Qing Dynasty: The Imperial Concubine is Pregnant Again

Hearing the prince's words, Yinzhen subtly restrained his expression, but it was difficult to discern his expression on his usual cold face. He then said, "Second brother, you are too kind. Tong Jia was just expressing her humble opinion."

Tong Nuanyan listened to Yinzhen's words quietly. She also knew that he was trying to smooth things over for him.

The prince couldn't behave too impolitely, otherwise someone would report him tomorrow, probably saying that he was impolite and paid too much attention to his brother's concubine.

The Empress Dowager Xiaohui, who was watching from above, put down her teacup, looked at the clock beside her, and coughed lightly: "I see that time has passed so quickly. It feels like we haven't even had much to talk about yet, and it's time to go to Jiaotai Hall."

The two princes' wives sitting next to Tong Nuanyan never stopped whispering to each other. Fortunately, they were far enough away from Xiaohui, otherwise they would not dare to be so presumptuous.

Seeing that Empress Dowager Xiaohui said it was getting late, Tong Nuanyan hurriedly looked outside the palace. Sure enough, the sun hanging in the sky had already set, and she realized that dusk had come.

Everyone stood up at the same time, waiting for Empress Dowager Xiaohui to walk in front, and then followed behind the team according to their status.

Tong Nuanyan watched Yinzhen and the Fourth Lady walk out of the back hall side by side, followed by Xia Xi and Yun Xin. At this time, Hongzhao in Xia Xi's arms was already drowsy and had no energy.

Yinzhen's other three children were also very sleepy. They were all held by the wet nurse who accompanied them. They looked like they wanted to sleep but were afraid to. They would have social activities in Jiaotai Hall later. How could they sleep at this time?

Therefore, the other servants following the wet nurse had to find ways to cheer them up.

Nothing happened along the way, but Tong Nuanyan saw an acquaintance at the other end of the palace road - Tong Jia Yuyan!

Speaking of which, Tong Jia Yuyan has always been a noble lady since she entered the palace. Everyone knows that with her aunt, Concubine Tong, above her, it is impossible for Tong Yuyan to have a higher position.

With the surname Tongjia, it is even more impossible for her to have children, and she will have to suffer in the palace for the rest of her life.

At this moment, Tong Yuyan was no longer as high-spirited as she was a year ago, and she dressed very low-key. Even though today was a grand festival like the Mid-Autumn Festival, she dressed plainly, as if she was afraid that people would find her doing something inappropriate.

The two people's eyes met, and Tong Nuanyan withdrew her gaze indifferently, but the person opposite her was looking at her closely, and she could even feel a strong resentment, which made her frown.

Tong Nuanyan lowered her eyes. Since someone hated her, why not give her a big gift? She would be very happy, right? Thinking of this, she didn't show any strange expression on her face.

Jiaotai Hall.

Since the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, Jiaotai Hall has been the place where the royal family holds dinners during festivals. Banquets are held here every Mid-Autumn Festival, Winter Solstice, Spring Festival and the emperor's birthday.

Looking at the colorfully decorated palace, and the rows of palace maids and eunuchs surrounding it, Tong Nuanyan had also experienced glorious scenes before, but the nature was different. In the end times, she experienced a cruel and glorious war against a horde of zombies, but here, it was a luxurious and extravagant glory.

Every ornament here is precious, and everyone present is dressed gorgeously. The people of this dynasty have been divided into different classes since birth. Most of the people at the top are only thinking about their own extravagant lives, and think that having a large-volume staple food like sweet potatoes is enough. The people at the bottom have no choice. The fields are controlled by those in power, and it is the people at the bottom who starve to death.

Even during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, countless people still starved to death, and even more people became pale and thin from eating too much sweet potatoes. These were the foundations that led to the demise of the Qing Dynasty. If no one changed the status quo, the Qing Dynasty would have been doomed even faster.

The eunuchs waiting at the door called out the names one by one, pulling Tong Nuanyan back to her senses. As Xueyue Pavilion grew bigger and bigger, she learned more about this dynasty and naturally knew how difficult life was for the people at the bottom of society.

"The Queen Mother is here! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is here!"

The eunuch's loud and sharp voice sounded, and the concubines in the harem who had been waiting in front stood up to greet her: "Your servant pays respect to the Empress Dowager. May the Empress Dowager be blessed with good health!"

"Greetings, Prince. May you live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years!"

At the same time, the voices began to greet each other: "Your son/daughter-in-law/concubine greets all the mothers/madams. Long live the mothers/madams!"

