Shift in focus
Early in the morning, it was time for the prince and his wife to get up.
Yinreng rolled over and got out of bed. He always slept on the outside, just like most men. Think about it, whether you love your wife and are afraid she'll fall under the bed, or it involves some scenes that will be censored by the general ju - it can't be that the prince washes himself and then lies down, waiting for the princess to come, and then the one who lies down first will naturally be moved to the inside, right?
Therefore, the Crown Prince slept on the edge of the bed. In the morning, when he rolled over and got out of bed, Yinreng had a very good habit of getting up without delay. He would stand in his slippers, not even stretching—because this action would ruin his image—and habitually call someone in to serve him.
Then he was suddenly stunned! Ah! He remembered, his wife was pregnant! What should he do with this pregnant woman? Yinreng was worried: should he let her continue sleeping? Would someone come in later and wake her up? But could the prince run around wearing his underwear outside? Or should he quietly go outside and call for help? He stood there for a full two minutes, his mind racing.
Then, he was brought back to his senses by a rustling sound. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw his wife was about to get up!
Hey! Can a pregnant woman move around? The prince, who had no knowledge of obstetrics and gynecology, was so anxious that he finally asked, "Don't get up so early. A pregnant woman needs to rest, right?"
Shujia's face was filled with laughter and tears, but her heart was filled with warmth. Seeing a man clumsy for you simply meant that he valued you. If he was too calm in front of you, it meant either he was too strong-willed or you hadn't made a deep impression on him. Holding down Yinreng's outstretched hand, Shujia said softly, "It's really okay. When I was at my mother's house, I also saw pregnant women. None of them just lay there to recuperate. Being able to move a little is the key to health. It would be bad if they were really afraid to move."
Yinreng was half-believing and half-doubting. He looked at Shujia's face and the more he looked, the more he felt: "Your eyes are a little swollen...your face..."
Shujia pulled the quilt to cover her face and said in a muffled voice: "Ah! You've become ugly? Then you still want to watch it? You almost forgot..."
Yinreng was at a loss for words, but his nervousness eased. He was about to say, "I don't think it's ugly. It's cute when it's round." The palace maid on duty outside had heard him and knocked twice on the door. Yinreng could only say, "Come in."
Today, he wasn't paying attention to his clothes. While he was getting dressed, Yinreng was just a clothes rack, standing still while others tucked clothes into him. He was always cooperative, standing straight, but this time, he kept turning his head. The people helping him dress were almost in tears, thinking, "Prince, the Crown Princess has someone to serve her."
Yinreng only turned back to stand with relief when he saw Shujia being helped into what looked like loose-fitting clothes, flat shoes, and then helped to sit at the dressing table and begin combing her hair. He feigned calmness and said, "Don't overwork yourself in the future. Tell the people below to do anything. Khan Ama sent someone to convey his order yesterday. Your mother will come to the palace to see you in the next two days..."
Shujia loved hearing this. Normally, if a daughter-in-law were pregnant, her family would be informed. But now that she was married into the palace, she didn't have a mother-in-law, but rather a superior, so she didn't dare act rashly. She hadn't expected Kangxi to even consider this; the emperor was truly a thoughtful person. From a father-in-law's perspective, it was absolutely impeccable. Shujia's opinion of Kangxi rose even higher.
Shujia reported her schedule to Yinreng: "I'm going to Ningshou Palace today. I haven't seen the old ancestor since yesterday. It's just right, I want to thank you for the reward." Yinreng didn't object to this: "Yes, your mother may arrive someday, but the old ancestor has several old concubines who may be able to tell you some taboos..." He frowned. It felt terrible to have no biological mother, and he didn't want his wife to ask those 'concubines' in the harem, so he had to save the country in a roundabout way.
Eunuch Cui nearby listened intently and thought, what a good opportunity, he stepped forward with a smile on his face and said, "Master, you have forgotten that there are maids in the Imperial Household Department." Well, it was just right, he could say it in front of the Crown Princess, so that he would not be considered as giving bad advice behind her back, and he could even come out as a good person.
Shujia's scalp tingled when she heard the term "Mammy from the Imperial Household Department". It's not that the maids are bad, it's just... they are too particular about rules. Are they suitable for restraining pregnant women with all kinds of strange pregnancy reactions?
Yinreng was delighted: "That's quite true. It would be a good idea to ask them to pick a few reliable and capable people."
