Chengqian Palace.
The imperial concubine leaned on the couch and asked her personal maid to massage her legs. After removing her makeup, her complexion was not good. She held her belly and could not hide the fatigue between her brows.
Plus the news that the Emperor rewarded Concubine Yi...
Thinking of the bare base of the Astragalus in the storehouse, the Imperial Concubine's face was as dark as water, and she sneered, "What a Concubine Yi! She is really favored by the Emperor, no one can compare to her."
She had been coveting that red coral for a long time and even had a special pedestal prepared for it, waiting for the emperor to give it to her so that she could be enshrined in the main hall and enjoy the envious gazes of everyone.
She really doesn't care whether the object is beautiful or precious. What's important is the symbolic meaning it represents.
One for the Grand Empress Dowager, one for the Empress Dowager, and the rest should be awarded to the Empress. But now the mother of a country has not been established, and the most important one in the harem is the Imperial Noble Consort.
The position of Imperial Noble Consort is equal to that of Vice Empress, so Red Coral should be hers!
Now, it's good that she's been snatched away by the Yikun Palace. What virtue and ability did Concubine Yi have
Recalling how she treated Concubine Yi differently and assigned her a good task when she paid her respects today, the Imperial Noble Concubine felt as if she had eaten a fly and was very upset.
It's rare that I like Guo Luoluo, but who would have thought...
She and that slutty maid who climbed into Uya's bed are birds of a feather, neither of them is a good person!
"My cousin actually gave up my reputation for Concubine Yi." The Imperial Noble Concubine muttered bitterly as she talked about the past, "In the 21st year, the Emperor accompanied the Empress Dowager on a tour of Shengjing. He did not bring anyone with him, only Concubine Yi, and even lived in Sanguanbao's private residence..."
Sanguanbao was Concubine Yi's father and a lieutenant of the Bordered Yellow Banner. Although his official position was not high on the surface, he was in charge of the military defense of Shengjing and had enormous power, and was deeply trusted by the emperor.
Shengjing, the place where the dragon rises.
What an honor it is to live in a private residence
This is an honor that even the maternal clan, the Tonggiya clan, does not have!
"My cousin... he's gone too far." The imperial concubine closed her eyes, unable to tell whether she was jealous or envious.
How wonderful it would be if she could receive such pampering
She felt uncomfortable and the urge to morning sickness came back. The imperial concubine's face changed and she ate five or six sour plums before she was able to suppress the urge.
"Empress! You have to take care of the little prince and don't let him get sick from anger." How could Zhen, the wet nurse who had served the imperial concubine since she was a child, not understand her master's anger
Pregnant women are sensitive and cannot stand stimulation. She took a jar of sour plums and advised: "No matter how favored Concubine Yi is, she is just a concubine. How can she compare to you? The master said that wives and concubines are fundamentally different."
As soon as the wives and concubines spoke, the Imperial Concubine's expression relaxed.
Yes, it is hard for a concubine to serve a man by using her beauty for long; but she is to be the mother of the country, and will stay by her cousin's side and become his wife who stands shoulder to shoulder.
Father once said that the Queen should be virtuous, graceful and generous. She kept these words in mind and never forgot them for a moment.
Even though she admired her cousin and deeply hated all the concubines who shared his favor with her, she forced herself to hold back and dared not show her emotions at all.
She wants to be the queen...
No matter what, offspring are of utmost importance, and the most urgent task is to give birth to a little prince.
The Imperial Concubine sighed softly, touched her belly, and looked at her lovingly, "Mammy is right, the child is important. As for those women, there is plenty of time to deal with them."
No flower lasts forever, so how could Concubine Yi really ascend to heaven
Nanny Zhen was very pleased to see that she had figured it out, "Your Majesty is wise."
The master and servants chatted about the arrangements for the Wanshou Festival again, when a report came from outside that the Fourth Prince wanted to see him.
Yinzhen was six years old and had just started school. He had lived in the prince's residence for not long. Whenever he had time, he would come to Chengqian Palace to pay his respects to the Imperial Noble Consort.
Hearing this, the Imperial Concubine smiled, stood up and said, "Let the Fourth Prince come in."
Yinzhen came over like a little adult, with brisk steps. When he saw the Imperial Noble Consort, his young face was full of admiration, "Son greets mother."
The Imperial Concubine hurriedly said no need to be polite, and pulled him to her side to ask about his health. She held up Yinzhen's little face and looked at him from left to right, "You've lost weight. Is studying hard? The flesh you put on with great effort is gone."
