Chapter 86

At the residence of Prince Yong.

When the Fourth Prince's wife, Lady Guarjia, became pregnant, her maids and nannies all said that she would definitely give birth to a little prince.

However, no sooner had she become pregnant than Li, the woman in the backyard, became pregnant as well.

Her first child was a princess, but she lost her second.

It was thought that Yinzhen would grow tired of Lady Li because of this, but to everyone's surprise, Lady Li's charm and liveliness, as well as her successful pregnancy, won him back his favor.

Guarjia will never forget the moment when, after that vile woman Uya had caused her to lose her child, news arrived that Li was pregnant, and Yinzhen was overjoyed.

Guarjia understood that for a woman, only the child born from her own womb is her son, but for a man, no matter which woman gives birth to him, he is his son.

Li's womb is working hard; if she gives birth to sons... one after another, where will there be room for her own son?

Like the Emperor, who had too many sons, the fighting among them... meant that no one cared who was his brother. Even the beloved crown prince could be deposed.

What's more, his own eldest son?

The Guarjia clan began planning for events that would occur many years in the future.

There are too many women in the backyard. I can't possibly control them all. If too many of them lose their babies or sons, wouldn't I end up like the Third Prince's wife?

They pinpointed the culprit to Yinzhen, the one who could get women pregnant. If he couldn't have children, wouldn't everything have been fine?

You don't have to get your hands dirty.

Looking down at the baby in her belly, she wondered if this time it was a boy or a girl.

If it were a son, it would be fine, but if it were a daughter, and she had rendered Yinzhen unable to have children, wouldn't her own future be ruined?

Just bear with it a little longer...

Just bear with it a little longer.

She looked down at her stomach, her lowered eyes concealing all her emotions, preventing anyone from discovering her shocking idea.

"Where is the master?" Guarjia was not as distant from her husband as she had been in her previous life. She was gentle and kind. In addition, Yinzhen was not as unrestrained as Yinreng, and he still respected his wife quite a bit.

Therefore, the relationship between the two is relatively harmonious.

"Madam, Consort Li's stomach... her stomach hurts. Master, go, go visit Consort Li..." The maid stammered as she spoke, because Madam seemed... in a very bad mood.

Guarjia's eyes darkened. Yes... she had more than one son, and even her most beloved son could be deposed. How could she guarantee that she could become the Empress Dowager?

Despite her ruthlessness, Lady Guarjia still wore that gentle, virtuous smile. "Indeed, Consort Li is feeling unwell. Did you send a doctor over? Go and check her pulse to see what's wrong?"

In the backyard, it's all about competition, whether it's for a man's favor or the power to manage the household.

If the concubine gains the upper hand, won't she be able to completely overwhelm me?

She knew perfectly well how the Fifth and Seventh Princes were doing in the Yuqing Palace of her past life, and now in her present life.

"Yes, Madam." The nannies and maids around the Fourth Madam all knew that their Madam was not a soft-hearted person, and this time, Consort Li... was doomed.

Meanwhile, in the Prince Cheng's residence, the Third Princess Consort Dong E didn't have much time to think about the concubines; she was focused on giving birth to her child safely.

However, Jialuo didn't care much about what happened in other people's homes.

Now, she's leaving the palace to go on a date with her man.

"Baocheng, the capital city looks much more lively this year." Apart from seeing the main streets of the capital city on her way back from Mongolia when she was pregnant with three children, Jialuo hadn't been to the main streets of the capital city for a long time.

Looking at the increasingly bustling streets, I was filled with amazement.

Because it was quite cold in winter, and she was wearing thick clothes, Jialuo directly grabbed Yinreng's hand under the cover of her sleeves.

The man's warm palms were indeed incomparable to hers; hers was still somewhat cold.

"Are my hands cold?" Jialuo looked up at Yinreng, her eyes full of laughter. [Hehe, even if they're cold, I won't let go.]

She gripped Yinreng's hand even tighter, as if afraid he would pull away because her hand was cold.

Yinreng looked down at the Crown Princess beside him, a gentle and elegant smile on his lips. He did not struggle, but instead wrapped his hand around Jialuo's small, soft, and boneless hand.

"Let's go check that out." Jialuo loved to join in the fun, and she tried everything from acrobatics to sitting at roadside stalls.

The three chubby babies were sent to the Qianqing Palace. Although Kangxi was pleased with the trust his son and daughter-in-law placed in him, it was really difficult for him to take care of three two-year-old babies.

He glanced silently at the three chubby little boys staring at him expectantly, and in the end, he neither refused nor had anyone send them to the Cining Palace.

It's so cold outside. Even if you carry it around, it's not good for it to get cold from the wind.

