The cannon fodder character in the "Dream of the Red Chamber" story of a substitute bride tries to rewrite her life 15...
After returning to the mansion, the Eighth Prince's wife entered the main courtyard and angrily shouted, "Get out!" Several maids and nannies hurriedly retreated. Just as she closed the door, a series of crashing and smashing sounds came from inside the room.
When the Eighth Prince's wife had exhausted all her strength, she collapsed onto the soft couch, covered her face, and burst into tears.
When the Eighth Prince heard that his wife had started smashing things as soon as she returned from the palace, his heart skipped a beat: "Could it be that the medicine prescribed by Physician Guo has stopped working so quickly? That can't be! Physician Guo clearly said that as long as this medicine is taken continuously, it will suppress the effects of Zhu Yan Jin's medicine. It hasn't been that long, it shouldn't have problems so soon!"
The Eighth Prince rushed to the main courtyard, pushed open the door, and breathed a long sigh of relief when he saw his wife sitting calmly on the soft couch. It was good that nothing went wrong.
After discovering that the Eighth Prince's wife had been poisoned with the secret drug "Crimson Essence," the Eighth Prince tried many methods, and finally found the retired Imperial Physician Guo to help detoxify her.
If the antidote were so easily countered, it wouldn't be called an antidote. But everything in the universe has its counterpart; while the Crimson Flame cannot be cured, it can be suppressed with a medicine that has a counterpart to it.
Through the tireless efforts of the old imperial physician and his son, Physician Guo, they successfully deduced a prescription that could suppress the toxicity of the Zhu Yan Jin poison.
However, every medicine has its side effects. While this medicine can indeed suppress Zhu Yanjin, it also has significant side effects, harming the body and even shortening lifespan.
But the Eighth Prince's wife had no choice. If she continued to act irrationally like this, she would only be seen as a madwoman.
I thought the Eighth Prince's wife had learned her lesson after suffering such a great loss. If she hadn't so carelessly taken lives back then, how could she have incurred such retribution? But she's only been sober for a few days, and she's already plotting to harm people again.
In order to make the Eighth Prince's wife stand out among all the princes' wives, Jia Hui had the little system run errands to deliver a fertility pill to the Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Prince's wives.
Among the adult princes' wives, the others all had children; for example, the Third Prince's wife had two legitimate sons. Of course, the Fourth Prince's wife also had children, but Jia Hui had a good relationship with her now.
In addition, she hated that spendthrift son of a scumbag emperor the most. In this life, the Fourth Princess Consort has two legitimate sons to rely on, so there is no way it will be his turn to sit in that chair as a son of a concubine.
There's a reason why it wasn't sent to the Crown Princess. The Crown Prince is the heir apparent, and any action taken could have far-reaching consequences... Of course, it's also related to the fact that Jia Xuan is now a concubine of the Crown Prince Yinreng, and a very favored one at that.
If the Crown Princess gave birth to a legitimate son, wouldn't the Crown Prince's position be more secure? When Emperor Kangxi deposes the Crown Prince in the future, will he have to consider the factor of legitimate sons and grandsons?
If the crown prince hadn't been deposed and had successfully ascended the throne, Jia Xuan would at least have been made a concubine, right? Maybe even a high-ranking imperial consort. She was so smug; it was she who had instigated and persuaded Jia Daishan to agree to the arranged marriage.
Anyway, it's a modified version of the Dream of the Red Chamber, so who becomes emperor has nothing to do with Jia Hui. Judging from the current situation, unless the crown prince or Emperor Kangxi is reborn, it will be very difficult for him to turn the tide.
The effects of the fertility pill were immediate; soon, the fourth, fifth, and ninth princes' wives all became pregnant. The ninth prince was overjoyed and specially dragged the tenth prince to Prince Rui's residence to drink with Mingrui.
Since the Ninth Prince married in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, his wives and concubines have given birth to five daughters. Then rumors began to circulate that the Ninth Prince was cursed with bad luck and was destined to only have daughters in his life.
