Chapter 69 Little Princess Yu'er gave birth
Xuanye still had to record his visit to Tong Jia Zi Fu's place to rest, but he followed the old rules and waited until Tong Jia Zi Fu fell asleep before Xuanye left Chengqian Palace and went to Yiku Palace.
But to be honest, Tong Jia Zi Fu really hit the nail on the head. Nowadays, the rule in the Qing Dynasty's harem is to raise children from outside the family. Not letting the little prince grow up with his own mother is also a rule passed down by ancestors. It is also to prevent the little prince from getting too close to his own mother, which will cause trouble in the future.
However, if Yu'er's child wasn't allowed to be raised by Yu'er herself, but was sent to another palace, Xuanye felt a bit overwhelmed. He really didn't know which palace would be the most appropriate to send his and Yu'er's child to. Or, should the rules be changed, requiring each palace master to raise their own children? Then what would happen to the promise he had made to his cousin?
Xuanye really felt that the events in the harem were too brain-consuming for him, even more so than those in the previous dynasty, and even more troublesome than Wu Sangui's ascension to the throne as emperor.
After sighing heavily, Xuanye quickened his pace towards Yiku Palace.
In Yiku Palace, Xiu Yu had already lain down to rest. She had been feeling tired lately, so she went to bed earlier and earlier every day.
After Xuanye entered the warm room, he changed into his nightgown and went to bed. Xiuyu was still awake, and when she realized Xuanye had arrived, she moved closer to his arms.
Xuanye asked softly, "Are you still awake? Didn't I tell you that I was going to Chengqian Palace today and would be back a little late?"
"I haven't been sleeping well lately." Xiu Yu simply opened her eyes: "The child is making a fuss."
Xuanye said, "Zi Fu told me today that she wanted to have a child."
Xiu Yu suddenly perked up: "Which prince has the Imperial Concubine taken a fancy to?"
"Don't worry." Xuanye smiled and said, "It's not you. Besides, even if she wants to raise our child, I won't agree. But..."
Seeing Xuanye hesitate to speak, Xiu Yu couldn't help but ask, "But what?"
"But there's a rule in the palace, perhaps you've heard of it." He simply told Xiu Yu directly, "Princes born to concubines in the harem cannot be raised by their own mothers. It's not a big deal if your baby is a little princess, but if you have a prince in the future, according to ancestral rules, I'm afraid he won't be able to grow up in Yikun Palace."
Of course Xiu Yu could not agree to give her child to someone else to raise. It was hard to say what other people's intentions were when their step-son was raised.
"Your Majesty, according to the ancestral rules, Yu'er shouldn't say anything. However, there are some disadvantages." She was a little anxious and simply supported herself on the bed and sat up.
Xuanye also stood up and supported Xiuyu, saying, "Don't worry, it's not this child anyway."
"I'm talking about this." Xiu Yu looked at Xuan Ye and said, "Your Majesty, you know how much suffering a child will suffer if he doesn't grow up with his mother. How much suffering will the mother endure, and how much suffering will the child endure as well."
"Yes, I know that too." Xuanye and Xiuyu sighed together. He grew up with his royal maternal grandmother since he was a child, and the relationship between him and his mother was, how to say it, very complicated.
"So..." Xiu Yu held Xuanye's hand: "Can you think of a solution?"
Xuanye patted Xiuyu and said, "Go to sleep first. It's getting late. I'll keep this matter in mind. Even if I want to do it, I have to wait until I fulfill my cousin's wish."
Xiu Yu had actually always been somewhat curious about the relationship between Xuan Ye and Tong Jia Zi Fu. Since the topic had come to this, she simply asked, "Your Majesty, there's something I can ask you, Yu Er?"
"Go ahead." Xuanye helped Xiuyu lie down slowly, and he also lay down: "Lie down and talk slowly."
Xiu Yu smiled and asked, "Between you... and the Imperial Concubine..."
"Do you think the relationship between me and my cousin is a little strange?" Xuanye had always known Xiuyu to be intelligent, so he wasn't surprised by her question. "I knew you'd ask this question sooner or later. Are you curious? Why has Zifu been in the palace for so long and still been unable to have children? Why does she want to raise someone else's child?"
Xiu Yu nodded.
Xuanye continued, "You know Johann Adam Schall von Bell, right? He's the missionary who gave me the telescope. I often studied Western medicine with him. There's a book in Western medicine that details how if cousins marry, the chances of their children having congenital diseases are very high."
"You know this?" Xiu Yu was still surprised.
"Do you know that too?" Xuanye looked at Xiu Yu's reaction and became suspicious.
Xiu Yu smiled and said, "I can't say I know, but I just think that after cousins marry, some of the children born do have problems."
"But you probably understand that I can't help but marry Zi Fu into the harem, and Zi Fu can't refuse. This is something that doesn't need to be announced between the Aixinjueluo clan and the Tongjia clan." Xuanye expressed his helplessness: "I don't want to have a child with Zi Fu, so we can only be husband and wife in name only."
"Although I agree with your approach, I also feel that the Imperial Concubine is a little..."
