On the day of the fourth prince's eldest son's third-day celebration, the mansion made arrangements well in advance.
Crown Prince Yinreng arrived with a group of brothers to observe the ceremony. The eldest prince, Yinzhi, found it annoying to see all his brothers following the Crown Prince's lead. He was only half a step behind the Crown Prince and looked like he would be walking ahead of him at any moment.
The Crown Prince showed no displeasure: "Congratulations, Fourth Brother, on the birth of your eldest son. You must serve Father Emperor with even greater diligence in the future."
All the princes offered their congratulations.
"Where's my little nephew? Bring him out so I can see him." The Fourteenth Prince, Yinzhen, was full of curiosity. It would be interesting if his Fourth Brother, this big iceberg, gave birth to a little iceberg.
Then the three of them can live in the cold storage.
The men were all in the front yard, and Yinzhen was greeting them.
The wives naturally went to the backyard, where the Crown Princess led them to visit Yihua.
Yi Hua was already dressed and bowed to the Crown Princess to pay her respects.
Guarjia waited for Yihua to finish her greetings before calling out, "Fourth sister-in-law has just given birth, there's no need for such formalities. Where's the little prince? Quickly bring him out so we can share in the joy."
Although Lady Guarjia was the Crown Prince's principal wife, it was no secret that Consort Lijia was more favored. After all, the eldest son was born to Consort Lijia, while she herself had not conceived at all, which made her extremely anxious.
The Fourth Prince favored Lady Li more. She was originally a pitiful person, but in the blink of an eye, she had a legitimate eldest son. In the future, even for the sake of this child, the Fourth Prince would still respect her.
Guarjia had many thoughts running through her mind and felt a little resentful. They were both primary wives, so why could she have children even though she was not favored, while she didn't have that luck?
Honghui was unusually awake, his grape-sized eyes staring at you, his arms outstretched as he reached out to Yihua for a hug.
After spending these few days together, Honghui completely remembered his mother's scent.
Guarjia smiled and reached out her hand: "Give me a hug."
The wet nurse hesitated for a moment before glancing at Yi Hua. The Crown Princess was still wearing nail guards on her hands. Children's skin is delicate; if she were to get a scratch, the adults would be heartbroken.
Yi Hua reached out and took the child, patting him twice: "This kid is eating more and more every day, I can't carry him anymore. Is Su Peisheng here? Take him to the front yard and tell him that the child is too young to be exposed to the wind."
Upon hearing this, the wet nurse carried him away.
Guarjia sneered: "Fourth sister-in-law is too cautious. I consider myself to have some strength. Is the eldest prince made of porcelain, that he would break at the slightest touch?"
Yi Hua rubbed her aching back from sitting for a while: "Is the Crown Princess cursing your nephew? I dare not answer such a question. I must send someone to the front courtyard to ask His Highness the Crown Prince. Is this the proper etiquette for a guest?"
For daring to curse Honghui, Yihua gave the Crown Princess no kind word.
"Insolence!" Guarjia slammed her hand on the table, her voice filled with rage.
“Your Highness, this is the Fourth Prince’s residence. Please calm down. It’s understandable that your sister-in-law is emotionally agitated after giving birth. As her sister-in-law, we should be tolerant of these younger ones,” said the First Prince’s wife, Lady Irgen Gioro, softly. Her face was pale and her breath was unsteady, but she was full of confidence.
The eldest prince, Yinzhi, doted on her almost exclusively. Although she was in poor health, everyone else in the household was just for show. The confidence given by her husband made her unafraid to speak with the Crown Princess.
Seeing that the First Princess Consort had given her a way out, Yi Hua took the opportunity to say, "The third-day-after-birth ceremony is about to begin, let's get ready to go to the front yard."
***
The quarrel between the wives soon reached the ears of the men in the front courtyard. The eldest prince, Yinzhi, peeked at the baby in Yinzhen's arms and said, "Your Highness, I'm just a rough man, so I'll be frank. The Crown Princess's words are really unpleasant to hear. Our little nephew will surely live to be a hundred years old, won't he?"
Yinzhen's expression remained as cold and calm as ever, with only a hint of anger flashing in his eyes: "It's just women arguing. Who has the patience to listen to such things? Brothers, you don't need to take it to heart."
It goes without saying that the Crown Prince was dissatisfied with the Crown Princess.
Starting with the third-day bath, the servants put water boiled with locust leaves and mugwort into the bath tub. The weather in March was still a bit chilly, so the water used was boiling hot water.
The Crown Prince took a jade pendant off his person and put it into the basin. He had originally prepared something else, but now it seemed that the gift needed to be more substantial. The one he took off was a relic left by the late Empress, which he had worn since childhood and had extraordinary significance.
“Your Highness, this jade pendant…” Yinzhen looked at it and was about to refuse.
"It's alright, I am destined to be with him." The Crown Prince patted Yinzhen on the shoulder, signaling him to relax.
The princes then added their prepared items to the pot as a way of adding to the broth.
The Ninth Prince, Yin Tang, placed a gold ingot inside; the Thirteenth Prince, Yin Xiang, placed a calligraphy brush; and the Fourteenth Prince, Yin Zhen, placed a jade bow he had carved himself, which looked exquisite and adorable.
As the midwife watched the various masters add water to the basin, she uttered auspicious words while stirring the water in the basin and gently patted the baby three times with the white part of a scallion.
Suddenly treated this way, Honghui burst into tears with a loud "Wah!"
The midwife smiled even more happily, and Honghui's uncles and elders congratulated Yinzhen on the birth of a healthy child.
Honghui didn't understand why everyone was so happy that the baby had been beaten.
"Imperial decree has arrived—" Yinzhen's previous children did not survive, but upon hearing that he had given birth to his eldest son, Kangxi wanted to leave good fortune for this grandson and directly bestowed a name upon him.
Sure enough, the chubby boy was still named Honghui in this life. Yihua looked at her still crying son with a smile, her heart overflowing with happiness.
Since she had just given birth, Yihua couldn't be exposed to drafts, so she quickly took the baby back to her courtyard, leaving Yinzhen to entertain the guests.
Yihua was unable to leave the Fourth Prince's residence, Li was heavily pregnant, and Song was a quiet and reserved person. It was only with the help of three women from Dong'e in Jin that things were settled. The Empress Dowager De also bestowed a nanny to take care of the women.
"Remember to prepare a hangover soup for Master." Yi Hua comfortably took off her clothes and lay down on the bed, while Hong Xiao massaged her back. "Send it over after the guests have left. Is Hong Hui still crying?"
“The eldest prince is tired. His wet nurse coaxed him to drink milk and he has fallen asleep,” Hongxiao replied.
"Is someone keeping an eye on the eldest princess? With the manor in such chaos today, nothing can happen to her," Yi Hua continued to ask.
Yu Xiao pressed on: "Don't worry, Madam. Granny Chen sent someone to keep a close eye on the eldest princess. She didn't leave the east courtyard today, and Princess Li is also keeping her under control."
That's fine. For Yinzhen's eldest daughter, Yihua can only fulfill the responsibilities of a Fujin (consort). To say that she has a lot of maternal love would be a lie.
Her heart is small; it can only hold Honghui for now, and at most, Yinzhen.
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