The Ninth Prince was furious with these rumors. What did they mean by him competing with the people for profit? What did they mean by him being immoral? He opened so many orphanages, spent money to run technical schools, and did so many good deeds. How was that immoral?
Later, an investigation revealed that the rumor originated from the Eighth Prince's residence. The Ninth Prince was furious. Over the years, he had spent so much money; even a dog would know to be loyal to its master.
From then on, the Ninth Prince completely lost faith in the Eighth Prince and cut off all contact with him. The Tenth Prince, who always followed his good Ninth Brother's lead, naturally followed suit and broke off all contact with the Eighth Prince as well.
After they stopped following the Eighth Prince, these two were taken by Mingrui to Prince Yong's residence every few days to freeload.
Poisonous Snake Nine, who had been at odds with Prince Yong since childhood, couldn't get along with him, but he had a good relationship with his nephew Honghui, taking him everywhere he went. If Prince Yong hadn't only had this one legitimate son, he might have been kidnapped by someone else.
The Ninth Prince is now eagerly awaiting the arrival of his wife's child.
In order to have a son and thoroughly humiliate the truly despicable villains, the Ninth Prince frequently brought his Ninth Consort to the Prince Rui's residence. Each time they came, the couple would hold Jia Hui's two chubby sons, claiming it was to share in the good fortune.
The Ninth Prince's wife had heard some folk remedy from somewhere, which said that if you put a chubby boy's clothes under your pillow, you will definitely give birth to a boy in the future.
He ran to her house and asked for two chubby boys' clothes. When he got home, he not only put them under his own pillow, but also under the Ninth Prince's pillow.
Jia Hui knew that she was definitely having a son, so she comforted her, saying, "I see your belly is pointed, so it must be a little prince. Although it's a bit unreliable, a child's intuition is very accurate."
"You see, every time you come, my two boys love to be held by you. They want to play with the little brother in your belly. Just relax, take good care of yourself, and you'll definitely give birth to a son."
Ninth Prince's wife had heard rumors that Jia Hui was destined to bring good fortune to her husband and children, and she believed her words.
Even the Empress Dowager couldn't help but sigh to Emperor Kangxi after she gave birth to quadruplets, saying that if she had entered the Crown Prince's harem, these quadruplets would have been his offspring! Alas, sometimes you have to believe in fate!
Emperor Kangxi was also quite amused. Who could have imagined that the concubine's daughter whom Mingrui married for good luck would have such a fortunate life?
Those in high positions are often more superstitious. Kangxi suddenly remembered that Jia Daishan's poor health began after this concubine's daughter got married.
Could she really be as the rumors say, bringing prosperity to her family, husband, and children? Before her marriage, the Jia family was quite prosperous, and after her marriage, the Feng'en General's Mansion became more and more prosperous, while the Jia family gradually declined.
Kangxi returned to the Qianqing Palace and summoned the high priest, who, after some divination, bowed and replied...
"Your Majesty, Princess Consort Rui is not only blessed with good fortune for her family, husband, and children, but she is also a lucky star bestowed upon the Qing Dynasty by the Eternal Heaven."
My Lord is wise and holy; the Eternal Heaven has sent down a blessed star to assist you. May my Lord live ten thousand years!
The old priest's words truly resonated with Emperor Kangxi. Indeed, he was a wise ruler, which is why the God of Longevity bestowed blessings upon him.
Kangxi suddenly realized that it was a blessing for the Qing Dynasty that Jia Hui had not entered the Crown Prince's harem.
If she marries the Crown Prince, she will be trapped in the backyard of Yuqing Palace, fighting and vying with a group of women.
She married Mingrui, and the couple worked together to improve grain yields, thus keeping the Qing Dynasty free from famine.
Emperor Kangxi nodded, indicating his satisfaction with the High Priest's answer. The High Priest had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Emperor Kangxi ask another question.
