For the sake of her child, Xiu Ning had no choice but to stay away from the palace. Qi Xiang Palace began a routine of only allowing people to leave and not enter. The purpose, of course, was to do everything possible to protect the imperial heir.
As a result, Chunyu was on edge every day, and would go all out at the slightest disturbance. Over time, no matter how energetic Chunyu was, she could not keep up with the daily operation of the entire palace.
Helpless, Xiu Ning could only pull out the system in her mind to help deal with it.
With the system providing comprehensive and seamless monitoring, Xiu Ning breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time, she had a reason to have Chun Yu, Xuan Cao, and Xuan Ting take turns being in charge.
Chunyu was initially skeptical of the two, especially since she had just discovered that Xuancao had some connection with the Qianqing Palace. Putting aside whether the Emperor would harm his master, assigning this person some important work was just unsettling.
"It's alright, we can just have her do less of it in the future."
She knew more than Chunyu. Not only was Xuancao the Emperor's person, but Xuanting also had some connection with the Empress Dowager. However, as long as these two did not pose a threat to her for the time being, she could choose to remain silent.
“Right now I am pregnant with the imperial heir, and no matter what, she will not harm the heir,” and because of the heir, Xuancao will work even harder to protect her.
“You’ve been working too hard lately, and I’m about to give birth,” Xiu Ning said, touching her round belly. The consequence of too much nutrition during pregnancy is that the baby will develop very quickly. “You have more important things to do, so leave these things to Xuan Cao and Xuan Ting for now.”
Upon hearing this, Chunyu hesitated for a moment but then nodded, "This servant will obey my master."
Spring Rain temporarily stepped down to make way for others, intending to conserve her energy to face the upcoming storms. Xuan Cao and Xuan Ting, on the other hand, had their tasks increased significantly. Both of them were both excited and exhausted, but overall they were still satisfied.
In early May, Borjigit Consort, who had been infected with the epidemic, died at Yonghe Palace.
It was about twenty days later than in history, but he still couldn't save his life.
Therefore, the Emperor issued an edict posthumously conferring the title of Consort Hui upon Borjigit's concubine. However, due to the epidemic, the funeral was kept simple, and Borjigit's concubine only received the empty title of Consort Hui, without enjoying any special privileges.
Not long after the death of Consort Borjigit, the epidemic in the harem took a turn for the better. The imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital worked hard to develop a prescription to curb the disease. Although it could not completely cure the disease, it could be prolonged with external treatment.
The harem gradually transitioned from a tense phase to a peaceful one.
It was at this time that the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager returned to the palace.
The scene that should have included concubines welcoming the guests had to be paused because the epidemic was not over.
………
It's a new day, and Xiuning is sitting in a recliner, bathed in the sunlight.
"The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager have returned to the palace, so the power in the inner palace will probably change hands again."
As she raised her wrist and slowly placed it in front of her eyes, Xiu Ning felt the light falling on her body, feeling as comfortable as a lazy, leisurely kitten, indulging its nature in its favorite environment.
"My lady, I heard from the eunuch who delivered the medicine today that you will be able to leave the palace in two more days."
As the epidemic has progressed, it has begun to slowly disappear from the palace.
Xiuning stayed in her palace because of her pregnancy. The other people in the harem, and even those in Jingyang Palace and other palaces that were affected in the early stages, were already able to come out and move around.
"Hmm, I prefer lying in a chair like this, basking in the sun and stretching, rather than going out," it's less about scheming and more about relaxing.
After catching her breath, Xiuning handed her hand to Chunyu, who was standing beside her, and got up from the recliner. "Let's go back. It's almost time for lunch break."
Chunyu responded with a "yes" and carefully helped Xiuning into the inner room to rest.
Several more days passed.
Xiuning received the news that the palace confinement had been lifted. She groaned inwardly that she would have to go to pay her respects while heavily pregnant, but she never expected things to turn out so quickly.
Bad news came from the heavily guarded prince and princess residences: three young children had all fallen ill.
!!
"Right now, I can't leave the palace. No, it's because the Empress needs to go to the Prince's quarters to take care of Prince Chenghu personally, so the greetings are temporarily canceled. I'll continue to stay in Qixiang Palace to rest and prepare for childbirth?"
Blinking, Xiu Ning pointed to herself with one hand, looking at Chun Yu who had brought the message, and thought to herself, who is so bold as to dare to touch the Empress's manhood?
Chunyu was also a little confused, because it was obvious how well the prince's and princess's residences were guarded, without needing to be specifically emphasized.
Throughout the epidemic, news spread from other places, even Kunning Palace. Only the Princes' Residence and the Princess' Residence were spared. And for the Empress to be willing to send her own son there, there must have been an absolute guarantee.
Even so, trouble still occurred at the Prince's residence and the Princess's residence, and it happened at this particular time.
Xiuning touched her chin and suddenly realized that the person who made the move really knew how to manipulate everyone's mentality.
Do not act when fully focused; strike a fatal blow when the guard is down.
Wow, that was a brilliant move.
Because the three remaining imperial heirs in the harem were all ill, not only were the mothers of the imperial heirs extremely anxious, but even Xiuning, who was about to give birth, was under close surveillance by Kangxi.
The surveillance here is not to guard against Xiuning, but to protect Xiuning's safety.
Emperor Kangxi was unsure who was responsible, so he wanted to protect the perpetrator until the truth came out.
Xiu Ning had no objection to this; let them monitor her if they want. It would be good for her to use the surveillance to establish her own persona.
Here we must mention that, knowing in advance that Xuancao was the Emperor's woman, Xiuning would always actively portray her feelings for Kangxi to Xuancao during their daily interactions, causing Xuancao to subconsciously bring her emotions into the picture.
With the intervention of Xuan Cao's subjective consciousness, it is reasonable to explain why Xiu Ning became increasingly favored by Kangxi.
After all, even Kangxi himself said that Xiuning truly loved and liked him. How could Kangxi not become arrogant and conceited after being captivated by such a beauty?
Just as Xiuning said to Chunyu at the beginning, having a spy who knows who the master behind the scenes is more useful than a loyal servant.
Furthermore, given that the three imperial heirs have developed a cure for the plague, resolving this problem shouldn't be too difficult.
However, the difficult part is that, apart from Consort Zhang's eldest daughter, the two princes, Chenghu and Chengqing, are both too young.
They're still too young to drink medicine. The only option now is for the wet nurse to drink it and turn it into breast milk to feed them.
However, there is another problem here. The wet nurse is taking the medicine as a healthy person. Putting aside whether the medicine can work, it is also bad for the wet nurse herself. In the future, we may have to replace the wet nurses for the young princes.
Considering the consequences of frequently changing wet nurses, Xiu Ning could only tell the children to fend for themselves.
Tsk, life in the royal family is tough!
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