The prince only allowed me to have a baby, so the pressure is a bit high!

Chapter 54: Concubine De comes out of retirement

Early the next morning, after arranging all the trivial matters concerning the twins, Bu Erhe set off for Shoukang Palace.

The Empress Dowager has been waking up very early in the past two years due to her age. Since she got the mahjong presented by Burhe, she no longer spends her time gazing into the distance and reminiscing about Mongolia or gossiping about interesting things in Beijing. Instead, she plays mahjong with several concubines when she has nothing to do.

Sometimes Buerhe and Concubine Yi would also come to join in for a while, but Buerhe now had twins, and Concubine Yi was recently worried about the Fifth Lady's failure to get pregnant and the Ninth Prince's marriage, so the Empress Dowager's most frequent playmates were still the concubines.

The Queen Mother expressed her utmost welcome to Burhe's arrival. Specifically, before Burhe could bow to greet her, the Queen Mother instructed Nanny Naren to help her up. Within a few words of the two people's conversation, the Queen Mother served Burhe her favorite snacks and milk tea.

Bull and happily accepted the care from the Royal Mother, and told the Queen Mother the gossip he had collected recently.

Finally, before the ladies came in to pay their respects, he secretly made an appointment with the Empress Dowager to take the Fourth Lady to stay for a while to talk about some things alone.

The emperor's concubines and ladies came in one after another, followed by their daughters-in-law or daughters. As for the princes, except for major festivals, their greeting times with the female relatives were separate, so they basically never met on normal days.

There was another series of greetings. The palace maids in Shoukang Palace were very familiar with this procedure, so without the Queen Mother's instructions, the seats, snacks and tea were prepared and served.

Of course, there were quite a lot of concubines in Kangxi's harem, so the only ones who could get seats in Shoukang Palace were a few concubines and a few wives.

As the empress dowager's favorite, Burhe did not sit with them, because every time Burhe came to Shoukang Palace to pay her respects, the empress dowager would always place a chair below her, which was Burhe's exclusive seat.

Those who came to Shoukang Palace to pay their respects were all elderly people. The empress dowager's partiality had been going on for a long time, so she could turn a blind eye to the special treatment of the crown princess at this time.

This time the Imperial Concubine was absent again. The Empress Dowager first asked about the Imperial Concubine's condition. Concubine Yi stepped forward to report, which roughly meant that several imperial physicians had taken her pulse and finally held a joint consultation, and it was concluded that she was already exhausted and would only have a few months left.

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager sighed, "That girl has suffered a lot. She finally got over the nightmare of Empress Xiao Zhao's death, but now that good days have come, she has to go too. Concubine Yi, let Xiao Shiduo accompany her. I will tell the Emperor about going to the Shangshufang."

Concubine Yi agreed obediently.

After showing concern for the Imperial Concubine, the Empress Dowager asked about her grandson's wife. The Empress Dowager knew everything about Buerhe, so she skipped the topic and asked about the First Lady first.

The First Concubine has been established in the past two years. She did not follow the First Prince in insisting on having a legitimate son. She has been intentionally using contraception in the past two years, and has also been prescribed prescriptions to nourish her body. Now her body has not recovered to its original state, but it has recovered to a great extent. It is no problem for her to have another child at this time. At least she will not pass away shortly after giving birth to Prince Hongyu like in the previous life.

However, there are pros and cons. Because the First Concubine did not always obey the First Prince, her relationship with him in this life was a little weaker. At least compared to the previous life when they treated each other with respect and treated each other with equal respect, that was no longer the case.

So in this life, there are still quite a lot of women in the eldest prince's mansion. Especially after he came out of mourning, the eldest prince took four princesses back home in one breath. I heard that in the next selection, the eldest prince will have a concubine in his mansion.

However, the eldest wife no longer cared much at this time. Her body had recovered and she could prepare to give birth to a little prince. As long as she stayed in the position of wife and gave birth to a legitimate son, even if the eldest prince filled the position of concubine, she would not be able to move at all.