"After she got married, the Jia family went downhill. Was it because she got married that she took the Jia family's good fortune to her husband's family?"
The old priest pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps the Jia family treated Fuxing badly, so after Fuxing got married, the Eternal Heaven withdrew its favor to the Jia family."
When Emperor Kangxi heard this, he thought it made a lot of sense. Indeed, the birth of a lucky star into your family was truly a blessing from the Eternal Heaven.
As a result, your Jia family didn't cherish her. They neglected and abused her from a young age, and even forced her to marry in place of someone else to bring good luck. Anyone in your shoes would inevitably feel resentful, so it's only natural that the Eternal Heaven would take back its favor to your Jia family.
Jia Hui stayed at home obediently during her postpartum confinement period, completely unaware that the old priest, in order to please Emperor Kangxi, had fabricated a story about his origins as a lucky star.
Mingrui was a prince, and according to ancestral custom, his legitimate son and daughter would be provided with eight wet nurses and eight experienced nannies upon birth, along with more than forty maids for needlework, laundry, and other tasks. In addition, thirty eunuchs would also be assigned to them.
Therefore, after the quadruplets were born, the number of servants in Prince Rui's mansion increased by more than 300. This was after Jia Hui had given everyone a loyalty charm and removed some who had ulterior motives or were ill.
A prince's annual salary was 10,000 taels of silver and 10,000 bushels of rice. The rice was usually paid in silver, and 10,000 bushels was roughly equivalent to 10,000 taels.
In other words, Mingrui could have an annual salary of 20,000 taels, which seems like a lot, considering that even a first-rank official's annual salary was only 180 taels.
However, compared to the enormous expenses of the Prince's residence, its daily necessities, and various social interactions, this salary is really not enough.
Especially in terms of social interactions, one had to give gifts at every wedding or funeral in the imperial family. And those princes, in particular, were all incredibly prolific.
When you marry a wife or take a concubine, or have children, you can find an excuse not to show up when you receive an invitation, but you still have to send a gift.
Just like when their quadruplets had their third-day celebration and full-moon banquet, everyone in the capital with a certain status came with generous gifts.
And each gift had to be sent in sets of four; the gifts they received filled several warehouses. Once they received these gifts, they had to return them to every family that had a happy occasion.
The gift list clearly states who sent the gift and what they sent. The household has a special person in charge of keeping track of this. When someone has an event at another household, they are also responsible for reminding Jia Hui and Mingrui to return the gift in a timely manner.
Jia Hui had assumed that the Imperial Household Department was paying for all the nannies, palace maids, and eunuchs they had sent over, but she never expected that she would have to pay their own wages.
Why is she supporting so many people? Eight wet nurses are far too many for one child. We need to streamline the workforce and implement a competitive selection process.
Loyalty charms can only guarantee the loyalty of these servants, but some people are very stupid. Loyalty alone is not enough if they lack ability.
Uncle Fu was an expert at judging people. He gave them a three-month internship, and if their work ability did not meet the standards, he sent them all back to the Imperial Household Department.
It took half a year to finally reduce the number of people in the manor from nearly four hundred to just over two hundred.
There were two adults and four children in the family, and they supported a team of more than two hundred maids, nannies and eunuchs. In Jia Hui's opinion, the team was too large and could be further streamlined.
Mingrui advised her, "You can't go any lower. Look at your cousin's house, which courtyard doesn't have a huge group of maids and eunuchs? Keep them, it's not like you can't afford to."
Since Mingrui was the breadwinner and he said he could afford it, Jia Hui didn't say anything more.
The quadruplets now each have four wet nurses, two nannies, four head maids, eight junior maids, and eight eunuchs running errands.
Her daily task was to wait until the wet nurse had finished feeding the children, and then the maids and servants would clean the little ones up, wrap them in swaddling clothes, and then hug and kiss each of them.
If you miss them, go visit the neighboring courtyard. It's not that we don't live in the same courtyard, it's just that there are too many people and there's simply no room for them all.
