After the seventh day of the Lunar New Year
The festive atmosphere in the palace gradually faded, and the older princes, whose rare year-round rest was over, began to study and practice diligently every day again.
The ninth day of the first lunar month
News came from the west side hall of Changchun Palace that Consort Chen was about to give birth.
Xu Lejin was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly led the palace servants to Changchun Palace. At the end of last year, Consort Jin gave birth, and now that Consort Chen was giving birth, everything was in good order.
When they arrived at Changchun Palace, Consort He had already arranged everything.
Inside the delivery room, Consort Chen's voice could be heard intermittently. Consort Xu Lejin and Consort Que sat upright. Time quickly passed until afternoon, the sun began to set, and Consort Chen's voice grew louder and louder.
Consort Hui spoke softly, "Consort Jin and Consort Chen are about the same age and both are giving birth for the first time. Last year, Consort Jin gave birth to the Twenty-Eighth Princess after a full day and night of labor. Today, Consort Chen is giving birth..."
"From the onset of labor to now, it only took two or three hours. Consort Chen's pregnancy has gone quite smoothly, if not..."
Consort Hui paused for a moment.
"If the ladies in the palace didn't know, they might think that Consort Chen is pregnant with her second or third child."
After speaking, Consort Hui covered her mouth and giggled.
Xu Lejin's expression faltered slightly. She looked at Consort Hui with a gloomy expression and said in a deep voice, "I think what Consort Hui said is inappropriate. Among the concubines in the palace, some give birth very smoothly, while others give birth for several days and nights without success."
"Although this is Consort Chen's first pregnancy, she is in good health and the baby in her womb has been well cared for, so a smooth delivery today was expected."
With her head slightly lowered, Consort Hui spoke softly.
"Yes, Your Highness the Imperial Noble Consort is right. I was momentarily confused and misunderstood. However, if Consort Chen were to live outside the palace and marry into an ordinary family, she would already be the mother of two or three children."
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin glared at Consort Hui and pondered before speaking, "Consort Hui knows the difference between inside and outside the palace. How can the concubines inside the palace be compared to the ladies of ordinary families outside?"
"The Second Prince is older, and Consort Hui is also of grandmother age. Consort Hui must carefully consider what to say and what not to say."
"It's fine for us sisters to chat casually, but if it gets spread by someone with ulterior motives, wouldn't that be questioning Consort Chen's innocence?"
"Consort Hui, don't you think so?"
Consort Hui's complexion turned from white to bluish, looking extremely unpleasant.
With a trembling mouth, Consort Hui said in a low voice, "Yes, Your Highness the Imperial Noble Consort is right. I will keep it in mind and will never dare to do it again. I will definitely be careful with my words and actions."
"Um,"
Xu Lejin nodded slightly, her gaze fixed on the delivery room.
Half an hour later
The loud cry of a newborn baby came from the delivery room, and everyone's hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, were finally put at ease.
Consort He's expression changed slightly, and she spoke softly, "Consort Chen is carrying a prince. The imperial physician previously diagnosed it as a boy, but now that he has been born, we don't know if he is truly a prince?"
"Consort Chen has a dignified appearance; she is clearly destined to have sons."
Xu Lejin turned her head and glanced at Consort He.
He secretly wondered what Consort He meant by those words.
When did Consort He learn to read faces? The imperial physicians would take the pulse of the empresses and concubines, and although they occasionally made mistakes, ...
With a creak, the door to the delivery room opened.
The midwife, beaming with joy, carried the swaddled baby out. She glanced around but didn't see Emperor Kangxi. She paused for a moment, then quickly and respectfully said, "Your Highness, the Imperial Noble Consort, the Noble Lady has safely given birth to a prince."
"Alright, someone come and give us the reward."
A few days later
In Yanxi Palace
Upon hearing the report from the palace servants below, Consort Hui's face darkened, and she gritted her teeth, saying, "The First Prince's wife is pregnant! The First Prince is so frail, yet his wife is pregnant..."
"My second prince is strong and healthy, and he has two secondary consorts, as well as more than ten concubines and maids. Why is it that no one of them has conceived a child yet?"
With a slap, Consort Hui continued, "Consort Rong died young and was ill-fated, but unexpectedly, the eldest prince she gave birth to is very fortunate. He married Lady Guarjia Shi last year and is pregnant this year."
"Cunxin, have the matron from the Second Prince's courtyard come to my palace. I want to ask her why none of the concubines, princesses, or maids in the Second Prince's quarters have become pregnant?"
I respectfully agreed.
After a moment's hesitation, Cunxin spoke softly, "Your Majesty, although the First Princess Consort is pregnant, she may not be able to give birth safely. Even if she does, it may not be a prince."
Upon hearing this, Consort Hui seemed to be deep in thought.
Then, Cunxin whispered, "The eldest prince and his wife have been married for almost a year, and the wife only just became pregnant. This shows that either the eldest prince is in poor health, or the wife has difficulty conceiving."
"If Your Majesty is eager to have a grandson, you can choose a woman who is fertile and easy to conceive to serve the Second Prince."
After speaking, Cunxin lowered her head, thinking to herself that she had already done what she promised to do for her cousin. Whether her cousin could be chosen by the Empress to be given to the Second Prince as a princess was up to her own fate.
Yikun Palace
Xu Lejin also learned from the palace servants that the Grand Consort was pregnant.
With a smile on her face, Xu Lejin said softly, "Consort Hui had always hoped that the Second Prince would give the Emperor his first grandson, but unexpectedly, it was the First Prince who came first."
"It has been almost a year since the First Prince and Lady Guarjia Shi were married. I was worried that they had not had any children yet. Now it is good. Lady Guarjia Shi is two months pregnant. Although we do not know whether it is a boy or a girl, it is still a happy event. In about half a year, Lady Guarjia Shi will give birth, and His Majesty will welcome his first grandchild."
Ru Hua nodded gently and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is right. This child of the First Princess Consort is not only the Emperor's first grandson, but also a legitimate son. This is excellent."
"Um,"
Xu Lejin responded and instructed the palace servants to prepare congratulatory gifts to be sent to Gan Dongtou to congratulate the Grand Princess on her pregnancy.
February 9th
Consort Chen finished her postpartum confinement, and the seventeenth prince celebrated his one-month birthday.
The seventeenth prince was born with a robust and chubby face, and his cries on the day of his birth were particularly loud. Therefore, on the day of his full moon celebration, Emperor Kangxi issued an edict to bestow upon Consort Chen the title of "Virtue" and grant her the privileges of a concubine.
also,
The seventeenth prince was ranked as the fourteenth prince and was given the name Yinzhen.
Thanks to the Fourteenth Prince Yinzhen, the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Princes, who had not yet been given names or ranked by age, were also given the names Yintao and Yinxiang, and ranked as the Twelfth and Thirteenth Princes.
The princesses were not included in the order of birth because the emperor's twenty-sixth daughter died young.
The twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth daughters of the Emperor were designated as the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth princesses, respectively. As for their names, this time Emperor Kangxi did not give them Manchu names, but instead named the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth princesses Shuyu and Daiyu, respectively.
Consort Hui stared blankly, muttering, "Noble Lady De? Fourteenth Prince..."
Could it be that without Consort De, of the Uya clan, there would still be Consort De, of the Chen clan?
Noble Lady De, later promoted to Consort De, then Imperial Concubine De. Furthermore, in her previous life, Imperial Concubine De, of the Uya clan, was the youngest son of the Fourteenth Prince.
Even later, Consort De's youngest son changed his name to Yinzhen...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
