"Happy Mid-Autumn Festival today! The whole palace is celebrating together. In addition, a banquet will be held in the Hall of Preserving Harmony tonight, and ministers and their wives will come to the palace to celebrate together."

The Imperial Noble Consort, acting like the mistress of the harem, announced this momentous event. Then, she glanced at the Consort Chen, who was sitting below, seemingly lost in thought, and chuckled inwardly. The Consort Chen had begged the Emperor for a long time before being allowed to hold a grand Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

"The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunion, and it's more lively with more people!" Consort Hui said with a smile.

"Yes! The palace hasn't been this lively in a long time!" Consort Rong chimed in.

"Ya ya!" Suddenly, the Fourth Prince, who was in Granny Kong's arms, made a lively sound behind them, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"The Fourth Prince is so lively and active, and he looks so cute with his chubby cheeks."

Consort Yi said enviously, "I used many spies before but couldn't find out who attacked me. I took so many medicines but there was no effect. So now I'm putting my hopes on Consort Guo. If it's a son, at least he'll be from the Guo Luo Luo clan. I'd rather leave the mother and keep the son."

"Yes! The Fourth Prince is the youngest now. The Third Prince always says he wants to play with his younger brother, but he only gives up because the Fourth Prince is still young!" Consort Rong always says a few more words when the children are mentioned. She really treats the Third Prince like the apple of her eye.

"You don't need to be envious. You're all still young. Having children is just a matter of time. As long as the time is right, having two children in three years is not a problem."

Wan Yi looked at their envious expressions with amusement, but whether it was genuine envy or jealousy, who could say for sure!

"Consort Chen is right, especially the newly arrived ladies in the palace. They have the Emperor's favor, so they must seize the opportunity and conceive a prince as soon as possible."

The Imperial Noble Consort encouraged them, saying that she wanted the adopted child's mother to be of high birth so that she would be worthy of her, the Tongjia clan.

"I imagine news of Consort Min will spread soon, after all, the Emperor loves to summon her the most!"

Consort An couldn't stand seeing them gain favor. She used to get to serve the emperor once or twice a month, but now that the emperor is in these gentle pleasures, he's probably forgotten all about her!

"Your Highness, if I am indeed pregnant, I will certainly inform you!" Consort Min rose and bowed respectfully.

"Let's talk about it when you actually have one!" It was like punching cotton; she was left both angry and speechless.

"Alright, all of you, come with me to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager!"

Previously, even on the first and fifteenth of the month, the Imperial Noble Consort could go by herself. Wanyi hadn't visited the Empress Dowager for a while. She heard that the Empress Dowager was probing for information from Granny Kong, and she had a bad feeling about it, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Yes!" The Imperial Noble Consort led the way, followed by Consort Wan, and then the rest of the group set off for Shou Kang Palace in a grand procession.

"May the Empress Dowager enjoy boundless blessings and peace!" He knelt, kowtowed, and flicked his handkerchief three times.

"Get up! Sit down, everyone."

The Empress Dowager looked much more haggard, but no one could tell with her makeup on. The Empress Dowager always felt that her aunt's death was not due to illness, but must have been covered up by something, so she had been investigating in secret, but without any progress. Therefore, she decided to turn her attention to them.

"Thank you, Empress Dowager!" Wanyi rose and sat down with the others.

"It's been a long time since I've seen Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. How have you been?" Wanyi said familiarly. Although she hadn't visited often, she had sent some things to Shou Kang Palace to maintain this meager relationship.

"Nothing has changed from usual, Consort Chen is very thoughtful." When the Empress Dowager was alive, she had wanted to find someone to chat with, but now she couldn't get involved with the emperor's concubines, lest the emperor suspect something.

"My Empress Dowager prefers quiet and doesn't go out much. His Majesty has instructed me to come and keep her company more often!"

Seeing that the Empress Dowager and Consort Chen were chatting back and forth, leaving them standing there, the Imperial Noble Consort interrupted unhappily.

"Your Majesty is filial, and you are a good person too. It's just that you're getting old and like to worship Buddha. Having too many people around makes me uncomfortable." It's not a good thing for her to have too much attention. She just wants to find out about that matter quietly.

"Your Majesty, you're not old at all! If we go out together, people will think you're my older sister!" Flattery never fails!

"Your Highness the Imperial Noble Consort is right. The Empress Dowager is eternally youthful and has never aged!" Consort Wen echoed.

"Oh! It seems the Fourth Prince wanted to go play with his mother, but things aren't going his way. He's just making a lot of noise here!" Wanyi turned around and patted Yinzhen, then gestured to Granny Kong with her eyes.

"Go ahead! Have some fun with the Empress Dowager!" Wanyi noticed that the Empress Dowager had glanced at Yinzhen several times since he came in. Since Yinzhen wasn't shy around strangers, she thought it would be good for her to go and have some fun with the Empress Dowager.

"Ah, ah!" When Yinzhen saw the jeweled necklace on the Empress Dowager, his little hands and feet kicked even more forcefully, wanting to take the jewels.

"The Fourth Prince will be a year old soon!" The Empress Dowager lovingly embraced the Fourth Prince, her heart melting completely, and she forgot all her worries.

"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, it is late February." There are still about four months until Yinzhen's first birthday.

"Time flies! It seems like the Fourth Prince can already walk!"

It's been almost a year since her aunt passed away. Only after her aunt left did she realize how difficult it was to live in the inner palace. Without her aunt's protection, Emperor Kangxi visited less often, and the people below naturally became restless. Although they weren't harsh on her, things weren't going smoothly.

"Yes! In the blink of an eye, I've become a mother. It still feels a bit unbelievable!" Wanyi exclaimed somewhat shyly.

"You are also a blessed person. You have given birth to a son in just a few years after entering the palace and rose to the rank of Imperial Concubine!"

The Empress Dowager, for reasons unknown, actually stirred up trouble. There was a concubine in the harem who had been in the palace for many years but still had no children. If looks could kill, Wanyi would have died countless times by now.

Wanyi no longer spoke enthusiastically to the Empress Dowager, responding casually to whatever was said. Perhaps the Empress Dowager was genuinely bored, as she kept them until almost lunchtime before letting them leave.

"Your Majesty, it seems that the Empress Dowager..." Granny Kong, though old, was not naive and could see that the relationship between her mistress and the Empress Dowager was somewhat delicate.

"Just keep it to yourself. Go and call the wet nurse to feed Yinzhen, and then put him to sleep! We have to attend a banquet tonight, and it wouldn't be good if he cried."

Wanyi sighed. Things had gotten worse after all, but thinking about it, it made sense since they were enemies.

"Yes, then this servant will take the Fourth Prince downstairs." Granny Kong carried the Fourth Prince, bowed, and left.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! May Your Majesty be well!" Wanyi hadn't expected Kangxi to come at this time; she had just woken up from her afternoon nap and hadn't even had time to put on her clothes.

"No need for formalities!" Kangxi looked at him, who was still sleepy and wearing his undergarments, with silky hair draped over his shoulders and rosy cheeks.