The steward of the outer courtyard was Uncle Fu, while the stewards of the inner courtyard were four capable nannies and four head maids bestowed upon her by the Empress Dowager.
Jia Hui sighed to the little system, "It must have been so easy for noblewomen in ancient times to raise children. There was someone to take care of them from the moment they were born, and there were even people to teach them how to speak."
Those four wet nurses took better care of her than her own mother. They had to be meticulous; the lives of the whole family depended on her. If anything happened to the young master, their entire family would be executed.
While playing mahjong with other system users, 996 casually replied, "Modern rich people raise children like this, with nannies, babysitters... as long as you can afford the price."
Perhaps Jia Hui was naturally cold-hearted; she wouldn't endure hardship without having maids and servants, insisting on raising her child herself.
She clearly had the means to enjoy it, so why did she insist on coming in person? Of course, some people will say that the children they raise are closer to them, like Emperor Kangxi, who was closer to his wet nurse.
Jia Hui wasn't one to argue, but her four children were quite close to her; they were all very well-behaved in her arms.
Even before they could speak, they would communicate with her by making "oh oh oh" sounds. If they received a response, they would dance with joy for a long time.
Time flies so fast it catches you off guard. It seems like only a blink of an eye for the four little ones to go from babbling and learning to speak to jumping around and causing trouble everywhere.
What's it like to have four mischievous kids at home? From the moment they wake up in the morning, the Prince Rui's Mansion begins its chaotic daily routine.
Jia Hui's lazy sleep was ruined. If she got up even a little late, her four mischievous children would block her in bed, asking, "Mother, Mother, why aren't you up yet?"
"Mother is too lazy, she's always the last to get up..."
Even after getting up, there's no peace and quiet. The four little ones surround Jia Hui, pulling and tugging at each other, and it won't be long before they start fighting.
After the beating, he dragged Jia Hui to settle the case, and trying to smooth things over wasn't enough; he insisted that she tell him whose fault it was.
After racking their brains to get away with it, they would huddle up to Jia Hui, staring at her longingly, and ask her who her favorite little darling was.
Having answered these life-or-death questions so many times, Jia Hui has gained experience: "Whoever performs the best today is my favorite little darling."
"Big Treasure, Second Treasure, Third Treasure, Fourth Treasure, let's have a competition today to see who's the best behaved, okay?"
Even before the four little ones were born, Mingrui would hold the Book of Songs in his hands every day, vowing to give his children some nice-sounding and meaningful names.
The list of names he had come up with filled two pages, and he was racking his brains over which one to choose when Emperor Kangxi issued an imperial edict bestowing names upon his four little darlings.
Jia Hui had always thought the four babies were two pairs of twins, but the little system told her that the two boys were identical twins and the two girls were also identical twins.
As a result, Da Bao and Er Bao are almost identical, and San Bao and Si Bao also look very similar. It will not be easy to tell them apart in the future.
Da Bao was the older brother, named Hong Ke. As the eldest son of Prince Rui, Emperor Kangxi probably hoped that he would be more mature and stable.
The second child's name is Hongduo, which sounds very imposing. However, when Jia Huichu first heard the name, it sounded very familiar. It took her a while to remember that she seemed to have seen it in a TV series before. Dorgon's younger brother was named Duoduo.
She ran to ask Mingrui, who smiled and told her that Manchus did not pay attention to taboos when naming their children, and there were many people with the same name and characters.
To help Jia Hui understand better, he used his cousin Nersu as an example. Nersu's father was named Nerfu, his grandfather was named Rokodo, and his great-grandfather was named Luoluohun...
Jia Hui was speechless. If she didn't know that they all had the surname Aisin Gioro, she would have thought they had the surname Ne or Luo.
Sanbao's name is Wuxiha, which means "star" in Manchu. Sibao's name is Nichuhe, meaning "pearl." True to their names, they are indeed the apple of their family's eye.
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