The harem was quiet, except for Changqing Palace, which was bustling with activity.
The people in the nearby Changchun Palace and Yongshou Palace were still awake, and they had different thoughts as they listened to the commotion from Changqing Palace.
Bang!
Bang! Tie him up!
The sound of a night watchman's gong came from afar.
It's already midnight.
The fire in the main hall of Changqing Palace gradually died down, but a faint candlelight suddenly appeared in the hall on the right.
In the past month, Song Xibai has been busy with palace affairs. There are many people coming and going in the main hall, so she had the two children move to the side hall, and the wet nurses and nannies also moved there.
There are four wet nurses, who usually take turns keeping watch at night in pairs. Today, it is Wen Niang and a wet nurse surnamed Jin who are keeping watch at night.
Wenniang was dozing off when she suddenly felt the candlelight. She opened her eyes and looked over, and saw that Jin's wet nurse was lighting a lamp.
Why aren't you asleep yet?
Wen Niang covered her mouth and yawned.
The wet nurse looked apologetic: "Did I wake you? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I was just hungry..."
Jin's wet nurse couldn't stand being hungry. Every time she was hungry, she felt uncomfortable all over, as if seven or eight hands were scratching at her heart, making her restless.
Wenniang was also aware of her habit.
"It's past midnight, and the stove in the small kitchen is already off at this hour. Just grab something to eat for now!"
Song Xibai was very generous to the people in his palace. He didn't give them many rewards, but they were never short of food and drink. The wet nurses, in particular, could have whatever they wanted to eat, and the small kitchen would satisfy them.
Of course, wet nurses have to breastfeed, so there are dietary restrictions.
Jin the wet nurse responded and walked out of the bedroom to the round table in the outer room.
On the table sat a food box, usually filled with snacks and treats, all specially made for the wet nurses. Song Xibai's requirements were: low in salt and sugar, no additives, and good nutrition.
When Jin the wet nurse opened one of the boxes, she found it was mostly empty, with only a few small squares of milk cake in two compartments.
Jin the wet nurse couldn't wait to eat one, and then took the rest to the bedroom.
"Wen Niang, you should eat some too."
Wenniang is a confidante of the Imperial Concubine, so it's always a good idea to please her.
Wen Niang was also a little hungry, so she ate one too.
As soon as she put the food in her mouth, her brows furrowed.
"Why does this square cake taste a little different?"
"Isn't it especially sweet?" Jin's wet nurse said with a smile. "I told my father-in-law in the small kitchen that this cake had a strong fishy smell and was too bland, so I asked them to improve it. It tastes much better now."
Wen Niang's brows remained furrowed.
"It's not a matter of sweetness, it seems like something was added..."
"It's probably something to remove the milky smell, right? Anyway, it's quite delicious. Would you like another one?"
Wenniang shook her head.
So, Jin's wet nurse ate all the remaining pastries by herself.
I was just about to rinse my mouth and rest when I suddenly heard groans coming from the bed.
"Oh dear, Your Highness is awake? Are you hungry?"
The wet nurse quickly walked to the bedside and, sure enough, saw the little prince pouting and whimpering.
The two children are twins, and they seem to have a telepathic connection; usually, when one wakes up, the other will also wake up.
The feeding times were about the same, but the little princess ate more and the little prince ate less.
Wenniang and Jinnainiang had figured out the pattern, so each of them picked up a child, gently patted and coaxed them, and began to feed them.
After feeding the baby, changing the diaper, and putting the baby to sleep, the two of them leaned against the headboard and rested with their eyes closed.
Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Song Xibai woke up from her warm bed. Turning her head, she saw the empty half of the bed. She stared at it for a long time before she remembered what had happened the night before.
After "sleeping" last night and taking a shower, she crawled into bed and fell asleep quickly.
In her hazy state, she thought she heard Yuan Shen speaking, but she couldn't hear him clearly and went back to sleep.
I turned my head and, oh my god, it was already past 5 a.m.
"Wei Hong! Wei Hong!"
Song Xibai threw off the covers and quickly got out of bed.
Wei Hong led her people in and, before Song Xibai could speak, took the initiative to reply.
"Your Majesty, please don't worry. Before he left, His Majesty instructed us not to wake you. He also said that when he returns, we will go with you to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager."
Song Xibai sat on the edge of the bed and let out a long sigh.
When did His Majesty leave?
"His Majesty didn't sleep all night! He left at four in the morning, first going to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to begin writing, and should be on his way to the Imperial Ancestral Temple now."
Song Xibai leaned back, inwardly complaining.
Fortunately, I don't have to run around with him doing chores.
Thinking about it that way, the Empress is actually quite good; she can save a lot of trouble.
Song Xibai lay down for less than two minutes before sitting up again and began to wash, change clothes, and do her makeup.
Although she didn't have to perform sacrificial rites, she still had to receive greetings from the other concubines in the harem and give out red envelopes to people in various palaces. A whole host of things awaited her.
Soon, Song Xibai changed into her brand-new palace dress, and by then, Feng Ying and the others had all arrived.
Song Xibai accepted their New Year's greetings in the front hall, then led them to the Fengxian Hall to offer incense to the late emperor and empress, and then to the Jiaotai Hall. He symbolically ate a few dumplings with Feng Ying and the others, and then began to distribute New Year's red envelopes to the palace maids and eunuchs of each palace.
This New Year's red envelope was her own idea. The red envelopes didn't contain much money, and they were divided into several tiers according to job positions, so everyone received one.
Because several batches had been dealt with previously, there weren't many people in the palace now, but in Song Xibai's opinion, there were still too many.
More than two thousand people, most of whom were palace maids, while the eunuchs were mostly from the previous dynasty and not under Song Xibai's jurisdiction.
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