For a concubine, one must first recognize her own status, and second, learn to read people's expressions.

Since Kangxi is so happy right now, they naturally have to be even happier than him to pass the test.

With this in mind, congratulations began to rise and fall in the main hall. Regardless of what they were thinking, everyone was genuinely happy. Anyone who didn't know better would think that the person who had just given birth was their own sister.

As Liang Jiugong walked, he shook his head, thinking to himself that these ladies were all better actors than the last. No wonder the Emperor would send people to investigate them in secret from time to time; it was clear that he already knew about these matters.

"Eunuch Liang"

When the eunuchs waiting in the courtyard saw Liang Jiugong arrive, they all smiled and tried to ingratiate themselves.

Seeing this, Liang Jiugong simply waved his hand and said, "Someone, go to the Qianqing Palace and prepare the rewards that the Emperor prepared earlier. Then come with me to the Yikun Palace."

Turning his head, he glanced at the bustling main hall behind him and whispered a warning, "Be careful, keep your skin on tight. If anything goes wrong, don't blame me for not warning you."

His sharp gaze swept over the crowd, causing the young eunuchs to cower in fear.

The young eunuchs immediately assured them, "Yes, yes, thank you for the reminder, Eunuch Liang."

"I promise I won't let my father-in-law worry about my son."

"..."

Blah blah blah, saying nice things without asking for them. Seeing this, Liang Jiugong nodded in satisfaction, turned around and left with his men.

...

"This humble servant, Liang Jiugong, greets Consort Yi."

Followed by a young eunuch carrying a tray, Liang Jiugong appeared in the main hall of Yikun Palace in no time.

Consort Yi had just finished dealing with Consort Guo Luoluo's matter and was having her maid massage her to relieve her discomfort when she heard Liang Jiugong coming over. She was startled and quickly stepped forward to greet him with a smile.

"Eunuch Liang has arrived."

Liang Jiugong smiled and responded, while gesturing to the eunuch behind him to place the gifts on the octagonal table. "These are all gifts from His Majesty to Consort Guo Luoluo and the little princess."

Consort Yi's smile became even more genuine. "On behalf of Guo Luoluo, I thank Your Majesty."

"I wonder, sir, how is the Imperial Concubine doing?"

Consort Yi naturally knew about Tong Jia Rongyue's childbirth. Now that things have gone smoothly here, what about Jingren Palace?

"Her Highness the Imperial Concubine is doing well and must have already given birth."

Liang Jiugong did not hide anything from Consort Yi; Jingren Palace was well-prepared, and no unexpected incidents were possible.

"Really? That's a double blessing," but we don't know if Consort Tong's baby is a boy or a girl.

Yes, even now that she's about to give birth, these concubines still don't know the sex of Tong Jia Rongyue's baby, because no information has been sent out at all, and even the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital have kept quiet.

However, most people still guessed it was a boy, based on various aspects of Tong Jiarong's pregnancy.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries face to face, and Liang Jiugong, seeing that it was almost time, quickly took his leave.

Consort Yi didn't linger, only secretly slipping a red envelope to Zhi'er when she saw the princess off, asking Liang Jiugong to speak well of the newborn princess when he returned, since she was a girl and shouldn't lose the Emperor's favor.

...

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye, and with a hoarse cry coming from the delivery room, the baby's cries lingered in everyone's ears.

She's given birth!

After realizing what was happening, everyone turned to look at Emperor Kangxi at the head of the table.

At this moment, Kangxi had already gotten up from his chair. He took a few quick steps and rushed out of the main hall, leaving Xiuning and the others looking at each other in bewilderment.

So, should we follow or not?

"Why are you looking at me? It's Consort Gui's happy occasion, we should go and celebrate too."

Consort Jia straightened her clothes, snorted, and followed closely behind.

The others exchanged glances and followed.

"Your Majesty," Chunyu said, then looked up at the outside of the main hall.

"Come on, we should head back to the palace."

Xiuning tidied the stray hairs on both sides of her forehead and placed her hand on the back of Chunyu's hand.

Seeing this, Chunyu calmly helped Xiuning catch up with the group ahead and walked briskly to the door of the delivery room.

At the entrance, Kangxi stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the swaddled baby being held in the arms of the midwife.

The baby's cries came intermittently from the swaddling clothes, but no one was alarmed, as it is quite common for babies to cry after birth, including Xiu Ning's several babies, whose cries were deafening.

Because they were quite far apart, Xiuning couldn't hear what Kangxi and the midwife were saying. She only knew that the midwife curtsied and then took the swaddled baby back to the room.

Kangxi turned around, smiled, and said a few words to everyone. The gist of his words could be interpreted as him being very happy. Today, both of his concubines had given him imperial offspring. It was better to share the joy than to keep it to himself. Everyone had come all this way, and he would give them all a reward later.

Xiuning: ...

Xiu Ning bowed to express her gratitude and watched Kangxi leave once more.

...

"Your Majesty, the palace servants have delivered the rewards, and I have registered them all."

Inside Qixiang Palace, Xiuning sat on a couch, rubbing her temples as she listened to Chunyu recount the story.

"The Imperial Concubine gave the Emperor a son, and the Emperor seemed quite pleased."

It looks like they intend to empty out the private treasury, even more so than when the Empress successfully gave birth to the Crown Prince.

Tsk tsk, isn't this just a case of praising someone to death, trying to pit the Tong clan against the Hesheli clan in order to find a new balance in the harem?

With these random speculations running through her mind, Xiuning waved to Chunyu again, "There will be a lively celebration at the baby's third-day celebration in three days."

One is a princess, the other a prince; their birth mothers are a concubine and a lowly concubine, respectively. The emperor's heart is bound to be biased to the extreme.

A playful smile appeared on Xiu Ning's lips as she looked forward to the arrival of three days later.

...

"Your Majesty, you are absolutely right. The baby's third-day celebration is being held in two separate locations, but the ladies of the harem are simply too busy to attend to everything."

Now that things have turned out this way, I'm afraid there won't be many people going to Yikun Palace.

At the dressing table, Chunyu helped Xiuning with her makeup while muttering about the interesting things that had happened in the past two days.

The most attention-grabbing event was the arrangements for the two young masters' third-day celebration.

As expected, although the scale was similar, the Emperor visited the Prince's birth mother, who was a Consort, every day. As a result, Jingren Palace not only received more congratulatory gifts, but also saw a noticeable increase in its treatment.

In contrast, Guo Luoluo, a concubine in Yikun Palace, received a newborn princess who, despite being healthy, did not attract the emperor's attention. She was only given gifts twice by the Qianqing Palace, making her life seem even more desolate and lonely in comparison.

Today, as well, the two children's third-day celebrations were held simultaneously in their respective palaces, and Xiu Ning, as the head of Qi Xiang Palace, could only attend one of them.

Looking at the beauty in the bronze mirror, Xiu Ning reached out and touched the large pearl below her earlobe. "There's nothing I can do. The Imperial Concubine is temporarily in charge of the palace affairs. Everyone has the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm. It's also because Consort Yi of Yikun Palace has to stay and help. Otherwise, she would have to go to Jingren Palace."

The imperial harem is that simple, brutal, and unreasonable. What kind of two imperial heirs could be treated together? Absolutely impossible.

"We're almost ready, let's go."

She stood up, bent over, and looked at herself in the mirror from left to right. Xiu Ning smiled sweetly, like a lotus flower in bloom.