Winters in the Forbidden City are long, especially these past few days with the heavy snowfall in Beijing. People are saying that a good snow promises a good harvest, while also lamenting the cold weather.

For example, Sun Miaoqing, according to the allowance for a noblewoman, received 25 catties of black charcoal and 5 catties of red charcoal every day in winter. It sounds pretty good, but this included her and all the palace maids and eunuchs under her command.

I use it to wash my face in the morning, wash my feet at night, and take whatever I need from the small kitchen if I want to make soup or something.

Sun Miaoqing was also sensitive to the cold, so she placed two more charcoal braziers in her room than others, and even sent some to An Lingrong as a return gift. The rest she needed, she simply paid silver to the Imperial Household Department to exchange for.

She sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) with a hand warmer in her arms and a thin blanket draped over her legs. Only with three hand warmers in the room did she feel a little warmer.

She secretly thought to herself, "Luckily, she has plenty of money, otherwise this winter would be unbearable."

Liuli placed a wire mesh on a stove, and on the wire mesh was a ceramic pot. Inside, a large pot of milk, osmanthus, oolong tea, red dates, and longan were being boiled.

The aroma of tea blends with the fragrance of milk, combining the sweetness of red dates and longan with the rich aroma of osmanthus, giving people a warm and cozy feeling.

There were also roasted sweet potatoes, oranges, taro and other things on the side. It was indeed a great pleasure to sit around the stove and brew tea on a snowy day.

While peeling peanuts, melon seeds, and walnuts for Sun Miaoqing, Linglan said, "His Majesty's birthday is in two days. You've finally finished embroidering these five thousand characters, no matter how hard you try."

Rose said, "Yes, I must thank you very much, Consort An."

“Otherwise, you would have to go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to serve every day, how could you possibly finish embroidering it?”

I poured some milk tea from the earthenware pot into a teacup and placed it on the tea table on Sun Miaoqing's kang (heated brick bed) to cool.

Rose peeked through the crack in the window at the vast expanse of white outside and continued, "It's getting colder and colder. By the time of the Emperor's birthday, I wonder how thick the snow will be."

Sun Miaoqing said somewhat dejectedly, "It snows in Suzhou every year, but not as much as in the capital. I wonder how my brother and sister-in-law are doing at home. I've sent letters for so long, but I haven't received a reply."

Rose and Lily of the Valley exchanged a glance. Like Sun Miaoqing, they missed their days in the Sun family mansion. Life without favor in the palace was difficult, but life with favor wasn't necessarily any better.

Everywhere you look there are rules, every sentence is bound by propriety. Every day feels like you're being suffocated by pressure.

However, if the mistress is in a bad mood, they must cheer up and comfort her. If they also express homesickness, wouldn't that make the mistress even more upset?

Linglan advised, "My lady, please don't be in a hurry. The capital and Suzhou are a thousand miles apart. You said that you would prioritize safety, so you didn't rush to travel at full speed to avoid attracting attention."

"With this round trip, plus the slippery roads due to snow, it will still take a month."

"Your husband and wife dote on you the most, so they must have prepared a lot of good things and sent them over. It's normal for it to be a few days late."

Sun Miaoqing nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with Linglan's words, "That's true. I want to eat the orange yogurt that my sister-in-law makes. I wonder if I'll be able to eat it again in the future."

Rose said, "It's definitely possible. With the Emperor's favor like this, Your Highness will be able to ask for his favor and be invited to the palace to visit you when you are promoted to the rank of Consort or Imperial Concubine."

Hearing about being promoted to Consort or Imperial Concubine, Sun Miaoqing felt somewhat discouraged. She had only been promoted to Noble Lady a few days ago, and her chances of being promoted to Imperial Concubine in the next year or two were slim, unless...

Liuli said, "Actually, there's no need to ask the Emperor for favor. Your Highness can invite the Madam to the palace to serve you."

Sun Miaoqing, Qiangwei, and Linglan all looked at Liuli. Linglan asked first, "Is this true? Is there really such a thing?"

"Tell me quickly, what exactly is this method?"

Sun Miaoqing looked at Liuli expectantly. Liuli said with a smile, "According to the rules of the palace, after a concubine is eight months pregnant, she can bring her mother from her maiden family to the palace to serve her until she finishes her postpartum confinement."

"With the Emperor's favor, it's only a matter of time before Your Highness becomes pregnant. When that happens, we can bring you into the palace and reunite with your family. What does it matter if you become a concubine or a royal consort? Even becoming a Noble Consort would be within your reach."

Rose and Lily of the Valley also agreed. Even though Consort Qi and the Third Prince were not favored by the Emperor, they were still just as noble. Their main reason for being different was that they had princes.

Sun Miaoqing seemed thoughtful about this. The eldest son, Fatty Orange, wouldn't allow Consort Hua to have a prince, so not only could Consort Hua not give birth, but Consort Li couldn't either. If Wenyi weren't a princess, Consort Cao wouldn't have taken her in to care for her.

In the end, we've come full circle. As long as the Sun family doesn't separate from the Nian family, even if she gives birth to a prince and is made a concubine or imperial consort, Da Pang Ju (the eldest son) won't let her raise him on her own.

If that's the case, what's the difference between that and being a surrogate mother for another woman?

Sun Miaoqing touched her belly. She wasn't some kind of goddess who grants children, and she didn't enter the palace just to give people babies.

Sun Miaoqing said, "This is all fate; it can't be rushed."

"Moreover, in recent years, only Princess Wenyi was born safely. Consort Fang's entry into the Cold Palace was an accident, as was Consort Xin's. There are just too many accidents in this palace."

Liuli, Linglan, and the other two were startled. Thinking about it carefully, it really was as Sun Miaoqing had said. Everyone hopes to be pregnant, yet no one wants others to be pregnant—isn't that just how it is!

Rose asked hesitantly, "My lady, why did you suddenly think that way?"

Of course, it's because she knows about the Empress's great achievements!

However, Sun Miaoqing could only think these words in her heart, and dared not utter a single word about them, not even to Rose and Lily of the Valley.

Sun Miaoqing said, "I just remembered something when we were talking about pregnancy. I heard that Consort Cao's childbirth was extremely painful, and she almost couldn't give birth."

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