Chapter 32 A Small Gift from Consort Hui to Consort Baoqing
Noble Nara's lips moved as if he was about to say something, but then he saw Bai Lanfeng run off with the wine jar in a gust of wind, and then run back in another gust of wind.
The palace requires its maids not to run or walk quickly; they must walk slowly and deliberately. Bai Lan's actions were already considered frivolous.
But she couldn't care less about that at the moment. After doing all that, she was visibly excited, her delicate oval face flushed red. "My lady, your reaction..."
Bai Lan had always served Consort Nara, and she vaguely remembered that the young lady had behaved the same way when she was pregnant with the Ninth Prince.
"Are you pregnant?"
Bai Lan spoke in a low voice for the last few words, but she couldn't hide the joy in her voice.
Noble Lady Nara was stunned, and her hand involuntarily touched her lower abdomen.
Her menstrual cycle has always been irregular. It seems that she hasn't used a menstrual belt since she started sleeping with the emperor.
If she is indeed pregnant, it would be more than a month into the pregnancy.
"Let's invite a royal physician to take a look," said Consort Nara, unwilling to be disappointed or live with the thought of possibly being pregnant.
Nara lived a carefree life; although he was talkative, he didn't think much.
Bai Lan, however, thought a little more deeply. "Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. It's rare for the Fifth Prince to come back. I guess Consort Hui won't have the time or energy to deal with these trivial matters. There's no need for you to upset Consort Hui."
"It would be better to be on the safe side and bring it up when we pay our respects to Consort Hui after the Dragon Boat Festival."
Noble Lady Nara listened to the advice and nodded repeatedly, "What you say makes sense."
-
Baoqing had a great time at Yanxi Palace.
The only thing that bothered Yunyun was that Baoqing had caught two cicadas from somewhere and wanted to raise them together with the katydids.
Is catching bugs a child's natural talent?
“Don’t you think the cicadas are too noisy, Baoqing?” Yunyun patiently squatted down and reasoned with him.
"Besides, after Baoqing returns to Dongsansuo, this cricket was raised by your father and mother, so it's impossible for you to take it back. What are you going to do with the two cicadas?"
"If your father catches you playing with cicadas in class again, he won't let you off easily."
Anyway, Kangxi was a strict father to Baoqing, so making a deeper impression on him and using it to scare Baoqing was a good way to make the most of his influence.
Baoqing had his own thoughts and answered earnestly, "Mother, these two cicadas are a gift from your son to you."
Yun Jun was surprised.
Give it to her?
What does she need the cicada for?
Could this thing have some other wonderful use that she doesn't know about?
Yun Jun looked suspicious.
Poria and Ganoderma stood to the side, looking on with curiosity.
Baoqing held the cicadas by their wings and held them up in front of Yunyun, showing great filial piety. "Master Hanwen said that we should be filial to our parents. The Qing Dynasty governs the country with filial piety. Now I have crickets, but Mother does not. This is not good."
"Your subject originally wanted to catch a grasshopper for Mother, but couldn't find one," Baoqing said, a hint of guilt even appearing on his face. "But your subject caught two of these on the pomegranate tree in Yanxi Palace!"
Baoqing held the cicada as if he had caught something extraordinary. "Xiao Fuzi said this is a cicada. Your son studied it carefully. Cicadas have wings, and so do grasshoppers. Cicadas can chirp, and so can grasshoppers. They even look quite similar."
At this point, Yunyun understood.
Cicadas have been replaced by crickets.
Baoqing was so generous that he didn't mind that Kangxi had taken his cricket, and prepared one for Kangxi as well.
“This is my mother’s,” Baoqing said, holding up a slightly larger one.
“This is for Father Emperor,” Kangxi said, “the one should be smaller.”
Yunyun took a deep breath and told herself that this was her son's filial piety; he didn't even forget his mother when raising an insect. Don't be angry, don't be angry. In Baoqing's heart, she was more important than Kangxi. Didn't you see that the cicadas he gave her were bigger than Kangxi's?
Raising cicadas.
"Baoqing, don't you think your mother looks like a cicada?"
Bao Qing looked puzzled.
What did Mother just say very quickly?
Yunyun regained her composure.
In the summer, eunuchs would remove the cicadas outside Yanxi Palace to prevent them from disturbing the concubines. It seems that some still managed to escape the net.
“Mother has already raised crickets for Baoqing here,” Yunyun said with a smile. “Why don’t we give these two cicadas to the Emperor? The Emperor should personally feel Baoqing’s filial piety.”
Better to die for your fellow Daoist than for me.
Let's give this cicada to Emperor Kangxi.
Bao Qing thought for a moment and nodded.
Yunyun quickly had the eunuch bring over another bamboo cage.
He was meticulous and skillful in raising crickets, and he wove several different bamboo cages for the crickets to live in in rotation.
Yun Yun now realized that the rank of Consort was still not enough. If it were the rank of Imperial Concubine, she would immediately send the two cicadas to the Qianqing Palace.
Fortunately, it was just a small incident; otherwise, Baoqing was very well-behaved and adorable.
——
The early summer breeze always carries a hint of heat.
Upon hearing Consort Nara reveal that she might be pregnant, Yunyun immediately sent Xiaofuzi to fetch the imperial physician.
She then instructed the palace maids to remove the chilled plum juice and serve Nara a cup of red date and longan tea instead.
She explained, "The weather has been hot these past few days, but you and I have both been pregnant and given birth before. You should know the rule that pregnant women should avoid cold foods. These red dates and longans are warming foods that can replenish qi and blood. I gave them to you because you looked pale."
