Theemperor was seventeen now. It was high time for him to get married.West Empress Dowager would take care of it as the emperor's adoptedmother. On January 20, 1888, she issued an order that all thepreparations should begin for the emperor's marriage. On February28, she gave another order that the Internal Revenue Ministry of thegovernment should get ready five million taels of silver. On June 17,she announced her decision that the emperor's wedding would takeplace in February next year and after that she would let the emperorhave full power, making decisions all by himself. On July 27, 1888,a formal statement was made to that effect. On September 3, shedecided that the wedding day would be on February 26, 1889. So theselection of girls began in late September, 1888. At first therewere ninety-six girls, but even before West Empress Dowager couldlook at all of them, the names of sixty-five girls were crossed outowing to some reason or the other, among whom three would get intomarriage by the order of West Empress Dowager. On September 24,thirty-one girls gathered before West Empress Dowager and theemperor. Among them two girls were her nieces, which was againsttradition. But West Empress Dowager didn't care about tradition andno one dared to stand up against her. It was the evening on that daybecause West Empress Dowager wanted to look at the girls undercandlelight. And there were other two pairs of sisters. The processstarted from late in the evening and lasted till early in the nextmorning. As a result, sixteen girls were left after the firstsifting. On September 28, four days later, only eight girls out ofthe remaining sixteen were chosen. These eight girls were told tolive in the Forbidden City for close observation of their behavior. Then three girls out of the eight were sent home. One of the threewas a niece of West Empress Dowager. The other niece remained. Theemperor would choose the queen and two concubines from the fiveleftover girls.
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