The following May, just as the weather was getting warmer, Heyue gave birth to her third son, whom Emperor Kangxi named Hongjiao.
Now that Heyue has three sons, Kangxi no longer forces the thirteenth prince to favor his concubines. The thirteenth prince spends every day in Heyue's room, and the princesses and concubines in the mansion have become mere decorations.
Everyone knows that the Thirteenth Prince dotes on his wife, but no one takes it seriously. They believe that women will eventually grow old and lose their beauty. Now that the Thirteenth Prince's wife is young, it is natural that she is favored. In a few years, when the Thirteenth Prince has a new love, will he still dote on her like this?
But looking at the Thirteenth Prince's wife, who was in her twenties but still had the appearance of a young girl of sixteen, he couldn't help but feel envious and jealous.
Old age and fading beauty? That's probably a long way off.
Heyue was not worried at all about aging and losing her beauty.
Not to mention that she is only twenty-four years old now. Although in ancient times, twenty-something years old is not considered young, it is the best time for Heyue.
Even if she grows old one day, there's absolutely no need to worry that Thirteen will dislike her.
The Empress Dowager was very fond of He Yue's three sons and often had He Yue take the children to the Cining Palace to pay their respects.
There's no other reason than that Heyue was personally chosen by the Empress Dowager. Now that Heyue has given birth to three sons, the Empress Dowager is naturally delighted.
Consort Tongjia and Consort Wuya sat on either side of the Empress Dowager, both dignified and smiling, echoing the praise of their youngest son, Hongjiao.
Below them were the four concubines, Hui, Yi, Rong, and Ding, all with smiles on their faces, though their thoughts were all different.
Her chubby little face, her dark eyes were wet, her little hands were in her mouth, she grinned, and her eyes curved into crescent moons.
It's so delightful!
This is the gentle Hongjiao, unlike Hongchang and Hongtun who were so noisy back then. He just looks at you quietly, and with just a smile, he melts your heart.
The Empress Dowager held Hongjiao in her arms, watching with great delight, and never forgetting to praise and applaud him.
“At first, I saw that Yinxiang’s wife was frail and worried that Yinxiang would have difficulty having children. I never expected that Yinxiang would have three legitimate sons now. It is all thanks to Yinxiang’s wife.”
No matter the era, the eldest son is always more valued. No matter how many offspring there are, it is still a pity if there is no eldest son.
For example, the current emperor only has one legitimate son, who is the deposed crown prince.
Since the Second Prince was deposed again, not only was the Emperor saddened, but the Empress Dowager also fell ill.
After all, the Crown Prince had often been filial to the Empress Dowager, and as the legitimate son, the Empress Dowager had also shown him a lot of care.
Although he has many grandchildren, none of them are as close as the Crown Prince.
The Empress Dowager's health has been deteriorating over the past six months.
This is also why Emperor Kangxi often sent Heyue and several children to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.
Seeing her great-grandchildren more often, even if she can't see her grandchildren, can ease the Empress Dowager's mood.
"The Empress Dowager is right. The Thirteenth Prince's wife is truly blessed, having given birth to three sons in a row. The Yong Prince's household, on the other hand, has yet to produce a legitimate son."
The one speaking was Consort Yi, of the Guo Luo Luo clan.
Since the eldest prince was placed under house arrest, Consort Hui lost her former arrogance and even stopped bothering to compete with Consort Yi, whom she had always disliked. Apart from paying her respects to the Empress Dowager regularly, she spent the rest of her time copying Buddhist scriptures in Yanxi Palace and never went out.
Consort Hui now holds a string of sandalwood prayer beads in her hand, a faint smile playing on her lips, as if she cares about nothing.
Prince Cheng's mother, Consort Rong, was always unassuming and did not compete with others. Consort Ding had just been promoted from a concubine to a consort, making her the last of the four consorts. She was the most low-key, so it was Consort Yi who stepped forward.
Consort Yi's youngest son, the Ninth Prince, often walked with Prince Lian and had always been at odds with Prince Yong and the Thirteenth Prince. Now that the Thirteenth Prince was favored by the Emperor, her son was disliked by his own father, so she naturally couldn't swallow this resentment and consequently disliked her gentle son as well.
Sure enough, as soon as these words were spoken, Consort Wuya, who had been calm and smiling, could no longer maintain her smile.
The thirteenth prince was raised under the care of Lady Uya, and could be considered half a son to her, but he was nothing compared to her own son.
Even though she usually favored her younger son, her eldest son was still her own son, and the fact that he had no children was always a thorn in her side.
Now her adopted son has three legitimate sons, but her eldest son has no legitimate sons at all, only a son born to a concubine and two sons born to other concubines. Compared to other households, this is indeed not a good situation.
Moreover, Consort Nian did not have a child in February.
This made Uya even more depressed.
As for his youngest son, Yinzhen disliked Wanyan Shi in the past, and Wanyan Shi only had one legitimate son, Hongchun, and then there was no further news.
This wouldn't have been a big deal in itself; having one son was better than having none at all. But compared to the thirteenth son's wife, it didn't look so good.
Now that Consort Yi, with whom she has a long-standing feud, has pointed this out in public, how could Lady Uya be happy?
At this moment, Uya's gaze toward Heyue became somewhat unfriendly.
At the same time, she was thinking to herself that back then, the thirteenth prince had beaten her to it, and Zhao Jia had been given to the thirteenth prince before she even had a chance to participate in the imperial concubine selection.
If Lady Zhao had been chosen for the imperial concubine selection back then, and I had pleaded with the Empress Dowager to bestow her upon Yinzhen as his primary consort, then Lady Zhao's three sons would have been Yinzhen's.
At worst, if Lady Zhaojia were given to the fourth prince as a concubine, he might have more than just a few sons by now.
Didn't the fourth brother like this girl? Why didn't he try to win her over back then? He just let someone else have her for free.
Uya thought bitterly to herself, her resentment towards her eldest son growing even stronger.
Consort Yi's lips curled up triumphantly, and she covered her upturned lips with a handkerchief.
He Yue thought to herself, "Is this really necessary?"
Consort Yi really seems to thrive on chaos. Uya was already not close to the Thirteenth Prince, and now she'll be even more hostile towards him.
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