After a while, a young eunuch came in from outside, smiling, and said, "Your Majesty, the Fourteenth Prince has arrived."
Consort Wuya smiled and said, "Let him in quickly."
Tong Cheng'er looked at Consort Wuya's motherly expression, held a handkerchief, lowered her head, and couldn't help but roll her eyes.
This person should at least show some restraint in being biased; he really doesn't know how to be considerate at all in front of her.
The Fourteenth Prince entered with a smile, but before he could even greet him, he saw Tong Cheng'er sitting to the side, and his smile immediately froze on his face.
Seeing his reaction, Tong Cheng'er gave him a beautiful smile.
The Fourteenth Prince felt he had been provoked, but the other party just smiled at him and said nothing.
As a prince who spent his days in the palace, the Fourteenth Prince only froze for a moment before smiling again.
He began, "Greetings, Mother; greetings, Fourth Sister-in-law."
Consort Wuya: "Why are you being so polite with your mother? Get up quickly."
Tong Cheng'er chimed in from behind, "That's right, we're all family, Fourteenth Brother, no need for such formalities."
Tong Cheng'er's words made the Fourteenth Prince feel inexplicably awkward.
Uya Pin thought to herself, "You're talking nonsense. Who's family with you?"
Since neither of them looked too good, Tong Cheng'er was instantly satisfied.
After the Fourteenth Prince stood up, he said, "Thank you, Mother."
Then, Tong Cheng'er just sat there watching Consort Wuya and the Fourteenth Prince, their motherly love and filial piety touching the heart. Tong Cheng'er felt a little bored and couldn't help but drift off into her own thoughts.
After a while, she heard Consort Wuya call her: "...Consort Yinzhen, what do you say?"
Tong Cheng'er snapped out of her daze, looking completely bewildered. What did she say?
The old nanny beside her whispered a reminder: "Her Majesty just said she wanted a granddaughter."
Tong Cheng'er couldn't help but laugh when she heard this. This person was really something. She didn't have any preference for sons over daughters, but in ancient times, if a son and daughter-in-law only had one child after marriage, she would say that she wanted a daughter.
What a wonderful mother-in-law!
Tong Cheng'er smiled and said, "Mother is truly a kind person. If I have a daughter this time, I will definitely bring her here to express my gratitude and let her know how much you love her."
After saying this, Tong Cheng'er couldn't help but turn her gaze to the Fourteenth Prince: "I heard that Mother has arranged a palace maid to serve the Fourteenth Prince. It seems that the Fourteenth Prince has grown up. Even if my wife's pregnancy doesn't fulfill Mother's wishes, the Fourteenth Prince is so filial, he will probably give Mother many granddaughters. When there are many granddaughters, Mother will be too happy to love them all!"
That's a really harsh statement.
Tong Cheng'er hadn't originally planned to say such things, but these two mothers were really something. If they wanted to show their love for each other, they should just do it honestly. Why did they have to drag her into it?
Upon hearing this, Consort Wuya's face stiffened. She couldn't help but think along the lines of what she was saying: one after another, the women in the fourteenth harem became pregnant, and all the children they gave birth to were daughters.
Thinking of this, Wuya Pin was suddenly startled; it was too frightening.
The Fourteenth Prince understood as well, and his expression turned sour.
Seeing this, Tong Cheng'er knew exactly what was going on, and then looked at the two of them with a blank expression: "Mother, Fourteenth Brother, are you alright? You don't look too well. Should we send someone to call the imperial physician to take a look?"
Consort Wuya quickly replied, "No need, I am perfectly fine."
Upon hearing this, Tong Cheng'er turned her gaze to the Fourteenth Prince.
Upon seeing this, the Fourteenth Prince could only say, "Thank you for your concern, Fourth Sister-in-law, I'm fine."
Tong Cheng'er smiled easily: "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright."
