"He did alright today, he didn't kick me..."
Consort Yi touched her belly with a beaming smile; she had never expected to become pregnant with this child.
However, this child has been quite a handful for her. She doesn't know how she got pregnant with such a troublesome little devil, who kicks and thrashes around in her belly every day! He's never still.
Of course, it was much more difficult than when she was pregnant with her fifth child. She had just finished her pregnancy not long ago, and things had finally eased up a bit. Her complexion had become rosy again, whereas before she was frighteningly pale, and her weight was dropping rapidly.
Since the Empress Dowager passed away, the Emperor has become much more abstinent than before.
However, a year of mourning was enough for the Emperor, but he insisted on observing three years of mourning, during which time the imperial concubine selection would not be held—this would have a great impact on the young women of suitable age, but not much for them…
Being able to conceive another child would be the best thing ever, and she could smoothly rise to the rank of concubine. In the blink of an eye, she is now a high-ranking concubine in the palace.
That's right! Now that Empress Tongjia is gone, and those at the very top all died young, she gradually rose through the ranks. And now, she assists the Empress Dowager in wielding power in the palace, making her a truly prominent figure.
Consort Cheng would become much more silent whenever such topics came up. Even though she had no estrangement from the Seventh Prince and loved him as much as ever, she still couldn't hide her pain.
Because she gave birth to such a prince, her situation became much more difficult, a pain that would forever remain in her heart. She felt pain not only for herself, but also for her pitiful seventh prince.
Why did her son have to be disabled? How much suffering will he have to endure in the future?
How unfair is Heaven! She has never fought or competed since entering the palace, and only because she was lucky enough to have this child did things turn out so badly! He has never done anything immoral, and only now does he realize that his birth was not good enough, so he did not try to get more.
She had previously suspected that she might have eaten something she shouldn't have or come into contact with something harmful during her pregnancy, but she lacked evidence.
Her influence in the palace was shallow, and she had previously served in Consort Hui's palace... Consort Hui was also a prime suspect for her.
"What are you thinking about now? You always have this problem. At least the Seventh Prince has you, his mother, to protect him. What would happen to those children in the palace who don't have mothers?" Consort Yi was outspoken and never hesitated to say what she thought. "You still need to take good care of your health and live a long and healthy life so you can continue to protect the Seventh Prince. Actually, there's nothing wrong with that. Given our family background and our son's appearance, do you really want them to fight over him? If they don't fight or compete, having some flaws or personality problems might actually be a good thing!" Consort Yi truly believed this.
Although her fifth son was healthy and usually intelligent, he was raised by the Empress Dowager, which effectively cut off any possibility of him getting that position.
But Consort Yi didn't think there was anything wrong with that. On the contrary, she thought it would prevent people from treating her as an enemy and allow her to live out her life peacefully!
Perhaps the Empress Dowager was an invisible person in the palace, and since she was not the Emperor's biological mother and they did not have a particularly close relationship, the affection between mother and son was still respectful.
In addition, due to her seniority, as long as the Empress Dowager is safe and sound, the Emperor will definitely continue to respect her. This is a secure and powerful patron in the palace!
The emperor revered Confucianism, which places great emphasis on filial piety, and it was impossible for the emperor to contradict himself.
Therefore, he always regarded respecting the Empress Dowager as a very important matter. Although he did not go to pay his respects to her every day, he would definitely go once every ten days.
So the Seventh Prince is nothing special. He might be treated badly because of his physical disability, but since things are already like this, we can only try to think positively.
Jingrou always thought that her aunt was the most intelligent person in the palace. She admired the emperor, but at the same time, she maintained her rationality and would not let that love expand into jealousy towards the women in the palace.
This allowed him to protect himself to the greatest extent possible and ensure his safety, thus securing the Empress Dowager's favor early on.
As long as she doesn't do anything too outrageous, she can be protected. Look, she's now favored and holds a certain position in the Emperor's heart. Besides her forthright personality, which the Emperor likes, the Empress Dowager's favor is also a very important reason.
While those empresses were ambitiously trying to secure things for their children, she was the first to see through it all and helped her cousin escape that circle early on. It's just a pity that she was eventually dragged into that quagmire by the Ninth Prince...
Everyone knows about the struggle for the throne among the nine princes!
Nowadays, many TV dramas and movies have repeatedly depicted this period of history.
The Ninth Prince, who is the child in his aunt's womb, is her youngest son and is therefore very spoiled. Who knew that he would be won over by the Eighth Prince and help him seize the throne? But they were no match for the Fourth Prince, who was one step ahead of the villain.
In the end, they lost the competition.
The victor is king, the loser is villain. How could the defeated Ninth Prince possibly have a good ending?
This led to my aunt's fate not being good either. How could she possibly have a happy old age with the son of a traitor?
It was already a sign that Emperor Yongzheng had shown leniency by not implicating him in the case, as he was considered an elder and was worried about damaging his reputation.
There is no specific historical description of what happened to Consort Yi after Emperor Kangxi's death, but with Consort De, her sworn enemy, and her son's situation, it must have been very miserable.
Thinking of this, Jingrou couldn't help but touch her aunt's belly, and through the skin, she felt her little cousin inside. She made up her mind that she couldn't let her bright and cheerful aunt become like that.
My aunt is such a good person, she deserves a lifetime of wealth and honor, and may she always be smiling happily like this.
Since he is her little cousin, she has the responsibility to discipline him properly!
Consort Yi turned her head and rubbed Jingrou's head. "In another five months, your little brother will be born. At that time, your aunt won't have to suffer like this anymore."
Jingrou nodded seriously.
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