Even though it wasn't the hottest part of the day yet, a few beads of sweat appeared on Physician Zhang's forehead as he walked from the Imperial Hospital to Yanxi Palace.
This imperial physician was also an acquaintance of Yanxi Palace.
When Yun Yun first transmigrated, the old man with the white beard who took her pulse was this very man.
Later, Yunyun was promoted, and the monthly pulse diagnosis was changed to once every ten days. They got along like this without saying a word, and of course, for the sake of money, Physician Zhang was already considered Yunyun's person.
As soon as he saw Xiao Fuzi, Physician Zhang quickly came over with his medicine box.
He stroked his beard. "The pulse is smooth and flowing, like pearls rolling on a plate, and it doesn't stop when you press it. It's a slippery pulse, but the pulse is too weak. We need to examine the pulse again in five days to confirm it completely."
Imperial physicians always seek stability, especially old ones with gray beards like this. The fact that they have lived peacefully to this day shows that they have a firm grasp on human relationships and social interactions.
If you want to keep it a secret, you can use the excuse that it's too early in the pregnancy to be sure.
If they don't want to hide it, it's up to them whether they choose now or five days from now.
Yunjun looked at Noble Lady Nara.
She's pregnant, and she's making her own decisions.
Consort Nara chose the safer option, saying, "Then I'll trouble Physician Zhang to come again in five days."
Physician Zhang said he understood.
Another fruitful day.
Consort Nara is from Yanxi Palace and is currently pregnant. Whether out of conscience or responsibility, she cannot abandon Consort Nara.
“You are precious now. If anything happens, let Bailan tell me,” Yunyun paused, then for some reason thought of Wuya, who was also pregnant, and stood up. “I’d better go and see you.”
Even though he knew that no matter how down on his luck Nara was, he wouldn't end up like Uya.
But when she thought of Consort Tong's expression at the time, and the surprise she and Consort Rong had, Yun Yun felt that no matter how many concubines moved into Yanxi Palace in the future, she would definitely go and see their residences in person.
After all, if the concubines in one's own palace are dressed in such a shabby manner, it would be a disgrace to the principal wife as well.
Bai Lan was extremely glad that she had stored the jar of rice wine in the outhouse, a place that Consort Hui would never enter.
After taking a look around, Yunyun felt relieved; Consort Nara's residence had the air of a concubine.
-
Emperor Kangxi was somewhat troubled by his son's filial piety.
"Know-it"
"Know-it"
Inside the Qianqing Palace, the cicadas chirped incessantly, their long calls piercing through the window screens, and the guards standing ramrod straight under the corridor of the Qianqing Palace could hear them clearly.
The cicadas' chirping is exceptionally loud this year.
With the intention of sharing the burden of his superiors, Liang Jiugong cautiously offered a suggestion, "Cicadas have short lifespans, only about ten days. Why not just tell the Fifth Prince directly..."
Clearly, he was aware of Baoqing's words about filial piety.
Anything related to filial piety, whether it's a prince's filial piety towards the emperor, is extremely precious.
"Keep it safe," Emperor Kangxi sighed.
It was a gesture of filial piety, so we couldn't just throw it away.
The palace had methods for preserving insect corpses.
The most common method was to first clean the surface dirt after the insect died naturally, then carefully support the insect's body with thin bamboo or copper wires and hang it in a well-ventilated and dry corner. After the insect's body was completely dry, it was placed in a brocade box lined with camphor powder.
It can both prevent insect infestation and preserve the shape of the insect's body.
"After it's done, send one to Consort Hui," Emperor Kangxi remembered that Consort Hui had contributed to this.
——
Time slipped by and October arrived.
Uya gave birth to a prince, the eleventh in line. The prince's fate was decided while he was still in the womb, so he was taken to the main hall of Chengqian Palace by Consort Tong as soon as he was born.
As for Wuya, she was granted the title of Noble Lady for her meritorious service in giving birth and was moved to Yonghe Palace.
If she were still residing in Chengqian Palace, Consort Wuya—or rather, Noble Consort Wuya—would not have had the opportunity to see the Eleventh Prince.
However, once you reach Yonghe Palace, the chances of getting there become extremely slim.
It's hard to deny that Consort Tong was involved in the relocation.
Yun Jun had no opinion on this. Even though this was the historical Emperor Yongzheng, he was now just an infant who couldn't even stand up.
However, that doesn't mean others don't have their own thoughts.
Yikun Palace.
Currently, there are two concubines living in the palace: Consort Yi, the principal consort, and Consort Guo Luoluo, a concubine.
With another prince added to the harem, and a pregnant woman whose gender was unknown, Consort Yi became anxious and tightly grasped Consort Guo Luoluo's hand, saying, "Sister, we need a child."
She was a favored concubine, but even Consort Yi couldn't guarantee that she would stay in the favor forever. As her beauty faded, so did her love. Consort Rong's experience was still a cautionary tale for her.
Moreover, Consort Rong already has a son and a daughter, while she has never even been pregnant.
Without offspring, one cannot ultimately find peace in the harem.
Perhaps she loved the emperor and was unwilling to hand him over to someone else, but she was clear-headed.
Previously, the sense of crisis hadn't reached this level, but now...
Consort Yi promptly imparted some tips on how to get along with the Emperor to Consort Guo Luoluo.
Sisters, one of them will eventually get pregnant and have a child.
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