Ya Chang suffered a difficult childbirth and postpartum hemorrhage, and Xianfu Palace was brightly lit all night.
Consort Gui mustered her spirits and waited all night. After Consort Ya gave birth, the other concubines in the harem returned to their respective palaces one after another. Only Consort Duan, the principal consort of Jingyang Palace, chose to stay in Xianfu Palace.
As dawn broke, the imperial physicians were still doing their best to save Consort Ya in the delivery room. Basin after basin of bloody fluid was carried out of the delivery room, and Consort Duan's heart was in her throat.
At this moment, the newborn princess started crying loudly.
The little girl, though small, had a deafening voice. The Imperial Concubine, already irritable, became even more furious upon hearing the little princess's cries.
"Cry, cry, what are you crying for? A princess, whose birth caused her mother to suffer a postpartum hemorrhage right after birth, and you still have the nerve to cry!"
With a look of disgust, the Imperial Concubine glared coldly at the wet nurse and snapped, "What are you all standing there for? Why aren't you feeding her? I really don't know what use you are; you can't even take care of a little girl properly."
"Your Highness, Imperial Concubine..."
The two wet nurses immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Highness, please forgive us! Your Highness, please forgive us! The little princess won't drink our milk, and we have no other choice!"
"She won't eat, you won't force her to eat it?"
Upon hearing this, the Imperial Concubine's anger flared up instantly, and without thinking, she uttered this remark.
Upon hearing this, Consort Duan was stunned, staring at the Imperial Concubine in disbelief. After stammering for a long time, she finally spoke in a low voice, "Your Highness, perhaps..."
"Why don't you let me try? I've given birth before and I know how to soothe a baby. The little princess's birth mother is in the delivery room, her life hanging in the balance. Mother and daughter are connected, so it's normal that the little princess isn't drinking milk."
The imperial concubine glared fiercely at the two wet nurses and nodded.
Consort Duan took the crying little princess from the wet nurse's arms, gently rocking and comforting her. Before long, the little princess miraculously stopped crying.
At this moment, Consort Duan gave the wet nurse a wink. The wet nurse understood immediately and followed Consort Duan to a corner, carefully lifted her clothes, and began to breastfeed the little princess.
This time, the little princess seemed to be really hungry, as she suckled at the breast milk in small sips.
The Imperial Concubine glanced at her, rolled her eyes, and said, "As expected, she's a lowly girl born of a lowly person. She needs someone of low status to fawn over her. I've shown her favor, yet she doesn't appreciate it."
"Your Majesty,"
Ling Yan and Ling Rou looked surprised.
As the palace maids who accompanied the Empress, they guessed from the moment Ya Changzai moved into Xianfu Palace that the Emperor intended for the Empress to raise this child.
But what is the Empress's attitude now?
Since her miscarriage, the Empress's temper has become increasingly eccentric; she would beat and scold them at the slightest provocation.
Now they're saying such hurtful things.
Chen Shi Shi Fen
Ziwu hurried in from outside the palace and respectfully reported to Xu Lejin, "Your Majesty, Consort Ya suffered postpartum hemorrhage and has passed away despite all efforts to save her."
"Um."
Xu Lejin nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "It was expected. Consort Ya died in childbirth. What about the little princess? Has Your Highness sent someone to report to the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager that Consort Ya gave birth to a little princess and died from postpartum hemorrhage?"
"Your Majesty, I have heard that the Imperial Concubine dislikes the little princess very much. This morning, the little princess was hungry and cried incessantly. The Imperial Concubine immediately expressed her dislike for the little princess."
Ziwu paused for a moment, then said, "Fortunately, Consort Duan was there at the time and personally coaxed the little princess, which is why the little princess drank the wet nurse's milk."
Xu Lejin nodded slightly, a smile playing on her lips.
What the Imperial Concubine disliked was what Consort Duan cherished. The events that happened in Xianfu Palace today have already spread throughout the harem and reached Emperor Kangxi's ears. It seems that Consort Duan will soon have her own child!
In this way, all my painstaking arrangements will not have been in vain.
However, I hope that Consort Duan will not become a second Imperial Noble Consort, and that she will not betray my good intentions.
Lady Seattle died after giving birth and was not posthumously honored. The little princess born to Lady Seattle was the fourteenth daughter of Emperor Kangxi. Because she was just born and had not yet been assigned a proper age, she was referred to in the palace as either the little princess or the fourteenth imperial daughter.
The fourteenth princess was raised in the rear hall of Xianfu Palace. She cried and made a fuss every day, which annoyed the Consort. She had no affection for the fourteenth princess and often punished the wet nurse who cared for her or scolded the palace servants.
Xianfu Palace was in chaos, but fortunately, Consort Duan went to Xianfu Palace every day to gently coax the fourteenth princess, which allowed the fourteenth princess to safely pass through the first half month after her birth.
That afternoon
"Your Majesty, news has come from the Imperial Concubine's palace that, because the Fourteenth Princess is causing her so much distress every day, the Imperial Concubine has actually given the Fourteenth Princess a calming soup."
Ziwu reported this with trepidation.
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin was stunned, her jaw dropping and her face filled with disbelief.
After a long while, Xu Lejin spoke slowly, "The Imperial Concubine also lost a child, how can she give the fourteenth princess, who is only half a month old, a calming soup?"
"Is the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager aware of this matter?"
Ziwu looked up, quickly glanced at Qin Huai beside Xu Lejin, and said softly, "Your Majesty, Consort Duan went to Xianfu Palace to visit the Fourteenth Princess today and unexpectedly learned of this matter."
"At this moment, Consort Duan has already gone to Cining Palace to report this matter to the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager."
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin's expression turned solemn as she pondered for a moment.
Nodding slightly, Xu Lejin pondered and said, "The Imperial Concubine brought this upon herself by feeding a newborn baby a calming soup, so she can't blame me for it."
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