Then he asked carefully: "Is Su Peisheng serving you well? If the servants don't take good care of you, remember to tell your mother..."
Yinzhen pursed his lips, looking very happy because of the closeness of the Imperial Noble Consort, "Thank you for your concern, mother! Studying is not hard, it's what I should do, and they serve me well."
"That's good."
The Imperial Concubine stroked Yinzhen's forehead and was about to say something else when Yinzhen suddenly smiled shyly and whispered, "Mother, can I touch your belly? I heard that there are brothers and sisters of your son in there."
His eyes were shining with anticipation.
The imperial concubine was startled. For some reason, she subconsciously turned her body to the side and covered her lower abdomen with her hands in a protective posture.
After doing all this, her heart skipped a beat, and she just happened to see Yinzhen's eyes dim and his fingers tangled together.
Mom, are you afraid that I’ll hurt my younger brothers and sisters
“…” The Imperial Concubine opened her mouth, but for a moment she lost her voice and could not utter a word.
Nanny Zhen thought something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "Let the Fourth Prince know that the Queen has been in poor health since she was pregnant with this baby. It's not that I'm afraid you won't be able to take it seriously, but I'm afraid that the illness will spread to you..."
Upon hearing that the Imperial Concubine was not feeling well, Yinzhen's attention immediately shifted, and he asked anxiously, "Is my mother sick?"
"Mother is pregnant and weak," the Imperial Concubine felt a little uncomfortable, so she had to go along with Nanny Zhen's words, "It's okay, the imperial physician has prescribed medicine... After you get better, Yinzhen can touch your brother or sister."
After finally pacifying Yinzhen, the Imperial Concubine watched him leave. She clenched her hands in worry, and a hint of cruelty emerged in her beautiful eyes.
"Check! Who said this to the Fourth Prince?"
***
After seeing Kangxi off, Yunxiu felt as if she had seen off a burden. She felt relaxed all over, washed and changed her clothes casually, then lay down on the bed. In a moment, she closed her eyes.
She didn't have the dream of predicting the future again and slept well that night.
There was no need to greet the emperor the next day. Yunxiu slept until noon and asked someone to bring him breakfast.
Because of her pregnancy, Kangxi granted the Yikun Palace a small kitchen. This grace was not given to the Imperial Concubine, nor to the Virtuous Concubine, but only to the Imperial Concubine and the Yi Concubine - one by virtue of status, the other by virtue of favor.
With a small kitchen, everything becomes much more convenient. I can eat whenever I want without having to worry about food safety, which saves me a lot of effort.
Perhaps due to her open mind, Yunxiu's appetite became better day by day. For breakfast, she had a bowl of fish porridge, a stack of spring rolls and many side dishes. Her face looked rosy, which was very different from her sleepiness yesterday.
Just then, the imperial physician came to check on the emperor's pulse. Nanny Dong took him somewhere else and asked him cryptically: "The Empress's condition yesterday... was a little strange, what do you think?"
"The baby looks healthy, and there are no signs of depression. It's fine." The imperial physician stroked his beard and said confidently, "Pregnant women often suffer from insomnia. Relax more and get some sleep. Madam, there's no need to worry."
Very healthy!
Nanny Dong breathed a sigh of relief and was truly relieved.
The other side.
Ruizhu watched Yunxiu pick up the "semi-finished" uniform, rummage through the boxes and cabinets, and slowly stuffed it under the box in the corner.
She was shocked: "… "
This is the birthday gift that the Queen is preparing for the Emperor. It will be finished soon. Every stitch and thread is made with the Queen's painstaking efforts. How did it get stuffed into a box? !
Wen Yuan hesitated to speak: "Madam?"
"I won't embroider anymore. I'm clumsy and not good at this." Yun Xiu brushed it off lightly and smiled, "Change the gift. The embroidery is too shabby, the emperor won't like it."
Wen Yuan and Rui Zhu agreed, but they didn't think so in their hearts.
With the deep favor of the emperor, the emperor would be happy with anything the queen gave him, right? Not to mention something made by hand!
But since their master had given the order, they had no choice but to obey, feeling regretful for a moment and suppressing their doubts in their hearts.
After putting her casual clothes into the box and putting her mind at ease, Yunxiu picked and chose and changed into a light red palace dress with delicate piping and embroidered hibiscus patterns, which was bright and elegant.
Her black hair was pinned with a silver hairpin dotted with kingfisher feathers, and two pink pearl earrings hung down; her face was lightly powdered, her eyebrows were lightly drawn, and her lips were lightly painted red. After a while, the bright and beautiful Concubine Yi appeared in the bronze mirror.
