After hearing the Crown Princess talk about the candidates, the Crown Prince also vaguely guessed something and asked calmly: “Oh? Which two candidates do you like? Why not tell me about it.”

The Crown Princess immediately perked up and said with a smile, “Speaking of which, Your Highness is familiar with these two girls. One is Jiang Rongyue, the third daughter of the Duke of Ying, and the other is Su Ying, my niece from my mother’s family.”

“They both grew up with Ah Yao, and they are childhood sweethearts. They are familiar with each other’s personalities. We know them both well, so no matter which one we marry as our daughter-in-law, we will be happy.”

“Rongyue is innocent and lovely, very likable. Ying’er is well-educated, talented, and beautiful, and is a good match for Yao. To be honest, Your Highness, I have been hesitant and don’t know which one to choose!”

The Crown Prince’s brows relaxed, and after a moment’s hesitation, he said, “We watched Rongyue and Ying’er grow up. They are both good girls with both virtue and talent. It is indeed a difficult problem to choose who to be our daughter-in-law.”

“Let’s do this! Anyway, there is still some time left, so we can slowly observe the personalities of the two. Also, let A Yao know which one he likes more.”

The Crown Princess immediately smiled and said, “In a few days, it will be Ying’er’s coming-of-age ceremony. I will be the main guest of Ying’er’s family at that time. Why not let Ah Yao go back to the Su family with me?”

She said she was undecided, but it was obvious that she liked her niece from her mother’s side more.

The Crown Prince did not expose the Crown Princess’ intentions, and simply said, “Alright. In two months, Rongyue’s coming-of-age ceremony will be here. Remember to bring A Yao to the Duke of Ying’s mansion then.”

The Crown Princess’ smile paused, but soon returned to normal and agreed with a smile.

…

The Imperial Palace, inside Lingbo Hall.

“Xinyun, go to Zichen Palace and ask if Doctor Wei is free. If he is free, ask him to come to Lingbo Palace.”

A gentle and pleasant female voice sounded in the side hall of Lingbo Palace.

The woman who was speaking was tall and slender, wearing a light blue palace dress, and she was doing needlework with her head down. Her voice was neither fast nor slow, gentle and pleasant to the ear. She only raised her head when she spoke.

She has long willow eyebrows, eyes like autumn water, a straight nose, and red lips, and her skin is as white and delicate as fine porcelain, set against a backdrop of black hair like clouds.

When she turned around and smiled, she was so charming that all the beauties in the palace paled in comparison.

What a stunning beauty!

This lady in palace dress had a calm expression, no arrogance at all, and spoke in a soft voice.

Xinyun, the palace maid at the side, hurriedly took the order and said: “Yes, I will go right away.”

After Xinyun left, the lady in the palace dress lowered her head again and carefully finished the needlework in her hands. Then she looked carefully for a moment and saw a pair of men’s cloth shoes in front of her. The embroidery was exquisite and the soles were very thick.

The beautiful lady in a palace dress pursed her lips and smiled slightly.

At this moment, Xinyun came back and reported with a smile: “Your Majesty, Imperial Doctor Wei happened to be free and has come. He is waiting outside the palace now.”

The eyes of the beautiful lady in palace dress lit up, and she stood up: “Please ask Doctor Wei to come in quickly.”

After a while, Doctor Wei entered the side hall.

When he went to the Crown Prince’s Mansion in the morning, he was still wearing a simple dress. After returning to the palace, he had to change into the official uniform of the Imperial Medical Bureau. The official uniforms of the Great Zhou Dynasty were different in color according to rank. Officials above the third rank wore black official uniforms, and those below the third rank wore dark green official uniforms. This color was indeed stable, but it was not really good-looking. People with darker skin would look green when wearing it.

Doctor Wei was an exception. He was tall and slender, with fair skin and a handsome face. He was wearing a dark green official uniform and was unexpectedly handsome.

“Wei Yan, your humble servant, is honored to meet Jiéyú niángniáng.” ^[1]a way of greeting royal concubines Imperial Physician Wei bowed respectfully.

The beautiful lady in a palace dress said angrily, “There is no outsider here, why are you going through all these empty formalities? Come here quickly and sit down to talk.” Her tone was intimate and casual.

Doctor Wei stood up straight, with a relaxed smile on his face: “Etiquette cannot be abolished.”

“What etiquette cannot be abolished.” The beautiful lady in palace dress simply pulled his sleeve and said, “Blood relationship is more important than any etiquette. You are my biological brother. Do I have to be so particular when I see my own brother?”

This beautiful lady in palace dress was none other than Wei Jiéyú, who is known as the most beautiful lady in the palace and was also the eldest sister of Imperial Physician Wei.

Doctor Wei was calm and polite to others, like a perfect mask, with no emotion. But when he arrived at Lingbo Palace, he relaxed, with a hint of a smile in his eyes.

“Ah Yan, I made a pair of shoes for you these days. You should try them on soon.” Wei Jiéyú was like a child. She happily took the newly made cloth shoes to show Doctor Wei.

Wei Jiéyú entered the palace at the age of sixteen, and this year had been exactly fourteen years.

Environment shapes character, and care shapes the body.

Having lived in the richest and most luxurious palace in the world for more than ten years, Wei Jiéyú had already developed an air of wealth and nobility. She was completely different from the confused, nervous, and timid girl coming from a common family.

However, one thing had not changed from beginning to end. She was still the eldest sister who loved him the most and loved him as much as she did in the beginning.

Looking at that familiar gentle smile, Doctor Wei felt warm in his heart. He took the cloth shoes and said with a smile, “I have enough clothes, shoes, and socks to wear. Don’t worry about me. Making shoes is laborious and hurts the eyes. Don’t do it again in the future.”

Wei Jiéyú smiled indifferently and said, “I’m bored all day long and don’t like playing chess, calligraphy, or painting, so doing some needlework is just right to kill time.”

The life of a jiéyú in the palace was far from as exciting as outsiders imagined. Except for one or two busy days each month when she served the Emperor in bed, the rest of the long time was lonely and difficult.

Wei Jiéyú was a quiet person by nature. Apart from paying respects to Empress Xu, she rarely left Lingbo Palace and rarely interacted with other concubines. Fortunately, she had Anyǎ Gōngzhǔ as her child, otherwise it would have been even more difficult.

Wei Jiéyú urged again: “Try it now.”

Doctor Wei couldn’t persuade Wei Jiéyú, so he had to change into new cloth shoes, walked a few steps, then looked up and smiled: “Your Majesty’s craftsmanship is still so good. Wearing shoes made by others is not as comfortable as the shoes you make yourself.”

These two simple sentences made Wei Jiéyú smile: “As long as it’s suitable.”

After he changed back to his official boots, Wei Jiéyú carefully wrapped the shoes in blue cloth and placed them next to Doctor Wei: “Take them when you leave later.”

Doctor Wei smiled and nodded.

Wei Jiéyú looked at her brother, whose face was handsome and whose spirit was high, and she felt a surge of pride in her heart.

Thinking that he still hadn’t married, Wei Jiéyú couldn’t help but sigh again, and brought up the topic that she would bring up every time she saw Wei Yan in the past few years: “Ah Yan, when are you going to get married? You are already 24 years old, do you still want to waste time like this?”

(End of this chapter)