After a series of bestowed marriages, everyone realized that His Majesty seemed to have no intention of controlling Prince Yong's harem.

After understanding, he couldn't help but feel envious and jealous of Tong Cheng'er, who could have such a good thing happen to her.

The Emperor doesn't care, and Prince Yong himself is a man who doesn't get involved with worldly women. If he were to ascend the throne one day, there would only be one woman in the harem. Such an honor is something every woman longs for her whole life.

Many concubines in the harem were disappointed, but the most disappointed was Consort Tong.

"Granny, with the example of Consort Dong'e, how could His Majesty truly tolerate Prince Yong having only his wife in his harem? What do you think His Majesty is thinking?"

Even the nanny doesn't know!

How could a servant like her possibly fathom the affairs of His Majesty?

"The Living Buddha said that His Majesty must have some reservations."

Consort Tong scoffed: "A Living Buddha? If a Living Buddha were truly efficacious, why would so many things go wrong?"

The old woman remained silent. Although that was the case, since His Majesty was willing to use the Living Buddha as a cover, the truth was no longer so important.

"Alright, since His Majesty has no interest, then I won't bother. Go to the storeroom and find some good things. Princess Consort Yong is currently pregnant, so it's good to give her some nourishment."

The nanny felt it was unnecessary. They had just planned to send women to Prince Yong, but now that they couldn't, going back to "curry favor" with Prince Yong's wife seemed a bit inappropriate, as it was impossible for her not to have heard about it.

But as a servant, she couldn't openly persuade him.

I had no choice but to go to the storeroom to select items as instructed.

While Tong Cheng'er was pregnant, Yinzhen was worried that it would affect her mood, so he basically didn't let the outside noise reach her ears. After everything settled down, the happiest person was not Tong Cheng'er, but Tong Cheng'er's mother, Shumulu.

She finally got her revenge. She had been hearing a lot of veiled innuendos these past few days, which infuriated her. But no matter how angry she was, she couldn't shut everyone up.

Now that no new imperial concubines have entered the inner courtyard of Prince Yong's mansion, Lady Shumulu has been eating half a bowl more of rice and sleeping more soundly and peacefully.

Inside the Yong Prince's residence, Tong Cheng'er was taking good care of herself during her pregnancy. Yinzhen should have been very busy, but since his little princess was pregnant, he was worried and reduced his official duties considerably. As for the unfinished official duties, Hongzhao took over.

Hongzhao was young and innocent, and his parents loved him dearly. He grew up in a loving environment. Compared to Yinzhen, who was deep and thoughtful even in his youth, Hongzhao was much more innocent and adorable. Even so, Yinzhen taught him everything he needed to know and do.

With more practice and a few lessons learned, one can grow.

Tong Cheng'er's pregnancy is also an opportunity, a chance for Hongzhao to grow.

Hongzhao didn't see this as an opportunity. He was intelligent and his character was resolute under Yinzhen's special training, but he hadn't suffered much hardship, so he was still somewhat playful.

Yinzhen knew how to control him: bring up Tong Cheng'er, and he would have no choice but to agree.

Thus, Hongzhao was forced to begin handling Yinzhen's official duties.

In ordinary noble families, this would be something they would be eager to do. Even if it's tiring, at least it proves that their father values ​​them, which is of utmost importance.

Thus, Hongzhao was unaware of his own good fortune.

Tong Cheng'er thought it would be good for her son to get some experience, as she was also the kind of person who doted on her child.

And so, summer passed, autumn arrived, and before you knew it, winter came, and another year had quietly slipped by.

That year, the Qing Dynasty underwent many changes.

On the surface, Emperor Kangxi still discouraged maritime trade, but in secret he had already organized a fleet to go to sea and profited from it. Kangxi's private treasury became rich overnight, which was naturally a cause for celebration.

The Department of Agriculture has also achieved some new results, which are currently being tested in experimental fields on the outskirts of Beijing. The Department of Shipbuilding is not far behind; with the generous rewards from Emperor Kangxi, there are many people willing to use their brains, and the results are naturally remarkable.

During the New Year, Emperor Kangxi was very happy. The Qing Dynasty was getting better and better. Putting aside other things, in the past two years, due to additional income, Emperor Kangxi had reduced agricultural taxes considerably. In addition, new seeds could increase yields, and people's families had surplus grain. Although not everyone could be well-fed and clothed, it was much better than in previous years and the previous dynasty.

The most direct result was that when the population was counted this year, the rate of population growth greatly pleased Emperor Kangxi.

In an era when manual labor was the main mode of production, population was the primary productive force. Population growth represented a virtuous cycle and also indicated that the Qing Dynasty had a sufficiently prosperous environment for its people to live and work in peace and contentment. Only when people lived and worked in peace and contentment could they have children and raise them to adulthood.

Of course, what made Kangxi happiest was that Tong Cheng'er was pregnant. He hoped that this child would be a son. It's not that daughters are bad, but Yinzhen was the next emperor he valued. If he only had one son, to put it bluntly, it would be difficult to handle if something went wrong.

At the New Year's Eve banquet, Emperor Kangxi praised his sons and bestowed additional titles upon them, making everyone happy.

Yinzhen wasn't upset about it. A title, to put it bluntly, just meant a little more or less silver each year. It might sound nice, but it wasn't as useful as having a real post in the court.

When Kangxi saw that Yinzhen was not unhappy, he was even happier. They were all his sons, and although they held different places in his heart, he still hoped that they could help each other instead of fighting each other.

Yinzhen was extremely satisfied with his performance.

There has never been a happier year than this one.

As an emperor, he was satisfied that the people were doing well this year, fulfilling his duties as emperor. As a father, he was even happier that his wife was pregnant and his sons were getting along well and no longer fighting fiercely like before.

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