Chapter 368: Chapter 324: Princess Langhuan and the Concubine Candidate Selection (Part 2)

"Princess Langhuan! Princess!"

A few calls echoed, only to see several little palace maids quickly running over. Upon seeing Zheng Yi, they hurriedly knelt to the ground.

"Your servant greets Your Majesty. We have failed in watching over the Princess, and humbly ask for Your Majesty’s forgiveness!"

"It’s nothing, you may rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Huan’er, Huan’er..."

Lu Lin’er followed closely behind. Upon seeing Zheng Yi, she too quickly paid her respects, "This concubine greets Your Majesty!"

"All of you, get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Ji’er, come quickly, greet your father, the Emperor!" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

From behind Lu Lin’er, a slender child in a bright yellow short coat walked over, formally saying, "Ji’er greets Father, the Emperor!"

"No need for excessive courtesy, Ji’er has grown up, indeed..."

Among the ten sons and ten daughters, Zheng Yi wasn’t very interested in his ten sons, but was very attentive and fond of his ten daughters.

Especially Huan’er and Yao’er.

Now Zheng Chengji was already six years old, and Lu Lin’er had long found someone to test his spirit root.

Unfortunately, Zheng Chengji had no spirit root and would be an ordinary person all his life.

Zheng Yi had long known about this.

Furthermore, the Second Prince Zheng Chengwu and the Third Prince Zheng Chengrui didn’t have spirit roots either!

Compared to their sisters, the first three sons had no immortal fate.

What a pity.

Even Xu Mujun’s grandson, Xu Jingzhong, had no spirit root!

"Oh right, Lin’er, wasn’t Huan’er at Yuelong Palace? Why did she come to the palace?"

Lu Lin’er hesitated and said, "It’s like this, Huan’er said she missed Father, so she..."

"Father...!"

Lu Lin’er grabbed Zheng Yi’s head with her small hands, seriously saying, "Huan’er is already at the fifth layer of Qi Cultivation! Even Teacher Tianxingzi said my progress is fast and gave me a few days off."

"Huan’er isn’t slacking off~"

"Really?"

"Of course, it’s true!"

"Huan’er is at the fifth layer of Qi Cultivation, what about the others?"

Zheng Yuhuan’s small face fell, she pouted and said, "Junior Brother Xu is also at the fifth layer of Qi Cultivation, but he’s very diligent, almost always training hard, it’s really annoying!"

"Teacher Tianxingzi said he’s close to the sixth layer of Qi Cultivation, he might have broken through by now."

"The sixth layer of Qi Cultivation? So fast? It’s only been a little over a year..."

Zheng Yi was a little surprised but already prepared for Xu Fengxiong’s Celestial Spirit Root’s cultivation speed, he asked, "And Yao’er?"

"Yuyao..."

Zheng Yuhuan shrunk her neck, "She has already reached the late stage of Qi Cultivation..."

"Not bad."

Zheng Yi patted her head, "You, ah~"

"Father~"

Zheng Yuhuan quickly hugged Zheng Yi’s head, saying, "Huan’er will play with Father for a few days and then return to Yuelong Palace to train hard, please don’t send Huan’er away~"

"You... alright, since you’re in the Imperial Palace and received your first menstruation, you should rest well."

Zheng Yi carried Zheng Yuhuan towards Kunning Palace, then said to Lu Lin’er, "And Empress, since Huan’er got her first menstruation, why didn’t you teach her properly? She even told me, and if it gets out..."

Under Zheng Yi’s teachings, Lu Lin’er dared not talk back and could only steal a glance at Zheng Yuhuan, who responded with an overly proud smile.

Finally, she could only helplessly say, "This concubine acknowledges her mistake, Your Majesty~"

After playing with Zheng Yuhuan for half a day, it was only reluctantly that her aunt took her away as dusk fell.

Huan’er was already ten years old now, not like the two or three-year-old who didn’t understand anything before.

Evening affairs really couldn’t be done with her around.

"Your Majesty~"

The Empress, with seductive eyes, said, "This concubine has already ordered the water to be heated, please bathe and change, Your Majesty."

"Hmm."

With the palace maids serving, Zheng Yi took a good bath. Unexpectedly, midway, Lu Lin’er walked in, waving her hand to signal the palace maids to leave.

"Empress?"

