Consort Hui fell into deep thought, her mind wandering far away.

Cunxin, who was serving Consort Hui, lowered her head and pondered. At this moment, a maidservant entered from outside the hall with a solemn expression and whispered a few words in Cunxin's ear. Cunxin's expression changed.

"Your Majesty, usually when Consort Li and I have a dispute in the back hall, usually..."

Upon hearing this, Consort Hui spoke coldly, "Usually, when a woman is nine months pregnant and about to give birth, I told her to stay in her own room. What was she doing running to the inner palace?"

"Li agrees."

With a look of disdain, Consort Hui thought to herself that the original owner of this body was truly foolish.

Consort Li and Consort Yue, who were once considered "slender horses" in Yangzhou, were actually summoned to the palace and recommended to serve the emperor. Fortunately, the emperor was wise and only favored them once or twice before forgetting about them.

Otherwise, she would be drowned in the spittle of the court officials.

Cunxin was about to speak when Consort Hui interrupted her, pausing slightly before whispering, "Your Majesty, Cunxin had a dispute with Consort Li, which upset her and caused her to give birth prematurely."

"、、、、"

Consort Hui paused for a moment, her brows furrowing. "Usually, when a woman is more than nine months pregnant, the imperial physician diagnoses her due date to be in the next few days. Now that she has gone into labor, the imperial fetus is fully developed."

"Have the midwife and the imperial physician been arranged properly?"

Cunxin replied softly that it had already been arranged.

Night falls

News of the production usually reached Xu Lejin's ears.

Xu Lejin glanced quickly at the Kangxi Emperor sitting opposite her with a serious expression, and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, just now my servants reported that Consort Hui's concubine was in danger and started having an attack this afternoon."

"Um,"

Kangxi responded calmly, his expression unchanged.

After a quick moment of consideration, Xu Lejin spoke softly, "Usually, this is the first pregnancy, and now that labor has started and she is about to give birth, would Your Majesty like to go to Consort Hui's palace?"

Emperor Kangxi put down the book he was holding.

She glanced at Xu Lejin and said calmly, "No need. Usually, when she is giving birth, with Consort Hui overseeing things, and with the baby in tow, both mother and child will be safe."

"yes."

She responded softly, then lowered her head and remained silent.

The moon rises above the willow branches

Emperor Kangxi's gaze fell on Xu Lejin's slightly protruding belly. After a moment of contemplation, he said loudly, "It's getting late. My beloved consort, you should rest early. I'm returning to the Qianqing Palace."

Xu Lejin's heart skipped a beat, and she let out a soft sigh.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I respectfully see you off."

Kangxi rose and strode away from Yikun Palace.

Supported by Ruhua and Nongying, Xu Lejin watched Kangxi leave from the main hall. After a moment of contemplation, she spoke softly, "Liuying, go to the west side hall and tell Consort Shun that the Emperor has returned to the Qianqing Palace. Tell her not to wait any longer."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

In the west side hall, Consort Shun, who was eagerly awaiting Emperor Kangxi's arrival, received Liu Ying's report and remained indifferent.

After a cup of tea

A palace maid serving Consort Shun said softly, "Your Highness, it's getting late, you should rest."

"Um."

He responded calmly.

The next day, February 26th

In the late afternoon, past midnight.

News came from Yanxi Palace that after much difficulty, a woman had finally given birth safely to a baby girl weighing 8 pounds and 7 ounces.

Because the little princess was too big in the womb, she usually suffered a lot during childbirth.

Although the delivery is safe, it usually damages the body and makes it difficult to conceive again in the future!

Xu Lejin responded softly, "Usually, after a pregnancy, the imperial fetus is cared for by Consort Hui. Because she usually experiences miscarriage and needs to rest in bed, I was unaware that the imperial fetus usually grows too large."

"Fortunately, usually with the princess, mother and daughter are safe and sound."

After a pause, Xu Lejin looked at Liu Ying.

"What does the Emperor usually say when a princess is born safely?"

Liu Ying lowered her head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has issued an edict to the six palaces, granting the title of Consort Jin to the Noble Lady and bestowing upon her one hundred taels of gold. The little princess will remain in the Consort's quarters in Yanxi Palace, and will be moved to the Prince's quarters after her first birthday."

"Yes, that's how it should be."

Three days later

The little princess born to Consort Tong was the 25th daughter of the Emperor, who was given her third-day celebration.

In the afternoon, Consort Que and Consort Duan came to Yikun Palace together. They smiled and mentioned the 25th princess to Xu Lejin. "Consort Yu, the 25th princess is the only one among all the princes and princesses born in the palace in recent years who was born chubby."

"The twenty-fifth princess of the emperor was only three days old when she was born, yet she was just like any other full-term baby."

Nodding, Xu Lejin spoke calmly, "Consort Tong received excellent nourishment during her pregnancy, and the Twenty-Fifth Princess is very healthy, which is a good thing. However, I heard that Consort Tong suffered greatly during her childbirth?"

Consort Que and Consort Duan exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

Covering her mouth, Consort Que chuckled softly, "Isn't that right? The twenty-fifth princess is quite tall, and when Consort Tong was giving birth, she almost couldn't deliver."

"Later, after exerting tremendous effort, she safely gave birth to the twenty-fifth princess, but she was of noble birth..."

Lowering her voice, Consort Que gave a sly smile.

"Sister, you don't know this, but it's said that Consort Tong developed many vertical lines during her pregnancy because her belly was too large. Now that she's given birth, her health has been damaged, and she'll likely have difficulty conceiving again. With so many lines on her belly, she's probably going to fall out of favor completely."

"Oh, really?"

Xu Lejin frowned slightly. "The Imperial Hospital has highly skilled doctors. Consort Tong developed vertical lines on her belly during her pregnancy, but now that she has given birth, she can use some ointment and it will help a lot."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!