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

Chapter 61: Mahjong at Shoukang Palace

When Yinreng returned to Yuqing Palace that night, he told Buerhe about asking for leave for the twins the next day. Since they were going to Changchun Garden anyway, the prince gave the teacher a day off and he just had to follow behind the main group when they set off.

The twins have already started studying, so the prince has no intention of interrupting this. However, they are indeed too young, and a balance between work and rest is the right thing to do. Therefore, when it is time for a vacation, the prince will still take a vacation. Just like these two days, the whole palace is filled with the excitement of going out to play, and the princes in the Shangshufang are not in the mood to study seriously. How can he force himself to keep up with the children who are less than three years old?

Buerhe did not stop her. As a father, he loved his child, and as a mother, she could only agree. She called the servants to inform the young masters in the side halls, and mentioned that they would go to Shoukang Palace to pay their respects to the Queen Mother tomorrow.

Before, the twins always went to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager with Yinreng, using the excuse that they had already started school. Coincidentally, tomorrow Yinreng is on leave and the twins are resting, so the whole family will go to Shoukang Palace together.

The next day, when the family arrived, only the Empress Dowager was still in Shoukang Palace. Even Concubine Yi, the usually diligent concubine, hadn't come. Buerhe's doubts were immediately put to rest. The couple, along with the twins, came forward to pay their respects. "Greetings to the Imperial Madam, may the Emperor be safe and long-lived." "Greetings to Madam Ukuma, may Madam Ukuma be happy every day and always smile."

When the Queen Mother saw her favorite twin boys and girls, she suddenly felt that her favorite granddaughter-in-law was no longer attractive. Without even looking at Buerhe, she directly hugged the twin boys and girls in her arms.

The twins, a boy and a girl, were also very capable. One of them gave the empress dowager a kiss, and then they kept praising her. One said that Wu Ku's mother looked good today, and the other said that Uku Mama was getting younger and younger. Anyway, what they said was never the same, and they were all praising the empress dowager.

Buerhe had no idea what others would think after hearing this, but even standing nearby, she wanted to find a place to hide. This was too much flattery, some of the words were so embarrassing that she could scratch the floor tiles of Shoukang Palace with her bottom!

Yinreng looked at his own Crown Princess with amusement at her unwillingness to admit that this was her child, and whispered in Buerhe's ear, "Can't you stand this? Every time I come to pay my respects, they always act like this."

As soon as these words were spoken, Buerhe's pupils suddenly shrank, and then he looked at his own prince with sympathetic eyes, as if saying: Master, you have worked hard.

Then, as if they had made an appointment, several concubines appeared in Shoukang Palace. Concubine Hui brought the eldest prince, his wife and three little princesses; Concubine Rong brought the third prince, his wife and the eldest prince from her family; Concubine Tong brought the fourth prince and his pregnant wife; and Concubine Yi brought the fifth prince and his wife.

After another round of greetings, because there were many female relatives present, the princes automatically went out to find a place to gather after paying their respects. As for the female relatives, they had to chat with the empress dowager for a while.

Concubine Yi spoke first: "I would like to congratulate the Empress Dowager. Today is a double celebration."

The Empress Dowager loved to hear about happy events, and upon hearing this, she quickly urged Concubine Yi to speak out. Concubine Yi didn't act pretentiously and spoke directly, "To your Majesty, the first piece of good news is that Ke Jing sent a letter saying she's three months pregnant. She sent a letter to the capital after the pregnancy stabilized. Calculating the time, it should be three and a half months now."

"Pa pa", the Queen Mother clapped her hands happily and said "good".

The Queen Mother said: "Kejing is a promising girl. It seems that she is living well there. Now that she has a child, I am relieved."

Concubine Yi said, "That's right. Kejing should thank the Empress Dowager for her guidance over the years. If it weren't for your good education, she wouldn't have been able to gain a firm foothold in Khalkha so quickly."

