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

Chapter 88: A Small Extra: Shi Family

My name is Rouyi, my full name is Guaerjia Rouyi, but you can also call me Shi Rouyi. I am the daughter of Shi Wenbing, the commander-in-chief of the Plain White Banner of the Han Army and a third-class earl. My mother was the second daughter of the Duolo Baylor Chang Adai, a princess. My grandfather was Shi Huashan, a son-in-law of the Heshuo family, and my grandmother was the third daughter of the Yu Prince Duoduo.

In the 30th year of the Kangxi reign, Emperor Kangxi appointed Shi (Guwalgiya), the daughter of Shi Wenbing, the third-class earl and commander-in-chief of the Han army of the Plain White Banner, as the legitimate wife of Crown Prince Yinreng.

After receiving this imperial decree, Ama and Mafa's wavering hearts instantly calmed down.

This dates back to a few years ago, that is, the 23rd year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi. At that time, our whole family was still in Jiangnan and had not returned to the capital.

One day, while I was looking for Mafa to borrow the Analects, I happened to run into a distinguished guest at my home. I had originally planned to leave after taking the book, but the guest asked me to stay. He asked me many questions about the Analects and even asked me to write something. I don't remember the details, but I do remember that the guest praised my intelligence, tolerance, and composure, and gave me a jade pendant to keep.

After that day, I never met that distinguished guest again when I went to Mafa's study. Mafa said that the distinguished guest came from the capital, and went back with me after finishing his business. He also reminded me to keep the jade pendant carefully and not lose it.

Even if Mafa didn't tell me about this, I wouldn't have lost it. That jade pendant is the best piece in my makeup box right now.

Then, three or four months later, Mafa suddenly hired two governesses for me. They didn't teach me the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, but instead specialized in the rules of the Qing court. And from then on, my status in the family rose steadily. As the eldest daughter, I was already quite high, but after the governesses arrived, my treatment was reduced to that of my brother, Fu Dali.

Although I didn't understand at that time, my mother and father asked me to listen to Mafa and learn the rules carefully from the governess, so I did as they asked.

In the 26th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, the current Grand Empress Dowager passed away at the age of 75 and was buried in Zhaoxi Mausoleum. Emperor Kangxi later designated her as "Grand Empress Dowager Zhaosheng Cishou Gongjian Anyi Zhangqing Dunhui Wenzhuang Kanghe Renxuan Hongjing".

That year, the entire nation observed mourning, and Mafa required me to observe it for three years. I was completely baffled. Normally, a year of mourning would be enough for the passing of the Grand Empress Dowager, but I was the only one in my family who had to observe it.

That night, Mafa found me and told my father and mother that the emperor wanted to marry me to the prince, and that the jade pendant was the betrothal gift.

It was then that I realized that the distinguished guest who had come to our house before was the current emperor, and because of my good performance, I was noticed by Emperor Kangxi and he wanted to marry me to the prince.

As for why the imperial edict was not issued immediately, firstly, I was still young and had an unstable personality at that time, and secondly, there were actually more than one candidate for the Crown Prince's Consort at that time. In other words, the two nannies were sent by the royal family. They not only taught me the rules, but more importantly, they wanted to test whether I was qualified for the position of the Crown Prince's Consort.

After three years of mourning, I had grown up a lot and changed a lot, and had become a qualified Manchu noblewoman. It was also in this year that Kangxi finally decided to choose me as the legitimate wife of Crown Prince Yinreng. In the 30th year of Kangxi's reign, the imperial decree was issued, and I was engaged to the Crown Prince without going through the selection process.

On the day of the marriage, Ama wore a dragon robe and patched clothes and received the imperial decree at the east steps of Qianqing Gate. The emperor gave him a yellow riding jacket, and the marriage was considered complete.

Of course, during this period, I also returned to Beijing with my family.

Next was Najib, but because Yinreng was the first crown prince of the Qing Dynasty, the Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Rites had no basis to rely on, and this step remained deadlocked for half a year.

In the 30th year of the Kangxi reign, at the end of the year when the imperial edict came down, my mother passed away. According to the custom, I observed a year of mourning, and the six rituals were suspended. I stayed in my mansion in Beijing all day long to observe the mourning period without leaving the house.

After the one-year mourning period was over, the next step was to ask for a date. Because the emperor wanted to choose an auspicious day, he began to select carefully this time. It is said that because of this matter, the Ministry of Rites in the court read a large number of ancient books, and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory also made calculations. Finally, the date was set in the 33rd year of Kangxi's reign.

