The familiar name made Yinzhen's heart pound.
He subconsciously tiptoed, wanting to see Wen Xian. Noticing his son's curiosity, Kangxi bent down slightly so that Yinzhen and the others could also see little Wen Xian.
Yinzhen held his breath and stared at Wen Xian.
If the memory of Consort De and the Fourteenth Prince from his previous life still fills him with melancholy, then Wen Xian, who once wholeheartedly tried to ease the bond between mother and son, is one of the few sources of affection he has.
Unfortunately, Wen Xian was in poor health.
Even though the husband that Khan Ama found for her was in the capital, it couldn't stop the unexpected from happening; a summer heat wave took her fragile life.
But now.
Looking at the soft, cuddly little princess, Yinzhen suddenly felt as if Wen Xian had returned. He held the swaddling clothes in his hands, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Little sister, so cute."
Yinqi grunted.
He put his hands on his hips and said, "I think Ninth Brother is prettier and cuter."
Yinzhen rolled his eyes at him.
As for Kangxi, he couldn't help but burst out laughing: "If Xiao Jiu heard what you said when he grew up, he would probably be angry."
Yinqi looked puzzled: "Why?"
His silly and simple-minded appearance amused Kangxi, who reached out and patted Yinqi: "Go ask your mother later."
Yinqi looked completely bewildered.
At that moment, Wan Anran also came out of the delivery room. She washed her hands, changed her clothes, and then went up to see the little princess.
Wen Xian was a soft, fluffy lump.
Wan Anran held the little dumpling carefully. The little dumpling whimpered and grabbed Wan Anran's fingers tightly with its chubby little hands.
Kangxi said in a low voice, "She remembers you."
Wan Anran rolled her eyes at the emperor, then carried the little princess straight inside.
The Empress also wanted to see Wen Xian.
The Empress leaned against the headboard, her body stiff. The pain from postpartum contractions had not yet subsided. Her brows were tightly furrowed, and her expectant gaze was fixed on the outside. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw the swaddling clothes.
Wan Anran placed Wen Xian in the Empress's hands.
While the mother and daughter were exchanging pleasantries, her gaze shifted to the wet nurses, whose faces looked utterly bewildered.
Wan Anran was still on high alert.
An eight-month-old baby's constitution is inevitably weaker than that of a full-term infant. In this era without incubators or extensive nursing care, the baby's health accounts for the vast majority of their survival rate. Therefore, protecting an already frail and petite child is an extremely difficult task.
Wan Anran's expression was serious.
She racked her brains to recall the things she had paid attention to when raising her child: for example, paying close attention to the baby's hand and foot temperature and adding or removing blankets as needed. Another example was breastfeeding, switching to nursing only after the baby's condition had stabilized.
Of course, cleanliness and hygiene are also very important.
Everyone who comes into contact with an infant must be clean and hygienic, and is not allowed to kiss or touch the child indiscriminately.
In addition, it's important to have fresh air, a suitable temperature, and to be clean and tidy, paying attention to sleeping posture and breathing...
Counting them carefully on my fingers.
Wan Anran decided to start with what she could do first. She instructed the palace maids to take the wet nurses to wash and clean themselves again. Then she instructed Zisu to go back to Chuxiu Palace to get the simple disinfectant she had prepared before: "The whole room needs to be disinfected. The princess's utensils also need to be wiped with this every day, and then wiped with clean water. Do you understand?"
Lian Nan's expression was serious: "This servant has remembered."
Then came the instructions regarding the child, such as keeping a close eye on the little princess, avoiding drafts and keeping her indoors all the time, and letting her walk around in slightly sunny places like the corridor...
Of course, there is another most important issue: breastfeeding.
Wan Anran really wanted to suggest that the Empress breastfeed for a few days, but there was a rule in the palace that breastfeeding was forbidden, so she proposed this solution...
The Empress raised her eyes and looked at Consort Qi.
She tilted her head slightly: "What are you thinking about?"
Wan Anran subconsciously replied, "This concubine wishes that Her Majesty the Empress would personally feed her for a few days... Ah."
The Empress was slightly taken aback.
Then she laughed: "Lian Nan, go out and tell the Emperor that I am a little worried and want to feed the baby myself for the time being."
Lian Nan let out a soft "Ah."
She left in a hurry and returned quickly.
Only after achieving peace can one realize the truth.
That's true. With the Empress in trouble, the Emperor was probably worried that something unexpected might happen, such as whether the wet nurses had been tampered with.
Wan Anran breathed a sigh of relief.
She went on and on, thoroughly inspecting the Empress's courtyard inside and out. Her meticulous and cautious demeanor reassured the Empress and drew envious glances from the other concubines: "Consort Qi is truly..."
"Your Majesty the Empress is so lucky!"
"In the palace, one person like Consort Qi is enough."
Thinking back to when Consort Qi entered the palace, all those who were on good terms with her have had their lives getting better and better. In a short time, Consort Qi's good name left a deep mark on the hearts of the concubines, except for a certain mastermind.
The Empress's successful delivery did not mean the matter was over. Emperor Kangxi was furious and ordered a thorough investigation of the harem. Surprisingly, the real culprit was not found, but one of the wet nurses was identified.
A gold hairpin was found in the wet nurse's room.
Although the wet nurse initially cried out that she was innocent, and then claimed that someone had only told her to keep an eye on the prince, the fact that she had received money was undeniable, and her entire family of dozens of people had been sent to Ningguta as slaves.
I heard that even Consort Yi was so frightened that she dared not use a wet nurse anymore and begged the emperor to let her breastfeed herself for a period of time.
