The day of the baby's third-day celebration was quite lively.
The main reason was that the rewards bestowed by Emperor Kangxi were quite generous, and everyone in the Imperial Household Department had some connections, so they naturally knew that Emperor Kangxi was going to bestow names.
All of Yinzhen's brothers came; even if the imperial clan members were unhappy, those who were supposed to come had come.
Rongyu was very well-behaved, and the process went smoothly. Of course, there were still those who had been chased for debts by Yinzhen who made sarcastic remarks, but it didn't matter. Yinzhen was already used to this level of behavior.
He's really used to being criticized. In his previous life, during the reform movement, almost every scholar in the world was criticizing him.
Just as the third-day bath was about to end, someone from the palace arrived.
They also brought gifts, including an imperial edict bestowing a name upon him.
The imperial edict roughly stated: "I think your child, Fourth Prince, is well-born. I am pleased and hereby bestow upon him the name Hongxu."
The imperial edict prompted the Crown Prince to scoff, "Fourth Brother has indeed fathered a fine son; Father Emperor has taken a liking to him even before meeting him."
Emperor Kangxi's idea for Yinzhen to collect debts was to benefit the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince did indeed benefit in the end, but he was not satisfied with the process, as he felt that his younger brother was not obedient enough.
It is also noted that Emperor Kangxi bestowed a name upon his son on the third-day celebration of his birth, a privilege reserved for the legitimate sons of the emperor.
Before Yinzhen could even respond to the Crown Prince, the First Prince, upon hearing the Crown Prince's tone, sensed dissatisfaction with the Fourth Prince. Since the Crown Prince was unhappy, the First Prince couldn't help but chime in with a few words of support.
"Why does the Crown Prince sound so strange? If he's jealous of the Fourth Prince, he should go back and have a son with the Crown Princess. That would surely win over Father Emperor."
The Crown Prince has no legitimate son, only a legitimate daughter. The key issue is that the Crown Princess's health was damaged after giving birth to the daughter, making it impossible for the Crown Prince to have a legitimate son.
The eldest prince's words really hit the crown prince where it hurt.
The Crown Prince retorted, "I can't compare to my elder brother. He went to great lengths for the sake of having a legitimate eldest son. It's just a pity that my sister-in-law died because of my elder brother's stubbornness."
The First Consort gave birth to four daughters before finally having a prince. Not long after the birth, the First Consort passed away. It can be said that her body was ruined by childbirth.
The eldest prince and his primary wife had a very good relationship. Hearing the crown prince say this, he wished he could fight him.
In fact, he was indeed about to take action. When Yinzhen saw this, his face turned frighteningly cold. His son's third-day celebration was being treated so disrespectfully by his two older brothers.
"Second Brother, Eldest Brother, today is my son's third-day celebration. If you have any opinions about your younger brother, you can just say so. There's no need to resort to violence!"
Once they regained their senses and realized the occasion, they stopped talking and exchanged a disapproving glance.
...
After seeing the guests off, Yinzhen couldn't help but feel a little tired. Even if he started over ten thousand times, he would still hate these brothers. They were truly impossible to like.
About a month later, Le Shu was finally able to finish her postpartum confinement. Hong Xu's full-month celebration was very grand, after all, he was "Kangxi's favorite grandson", so it couldn't be too perfunctory.
Le Shu was also going out to make a public appearance; this was her first public appearance since arriving in the Qing Dynasty.
She's learned all the rules, so there's nothing to worry about.
Le Shu followed behind Ulanara, while Hongxu was carried by his wet nurse. Everyone came forward to see the child.
Upon seeing this, everyone paused. Those who had originally intended to offer polite compliments to the child found their tone becoming more sincere.
"This child was born well and is being raised well. He's only a month old and looks so chubby and healthy."
"That's right, that's right. This child's eyes look very sharp; he's definitely a smart kid."
"With so many people watching, she didn't cry or make a fuss. Look, she's even smiling! She's such a good girl."
...
Everyone praised the child, and Ulanara listened with a smile, exchanging pleasantries with them.
Le Shu was standing right next to them. If it weren't for her outstanding appearance and the fact that everyone knew she was Hongxu's mother, they would have almost forgotten about her.
Just then, a harsh voice rang out: "What can you possibly know from a baby? You all act like you've never seen a child before. Is it really necessary to exaggerate like that!"
Very disappointing.
The originally harmonious scene was ruined by these words. The smiles on the faces of the guests who had just been praising others disappeared, and the expressions of Ulanara and Le Shu also turned cold.
Ulanara said, “Eighth sister-in-law is young and vigorous, and doesn’t have children yet, so naturally she doesn’t understand the cuteness of children. I’m not saying this to criticize you, but you and your brother-in-law should hurry up and have a child. When you become a mother, you will naturally want to praise the child when you see him, instead of being like this now, unable to see anything when you see a child.”
The Eighth Prince's wife had no children, and in fact, there was no sound of children crying in the entire Eighth Prince's mansion.
Ninth Princess couldn't help but burst out laughing. Everyone looked at her, but Ninth Princess wasn't afraid of these gazes. The person she disliked the most was her sister-in-law, Eighth Princess.
I don't know where he got his sense of superiority from, he puts on airs in front of her every day, and even starts arranging things in her backyard, which infuriates her. But her husband only has his beloved myna bird in his heart.
"Fourth Sister-in-law is right, but Fourth Sister-in-law forgot one thing. Eighth Sister-in-law will soon be a mother, and she will soon understand how adorable children are."
Everyone looked at the Eighth Prince's wife's belly, and one of them blurted out, "The Eighth Prince's wife is pregnant! Congratulations!"
The Eighth Prince's wife's face darkened.
Ninth Princess smiled again.
"My ladies, you've misunderstood. Eighth Sister-in-law isn't pregnant. It's the princess in Eighth Brother's backyard who is pregnant. She's currently being cared for on the estate and has been pregnant for several months. She'll probably give birth early next year."
After Ninth Prince's explanation, the crowd looked at Bafu with a more mocking gaze, eager to see her make a fool of herself.
While the Eighth Prince's wife wasn't exactly domineering, she was certainly somewhat unpopular. She was too proud and often spoke without thinking, especially looking down on the concubines. She would often "speak her mind" when she disliked them, causing many families to lose face at banquets.
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