Only when she stood up did Tong Nuanyan have the chance to see the concubines who came out to greet her. Before she could take a look at them one by one, everyone crowded into the hall of Jiaotai Palace, where several rows of seats had already been arranged.

After everyone was seated, just as their buttocks touched the seats, a voice came from above: "The Emperor has arrived!"

She immediately stood up and saluted to greet him: "Your Highness, long live your Highness!"

"Get up. Today is Mid-Autumn Festival and we are having a family dinner. There is no need to be so restrained." Kangxi said with a smile. Besides being a festival, he also wanted to see his descendants.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Although Kangxi said so, they dared not let go. After all, they could not be like ordinary family members. Kangxi was not an ordinary father-in-law, he was still the emperor.

Kangxi sat at the top, looking at everyone who was still very reserved, and sighed inwardly. Instead, he felt relieved to see the crown prince relax a little. It seemed that Yinreng understood him.

The banquet was held as scheduled. Amidst the clinking of glasses, Hongzhao in Xia Xi's arms became a little unhappy. Although he was only a month and a half old, his voice was extremely loud and powerful. His humming sound was heard by Yinzhen and the Fourth Lady who were sitting in the front.

Yinzhen turned around and saw Tong Nuanyan reaching out to hug Hongzhao. He frowned and asked softly, "Tong Jia, what happened to Hongzhao?"

Tong Nuanyan swayed gently while answering Yinzhen: "I don't know, maybe Hongzhao is hungry. From Shoukang Palace till now, Hongzhao has not eaten anything."

The Fourth Lady looked at Yinzhen's frown and spoke at the right time: "My Lord, since Hongzhao is hungry, let the nurse take him to the side hall to feed him? It would be bad if his crying was heard by others and disturbed the banquet."

Seeing Yinzhen's silence, he obviously agreed with the Fourth Lady's statement. Tong Nuanyan handed Hongzhao to Xia Xi, gave her a look, and sat quietly in her seat.

Soon it was time to present gifts. Tong Nuanyan followed Yinzhen and the fourth wife and placed the prepared box on a tray held by a eunuch. As expected, Kangxi still praised the prince's gift, and only said lightly about the gifts from others: "You are filial."

Kangxi didn't have much to say at the banquet. The only important thing was: promoting Yinzhen's title!

Prince Yong!!

The Crown Prince, the Prince of Zhi and the like all had congratulations on their faces, but no one cared whether they were sincere or not.

"Yinzhen, since you have been promoted to a prince, you must be more stable in the future! Oh, by the way, go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to select a land deed, and build a mansion. It is not appropriate for such a large family to squeeze into the prince's residence." Although Kangxi made the decision in a calm tone, the princes under him were not very happy.

The Fifth Beile, the Seventh Beile, and the Eighth Beile are still crowded in the Prince's Residence, why don't you think of them?

No matter how much resentment I have in my heart, I dare not show it at all.

Afterwards, all the princes, dukes, nobles, wives and concubines came to congratulate Prince Yong.

After several rounds of toasts, Tong Nuanyan's face was slightly flushed. She only looked drunk, but she was actually very sober. She did not eat a single bite of the food at the banquet, especially the last dish, "rose juice dumplings", which was obviously tampered with, and only two plates were drugged, and the other plate appeared on the table of a concubine.

Since Tong Nuanyan had rarely been to the palace and didn't know these concubines, she didn't know who was going to be in trouble. This was because the medicine was not only effective if taken alone, but also required one to eat another dish, "braised lotus seeds in sugar", to be effective.

The poisoned person will have a miscarriage!

There was no "sugar-braised lotus seeds" on Tong Nuanyan's table. The concubine ate a lot of this dish and then took a few bites of rose juice dumplings. It seemed that she loved sweets.

Soon, the effect of the drug took effect and the Jiaotai Hall was in chaos. Tong Nuanyan knelt down with the crowd and watched Kangxi leave with the fainted concubine. She heard the shouts of people around her, and then she realized that this was Concubine Wang, the biological mother of the Fifteenth Prince.

However, what puzzled Tong Nuanyan was that this person had a strange aura that no one else had. It seemed that she needed to observe Kangxi's harem more.

The Jiaotai Hall was in chaos, so the banquet naturally ended. After getting on the sedan chair with Yinzhen and others, Tong Nuanyan pretended to be slightly drunk and went back to the prince's residence with her head resting on her head.