The Emperor decreed that Consort Hui should not tutor the First Prince. Everyone in the harem knew that her efforts had been in vain. She had lost her adopted son and was being neglected by the Emperor, so they all began to mock her.
The Emperor's favor was fake; her own child was the only real reason. For this reason, Lady Gao drank fertility-enhancing soups like crazy and asked her family outside the palace to search for folk remedies for getting pregnant.
Lady Gao's health was not very good to begin with; she was rather thin and frail, and it was precisely this delicate and frail appearance that made her the favorite of Emperor Qianlong.
However, every medicine has its side effects. After taking fertility drugs for so many years, Gao not only failed to get pregnant, but her health also deteriorated.
But she was still unconvinced; perhaps wanting a child was an obsession she couldn't shake off.
This made Gao even more determined to have a child of her own.
Because of drinking these fertility-enhancing herbal soups, Gao became so ill that she could not get out of bed within just two years.
She remained bedridden for over a year before finally passing away in her own Xianfu Palace. At that time, she was only thirty-two years old, which, in modern terms, would be the prime of a woman's life.
Still cherishing their past relationship, after Consort Hui, née Gao, passed away, Emperor Qianlong posthumously conferred upon her the title of Imperial Concubine Hui and buried her with the honors befitting an imperial concubine.
At the end of the same year, in December of the tenth year of Qianlong's reign, Consort Chun gave birth to Qianlong's eighth daughter, who was also known in history as Princess Hejia, the fourth princess.
In recent years, children have been born in the palace, but without exception, they are all princesses, not a single prince.
In the sixth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, Consort Hai gave birth to the sixth princess. In the eighth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, Consort Chun gave birth to the seventh princess. And this year, Consort Chun gave birth to the eighth princess.
Now, Emperor Qianlong has been on the throne for ten years and has one son and eight daughters. His only son, Yonghuang, has been raised with a distorted personality and is not destined for greatness.
Emperor Qianlong was truly worried. Was there really no one to inherit his empire?
At this moment, a piece of news rekindled his hope.
After seven years of effort and seven years of anticipation, Empress Fucha of Changchun Palace finally became pregnant again at the advanced age of thirty-four.
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor both attached great importance to this pregnancy. As soon as the Empress was diagnosed with pregnancy, the Empress Dowager asked her to put aside her palace duties and focus on nurturing the fetus.
After all, at the age of an empress, she was old enough to be a grandmother in ancient times, and becoming pregnant again would be a great burden on her body.
Just in case, the Empress Dowager made this suggestion, fearing that even the slightest exertion by the Empress might harm the child in her womb.
Empress Fucha was not stingy; upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, she immediately relinquished her official duties and handed them over to Consort Xian.
Yunyi didn't want to take it over, fearing it would cause trouble, but she couldn't refuse.
She currently holds the highest rank in the palace after the Empress. The only other concubine who could barely be ranked is Consort Chun, but she is a pure Han Chinese, neither a Manchu nor a Han Chinese, and her status is too low for the Empress Dowager to accept.
As for Lady Niohuru, because of Emperor Qianlong's dislike, she has not been promoted in recent years and still holds the same rank as when she first entered the palace, Noble Lady Shen.
With such a low rank, she is completely unfit to manage the harem; her status is too low to be effective.
So after looking around, Yunyi was the only suitable one, so she had no choice but to accept.
However, she also had a plan, and suggested to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor that Princess Hejing should accompany her in handling these palace affairs.
Firstly, I've never managed this before, and I'm afraid I can't handle it alone; it would be better if someone helped me.
Secondly, Princess Hejing is already fifteen years old and will soon be of marriageable age, so it would be good for her to learn some household management skills.
Yunyi's words naturally won praise from the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, who lauded her for being virtuous and kind.
Of course, those reasons were just to fool outsiders. Yunyi has lived so many lives, served as a concubine and an empress, and managed the harem for so many years. Of course she knows how to do these things and doesn't need any help at all.
The reason for involving Princess Hejing was to provide multiple witnesses, so that if anything went wrong, they could prove that they were not involved.
After that, Yunyi officially took up her post with Princess Hejing to manage the affairs of the harem.
Yunyi didn't hold anything back and let Hejing participate in everything. Outsiders praised Consort Xian for her magnanimity and the heart of a virtuous mother.
Even Empress Fucha, after learning about Consort Xian's actions from her daughter, greatly admired her: "Consort Xian is a good person, pure-hearted, and upright in her actions, without resorting to petty schemes."
She repeatedly instructed her daughter: "If Consort Xian is teaching you, then you should study diligently. Your mother is now heavily pregnant and cannot teach you, so you should learn well from your Consort Xian and show her respect. She is a kind and virtuous person, so you can learn a lot from her."
With the Empress Dowager's instructions, He Jingxue became even more diligent. Despite Yunyi's many tasks, she never complained about the hardship or fatigue, and instead showed even greater respect for Yunyi.
She always believed that her mother was training her, and that she had to persevere.
My mother has managed so many palace affairs all these years on her own, and as her daughter, I cannot give up on her.
With He Jing doing the work, Yun Yi had a much easier time. She gained a reputation, didn't have to do much work, and still had a good impression of others. She was really good at it.
Two months later, news came that Consort Jia was pregnant. As usual, Yunyi was handed over to Hejing to handle, as she would never touch matters concerning the imperial heir.
Because the Empress became pregnant after many years, Emperor Qianlong was overjoyed and decided to bestow titles and honors upon the imperial harem.
Since he ascended the throne, he has not promoted any of the concubines in the harem.
This is completely different from his behavior in his previous life, where he would frequently bestow titles of concubine or imperial consort. Perhaps it's because he has no son that he's not in the mood for it, Yunyi guessed.
This time, because the Empress was pregnant, Emperor Qianlong finally felt like promoting his concubines.
The first to be affected was Consort Yunyi, who was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort Yunyi.
Consort Chun, who had given birth to three daughters, was promoted to Imperial Concubine Chun. Noble Lady Jia, who had given birth to one daughter and was currently pregnant, was promoted to Consort Jia. Noble Lady Hai, who had also given birth to one daughter, became Consort Yu.
Among the concubines, only Consort Shu, of the Yehenara clan, was selected to enter the palace after Qianlong ascended the throne. She had the least seniority, but she was still granted the title of concubine, which shows how much she was favored.
Consort Shen, of the Niohuru clan, also benefited from this and was promoted to Consort Shen, while Consort Rui of the Suochuoluo clan also became Consort Rui.
On the eighth day of the fourth month of the eleventh year of Qianlong's reign, the Empress gave birth to a daughter in Changchun Palace, who became Qianlong's ninth daughter.
Unable to obtain the legitimate son he so longed for, Emperor Qianlong felt an indescribable disappointment and loss. However, mindful of the Empress's feelings, he still pretended to be happy and hugged his youngest daughter.
In June, when Consort Jia gave birth to the Tenth Princess, Emperor Qianlong's face turned dark with worry.
He didn't even bother pretending anymore. Upon hearing the news, his face darkened, and he stormed off.
Inside, having just endured the pain of childbirth and given birth with all her might, Consort Jia not only received no comfort, but upon hearing the Emperor turn away in a huff, her heart was filled with gloom and fear.
Oh no, this baby is another daughter! The Emperor must be disappointed in me. Will I fall out of favor from now on?
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