No one expected that a minor cold would leave Lu Qingwan bedridden for five or six days.
Having finally recovered, and before she could attend to her own matters, the imperial decree for the selection of consorts arrived.
As soon as Emperor Jingyou's decree arrived, ordering her to preside over the selection of consorts, Yue'er began to scurry around like a little mouse, moving items to Wutong Yuan bit by bit.
Then, she excitedly asked Lu Qingwan, "Princess Consort, look, these clothes are all the most fashionable in Shangjing. Which ones do you like?
The selection of consorts lasts for three days, you can't let those young ladies outshine you!
Sister Man Chun, you're the best at dressing up, come quickly and help me see which outfit looks good!"
In reality, without Yue'er's prompt, ever since Emperor Jingyou's decree arrived, ordering Lu Qingwan to preside over the selection, Man Chun and the others had already taken it upon themselves to make arrangements.
They were one thing, but Li Yang and Li Su had also rushed about, finding a pile of magnificent clothes and jewelry for Lu Qingwan.
When Yue'er's shout went out, a group of people delivered all the prepared clothes and jewelry to Wutong Yuan.
Li Yang even cheerfully said, "Princess Consort, just say what you like, and we subordinates will find it for you by any means necessary.
The Prince is not here, so we subordinates must take good care of you…"
Gorgeous clothes, exquisite jewelry, and rouge and powder worth a fortune.
Lu Qingwan looked through them one by one. She had to admit, these people truly treated her like a young girl, bringing only the best of items.
However, her gaze finally fell on Li Jin, who was standing at the doorway, "What are you holding?"
Li Jin was holding a brocade box as large as a small table. The box was a vibrant red, giving it a solemn and dignified appearance.
Upon hearing this, Li Jin pursed his lips and said somewhat nervously, "The Regent Princess Consort's court attire."
Everyone was stunned. Yue'er asked blankly, "Do you have to wear court attire to preside over the selection of consorts?"
Before Li Jin could speak, Li Yang had already refuted her, "There's no such rule.
The Princess Consort's court attire is only to be worn during enfeoffments, the ascension of a new emperor, or sacrifices to heaven.
For the selection of consorts, wouldn't wearing court attire be too grand?"
Li Jin, despite his young age, was the head of the Prince's guards and the steward of the Prince's mansion. Naturally, he was highly trusted by Feng Xiwu.
Therefore, Lu Qingwan did not immediately question him like Li Yang and Yue'er. Instead, she furrowed her brows and said, "Li Jin, explain, why should I wear court attire?"
"I know, Princess Consort, that you are young and will be competing with a group of vibrant young ladies. You should dress beautifully.
However, we are currently claiming that the Prince is gravely ill. If the Princess Consort is dressed flamboyantly, it will inevitably give others ammunition.
But if the Princess Consort is dressed too simply, she will be at a disadvantage compared to those young ladies dressed in full regalia.
Therefore, I thought that if the Princess Consort wore court attire to preside over the selection, firstly, the color and style of the court attire are stipulated by the imperial court, and no one can question it."
At this point, Li Jin still looked somewhat anxious, "Secondly, once the court attire is worn, the Princess Consort will represent the royal ladies. Even if those young ladies are dissatisfied in their hearts, they will have to show some respect to the Princess Consort.
At that time, even if someone is dissatisfied with the Princess Consort's decisions, they will not dare to act rashly in the face of the Princess Consort wearing court attire."
After speaking, Li Jin stood quietly. He had already presented the item, and the pros and cons had been clearly explained.
Whether Lu Qingwan would adopt his opinion was no longer within his purview.
Lu Qingwan looked at Li Jin and slowly smiled, "No wonder there are so many guards, and the Prince specifically made you the steward.
You are truly extremely meticulous. I will wear court attire to preside over the selection of consorts.
Someone, attend to my changing of clothes."
…
After the news of the selection of consorts spread, the young ladies of Shangjing had not had a peaceful day.
They were busy practicing music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and embroidery and needlework every day. They searched for beautiful and elegant clothes and jewelry. Having finally endured until this day, the young ladies arrived at Baihua Palace early.
"I heard that the Regent Princess Consort is presiding over this selection of consorts. She was almost the Consort of Prince Chen, and now she has to choose a consort for Prince Chen. Will she deliberately make things difficult for those who wish to be Prince Chen's consort?"
There were many young ladies in the Great Qian. For the sake of fairness, although some daughters of provincial governors were summoned to the capital to participate in the selection,
most of the young ladies who could become the principal consorts of the two princes were daughters of high officials who had lived in Shangjing for a long time, or at least had accompanied their fathers or elder brothers back to the capital.
Who admired Prince Chen, and who had once sent a secret glance at Prince Jing, these were things that everyone more or less knew.
Even if they didn't know before, now that the two princes were selecting consorts, everyone should know.
At this moment, those who admired Prince Chen, or who had been instructed by their fathers or elder brothers to become Prince Chen's consort, were the most uneasy.
Although Lu Qingwan was now the Regent Princess Consort, she had only been married for less than four months, and Feng Xiwu was lying in bed.
Between the sickly Feng Xiwu and the young and handsome Feng Qingheng, no one believed that Lu Qingwan would truly fall out of love and fall for Feng Xiwu.
When Emperor Jingyou ordered her to preside over the selection, these young ladies saw it as a test from Emperor Jingyou, and they believed that Lu Qingwan would deliberately make things difficult for them for the sake of Feng Qingheng.
"On such an occasion, I wonder how she will dress?"
"How else would she dress? She'll definitely dress up flamboyantly to seduce His Highness Prince Chen!"
…
The group of self-righteous young ladies completely forgot that they themselves had spent a lot of money to dress up in order to compete for the position of princess consort. It was as if Lu Qingwan dressing up a little too ostentatiously was a heinous crime.
Just as they were maliciously speculating about Lu Qingwan, Prince Jing Feng Qingheng and Feng Qingheng had already entered.
Accompanying them were many noble young masters of prominent families.
Under the guise of accompanying the two princes, but in reality, everyone knew that these gentlemen were also here to size up the young ladies.
The customs in the Great Qian were not yet too open, and opportunities to get to know so many young ladies at once were rare. How could these young princes and grandsons be willing to miss out?
With more people, there were more disputes. As soon as Prince Jing saw Feng Qingheng, he taunted, "Imperial Brother, I heard that the person in charge of selecting consorts for us this time is the Imperial Aunt.
I recall she was almost your imperial sister-in-law back then. Now she's here to select a consort for you, how do you feel about that, Imperial Brother?"
From the moment he learned that Lu Qingwan was in charge of the selection, Feng Qingheng knew that someone would bring this up.
Although he was annoyed by the remark, he did not lose his reason. He merely adjusted the tiger-skin cloak on his body and said, "Imperial Brother still has the leisure to inquire about my feelings. It seems Imperial Brother's illness has improved?
What did Divine Doctor Lin say? When can Imperial Brother become a father? I should prepare a congratulatory gift to congratulate Imperial Brother on his happy occasion of welcoming a son!"
That casual remark almost pierced Prince Jing's lungs. "Thank you for your concern, Imperial Brother. Hundred Plum Blossom Pharmacy has not collapsed, Divine Doctor Lin is still alive, and I am recovering day by day. Imperial Brother must be very disappointed, right?!"