Inside the hall, a brazier was burning, making it much warmer than outside. Lanqin quickly instructed the wet nurses to remove the cotton cloaks from each child.

Once everything was ready, Lanqin led the children into the main hall and, a few meters away from Consort De, began to pay their respects. The Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, the Second Princess, Namin, and Wuxiha all knelt, while only Bechuk was held by his wet nurse and knelt to pay his respects.

"Alright, alright, get up, all of you. Here, I've prepared gifts for you, Granny De." Consort De looked at the row of children, her heart filled with affection. Now, all her living grandchildren were standing here. Although the Fourteenth Prince had been married for almost three years and had been living outside the palace for a year, he didn't even have a single princess. Consort De secretly felt dissatisfied with Wanyan Shi.

Lanqin led the children to Granny De to ask for New Year's red envelopes. Consort Cheng, who was standing nearby, also gestured to her palace servants to bring out the gifts she had prepared, and said with a smile, "Come on, Consort Cheng's madam has some too. All the children are so good-looking."

Consort De pulled the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince aside to ask about their studies. The Second Princess obediently went to Consort Cheng to ask for a red envelope. The two little girls, Namin and Wuxiha, were led by their wet nurses to ask for rewards.

"You're not at a loss, I have several here, but your eldest grandson and eldest princess only have two," Consort De teased.

"I'm not at a loss at all; Your Highness's things are much better than mine," Consort Cheng quickly said with a smile.

A little while later, Xinyi arrived with the Seventh Prince's son and daughter, followed closely by the Fourteenth Prince's wife.

After the Seventh Consort finished her rites, Consort De naturally gave her son and daughter two large red envelopes, and said a few words to Xin Yi, mostly praising her, before accepting Wanyan's kneeling ceremony.

Xin Yi let the wet nurse take her son to the side room to rest, while the eldest princess of the Seventh Prince, who was about the same age as the Fourth Prince, immediately started playing with Wuxiha and Namin.

"Alright, get up. Here, this is a gift from your mother. Take good care of it when you get back, and keep incense burning day and night so that you can produce offspring for Yinzhen as soon as possible." Consort De immediately bestowed a white porcelain Guanyin statue upon the Fourteenth Prince's wife.

Lanqin suppressed a laugh as she looked at Wanyan Shi's displeased expression. She felt sorry for her; in this day and age, attributing the issue of childbearing entirely to women was truly unfair. However, Wanyan Shi had always been arrogant and haughty, and Lanqin didn't particularly enjoy interacting with her. Besides, as the primary wife, Wanyan Shi wouldn't deign to associate with Lanqin.

Wanyan suppressed her anger and accepted the "reward" from Consort De, then sat down opposite Lanqin and Xinyi.

"I wonder how the Fourteenth Prince is doing over there? Sigh, Prince Zhi can come back, why can't he?" Consort De had always been dissatisfied with Prince Zhi's unauthorized return to the capital. While she was referring to the Fourteenth Prince, she was also asking Lady Wanyan, as Yinzhen's primary consort, she couldn't possibly know nothing.

"Your Majesty, the Fourteenth Prince is a young hero who has won the Emperor's favor. I really hoped that our Seventh Prince could go, but he can't go at all," Consort Cheng quickly comforted him.

Consort De's expression softened slightly, and she said to the feigning-foolish Wanyan clan, "Didn't the Fourteenth Prince tell you anything?"

Lady Wanyan said, "I have written to the Fourteenth Prince, but he has not replied. I don't know how he is doing over there."

Consort De's expression darkened again. She said, "When Fourteenth went, he left in a hurry and didn't even bring a concubine or maid to serve him. As the primary consort, how could you not think of that?"

Immediately, the atmosphere in the hall became a bit tense. The Second Princess, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince all understood what was going on, so naturally they dared not make any more noise. Only Namin and Ushiha were still chasing and playing around with the Seventh Prince's eldest princess in the hall.

When Consort De reprimanded her in front of the two concubines, Wanyan felt wronged, but she maintained the dignity of the primary consort and forced herself to say, "Mother is right. It was all because I didn't think things through. I will send Consort Chen over after the New Year."

Sigh, being the principal wife of a prince isn't easy. If her husband does anything wrong, her parents-in-law will blame her. She also has to send concubines to her husband to ensure he has children; otherwise, she's considered unfilial and unvirtuous.

Lanqin looked at Wanyan with sympathy. Before she could recover, she heard Consort De say, "Fourth Prince's wife, I heard that the wife in your household is not well. The Fourth Prince has entrusted all the affairs of the household to you to manage?"

Lanqin quickly replied, "Yes, I'm new to this, but I'm still quite capable."

Consort De nodded approvingly and said, "The Princess Consort is getting old, and since the death of the First Prince, she has not been able to conceive again. Now that she is in your care, I am at ease. You must not neglect your duties. The Prince still has too few sons. You must arrange more people to serve the Fourth Prince so that the lineage can continue."

Good heavens! Is this implying that she couldn't give birth to a son? Damn it! Is she also forcing herself to send maids to Fourth Master's bed?

Lanqin gritted her teeth. She thought that Consort De must have a good impression of her, but in this situation, she still had to endure these words.

"Yes, I will remember Mother's teachings and will certainly not let Mother down." Lanqin knew that she could only go along with it at this time.

After Consort De finished reprimanding her daughter-in-law, Consort Cheng naturally followed suit and reprimanded Xin Yi for a while. However, considering that Xin Yi's first child was a son, she only said a few words.

"Alright, all of you go and rest in your side rooms for a while. When lunch is ready, I'll have someone call you over to eat. There's a family banquet tonight, and you all have to go. Make sure you get plenty of rest, and don't cause any trouble in front of the Emperor tonight." Consort De was very considerate, no wonder she had been favored by Emperor Kangxi for decades.

Lanqin, supporting Cui Niang and Nianxue, led Wuxiha, Namin, and Biechuke to the rooms arranged by Consort De to rest, following the palace maids. The older children, now refreshed, didn't want to sleep, so they were allowed to stay and keep her company.

Xin Yi, holding her son, naturally went to rest as well. Wan Yan Shi, who had no children, was also in an awkward position standing there, so she also said she wanted to rest.

"Third Sister!" Xin Yi quickened her pace and walked up to Lan Qin.

"Fifth Sister, why don't we rest together and talk? Otherwise, we won't have time to talk this afternoon," Lanqin said.

Xin Yi truly meant it, and quickly called for her wet nurse to carry the prince, and took Lan Qin's hand to enter the room that Consort De had prepared for Lan Qin.

After their respective maids settled the two children in and put them to rest, Lanqin and Xinyi reclined on the warm couches to rest, while the others found a place to rest as well.