Since she vigorously reorganized the servants in Consort Yi's palace last year, the palace maids and eunuchs in the harem seem to be somewhat afraid of her.
Qian Shengyan had heard those rumors. Some speculated that she would be made a Noble Consort, some suspected that she would even be made Empress, and some were already secretly calling her "Lady of the Hall of Mental Cultivation".
She knew that the first conferment of a title seemed glorious, but... being pregnant meant she would only be a concubine, worse than everyone had guessed.
While I wouldn't say I don't care, I'm still somewhat displeased.
Yinzhen was probably not too happy either. Everyone knew that Yongshou Palace was under renovation. If Qian Shengyan hadn't stopped him, he would have moved a jade bed into her bedroom.
"There's no need, really, there's absolutely no need." Qian Shengyan said, both amused and exasperated.
Yinzhen said unhappily, "I remember you were extremely sensitive to heat after you became pregnant. Jade is cool, so why is it unnecessary?"
Qian Shengyan said helplessly, "Dr. Zhou said that the severe pregnancy reaction last time was because the child was already... Now, both I and the child are doing well, eating and sleeping well, so Your Majesty doesn't need to worry."
Yinzhen gave her a look that said, "How could I not be worried?"
In fact, Yinzhen was already considering bringing everyone into the palace after Qian Shengyan gave birth. Qian Shengyan was exhausted from trying to persuade him, and finally pretended to cry, saying that she really didn't want to be labeled a wicked concubine, which made Yinzhen reluctantly give up the idea.
However, at the same time, he arranged for everyone's palaces to be located far away.
In February, Ulanara was made Empress and resided in Changchun Palace; Nian was made Noble Consort and resided in Yikun Palace; Li was made Consort and called Consort Li, and resided in Xianfu Palace; Song and Wu were made Concubines and resided in the Tongdao Hall in the rear hall of Xianfu Palace; Geng and Guo were made Consorts and resided together in Chuxiu Palace.
Before everyone entered the palace, Qian Shengyan also moved from Yangxin Hall to the newly decorated Yongshou Palace.
Yongshou Palace is a two-courtyard complex. The main hall of the front courtyard, Yongshou Palace, has five bays and a hipped roof covered with yellow glazed tiles. The exterior is decorated with double-leaf lattice doors with four-bowl lattice patterns on the front and back eaves of the central bay. The side bays and end bays have sill walls with double-leaf lattice windows with four-bowl lattice patterns on the top.
The main hall has three side halls on the east and west sides. The main hall in the rear courtyard has five rooms, with side rooms on the east and west sides, and three side halls on the east and west sides in front of the main hall. There is a well pavilion in the southeast of the courtyard.
Fuerguochun chose to live in the East Annex Hall, while Hongli, being too old, was sent directly to the South Third Palace by Yinzhen and moved into the courtyard where Yinzhen had lived as a child.
Qian Shengyan took a look and felt it was alright. It was a small courtyard, but Hongli lived alone, so it was quite spacious for him.
However, now that only Hongli was staying at the Prince's residence, Qian Shengyan was a little worried about his food and drink, so she asked him to come to Yongshou Palace for meals every day. Hongli had no choice but to agree.
At the end of February, Ulanara and her entourage, who had been waiting at the Prince's residence for three months, were finally able to enter the palace. To avoid incurring hatred, Qian Shengyan did not appear in person, but only went to pay her respects to Ulanara after she had settled in.
Since news of Qian Shengyan's pregnancy had not yet spread, Ulanara was somewhat surprised upon seeing her: "You..."
"Your Majesty, I am more than five months pregnant," Qian Shengyan said with a smile. She sat down in a chair, supporting her lower back, with a humble posture. "It's good that Your Majesty the Empress is here. I really can't keep up with the affairs of the palace for even a moment longer."
"Originally, all matters in the manor were inseparable from Your Majesty the Empress. During this period, I have been struggling to manage things in the palace, and it has been very difficult." Qian Shengyan sighed and finally made her intentions clear. "These are all the palace's account books, records, and other matters. Please take a look, Your Majesty the Empress."
Ulanara probably didn't expect her to hand over power so readily. Her gaze shifted several times before she looked at Ulanara's slightly protruding belly and sighed after a long while.
She said, "I know what my sister is thinking, but this matter still needs the Emperor's decision."
"Your Majesty, rest assured, I have already spoken to the Emperor, and he is aware of this matter." Qian Shengyan smiled happily. Ah, the pain of being a steward, she never wanted to experience it again.
Yongshou Palace is so big and nice. She can play with her daughter, read storybooks, and rest during her pregnancy there every day. Isn't that good? Why bother with anything else? She's exhausted.
She also had to calculate and manage the allowances for the imperial concubines, and oversee their food, drink, and daily needs. How much free time did she have to manage all those things?
After handing over all the affairs of the palace, Qian Shengyan happily returned home.
Just as she left Changchun Palace, Qian Shengyan ran into "Nian Shi," who was also there to pay her respects to the Empress.
Their eyes met, and Danxiu's leg twitched slightly before she straightened up. Qian Shengyan didn't mind and curtsied, saying, "Greetings, Consort Nian."
"Hmm." Shan Xiu also noticed Qian Shengyan's solitude. She paused, raised her hand, and said, "Consort Xi is pregnant, there's no need for such formalities. Go back and rest."
"Yes," Qian Shengyan replied calmly, without any particular feeling. However, as they passed each other, Shan Xiu said something very lightly and quickly, which Qian Shengyan found amusing.
Shan Xiu said, "I never thought that you would bow to me one day."
She really thinks she's some kind of imperial concubine.
Qian Shengyan smiled, not taking it to heart. How long the "Nian family" could live depended entirely on Nian Gengyao. Given Nian Gengyao's arrogance, even if Yinzhen tried to be patient, he couldn't tolerate him for more than a few years.
Despite his illustrious military achievements, what good are they? There's nothing left to reward him with, so all he can give is a white silk ribbon.
With the power of the palace relinquished, Qian Shengyan felt much more relaxed. The layout of Yongshou Palace was exactly as she had envisioned, making it very comfortable to live in. Meanwhile, everything on Yinzhen's side was gradually getting back on track. When he wasn't too busy, he would come over to have dinner with her and exchange a few words with the child in her womb.
To Qian Shengyan's surprise, Yinzhen summoned Hongshi to the palace again.
Hongshi, who was almost twenty and married, should have been granted a separate residence and a grand fiefdom according to the rules of the Kangxi era. However, for some reason, Yinzhen had his family move into the Southern Third Palace instead of being granted a separate residence.
Qian Shengyan guessed that Yinzhen was probably waiting for a good opportunity to bestow a title upon Hongshi, and since she couldn't ask too many questions about such matters, she simply pretended not to know.
Hongli, on the other hand, had a rather unpleasant expression on his face every time he came over, as if he did not get along well with Hongshi.
Fortunately, there was also the adorable Hongzhou. After getting used to the palace environment, he was also moved to the South Third Palace, where he lived next door to Hongli. Hongli was quite familiar with and liked this younger brother, and the two gradually grew closer.
In April, news suddenly came from outside the palace.
Yinzhen entered Yongshou Palace with a dark expression, and upon seeing Qian Shengyan, he began to sigh.
It turned out that the real Lady Nian, for some reason, heard about Yinzhen's ascension to the throne and ran away from the estate in the middle of the night. She was almost seen by others, but fortunately, the palace maid guarding her was alert and quickly noticed something was wrong.
Although she was found and brought back shortly afterward, Lady Nian stopped eating and drinking, demanding to see Yinzhen and Qian Shengyan, and saying she had something no one else knew to tell them.
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