"I never expected that our ancestor would actually arrange manpower for his daughter."

Ning Chuge was somewhat surprised. She thought that her mother had just said it casually, like their usual greeting.

"The Empress Dowager hopes that you will marry back to Khorchin in the future, so the nannies she selected for you are all from tribes around Khorchin."

Xiu Ning reached out and patted Ning Chuge's hand. "Once you make a decision, there's not much your mother can do to help you. But with the Empress Dowager's help now, things will be easier for you when you go to Khorchin."

Xiu Ning's words were strange. Even before Kangxi had issued an imperial edict, she had already determined who Ning Chuge's future husband's family would be.

Ning Chuge didn't say much, just nodded to show he understood.

"Here, this is a gift that the Empress Dowager asked your mother to bring to you," it was a wooden box that she had previously received from the Empress Dowager.

In front of Xiu Ning, Ning Chuge opened the wooden box, revealing a light yellow jade pendant inside.

The patterns carved on the jade pendant have a slightly archaic feel, and the surrounding area shows considerable wear.

Ning Chuge held the jade pendant in his hand and looked it over from side to side. He realized that this jade pendant must be the Empress Dowager's favorite item, and it was often held and played with by her.

"Mother, do you think that Father Emperor will really grant my request after I have made my stance clear?" and will not suspect that Ning Chuge has ulterior motives?

She decided to marry into the Horqin region without any prior warning.

"Yes, he will," Kangxi was even more eager for Ning Chuge to agree. Xiuning did not hide anything from her daughter. She told Ning Chuge about her daily conversations with Kangxi. "We originally had this idea, but before, you were still young, and Chunxi was still unmarried, so your father was just testing the waters." Now, with the clear signal from the Empress Dowager, Kangxi can continue to think about and implement it.

It's important to know that there are intricacies involved in deciding where a princess marries, including the final choice of the consort, and even the possibility of grooming a child husband from a young age.

The more obedient and sensible Ning Chuge was, the more favors Kangxi would give him.

Humans are strange creatures. They are impatient to be forced to choose, but if someone volunteers and expresses their opinion in advance, that is the other extreme.

There are only three princesses in the harem now, and even the youngest princess of Consort Guoluo is only five years old.

The only two people Kangxi could choose between were Chunxi and Ningchuge. To be precise, Chunxi's fate was already sealed, leaving only Ningchuge.

Thanks to Xiu Ning's favor with the emperor and Ning Chuge's popularity with Kangxi, Ning Chuge had a chance of not having to marry into Mongolia. However, that would undoubtedly have strained Kangxi's relationship with her and sown the seeds of future trouble for Xiu Ning's lineage.

But things are different now. With the arrival of several Mongolian nannies sent by the Empress Dowager to Ning Chuge's side, everyone realized that Ning Chuge would also be married off to Mongolia.

...

"Consort Jing, you are truly willing to do so."

"Yes, once this decision is made, there's no going back."

"Sister, what do you think Consort Jing is thinking? Everyone else is terrified, but she's eager to put her daughter in the line. If it were Ke Jing, I would never agree to it."

Anyone with eyes can see that the Emperor has been plotting against the Mongols for a long time.

But the Mongols are not fools. They dare not resist openly, but they are certainly already preparing to strike in secret.

Marrying delicate Qing princesses to such a dangerous and treacherous place—wasn't that a death sentence?

"When Kejing grows up, the situation is still unknown. Perhaps Kejing will not need to sacrifice himself."

Consort Guo Luoluo clenched her fists. She and her younger sister, Consort Yi, were pregnant at the same time, but one was pregnant earlier and the other later.

Now, her younger sister, Consort Yi, is about to give birth, and she is almost four months pregnant. In another month or so, she will be able to tell whether the baby in her belly is a boy or a girl by feeling its pulse.

Everything is moving in a positive direction for Guo Luoluo.

"Even if it requires Ke Jing's sacrifice, we will do our best to keep Ke Jing in the Qing Dynasty."

As Ke Jing's aunt and adoptive mother, Consort Yi genuinely loved Ke Jing, even though she was raising her own son, Yin Qi.

The thought of the adorable Kejing being married off to Mongolia by Emperor Kangxi caused Consort Yi's heart to ache terribly.

No, she won't allow it!

hiss--

"Little sister, what's wrong?"

Seeing that Consort Yi's expression suddenly changed, Consort Guo Luoluo was so frightened that she quickly asked her what was wrong.

Consort Yi reached out and covered her stomach; the familiar cramping pain reminded her of when she gave birth to Yinqi.

"Sister, I'm going into labor."

As he spoke, large beads of sweat began to fall from his temples, each drop distinct.

Consort Guo Luoluo quickly called someone in, because she was pregnant and unable to help Consort Yi, so she could only watch anxiously from the side.

"My lady, the delivery room is filthy. You are pregnant, so let's wait outside."

Guo Luoluo's maid helped the other person up and led the others to hurry out.

"Oh dear, why did she suddenly give birth?"

Consort Guo Luoluo kept turning her head to observe the situation, but there were too many palace servants rushing in, completely obscuring Consort Yi's figure. Even if Consort Guo Luoluo wanted to see, she couldn't see much.

...

"Your Majesty, a palace servant just came to deliver news that Consort Yi has given birth."

Chunyu walked up to Xiuning and told her master the news.

"She gave birth?"

Chunyu nodded, "It's a little prince, weighing seven pounds."

Wow, she gave birth pretty quickly.

Xiuning turned her head and glanced at the sky outside; it wasn't dark yet.

"Send the congratulatory gift over," they said. Usually, they would go over to join in the fun when someone was giving birth, but today Consort Yi gave birth quickly. Xiu Ning received the news and the birth was already over, saving her the trouble of going over there.

Chunyu agreed and immediately made the arrangements.

Since the gift was prepared in advance, there's no need for much trouble now; Chunyu only needs to make the trip herself.

After going back and forth for almost half an hour, by the time Xiuning remembered to ask about the progress of the matter, it was already time for dinner.

Perfect timing, let's talk while we eat.

Spring Rain spread out the vegetables, "Everything went very smoothly. There were no problems with Consort Yi, but Noble Lady Guo Luoluo was quite frightened by the sudden childbirth."

"Consort Guo Luoluo is also four months pregnant. The Guo Luoluo sisters are really lucky."

If I'm not mistaken, Consort Guoluo's baby was a boy, but he died young after only a few months.

It's hard to say whether it was a problem with the children themselves or something else, but in any case, of the Guoluo clan, only one princess and two princes survived and grew to adulthood.

After finishing the dishes that Chunyu had picked up for her, Xiuning took a sip of soup. "His Majesty said he would return to the palace in half a month, but now that Consort Yi has just given birth, it seems that it will have to be postponed."

You should arrange for people to return to the palace to handle the miscellaneous matters of the past few months; otherwise, dragging it out will be disadvantageous for us.

There were concubines in the palace, but compared to the summer palace, they were practically invisible and couldn't cause any trouble.