Seeing this, the other concubines also began to follow Concubine Yi in praising the empress dowager. One said she was kind, another said she was amiable. Anyway, there was not a single bad word to say, and the praise made the old lady so happy that she was grinning.

After the Empress Dowager was amused for a while, she asked Concubine Yi, "You just mentioned one thing, what about the other one?"

Concubine Yi calmly pulled the Fifth Lady out from behind her and said to the Empress Dowager with a smile, "The second thing is that the Fifth Lady came to Yikun Palace early this morning feeling unwell. When they called the imperial physician, they discovered that she is two months pregnant. Do you think this counts as another piece of good news?"

The wrinkles on the Queen Mother's face were smoothed out by her smile. "Well, well, this is also a happy event. The fifth daughter-in-law has worked hard. Quickly, Naren, please take a seat. Don't stand. The eldest daughter-in-law, the third daughter-in-law, and the fourth daughter-in-law should also sit down."

The Queen Mother once again demonstrated her low emotional intelligence. Normally, it would be fine if you just let the Crown Princess sit, but she is the Crown Princess, and the Prince's wife cannot be compared to her.

But today all the princes' wives are here, and the Fourth Wife is still three months pregnant. They have been standing for such a long time, but when Concubine Yi said that the Fifth Wife was found to be pregnant, you immediately gave her a seat without saying a word.

Tsk tsk tsk, you could say the empress dowager is just the empress dowager. If you were of a lower status, like the Empress Dowager, and you dared to do this today, the impeachment memorial would bury you early tomorrow morning.

However, everyone in the palace knew the Queen Mother's temper. She was sometimes not very considerate in her actions and did whatever she wanted. But apart from that, the Queen Mother was actually a very easy-going old lady. She probably didn't think about it today, but usually when these granddaughters-in-law came to pay their respects alone, the old lady loved it very much!

The Empress Dowager asked the Fifth Lady about her well-being for a long time and gave her many good things before letting her sit there with peace of mind.

Next came the younger generation. While the elders at the top were greeting each other, the twins Jingyi were already playing with the older sisters from the Zhi Beile family, and Hongye was also happily chatting with the eldest prince from the Cheng Beile family.

However, the former was about the older sisters coaxing their younger sister to play and talking about some little toys that little girls like, while the latter was about Hongye taking Hongqing to play, and Hongqing mainly turned into a hundred thousand whys, and Hongye answered helplessly on the side.

God knows why Hongqing is a born chatterbox and can't even walk steadily, but he keeps asking questions one after another, which makes Hongye start to wonder if he was also so annoying when he was a child.

Just when Hongye was about to lose his patience and wanted to escape, the empress dowager finally turned her attention to these little grandchildren.

According to the order of seniority, the first people to be asked must be the three daughters of the First Concubine. Since the First Concubine came to power, these three daughters have been brought up very well. Even Buerhe, who has daughters, looks at them with envy, not to mention the Third Concubine who only has a little prince. At this time, she is hugging the youngest daughter of the First Concubine and rubbing her.

The eldest princess of Zhi Beile's mansion was the first to be born. She is six years old now. Recently, she has started to learn needlework and basic housekeeping from the first wife. As for cultural aspects, because Zhi Beile did not pay enough attention to it, the first wife only gave her enlightenment privately.

The girl has grown into a graceful young lady, learning the rules well, and even wearing a small purse at her waist. It's obvious that she's a beginner, but the stitching looks quite precise. She's a talented artist, and given time, she'll definitely become a master.

However, as a royal princess, she only needs to learn it occasionally. When she marries into her husband's family, she can make a few pajamas or purses for her husband. Anyway, she has Xiuniang at home, so there is no need to practice to the extreme.

The eldest princess rarely went out with them, so she was a little shy facing the gazes of everyone in Shoukang Palace. However, the eldest concubine did not scold her, but instead looked at her with warm encouragement, which gave the eldest princess great courage. She bravely took a step forward, first bowed and greeted everyone, and then answered questions about what she did every day and what she was currently studying. Her articulate and logical expression were already excellent for her age.

