The next morning, He Zhuo returned to the palace, taking Xiao Zhenbao and Hongyu with him.

Yes, back to the palace. Everyone is now at Changchun Garden. Originally, Consort Hui was also staying at Changchun Garden to escape the summer heat. It's almost July, and the imperial selection is coming up, so the four consorts all returned to the palace a couple of days ago to get busy.

"Greetings to my mother, the Empress Dowager. May my mother, the Empress Dowager, be blessed."

After paying her respects, Little Treasure, like a little cannonball, threw herself into Consort Hui's arms and whined, "Grandma."

"Oh my, my little treasure, do you miss your grandma?" Consort Hui affectionately patted the little treasure's head and said to He Zhuo, "Get up."

Then Hongyu rushed over and hugged Consort Hui's leg, looking at her with adoration.

"Oh dear, the Empress Dowager's eldest grandson, does he miss the Empress Dowager too?"

Hongyu nodded his little head.

"Grandma has prepared some lychees for you. They were just delivered and they're very sweet. Let your Aunt Qiao peel them for you. Grandma will talk to your mother while she speaks." She patted the two little bottoms and said, "Go on."

Aunt Qiao bowed to the two of them, saying, "Princess, Prince, please follow me."

The children's voices were always soft and sweet, which softened people's hearts. The two children each took one of Aunt Qiao's hands and walked away.

"Please sit down," Consort Hui said, offering a seat.

He Zhuo did not refuse: "Mother, your daughter-in-law is here to congratulate you. There are two happy events."

Looking at her daughter-in-law's radiant smile, Consort Hui, though already knowing the truth, still asked, "Which two items?"

"The first thing is that our Second Prince and Third Prince, Second Princess, Third Princess, and Fourth Princess have names now."

"They were all named by the master. The second prince is Hongfang, and the third prince is Hongwei. Fang means upright and also has the meaning of virtuous character. Wei means great without the human radical."

Consort Hui pondered these words, repeatedly saying, "Hongfang, Hongwei, good names, good names."

He Zhuo continued, "Second Princess Fangwan, Third Princess Fangning, Fourth Princess Fangyun. Wan as in graceful, Ning as in tranquil, and Yun as in cloud."

He Zhuo got up and wrote these words down for Consort Hui to see.

Consort Hui nodded repeatedly: "Not bad, not bad."

He Zhuo smiled broadly and offered Consort Hui a cup of tea: "Another piece of great news: at yesterday's banquet, Consort Guan experienced morning sickness. Physician Liu examined her pulse and found that she is already more than a month pregnant. The physician said that Consort Guan is in good health and only needs to take care of her pregnancy as usual."

Consort Hui's eyes revealed a satisfied expression: "Yes, Physician Liu is as steady as Physician Liu. I am at ease entrusting him to you. This Consort Guan entered the Emperor's harem in the 25th year of Kangxi's reign. It has been eight or nine years now, and she is finally pregnant. This is a good thing, as it is the addition of a new member to the family."

Consort Hui looked at the First Princess with satisfaction, and her previous dissatisfaction with her son's refusal to stop taking the contraceptive medicine in the back courtyard vanished.

"I recently acquired some bird's nest, which is excellent for nourishing and beautifying the skin. I'll have Qiao'er bring some back for you later."

He Zhuo: "Thank you, Mother. It's more like your daughter-in-law is here to ask for a reward. Also, I would like to trouble you to find a nanny to take care of Princess Guan during her childbirth."

Consort Hui thought to herself, "Here we go again. Isn't this your own business? You always push it onto me. Oh well, I'm destined to be a hard-working mother-in-law."

Consort Hui was actually a little worried. Her daughter-in-law was generous and kind to her concubine daughters, but they were still concubine daughters after all. If one of them conceived a prince, there was no guarantee.

So even if this matter isn't brought up, Consort Hui will still bestow a nanny upon her. Neither of them cares, and this way they can clear themselves of any trouble.

Consort Hui thought for a moment and replied, "Alright, I'll look around and send it to you in a couple of days. I have some fresh lychees and loquats here, and I can't finish them all. Take some back with you so the children can have a treat."

He Zhuo smiled and said, "Then thank you, Mother. The children all like to eat it."

Hearing that the children liked to eat, Consort Hui was also very happy: "Lychees are easy to cause internal heat, so you should not eat too many every day. Also, I have some fabrics here. They are delicate in color and soft to the skin. Take them back and make some clothes for the children."

"Thank you, Mother. We've become the ones who came to rob you," He Zhuo said with a laugh.

...

After Consort Hui left, she took the list of imperial concubines. This year, her niece was participating in the selection, and she wanted to choose her to be a concubine for Yinzhi, since her father's official rank was not high, only a sixth-rank official. She also wanted to select two Manchu women for the imperial concubine selection. She knew her own son well; he didn't like those palace maids or the like.

The backyard was filled with Han army flags.

I learned early this morning that someone in the eldest son's harem is pregnant. Today, the eldest princess came with her child again. I thought about it and decided to bring in two more people, my niece and then choose another one. With that in mind, Consort Hui buried her head and began to make her selection.