In September of the 33rd year, my father was reinstated as the commander-in-chief of the Han army of the Plain White Banner. When the news came out, the whole family was happy. My wedding date was set and my father was transferred back to the capital. After being separated for several years, the whole family could finally be reunited.

But the bad news soon came back. In November, my father died of a sudden illness on his way to the capital. With my father's death, the biggest pillar of the family disappeared, and my mother also fell ill. At that time, I was filled with panic.

Because I know very well that the reason why I was chosen as the Crown Princess is not only because of my good manners and good character, but more because my Shi family is from the Han Banner, the Plain White Banner, and my father and Mafa have a huge influence in the Plain White Banner.

If Yinreng married me, he would not only win over the Manchus but also the Han people. This was in a disguised way in line with Kangxi's proposal of intermarriage between Manchus and Han people.

This time, I began mourning again. However, just after the New Year of the 34th year, Mafa approached the Emperor and expressed her wish to marry early. As the Crown Prince had already turned 22 that year, the Emperor gave up the suspense. The Crown Prince and I were married on the eighth day of the fifth lunar month in the 34th year of the Kangxi reign. A month later, on the seventh day of the sixth lunar month, I was canonized as the Crown Princess.

Accident struck again. In the same month that I was crowned Crown Princess, Mafa passed away.

My situation at that time was very different from when I was just granted marriage. When I first learned that I had the possibility of becoming the prince's wife, I was excited and thrilled, and I also had longing and expectations for my future husband.

But after years of mourning, the wedding dress was half-embroidered and then put aside, and I grew older, my mood had changed.

Especially during this period, good news kept coming from the Yuqing Palace where the Crown Prince was staying: the Crown Prince had a concubine, the Crown Prince had a concubine, the Crown Prince's concubine was pregnant, the Crown Prince became a father...

In the years after I got engaged to the Crown Prince, news from Yuqing Palace kept coming back to my ears. The Crown Prince had three concubines, five maids, two sons and two daughters.

By then, I no longer had any illusions about my future marriage. I just wanted to get married quickly, because if I didn't, I would be holding back my younger sisters. I was already quite old by then, and in a few years I'd probably be someone else's mama, after all, I was a year older than the prince.

After Mafa's death, even though I became the Crown Princess, I always felt my position was precarious. This was especially true of Yuqing Palace at that time. Although I was the Crown Princess, I wasn't the actual mistress. Because in the years before I married into the Yuqing Palace, the entire palace was controlled by my concubine, Li Jia.

The two years after marriage were the two years I was most cautious and careful. While trying to please the prince, I also had to take back all my rights, which also involved a power struggle with the prince's wet nurse.

Fortunately, all the hard work paid off. After I was diagnosed with pregnancy, all the tactics used against me by the entire Yuqing Palace disappeared. Those nine months were the most comfortable time of my life. The prince and I were not as close as glue, but we treated each other with respect.

But happy times always pass quickly. After I gave birth to the eldest princess and was diagnosed by the imperial physician as never being able to get pregnant again, the prince's attitude changed instantly. I was no longer his wife, but his housekeeper in Yuqing Palace.

For the sake of my infant daughter and the entire Guaerjia clan, I never resisted even when the crown prince spoke coldly to me, just so that the crown prince could support the entire Guaerjia clan after he ascended the throne.

Later, the court changed rapidly. In September of the 47th year of Kangxi's reign, the crown prince was deposed, and my position as crown princess was also deposed. We were both imprisoned in Yuqing Palace, and then the eldest prince was also imprisoned.

Less than a year later, in the 48th year of the Kangxi reign, the Emperor reinstated the Crown Prince, and I was also reinstated as Crown Princess. This time, the Crown Prince's personality completely changed. No longer as restrained and cautious as before, he became irritable and reckless, beating and scolding his followers at will. Several bodies were carried out of the Yuqing Palace every day.

I was also scared. This prince was crazy. He was no longer the prince I knew before. I didn't dare to approach a man like him. No matter what he wanted to do, I would ignore him and only care about taking care of my daughter.

Finally, in October of the 51st year of the Kangxi reign, the crown prince was deposed again. This time, all the people in the Yuqing Palace were directly imprisoned in the Xian'an Palace.

Life in Xian'an Palace was truly hard. At first, the palace would deliver rations regularly to support everyone, and while life wasn't as comfortable as before, it was still stable. However, soon, seeing that the Crown Prince had no hope of escaping, the servants began to shortchange or delay the delivery of rations, even using inferior goods as substitutes.

