The news that Imperial Noble Consort Xu Muer had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, spread like wildfire throughout the palace and beyond.
A sense of helplessness and defeat welled up in the hearts of the Tong family, the Hesheli family, and the Niohuru family. They complained that heaven was unfair. Their daughters were sent to the palace to become concubines and imperial consorts, but what was the result?
Some died young, some gave birth to princes or princesses but remained concubines, and some broke ties with their families.
Hershey family
Soetu and Gabula remained silent, their minds filled with thoughts of the Imperial Noble Consort in the palace giving birth to twins, a boy and a girl.
Although the Imperial Noble Consort did not come from a high social class,
Your belly is doing great!
If you count carefully, the Imperial Noble Consort has already given birth to thirteen princes and princesses.
With a long sigh, Suo'etu said in a deep voice, "Even Heaven is on the Imperial Noble Consort's side, so be it, so be it."
"Brother, the Imperial Noble Consort has now given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and the Fourth Prince has grown up and will soon marry his wife. Our Hesheli family's two concubines who were sent to the palace a few years ago, although they have given birth to a prince and a princess, are still concubines."
Suo'etu pondered for a moment, his expression serious.
"Brother, we need to understand the current situation and adapt to the times!"
Gabula nodded and said, "That's true. The Imperial Noble Consort is deeply favored by the Emperor. Our family's two sons born to concubines in the palace are still children. How can they compete with the Fourth Prince born to the Imperial Noble Consort?"
"Third brother, what do you mean?"
Gabula frowned, and after a long silence, spoke in a deep voice, "His Majesty has already betrothed the Fourth Prince to the second daughter of the Fei Yanggu family. Our family's daughter..."
"The Fourth Prince never took a concubine. In addition, the Tenth Prince and the Eleventh Prince, born to the Imperial Noble Consort, also reached the age to choose a consort two years later."
Gabula nodded, realizing that this was the only way.
Niohuru family
Faka was stripped of his title of Duke Cheng'en for making a mistake; the current Duke Cheng'en is Aling'a.
Xu Lingyi, the daughter of Yingchun, is the second wife of the Xu family. She was married to Aling'a by imperial decree in her early years. She endured hardship with Aling'a for several years, and now she is a wife of the Duke of Cheng'en, enjoying both husband and wife honor.
Aling'a looked at Xu Lingyi and said carefully, "The Imperial Noble Consort has given birth to twins again. I estimate that it won't be long before the Emperor issues an edict to make the Imperial Noble Consort the Empress."
"Madam, you are a daughter of the Xu family. Although the Imperial Noble Consort's branch of the family received the Emperor's favor, being granted a surname and elevated in status, you are still connected by blood."
After a pause, Aling'a spoke in a deep voice, "Madam, since you are related to the Imperial Noble Consort, you should take our daughters to the palace to pay their respects to her more often."
Xu Lingyi's expression faltered slightly.
"What do you mean, sir? My third daughter with you is only three years old."
Aling'a glanced at Xu Lingyi and said coldly, "Although the eldest and second princesses are not your children, they still call you Mother. If they are fortunate enough to be registered as your legitimate daughters in the future, so what?"
“Madam, now that you have married into the Niohuru family, you should consider the honor of the Niohuru family.”
Xu Lingyi lowered his head slightly, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.
Tong Family
Tong Guogang's eldest son, from the Orondai family.
Orondai's wife, Niohuru, looked up at Orondai and said softly, "My lord, it's only a matter of time before the Imperial Noble Consort enters the empress's palace. You must think of our son and daughter."
"The Imperial Concubine extended an olive branch to you before, but you kept declining. Now you can no longer refuse."
Niohuru paused, lowered her voice, and then spoke.
"My lord, if you had accepted the Imperial Concubine's offer earlier, the Thirteenth Prince's daughter would have been our family's illegitimate daughter, instead of going to some unknown collateral relative."
Orondai paused for a moment, then his expression changed.