So, in response to the Empress Dowager's inquiry, the First Lady stood up and replied calmly, "Replying to the Empress Dowager, the little princesses in our mansion are all doing well. The eldest princess is already seven years old this year, and Master is planning to find a teacher to give her early childhood education. As for the second princess, I will arrange for her to follow the eldest princess in her early childhood education. As for the third princess, she is still in her mischievous years and can't settle down. I want to teach her some manners first so that she can start to behave herself. As for the backyard, Master's three princesses (the eldest prince's concubines) have already been diagnosed with pregnancy by the imperial physician this month. However, since the pregnancy is still early, not yet three months, I have not yet reported it to the emperor."

The empress dowager heard that the eldest prince's family praised the little princesses. As for the three pregnant concubines, the empress dowager only praised the wife for her virtue and good housekeeping.

Strangely enough, when the eldest prince and his wife were trying their best to have a legitimate son, Concubine Hui always had a problem with the eldest wife, believing that she was favoring her and delaying the birth of her son. But when the eldest wife stopped trying so hard to have a legitimate son and took the initiative to take a concubine for the eldest prince, Concubine Hui became angry with her for not fighting for favor, and implicitly told her that she should compete for favor.

I can only say that people are so contradictory. However, at this time, the First Lady had already seen the true faces of the First Prince and Concubine Hui, so she turned a deaf ear to Concubine Hui's words asking the First Lady to compete for favor, and she also turned a deaf ear to the First Prince's promise that he would not favor a concubine over his wife even if he had no legitimate son.

She knows her body well. She needs to take care of it for a while and then get pregnant again. If it is still a daughter, she will give up. But if she is lucky enough to have a son, then she and her daughter will have someone to rely on for the rest of their lives. Who will care about the eldest prince then?

If he dared to favor his concubine over his wife, she would rush to the Qianqing Palace and kneel down before the emperor to complain. Given her father's merits and Irgen Jueluo's contributions, she didn't believe that the emperor would not make the decision for her.

After the First Concubine comes the Third Concubine. The Third Concubine gave birth to a son last year, who is the Third Prince’s eldest son. He was named Hongqing and is now the Third Prince’s treasure.

However, the Third Prince likes to write poetry and is also fond of the literary style of having beautiful women to accompany him, so there are quite a few beautiful women in the Third Prince's backyard. In the two years since the Third Lady got married, the Third Prince has had no less than ten concubines in his backyard.

So this time, the Third Lady first said that Hongqing had learned to crawl, and now his daily fun was to crawl around the house. Then her face changed, and in two sentences she told the news that two concubines in the Third Prince's backyard were pregnant.

Although the Third Lady is a little jealous, she is the only granddaughter-in-law who has given birth to a legitimate son. In addition, the Third Lady has a cheerful personality. Although the Empress Dowager does not like her surname, she has a good impression of her overall. After the Third Lady finished speaking, she continued to praise her and asked directly about the Fourth Lady.

There was actually not much to say about the Fourth Lady. First of all, she herself had been pregnant for a short time, and it was not convenient to reveal this news in public. Secondly, there had indeed been no movement in the Fourth Prince's backyard in the past two years.

Yes, ever since Li also had a miscarriage, the three concubines in the Fourth Prince's backyard have not been lucky enough to get pregnant again.

At this moment, Depin spoke up, yes, Depin, you read that right, I don’t know what tricks she used, anyway, she has regained the emperor’s favor, but the emperor did not promote her back to the position of concubine, so she is still a concubine now.

Depin: "Empress Dowager, the women in the Fourth Prince's harem are all elderly and have suffered injuries from their miscarriages. Continuing the family line is the responsibility of every prince, and it's not okay for a prince's harem to be without fertile women."

She didn't say anything else, and there was no need to say it, because the Queen Mother already knew it. Although the Queen Mother didn't like Depin very much, what Depin said was right at this moment.

This was just Concubine Tong trying to help the Fourth Lady, but there was no better way. It was natural for a woman to take care of the harem for her husband and bear children, and no one could stop the prince from carrying on the family line.

Whether the Fourth Lady likes it or not, there must always be a woman in the Fourth Prince's backyard, and she must be a woman who can give birth to children.

The Empress Dowager originally wanted to ask why no one had added someone to the Fourth Prince's harem, but suddenly she remembered that the Fourth Prince was now registered under the name of Empress Xiaoyi and was a legitimate son. No one except the Emperor had the right to appoint someone to the Fourth Prince.