For the sake of long-term planning, I began to reduce the expenses of the entire Xian'an Palace, and led everyone to open up wasteland and grow vegetables to fill their stomachs.

They were not starving to death, but then another problem arose. People would always get sick when they ate grains. Even though everyone had paid close attention, the lack of nutrition still led to the death of many children in Xian'an Palace.

The days passed one by one. If it weren't for the eldest princess, she wouldn't want to hold on for even a single day.

In March of the 57th year of the Kangxi reign, I felt that my body was damaged and could no longer support me. Looking at my ignorant daughter, I asked someone to hand over the jade pendant that my father had given me that year to my father.

Soon, an imperial decree came from the palace, and the emperor sent people to pick up the eldest princess and granted her a marriage contract, marrying her to the Mongolian prince Tumed Darhan Beile Arabtan.

Hearing this news, I felt relieved. If the emperor is willing to treat the eldest princess with respect, then the eldest princess will never return to this Xian'an Palace again. In July of the fifty-seventh year of the Kangxi reign, I finally couldn't hold on any longer and left this world.

What I never expected was that I saw Xian'an Palace again the day after my death, but this time I was no longer Shi lying on the hospital bed suffering from illness, but a dead soul.

I personally witnessed the Emperor's father's words: "I possess a virtuous and filial character, a kind and gentle nature, and have served Yinreng diligently for many years." Then, the Emperor personally ordered the Imperial Academy to compose a memorial to be delivered in the autumn. He also specially ordered the Infantry Commander, Longkodo, to lead thirty guards in mourning, exceeding the standard for a prince, yet still buried me with the treatment accorded to the Crown Princess.

At that moment, all my resentment towards the Emperor for deposing me and marrying me to the Crown Prince disappeared, and I was finally able to leave my own body.

Next, I chose to stay with the eldest princess. As time passed, I witnessed her growth. In the 59th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, when the eldest princess was named Heshuo Princess and married to Mongolia, I also went to Mongolia with her and never returned to the capital.

Later I heard that the fourth son would succeed to the throne, and later I heard that the fourth son's successor was chosen to be a prince named Hongli. His biological mother was not of high status, she was just an ordinary concubine, Gege Niuhulu.

Later, she had no time to pay attention to the gossip in the capital because her eldest princess was seriously ill and no medicine could cure her. Finally, on the 13th day of the fourth month of the 13th year of the Yongzheng reign, at the hour of Si, the eldest princess died in front of her at the age of 39.

The moment she saw the eldest princess's soul saying goodbye, she finally let go of her obsession and it also dissipated.

When she woke up again, she unexpectedly found herself back in her youth, and this time before she was granted marriage.

The nanny who was with her told her that if she wanted to change her fate, she must act early. For this reason, she thought of the cowpox she had heard of in her previous life. It was spread after the fourth prince ascended the throne. It was said that it was discovered by a concubine in his harem.

Since there was no cowpox now, she would take the credit first. She found Mafa and Ama and asked them to look for cowpox.

Hard work pays off, and soon, Ama made a significant discovery. Then, the emperor naturally knew about this matter. Ama was also awarded the title of Yongyi Gong for his contribution to the cowpox test and returned to the capital early.

The future can be changed. Knowing this, she tried hard to find a way to separate herself from the Crown Prince in the future. But it was too difficult. She was already the default candidate for the Crown Prince's wife. The other candidates who were originally competitive had completely lost their qualifications after her father became the Duke of Yongyi.

What I can't accept the most is that the prince in this life seems to have changed. The biggest change is that I have actually exchanged several letters with him in the past few years, and I have a very good impression of him.

Absurd! How could I not know the prince's future? I couldn't marry him even if I didn't want to! But what should I do now?

Before I could come up with a perfect idea, the palace issued an order to add a beauty pageant this year.

With that said, I didn't have time to dwell on it anymore. I could only pack my things and enter the palace. But what I never expected was that the eldest princess of the Ulanara family was actually my fourth brother's wife in a previous life. How could she be included in this selection? Could it be that this selection wasn't just for the Crown Prince's wife, but also for the Fourth Consort?

Not only her, but also her third wife from her previous life was among those selected in this selection. This lineup made her think that this selection was intended to arrange marriages for the three princes.

At this moment, she suddenly had an idea. Since the Fourth Prince also wanted to choose a wife, and it was the Fourth Prince who succeeded to the throne in the previous life, why not just find a way to become the Fourth Prince's wife?