The inner palace appears peaceful on the surface, but in reality, undercurrents are surging.
The more Emperor Kangxi felt sorry for the young princess and worried about his unborn child, the more ruthless he became. Within half a month, a large number of palace servants were replaced, and some of them never appeared again.
However, the clues ended with a young eunuch sweeping the lakeside path, leading Kangxi to uncover a series of powerful figures within the imperial harem.
Even Qi Fei's father was among them.
Several letters in Qi Fei's handwriting were even found in the eunuch's room. If it weren't for the fact that Qi Fei and her father, Tuo Erbi, had kept a clear record of their correspondence with Emperor Kangxi, or if the Empress had really gotten into trouble this time...
Emperor Kangxi was so angry that he laughed instead.
He increasingly understood the ruthless intentions of the person behind the scenes.
While Kangxi was conducting a rigorous interrogation, he failed to notice Yinzhen, who had secretly appeared and disappeared outside the palace.
Yinzhen glanced at the young eunuch from afar.
The eunuch's unusually familiar face made him clench his fists, his expression turning extremely grim. This person quickly reminded Yinzhen of his sixth brother, Yinzuo, from his previous life.
In his previous life, Yinzhuo died by drowning.
The reason why Consort De hated her for so long in her previous life was because of this. On the eve of Yinzhuo's drowning, he invited her to play together. However, having just learned about her true identity, she could not accept Yinzhuo and naturally refused without hesitation.
That turned out to be the last time he met Yinzhuo.
Even after so many years, Yinzhen recognized that this young eunuch was the one who was on duty when Yinzu died.
In her past life, she caused the death of Yinzhuo; in this life, she almost harmed the Empress.
How could Yinzhen possibly believe it was an accident? It was just that in his past life, this incident was a cold case, never mentioned again, but in this life…
Yinzhen seemed to be deep in thought.
He walked back all the way until he stood there in a daze not far from where the Empress had fallen into the water.
"Yinzhen, what are you daydreaming about?"
“…Mother.” Yinzhen pulled himself out of his thoughts and called out sweetly to Wan Anran.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that Yinqi and the Fourth Princess were also behind them.
Yinzhen's honey-sweet smile froze instantly, while Wan Anran, startled, shuddered.
She crouched down, staring suspiciously at the innocent-looking Yinzhen. Usually, when this kid had such a strange expression, he was definitely up to something.
Thinking about recent events and Yinzhen's current position, Wan Anran sighed softly. Then she grabbed Yinzhen's cheeks with both hands, her face serious: "Children shouldn't think too much about what's happening in the palace."
Yinzhen was startled.
He grunted, "Your subject wasn't thinking about that. Your subject is just a little troubled because I can't solve the math problems."
Wan Anran would be a fool to believe Yinzhen.
Of course, she wouldn't directly expose Yinzhen's little scheme, but instead chuckled and said, "Then tell me, what questions can't you answer?"
Yinzhen: …………
His pupils dilated, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a boat leisurely passing by on the lake. A sudden inspiration struck him, and he said earnestly, "Seeing the lake, I suddenly remembered a riddle. The riddle is: When traveling upstream by boat, the boatman's hat is blown off by the wind and floats downstream. The boatman, unaware of this, continues sailing for a long time, until he is sixteen li away from the hat, before turning back to look for it. How long would it take to find the hat?"
Yinqi scratched his head: "Why do we have to go back and pick it up? Can't we just buy a new one?"
Yinzhen gave him a cold look, while the Fourth Princess chuckled and said, "Can you call buying it again a math problem?"
Wan Anran thought for a moment: "But the speed of the boat and the speed of the water flow are not provided. Where did Yinzhen see this in? Mother will go and check later."
Yinzhen was drenched in cold sweat.
He swallowed hard and chuckled awkwardly, "I just... saw it randomly. Anyway, I haven't learned it yet, so Mother, please don't worry about it."
Wan Anran stared at him with a half-smile.
Rarely seeing Yinzhen looking so guilty, Wan Anran admired him for a while before pretending nothing was wrong: "In that case, shall we go see the Empress together?"
"Fifth Brother, let's go see the baby!" Yinqi and the Fourth Princess cheered in unison.
"...Yin Tang is handsome too."
"Ninth Brother is not cute at all." Just a few days ago, Yinqi was a fan of his younger brother, but he pouted and fumed.
Yinzhen looked at the Fourth Princess with a puzzled expression.
The Fourth Princess sighed, cupping her face in her hands: "Yin Tang is just... too good at crying!"
Yinzhen couldn't help but retort, "...Isn't that just like Yinqi?"
"That doesn't seem like it at all!"
"They do look very similar."
Yinqi: "...???"
He stared at the Fourth Princess in shock, as if he had seen a traitor.
The fourth princess stood with her hands on her hips, showing no sign of guilt.
She complained, "That's true. You used to cry at the slightest touch too. It's just that Yinzhen... he needs to be held by Consort Yi all the time."
She cries as soon as I stop holding her.
"I saw Yinqi cry too."
"And he kicked me with his feet."
"It still bites—!"
"Most importantly!"
Yinqi was indignant and very depressed: "Mother always says that my younger brother is still young and that I should give in to him."
Wan Anran sighed helplessly.
Consort Yi and Consort Ning were almost driven mad by the two bastards. It was rare to see Consort Yi so eagerly handing over Yinqi to her, so she could only reluctantly take them to Yingtai.
Yinqi has now defected.
He crossed his arms and snorted, "Wen Xian is the cutest!"
As for Yinzhen… Hmph!
Yinqi, being petty, blacklisted his younger brother and declared him to be the number one person he hated most.
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