Shujia twitched her lips, a little stomach-aching. "Call the maids? Is there room here...?" It was true. When Yinreng had originally lived here, he couldn't even accommodate his concubines. When Shujia married, she brought four maids with her as a dowry, four more maids assigned to her, four eunuchs, and the odds and ends. Both wings were full—the back room was a prime storage area, uninhabitable.
The nanny cannot be allowed to live in the main hall.
The living area of the Crown Prince’s house is not very big!
Yinreng didn't care at all: "Don't worry about these things, someone will take care of them..." He never had to worry about such things, but... thinking of Kangxi's meticulousness yesterday, he still thought about it, "Ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to pick a few people." Seeing that Shujia didn't seem to like having anyone else come, Yinreng decided to follow her wishes. The world is big, and pregnant women are the biggest. "Teach Hongxiu and the others all the dos and don'ts."
Eunuch Cui burst into tears and said, "That's not what we meant!"
Shujia, not realizing she had already knocked out Eunuch Cui with just one expression, was in high spirits and gave Yinreng a big smile: "I don't know why, but I just don't want to change. When there are too few people, I feel desolate, and when there are too many, it feels noisy."
Yinreng understood. This was probably similar to a patient. "Tell me everything you want and don't want to say!" He had always followed Kangxi's example and had been unconsciously influenced, but... it seemed that the influence had gone a little astray.
Eunuch Cui didn't dare to say anything more. After all, there was probably a rule in the Yiji that prohibited intercourse. If anything went wrong... our family would still be implicated! With tears in his eyes, he reminded the two masters who had ruined his plan so early in the morning: "It's time for breakfast."
When eating, people always kept silent. At most, if Yinreng thought something was delicious, he would tap with his chopsticks and say, "Bring this to the Crown Princess to try." Today, the conversation was simple, just "Bring this, this, this... to the Crown Princess," with frequent glances.
Shujia was absolutely delighted. She wiped her mouth and said with a smile, "I've never had anything to eat all day. Now no one cares about my appetite. But you, don't you want to eat? You still have to attend government meetings. What if you get hungry while on duty?"
After some pushing and shoving, we finally finished our breakfast.
Perhaps it was psychological, but ever since the imperial physician confirmed her pregnancy, Shujia's hands had unconsciously moved to her belly. It felt magical, like a life was growing here. Her eyes softened.
The Crown Princess stood by the door, stroking her belly, as she escorted the Crown Prince to work. The Crown Prince acted like a gentleman, glancing at his pregnant wife from the corner of his eye. The eunuchs and palace maids rolled their eyes inwardly but dared not laugh out loud. The Crown Prince, after all, was the Crown Prince.
——————————————————————————————————————————
The Crown Princess wanted to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, and no one had any objections to that; it was perfectly normal. But she had to walk!
Oh my God! All the eunuchs and maids in the palace are about to cry out loud, and you are so nervous! I didn't say anything before, did I? Please don't be like this now!
The Crown Princess refused to listen.
The palace maids and eunuchs' gazes darted around, then gradually converged on the maidservant who came with the Crown Princess. Hongxiu stepped forward with her head held high: "Master, you must be careful now. The imperial physician also said that you must be careful for the next two months. Are you—" Don't leave anymore.
Shujia said, "You've forgotten that when Mother gave birth to Guanyinbao, she moved around quite a lot, and it wasn't a problem. It's the lack of movement that's bad for your health, as it can cause poor blood circulation."
Don't listen at all.
Then he walked away, and no one dared to stop him. If there was a physical conflict, who would be responsible?
With a bitter face, he followed fearfully to the Ningshou Palace, thinking, Oh no, if the Empress Dowager sees us, she will definitely scold us.
Congratulations, you guessed it right. The Empress Dowager has seen and cared for many pregnant women. But this one is different. The one in her belly represents "succession." Think about it, the Crown Prince's legitimate son, this is the orthodoxy for two generations.
The Empress Dowager didn't say anything about Shujia, but started with the people who followed her, trying to make her honest face look ferocious: "What do you eat?!" Shujia almost laughed out loud, she was so cute.
Others don’t think so. No matter how cute they are, if the Queen Mother says, “Beat them!” there will still be people who will carry out this order spoken with a cute expression.
Shujia took the lead and grabbed the Empress Dowager's hand, saying softly, "Oh, it's me. I don't know why, but I got so stubborn and insisted on leaving." She touched her belly and asked, "Why am I so stubborn?"