"Liang Jiugong, bring out the toys you prepared earlier." Kangxi had also considered that one day, when the three children would be sent over by Yinreng, just like Hongyao had been, he had already asked Liang Jiugong to make preparations.

(Yinreng: Father, I'll say it again, I was able to teach Hongyao, but you insisted on taking away the right to educate him.)

The three chubby babies were used to running around the palace, living a much more carefree life than Hongyao had back then.

Sticking close to his grandfather, the child sat quietly playing with his toys, occasionally pouting and making a few soft, babyish sounds that Kangxi didn't find noisy.

She also thought of her newborn seventeenth prince, and added the seventeenth prince's birth mother, Consort Chen, to the list of consorts to be appointed, as well as the birth mothers of the fifteenth and sixteenth princes, Consort Wang.

"Grandpa, I'm hungry." While playing, Hongyang, feeling a bit hungry, made no attempt to hide it, tilting his head back and looking at Kangxi with a soft, languid expression.

Kangxi then looked at Liang Jiugong, who immediately understood and went out.

While they lived happily together, Yinzhen and Yin'e, who went out to provide disaster relief, were in a rather sorry state.

We packed our bags and headed out, but it was winter and a bit cold.

Yin'e and Ninth Brother were of one mind. Based on Yin'tang's previous behavior, he probably already understood what Ninth Brother was thinking. Yes, they were going to go secretly.

Kangxi didn't pay attention to this issue. The two boys had thought that after being scolded and given a bunch of tasks, he would be able to stop them.

Who would have thought that in mid-January, half a month after the ship had already set sail, they would find out that... Yin Tang and Yin E had secretly followed the ship.

Those two body doubles were only discovered then...

When news of this reached the capital, Emperor Kangxi was the first to fly into a rage.

Then came worry. He wanted to send people out to find the person, but the large ship they built was far superior to ordinary merchant ships. More than half a month had already passed. How could Kangxi not be anxious?

It shouldn't be called irritability, it should be called violent rage, to the point of being so violent as to want to kill someone.

Although he seems to have many sons, now all seventeen, he has only raised a handful (excluding the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth princes) apart from the younger ones.

Now that two of them have gone out, how could he not be worried?

Consort Yi of Yikun Palace was practically crying her eyes out. How... how could he have gone on a voyage to the West? Could it be...? No way, sob sob sob...

Can't we stay in the capital?

Consort Yi was a woman who had a smooth life. She was favored as soon as she entered the palace, gave birth to a son, and then had two more sons. She was promoted to concubine and then imperial concubine, and enjoyed the emperor's favor for more than ten or twenty years.

The only thing that pained her was the early death of the eleventh prince. But because of the eleventh prince's early death and the fact that the fifth prince, Yinqi, was not by her side, all her love was placed on Yintang.

Voyages to the West were such dangerous things, there was even a possibility of not returning.

How could Consort Yi not be worried? She immediately rushed to the Qianqing Palace, crying and begging Emperor Kangxi to send someone to bring back Yinzhen and Yin'e.

Emperor Kangxi was already very irritable, and with Consort Yi crying and sobbing, he had no mind to pity her.

"Xiao Jiu is also my son, how could I not care? Alright, you can go back now." He didn't have the patience to coax her and simply sent her away.

News of Yinzhen and Yin'e's secret voyage to the Western Ocean quickly spread throughout the royal family. When Yinreng and others discovered it, they were quite surprised, wondering how... they could be so bold.

For many years, the Qing Dynasty had imposed a maritime ban. Apart from some smuggling merchants, there were no official records. Nobody knew what dangers might lurk on that vast ocean.

However, the ship has been gone for so long now that it's impossible to catch up, and we don't even know which direction to chase it in.

Yinqi was also worried about his mother and often went to the palace to pay his respects to her. However, as an adult prince, he could not stay in Yikun Palace all the time.

Therefore, Yinqi could only entrust this to the Fifth Prince's wife, and... the Ninth Prince's wife.

It was only then that everyone remembered there was another woman who was also in a particularly tragic situation... Oh, perhaps all the women in Lao Jiu's backyard were in rather tragic situations.

No one is sure if Lao Jiu will be able to come back.

This includes the tenth prince's wife and the women in his harem.

The only solution is for the royal consorts to occasionally visit and offer guidance. For example, Jialuo, who was entrusted with various business matters by His Highness the Crown Prince, and who also has such a good relationship with their Yuqing Palace.

Completely kept in the dark, Yinzhi's expression darkened slightly. Neither the various business deals he was entrusted with nor the prior notice he had received had been disclosed.

