The dragon raises its head on the second day of the second lunar month!
As dawn broke, the flower hall was decorated with festive cheer. Yin and Yiken, dressed in golden prince's robes, sat on mahogany armchairs, while the eunuchs who were in charge of Yin's haircuts stood behind them, one big and one small, ready to shave his head.
In the inner chamber, Qingyan got up early and put on the royal blue dress of a Fujin (a high-ranking concubine). She used a set of five-treasure phoenix hairpins to style her hair into two small buns. On the left side of her temple, she wore a golden phoenix tassel hairpin with a golden pearl in its beak and a string of small golden pearl tassels below it.
"Let's use these pearl earrings." Qingyan glanced at the jewelry box and spotted a pair of pearl earrings.
"Yes!" Su Lan quickly put six pearl earrings on Qing Yan's head. "Master, do you really not need to wear makeup?"
Qingyan shook her head: "No need. I should try to wear less makeup while I'm pregnant!"
After getting ready, Qingyan helped Sulan walk out, while Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen was in her small room, having Suzhu help her get dressed.
Qingyan wouldn't interfere much; he'd just let the little girl do as she pleased.
Upon arriving at the flower hall, they saw Yin and his son Yiken'e getting their heads shaved. After the haircut, Yiken'e touched his smooth forehead and couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Mother," Yiken'e saw Qingyan looking at her with a smile on his lips, and her little face turned slightly red.
"Is Yiken'e shy!?" Qingyan liked to tease her son. As for their daughter, Yin and Qingyan were protective and doting, and rarely refused Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen's requests.
"Isn't my sister ready yet?" Yiken looked around and noticed that Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen had not yet arrived.
With Su Zhu's help, he jumped off the armchair and ran away.
"My little darling, how are you feeling?" Yin looked at Qingyan's newly made court robes, a result of her pregnancy, and a smile appeared on his face. "Can you hold on?"
Qingyan nodded: "I feel pretty good today. I've kept going all day, so I should be fine!"
As she got up, she specially replaced the warm water with spring water from the space, hoping that the child would not have any problems due to fatigue.
"According to my elder brother, my sister-in-law has been taking medicinal diets to protect the pregnancy these past few days. Little darling, are you sure you don't need to?" Yin was very worried that Qingyan's health might be compromised.
Qingyan shook her head: "No need, I'm in good health. If I feel unwell, I will definitely tell you!"
After breakfast, the military port became lively as the women dressed in their court robes and formal attire, preparing to go to the banquet hall to pay their respects to Lady Yin Genjue Luo and Qing Yan.
The sedan chair stopped in the courtyard. Qingyan and the twins boarded the sedan chair together. The sedan chair slowly lifted and headed towards the banquet courtyard, which was specially opened up by Yin and Yin after they arrived. During festivals, soldiers would gather here for parties.
A quarter of an hour later, the sedan chair slowly entered the courtyard, where many female relatives who had come over were already standing, chatting in twos and threes.
After Qingyan alighted from the sedan chair, the women paid their respects to Qingyan and the twins.
"Let's get started." Qingyan waved her hand. She had already changed out of her flowerpot shoes and put on soft deerskin boots. She walked very steadily on the bluestone brick ground.
The women looked at Qingyan's protruding belly and some whispered among themselves. The Fourth Prince's wife was holding on tightly to the Fourth Prince. They had prepared maids for the two princes and did not care about their status. Who would have thought that not only did they not have a chance to get close to the two princes, but even the maids they had prepared were sent away by their own master!
Qingyan led the children into the hall. The twins sat obediently to one side, their little faces tense. Qingyan sat in the main seat, holding a teacup and taking a sip of warm water.
"Your Majesty, the Princess Consort of Prince Zhi has also arrived!" Su Lan walked in from outside. "Your Majesty, should we let the other women come in to pay their respects?"
Qingyan slowly got up from her seat. Yingenjueluo walked in and, seeing Qingyan moving around so clumsily, quickly stepped forward to stop her.
"Sit down, we sisters-in-law don't need to bother with those formalities!" said Yingenjueluo happily.
After the two sat down, the three little ones gathered together and chatted happily.
"Suzhu, take the children to the side hall." Qingyan tried to avoid letting the children participate too much in the women's gatherings, and waited until the children were 10 years old before they could start to participate in these scheming and intrigue.
"Yes!" Su Zhu left with the child and the servants.
"Let those people in." After watching the children leave, Lady Yin Genjue Luo instructed the maid beside her to let the women in.
The women entered in descending order of their husbands' official ranks, with the wives of two generals leading the way.
Both Keshuo and Yisuo were generals brought by Feiyanggu. After arriving at the Liangguang naval port, they were given important positions. The wives of the two officials also respected Yingenjueluo and Qingyan.
"Fourth Princess Consort, it seems you are quite far along in your pregnancy. You must not overexert yourself today!" Lady Isoko was from the Guarjia clan, a branch of the Crown Princess's family. Due to the distant blood ties, they had long been estranged.
"The child of the Prince Zhi's wife and the Fourth Prince's wife is a joyous occasion in the military port!" Lady Keshuo chimed in from the side.
Yin Genjue Luo smiled and said, "You two ladies have very sweet tongues. If any of the women in the military port become pregnant, my sister-in-law and I will send the palace matrons over. We will make sure that no one has any worries!"
As soon as Yin Genjueluo finished speaking, some of the concubines had an idea. With the principal wife not here, it was the best time for them to have children. In addition, their husbands would be staying here for several years, so it would be possible to take a child back with them.
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