.”

"The calculations of the Imperial Observatory?" Shen Cha frowned slightly. "Was it Gongsun Yue?" "Not just Gongsun Yue. For things like this, we usually invite the Yun family and other experts in this field to do the calculations. The results are usually quite consistent. The late Empress Dowager originally favored another girl, but the girl's birth chart wasn't good, and she wasn't a good match for the Emperor's uncle and the Empress Dowager. In addition, during the selection process, that girl was sick due to the change in environment, so she was naturally eliminated." Song Yaojia sighed and continued, "There's also the fact that the Empress Dowager personally went to see the candidates for Crown Princess, and she was the one she liked the most and the one she liked the most."

Empress Shen Cha stroked her chin. "She was a little younger than the Empress Dowager, wasn't she?"

“Three years younger.” Song Yaojia nodded. “When she came to the capital, she was still a child, innocent and carefree. She once said that she thought she wouldn’t be selected, so she would just treat it as a trip to the capital. Therefore, she didn’t feel restrained at all. So much so that when the final selection was announced, she couldn’t believe her ears. The one with the least confidence had actually become the Crown Princess.”

"What about the others?"

“They have advantages in every aspect, and they are clearly raised to be the Crown Princess. Although they are from good families, their behavior is not quite in line with their background. So, when we investigated their backgrounds again, we did it in more detail than during the undercover investigation, and we found that they had some problems.”

"What's the problem?"

"Their families all had some secret relationships with powerful and influential clans."

"They couldn't find it during the undercover investigation?"

“It’s difficult.” Song Yaojia spread his hands. “If they are determined to hide it, it will be very difficult to find out the truth. After all, the power of undercover investigation is very limited. It cannot be known to the local prefecture or the candidates. It is already very difficult to screen out a large number of people. When my grandfather was choosing a crown princess, there were as many as a hundred people coming to the capital. My uncle has already done very well.”

"That's true!" Shen Cha nodded. "However, Brother Yaojia just said that the Empress Dowager has seen them?"

“Yes, I have seen it. After all, we’ll be living together in the future, and she wouldn’t want to choose someone she doesn’t get along with.” Song Yaojia smiled. “The late Empress Dowager tacitly agreed to this. She has her own things to do and doesn’t want to spend her time and energy mediating the relationship between her uncle and the late Empress and Empress Dowager.”

"That's true," Jin Miaomiao said, taking a sip of tea. "Harmony within the harem is of paramount importance, but..."

How did the late Empress become involved in that swindler's case?

“Because of her brother.” Song Yaojia sighed. “It all started with her brother.”