It was only then that Yinzhi truly realized that he and the Ninth Prince, the Tenth Prince... seemed to have really parted ways.

Yinzhi and Yin'e were not unaware of Yinsi's hidden ambition, but what could they do when their relationship with Yuqing Palace had improved so much?

In addition, the Emperor's favoritism towards the Crown Prince and Hongyao meant that even the eldest brother had given up on competing with the second brother.

They didn't think highly of the Eighth Brother, and they didn't even consider his background. He was a lowly servant, and he didn't have a prominent maternal family behind him, except for his sister-in-law's Prince An's Mansion.

But... the key point is that after Prince Yue Le died, the old wife he left behind was not his maternal grandmother, but Yue Le's stepmother. The prince who inherited the title was also the son born to his stepmother...

Without financial support from his maternal and in-law families, and lacking business acumen, it was entirely impossible for him.

That's why I won't work with the myna bird; wouldn't that be like running headlong into a fire pit?

No matter how angry Yinzhi was, it was useless; he had no other options.

The Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince did not live in the capital, so even though their residences were almost completed, they did not move out of the palace.

With Yinreng's prompting, Jialuo often went out to chat with the Ninth and Tenth Princes... and played cards together. They even went to Cining Palace to play mahjong, living a very comfortable life.

The Empress Dowager was always happy because of her tenth consort, Borjigit. The Mongolian imperial concubines also liked her because the Crown Princess would bring three chubby little boys with her every time she came.

Yinti was in charge of training the navy and killing pirates and bandits, and he didn't return until almost the end of the year.

Looking at his wife's big belly, who cares where the Ninth and Tenth Princes are? I'm just waiting for my wife to give me a big, fat son.

It just so happens that the month is almost here. Yinti is filled with anxiety and wonders whether he should call the imperial physician to take his pulse and see if the baby in his wife's belly is a boy or a girl.

However, after being reminded by the First Princess Consort, Yinti finally agreed to let the imperial physician come and take his pulse.

Looking at the imperial physician, both the First Princess and Yinti's hearts raced with nervousness. Finally, when the imperial physician uttered the word "male fetus," Yinti was so excited that he almost fainted.

Waaaaah... Finally, finally I have a son.

The First Princess was still very nervous. "Imperial Physician, there shouldn't be any mistake, right?"

The imperial physician dared not make a guarantee; he could only say there was a 70-80% chance, but that was enough to excite and fill them with anticipation.

Therefore, for the rest of the time, Yinqi requested to stay in the capital, as his wife was about to give birth and he could send his fifth or seventh brother to lead the navy.

Anyway, they don't have any legitimate sons to have.

When this got out, the fifth prince, Yinqi, and the seventh prince, Yinyou, were speechless.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Kangxi felt that Yinti was simply asking for a beating; he didn't have such a stupid son.

In the end, however, Kangxi couldn't bear it. Yinti had longed for a son for so many years, and Baocheng had four sons, but Baoqing had none.

As a result, Yinyou was sent to the front lines. At the very least, in terms of his fear of his son, he still didn't want Yinqi, who had been raised by the Mongolian Empress Dowager, to have military power.

Yinyou didn't mind at all. When he learned that his father had given him an important task, he was so moved that he cried.

Despite his leg ailment, he excelled and worked very hard in every aspect, from reading and writing to horseback riding, archery, and playing the game.

This is an opportunity to showcase yourself.

Yinti didn't mind having his fruits taken away at all. He followed his wife around happily, occasionally bickering with Yinreng and visiting his mother.

Consort Hui no longer cared about Yinti's lack of ambition, fearing that if Yinti became too ambitious, what would happen to the Ninth and Tenth Princes?

She was so annoyed. That woman from Yikun Palace was always crying and wailing, like she had lost her son.

It's almost the end of February.

The Grand Consort initiated the attack.

Yinti stood at the door of the delivery room with the utmost anticipation, and even the light snow falling from the sky could not dampen his burning excitement.

The eunuchs serving him were extremely worried and tried to remind their master to go inside, but Yinqi couldn't hear them at all.

Why keep pacing around? Should I run a couple of laps to suppress the burning excitement in my heart?

Not only Yinti, but many people were also nervously anticipating it, such as Consort Hui, Emperor Kangxi, and the people of the Irgen Gioro clan.

The royal consorts in Yuqing Palace and other palaces are also preparing gifts, which will be sent over after the Grand Consort gives birth.

However, after a day and a night, the First Consort finally gave birth to a son with great difficulty.

Upon hearing that it was a son, Yinqi's cheers almost echoed throughout the entire imperial city: "I have a son!!!"

(End of this chapter)