The Empress Dowager's attraction was immediately diverted, and she asked suspiciously, "Is it him?" She reached out to touch him, but was afraid of scratching him with her nail polish, so she took it off and gently stroked it.
Shujia felt bad. She couldn't even touch anything, and she felt guilty for fooling the old lady. Consort Shuhui and Consort Duanshun also arrived, accompanied by Consort Muktu, who had experience with childbirth and tried to recall her experiences. She then asked Shujia about her various reactions. The Empress Dowager's attention was completely diverted.
According to Muktu, each of her pregnancies had different reactions. The Empress Dowager paid closer attention, trying to recall: "Back then, when Yinreng's mother was pregnant with her... when she was pregnant in Yonghe Palace..." While the general situation was similar, there were also many variations in appetite and other aspects. In addition, some women had a stable fetus, while others vomited all the way to delivery.
At this time, the concubines in the palace also arrived, and all they talked about were their pregnancies. Well, there was a topic to talk about! Concubine Yi also said: "Indeed, when I was pregnant with the fifth child, it was normal. But when it came to the ninth child, I really wanted to eat." Concubine De smiled and said: "Yes, the food I want to eat is different." After comparing, she recalled that when she was pregnant with the fourth child, her status was still low and she had no control over her food and clothing. When it came to the fourteenth child, the treatment was much better. She couldn't help but feel soft in her heart. It was true that she had treated the fourth child unfairly. However, this child was not close to her... But her daughter-in-law won her heart, and her mood improved again.
…
…
…
After escaping from Ningshou Palace, Hongxiu supported Shujia's arm and said firmly: "Master, please get on the sedan chair." Shujia thought to herself that this was probably the bottom line, and she would just let her support her.
Hongxiu wiped her sweat off her forehead, that was a close call!
——————————————————————————————————————————
The court officials all knew the Crown Princess was pregnant, and their expressions lightened today. Hua Shan and Shi Wenbing, father and son, were congratulated several times when they attended court. Yinreng, too, was flattered, both overtly and covertly, by close ministers, and his mood was high. Especially since Yinzhi was standing so close, so close that he could see his constipated face and the dark circles under his eyes, his mood was even better.
Yinreng's heart also broadened. After the routine work was completed, the crown prince and the eldest prince were left behind - the third and fourth princes were on their wedding leave.
Then, the prince felt a little uncomfortable, and Kangxi asked him, "How is your wife?" After that, he actually talked to Yinzhi about business first! He was talking about military affairs. Yinreng secretly hated that this was a job that would bring him attention, but it was given to his eldest son.
Immediately, his mood brightened, as Kangxi allowed Yinzhi to leave first and then discussed state affairs with him. Finally, he said mysteriously, "I will be touring the frontier. You will remain in Beijing to supervise the country..." He then gave detailed instructions, "...make an alliance with the Mongols and prepare for Galdan together. The rear is in your hands..."
Startled, Yinreng quickly calculated, "The Ministry of Revenue reports the current amount of silver on hand... The Ministry of War's bannermen... and we need a certain number of armored horses... For a march across the desert, besides food and fodder, we also need cattle and sheep... Khan, do you think we'll have enough? Also, before we go out, we need to train and reorganize the troops. Should we start this now?"
Kangxi looked at Yinreng with satisfaction, thinking he was very thoughtful and careful. He was also going to be a father. He was so happy that he revealed a little secret: "Don't worry about food and grass. Last year, I ordered Ehai to travel west for this day. If all goes well, we will send troops at the end of the first lunar month next year. By then, the severe winter will have just passed and the grass has not yet grown. It will be a good time."
Yinreng had only one thought in his mind: Hua Shan, this old man is unrepentant, he is amazing! I made a fortune by marrying this wife!
The author has something to say:
The Queen Mother was tricked into diverting her attention.
The Crown Prince was distracted by serious matters.
PS: Baozi will be born soon, but it happens that during the pregnancy period, a lot of things will happen, including [beep——], [beep——], [beep——]
Actually, I wanted to test whether the timer of the manuscript storage box had been activated. A certain company was organizing a social practice activity. I had to board the train as soon as I got off work on Friday afternoon and could not get off the return train until 10:30 pm on Sunday night.
Today's update has to do with the unreliable JJ Xiaoshou's draft box. I'm under a lot of pressure, so I'll test whether it is reliable first.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
