Harem Daily Life

"Your servant pays homage to the Imperial Concubine." The two midwives hired by the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion entered the palace and paid their respects to the Imperial Concubine.

"Please take a seat. I heard from Madam Gu that both of you are experienced midwives in the capital. Since I have invited you here, I naturally trust you. However, I also have my own rules. There are some things that need to be paid attention to during the delivery process. You must learn them in these two months and don't make any mistakes. Remember?"

The two of them responded quickly.

Tao Yanyan talked about the need to wash hands during delivery and how everything had to be disinfected, down to the smallest detail.

Fortunately, both of them are experienced and have delivered many babies, so they understood most of it after learning it once. They just needed to work on the details and practice more.

As for the selection of wet nurses, the Tao family and the Marquis' Mansion also kept an eye on them and selected three families, waiting only for the two children to be born before bringing them into the palace.

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, He Xuan met her female teacher for the first time, and the two got along well.

After paying respect to her teacher, He Xuan followed Madam Dong to study. He Yue and Jin An's elementary school had not started yet, so they followed He Xuan to attend classes and studied together.

"Your Majesty, it's a sunny day today. Do you want to go for a walk in the Imperial Garden?" Mingyue suggested when she saw that her master was bored.

Tao Yanyan glanced at her belly. Her vision was now blocked by her belly and she could no longer see her feet.

"Go see Min'er. I haven't seen her since the New Year."

When Concubine Ning knew that the Imperial Concubine had arrived, she was overjoyed and hurried to greet her.

He Min trotted forward with her chubby legs, but slowly stopped in front of Tao Yanyan and gently hugged her thighs: "Mother Cao, can you still see my face?"

He Min asked, looking up at his chubby face.

Tao Yanyan found it funny. How could such a fleshy face not be visible?

But in order to amuse He Min, she pretended: "It's all blocked by my belly, how come I can't see Min Min?"

He Min chuckled and tilted his round head: "I'm here!"

After saying that, she took Tao Yanyan's hand with her small hand: "Elbow, elbow, elbow, let's go into the house, seven oranges."

He Min's speech was unclear, but that did not stop her from being hospitable, like a little host.

Concubine Ning also stepped forward to support Tao Yanyan, and the two of them went in chatting and laughing.

"Just ask the Imperial Concubine to send someone to call me, and I'll bring Min'er over to visit you. Aren't you tired of making this trip with such a big belly?" Concubine Ning helped the person sit down, and asked the maid to put a pillow under Tao Yanyan. She was very thoughtful and considerate.

"I'm already advanced in pregnancy, so I need to walk more so that I can have a natural birth." Tao Yanyan smiled, took the peeled orange slice that He Min handed to her, and ate it.

Concubine Ning looked at Tao Yanyan's belly and said worriedly: "That's true. I heard that the less you move, the harder it is to give birth. Your Majesty is pregnant with twins, so it's harder than other pregnant women. Giving birth is like walking through the gates of hell. After the children are born, they will worry about them for the rest of their lives."

After saying this, she seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Have you heard, Madam? The eldest prince fell into the water the day before yesterday."

Tao Yanyan was surprised that Chang Tai had not heard of this news.

Seeing that she really didn't know, Concubine Ning said, "I also found out by accident. Concubine De kept this a secret. It was Xiao Cui who was with me who went to the clothing bureau to get clothes and happened to pass by and saw the eldest prince soaking wet. That's when she found out."

Tao Yanyan seemed to be thinking, "The weather is so cold, he must have caught a cold if he fell in. But speaking of it, the eldest prince is not a child anymore, why would he fall into the water for no reason?"

Concubine Ning pulled He Min over and wiped her dirty little hands: "Maybe she accidentally fell into the water because it was slippery. Who knows? Didn't the third prince also slip into the water before?"

When Tao Yanyan heard this, he looked at Mingyue, and Mingyue frowned.

"Speaking of which, it is a blessing for the children in this palace to grow up safely. Especially the prince, who has been in various dangers since childhood. Who knows when he will be killed!" After Concubine Ning finished speaking, she realized that Concubine Tao also had a prince, so she said embarrassedly: "But don't worry, your majesty, the second prince will not pose any threat to the other princes, and no one will harm the second prince."

Tao Yanyan just smiled, thinking that there are advantages to not making Jinan's background public.

As they were talking, Hongxia from Changle Palace came in with a young eunuch and reported: "Your Majesty, Concubine De and Concubine Shu are having a fight in Changchun Palace. The Queen Mother sent someone to ask you to come over, so I hurried over to report the news."

Tao Yanyan's heart skipped a beat: "When the two of them started a quarrel, what did the Queen Mother ask me to do?" She frowned, and considering what Concubine Ning had just said about the eldest prince falling into the water, she glanced at Mingyue and had a bad feeling.

Concubine Ning also found it strange and became curious: "I have nothing to do right now, so why not go with Your Majesty and keep her company."

Tao Yanyan looked at the gossipy gleam in her eyes and felt amused. The concubines in the palace were really too idle and wanted to join in every fun.

Concubine Ning asked the maids to take good care of the third princess, while she accompanied Tao Yanyan to Changchun Palace.

Tao Yanyan didn't expect that there were so many people coming today. Not only were Defei and Shufei here, but even Li Cairen, who had not shown up since returning to the palace, was here, and standing next to her was the annoying Lu Cairen.

Concubine Ning glared at the two sisters and helped Concubine Tao to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager.

"I have something to ask you, so I sent someone to call you here. Please sit down. Your belly is so big that it's hard for you to stand." As soon as the empress dowager finished speaking, the senior palace maid beside her came forward, supported Concubine Tao's other arm and brought her to the top seat, where Concubine Shu was sitting next to her.

Concubine Ning took a look and sat directly on the other side of Concubine Shu. Opposite her was Concubine Li, who was holding her stomach and seemed to have not recovered from her injuries.

"I just happened to be with the Imperial Concubine, and seeing that the road outside was slippery, I volunteered to accompany the Imperial Concubine here. I heard that Concubine Li was injured, and I'm afraid she hasn't recovered yet. Why is she out in this weather?" Concubine Ning said this with a smile, but everyone could hear that she disliked Concubine Li and was disgusted by her presence here.

Li Cairen looked at the person in front of her who was once defeated and now had become a concubine, above her, and she was so angry that she almost bit her teeth to pieces.

She lowered her eyebrows, about to cry and complain: "I have been out of the palace for more than a year to practice, and I have always been thinking about you sisters. I often copied Buddhist scriptures for you sisters to offer, hoping that everyone is well. This time I was injured, and your majesty took me back to the palace to recuperate. I originally wanted to meet you sisters after I recovered. Who would have thought that after returning to the palace, a little palace maid who used to serve me came to me crying, saying that she had discovered an incredible secret..."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Tao Yanyan with a provocative look that said, "Just wait and see."