"...Now you see, I'm perfectly fine." Yin Qingyi sighed helplessly. How could this man, who was now the emperor, be becoming more and more childish?
"Yes, thank you for your hard work." Yinzhen took Yin Qingyi's hand, his tone full of concern.
"Now that you're back, tell me, when will the people in this household be moved to the palace?" Yin Qingyi didn't want to continue this topic. After all, she didn't know how to answer Yinzhen. Should she tell him she had worked hard? But it was all her own choice. She couldn't say she hadn't worked hard, but it certainly had. So, she decided to talk about something else.
"I originally planned to move as soon as possible before you gave birth, but since you've already given birth, let's wait until after your confinement period. Anyway, since you're not going to the palace, it doesn't matter to me whether others go or not." Yinzhen had already made his plans, but man proposes, God disposes. Who knew these two boys would happen to be on the same day as their father's ascension to the throne? But this wasn't necessarily a bad thing; at least he could manipulate things, and then...
"Isn't that inappropriate? Why don't you bring everyone into the palace first? I can stay here in my residence to finish my postpartum confinement before going to the palace. That way, people won't criticize you, and the ministers won't have any complaints either." Yin Qingyi frowned, not because she was thinking of those women, but because she was afraid that Yinzhen would be criticized by the ministers in court.
"You don't need to worry about this. I need to take care of getting the women in Father Emperor's harem sorted out this month. Once they're done, you can all move in." Yinzhen patted Yin Qingyi's hand. This little woman is still in her postpartum period. Why is she thinking about these things? It's too much of a headache. I'll handle these things.
"Alright then, I won't interfere. You can make your own decisions." Yin Qingyi thought for a moment and nodded. She really didn't know as much about these things as Yinzhen did.
"That's right. You just need to take good care of your health, and you don't need to worry about anything else." Yinzhen's eyes were filled with a smile.
"Mm." Yin Qingyi nodded and then yawned.
"You should rest now. I'll head back to the palace first. Take good care of yourself this month. I'll come back to see you when I have time, okay?" Yinzhen said gently to Yin Qingyi.
"Okay." Yin Qingyi nodded, her eyes already drooping. After saying that word, she was already in a daze and would probably fall asleep soon.
Yinzhen watched over Yin Qingyi until she was sound asleep before getting up and leaving.
"Granny, I'm entrusting her to your care for the next month. I've just ascended the throne, and there are many things to do in the palace. I may not have time to come back, so I'll also be leaving the affairs of this household to you, Granny." Yinzhen stood at the door and whispered to Granny Qi.
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. This is all what this old servant should do. You can rest assured to handle the affairs of state in the palace. This old servant will take good care of things in this mansion for you. I will also take good care of Mistress Yin and will not let her get tired." Granny Qi replied with a smile, her eyes filled with satisfaction.
"Thank you for your hard work, Granny. I'll head back to the palace now." Yinzhen naturally trusted Granny Naqi; otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of having her take care of this young woman in the first place.
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Upon returning to the palace, Yinzhen had a great deal to attend to. He had originally intended to visit Consort Yin, but he was simply too busy to spare the time. A month passed in a flash, and even after Consort Yin had finished her postpartum confinement, Yinzhen still hadn't been able to leave. However, he had already issued an edict ordering his household members to gradually return to the palace. Yinzhen had already dealt with the women in the harem favored by Emperor Kangxi. Since Kangxi was still alive, he couldn't release the concubines with sons, so they had to be sent to Changchun Garden. However, Changchun Garden wasn't very large, and Kangxi's harem was vast. In the end, only the favored and high-ranking concubines were sent there, while the rest were all placed in the Western Six Palaces. The Eastern Six Palaces were left empty for Yinzhen's women, but in reality, Yinzhen had very few women—less than ten in total—making the Eastern Six Palaces quite empty.
The court officials were naturally aware of this, so over the course of the month, Yinzhen received numerous memorials requesting him to expand his harem. He rejected them all, and during the morning court session, he solemnly declared that no more women would be added to his harem. His purpose in expanding the harem was to produce heirs, and he felt he already had enough; there was no need for more. While expanding the harem might also serve as a check on his relationship with the court, Yinzhen was confident he could manage the vast empire without this constraint! If he couldn't preserve the empire without women in his harem, then he might as well not be emperor!
Upon hearing this, the court officials dared not speak further. However, instead of telling Yinzhen, they went to Changchun Garden to speak with Emperor Kangxi, and Yinzhen was then summoned to Changchun Garden by Kangxi.
Yinzhen stayed in Changchun Garden for a full three hours. It is unknown what Yinzhen and Kangxi talked about during those three hours. In any case, after Yinzhen left Changchun Garden, Kangxi said that he would not interfere. He had already abdicated and there was no need to consult him in the future. Whatever Yinzhen said was law.
With that, the court officials were at a loss. The emperor had even persuaded the retired emperor, so what else could they do?
But that wasn't the end of it. By all accounts, Yinzhen's first wife, Ulanara, should have been the rightful empress, but Yinzhen did not grant her the position of empress, or even the rank of concubine. This incident led to Yinzhen being criticized by officials in court. However, Yinzhen only mentioned a few things that Ulanara had done, and the official left with a red face. After that, no one said anything more about it.
Yinzhen was not afraid of losing face if people found out what Ulanara had done; losing face was better than having Ulanara become empress, which would annoy him.
After these two incidents, no official dared to question Yinzhen's subsequent decisions. After all, there were precedents to learn from, and who knew what new emperor might do to slap them in the face? They should just keep quiet. This new emperor was a man of his own mind, and no one could change his decisions. If you wanted to change things, fine, be prepared to be slapped in the face by the new emperor first. Then, things would still go according to the new emperor's plan. Why bother?
So when Yinzhen proposed making Yin Qingyi empress, he had already prepared a whole speech to persuade the ministers. However, after he finished speaking, the ministers did not refute him as they had the previous two times. Instead, they said, "It is entirely up to Your Majesty to decide!" This surprised Yinzhen, but it was only a surprise. It would be best if the ministers agreed, but if they disagreed, he would find a way to make them agree.
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