Chapter 81 Who rejoices and who grieves?
Kangxi did not move, but said softly, "No need for the Imperial Concubine. From now on, the princess will be your child. I will register her in your name. Consort Dong's good fortune is yet to come. You can raise her after her next birth."
After saying this, Kangxi released the Empress's hand, stepped forward to help her up, and said, "Consort, please don't say anything wrong again."
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked. Lady Dong had not yet given birth, but once she did, she would become Consort Dong, a title bestowed by the Emperor himself.
She further promised that if she had another child, she would raise it herself.
Such great favor was something even the favored Ma Jia clan had never received.
How to avoid arousing jealousy.
But what's the use of being jealous?
It's because their wombs weren't as fertile as Dong's.
They all entered the palace together, but she was the only one who was pregnant. The more she thought about it, the uglier everyone's expressions became.
The Imperial Concubine didn't care about their thoughts; upon hearing the Emperor's words, she immediately knelt down to express her gratitude.
He kowtowed deeply to Emperor Kangxi.
Fanghua felt pain just hearing that.
"Alright, alright, Consort, you're being too polite with me." Kangxi smiled and helped her up, preventing her from kneeling again. "Please sit down, or you won't be able to hold the princess when she comes out."
Niohuru blushed slightly. "Your Majesty is just teasing me." She was in a good mood today, so she decided not to argue with him. "How could I not be able to hold my own child? I'd be happy to have a few more."
"Haha, the Imperial Concubine is quite carefree." Kangxi smiled but did not answer.
Perhaps the arrival of Emperor Kangxi, the true Son of Heaven, truly brought good fortune to the Dong mother and daughter.
Half an hour after the child took the medicine, the sound of the child crying reached everyone's ears.
Upon hearing the cry, Niohuru could no longer care about anything else and ran straight to the delivery room door, waiting for the midwife to come out and announce the good news.
As expected, Lady Dong gave birth to a princess.
Now both Niohuru and Dong were satisfied.
"Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations on the birth of a princess." The midwife carried the baby out, while another midwife hung a sachet on the delivery room wall.
The midwife's congratulations naturally attracted the attention of others, such as the Emperor and Empress.
Upon seeing the two arrive, the palace servants offered their congratulations.
Emperor Kangxi was also very pleased.
On the spot, the servants of Yongshou Palace were rewarded with a month's salary. Not only that, the palace maids who served Lady Dong were also rewarded with half a year's salary, and the midwives were also heavily rewarded.
With the princess safely born, it was time to bestow rewards.
Fanghua immediately sent people back to prepare rewards. She followed the rules. Now that Lady Dong was a Noble Lady, she would reward her according to the rank of Noble Lady, and she would not go beyond the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
It wouldn't matter if she were a little more than the Imperial Concubine, but given Dong's contributions, I'm afraid she, as Empress, wouldn't be as good as the Imperial Concubine.
Emperor Kangxi not only bestowed a gift upon the princess on the spot, but also gave her a name. That's right, he bestowed a name upon her on the spot, an honor that even Chenghu did not receive.
Fanghua wasn't jealous, but some people felt uncomfortable.
For example, Lady Zhang and Lady Nara, one gave birth to the eldest daughter of the emperor, and the other gave birth to the second prince.
"Xizhu, what a wonderful name! I love it very much. Thank you, Your Majesty, for bestowing this name upon me." The Imperial Concubine immediately expressed her gratitude, showing just how satisfied she was with the name the Emperor had chosen for her.
Emperor Kangxi was overjoyed to see the Consort's reaction, saying, "I'm glad you like it, I'm glad you like it."
As Fanghua left Yongshou Palace, she was still recalling the scene she had witnessed.
"Your Highness, what are you thinking about?" Qiaoling, who was serving by his side, asked curiously on the way.
There were no outsiders present, so Fanghua didn't hide anything and shared her findings: "Zhang Guiren and Nara Shi seem a bit off today. Have you noticed anything?"
I felt there was something scary about the look in their eyes.
Qiaoling tried to recall, but quickly shook her head. "Your Majesty, this servant didn't find anything."
Li Changfu, who was on the other side, did not speak immediately, but waited for Qiaoling to finish speaking before he slowly spoke.
"Your Majesty, this servant did catch a glimpse of you ladies. When Consort Zhang bestowed the name upon the Second Princess, a hint of hatred flashed in her eyes."
“I didn’t look closely, but if I remember correctly, her maid Guihua was rubbing her arm at the time, so I suppose it was Nara who pinched her.”
Zhang's reaction was similar to what she had seen, but she really didn't pay attention to Nara pinching people.
"Is that so?" Fanghua frowned deeply. "Are the maids in Zhongcui Palace always being mistreated by the Nara clan?" You must know that palace maids are not personal possessions.
This is the imperial palace, not one of those secluded mansions.
Even if you want to get rid of a servant, you have to ask the servant's master for permission.
There are many mistresses in the palace, but she, of the Nara clan, is not among them.
"This servant doesn't know, but Nara's maids are changed quite frequently," Li Changfu said after thinking for a moment.
Fanghua's expression turned truly grim this time. "Li Changfu, go and investigate. If Nara really mistreats the palace servants, detain her. I want to see if her virtuous and gentle nature is genuine."
Hmph, such mistreatment of servants cannot occur in the harem she manages.
"Yes, this servant has noted it down and will definitely investigate it thoroughly."
Back at Kunning Palace, Fanghua prepared some of Chenghu's childhood toys and had them sent to Yongshou Palace, as it was a token of her affection.
After returning to the palace, Zhang and Nara, who were being targeted by Fanghua, immediately took their anger out on the people around them.
"Useless things. Even the princes I gave birth to for the Emperor are not as precious as the adopted daughter of the Noble Consort. Tell me, what use do I have for you?"
After saying that, she immediately started pinching the osmanthus flowers that were serving her.
Guihua was writhing in pain, but she dared not make a sound.
When I was first chosen to serve Consort Chang, someone warned me, but I was blinded by my future prospects.
I never imagined that my personal maid would meet such an end.
Still not satisfied, Nara picked up the teacup on the table and swung it at Guihua's head.
Before long, Guihua fainted and lost consciousness.
"Hmph, useless thing."
Seeing the blood relieved Nara's depression considerably. "Take her away and raise her, but make sure she doesn't die. The Imperial Concubine is overjoyed to have a daughter; we mustn't bring bad luck upon her."
The eunuchs and nannies around Nara hurriedly stepped forward and carried her out.
They had served Nara for a long time and knew her temperament well, so they neither advised nor stopped her.
Zhang, from Chuxiu Palace, was also venting her frustrations, but unlike Nara, she never harmed those around her.
At most, she would tear off her embroidered handkerchief to relieve the pain.
After tearing several pieces, the contortion on her face finally eased.
"Why should you be so upset, Your Highness? The Emperor is only doing this because of Consort Gui." Shiqin, who was beside Zhang, put away the torn embroidered handkerchief and then gently comforted her.
Zhang took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, "Hmph, if the Empress had been willing to raise my eldest princess back then, she wouldn't have been outshone by a newborn baby."
Since it concerned the Empress, the servants around her stopped speaking.
Zhang realized she had misspoke, and with a snort, she said, "Alright, all of you, go down and have the wet nurse bring the eldest princess over."
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