Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"East Tower, are all these women so young?"

Inside a temple outside Chengtian Prefecture, Lu Chen looked through a small window on the second floor at the seven women in the square in front of the main hall.

Hundreds of women, initially selected from over a hundred prefectures and counties in Huguang, underwent several rounds of screening in Wuchang Prefecture, with only seven ultimately passing the final selection.

These seven women will be escorted to the capital by the Ministry of Rites, and the Emperor will personally select one of them to be the Princess Consort of the Prince of Ying.

The person in charge of this matter was Yan Shifan. Although the Vice Minister of the Imperial Seal Office did not actually belong to the Ministry of Rites, it did not prevent the Minister of Rites from being seconded to him.

When the Ministry of Rites' fleet passed through Chengtian Prefecture, the official boat carrying seven candidates for the title of princess unfortunately struck a reef. Although the damage was not serious, it still required repairs.

Yan Shaoqing could only find a temple near the dock for the seven frightened women to rest temporarily.

Of course, Lu Chen had already chosen a spot inside the temple where he could see the square in front of the main hall and was waiting.

If you want to see what they look like in private, you can't let them know you're watching.

To Lu Chen's surprise, although the seven women looked different, they all seemed to be the same type.

They were all pretty and had well-proportioned features, but none of them had a flirtatious look in their eyes.

They were all slightly chubby, and there wasn't a single slender beauty among them.

In terms of demeanor, even though Lu Chen deliberately cleared the area in advance and had Yan Shifan stop the Ministry of Rites people outside the temple, the seven women continued to try their best to maintain a dignified appearance in this square where they were the only ones, and none of them showed their lively girlish nature.

It seems that the Ministry of Rites' selection criteria prioritized stability, with dignity and health being far more important than beauty.

What disappointed Lu Chen even more was that they were all too young.

From Lu Chen's perspective, the oldest of these seven girls was only in the third year of junior high school or the first year of senior high school, and the youngest was only in the fifth or sixth grade of elementary school.

"Your Highness, according to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, when a prince or the heir apparent of a prince marries, the ideal age for the bride should be between fourteen and seventeen."

Yan Shifan replied in a low voice,

"The palace maids also carefully examined their bodies, ensuring that each of them was free of scars, diseases, and body odor."

These seven women all underwent rigorous screening; their age and family background were absolutely genuine.

The people in the Ministry of Rites really don't seek merit, they just want to avoid mistakes.

Lu Chen shook his head secretly.

From fourteen to seventeen years old, people in ancient times did not have the habit of calculating age according to the actual age; they were all born in the traditional Chinese age system, and one or even two years had to be subtracted.

These little girls are actually only twelve to sixteen years old!

In the era before he transmigrated, these were all underage girls, okay?!

"How many people in the East Building are sixteen years old or older?"

Lu Chen turned to look at Yan Shifan.

Well, these seven girls all look the same type, and none of them are particularly outstanding in appearance, so let's just choose the older one.

"Your Highness, the two oldest are already sixteen years old."

Yan Shifan discreetly glanced at Lu Chen's expression.

"His eldest birthday was in March. He was from Yiyang County, Changsha Prefecture. His father was a local gentry with the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations). He had served as a county magistrate in another province in his early years. Now he has retired and lives at home."

The other, slightly younger, was born in July. He was from Jiangling County, Jingzhou Prefecture, and was registered as a soldier in the Jingzhou Guard. His deceased grandfather had served as a guard in the Liaowang Palace in Jingzhou, leaving behind three brothers.

The woman's father was the eldest son and managed the family business. They owned hundreds of acres of fertile land outside Jiangling City and several shops in the city, making them quite well-off.

Although his family had never produced any officials, they did have three scholars who passed the imperial examinations, so they could be considered a scholarly family.

As expected, they all chose ordinary women with respectable backgrounds.

Lu Chen's gaze swept over the seven women on the field once more.

In their own eyes, there wasn't much difference between them. Since none of them were under seventeen, of course the older the better.

"Yan Shaoqing."

Lu Chen turned to look at Yan Shifan beside him.

"My principal wife will be the oldest one, the one from Changsha Prefecture."

"Don't send that one from Jingzhou Prefecture back either. After my wedding, I'll choose a day to take her as a concubine and give her the title of secondary consort."