"Yes, twins again."
Changning had to admire her own "good fortune in getting pregnant"—this time with twins, giving birth would be so much easier.
Yinzhen was overjoyed, and in his mind he was already thinking about what else he could give Yaoxian.
While having twins is a joyful experience, it's also incredibly tiring.
The next day, Changning heard a rumor that the Prince had ordered the people in his mansion to carve ice, saying that it should be novel and interesting, and that if Chun Fujin was satisfied, there would be a generous reward.
Now, who in the manor doesn't know that Consort Chun is the real winner?
Not to mention that she has been the emperor's favorite for many years and has three children, and is pregnant again. It looks like she will have multiple pregnancies again. Even the emperor's wife hasn't appeared for a long time.
Because he supported Consort Chun, the Prince even stripped her of her power to manage the household.
This is a truly capable person! With her family of origin being so powerful, her father could practically be called the Grand Secretary Fucha, and his power was clearly at its zenith.
Therefore, everyone in the mansion is putting in their best effort to carve the most novel and ingenious ice sculptures. If this can be noticed by Consort Chun, wouldn't it be a great success?
Over the next few days, Changning got to see all the ice sculptures.
There were adorable children holding peaches, exquisitely beautiful palace lanterns, lifelike monkeys picking peaches, and elegant Buddha and Bodhisattva statues, as well as ice sculptures of beautiful women that resembled fairies. All of these things really amazed her.
Another month passed, and the blizzard outside had stopped for a long time. It was said that there were many disaster victims on the grasslands and in the Northeast, and many people had frozen to death due to the cold weather.
Upon hearing this news, Changning's heart pounded, and she wondered what she could do.
She wrote down some heating and disaster relief measures she had heard about in modern times that were suitable for the Qing Dynasty, and asked Yinzhen to choose which ones were usable.
Yinzhen appreciated her kindness, but he didn't want her to worry, as she was pregnant and it wasn't good for her to be so troubled. He simply told her to leave the snow disaster to him.
Just then, Su Peisheng also picked out a few nannies to give to Hutuli, and asked Changning to check their qualifications.
Changning had a nanny named Zhang, who was experienced, capable, and loyal. She was of great help to Changning and was like her right-hand woman.
She would feel a little out of place without Chuixue and Zhuiyu, but she felt quite uncertain without Granny Zhang.
Therefore, Changning attached great importance to the nanny who served Hutuli.
This is different from the maid I chose for her last time.
The young maid only needs to be sensible and well-behaved, and be able to play with the child. But the nanny needs to be of noble character, able to take good care of the child, be able to offer advice, be able to keep things calm, be able to manage the subordinates, and not overstep the young master's authority.
Su Peisheng chose two women: Granny Yin and Granny Tao.
Two maids came to greet Changning first.
They had long heard of the renowned reputation of this Pure Consort, so they dared not act rashly and behaved very properly.
Changning nodded slightly, her tone serious: "The nannies are all experienced in the Imperial Household Department, so I don't have much to tell you about the rules and etiquette. It's just that Hutu is still young, so don't be too reserved. Just learn some important etiquette, and the rest can be omitted."
At this point, Changning carefully observed the expressions of the two nannies. She noticed that Granny Tao's expression remained unchanged and she was very calm, while Granny Yin seemed to disagree but did not refute it.
Changning pretended not to see it and continued, "Hutuli already has several nannies who take care of her daily life. I hope you can all get along peacefully and do your best for the young mistress. Furthermore, I called you here to teach her principles and offer suggestions, not to make decisions for her. If I find out that any of you are secretly trying to take advantage of the young mistress or are outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, you will not have a good time!"
"Furthermore, don't think that just because Hutuli is young, you can disregard her as your master. She is the daughter of a prince, the daughter of the Aisin Gioro and Fuca families. She is not someone you can control. Do you understand?"
After some coercion, both nannies bowed their heads and nodded in agreement.
Changning wouldn't just suppress them blindly. With a wink, Chuixue brought out two pairs of red gold bracelets with auspicious patterns, inlaid with gemstones, which looked extremely valuable.
"This is a gift for you two old ladies. As long as you do your best in the future, you will surely receive your dues."
Both Granny Tao and Granny Yin quickly accepted the gifts and knelt down to kowtow, saying, "Princess Chun, rest assured, we will serve you wholeheartedly."
After dealing with the two old women, Changning called Hutuli over and asked her, "Do you know how to subdue them?"
Hutuli thought for a moment: "Should we give them more benefits?"
Changning shook his head: "You will have more and more people around you, and it will be difficult to win people's hearts with just small favors."
That Hutuli couldn't have imagined it.
Changning patted her head: "Everyone has selfish desires. It's the same for everyone, from top to bottom. You have nannies and maids around you. You just need to make them remember that there is only one master, and that is you. Whether it's a nanny or a maid, they are all the same to you. They are just servants you can use. If you don't like them, you can replace them at any time."
Hutuli suddenly realized, and Changning continued, "But this doesn't mean you should disregard them. The more loyal the people around you are, the easier it is for us to act. You need to get them to listen to you first, to treat you as their master, and then give them what they need and the benefits."
Hutu nodded and said in her childish voice, "Mother, but I think my eldest sister's nanny looks very fierce. She controls what my eldest sister eats and never allows her to eat more snacks."
Changning frowned. These nannies who taught the young masters often wielded considerable power.
Even in the palace, the princes and princesses, who are the emperor's own children, are still subject to the control of the nannies. Those who are not favored have to rely on others and obey the nannies.
From childhood etiquette instruction to marriage and establishing one's own household, nannies played a crucial role. For example, Mama, the head nanny in the Fourth Prince's current household, was his tutor. Now that the Princess Consort no longer manages the household affairs, she oversees both the household matters and the storeroom.
Princesses and noblewomen are even more so.
Changning heard that some of the nannies were in charge of the princess and her consort's private affairs. If the consort offended these nannies, he would not even be allowed to enter the princess's residence.
When Changning heard this, he felt that the servant was bullying his master.
Just like the post she saw in modern times, where a woman said her husband had been using a housekeeper for several years, but the housekeeper had lost her sense of status and was always making sarcastic remarks and finding fault with her new wife. The woman couldn't stand it anymore, so she told her husband about the problem and wanted to fire the housekeeper.
As a result, the aunt asked her husband whether she or the poster wanted her.
Changning was furious. This was his own wife! How could such an outrageous thing happen?
Therefore, she felt that she absolutely could not let such a thing happen to her own child.
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