After the small gathering at Shufangzhai ended, Yongrong left the palace and returned to his residence.
Yongqi and the others went back to their respective places. Those who already had children went to take care of their babies, such as Xiao Jian and Qing'er, Yongqi and Xiao Yanzi. Those who still had babies in their wombs took good care of the pregnant women, such as Fu Erkang and Xia Ziwei.
Those who are not married or have no children go on dates, like Fu Ertai and Saiya;
As usual, Benjamin was caught by Emperor Qianlong to paint, so he was not included in this small gathering at Shufangzhai.
The days passed by unhurriedly, and on this day, December 15th, Xia Ziwei was going to give birth.
Xiao Jian, Qing'er, Yongqi, Xiao Yanzi, and the others all arrived at the Scholar's Residence and waited patiently.
All that could be heard was Xia Ziwei's screams coming one after another, and Fu Erkang was extremely anxious outside.
It wasn't until Xia Ziwei gave birth and the midwife said that both mother and child were safe that everyone felt relieved.
Fu Erkang rushed to see Xia Ziwei, while the others watched the children.
"Look at this child's mouth, it looks just like Ziwei's."
Fu Ertai chimed in, "Mother, those eyebrows look a lot like my brother's too."
Everyone was focused on the little baby, but Fu Erkang was only focused on Xia Ziwei.
"Ziwei, thank you for your hard work."
"It wasn't hard work. I'm so happy to have given birth to the fruit of our love." Xia Ziwei smiled and shook her head. "I want to see the baby."
"Okay, I'll have Mother and the others bring it in right away."
Subsequently, Fu Erkang named him "Fu Peidong", and everyone usually called him Dong'er.
"Little Swallow, we should go back to the palace and tell Father Emperor." Yongqi and Little Swallow left the palace to see Xia Ziwei and her child on their behalf, as well as on behalf of Emperor Qianlong. Now that they were safe and sound, they naturally had to return to the palace to report back.
"Uncle Fu, Madam, we'll head back to the palace now."
"Respectfully seeing off the Fifth Prince and his wife."
After Yongqi brought Xiaoyanzi back to the palace, he went straight to Yanxi Palace.
"The Fifth Prince has arrived, and the Fifth Princess Consort has arrived." Upon hearing the announcement at the door, Emperor Qianlong and Consort Ling, who were waiting in the hall, immediately stood up and anxiously looked outside.
"Yongqi/Xiaoyanzi greets Father Emperor and Consort Ling."
Emperor Qianlong asked anxiously, "Quickly, no need for formalities. How are Ziwei and the child?"
Little Swallow laughed and said, "Congratulations, Father Emperor, Consort Ling, Ziwei has given birth to a big, healthy boy. Mother and child are both safe and sound."
Consort Ling repeatedly said, "Thank God!"
Emperor Qianlong smiled and said, "Now Erkang can finally put his mind at ease."
During Xia Ziwei's pregnancy, Fu Erkang wasn't very diligent when he was on duty, so Emperor Qianlong simply gave him a leave of absence, asking him to patiently accompany Xia Ziwei.
Yongqi smiled and said, "Father, Erkang is currently focused on staying by Ziwei and the children's side, so he probably has no intention of returning to your side to serve for the time being."
"Fortunately, Erkang has trained a successor, so Father Emperor's safety can still be guaranteed."
Emperor Qianlong sighed, “I have been staying in the palace the whole time, so there has been no danger for me. It is you who have been framed and sown discord time and time again, but so far no one has been able to find the real culprit. This is what worries me the most!”
Little Swallow said, "Father, we should be careful. Those who want to harm you are just waiting for you to let your guard down. If there really is someone hiding in the palace, plotting against you, then it will be terrible!"
Consort Ling chimed in, "Little Swallow is right, Your Majesty should be more careful."
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you. However, Erkang needs to take care of Ziwei now, Yongqi, so you and Xiao Jian can't slack off anymore!"
"I have already granted you leave to accompany Xiao Yanzi and Qing'er during their childbirth. Now that Xiao Yanzi and Qing'er are both lively and energetic, you two should return to your respective places!"
"Luckily, Saiya's attention was focused on Ertai during this time, so Ziker didn't make a fuss about it, otherwise..."
"Your Majesty, what else would you like?" As he spoke, Ziker actually arrived at Yanxi Palace.
“Zikel has come uninvited; I hope Your Majesty will forgive him.”
"I heard from Saiya today that Princess Mingzhu has given birth to a son, and the Emperor is very happy. I am here today for Saiya's marriage."
Emperor Qianlong and Consort Ling exchanged a glance. Then, Emperor Qianlong looked at Ziker and smiled, "So, Saiya mentioned it to you?"
Ziker said with a smile, "Yes, she has made up her mind to marry Voltaire. I have always cherished her the most, and I will naturally fulfill her wish."
"That's why we've come here specifically to ask Your Majesty to set an auspicious date and time for the two of them as soon as possible!"
Little Swallow said excitedly, "That's wonderful, Father Emperor! You can issue the decree now, and then Qing'er, Ziwei, and I can all be Saiya's bridesmaids."
Yongqi couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Silly Yanzi, Ziwei just gave birth. How long do you think it will take her to recover? And how long can Saiya wait?"
Emperor Qianlong smiled and said, "Let the Imperial Observatory calculate the auspicious date."
"As for the bridesmaids, Xiao Yanzi, you and Qing'er are enough. As for Ziwei, we'll see how well she recovers. If she recovers, let her participate in your activities. If she hasn't recovered yet, then don't bother her!"
What followed was the investiture ceremony for the concubines of Emperor Qianlong's harem.
Consort Yu was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort Yu, Consort Ling was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort Ling, Consort Shu was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort Shu, and Consort Ying was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort Ying...
Yongqi was naturally happy to see his mother's rank rise, but Consort Yu, or rather, Noble Consort Yu, knew in her heart that her current rank was also thanks to her son and daughter-in-law.
Logically, with her rank elevated, her palace should have been moved. However, Consort Yu was sentimental and specifically asked Emperor Qianlong to allow her to remain in Yonghe Palace. Emperor Qianlong naturally agreed to this trivial matter.
"This servant/this maid congratulates Consort Yu on her promotion!" The eunuchs and maids of Yonghe Palace were naturally happy to hear that their mistress had been promoted.
Although Consort Yu had not been favored by the emperor for a long time, having a reliable son and daughter-in-law was better than anything else.
"Get up, all of you. From now on, life will continue as usual. As long as you work hard, you will receive what you are owed, not a penny less." Her original monthly allowance was 300 taels, but now it has become 600 taels. Naturally, she has extra money to give to the eunuchs and palace maids as rewards. In this way, they can also be motivated to serve Yonghe Palace wholeheartedly.
Ever since Yongqi took medicine when Xiaoyanzi was pregnant, they have been investigating whether there are any suspicious people or spies in the harem. They found one or two in other palaces, but Yonghe Palace and Shufangzhai were the only ones without any problems. Everyone there was innocent and firmly defended their master.
If there's anything I'm really worried about, it's Xiao Meng who came in from the palace later. But she was trained by Xiao Yanzi's people, so there's no reason for her to have any problems. Besides, she was only allowed into the palace after several investigations. And after several investigations, no problems were found. Is she really innocent, or is it that the enemy's methods are too sophisticated, so they didn't discover any clues?
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