After the New Year, Emperor Kangxi suspended court for half a month.
Yinzhen finally had a chance to rest at home, so he spent the time with Changning in Qingzhi Courtyard.
But this year is destined to be an unstable one.
First, in the inner palace, Consort Min suddenly fell seriously ill. It was said that she had caught a cold before the Lunar New Year, but because the imperial physicians did not treat her well during the holiday, she kept delaying treatment, which resulted in her condition becoming more and more serious. Now she can't even get out of bed.
The Thirteenth Prince was extremely anxious and kept running to the palace every day. Zhao Jiayun was the same, staying by Consort Min's side every day to take care of her.
Unfortunately, the illness came on suddenly and fiercely, and Consort Min passed away a few days later.
On the day of the funeral, the Thirteenth Prince, a man of steel, was crying with tears streaming down his face, sobbing on the ground that he could barely get up. In the end, it was Yinzhen who dragged him back to the Fourth Prince's residence.
“Yinxiang, your fourth brother knows you are sad. Consort Min is gone, and your fourth brother is also heartbroken. But we must always look forward to the future. You are a prince, and now that you have your own residence, and your mother is no longer in the palace, it will be difficult for you to enter the palace again.”
Looking at Yinxiang, whose face was ashen, Yinzhen felt a pang of guilt, but he still had to explain the reasoning to him.
“You still have your thirteenth and fifteenth sisters. Without your mother, what will become of them? You are their brother. If you can’t stand up for yourselves, you’ll have no one to support you.”
Upon hearing this, Yinxiang immediately sat up, his face filled with shock.
Yes, besides her son, Mother also has two younger sisters from the same mother. She herself has established her own household and become an adult, but what about her sisters?
Which palace should my sister go to? Which palace lady will treat them well? Does Father Emperor still remember his sister?
Seeing that he was finally able to find some support from the pain of losing his mother, Yinzhen gave him another strong dose of medicine.
"Don't forget the old custom of intermarriage between the Manchus and Mongols!"
Yinxiang seemed deaf to the outside world, only hearing his fourth brother's talk of "Manchu-Mongol marriage alliance".
No! Absolutely not!
My mother has passed away, and I only have two younger sisters left as family! I absolutely cannot let them become servants of Meng!
That day, the Thirteenth Prince stumbled and ran out of the Fourth Prince's residence.
Not long after, news came from the palace that the Emperor posthumously conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort Jingmin upon Consort Min, and raised the Thirteenth Princess and the Fifteenth Princess in Consort Yi's Yikun Palace.
The gloomy atmosphere in the imperial harem had not yet dissipated when the Beginning of Spring arrived.
Unlike previous years, this spring seems to have seen exceptionally little rainfall, especially in Shandong, where not a drop of rain has fallen, with faint signs of drought looming.
Emperor Kangxi ordered the Crown Prince, along with the Third Prince, Fourth Prince, Fifth Prince, and Eighth Prince, to draft a memorial regarding the drought in Shandong.
The crown prince, along with his younger brothers, first went to find the books in the palace library.
We found thousands of official gazettes, tax lists, and drought regulations from previous years concerning various prefectures and counties in Shandong, and had them thoroughly understand them word by word.
While the princes were working tirelessly here, there was some good news in Changning.
Wanhe gave birth.
She gave birth to a prince, the eldest son of the Fourteenth Prince.
This delighted the Fourteenth Prince and Consort De, who quickly bestowed upon them many treasures and medicinal herbs.
The Fourteenth Prince and his wife, Lady Wanyan, are clearly a couple in name only; they will probably never have children in their lives.
So his eldest son, who would be the future heir, had secured Wanhe's position with this birth. Changning was happy for her, but it was a pity that her own due date was approaching, otherwise she really wanted to see the child in person.
Changning carefully selected gifts for Wanhe and the children. First, she prepared a considerable amount of top-quality bird's nest, the best for nourishing yin and replenishing qi. She also prepared some American ginseng.
As for the child, Granny Zhang picked out a piece of mutton-fat jade necklace with a ruyi pattern from Changning's dowry chest. Even in the current royal palace, such a fine item is rarely seen.
Changning was very satisfied and specially instructed Granny Zhang and Zhao Fuhai to make this trip, telling them to remember to send their regards to Wanhe.
Zhao Fuhai patted his chest and said that he would definitely talk to the Fourteenth Consort about his master's concern.
Changning was quite certain of this. Zhao Fuhai had a silver tongue. He could speak to anyone, whether they were human or ghost. Even if he encountered a mute, he could still use gestures.
When Zhao Fuhai returned, he was beaming with joy and recounted the lively scene at the full moon banquet in great detail.
Changning laughed and joked, "Look at your mouth, you're even better at storytelling than Chunni!"
Zhao Fuhai chuckled, "That's all thanks to your excellent training, Master! Whatever Master needs, whatever this servant is asked to do, this servant will do."
"Alright, alright, I know you're loyal."
Changning touched her belly and smiled for a while; she was almost nine months pregnant. Twins often result in premature delivery, and the midwife had said that these next few days would be especially dangerous.
To ensure a safe delivery, Yinzhen hired four midwives from the Wuya clan and four more from the Fucha clan, making a total of eight. His aim was to ensure Changning's healthy delivery.
The delivery room was cleaned by Granny Zhang and Bai Shu themselves. They went in every day to sweep away the dust and light the charcoal brazier to keep the room warm and cozy, in case the master suddenly went into labor.
Rooms for both children were prepared, and the wet nurses were eight reliable women with good nursing skills and clean backgrounds, selected by Lady Fucha.
Suochuoluo was meticulous and even examined the character and conduct of the eight wet nurses. Those who were fond of gossiping, jealous, arrogant, or treacherous were all eliminated by her.
The remaining eight are all gentle and kind, capable of making decisions, and have all given birth to more than one child, possessing extensive experience in raising children.
Changning even brought in the children of these eight wet nurses, intending for them to eat and live with her own children.
lecturing them repeatedly is probably ineffective; only by truly understanding their weaknesses can you guarantee your child's safety.
Changning sighed, realizing that he was increasingly adopting the thoughts and habits of people from ancient times.
However, when it comes to their own children, I'm afraid no mother would be willing to take even the slightest risk.
Yinzhen greatly appreciated this action.
How could I not care about my own child who eats and lives with my little master? If he accidentally eats something wrong, wouldn't I feel sorry for my own child?
This can minimize the risk to the child.
Moreover, these wet nurses were the prince's inner circle since childhood. Look at that Lingpu, a complete incompetent fool. He only got the chance to run the Imperial Household Department and act like a tyrant because he was the crown prince's wet nurse.
Moreover, Changning also thought of another thing: the wet nurse was alone in the mansion and must be missing the child. If she was in a bad mood, her milk supply would probably be poor.
Now that my child is by my side, I'm completely content. I can even bring my child to work, earning money while taking care of my child. Why not?
When the wet nurse is in a good mood, the milk will definitely be better.
The drought in Shandong is becoming increasingly severe, and Yinzhen and his entourage are spending more and more time in the palace each day.
Changning now hopes that rain will fall soon so that no more people will suffer.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
