Now that Xue Li had exposed him so clearly, Yinreng's lips trembled and his fists clenched tightly.

Sherry felt that he wasn't ruthless enough and still cherished his father's love.

If he had been more ruthless, Emperor Kangxi would have killed the man when he was around forty years old.

Who else has this to do with it?!

So, should she take action?

Otherwise, if Yinreng's temperament were drastically altered by the ordeal, wouldn't that be a tragedy?!

It has to be said that Kangxi's desire to control the crown prince was too abnormal.

It's like the heavy emotions many single mothers experience.

She wants to give her child double the love, but she's also afraid that her child will be closer to his/her future partner than to her.

Just like how Kangxi felt uncomfortable seeing the crown prince he had raised getting close to Suo'etu.

"First, keep your distance from Songgotu and stay away from the Hesheli family. Second, be the son the Emperor likes; whatever he needs from you, that's how you should behave!"

Sherry still offered a reminder.

If he can ascend the throne, that's fine too. At worst, I can ask him to change the foreign policy in a dream to avoid the tragedy that followed.

But if he still falls before dawn, then it will be her child who eats the pie from heaven.

The crown prince paused, looking flustered and helpless, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Sherry pressed him down on the stool, and after a while he calmed down, she let him leave.

Sydney continued to lazily bask in the sun.

The weather is getting colder, and we will soon be returning to the Forbidden City. Emperor Kangxi has already passed away, and the Empress Dowager is seriously ill.

Consort Zhangjia was also pregnant at the same time, and her belly was even bigger than Consort Zhangjia's.

Once she's settled into a stable position and has given birth, Zhangjiashi will probably be able to go back.

On the 27th day of the 11th month of the 26th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign (1687), Lady Zhangjia gave birth to a daughter.

Both mother and daughter are safe.

Lady Zhangjia enjoyed the treatment of a noble lady, and her son was raised in the palace of Consort De.

Because of her lowly status, her daughter was taken to Consort Yi's palace to be raised when she was only one month old.

Seeing Zhangjia's tearful expression, Xue Li felt that the Qing Dynasty's custom of raising children by adopting them was quite perverse.

It was said to be to ensure the healthy growth of children, but in reality it was to prevent interference in politics by relatives of the empress.

In fact, the Later Jin period was the nascent stage of the adoption of princes in the Qing Dynasty. Although no princes were sent out of the palace to be raised during this period.

However, due to the numerous instances of ministers' children being sent to the palace for upbringing during the Later Jin period, this separation of mothers and children undoubtedly provided fertile ground for the adoption of princes in the Qing Dynasty.

When did the Qing Dynasty's adoption system originate?

It actually started during the Shunzhi period.

As is widely known, Emperor Shunzhi's birth mother was Empress Dowager Xiaozhuangwen.

Although they were biological mother and son, Regent Dorgon separated them from childhood in order to control the Shunzhi Emperor, which made the Shunzhi Emperor and his mother appear to be estranged.

The already tense mother-son relationship became even more strained because Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang forcefully sent Mongolian noblewomen into the harem.

Therefore, Emperor Shunzhi himself did not place much importance on the bond between mother and son.

Therefore, after the outbreak of smallpox, Emperor Shunzhi did not hesitate to send people out of the palace, including the young Emperor Kangxi.

Emperor Kangxi missed his birth mother, but he was even closer to the wet nurse who took good care of him.

His birth mother passed away early, so he didn't think there was anything wrong with adopting a child.

This system reached its peak during the Kangxi era, and according to statistics, eight princes during the Kangxi era had been adopted.

Most children are not close to their birth mothers, and of course, the one with the worst relationship was Emperor Yongzheng.

Because of the suffering he had endured, he resolutely rejected that system.

The practice of raising children by adoption gradually disappeared after the reign of Emperor Yongzheng.

Let's get back to the main topic.

On January 27th of the 27th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign (1688), the Grand Empress Dowager, who had served three emperors, passed away.

In the days following the death of the Empress Dowager, Emperor Kangxi kept vigil day and night, weeping incessantly.

He hadn't eaten a single grain of rice for several days and nights, and his body had become extremely thin, which saddened everyone in the palace.

Sherry was starting to regret it, crying at the funeral while pregnant.

However, the situation was even worse for Consort Tong and Consort De.

Consort Tong was so ill that she couldn't even get out of bed, yet she still insisted on presiding over the overall situation.

Consort Niu assisted from the side, making sure the pregnant concubines didn't suffer too much.

Consort De reaped what she sowed; she probably took care of her health and ended up getting pregnant again.

Speaking of pregnancy, Shirley did some calculations and found that historically, Consort De would give birth to the Fourteenth Prince on the first day of the first lunar month.

So, did Consort De's cold medicine cause her beloved son to die?

Could this pregnancy be with the fourteenth child?

However, she currently enjoys little favor and relies entirely on Lady Zhangjia in the palace.

Then, Kangxi wouldn't disrespect her, and would still summon her to his bedchamber.

Of course, Sherry didn't care.

She wondered what this thing in her belly looked like. After all, it was truly something out of nowhere!

Perhaps the young maid in history was in poor health, or perhaps she was tricked by the imperial harem, which is why she was pregnant for so long and died soon after.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, she has captured Consort De this time, so let her suffer the consequences herself.

Shirley stayed peacefully in the palace to rest and prepare for childbirth.

At the same time, Uya's pregnancy was not going well; she had become fat and aged.

Emperor Kangxi disliked going there even less.

In early May of the same year, Sydney went into labor.

Drinking the "natural childbirth pills" made childbirth much easier.

A young man with a loud voice.

Because of the death of Consort Hesheli, no one in the household dared to lay a hand on her.

After all, compared to the crown prince who is a foregone conclusion, the prince she gives birth to might be able to become an ally of the crown prince.

So, the so-called power that Sherry had never even considered was delivered directly to her.

There are also many shops, banknotes, estates, land deeds and the like.

For a moment, Sherry thought this was a reward for her, but then she thought, if the reward was given by Kangxi, how could it possibly be Suo'etu's turn?

Shirley ignored all that and bought two puppet talismans from the system, which she then applied to Peony and Rose.

Let them watch the children.

It's best if they don't have bad intentions; if they do, Sherry will arrange a beautiful way for them to die.

Sherry fell into a deep sleep, having drunk some spiritual spring water before going to sleep.

Emperor Kangxi was very pleased, after all, the two above were daughters, and some of the concubines died before they were even born.

Now that Xue Li has given birth to a healthy and strong prince, Kangxi smiled with delight.

“Xie means blessing. Let’s choose Yinxi!” Kangxi said, looking at the baby in the swaddling clothes.

Sherry thought the name sounded familiar but couldn't quite place it.

Whatever, the meaning is pretty good anyway.

At the end of August of the same year, Consort De gave birth to a frail son.

Emperor Kangxi named him Yinji. The character "ji" implies superstition and seeking blessings from ghosts and gods.

Sherry scoffed at the name; that was the name of the pitiful Consort Ping in her past life.

Hopefully, Consort De will do her best to ensure the child's survival.

Interestingly enough, Consort De was forced to rest in bed.

After all, with one birth after another, plus the cold medicine made by her family, the child almost didn't come out. You can imagine how badly her body must have collapsed.