Another year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Before Tong Cheng'er was pregnant, Yinzhen never let her worry about giving gifts to Emperor Kangxi. Now that she is heavily pregnant, Yinzhen naturally wouldn't let her worry about it.

Two days before New Year's Eve, Emperor Kangxi had already stopped writing. After finishing his household affairs, Yinzhen went to the Qianqing Palace.

Kangxi was quite surprised, because ever since Tong Cheng'er became pregnant, Yinzhen had wanted to be by her side every day. These past few days, he hadn't been on duty, but he actually came over. It was truly a rare sight!

"Why did you come here? Weren't you at home with your wife today?"

Emperor Kangxi chuckled and made a joke.

Yinzhen thought to himself, "Who would want to come out in this freezing weather? But I have something to do."

"Your subject has come to the palace today to ask Your Majesty for a favor."

Emperor Kangxi became interested: "Tell me what you are asking for first."

Although Kangxi knew that Yinzhen would not act recklessly, he could not easily agree to it.

What Yinzhen asked was actually related to Tong Cheng'er.

Yinzhen: "The New Year is just two days away. My wife is only a few months pregnant and will give birth soon. She is carrying a big belly, and I am really worried about her. It has been snowing non-stop these past few days, and the roads are slippery. I hope that Father Emperor can grant her permission to spend the New Year at home this year."

Emperor Kangxi was taken aback: "You are being too cautious. I have already asked the imperial physician who examined your wife, and she is perfectly healthy."

Yinzhen naturally knew this, but during the New Year, there were all sorts of people in the palace—some with ulterior motives, some with ulterior motives—and who knew what might happen? Yinzhen was just worried.

"Your subject knows, and Father Emperor also knows about your situation. You've finally become a father, and I really dare not take any risks. I'm afraid of the worst-case scenario."

Kangxi thought about it and agreed. It was normal for him to be cautious given his situation, although he felt that he was being a little too cautious.

"Did your wife send you to tell me about this?" Kangxi understood, but he still had to ask.

Yinzhen shook his head: "No, this was my idea. My wife doesn't know yet. If Father Emperor agrees, I will talk to her. If Father Emperor doesn't agree, I won't say anything."

Kangxi nodded: "Alright, we do it the same way every year. It's okay if you miss one. The baby in your belly is more important."

Yinzhen didn't mention it, and Kangxi hadn't thought of it either. Palace banquets were indeed places where things could easily go wrong, and his grandson was still the most important.

Yinzhen looked grateful and said, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your grace."

Kangxi laughed: "Alright, don't be afraid of people saying you're spineless if word gets out."

In today's world, Yinzhen's cautious manner is too much; to outsiders, it might seem like he's too focused on personal feelings.

Yinzhen: "It was not easy for my wife to get pregnant and give birth to my child. I should be considerate and take care of her. So what if I'm useless?"

Despite saying that, Yinzhen didn't think he was a failure at all.

A real man should be successful in the imperial court.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Kangxi couldn't help but laugh, as he did not agree with these words.

As a father-in-law, Emperor Kangxi should not have paid too much attention to the child in his daughter-in-law's womb. However, Yinzhen's situation was special, so Kangxi couldn't help but care. Sometimes when he saw Yinzhen, he would remember that he had a pregnant wife, and he would casually ask Liang Jiugong to ask the imperial physician.

As he asked, Kangxi learned that Tong Cheng'er was pregnant.

Pregnancy is indeed difficult, but Kangxi felt that the difficulty had absolutely nothing to do with Yinzhen's wife. While others experienced various adverse reactions during pregnancy, she had none and was extremely healthy.

Even Emperor Kangxi couldn't help but exclaim, "What a blessed person!"

Even after sending away Yinzhen's "good-for-nothing" son, the smile on Kangxi's face did not disappear. After Yinzhen left, Kangxi said to Liang Jiugong, "Yinzhen is a man who knows how to care for people, and his wife is also a blessed person."

Upon hearing this, Liang Jiugong smiled and said, "That's right. It's well-known that Prince Yong dotes on his wife. She is a blessed person to be cherished by Prince Yong like this."

Emperor Kangxi was pleased to hear this and laughed out loud.

When Yinzhen returned to the mansion, Tong Cheng'er saw that he was covered in cold air and quickly said, "Come in and warm yourself by the fire. Why did you go out again in this freezing weather?"

Hearing the words of concern, Yinzhen felt a warmth in his heart. He smiled and said, "It was my fault for making Cheng'er worry. I apologize to Cheng'er."

Tong Cheng'er glared at him: "I'm not blaming you. By the way, Father Emperor has already stopped writing, what are you doing in the palace today?"

Yinzhen: "Go to the palace and tell Father that you can stay at the mansion for the New Year's Eve banquet in two days."

Tong Cheng'er was taken aback by his words and suddenly looked at him: "What did you say?"

She felt as if she were hallucinating.

Yinzhen found it amusing and repeated, "Father has already granted you permission to have the New Year's Eve banquet at your residence."

Tong Cheng'er immediately broke into a big smile.

"That's great! Just now, the old lady gave me some instructions on what to be careful about when I go to the palace in the next couple of days. Now it's all good, I don't need to go."

Winter had arrived, and she was pregnant. The winter in Beijing was so cold that even breathing outside felt like breathing in the cold air. She wore many layers of clothing, which made the roads slippery in the snow, and the bulky clothes made it easy for her to slip and fall if she accidentally bumped into something.

Not having to go to the palace is naturally a great thing.

"So you went to the palace today to ask your father for a favor?"

Yinzhen nodded: "Yes."

Tong Cheng'er felt a little embarrassed. People had entered the palace for her sake, and she had just said so many things that sounded like complaints.

Saying thank you at this moment seems a bit too formal, and saying sorry seems a bit too distant.

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