Yunxiu was worried about the fifth prince Yinqi, so while she was dressing up, she asked the head palace maid Wen Yuan to go to the Cining Palace in person to report to the Empress Dowager.
Wen Yuan took the order and left. After half an hour, someone came from the Cining Palace. It turned out to be Nanny Qian, the most popular lady in front of the Empress Dowager.
Madam Qian lifted the curtain swiftly, smiling broadly, and when she saw Yunxiu, she said, "This old servant pays respects to Concubine Yi. It just so happens that the Fifth Prince is worried about her. The Empress Dowager said that she is in advanced pregnancy and needs to be careful. She asked this old servant to escort you to the Cining Palace."
"How can this be done!" Yun Xiu hurriedly helped Nanny Qian up.
Thanks to Xiaowu, the Queen Mother took care of her in every way. After she became pregnant with this child, she was even more attentive to her. How could she not be grateful
"Is the old ancestor well? Is the queen mother well?" Along the way, Yun Xiu asked many caring questions, and Madam Qian answered them one by one, smiling and saying: "The old ancestor is in good health. He ate more milk cakes this morning..."
That is to say, the Grand Empress Dowager was in a good mood, and when the Grand Empress Dowager was in a good mood, the Empress Dowager would naturally be in a good mood as well.
Yun Xiu had an idea in her mind. After getting off the sedan chair and entering the outer room, she raised her eyebrows and smiled: "I pay my respects to the old ancestor and the empress dowager—"
Speaks fluent Mongolian.
An old but kind voice sounded: "Listen, Yi girl is here."
The younger voice was very happy and also replied in Mongolian: "Don't go through those empty formalities, come in quickly, come in quickly."
Yunxiu held her belly and walked into the inner hall with a smile on her face.
The scent of sandalwood made her vision suddenly brighter and broader. She faced her two elders, who were sitting cross-legged on the kang.
The Empress Dowager on the left was holding a string of Buddhist beads in her hand. Her hair was already gray and her wrinkles were deep. She was a completely kind old lady. She looked at Yun Xiu with a very gentle gaze.
It was this old ancestor who raised the emperor and was the emperor's closest and most filial grandmother.
The empress dowager on the right also had the surname Borjigit and was born in the Khorchin grassland. She was the great-grandniece of the Grand Empress Dowager and the empress dowager of Emperor Shunzhi.
She was wearing an indigo-colored dress, looked to be in her early forties, had a round face, a smile on her face, and exuded a friendly aura.
Although she was the emperor's stepmother and not his biological mother, the relationship between mother and son was deep, which was truly a model for the world.
The Emperor was filial and had the protection of the ancestors. Although the Empress Dowager was a widow, she lived a very happy life. She spent her days tending flowers, chanting Buddhist scriptures, and playing with little Yinqi. The days passed one by one.
When they saw the beautifully dressed Concubine Yi, their eyes lit up. The Empress Dowager waved her hand and asked her to come forward and sit down.
The old lady is old, and she likes young men who are lively and good-looking. Coincidentally, Yunxiu has both.
This "freshness" does not only refer to clothing—
The two empresses dowagers were born in the grasslands and had experienced the tragedy of the previous emperor's concubine Dong E. They did not like the life in the boudoir and hated weak women who cried the most. The Manchu-born, neat and generous Concubine Yi caught their eyes.
In addition, because of the Fifth Prince, Yunxiu had the most say in the Cining Palace and quickly learned to speak fluent Mongolian, which made the two princes look at her even more differently.
Seeing the Empress Dowager waving at her, Yun Xiu walked forward and sat down without any hesitation, pursing her lips and smiling, "The old ancestor is full of energy today, you can't tell that she is a great-grandmother at all!"
The Empress Dowager was pleased with what she said. She pointed at her and laughed, "You can't trust your sweet talk. I was saying that I couldn't tell you were a mother. Look, except for your belly, there's no change at all."
This was a disguised compliment. Yun Xiu seemed a little shy, which made the Empress Dowager laugh.
The Queen Mother also smiled and glanced at Yunxiu's waist: "Five months old, right?"
"That's right, Queen Mother." Yun Xiu said, "In a few months, our little five will have a brother or sister, which will be a source of amusement for our ancestors and the Queen Mother."
As soon as these words were spoken, people felt from the bottom of their hearts that this child was close to Yinqi after birth, and was also naturally close to the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.
Nanny Qian thought, Concubine Yi is such a smart person!