Upon arriving at Yonghe Palace, Yinzhen helped Rouyin, who was wearing a cumbersome long robe, down from the carriage. Palace regulations stipulated that once inside the inner palace, one was not allowed to ride in a carriage, so they had to walk through this section.
Yinzhen and Rouyin said in unison to Consort De, "Your son/daughter-in-law greets Mother."
Consort De waved her hand, gesturing for them to sit down. "Bring the two children up quickly so I can have a look at them."
Seeing this, Rouyin had two wet nurses carry a pink swaddle and a basket of swaddled babies forward. As she spoke, she pointed and said, "The pink swaddle is Yilejia, and the blue swaddle is Honghui. The little sister loves to talk. When the two of them are put together, the older brother is always the one who gets disturbed and will cover his ears with his hands."
Consort De looked at her two grandsons with affection, saying, "It's good that the little princess is lively, and the little prince is steady and will surely achieve great things in the future."
Dressed in a royal blue cheongsam, Consort De, though older, possessed an undiminished beauty; in fact, age had added a touch of mature charm. She removed her ornate nail guards and gently touched Honghui's chubby cheek with her fingers, a hint of melancholy flashing across her face. Honghui looked remarkably like his father, whom she had loved dearly when she first gave birth to Yinzhen. But then, that vile woman, Consort Tongjia, stole him away, and he became her disgrace. Recalling these memories, a cold glint flashed across Consort De's beautiful face—a coldness directed at Consort Tongjia.
She turned to look at Ilejia, who was chattering away on the other side. She had to admit, the little princess was incredibly adorable. Her big, watery eyes darted around mischievously, and she would occasionally giggle, revealing her pink gums, making everyone's heart melt. Consort De couldn't resist hugging the doll-like Ilejia, wanting to rub her little face and kiss her cheeks. Consort De glanced sideways at Rouyin, who, even though dressed very simply, still stood out strikingly. She understood the little princess's beauty; like mother, like daughter. The little princess had inherited her mother's stunning looks, making her irresistibly cute.
Although she disliked the fourth son's wife for being too beautiful, her grandchildren looked just like their mother, which was truly delightful. No wonder the fourth son favored the little princess; her appearance was simply irresistible.
"What joyous occasion is it? I could hear the commotion from your palace from far away." Kangxi entered the hall, and Consort De and Rouyin and others beside him quickly rose to pay their respects.
Emperor Kangxi was very fond of Consort De, who was understanding and perceptive. He casually waved for people to stand up.
Sitting in the main seat, he laughed and said, "It's so lively here with Consort De! The Fourth Prince and his wife have even come. My Qianqing Palace is not as lively as Consort De's."
Consort De smiled and said, "I invited the Fourth Prince today to bring his wife and children to see this. I was just about to take a good look at these twins. The addition of two children has really made my palace much more lively. Your Majesty, please come and see." After saying this, Consort De carried the two children and walked to Kangxi.
Kangxi looked down and saw Honghui and Yilejia smiling at him. He was so happy that he hugged Honghui and then Yilejia. Looking at the two children's lovely smiles, he even forgot about the recent troubles in the court. He said, "The twins are clever and auspicious. I hereby confer upon Honghui the title of Beizi and upon Yilejia the title of Heshuo Gege."
Upon seeing this, Rouyin and Yinzhen knelt down together, saying, "Thank you for the reward, Father Emperor."
When the two left the palace, they brought back many rewards.
Three months later, Rouyin's belly showed a slight curve. Liu Qing and the others were shocked to see their mistress touching her belly. "Is the mistress pregnant again?" Although the mistress had been sleeping a lot during this time, they thought it was because she had just finished her postpartum confinement and needed to catch up on her sleep.
"I think I've been feeling a bit unwell lately, just like when I was pregnant last time, so I guess I'm pregnant again." Rouyin gently touched her belly again.
"Why doesn't the master take better care of the wife's health? Getting pregnant right after giving birth will seriously damage her body!" Granny Wumu thought with great worry.
"It's alright, my health is excellent. There's nothing wrong with being pregnant. We'll summon the physician later to check."
Shi Liu rushed over with a fully equipped physician from the Prince's household. The elderly physician, surnamed He, moved with a pace far beyond his years. He glanced furtively at the servants in the courtyard; they were tense but not overly so. He breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he was overly nervous, but rather that everyone in the Fourth Prince's household knew that the Princess Consort was the most dangerous person to offend. If anything happened to her today, he'd probably lose his life too!
"Please extend your hand, Madam." Physician He immediately placed his hand on her wrist to take her pulse. The pulse was smooth and had multiple pulsations, indicating a pregnancy. He was overjoyed and immediately kowtowed, "This servant congratulates Madam on your pregnancy. You are three months pregnant, and your pulse is strong and steady with multiple pulsations, indicating multiple pregnancies."
The physician from the He family was neither surprised nor astonished to see the people in the Fujin's courtyard; he would have certainly noticed that the woman was pregnant.
Granny Wang interjected, "Why does the Princess Consort have menstrual flow several months before each pregnancy? Could this have any impact on her?"
The physician from the He family rubbed his white beard and said confidently, "Granny, you may not know, but some women also experience menstrual flow before pregnancy. This is just a matter of individual constitution. Your Majesty's pulse is healthy, and this phenomenon will not affect you at all."
On the other side, Yinzhen was startled to learn that the Princess Consort had invited the royal physician and rushed to the Princess Consort's courtyard.
"What's wrong with the Princess Consort?" Yinzhen asked the physician anxiously.
"This servant congratulates Master and Consort. Consort is three months pregnant. Judging from her pulse, it should be multiples, but since the pregnancy is still in its early stages, the pulse is weak and the number cannot be determined."
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen calculated the timeline and realized that Yin'er had probably conceived shortly after giving birth. He asked with a mixture of joy and fear, "Will this affect the Fujin (consort)?"
"The princess's pulse was steady and strong, her complexion was rosy, and her physique was even healthier than that of an average man."
Yinzhen knew that the imperial physician was so certain because the wife's health was truly good enough for him to say so, but he was still worried and instructed Su Peisheng, "Go to the palace and invite an imperial physician."
"Yes, Master." Su Peisheng respectfully got up and left.
When the imperial physician arrived, he gave the same answer as the physician in charge of the household, and Yinzhen was finally relieved.
Rouyin chuckled, "My lord, you can rest assured now. My health is comparable to that of a man; I will be fine."
She was about to get up to pour a cup of tea for the master when Yinzhen, startled, grabbed her and supported her. "You're carrying several children now, so you have to be careful. Let the servants do whatever you need to do." As he spoke, Yinzhen reached out and poured a cup of tea for her, assuming his young wife was thirsty and was pouring it for herself.
Rouyin didn't explain, silently accepting the cup of tea. She tried to get her to stop her father's nagging.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
