Yinzhen had no objection to the entry of Lady Zhangjia into the household. Lady Zhangjia was only thirteen years old, too young, and he did not like her.
If Consort Min's health hadn't deteriorated, she wouldn't have allowed her niece to enter the mansion. More likely, she would have kept her niece by her side and found her a good family to marry into.
But time waits for no one. Perhaps knowing that she wouldn't survive this illness, Consort Min entrusted her niece to the Fujin (wife of the deceased princess) and asked her to take care of her.
Yinzhen had no objection to this. This Lady Zhangjia was not sent over as a real princess, but rather entrusted by her elders. He would raise her as he pleased and did not care.
Having dispelled his doubts, Yinzhen became curious about the strange things he had seen in the courtyard earlier, and so he asked about them directly.
"That thing that Honghui was supporting in the courtyard just now was quite interesting. Where did the Fujin find it?"
This thing didn't exist in ancient times, and Yunyi had already guessed that everyone would ask about it after seeing it. Fortunately, she had already made up an excuse beforehand, so she wasn't flustered at all when explaining it now.
"You mean that, sir? This thing was something I came up with on a whim. I drew up the blueprints and had the craftsmen make it. It doesn't have a specific name yet, so I just called it a baby walker."
“Honghui is currently learning to walk. The nannies are afraid he will fall, so they carry him everywhere they go. How can the child be healthy if he does this for a long time? Our Manchu men will be practicing riding and archery in the future. How can we not train from a young age?”
The more Yinzhen listened, the more he felt it made sense. His wife was right. The way children were raised in the palace was actually not good. The palace maids, nannies, and eunuchs only knew how to raise the young masters and were afraid that they would not do a good job, so they raised the children too meticulously.
This can't be done, that can't be done. Many children haven't been to the ground by the age of three or four. They are well-fed but lack vitality.
Yunyi strongly disagreed with the Qing Dynasty's system of raising children, believing it made them too pampered and unable to withstand even the slightest setback.
Honghui was a lively and active child. He started to walk on his own, trembling, when he was just one year old, but the nannies were afraid that he would bump into something and prevent him from doing so.
Yunyi had this idea in mind at the time. While having the craftsmen make it, she could only let Honghui play in the room, keeping him within her sight so she could feel more at ease.
The craftsman just finished making it today, and she couldn't wait to bring it over for Honghui to try out.
Sure enough, Honghui loved it. He walked around the yard with it for an entire afternoon, sweating profusely until his little face was flushed.
The day's activities were almost over, so Yunyi called out to Wanzhou, instructing her to call the wet nurse and bring Honghui in.
While it's important to be active, we must remember the principle of moderation.
Dinner was a family meal for the three of them. Yinzhen and his wife ate normal food, while little Honghui ate special baby food made in the kitchen.
Having resolved his doubts and learned that there was no misunderstanding between his mother and the Fujin, Yinzhen knew how to treat the newly arrived Princess Zhangjia.
The next day, Yinzhen went to Zhangjia's courtyard. Girls from this family all seemed to be very beautiful. Min Guiren was a given, but Zhangjia, who was only thirteen years old, already showed glimpses of her future beauty.
Upon entering the courtyard, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. Lady Zhangjia did not feel like a concubine, and Yinzhen did not treat her as an ordinary concubine.
The two exchanged a few awkward words before Lady Zhangjia spoke up, saying that a room had been prepared for Yinzhen to go and rest.
These words finally resolved Yinzhen's awkward situation. He said a few more words and then led Su Peisheng to the side room.
After Prince Yong left, Zhang Jiajingrong breathed a sigh of relief. Although she had begged the Prince Consort to come into the mansion as a concubine, she did not want to serve Prince Yong.
I feel much relieved now that he's gone.
Zhang Jiajingrong kept her eyes fixed on Yinzhen's departing figure, her mind racing with thoughts, muttering to herself.
Time passed slowly, and footsteps kept moving forward. Honghui was already walking very steadily, and could even run and jump in the yard.
Yunyi's pregnancy is almost over, and she will be giving birth soon.
Lady Zhong did not disappoint Yunyi's trust. She became pregnant three months ago, and once she gave birth to the prince, Yunyi would suggest to Yinzhen that she be promoted to the rank of concubine.
In February of the thirty-eighth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Yunyi successfully gave birth to the second prince of the household.
The child was conceived in the middle of the night and born just before dawn. Yinzhen named the child Honghan, with "Han" meaning dawn.
When his wife first became pregnant, Yinzhen hoped that the baby would be a daughter, but unfortunately, his hopes were dashed and it was another prince.
He and his wife already had their eldest son, Honghui, and if they had a daughter, they would have both a son and a daughter.
But the children are a gift from heaven, and they are the apple of his and his wife's eye. He will not dislike the second child.
According to Yunyi, Yinzhen didn't really value Honghan as much as he valued Honghui, but she also knew that in ancient times, the second son's status was indeed not as prestigious as the eldest son's.
Honghui was being groomed by Yinzhen as his heir, and being his first child, Yinzhen placed high hopes on him. This difference in attitude towards his two children was evident.
However, Yinzhen was still quite sensible; apart from that, he loved both his children very much.
Coincidentally, on the day Yunyi gave birth to Honghan, Consort Min, of the Zhangjia clan, survived the ordeal and was saved by the imperial physicians.
When Zhangjia woke up the next day, she couldn't believe that she was still alive.
Last night she really felt death. She thought she would be in the underworld when she opened her eyes, but instead she saw her familiar bed.
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