"Master, something terrible has happened! Consort Li is about to give birth!" Xiao Shunzi ran in to report. When he looked up, he knew something bad had happened again; he had seen something he shouldn't have.
Yinzhen released Nan Yi and coldly rebuked, "I see you're becoming increasingly unruly." He frowned and asked, "What's the situation at Fangfei Courtyard now?"
Xiao Shunzi's knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground in fright to beg for forgiveness. His body trembled as he reported, "Consort Li has gone into labor and has entered the delivery room. The midwife said it's not time for her to give birth yet."
Yinzhen felt relieved and didn't rush to leave. He looked at Xiao Shunzi, whose forehead was damp with sweat from his gaze and who was terrified, waiting for his fate.
Nan Yi chuckled and leaned against him. She thought Xiao Shunzi was quite nice. She tugged at Fourth Master's sleeve and shook it, "If you don't like him, give him to me."
Yinzhen was speechless, knowing she didn't mean it that way, but what use would the eunuch have for her?
Xiao Shunzi was secretly delighted. Being with Consort Tong meant he wouldn't have to suffer the master's scolding anymore, and he'd even get a lot of money with little risk. Little did he know that his current thoughts would lead him into a life of misery.
"Let him continue working in the outer courtyard, but he must be considered a member of the Orchid Courtyard, receiving the Orchid Courtyard's monthly allowance. He will only relay messages and carry out tasks for the Orchid Courtyard, and will only obey my orders. How about that, sir?"
Nan Yi stood close behind him, her delicate hand reaching into his palm.
Yinzhen suddenly tightened his grip on her hand, his expression softening. Hearing her call him "Master," he felt a surge of anger. After all, how could he be considered a master when he wasn't even thirty years old?
Remembering the lame excuse she gave him to shut him up, he suppressed his anger and considered it seriously for a moment. It was feasible. Xiao Shunzi was not up to the task. He had kept him around because he was honest, gentle and loyal. However, he lacked the shrewdness to be the head eunuch by his side.
“That’s feasible. Since the concubine has this intention, you can do the job for her.”
He had some affection for Xiao Shunzi, who had been by his side since he was eight years old and had been loyal and reliable for more than ten years. However, he feared that Xiao Shunzi's recklessness would eventually ruin him. Lan Yuan was a good place for him, where he could do some light chores, which suited him perfectly.
Xiao Shunzi hurriedly kowtowed to his two masters to express his gratitude.
"I'm going to see Consort Li, you should come too," Yinzhen said softly.
Nan Yi stepped aside, pursed her lips, and said, "I'll thank you politely, but don't blame me if anything happens." She didn't want to get involved in this mess and preferred to stay far away from those women.
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen's face immediately darkened. "Aren't you part of the household? Besides, I'm there too. What could possibly happen?"
Because of that incident, she wanted to stay home and have more children so she could gain some experience.
Nan glanced at him dismissively and said, "You were here last time too," implying that the same thing still happened.
She didn't trust him. Men can be biased for no reason. She was a woman with two sons, and now she was about to give birth. She was all alone. It was obvious who would win and who would lose.
With a slight, barely perceptible force, Yinzhen whispered in her ear, "Yi'er, you're going to give birth too. Go see her, so you'll have a better understanding." Thinking of their future child, her heart softened considerably.
She rolled her eyes at him and muttered, "It's still nothing. Besides, what experience do you need to give birth? Just push hard." She'd seen too much of that on modern television.
Yinzhen was speechless and choked with emotion. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that she was right. Whenever one of his wives or concubines gave birth, he would wait outside the room and hear the midwife urging the child to push harder. Fine, if he didn't want to go, he wouldn't go. He got up and led Xiao Shunzi out of the courtyard.
Nan Yi walked into the room and rolled onto the carpet. A child… could she have a child, a child connected to her by blood? Ugh, so worrying.
In Fangfei Courtyard, the Fujin (Prince Consort) led a group of concubines to wait in the main hall. When they saw Yinzhen arrive, they all stood up and bowed.
He glanced at his slightly haggard wife and said gently, "You've worked hard, my lady."
