The Virtuous Concubine

So today, she went to the palace to ask for someone under the pretext of announcing good news, but she didn't expect to be rejected directly by Malu.

She forced herself to look decent, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, my actions may not be appropriate, but they are for the sake of the Fourth Prince and the unborn baby. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Malu's gaze stayed on her for a moment, and he said slowly, "The most important thing for you now is to take good care of yourself and give birth to a healthy child. I'm happy regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl. Don't listen to the gossips of those people about the fight for the eldest grandson."

Malu paused slightly, leaned forward, lowered his voice and said earnestly: "The fourth brother may have put pressure on you, and he is looking forward to you giving birth to the emperor's eldest grandson and competing with the prince. But look at Concubine Hui's eldest brother, what's the use of having the word eldest? He jumps up and down every day and makes trouble everywhere, which will only make the emperor unhappy."

As she spoke, she patted the Fourth Lady and said, "I think the eldest granddaughter is also good, as long as she is healthy."

After listening to Malu's words of consideration for herself and to comfort her, the Fourth Lady could no longer hold back her tears.

She choked up and said, "Your Highness has been so kind and generous to me, I am deeply grateful. But I often feel anxious and uneasy, fearing that I will be a burden to the Fourth Prince and the baby in my belly."

Upon hearing this, Malu knew that the young couple might have secretly discussed the matter of the fight for the throne.

Malu sighed softly, took the Fourth Lady's hand, and said, "Why torture yourself like this? A man's ambition is his own, and it is only his own ambition and pursuit. Whether it can be successful or not is not the focus. I know you want to live a good life, and it's good enough that he doesn't drag you down. You don't need to put too much pressure on yourself, just eat well and drink well and feel happy."

Malu said with a mischievous smile: "Tell me the truth, do you really want to bring someone back home? If not, I will help you be this ugly person. Not only will I resolutely not marry the person to you, but I will also not allow him to marry again. Wait for you to give birth to the child safely, and then we can talk about other things after two or three years."

When the Fourth Lady heard Malu's words, she was shocked at first. Who could have thought that the Imperial Concubine would be so... so on her side!

She raised her head slightly, tears still lingering in her eyes, and said hesitantly, "I... I know that your majesty is thinking about me, but this matter concerns the Fourth Prince, so I dare not make the decision on my own."

Malu smiled knowingly: "Silly child, you are not that stupid. It seems that you are still unwilling. I understand. Go back and tell him that I lost my temper and forbade him to take in anyone. If there is anything, just push it to me."

The fourth lady nodded slightly and said gratefully, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

It wasn't that the Fourth Lady was afraid of Malu so she had no choice but to agree, but facing the Fourth Prince's fickle and alternating attitude, she felt that the Imperial Concubine's care and support were much more reliable and stable!

The fact that the Empress approved of her actually caused the Fourth Prince not to take a concubine, and even to forbid other concubines from getting pregnant, was a complete shock to Guaerjia.

As long as the Empress approves of her own child and the Qing Dynasty rules the world with filial piety, she is not afraid at all of others relying on the Fourth Prince's favor to turn things around!

Unbeknownst to the Fourth Prince, his wife had already considered switching to Malu.

After the Fourth Lady finished speaking, she was about to leave. But when Ma Lu heard her say that she was going to visit the Crown Prince's Concubine who was also pregnant, she was stunned: "Why are you going to visit her? How can a prince's Concubine like you enter Yuqing Palace casually?"

Seeing Malu's reaction, the Fourth Lady was a little nervous. She lowered her head slightly and explained softly, "My Lady, my husband said that the Crown Prince's concubine is pregnant, so I should go to visit her to show my concern. Besides, I am only going to give her a gift."

Malu's heart was pounding. The fourth brother wanted the fourth wife to send a gift to the prince's concubine?

There was an indescribable weirdness and strangeness in these words.

Malu frowned slightly: "You are thoughtful. But there are many rules in the palace, and you may not be able to figure it out for a while. How about this, you leave the gift you want to send, and I will help you check it and send it together with the gift from Yonghe Palace. However, you don't have to tell Lao Si about this, can you do it?"

The fourth concubine was slightly startled. Although she had some doubts in her heart, she did not ask any more questions as Malu had just sold her a good deal. She nodded and said quickly, "I will follow the majesty's instructions and will not tell my husband about it."

After the Fourth Lady left, she first called Bai Qian over and said, "You'd better not pass on any news to Yuqing Palace recently, and tell them not to pass on any news to me either, understand?"

Bai Qian nodded, knowing that she would be the focus of everyone's attention recently because of the Fourth Lady's request for her today. If she continued to interact with Yuqing Palace, the possibility of being discovered would increase greatly, so she agreed without hesitation.

After instructing her on this matter, Malu asked Bai Qian whether she had any connection with the Fourth Prince. Bai Qian was also confused and after investigating for a long time, she still couldn't figure out what was going on.

The two thought hard but still could not figure it out. Little did they know that Bai Qian had just helped the Crown Prince inform him of the wedding gift for the Fourth Prince, which had already aroused the Fourth Prince's suspicion.

After confirming the relationship between Malu and the prince, the Fourth Prince felt that Bai Qian would be the breakthrough, so he asked Guaerjia to come and ask for her.

I can only say that it’s a good thing that Fourteenth Prince has gone to the northwest for some time, and Fourth Prince didn’t think of him for a while.

The prince was originally a little embarrassed to pass on the news because he lost the things given by Malu. Unexpectedly, from that day on, there was no news from Yonghe Palace.

The prince couldn't tell at once whether he was angry with Malu because she lost something, or because his concubine was pregnant.

However, after the concubine became pregnant, the prince seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden. He felt that he had completed the task assigned to him by Kangxi and never ran to the backyard again.

No matter how the other princesses and concubines in the backyard tried to curry favor with him, he remained steadfast in his "pure and simple" life, and his daily schedule was miraculously synchronized with that of the Fourth Prince.

During the day he attended court, held discussions, read books, and rode and shot arrows. At night he would stay in his study and play the harp. He would scold any woman who came to him.

If Kangxi asked, Yinreng would reply that he was devoted to his studies. If he was scolded, Yinreng would cry and shout "Yang Gege, Yang Gege", "Royal Father, give me Yang Gege back", in short, he used Yang Gege as a shield to the extreme, which made Kangxi so angry that he blew his beard and glared.