At the end of February, Lady Irgen Gioro brought Marhan's coffin back to his original residence in the capital.
Heyue returned home with all her children, dressed in mourning clothes. Her married sisters also returned upon hearing the news.
As soon as I got off the carriage, I saw my mother, several older sisters, and Guanzhu kneeling in front of the gate, followed by two concubines and the servants of the mansion.
Heyue stepped forward to help her mother up. Seeing how much older her mother looked, over ten years older, she was overcome with grief and hugged her mother tightly, crying, "Mother!"
Yiergenjueluo patted her back, holding back her tears as she comforted her, "Why are you crying? You have a baby in your belly, you can't hurt the fetus."
Heyue nodded and led the children into the mourning hall, where they knelt down and kowtowed to their father's memorial tablet.
People are born, grow old, get sick, and die. Although Heyue was saddened, she knew that her father had not suffered too much pain during his lifetime, so it could be considered a happy passing.
The only regret is not being able to see Ama one last time.
After kowtowing, Lady Irgen Gioro ordered someone to bring a chair, but Heyue refused to sit and insisted on kneeling with her sisters. Tonghui and Tongya knelt on either side of Heyue, keeping a close watch on her.
A call from outside rang out: "Prince Yong has arrived—"
"The Thirteenth Prince has arrived—"
"Grand Secretary of the Hall of Preserving Harmony and Minister of War, Ma Qi, has arrived—"
Everyone knelt to welcome the person.
First to enter was Prince Yong, Yinzhen, followed by Ma Qi and the Thirteenth Prince.
Thirteen came in and first glanced at Heyue. Seeing that she was alright, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Prince Yong personally helped Lady Irgen Gioro to her feet, saying, "Madam, there's no need for such formalities."
Thirteen stepped forward and helped Heyue up: "Are you alright?"
He Yue shook her head: "I'm fine."
Ma Qi nodded to Lady Irgen Gioro: "His Majesty was deeply saddened upon hearing of this matter and ordered me, Prince Yong, and the Thirteenth Prince to come and pay our respects to Marhan. Madam, please accept our condolences and take care of yourself."
Irgen Gioro led everyone in the household to kneel down again and kowtow in gratitude for the Emperor's grace.
Ma Qi took out the imperial edict from his sleeve: "Irgen Gioro Guanzhu, receive this edict—"
Guan Zhu crawled forward on his knees and knelt beside Yiergenjueluo: "Your servant, Yiergenjueluo Guan Zhu, receives the imperial decree."
Ma Qi read it aloud, the gist of which was that the Emperor had appointed Guan Zhu as a first-class imperial bodyguard of the third rank, to protect the safety of the palace, and so on.
Guan Zhu received the imperial decree and kowtowed in gratitude.
Aunt Sun's face lit up with joy.
Prince Yong, the Thirteenth Prince, and Ma Qi stepped forward and bowed before Marhan's memorial tablet.
Prince Yong and Ma Qi then took their leave and returned to the palace to report back, while Thirteen stayed behind to kneel at the coffin with He Yue.
Three days later, he was buried.
After this incident, Heyue's health deteriorated further, and she stayed at home to rest during her pregnancy. The palace sent a royal physician to stay at the residence to examine Heyue's pulse.
Fortunately, Lady Irgen Gioro often visited Heyue at her residence, and Heyue's mood improved day by day, and her health gradually recovered as well.
With her due date fast approaching, Heyue's mobility was limited, so Irgen Gioro stayed with her every day to help her prepare for childbirth.
At the beginning of the hour of Wei (1-3 PM) on the ninth day of the fourth lunar month, the labor pains suddenly struck, and the imperial physicians and midwives rushed over to prepare for the delivery.
An hour later, Thirteen also rushed back from the palace and paced anxiously outside the delivery room.
Six hours later, in the early hours of the next day, He Yue gave birth to a son safely. She only had time to see her child once before she fainted.
I woke up in the evening.
When Heyue opened her eyes, she felt something pressing down on her. In the blink of an eye, she saw Thirteen lying on the bedside, fast asleep.
Thirteen stirred slightly and was startled awake, looking at Heyue with surprise: "Heyue, you're awake? How are you?"
He Yue nodded weakly, "I'm fine." With Thirteen's help, she carefully sat up, looking at the dark circles around Thirteen's eyes and the stubble that had grown on his chin again.
He reached out and touched his prickly stubble, then smiled faintly, "You've gotten uglier again."
Thirteen lowered her eyes shyly, then raised them again, her gaze intense: "Anyway, no matter what I look like, you're not allowed to dislike me, and it's no use disliking me anyway."
He Yue smiled softly, leaned against him, and closed her eyes wearily.
This delivery was more tiring than any other time for Heyue.
This child was probably too naughty, and it took Heyue a lot of effort to give birth to him.
The moment Heyue saw her child, she understood why this delivery had been so difficult. The baby was indeed chubby and round, and must have been quite heavy.
Fortunately, the child is healthy and has a loud cry; there are no problems at all.
One month after the baby was born, Heyue's body was completely recovered.
Emperor Kangxi named his child Hongxiao.
Hongxiao, Hongxiao, Heyue stroked the child's soft face with great joy.
Tongya and Hongming spent every day observing Hongxiao's newborn little brother. At first, they disliked his appearance, but later they found him more and more handsome and doted on him like a treasure.
Even Hongming, who had always hoped for a younger sister, abandoned his previous disappointment and used a rattle drum to coax his younger brother to play with him. When they saw his younger brother grinning, they were all surprised and delighted.
That autumn, Emperor Kangxi went to the Chengde Mountain Resort to escape the summer heat, but suddenly caught a cold and returned to Changchun Garden to recuperate.
All the adult princes went to Changchun Garden to attend to the ailing prince.
Emperor Kangxi's illness seemed to shatter the long-standing peace, creating a sense of impending doom.
Since Thirteen went to Changchun Garden, she hasn't returned to the manor. Although the children's laughter still lingers, Heyue feels that the manor seems much quieter.
On the surface, Heyue was taking care of her newborn child with peace of mind, but in her heart, she felt uneasy.
This unease comes not only from the tension and fear brought about by knowing the outcome of history, but also from some other, unnamed factors.
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