Yinzhen stepped forward and took her arm, leading her to the main seat to sit down together. After sitting down, Nara forced a smile and comforted him, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Sister Li is fine, and she has already given birth twice, so she has plenty of experience. Your Majesty just needs to wait to hear the good news." Yinzhen nodded.
Afterwards, when Yinzhen heard Li's screams, he was still somewhat worried. There were too few children in his household, and since Li was able to give birth, he had always taken care of her. She had never disappointed him.
Nara sat upright in the main seat, clutching her handkerchief tightly, her brows furrowed in thought. Li had given birth to three children in a row, which was truly a blessing, but this blessing made her hate it.
Therefore, she tolerated Li's arrogance quite a bit. If she were to have another son, Honghui would be even weaker. Although they were still brothers, they were still separated by a blood relationship. What could she do now? She could only hope that Li would give birth to a daughter.
Yinzhen summoned the imperial physicians to inquire about the situation and learned that the mother and child were unharmed, so he sat quietly and waited.
Time passed slowly, and it wasn't until the third watch of the night that the baby's cry was heard. Everyone was slightly startled, but Yinzhen was overjoyed and stood up. The baby had finally been born. He went to the side door, where the midwife brought out the child and congratulated him: "Congratulations, Your Highness, and Your Highness's wife, it's a little princess."
Yinzhen curled the corners of his mouth and said repeatedly, "Good, good, reward them. Give each of the midwives and imperial physicians twenty taels of silver, and give the others two months' allowance." The servants thanked him repeatedly.
The princess's face froze, then she breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it was a princess. Everyone else was envious and jealous, but at the same time, they felt relieved. It was good to have a daughter. If there were three little princes, there would be no place for them in the mansion.
Nan Yi received the news the next day: Li had given birth to a little princess. After coming to the Qing Dynasty, she never made a move, never intended to change history, and history continued to unfold as usual. Li was pregnant, but her fate was unfortunate; all three of her sons met tragic ends, and she knew nothing of her daughter's fate.
Nan Yi did not change history, but her arrival changed some minor details, just like herself.
Nan Yi did not attend the baby girl's third-day celebration or her 100th-day celebration, claiming to be ill. The first time, Yinzhen thought she was sick and rushed over, only to find her leisurely eating various snacks in her room.
Yinzhen scolded her, and she said in a coquettish tone that she was upset because she couldn't give birth to a son. Yinzhen then comforted her and made love to her all night, saying that he would help her give birth to a son.
The next day, as Yinzhen was getting ready to go to court, he reminded her, "Have the imperial physician examine you tomorrow." Nan Yi rolled to the edge of the bed and muttered, "I'm not sick, I don't need to see the imperial physician."
Yinzhen watched as her fair and jade-like body lay half-exposed outside the brocade quilt, her breathing inexplicably becoming heavier, her eyes burning with intense heat. He gently brushed aside the strands of hair on her back, his fingers slipping under the quilt to knead her waist, and his lips followed suit, kissing her lips deeply. He listened to her soft panting, and her jade-like legs wrapped around his strong waist.
Nan Yi didn't care at all that ancient women should be reserved and shy in this regard, but she just did whatever felt comfortable, hurriedly pulling at the robe he had just put on and wrapping her hands around his neck.
Yinzhen realized what was happening, cursed under his breath, held her tightly and panted heavily, pressed his lips against hers, kissed and licked her deeply for a moment, then suddenly pulled down the long, slender waist that was tightly wrapped around his waist, and wrapped her up in the blanket again. It had been months, but he still couldn't get enough; the desire was getting more and more frightening to him each time.
"Even if she's not sick, it's always good to get her treated," he said. He had tried for so long, but she still hadn't shown any signs of pregnancy, so the imperial physician finally examined her and put his mind at ease.
Seeing that she didn't object, he chuckled and said, "I have to go to court now. You should go to sleep, or I might not make it in time." He patted her face, got up, and walked out. Lately, he had always been the last to arrive, and the officials in the Ministry of Revenue had been giving him strange looks.
He pretended not to know, but couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Indeed, beauty leads to trouble."
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