The princess was relieved. As long as the two children didn't catch a cold in the winter, they could be slowly recuperated and the probability of them dying young would be lower.

Thinking of Lady Fucha, the Fujin asked, "Have the New Year's gifts been sent to the Fucha residence and Qingzhi Courtyard?"

“Everything has been sent, and the return gifts have arrived as well. Lady Fucha also sent a box of medicinal herbs, which I am preparing to have the royal physician examine tomorrow.”

Yan Hua nodded, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and fall asleep peacefully. She had a ton of things to do tomorrow morning.

New Year's Eve arrived quickly.

Yinzhen and his wife got up early and went to the palace. They were busy until the fifth day of the month.

Changning, on the other hand, was quite relaxed. She held her belly and read the letter that Shushu Jueluo Wanhe had written to her.

The letter said that the Fourteenth Prince had somehow angered Consort De a few days ago. He knew he had acted foolishly, but didn't know how to apologize to her.

Changning found it quite interesting. With the Fourteenth Prince's personality, he was always causing trouble. Shouldn't apologizing to Consort De be a piece of cake?

Wanhe wrote that the Fourteenth Prince was forced into a corner. She was pregnant and had no choice but to go to the palace in his place, to speak on his behalf at Yonghe Palace, and to find out what was going on.

Fortunately, Consort De did not make things difficult for her, but she did scold Fourteen for being so inconsiderate, letting her into the palace while heavily pregnant, showing a complete lack of consideration.

Wanhe said that the master was very considerate and that she came voluntarily, and that she did not want the master and the empress to have any misunderstandings.

However, Wanhe felt in her heart that Consort De was right!

That unreliable Fourteenth Prince angered Mother, so she had to ask his concubine to coax him. Wanhe didn't even know where to begin complaining!

Actually, Fourteenth Prince's thoughts were quite simple. His mother definitely wouldn't want to see him, and the idea of ​​having his wife enter the palace to speak on his behalf was simply wishful thinking.

If Consort Wanyan found out, wouldn't she beat me all over the capital with a stick? Wouldn't I lose all face?

That's when he thought of his favorite concubine, Shushu Gioro.

Wanhe is gentle and obedient, so she would definitely be willing to go to the palace to plead for her. She is also pregnant, so her mother would surely not hold it against her for the sake of her and the child.

It can only be fourteen, which is a pretty good plan.

Yonghe Palace

The Fourteenth Prince, a tall and burly man, was all smiles as he humbly held a plate of goat milk rolls, saying, "Mother, I know I was wrong, please don't be angry."

Consort De sighed at his silly antics. "Fourteenth Prince, you're not young anymore. Your concubine is about to give birth, and you'll have a son and become a father. You should learn from your Fourth Brother's steady and reliable nature!"

Fourteen rolled his eyes inwardly. It was always Fourth Brother who was so good. That Fourth Brother was only concerned about the Tongjia clan. He didn't care about his mother or Wuya clan at all.

Even this trip to the south, with such great achievements! Yet he only brought two brothers from the Tongjia clan, not a single one from the Wuya clan. What was he thinking!

Fourteenth Prince was also indignant, which is why he complained to Consort De that she should have spoken well of him in front of the Emperor. She should have let him handle the cheating case in the southern imperial examinations instead of handing it over to Fourth Prince, which would only benefit the Tongjia clan!

Unexpectedly, this angered Consort De, who told him to go back to his residence and not to come to Yonghe Palace to see her again until he had figured things out.

Fourteen couldn't understand why his fourth brother, who had been raised by Tongjia since childhood and whose mother wasn't close to him and dared not show any maternal affection to outsiders, was being protected so much in secret.

Am I no longer my mother's favorite son?

Fourteen was unhappy, but dared not say anything to anger his mother. He could only lower his head and admit his mistake, saying a lot of nice things. Only then did Consort De say, "Don't be angry anymore. Go to the Qianqing Palace quickly."

When the fourteenth brother arrived at the Qianqing Palace, all his brothers were there.

Prince Zhi sat to one side, resting with his eyes closed. His serious expression made Fourteenth Prince a little intimidated.

He was young, and his older brother was almost old enough to be his father. Sometimes the emperor was impatient with the young princes, so he would have the Prince Zhi and the Crown Prince look after them.

To them, the eldest brother was a military general, and the second brother, the crown prince, was a scholar. Both were very capable, but neither was quite up to their level.

Come to think of it, it was Fourth Brother who looked after them more. That's why Thirteen became close to Fourth Brother.

Fourteen looked over again and saw that Fourth Brother was sitting upright, talking to Fifth Brother.

"What a hypocrite." Fourteen snorted coldly.

Not long after, Li Dequan came to announce that the Emperor and the Crown Prince had arrived and were ready to take their seats.

Fourteen thought to himself, "The Crown Prince is different. He never goes with his brothers and always follows his father, the Emperor."

Why didn't Father Emperor tuck it into his waistband?

Even when you need to relieve yourself, you have to take it with you; that's how you show your favor!

At the palace banquet

Emperor Kangxi was radiant with joy. The borders were stable, and this year's tax revenue had increased significantly, filling the treasury. Of course, he was happy.

This year, the Crown Prince was the first to offer a toast, but he was followed by a four- or five-year-old boy with a chubby face, wearing a dark blue robe, already exuding royal dignity.

"Hongxi, come to Grandfather." Kangxi smiled broadly when he saw the little boy and waved to him. Hongxi immediately ran and jumped into Kangxi's arms.

Kangxi then grabbed him by the armpits, picked him up, and weighed him in his arms. With a kind expression, he said, "Hongxi is really strong. He's gotten quite a bit heavier."

Hongxi wasn't intimidated at all. Instead, he answered generously, "I eat well every day. My father even makes me eat beef, saying that eating beef will make me grow up to be as big as a calf!"

"Hahahaha, good! Our Hongxi is as strong as a calf, he is the Baturu of our Great Qing! Isn't that right?"

"Yes, yes! Hongxi is a Baturu!"

Seeing the close relationship between the grandmother and grandson, the other princes felt a pang of envy. They either had no sons of their own, or their sons were too young to bring into the palace. They could only look on with longing for the Crown Prince's son.

Prince Zhi's eyes were almost red, but it didn't matter. His wife had already given birth to a legitimate son, and in a few years, he would be able to bring his son to pay his respects to his father, the Emperor.

Kangxi chatted intimately with Hongxi for a while before putting him down, patting his head, and handing him the jade pendant from his waist, saying, "Take this and play with it."

Fourteen pouted. He looked like a calf! But he was much stronger than a calf!

Looking at his healthy and lively eldest grandson, Kangxi was very pleased. Sure enough, his Baocheng had lived up to his expectations!

"I hope that next year you will all be able to bring your sons to pay New Year's respects to me."

After Kangxi finished speaking, each of the princes had their own plans.

Kangxi suddenly remembered the osmanthus wine that his fourth son had brought him a couple of days ago. He tasted a few sips and found it to be quite delicious. It seemed to have been made by his pregnant concubine, Lady Fucha.

Thinking of this, Kangxi asked Yinzhen, "I heard that your concubine, Lady Fucha, is pregnant?"