The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

"Pregnant? You really are pregnant." It's already the first month of the lunar calendar, a time of great celebration. Qingwan, who is about to give birth, hasn't gone out, and because of the winter chill, she's stayed in the warm pavilion.

Chenxiang stood at the entrance of the warm pavilion, her body radiating cold air. The thick cushions made her voice sound as if it came from afar.

As for Wusu, after her period was late, her personal maid reported it to Qingwan, who then summoned a doctor who confirmed that she was indeed pregnant.

"Yes, it's been more than a month."

"That's fast," she said. She had originally planned to wait until some time after this child was born before letting Wusu get pregnant again, but a woman's pregnancy is something that cannot be interfered with by human power.

There are contraceptive drugs, but their effectiveness is only so-so. Moreover, although they are said to prevent pregnancy, they are extremely harmful to a woman's body and may not even work. Therefore, such drugs should be avoided if possible, let alone for Yinxiang, who is a prince and whose duty is to continue the family line.

His concubine was legally pregnant, so he would definitely not use such things. He could only count the days, but he did not expect that Wusu's pregnancy would come so quickly.

"If she's pregnant, so be it. It's a good thing. Tell the people around her to take good care of her," Qingwan instructed. She added, "Look at my brain, it's getting worse and worse since I got pregnant. Chenxiang, come in and warm up."

"I'm still feeling the chill, but it's warm inside, so please don't worry, Madam."

She added, "However, when I went to see Princess Wusu, she begged the Fujin (madam) to let her daughter into the mansion to speak."

Qingwan remained silent for a moment before saying to Muxiang beside her, "After the first three months, if there are no problems with her pregnancy, let's pick a day to let her enter the manor."

"Yes, shall we go and fetch Madam?"

"No need, it's cold and the roads are slippery. My wife is getting old, and her health has been deteriorating in the last two years. Don't let her make this trip; it won't do her any good and will only make her tired."

Not only Li Jiashi, but even Malhan has aged more and more in the past two years. Qingwan, who is powerless to help her parents as they grow old, feels heartbroken every time she goes back.

When it comes to matters of life and death, Qingwan and Jingwan are far less open-minded than the two elders.

Mu Xiang naturally knew this, and smiled to comfort her: "But Madam probably doesn't feel tired at all because of the Fujin and Sixth Aunt. She wishes she could arrange everything herself."

As the two were laughing, Chenxiang finally warmed herself up and came in, saying, "I also went to the delivery room and found that the nanny was there, instructing the maids and servants, worried that something might have gone wrong."

"Why are you troubling Aunt Yan? Why didn't you try to persuade her to stop?" Qingwan said.

“This lady has wronged me,” Chenxiang said with a smile. “If I could have advised her, I would have done so long ago. But the nanny said that the lady’s confinement period is in winter and she can’t stand the cold. She’s not at ease unless she’s keeping an eye on her.”

However, I also feel that this batch of people entering the manor are not as clever as the previous ones, so it's no wonder the nanny is worried.

Qingwan sighed, "People come and go, but only the two of you have always been by my side."

“Not only now, but I will always be by Fujin’s side in the future,” Chenxiang quickly said.

"We've given you quite a bit of money over the years, and you don't have any particular need for it, so you've probably saved it all. You can live a good life even if you go out, so why stay in the manor?"

“I don’t care. I think being by the Fujin’s side is the best. I’ll be the Fujin’s nanny from now on. All the maids, servants and eunuchs under my command will have to listen to me. It’ll look impressive,” Chenxiang said.

Qingwan laughed and scolded her for being spineless.

Mu Xiang fell silent, a hint of embarrassment showing on her face that the two of them couldn't see.

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, after a period of chaos and war, Qingwan gave birth to her fifth child, a little prince.

When Yinxiang rushed in, he was stopped by Aunt Yan outside the delivery room. She made him change his clothes and warm his hands and body before letting someone catch a glimpse of Qingwan from afar by the door.

"How is the Princess Consort?"

"It's alright, she's just used to being alone after giving birth. Her two maids are watching over her, the imperial physician is waiting, and everything that needs to be prepared has been prepared."

Let her rest; childbirth is painful and exhausting.

Yinxiang nodded, tilted his head to listen, and only dared to lift the curtain a tiny crack, which he had to cover himself. After waiting for a while, there was still no movement.

They had no choice but to go see the child. The baby, who had already been washed, was in the wet nurse's arms. Aunt Yan said, "This child is smaller than his older brothers and sisters."

Yinxiang touched the child's face and said, "The seventh day is called Renri (Human Day). It's a rare day to see it again. It's a big day for the continuation of human life. This child knows how to pick his time. He will grow up safely and well."

Aunt Yan laughed and said, "You guys always find an excuse for whatever day it is. Of course he will grow up well."

After a short while, Moyaqi leaned against the door and asked, "Father, may we come in now?"

Yinxiang beckoned, and after Moyaqi entered, the curtain was not lowered. Then Hongtun and Hongjiao followed.

Hongtun knew they were coming to see his younger brother or sister, but Hongjiao only knew that his older sister was waving, so he followed them.

The Fifth Prince's wet nurse was a tall woman. Moyaqi stopped in front of her, trying to catch a glimpse of the child, but the wet nurse was seeing so many imperial grandsons for the first time and was so nervous that she didn't notice Moyaqi in front of her.

Moyaqi was a little angry, but since Yinxiang, an elder, was still around, she couldn't get angry. So she asked Yinxiang first, "Father, is it a younger brother or a younger sister?"

Yinxiang countered, "Do you prefer a younger brother or a younger sister?"

Moyaqi was very unhappy with his way of teasing the child and called out "Father" again.

Yinxiang had no choice but to say, "It's my younger brother." But he felt a pang of regret, because his daughter was too grown up to be fun to tease anymore.

As they spoke, Chenxiang stepped out and said, "Greetings to all the young masters."

Moyaqi hurriedly said, "But they're making a racket. I'll take them away right now."

Chenxiang quickly spoke up, interrupting Moyaqi's departure: "No, we can't hear much inside, so the Fujin said to let the masters speak freely, as she finds it interesting."

Moyaqi asked Qingwan a few more questions, and after Chenxiang answered them all, she said, "Sister, go in and take care of me."

"Yes, the slave will leave."

Moyaqi then told the wet nurse to bend down while holding the child. She first glanced at the child in the wet nurse's arms, then at Hongtun and Hongjiao, and finally said to Hongtun, "Third brother, fifth brother is much better looking than you were when you were little."

Hongtun glanced at the Fifth Prince with some dissatisfaction and said bluntly, "Really ugly."

Inside the room, Qingwan listened to the voices of the children outside, but she didn't find it noisy. Instead, she felt at ease and slowly closed her eyes to fall asleep.