The arrival of the thirty-eighth year of Kangxi's reign did not add anything new to the snow-covered Forbidden City; everything proceeded in an orderly manner.
The rebellion of the local barbarians in Dajianlu, Sichuan, was finally quelled in February by the Vice Minister of War, Man Pixie, and the Commander-in-Chief, Tang Xishun. In addition to bestowing rewards, His Majesty also ruthlessly purged some of the miscellaneous elements in the court.
The most prominent and noteworthy event was the reopening of the case against the late Prince An, Yue Dong, who was posthumously demoted to a Prince of the Second Rank. His sons, Prince Xi, Yue Xi, and Prince Wu Erzhan, were both demoted to Dukes of the State.
The Eighth Prince's wife was the daughter of Heshuo Efu Mingshang and the granddaughter of Anqin Wang Yuele.
Originally, the illustrious family background of the Eighth Prince's wife, Lady Guoluo, was a great help, and the biggest support that allowed her to have a reputation for being 'jealous' since her marriage, yet no one could control her.
However, the Eighth Prince's wife's support has now disappeared.
Or, to put it more deeply, Eighth Prince's reliance on others has diminished considerably.
Thinking deeper, it means that the Eighth Prince, who was on the same boat as Prince Zhi, had less support, which also meant that Prince Zhi had less support behind him.
The faction of Prince Zhi, who had been arrogant all year in the thirty-seventh year of Kangxi's reign, suddenly became unsure of His Majesty's intentions and finally quieted down.
Not only did things quiet down in the palace, but things also became much quieter in the mansion.
The princess consort had been resting and recuperating throughout the first month of the lunar calendar, and Imperial Physician Zhou practically lived in the mansion. It wasn't until after the fifteenth day of the first month that he finally managed to stabilize the princess consort's pregnancy.
Li Chenjiao had a very leisurely winter. Occasionally, when she had free time, she and two others would collect snow water from the snow, just waiting to use the melted snow water to make tea in the spring.
Li Chenjiao figured that it would be at least May before she could drink tea.
After the Lantern Festival, Li Chenjiao could occasionally feel the baby's movements in her belly.
But it was only occasional, and most of the time it happened during meals; he almost never bothered Li Chenjiao at night.
From this perspective, the little girl in her belly is indeed a quiet little girl.
During the New Year holidays, a letter arrived from home. After learning that she had become a concubine, her mother gave her some further instructions in the letter.
In February, the snow that had been falling for one or two months finally stopped, but soon it started raining again in the capital.
It rained continuously for more than a month, and finally the weather gradually cleared up in March.
Perhaps because of the continuous rain, things have become much quieter in the backyard.
Xie Shi's long-standing cold has finally been completely cured, but it is said that she will pray for the Fujin who is still in an unstable pregnancy.
I heard that he also embroidered various little clothes for the unborn child in the wife's belly, but of course, most of them were embroidered in the style of princes.
The Princess Consort was highly suspicious of all the medicinal herbs and tonics sent from various places, but she was particularly skeptical of the sleeping garments for an unborn child sent by Lady Xie—
In the eyes of the Fujin (principal wife), it was like an implication, suggesting that she was carrying a prince this time.
Even when a woman is pregnant, the wife still enjoys hearing such words.
Even Xie Shi seemed much more pleasing to the eye now.
As for Madam Song, who was only released from confinement after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, she stayed obediently in her own courtyard and didn't even go to see the eldest princess.
After Wu Shi was released from confinement, she quietly took care of the eldest prince in the south courtyard. The eldest prince was currently the healthiest child in the mansion.
From birth until after the baby was a month old, there were very few times when imperial physicians were consulted.
As March arrived, Li Chenjiao's pregnancy reached its eighth month, and her belly grew bigger day by day.
The principal wife had already excused everyone from paying their respects. In March, someone from the Ulanara clan also came to stay at the mansion; it was the principal wife's own mother.
I heard that they will stay until Li Chenjiao gives birth.
Li Chenjiao should have had the women in her family come to the mansion to take care of things, but the journey was too long and inconvenient, so she didn't let her mother go through the trouble.
Although the mother of the Fujin Ulanara clan, Aisin Gioro clan, did not see Li Chenjiao when she first arrived at the mansion, she did send some tonics through her confidante.
This Aisin Gioro woman seems much smarter than the Fujin (princess).
Although the Fujin's mother's surname was Aisin Gioro, a common surname only found in the imperial family, they were only related a few generations back.
After accepting the gift, Li Chenjiao, in a gesture of goodwill, had He Shi prepare a plate of milk cakes, a favorite treat of the Manchus, and send it to the main courtyard.
With Madam He cooking on both sides, and given Madam Zhu's experience as a cautionary tale, Li Chenjiao wasn't afraid of Madam He doing anything underhanded.
Li Chenjiao knew exactly what she was eating these days, and she was also well aware of whether He Shi had tampered with her food.
Whether the wife in the main courtyard would use it or not is another matter.
As Li Chenjiao's pregnancy progressed, the Fourth Prince arranged for the wet nurses he had previously selected from the Imperial Household Department to be sent to Li Chenjiao for her to choose from. He also selected two older wet nurses who had served in the palace for many years and assigned them to manage Li Chenjiao's affairs.
Li Chenjiao's servants were loyal, but they were still young and would often be flustered when Li Chenjiao became a concubine.
When the person was brought to the East Courtyard, Li Chenjiao was stunned.
A few days ago, Li Chenjiao also realized that she didn't have enough people to serve her, but with all sorts of things piling up during the holidays, she had forgotten about it.
When Fu Lu brought the person over from the front yard, Li Chenjiao was sitting on the porch. After listening to Fu Lu's story, she couldn't quite describe how she felt. She just waved her fan and smiled.
"It just so happens that the small kitchen in the back has just made some Poria cocos cake that isn't too sweet. I'd appreciate it if you could make a trip there, Fulu, so that Fourth Master can also taste the delicious flavors of spring."
Fu Lu hurriedly agreed, not daring to put on any airs in the East Courtyard at the moment.
Fu Lu brought the people over, telling Li Chenjiao to take her time choosing, and to have the rest sent back to the front yard.
The wet nurses and the head wet nurses stood separately. Li Chenjiao asked a few questions, then asked the wet nurses to spread out their hands for her to see, and then asked the wet nurses to say some of their favorite phrases.
One of the wet nurses was quite articulate, but she kept mentioning the prince that Li Chenjiao was carrying—
Li Chenjiao frowned slightly.
Regardless of whether Li Chenjiao knew whether the baby in her belly was a prince or a princess, such words were still offensive.
The wet nurse is someone chosen to serve the unborn baby girl throughout her childhood. Loyalty is essential, but putting the baby girl first is also extremely important.
Like Wang Shi, who served the eldest princess, that is the best example.
Li Chenjiao was quite blunt at this moment: "Xiao Luzi, take that Granny Yu back to the front yard."
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