During this time, Emperor Kangxi was worried that Qingyin would be bored. In a casual conversation with Qingyin, he learned that she loved watching plays. So he specially built a stage and sent people to bring a Peking Opera troupe from the common people to the palace to perform for Qingyin.
Qingyin sat below the stage, watching the female performer singing the story of the White Snake Lady. She raised an eyebrow. It seemed that her older sister had spread quite a few stories. She had been too busy lately and had forgotten to give her some vague memories. It seemed that she would have to find an opportunity to bring her to the palace.
So when Kangxi came to accompany Qingyin right after court, he was met with Qingyin's coquettishness.
"Your Majesty, could you please allow my mother and sister to stay with me for a few days?"
Looking at Qingyin, who was pouting and unusually charming, Kangxi's heart pounded involuntarily. He immediately agreed. It was rare for his beloved concubine to act so coquettishly; what was she asking for? She simply wanted to see her family. How could he hesitate? It was his fault, really. It was her first pregnancy, and she was so young; she must be missing her family. He had been so negligent. Kangxi looked regretfully at Qingyin nestled against his chest, completely forgetting that in the past, even pregnant concubines would wait until near delivery to conceive.
The Tong family soon received an imperial edict from Emperor Kangxi.
Lady Tongjia, prone to overthinking, assumed Qingyin was in some kind of danger and had sought the Emperor's decree. Her mind was filled with conspiracy theories. Only after being persuaded by Tong Guogang did she calm down and promptly pack her things. She only had one daughter, and no matter how precious she was, she couldn't give her more. Her daughter was pregnant, and she should love these sour plums and lotus flower pastries, which she also loved. She packed those too... Now, Lady Tongjia wished she could pack up everything precious in the mansion for Qingyin.
Looking at the large packages piled up in the courtyard, Tong Guogang's eyes widened in exasperation. He said helplessly, "No matter what, things from the palace are definitely better than what we have at home. How can you pack so many?"
Looking at the courtyard crammed with packages, Madam Tongjia felt a little guilty. She murmured, "I was just thinking that Yu'er in the manor would be more used to the food."
However, despite Tong Guogang's careful selection and Tong Jia's wife's reasoned arguments, two large bags of things were still left behind. Originally, Tong Jia's wife did not want to bring Tong Jia Wanying into the palace, fearing that this wild ghost would harm Qingyin. However, since the imperial decree had clearly mentioned Tong Jia Wanying's name, she had no choice but to reluctantly bring her along.
Unlike Madam Tongjia's hidden displeasure, Tongjia Wanying was filled with excitement. Staying at home meant she would never see the Fourth Prince, but staying in the palace was different. If the Fourth Prince came to visit Consort De, she would definitely run into him. Even if she didn't, it would be good to curry favor with Consort De. Although historically Consort De and the Fourth Prince didn't have a good relationship, they were still mother and son, and the Fourth Prince should still respect Consort De, right? Tongjia Wanying entered the palace with these hopes in mind.
The efficient Qingyin didn't care about the beautiful dreams in her heart. The decisive Qingyin took the opportunity to touch Tong Jiawanying's wrist the moment she met her and used the system to interfere with her memory. The filter's ability was top-notch. Although it would retain her memories of transmigrating, the knowledge she had acquired would be diluted. Tong Jiawanying would only reasonably think that she couldn't remember it after a long time.
Tong Jia Wanying felt dizzy for a few seconds before it disappeared. She thought it was a side effect of the carriage ride. Looking at Qingyin, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes, a hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes, but she still flattered her with a fawning tone:
"May Your Highness, Consort Qiong, be blessed with good fortune and peace. This pregnancy will surely result in the birth of a prince."
Qingyin raised an eyebrow, knowing that he knew how to please her, and smiled, "Sister, there's no need to be so polite. I like this child whether he's a prince or a princess."
Lady Tongjia's eyes flashed with anger as she looked at Tongjia Wanying, who had openly declared in front of all the servants that she had given birth to a prince. "Fool!" she thought. "This imperial heir is perfect, yet she dares to say such things in front of everyone. Is she afraid the news won't reach the Emperor's ears?" She smiled and continued, "Yes, during pregnancy, the worst thing is to eat too much and let the fetus grow too large. Your Majesty, after you've eaten your fill, you should go for walks in the courtyard more often to take good care of your health."
Qingyin smiled and nodded: "What Mother said is true, and the imperial physician also said so."
Because Qingyin was pregnant in the summer, the weather was hot and dry, so the family members who had entered the palace could not stay for long. After a while, Qingyin let Lady Tongjia and the others go back.
With the concubines in the palace no longer restricted, Qingyin had more people to chat with. Because of the ice blocks that Kangxi had ordered to be placed in the palace, the maids fanned her through the ice blocks, creating gusts of cool breeze that made Qingyin feel very comfortable. In addition, there were some chilled fresh fruits such as oranges, lychees, and grapes, which made Qingyin's pregnancy less painful.
"Sister Qiongfei, your palace is so comfortable. There's plenty of ice."
Qingyin took a bite of cantaloupe and replied, "The Emperor only came because I'm pregnant. Consort Hui, you're too kind to me."
"Your Majesty isn't really here because of Consort Qiong's baby bump," Consort Yi teased with a smile.
"So much fruit couldn't shut up Consort Yi's mouth; she even started making fun of me."
Upon hearing this, everyone laughed.
Thinking of Princess Wenxian, whose husband had been chosen, Qingyin looked curiously at Consort De sitting to the side, "Consort De, is Princess Wenxian ready for her wedding?"
When Wen Xian was mentioned, Consort De looked worried. "Wen Xian is such a clever and mischievous child. He actually wants the food at the banquet to stay warm all the time. How can we do that? We even issued a public notice among the people, but no one came."
Consort Hui also said, "It's true that we want hot food at banquets. Every time there's a banquet, the soup is cooked and it congeals into a lump, which is disgusting. No wonder Wen Xian wants to change it."
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