Qingxue touched her forehead to the ground: "Whatever Master asks me to do, I will do."
"Very well, from today onwards you will be promoted to First-Class Palace Maid, in charge of all affairs of Qiuyuezhai." Yinzhen tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest, looked around again, and called out, "Su Peisheng!"
Su Peisheng hurriedly bowed and stepped forward, just as Yinzhen asked, "Where is your apprentice? Zhang..."
"Zhang Defu." Su Peisheng quickly received the message, and Zhang Defu also hurriedly stepped forward and knelt on the ground: "This servant is here."
“Zhang Defu will remain at Qiuyuezhai for now,” Yinzhen declared decisively. He then looked at Su Peisheng and said, “Everyone who was originally serving at Qiuyuezhai will receive ten strokes of the cane. The wet nurse will be noted for now.”
Su Peisheng agreed again, and Yinzhen stood up and said to the stunned Qian Shengyan, "Go and see Yuanshou."
Qian Shengyan was already intimidated by Yinzhen's swift and decisive methods.
First, she made it clear that all the people here were sent by the Fujin (principal wife), and then she let Qingxue stay here as the eldest aunt, and it would probably not change when she returned to the manor.
Zhang Defu—whom Yinzhen specifically pointed out was Su Peisheng's apprentice, meaning he was someone directly under the control of Prince Yong.
His open presence here serves as a warning to the restless members of the inner court—the Prince will always be watching the Fourth Prince.
It seems that Yinzhen really values his children...
Qian Shengyan had mixed feelings. Thinking of the princes who had died one after another, she suddenly felt that he was also... quite pitiful.
The Manchus believed that having many children meant good fortune. Emperor Kangxi, who was already fifty-seven years old, had just welcomed his twenty-first son this year.
Emperor Yongzheng, a thirty-year-old man, now only had his third son, Hongshi, in his household.
No wonder he quickly investigated the truth as soon as he heard that Yuan Shou was sick; it seems that this man really didn't want to face the fact that his child was in trouble again.
It's a pity that after Lady Nian enters the household, Yinzhen will lose three sons and one daughter.
Later, when he became emperor, he only had four sons and one daughter. In the end, one son was removed from the imperial genealogy, and another son was adopted by Prince Guo...
So tragic, so tragic!
"...What are you thinking about?" A large hand waved in front of her eyes. Qian Shengyan didn't have time to compose herself. She looked at the man in front of her with a pained expression, then quickly lowered her head: "This servant wasn't thinking about anything."
"Alright, Yuan Shou is awake now, don't worry." Yinzhen seemed to have misunderstood, and went forward to hug Yuan Shou, who had already opened his eyes, and squeezed his strong little arms that were waving again, "Good boy."
"Your Highness." Su Peisheng's voice sounded from outside the door. Yinzhen hummed in response, and Su Peisheng bowed as he entered, saying, "The Emperor has sent word that we will depart for the capital tomorrow."
"Hmm?" Yinzhen frowned, stood up and walked out. "Did you say anything else?"
"That's all..."
Su Peisheng followed along at a jog, and when they reached the door, Yinzhen seemed to remember something and turned back to look at Qian Shengyan, who was curtsying: "Take good care of the Fourth Prince."
After saying that, he strode away.
They're finally gone...
Qian Shengyan straightened up, rubbed her lower back, and then quickly went to pick Yuan Shou up.
Looking into her child's big, dark eyes, Qian Shengyan finally breathed a sigh of relief. She pressed her face against Yuanshou's cheek and said, "My baby, you've suffered so much." She then lowered her voice and whispered, "Don't worry, Mom will definitely avenge you!"
"Princess." Qingxue pushed open the door and entered, stopping to curtsy. "Breakfast has been served. Would you like to eat now, Princess?"
"Don't rush, Auntie, come here, let's talk." Qian Shengyan put Yuanshou down, smiled and took Qingxue's hand. She then asked the wet nurse and the others to leave first, before asking softly, "Why did you want to come here, Auntie?"
