Consort Hui sat there silently, her face grim.
Cunxin and Peixin exchanged a quick glance, then lowered their heads in deep thought. After a long while, Cunxin spoke softly, "Your Majesty, I have heard that Lord Fei Yanggu's eldest daughter is a woman of unparalleled beauty."
“Girl Guo Luoluo, behind you is the Prince An’s mansion. Although her father is a disgraced official, with Prince An around, it’s not bad.”
Consort Hui looked up and glanced at Cunxin.
He secretly pondered to himself, "It's indeed good that Lady Guoluo has the Prince An's Mansion behind her, but when I think of Lady Guoluo's jealous nature in my previous life, and how she almost caused Yinzhi to die out his lineage..."
Consort Hui could not feel happy at all!
With a soft sigh, Consort Hui spoke calmly, "At this point, it can only be this way. The Emperor has just issued an edict arranging the marriages; it will still be some time before Ulanara and Guoluo enter the household."
The Ulanara clan was secondary; the Guoluo clan was the main focus.
At this moment, Consort Hui was thinking that before Lady Guoluo and Yinzhi married, Yinzhi would have several more children, and then she would arrange for several nannies to go to Yinzhi's side.
Even if Lady Guoluo was jealous and could not tolerate other concubines, illegitimate sons and daughters, Yinzhi would not have died out.
One month later
Consort Que covered her mouth and chuckled softly, "Your Highness, what do you think Consort Hui is thinking? The Second Prince is her own son, yet Consort Hui's heart seems to favor the Fifth Prince."
"The other day, His Majesty just had the Imperial Observatory select the date for the Second Prince to marry Fei Yanggu's eldest daughter. Yesterday, Consort Hui hurriedly arranged two concubines for the Fifth Prince."
"The Fifth Prince's residence now boasts a large number of princesses and concubines, no less than that of the Second Prince back then!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Lejin nodded slightly and spoke casually.
"Consort Hui treated the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince the same."
After a pause, Xu Lejin continued, "The Second Prince's wedding to his second wife is scheduled for February of next year. The first day of the second month is the wedding day of Princess Wenxian, born to Consort Shun, and the nineteenth day of the second month is also the day the Second Prince will marry his second wife."
"With Consort Hui under house arrest and Consort Duan ill, the wedding of the Second Prince and the marriage of Princess Wenxian will be handled by Consort Que and Consort Ning with my assistance."
Consort Que, with a solemn expression, respectfully agreed.
This day
Liu Ying hurried in from outside the palace and respectfully reported to Xu Lejin: "Your Majesty, Consort Xiang from Qixiang Palace has sent word that Consort Ziyan is suspected of being pregnant?"
"Um,"
Nodding slightly, Xu Lejin said calmly, "Have the imperial physician take a pulse for Consort Ziyan. If she is pregnant, let her take good care of herself so that she can give birth to a healthy prince or princess for the Emperor."
Liu Ying respectfully responded.
After half a cup of tea
Xu Lejin smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty has so many children! The princess is already the thirty-fourth princess, and if you take away the few who died young, there are still thirty-two."
“Brother, we’ve reached the twenty-third prince. Excluding those who died young, there are still twenty left.”
After a pause, Xu Lejin spoke softly again.
"Consort Liu and Consort Lan are both pregnant with twins, and Consort Ziyan is also suspected of being pregnant. The Emperor's offspring are flourishing and abundant. The late Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager in the afterlife should be satisfied."
Ruhua and Nongying exchanged a quick glance and whispered "Yes."
In the evening, news came from Qixiang Palace that Consort Ziyan was indeed pregnant and had been carrying the child for a month and a half.
October 2
Tatara, Wuzhaku, Fu, Fang, and others were carried into the palace through a side gate of Shunzhen Gate in a small sedan chair, and were taken to the palace to be made princesses by the princes.
Fu, one of the Tatara clan members, and Wu Zhaku clan members were the daughters of the fourth prince Yinchu, the tenth prince Yinshi, and the eleventh prince Yinshi, born to Xu Lejin. Therefore, after paying their respects at the four eastern palaces, the first northern palace, and the second northern palace, they were brought to Yikun Palace.
Xu Lejin smiled as she looked down at the three members of the Fu family.
She cleared her throat and spoke in a deep voice, "Now that you have entered the harems of the three princes, you should serve them diligently. Fu Shi, the reason I chose you as the Fourth Prince's concubine was because of your obedient and quiet nature. I hope you will continue to be so in the Fourth Prince's harem."
"Tatara and Wuzhaku, the Tenth and Eleventh Princes are still young, and I have not yet bestowed any maids upon them. Now, you two are both princesses bestowed by me and maids for the two princes. I hope you will behave yourselves and not seduce the two princes or become obsessed with women."
"Do the three of you understand?"
Fu, Tatara, and Wuzhaku respectfully acknowledged and bowed their heads, saying, "Understood."
After giving the three a warning, Xu Lejin rewarded them with some things and then had the maids from the Prince's Residence lead them back to the Fourth Residence in the East, the First Residence in the North, and the Second Residence in the North.
The situation is similar in the other palaces.
Although Consort Hui was confined to Yanxi Palace, she still summoned Consort Fang and Consort Wu, the concubines serving the Second and Fifth Princes respectively, through her personal maids, and gave them a stern reprimand.
In Consort Que's Palace
Consort Que met her distant niece from her maternal family, Lady Tongjia, who was also a princess of the thirteenth prince, Yinxiang.
With a cold voice, Consort Que said, "You are my distant niece, so you must have heard about me. The Thirteenth Prince is young, and you are only a year older than him; you are both still children."
"I chose you from among my many nieces to be the Thirteenth Prince's consort. I hope you can take care of his daily life and stay by his side. We can discuss consummating our marriage in two or three years."
With a serious expression, Consort Que stared intently at Lady Tongjia standing below.
Do you understand what I mean?
Princess Tongjia lowered her head and said respectfully, "This servant understands, thank you for your instruction, Your Highness."
"Um,"
Consort Que nodded in agreement, bestowed some gifts upon her, and then sent Princess Tongjia back to the North Fifth Palace, the courtyard where the Thirteenth Prince resided.
Chengqian Palace Rear Hall
Consort Ding also met Yin Tao's daughter, Lady Tatara.
Consort Ding was very satisfied with Princess Tatara, the wife of Yin Tao. Her only shortcoming was that she was too young, only fifteen years old.
Therefore, Consort Ding also instructed Lady Tara not to consummate her marriage with the Twelfth Prince too early, and not to become pregnant too early.
Furthermore, Consort Ding directly told Lady Tara that she would not bestow any princesses or concubines upon the Twelfth Prince within the next three years, reassuring her.
Jingyang Palace, Zhongcui Palace, Chuxiu Palace, and the rear hall of Yikun Palace.
Consort Duan, Consort Ning, Consort Xin, Consort Qi, and Consort Xin were all very satisfied with the princesses. After giving them some instructions, they sent them back to the princes' quarters to serve them diligently.
More than half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.
One day in late October, Xu Lejin was having lunch when she suddenly felt nauseous and quickly covered her mouth to the side, vomiting uncontrollably.
Ruhua and Nongying exchanged a glance, their expressions grave.
Kneeling down, Nongying carefully took Xu Lejin's pulse, her heart filled with astonishment. The Empress's pulse was like pearls rolling on a plate, large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate—this was…
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