"What?" Xuanye looked at Xiuyu with amusement. "You think Zifu is pitiful? I don't think so. Zifu has never thought so either, at least I don't think she has. My cousin has so many things she likes to do, and she can't do them all. After she read that book, you have no idea how happy she was. Guess what she said to me?"
Xiu Yu asked with a smile: "What did you say?"
Xuanye pinched his throat and said, "Cousin, this is great! I feel weird lying in the same bed with you."
Xiu Yu pushed Xuanye and said, "Your Majesty, don't act like this." She was amused by Xuanye, but suddenly felt something was wrong, and her brows furrowed.
"What's wrong with you?" Xuanye saw Xiuyu's strange expression and became nervous. "Didn't the imperial physician say that the due date was still a few days away?"
"I don't know." Xiu Yu held her stomach and gradually curled up: "My stomach does hurt a little."
"This..." Xuanye had actually never seen his concubines give birth, so he was still at a loss this time.
Xiu Yu grabbed Xuanye's hand and said, "Go, call Xiao Tao, and ask Xiao Tao to go get the midwife."
"Liang Jiugong!" Xuanye was an emperor after all. He quickly calmed down, hurriedly got out of bed and walked out of the warm room, forgetting to put on his boots.
The midwives were all alert. When they saw Miss Tao calling them, they ran to Xiu Yu's warm room very quickly.
Outside the warm room, Xuanye walked back and forth. As an emperor, he could not enter the warm room due to ancestral rules, but as a man, he felt that his wife was suffering in the inner room, and he could not help at all outside, so he was really a waste.
The news that Concubine Yi was about to give birth spread quickly in the Forbidden City. Empress Xiaozhuang and Tong Jia Zifu, the head of the harem at the time, arrived at the Yiku Palace one after another.
Xuanye pretended to be calm, helped Xiaozhuang sit on the couch, and then said, "Why are you here, Mama? It's almost midnight."
"Does the ancestor care about my cousin and his beloved?" Tong Jia Zifu made a joke when she saw Xuanye was a little nervous.
Xuanye glared at Tong Jia Zi Fu, then sat down next to Xiaozhuang.
Xiaozhuang patted Xuanye's hand and said, "Yu'er is having her first child, so it's inevitable that she'll feel some pain. But with time, both she and the child will be fine."
"Grandson understands." Although Xuanye said this, he still felt a little nervous in his heart.
Tong Jia Zifu teased, "Grandfather, look at the expression on my cousin's face. It's as if he's the one who's in pain, not Yu'er."
"If I could feel the pain for Yu'er, that would be fine." He listened to the shouting in the warm room, and his heart went up and down.
Xiaozhuang slowly turned the Buddhist beads in her hand, waiting for her great-grandson to be born.
Xuanye felt that this night was particularly long. If there was any day in his past that was longer than this day, it was probably the day he learned that Wu Sangui had rebelled.
It was not until the sky turned pale that the cry of a child was heard from the warm room.
Xuanye was quite excited and said to Xiaozhuang, "Madam, Yu'er is born."
"Yes, the baby is finally born." Xiaozhuang stood up, a hint of fatigue in her eyes: "Su Moer, go and bring the baby out for me to see."
"I'll go right away." Su Moer was also very happy. After pushing the door and entering the warm room, she quickly brought out the baby.
Xuanye wanted to see both the child and Xiuyu, but under pressure from Empress Xiaozhuang, he stood beside her first, looking at his and Xiuyu's first child. "When the imperial physician checked Yu'er's pulse, he said she was expecting a little princess. And she is indeed a delicate and beautiful little princess." He looked at the little princess's rosy face and was overjoyed.
Xiaozhuang laughed and said, "Looking at you like this, if someone didn't know you, they would think this was your first time being a father. What's going on? Is this little princess going to go over Baocheng?"
"Baocheng has his good points, and Xiaogege has her good points." Xuanye hesitated and wanted to hug her, but was too embarrassed to snatch it from his royal mother.
As soon as Xiaozhuang saw Xuanye's expression, she knew what he was thinking. She said, "I've been watching all night and I'm really tired. Now that Yu'er and the child are safe, I'm going back to the palace to rest. Fu'er, can you take me back?"
Tong Jia Zifu bowed and said, "Fuer and the old ancestor are here to ask for some milk tea from Madam Su."
Xiaozhuang placed the child in Xuanye's arms and said, "Take it easy, you still have to attend government meetings soon."
"Don't worry, Mama." Xuanye finally held his daughter in his arms. Looking at her little face, he said, "When has my grandson ever missed a government job?"
Tong Jia Zifu walked out of the Yikun Palace and turned to Xuanye and said, "Cousin, don't forget what you promised me. I'll be waiting in Chengqian Palace."
"Let's go." Xuanye really had no idea what to do with this cousin: "Don't you still want to drink the milk tea made by Nanny Su?"
Tong Jia Zifu bowed and said, "Don't worry about this, cousin."
After watching Xiaozhuang, Tong Jia and Zi Fu leave the Yiku Palace, Xuanye could finally push the door and enter the warm room with peace of mind. Although this was somewhat against the ancestral rules, judging from the expression of the ancestor, it was obvious that he acquiesced.
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