Then, the "motherly love and filial piety" between Consort Wuya and the Fourteenth Prince seemed a bit stiff, which Tong Cheng'er found quite satisfactory.
Consort Wu Ya had already given her all, and seeing that Tong Cheng'er's expression remained unchanged, she also felt somewhat bored, and then began to speak formally.
Speaking of which, the draft is about to begin.
The princes who came after him were getting quite close in age. For example, a fourteen-year-old prince, who was in his early teens, already had palace maids to serve him in bed, but he still had several primary consorts ahead of him who hadn't been chosen yet.
It's estimated that Consort Wuya will be able to finalize the marriages of the Seventh Prince, Eighth Prince, Ninth Prince, and Tenth Prince through this selection process.
The remaining princes, the twelfth prince, the thirteenth prince, and her son, will probably have to wait another three years.
She understood this in her heart, so she didn't plan to choose a primary consort for her precious son. However, she wanted to choose a secondary consort with a good family background for the fourteenth son, and also choose two princesses who suited her taste.
"You're not young anymore. When it's time for the imperial concubine selection, your mother will pick a few women to serve you in your harem. Tell your mother what kind of women you like."
The Fourteenth Prince felt embarrassed, especially since it was in front of Tong Cheng'er; he felt even more embarrassed.
Tong Cheng'er didn't care, but hearing those words from Wu Yapin made her want to complain in her heart.
Consort Wuya made it sound easy. She was confined to Yonghe Palace. It wasn't easy for outsiders to come in, and it wasn't easy for insiders to leave either. During the imperial concubine selection, how could they allow innocent young women to enter Yonghe Palace, which was now under their control?
She just felt that Consort Wuya was overthinking things.
The Fourteenth Prince lowered his head and said, "Mother, you can decide. I will not complain."
Consort Wuya smiled and then named several prospective imperial concubines who would soon be selected. Hearing their surnames—Guarjia, Shumulu, Niohuru, Nara…
Each of them was a princess from a prominent Manchu family.
Tong Cheng'er couldn't help but want to purse her lips. This mother and son were truly shameless. Who did they think they were? They thought they could pick and choose the daughters of third- or second-rank officials!
Judging from Consort Wuya's tone and demeanor, it seemed as if she wanted to send all the princesses she had just mentioned to the Fourteenth Prince's backyard.
That face is bigger than the sun in the sky!
They're really losing their sense of propriety as they get older.
Whether the Fourteenth Prince genuinely didn't understand or was pretending not to understand the identities of these princesses, he still lowered his head and said, "Mother, it's fine to make the decision."
Consort Wuya nodded in satisfaction, then turned her gaze to Tong Cheng'er, the smile in her eyes fading slightly: "Consort Yinzhen, the Fourteenth Prince is Yinzhen's younger brother. You are Yinzhen's consort. What do you think?"
Tong Cheng'er was taken aback when she heard this; how could this matter be related to her?
"I don't know much about the princesses and daughters-in-law that Mother mentioned, but since they have caught Mother's eye, they must all be good princesses."
Uya Pin: "Then which ones do you think are better?"
several?
Tong Cheng'er genuinely thinks she has a big heart.
"I haven't seen the daughter-in-law in person, so it's hard to say who's better. These girls come from good families, and any of them would be a good sister-in-law."
Consort Wuya was somewhat displeased upon hearing this: "What sister-in-law? She's just a concubine or something like that, she doesn't deserve to be called sister-in-law by you."
Tong Cheng'er was stunned when she heard this. She was really stunned this time. The family backgrounds of the princesses that Consort Wuya mentioned earlier were suitable for the princes' primary consorts, but Consort Wuya only meant that she was planning to find a secondary consort or princess for her son.
This face isn't just as bright as the sun, it's as big as the universe!
Who gave her the courage? Even Fish Leong herself probably wouldn't dare to say that!
"As long as Mother is happy."
She didn't know what else to say besides that sentence.
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