Fucha Anrong never expected that just a few days ago she had said that having children depended entirely on God and she didn't know when they would come.
A few days later, while having dinner with Hongli, she felt unwell and was diagnosed by the imperial physician as pregnant.
When she learned that she was pregnant, she had a strange feeling and was somewhat emotional. Yunyi had just mentioned it, and now she was pregnant. It was truly miraculous.
Therefore, Fucha Anrong had high expectations for the child in her womb and felt that he and Yunyi were destined to be together.
So much so that when Yunyi went to congratulate her the next day, she pulled Yunyi aside and talked to her for a long time.
Just like during my first pregnancy, everything was peaceful and uneventful in the backyard.
However, unlike last time, this time after Fucha Anrong became pregnant, she entrusted some of the housekeeping tasks to Yunyi, asking Yunyi to help out.
The two pregnancies were too close together, and Fucha Anrong's body couldn't handle it. This pregnancy was more difficult than the first one.
Yunyi secretly fed her a pregnancy-stabilizing pill and also stewed some nourishing soup for her to drink every day, which helped to restore Fucha Anrong's health.
As winter turned to spring, time flew by, and soon it was the eighth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign. It was the time for the imperial concubine selection again, and the mansion was not empty. The Yongzheng Emperor appointed two more young women to the mansion as the princesses of the fourth prince.
For some reason, Yongzheng was referring to princesses of low status. The two women who entered the palace this time were Huang, a Han Bannerwoman, and Hai, a Mongol Bannerwoman, neither of whom came from a high-ranking family.
Thus, looking at Hongli's harem, apart from his wife and Yunyi, both from the Fuca clan who were Manchu bannermen, the other princesses were either bondservantes, Han or Mongol bannermen, and there was one Han princess, all of whom had very low status.
Logically speaking, Hongli was already the de facto heir at this point, so it was strange that he didn't designate a noblewoman from the Manchu Banner as his son's secondary consort.
However, it's good that no concubine entered the mansion. Yunyi was even thinking of taking the position of concubine after giving birth to the second princess.
Nara will likely enter the household again, which will reduce the number of concubines. If Yunyi doesn't act soon, she will have to compete with Gao for the remaining concubine position once Gao arrives.
After the two princesses entered the manor, they still didn't cause much of a stir, which dampened the spirits of the other princesses who were on high alert in the backyard.
Jin had initially thought that their arrival in the mansion might steal the master's favor, but she realized it was nothing to worry about and was therefore relieved.
In the middle of the night on May 27th, Consort Fucha Anrong went into labor. At that time, Hongli was resting in her room. Upon hearing the news of his consort's labor, Hongli immediately came to the door of the delivery room to wait.
Yunyi has been sleeping very lightly these past few days, because she's worried that the Fujin might not know when she'll give birth, and she's also worried that something might happen during childbirth.
One of the original owner's tasks was to ensure the Second Prince grew up safely. If something went wrong during childbirth and Yonglian didn't even give birth, she would be doomed.
Because she wasn't sleeping soundly, Yunyi woke up immediately when Xiange came to call her.
Yunyi threw on a coat and went out. In any case, the early summer weather wasn't too cold, so there was no need to waste time getting dressed.
Because she was anxious, Yunyi was the first person to arrive besides Hongli.
Seeing that only Hongli was outside the delivery room, Yunyi walked over, bowed, and asked anxiously, "My lord, how is it? Is the princess consort alright?"
He was initially anxious and somewhat flustered, but upon seeing Princess Fucha approach, Hongli silently straightened his back, maintaining the proper demeanor of the Fourth Prince.
He cleared his throat before speaking: "It's alright, the Fujin is having a very smooth delivery. You can stand here and wait with me, it should be soon."
After Yunyi arrived, the other princesses followed one after another. Several princesses stood in what was originally a fairly spacious area, and each of them brought their own maids, so there was not enough room for them to stand outside.
The weather in early summer was still quite cool, but with so many people around, Yunyi felt the air was a bit stuffy.
With the help of the pregnancy-stabilizing pills that Yunyi had given to the Fujin before, the various nourishing soups she had stewed during her pregnancy, and the smooth delivery pills that she had secretly given the Fujin a few days ago, the delivery went very smoothly.
Before long, Yunyi heard a baby cry from the delivery room, followed by the midwife's joyful voice.
He couldn't hear clearly from outside, but based on the midwife's joyful voice, Hongli guessed that his wife must have given birth to a prince.
Sure enough, after the rustling sounds inside, the midwife came out carrying the baby. Seeing the Fourth Prince's expectant expression, the midwife's face lit up with joy.
"Congratulations, Fourth Prince! Your wife has just given birth to a healthy baby boy. Both mother and child are safe and sound!"
"Good, good, good!" Upon hearing the midwife's report, Hongli said "good" three times in a row, disregarding the Manchu custom of holding grandchildren but not sons, and held the second prince in his arms.
After teasing her for a while, he turned around and ordered, "Li Yu, convey my order: since the Princess Consort has given birth to a legitimate son, all the palace maids, eunuchs, and nannies serving in the mansion will be given three months' worth of monthly allowance."
Yunyi secretly marveled at the grand scale of the event before curiously approaching Hongli to see what the Second Prince looked like.
"Your Highness, the Second Prince is so handsome! He looks just like you and your wife!"
Yunyi's words were clearly flattery of Hongli. Hearing her say that, Hongli's face lit up with joy. He looked at his son carefully before looking up.
“You’re right. This little prince is indeed handsome and intelligent, inheriting all the best qualities of the master and the princess.”
Yunyi had only meant it as a casual compliment, but she didn't expect Hongli to take it seriously. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself, wondering how Hongli could see all that in a baby's face.
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