"Wherever Master commands me, I will go." Qingxue smiled, but added, "Besides, I find the Fourth Prince clever and adorable, and I really like him."
Oh, so they're here for the Fourth Prince's future.
Qian Shengyan smiled slightly and pleaded, "Good aunt, I'm new here and really don't know anything about our household. Could you please teach me?"
"Your Highness is too kind. This is my duty." Qingxue smiled and slightly curtsied before straightening up. "Now we have the First Lady, Consort Li, and the rest of you ladies. Consort Song and Consort Wu are both old servants who have served our Prince since the early years in the Prince's quarters. Consort Song is in poor health, and Consort Wu doesn't like to see people. They only come out during festivals. There is also Consort Geng, whom Your Highness has met before."
Qian Shengyan nodded.
As for Geng Gege, she knew she still had a score to settle with the other party.
“It’s heartbreaking to talk about the princes and princesses in the manor. In the early years, our eldest prince was born to the Fujin (consort), but unfortunately, he died after being vaccinated against smallpox at the age of eight…” Qingxue sighed and continued, “It just so happened that at that time, Consort Li’s third prince was born, which made the Fujin very sad.”
Oh, so this means that Ulanara and this Consort Li don't get along at all.
"Speaking of which, it was only after Consort Li had the Third Prince that the Prince requested her to be made a Consort. Alas, at that time, Consort Li had two sons by her side. Unfortunately, at the end of last year, the Second Prince fell seriously ill and never recovered, and Consort Li worried about him for a long time." Qingxue said with great sorrow.
Qian Shengyan's eyes flickered slightly, and she raised an eyebrow as she looked at Qingxue.
Qingxue continued without changing her expression: "Alas, the Second Prince passed away suddenly. Consort Li was so heartbroken that she couldn't get out of bed. The Prince was also very sad. Since then, he has been staying in the front courtyard, chanting sutras and praying for the Second Prince every day."
Qian Shengyan understood. It turned out that the Second Prince's sudden death was partly orchestrated by the Fujin (the wife of the Second Prince), otherwise Yinzhen wouldn't have gone to the inner courtyard for more than half a year.
"Fortunately, Princess Geng was found to be pregnant at the beginning of the year, which somewhat comforted the Prince's heart after losing his child." Qingxue finished speaking and smiled. "Now that our Fourth Prince is born, the Prince is very happy with him."
"If it can bring the Prince some joy, as Aunt says, it would be a blessing for Yuanshou," Qian Shengyan sighed, then tentatively asked, "Since I arrived, have I not yet seen Consort Li?"
"Consort Li is not in good health, and not all the masters of the Prince's mansion can leave. This time, Consort Li stayed in the mansion to take charge of things when we came to the Summer Palace. The Prince only brought his wife and Consort Geng, but the Third Prince and the First Consort also came along."
Qian Shengyan nodded, having somewhat grasped the current situation.
“There aren’t many people in our Prince’s Mansion. Apart from Lady Geng, who was chosen for the Prince by Consort De last year, the rest are all long-time residents,” Qingxue sighed.
Qian Shengyan continued to nod.
She knew this; the historical Yinzhen was not obsessed with women, unlike the current emperor Kangxi who wanted to try everything. Even at sixty years old, he still had dozens of concubines in his harem without any official titles or status.
Moreover, Yinzhen cherished old friendships.
However, based on Qian Shengyan's research on Emperor Yongzheng when she was in school, she felt that Yinzhen actually loved beautiful women.
For example, Lady Nian, despite having a wealth that made Yinzhen wary, was still favored because of her beauty.
For example, Lady Li was able to give birth to one child after another in her early years because she was beautiful enough. When Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, he bestowed upon her the title "Qi", which in Manchu means "pretty" or "beautiful".
Qingxue then asked, "After returning to the capital tomorrow, will Princess go to pay her respects to Consort Li?"
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