After a cup of tea, Orondai said coldly, "She's just one of the Thirteenth Prince's concubines. Although our family has declined in recent years, our concubine daughters can still be wives. Why rush to send her to the princes as a concubine?"
Niohuru's expression changed slightly.
On second thought, Niohuru quickly came to terms with it. She had only given birth to four sons, and all her daughters were born to concubines. Whether they married into ordinary families as wives or became princesses for the princes, it didn't pose much of a threat to her.
A concubine's daughter marrying well is more beneficial to her son.
On the day of the full moon of the birth of Xu Lejin's son and daughter, Emperor Kangxi personally issued an edict to bestow names according to their birth order. The son was named the twenty-second prince and was given the name Yin Hu.
The little princess was the thirty-fourth in lineage and was given the name Xianle.
Besides the princes Yinhu and Xianle who were given names according to their birth order, from the 28th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign onwards, all princes and princesses born were also given names and their birth order determined accordingly.
The thirty-first daughter of Consort Yuan, now eleven years old, is the twenty-ninth princess in the imperial family and has been given the name Rouyi.
The thirty-second daughter of Consort Shen, of the Qi Jia clan, was nine years old and given the name Qingrong, ranking as the thirtieth princess.
The thirty-third daughter of Consort Hesheli, born to Consort Sanghua, was five years old and was given the name Pingyao, the thirty-first princess in the imperial family.
The thirty-fourth daughter of Consort Wang, at the age of two, was given the name Ruxuan and was ranked as the thirty-second princess.
The thirty-fifth daughter of Consort Liu, who was one year old, was named Changting and became the thirty-third princess.
Brothers
The eighteenth and twenty-first princes born to Consort Wang were named the fifteenth prince and the eighteenth prince respectively, and were given the names Yinwu and Yinxi.
The nineteenth and twenty-second princes born to Consort Chen were the sixteenth and nineteenth princes, respectively, and were given the names Yinli and Yinxi.
The 20th and 23rd princes born to Consort Sanghua (of the Hesheli clan) and Consort Tangrou (of the Hesheli clan) were named the 17th and 20th princes, respectively, and were bestowed the names Yinlu and Yinqi.
Lan was the twenty-fourth son of the emperor, born to Consort Chen, and was the twenty-first prince in order of birth. He was given the name Yinzhen.
In addition, Consort Ziyan, née Chen, who gave birth to a baby prince three days ago, was also designated as the twenty-third prince and given the name Yin Ni.
The young princes and princesses, thanks to the twins Yinhu and Xianle, were granted names and their order of birth. Consort Yuan, Consort Shen, and the other concubines wept with joy.
After all these years, their children are finally no longer called "Prince" or "Princess," but have a formal order of birth and names.
They lived in constant fear, worried that the princes and princesses wouldn't survive, that they wouldn't have proper order of birth, and that they wouldn't have proper names...
At this time
Liang Jiugong entered Yikun Palace.
"Imperial Noble Consort, receive the imperial decree."
With the help of Ru Hua and Nongying, Xu Lejin knelt down respectfully.
Liang Jiugong looked at Xu Lejin with pride and announced loudly, "By imperial decree, to celebrate the joy of the six palaces, Imperial Noble Consort Xu Muer is hereby established as Empress, Consort Ning Borjigit is promoted to Noble Consort, Consort De Chen is promoted to Consort De, and Consort Jin Yu is promoted to Consort Jin."
"Noble Lady Xiang is now Consort Xiang, Noble Lady Gong is now Consort Gong, and Noble Lady Shun is now Consort Shun."
"Concubine Wang is now Noble Lady Mi; Concubine Chen is now Noble Lady Qin; Concubine Sanghua, of the Hesheli clan, is now Noble Lady Xiang; Concubine Tangrou, of the Hesheli clan, is now Noble Lady; Concubine Lanyin, of the Chen clan, is now Noble Lady He; Concubine Ziyan, of the Ziyan clan, is now Noble Lady; and Concubine Liu is now a Palace Attendant."
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