The second and third princesses were five and four years old respectively, which was the age when they loved to play and make noises. Hai Tong's nature was fully reflected in them. When they came to Shoukang Palace, they did not seem to be timid. After feeling that this environment was safe, they let themselves go a little. At this time, the second princess was playing with the flower rope with Jingyi.

Finally, the Third Princess was released by the Third Lady, and she quickly trotted over to join the group playing. The First Lady wanted to remind the two sisters who were having fun to reply to the Queen Mother, but was stopped by the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother said: "Old ladies, let them play. It's so hard to have a friend, we shouldn't take up their time. Besides, isn't it children's nature to love playing? When I was little, I loved playing with my friends on the grassland."

As for Hongqing from Prince Cheng's family, the empress dowager had already seen how confused Hongye was when asked questions. He could not even stand steadily and kept talking. She did not have so many answers. Besides, she could speak Manchu, but only a few simple sentences. Hongqing came to Shoukang Palace and talked for a long time, but she did not understand a word.

It's better to be more considerate of her as an old lady and leave this energetic young man to his father to take care of him.

There were quite a lot of people here today, and the Empress Dowager was in good spirits, so she thought of organizing a mahjong game at Shoukang Palace. The Fourth and Fifth Concubines were not lucky enough to enjoy the party, so they could only while away the time on the soft couch nearby, drinking Shoukang Palace's cold milk tea.

The Empress Dowager likes her grandson's wife, so today's table is occupied by the Empress Dowager, the First Concubine, Buerhe, and the Third Concubine, while Concubine Yi and Concubine Tong sit at another table.

As for the children, the boys were sent to be looked after by their fathers, while the four princesses were asked to be looked after by the Fourth and Fifth Concubines.

Of course, this is just what I said. There are so many servants in Shoukang Palace. If there is anything, they can just give orders directly. The master will never have to work hard.

The Fourth and Fifth Concubines smiled at each other and took the four girls to the side hall. Since they were both close to becoming pregnant, they could chat about pregnancy. As for the girls, they could play more freely in the side hall.

When Kangxi finished reviewing the memorials and wanted to come to Shoukang Palace to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, he found that Shoukang Palace was particularly lively today, but there was no one guarding the front gate.

He stopped Liang Jiugong from calling for help, and sneaked into the main hall with his hands behind his back. Huh? No one there!

The sound came from the flower hall. At this moment, he could hear Concubine Yi's hearty laughter. Even Concubine Tong, who was always gentle and quiet, now had a voice filled with anger. He could also hear Concubine Rong and Concubine Hui trying to smooth things over with gloating.

Kangxi was even more curious. When did Concubine Tong get to play with them? Didn't Concubine Yi usually disdain to play with Concubine Hui and Concubine Rong?

The closer you are, the more you can hear. At this time, you can hear the sound of the Empress Dowager happily counting silver, and in the middle, there are also the voices of the third son's wife and the Crown Princess acting coquettishly.

Moving closer, oh, it turned out they were playing mahjong. This game had been popular in the capital a few years ago. When the Crown Princess presented it to him, he also learned a few rounds. However, this kind of mahjong was too easy to win for him. There was no challenge at all. He lost interest after playing it a few times.

For Kangxi, Go is the best toy for relieving stress. It not only provides leisure and entertainment, but also allows him to plan and observe his opponent. Moreover, playing Go is quiet, and only two people are enough, making it his favorite choice.

After knowing what the group of people were doing, Kangxi did not push the door open. He waved to Nanny Naren who discovered them, then turned around and took Liang Jiugong back to the Qianqing Palace.

The Empress Dowager was having a great time now, so he didn't want to be the one to spoil her fun. He decided to go back to the Qianqing Palace to review the memorials so that he could happily go to the garden to escape the summer heat tomorrow.

By the way, was the Crown Prince aware of the heavy memorials he would have to deal with today, so he left early? This wicked son! He doesn't feel sorry for his father at all.