Chapter 270: Volume 1, Chapter 270: Candidates Enter the Palace

"It's just that eldest brother refuses to marry, and Mother is worried sick," Rong Ling Shan said with a smile.

Madam Chu glared at her daughter from the side. "Her Ladyship is still in her confinement period. Why bring this up?"

Rong Luoge then said, "It's fine. Madam, have you spotted any suitable families?"

Chu Ke sighed. "I'm not even being picky anymore. As long as the girl has a good temperament and can manage a household, that's enough. But Yan'er refuses to agree to marry, so that's why I'm anxious."

Rong Luoge couldn't quite figure out what Rong Yan was thinking either, so she looked at Chu Ke and said, "Rong Yan is taking the merchant caravan on a trip this time. At the fastest, it'll take half a year before he can return. If it's slower, it might even be until year's end. Why not wait until he comes back to talk about it? Perhaps his mind will change after this trip."

Chu Ke could only accept this. "I don't know who he inherited this temperament from. It's truly a headache."

Rong Luoge reckoned this was because of that scoundrel of a father, Rong Heng—Rong Yan probably had reservations about marriage. But these weren't things she could say out loud, so she kept them to herself and asked Chu Ke about her recent situation.

"Life now is truly much easier than before, all thanks to Her Ladyship's blessings," Chu Ke said with genuine gratitude. "I'm already very content."

Rong Luoge nodded and said with a smile, "Rong Yan has been granted the title of Earl of Yong'an but hasn't been given a residence yet. Right now, the nearest street to the imperial city has no vacancies. His Majesty's intention is to bestow a residence on him after he returns this time."

Chu Ke hurriedly said, "Living in this residence now is perfectly fine. Whether or not one is bestowed doesn't matter."

"How could it not matter? He must have a residence, otherwise people will gossip behind his back," Rong Luoge said. "It just so happens that you should go out more during this time, Madam, and see which families have girls with good temperaments. Then when Rong Yan comes back, you can start meeting them."

Chu Ke nodded in agreement. She had been asking around, but if her son wouldn't agree, asking was useless. Still, since Her Ladyship said so, perhaps she had some idea in mind. She suppressed her impatience and agreed for now.

They hadn't talked for long before Kangkang woke up in the next room. Once awake, he wanted his mother. The wet nurse couldn't soothe him, so she brought the little young master over.

Rong Luoge reached out and took her son, smiling as she said, "What a little rascal."

Chu Ke took one look and immediately said, "The little prince really looks like His Majesty."

Rong Ling Shan, standing to the side, said, "Yes, he really does. Oh my, he smiled! He smiled at me!"

Kangkang stopped crying as soon as he was in his mother's arms. His dark eyes darted around, looking full of spirit and endearing.

Chu Ke then said to Noble Consort Rong, "I made some small clothes for the little prince, all by my own hand. They're not particularly fine, just a small token of my regard. I hope Her Ladyship won't disdain them."

Rong Luoge was a bit surprised and turned to look at Chu Ke.

Chu Ke had been the lady of the Guo Gong Fu for so many years that she had long since stopped doing needlework. Rong Luoge hadn't expected her to actually make clothes for Kangkang now, so she said, "Thank you, Madam. You made them with care—Kangkang will love them."

Chu Ke had still been a little uneasy, worried that the Noble Consort would disdain her work as inferior to the embroiderers'. Hearing these words, she was happy—truly happy.

Rong Luoge had someone bring in the clothes Chu Ke had brought, but to her surprise, Rong Xin and the others carried in an entire trunk.

Rong Luoge hadn't expected there to be so many. How long must this have taken to make?

She opened the trunk and saw inside, neatly arranged, small clothes in various patterns—some for wearing close to the skin and some for outerwear. She picked up an inner garment meant to be worn against the skin and saw that the stitching was fine and dense, made from the finest linen cloth. For linen cloth to become soft, it first had to be soaked in water, then sun-dried and rubbed—repeated several times until the fabric became soft against the body.

She hadn't understood these things before. Only later, after having a child and hearing it from the embroiderers, did she realize how many details went into a single small garment for a baby.

With one touch, she could tell whether these things were well-made or not. Chu Ke had truly put her heart into it.

Rong Luoge's feelings were rather complicated. Seeing the way Chu Ke looked at Kangkang—with genuine fondness and careful attentiveness at every turn—she couldn't help but feel a bit wistful.

At noon, Rong Luoge specially kept them for a meal, letting the mother and daughter eat before leaving the palace.

Han Xinglan hadn't been able to return. He had taken Rong Yan and the others to the glazed-tile kiln and was busy until dusk before returning travel-worn and covered in dust.

Rong Luoge had someone prepare water for him to bathe. Once he was cleaned up and came out, she asked, "How did you end up like this?"

"It was quite a coincidence. Today at the glazed-tile kiln, a newly built porcelain kiln had a batch explode during firing," Han Xinglan said.

Rong Luoge hurriedly asked, "Were you hurt anywhere?"

Han Xinglan looked at Rong Luoge's anxious expression and shook his head. "I only went in to look at the kiln afterward, which is how I got dust on myself. I wasn't hurt."

Rong Luoge was then relieved. "How did it explode?"

"The kiln master said it's a problem with the porcelain clay. The specifics still need to be investigated over there before any decision is made." Han Xinglan looked at Rong Luoge. "You're right that the porcelain clay is indeed an issue."

Rong Luoge knew that in later eras, the famous porcelains each had their own techniques and classifications of clay.

The body material of porcelain had to be porcelain clay, primarily kaolin and slip clay, containing feldspar, quartz, and mullite, with low iron content. After high-temperature firing, the body came out white with a transparent or semi-transparent appearance—that was what made fine-quality porcelain.

The four great kilns whose works survived into later eras each had their own distinctive characteristics.

Rong Luoge didn't have the ability to fully replicate Ming kilns right now. She could only rely on her own shallow knowledge to advance the development of porcelain. Failing at the beginning was nothing unusual—who could succeed all at once?

The porcelain clay issue did need to be studied carefully. She looked at Han Xinglan and said, "We still need to send people to find the highest-quality porcelain clay. Go to various places and look around—there might be discoveries."

Han Xinglan had already picked up his babbling son. Hearing this, he said, "The old craftsmen at the porcelain kiln said the same thing. A good kiln needs good clay. This kind of thing can't be rushed."

Every time Han Xinglan said a word, Kangkang would grunt in response. Father and son were like a duet, and it immediately cracked Rong Luoge up.

Han Xinglan was also immensely amused, deliberately saying a sentence to tease his son, then waiting for him to respond with a sound before saying the next. The two of them were having a wonderful time.

Rong Luoge had the meal set out. She ate her confinement meal, prepared separately, while what was prepared for Han Xinglan was different from hers. On their two dining tables, there was a clear dividing line.

After the meal, Han Xinglan coaxed his son to sleep. When it came to this task, as long as he had time, he would never leave it to the wet nurse.

Rong Luoge thought that perhaps when he was little, he hadn't had parents coaxing him like this, so he didn't want to leave his own son with that same sense of loss.

Early the next morning, while Yuzhao Gong was still quiet, the side gate of the Hou Gong had already opened. Carriages entered the palace gates one after another, parking neatly outside the second palace gate. Then, one by one, exquisitely dressed candidates stepped down from the carriages.

The originally tranquil Hou Gong, at this very moment, suddenly became bustling with activity.