Thinking of this, the Queen Mother spoke: "Well, I have made note of this matter and will tell the Emperor. When the time comes, I will find two easy-to-give-you-children. You are a gentle, respectful, and kind-hearted girl. I know this is not your fault. Get up quickly!"

The Fourth Lady knew that she was able to escape so easily this time thanks to the Crown Princess's mediation. Otherwise, she would just be an ordinary prince's wife with no shining points in her personality, and the Queen Mother would not have the time to take care of her.

The Fourth Lady was relieved, but Depin was furious. She had originally wanted to humiliate the Fourth Lady in front of the Empress Dowager and make life difficult for the Fourth Master and his wife. After all, she was right this time. However, she didn't expect that the Empress Dowager would not buy it. Now the stunning beauty she had prepared could not enter the Fourth Master's courtyard to stir up trouble.

After the Fourth Lady comes the Fifth Lady. The Fifth Lady was married at the beginning of this year, which means she is still newlywed. Therefore, the Empress Dowager knows everything about the Fifth Prince's backyard. After all, the Fifth Prince was raised by the Empress Dowager.

After caring for the younger generation, the Queen Mother no longer felt like chatting and sent the concubines away on the pretext of being tired. They were all old people in the palace and knew how to read the emperor's cues, so after the Queen Mother asked them to kneel and pay their respects, they left in twos and threes.

Bu Erhe signaled the Fourth Lady to follow her, and after everyone else left, she took the Fourth Lady into the inner room where the Empress Dowager usually rested.

The Empress Dowager came in and waved for them to have tea and snacks. Bu Erhe did not refuse, but he also knew that there were still many things to do today and there was no need to waste time. In a few words, he threw the problem that the Fourth Lady was facing to the Empress Dowager.

When the Queen Mother heard that the Fourth Lady was pregnant, she laughed heartily and also agreed with them keeping it a secret.

However, the Empress Dowager disagreed with Buerhe's suggestion that the maids from Shoukang Palace serve the Fourth Lady. "None of the maids in my Shoukang Palace have experience caring for new mothers. I can give you a health-preserving maid directly. But as for one who can protect you during childbirth, I'm thinking of asking the Emperor for one when he comes later. Although I'm the Empress Dowager and the people in the palace dare not provoke me, the Qing Dynasty ultimately belongs to the Emperor. Isn't it more prestigious to serve the Emperor?"

The Fourth Lady knelt down to thank the Queen Mother on the spot. She was tongue-tied and had no sweet words to say. She could only express her gratitude honestly. The Queen Mother was so happy to see such a sincere child that she quickly asked Naren to help the Fourth Lady up.

After talking about this, the Queen Mother suddenly remembered that she had just wanted to give the Fourth Prince another baby in front of many people, and her face turned red for a moment.

Buerhe was the first to notice the Empress Dowager's condition, and she immediately understood the reason for her expression. She cleared her throat and coughed twice to draw the Empress Dowager and the Fourth Lady's attention. Then she said, "Madam, my fourth sister-in-law is having a hard time with her pregnancy. Could you give her a maid to help her manage the household affairs? I've been eyeing Madam Naren's apprentice for a long time. That little girl is so clever. Could you please give her that maid out of pity for my fourth sister-in-law?"

After saying this, she curled her lips in the direction of the Fourth Lady and the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother understood and knew that this was the best solution. It not only resolved the awkwardness between the two of them, but also made her reputation of caring about her descendants. So she happily gave the girl away.

Then Buerhe hinted to the Queen Mother that she could advise the Emperor to find two princesses who were particularly easy to give birth to, because the other three concubines in the Fourth Prince's mansion were not making any moves and it was obvious that they were unable to give birth.

The Queen Mother understood immediately and was amused by the tricks that Buerhe had in his head. She wanted the Emperor to find a few girls with worse looks and just said, "What's good for bearing children? Aren't good for bearing children those with big breasts and round butts?" What a naughty girl, she just likes to play tricks on people!

That same day, the Fourth Lady brought back two palace maids from Shoukang Palace, and later Kangxi also gifted her a maid. As for the Fourth Prince's harem, two days later, two beautiful and fertile princesses entered.