On the third day after the baby's birth, the Forbidden City was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and the atmosphere was filled with joy.
Outside Yanxi Palace, palace maids and eunuchs, dressed in brand-new clothes and beaming with smiles, moved about carrying various congratulatory gifts. Inside the front hall...
The concubines of the palace, the wives of the imperial family, and the wives and daughters of important court officials gathered together, their clothes fragrant and their hair adorned with jewels, creating a lively and extraordinary scene.
Lin Yun was unable to attend due to being in postpartum confinement, and Li Mama carried the two little masters to receive everyone's congratulations.
The two babies were wrapped in bright yellow swaddling clothes, their skin as white as jade, and the shadows of their parents could be vaguely seen between their eyebrows and eyes, which drew praise from everyone.
"Look at this little prince, with a full forehead, he looks like he's destined for good fortune!" Consort Yu, Geng, smiled and leaned closer, her tone gentle, but a complex emotion flashed in her eyes.
Consort Xi, of the Niohuru clan, stood to the side, forcing a smile: "Your Highness is truly blessed. The dragon and phoenix bring good fortune; this is an auspicious occasion." Though her words were polite, she gripped the handkerchief in her hand tightly.
The third-day-old ceremony begins. The midwife brings the two children to the golden basin, gently wipes their bodies with warm water, and chants auspicious words.
The concubines and noblewomen stepped forward one after another, adding gold and silver ingots and jewelry to the basin, symbolizing the addition of blessings and longevity.
The water in the basin gradually shimmered with the gold and silver, and Granny Li beamed with joy, thanking her repeatedly.
After the ceremony, Emperor Yongzheng ordered Su Peisheng to carry the two children to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
The ministers had already prepared a banquet in the palace and were waiting. When they saw the two young masters being brought in, they all stood up and bowed, their mouths full of flattery.
"His Majesty is blessed with boundless good fortune, and the Imperial Concubine is virtuous and kind. This is a blessing for the Great Qing Dynasty!" Zhang Tingyu spoke first, his tone sincere.
The Vice Minister of Rites even knelt down and shouted, "Heaven blesses the Great Qing! Auspicious omens have descended upon our home! The two young masters are surely a blessing bestowed upon our dynasty by Heaven!"
Hongshi stood to the side, looking at his younger brother and sister in their swaddling clothes, forcing a smile, but a hint of loneliness flashed in his eyes. He carefully reached out a finger and gently touched his sister's little hand, whispering, "Your brother and sister are so cute."
Yongzheng took in his expression, sighed inwardly, but said nothing more.
About fifteen minutes later, the two children were taken back to the inner palace, and the banquet continued, with toasts and laughter filling the air until three o'clock in the afternoon.
---
When the guests left the palace, each received a return gift: a set of rouge and face powder from Yunxiang Pavilion; a box of twenty-four-color lip rouge from Yunxiang Pavilion; a lifelike gold pig pendant made by Linglong Pavilion, which was exactly the zodiac animal for this year; and an exquisite double-sided embroidered handkerchief from Jinxiufang.
This return gift astonished everyone.
Consort Yu's maidservant, holding the gift box, whispered, "Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine's generosity is too great! This rouge and powder alone is worth as much as the pair of jade bracelets we sent!"
Consort Yu smiled faintly, but a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes: "Your Highness is indeed magnanimous."
Leaving aside the twenty-four colors of lip rouge that were so sought after in the capital, which would require a lot of silver to collect, the gold pig pendant alone weighs almost an ounce. As expected of someone from a royal merchant family, they are truly wealthy!
Consort Xi looked at the gold pendant in her hand, her lips twitching slightly. She whispered to her trusted nanny, "Is she trying to win people's hearts?" The nanny quickly advised, "Your Highness, please be careful with your words. The Noble Consort is currently in the limelight. Let's just wait and see."
The noblewomen were flattered and exclaimed, "Her Highness the Imperial Concubine is so generous! This gift is even more valuable than what we could have given!"
"Indeed! This gold pendant is exquisitely crafted; it's probably one of a kind in the capital!"
"I've heard about these twenty-four colors of lip rouge. It would cost at least several hundred taels of silver to collect them all. If you don't use them yourself, you can exchange them for silver and get a hundred or eighty taels."
Even the usually low-key imperial concubines couldn't help but whisper among themselves: "The Imperial Concubine's demeanor is impeccable." "Indeed, no wonder the Emperor favors her so much; such poise is something no one else can emulate."
---
After the third-day-after-birth ceremony, Lin Yun ordered that each of the palace maids and eunuchs be given a three-month monthly allowance.
The news caused an uproar throughout the Forbidden City.
"Her Highness the Imperial Concubine is truly kind-hearted; we servants are also benefiting from her kindness!" a young eunuch said happily.
“That’s right! In all my years in the palace, this is the first time I’ve ever seen such a generous master!” another palace maid chimed in.
"We must do our best from now on. The Imperial Concubine treats us so well, we cannot let her down!" A palace maid nodded repeatedly, her face full of gratitude.
Even the servants from other palaces couldn't help but feel envious: "The job in Yanxi Palace is such a lucrative position. The Imperial Concubine is so generous that even we can benefit from it."
The Yanxi Palace usually bestows gifts upon us constantly; I had only heard about it before, but today I finally witnessed it firsthand.
A joyous atmosphere enveloped the palace, and the concubine's extravagant behavior became the talk of the town.
Whether they were concubines, noblewomen, or lowly palace maids and eunuchs, everyone felt a fondness for this newly promoted imperial concubine.
Her generosity and magnanimity were like a spring breeze, temporarily dispelling the usual gloom and scheming in the palace.
Even the usually serious Su Peisheng couldn't help but sigh to Emperor Yongzheng: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine has won over everyone in the Forbidden City with her move."
Upon hearing this, a smile flashed in Yongzheng's eyes, and he said calmly, "She has always been like this, never stingy with her servants."
As night fell, Yanxi Palace was quiet and peaceful. Lin Yun leaned against the headboard, listening to Li Mama's report on the day's grand occasion, a slight smile playing on her lips.
She said softly, "Money is just an external thing. If it makes everyone happy, then the money is well spent."
Li Mama laughed and said, "Your Highness, you didn't see it. The ladies of the court were wide-eyed when they opened the gift boxes. Your Highness's gesture really showed them what true imperial wealth and honor are."
Lin Yun smiled and looked tenderly at the two sleeping children.
She knew that in this deep palace, a combination of kindness and severity was the only way to survive in the long run.
Today, she is merely beginning to show her talent.
The world is bustling with people all for profit, and using money to win people's hearts is the simplest thing to do.
She wanted everyone to know: she, Lin Yun, was worthy of the Emperor!
Only she is worthy of the most noble man in the Qing Dynasty!
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