"Your Majesty~"

Under the steam, Lu Lin’s charming face flushed like an apple, and Zheng Yi motioned for her to come in.

Over an hour later, Zheng Yi carried Lu Lin’er to the bed.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty, this concubine can’t continue serving you, maybe you could look at which palace maid in this concubine’s palace..."

"No need."

Zheng Yi, hugging Lu Lin’er, asked, "By the way, I remember before I secluded myself, Tianlong Temple mentioned sending the Celestial Dragon Maiden to the capital. Where is she arranged?"

"Celestial Dragon Maiden?"

Lu Lin’er asked curiously, "This concubine hasn’t received any news of the Celestial Dragon Maiden entering the capital, perhaps the negotiations between the previous court and Tianlong Temple haven’t been settled..."

"Not entered the capital?"

Zheng Yi furrowed his brow, his dissatisfaction with Tianlong Temple deeper.

I gave you all a chance, agreed to your surrender request, yet you’re so slow!

Do you really think my blade isn’t sharp?!

"Oh right, Your Majesty, the concubine candidate selection led by this concubine has long been arranged. Now it only awaits entry into the palace to be presented to His Majesty. How would you like to schedule it?"

As if understanding Zheng Yi’s thoughts, Lu Lin’er looked up and said softly.

"Oh? A new selection?"

"Yes..."

Lu Lin’er grabbed an undergarment to cover herself, sat up against Zheng Yi’s chest, and said, "Due to the initial tranquility in the south, this selection process has taken a year and three months, and this concubine specially dispatched efficient eunuchs to oversee the selection in the Southern States."

"All unmarried girls aged fourteen to eighteen were within the selection range."

"After excluding those with disabilities, criminals, and those with poor appearances, there were initially more than thirty thousand."

"After the initial selection, personnel from the Ministry of Revenue and Imperial Household from each state reviewed them, sending batches to the capital, where the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Rites, and Imperial Household jointly assessed them."

"Three thousand six hundred fifty-five were chosen and are now residing in Chuxiu Palace, awaiting His Majesty’s selection."

Lu Lin’er laughed, "Compared to Your Majesty’s first selection of concubine candidates, this batch is higher in both quantity and quality~"

"Especially with many southern water town girls, gentle and adept at caring for Your Majesty."

"Very good, very good."

Zheng Yi nodded slightly.

For the first selection, only candidates from the Capital Region and a few northern states were chosen, numbering just over five hundred.

However, this time, candidates from the Southern States were included, especially from Jiangzhou, Yunmeng Marsh, and Yunzhou.

Although these regions experienced significant population declines due to war, resulting in many refugees, more women desired to enter the palace as concubine candidates.

Lu Lin’er added, "Your Majesty, since your first selection ten years have passed, during which many palace maids have grown older. There are also many aunts, should we release them and select new maids to serve?"

Zheng Yi thought for a moment, then nodded, "Alright. Empress, you may decide this."

"By the way, at what age may palace maids leave the palace?"

"Twenty-five years old."

"I see."

Zheng Yi stated concisely, "All palace maids aged twenty-five and above, unless holding high positions or official duties, may be released."

"Before leaving the palace, they must be verified by the Imperial Household; non-virgins should be immediately released, virgins temporarily retained, as I have a use for them."

Though Lu Lin’er found it a bit odd, she nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Most palace maids were either sold into the palace or kidnapped from elsewhere, some were those eliminated during selections.

These eliminated candidates either had issues like appearance, figure, or temperament, making them unsuitable to be consorts, thus relegated to serving the Emperor, consorts, and princesses.

Those with exceptional skills, such as embroidery, singing, or painting, could serve as female officials, enjoying generous treatment.

Almost every palace maid wished for a chance encounter with the Emperor, but such a transformation was very rare.

Most palace maids were released around the age of twenty-five.

Such maids, even slightly older, faced intense demand upon leaving the palace.

Zheng Yi retained the virgin maids to extend his lifespan!

After discussing some matters with Lu Lin’er, he embraced her and fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, Zheng Yi suddenly sensed someone approaching. Opening his eyes, he saw the sleepy-eyed Zheng Yuhuan, dressed in simple undergarments.

"Father~ Huan’er wants to sleep with you~"

Zheng Yi, amused and exasperated, shifted over to make room, motioning her to come in.

"Mmm, Father’s embrace is the most comfortable~"