PDLP Chapter 143 The Birth of the Second Son
Chapter 143 The Birth of the Second Son
Chapter 143 The birth of the second son
Time passed quickly, and another summer was coming. This time, Yinreng did not plan to go to Changchun Garden to escape the heat. Firstly, Buerhe's due date was in the next few days, and secondly, he wanted to take this opportunity to deal with the two princesses in the back courtyard.
As for Hongye and Jingyi, Bu Erhe had already asked the Fourth Lady and the Fourth Brother to take care of them. The lessons in the Shangshufang could not be neglected. Since they were all going to Changchun Garden, Hongye and Jingyi would go with them.
Before leaving, Bu Erhe also went to Ciren Palace. If he had to say who made Bu Erhe feel most at ease, it would be the Empress Dowager. After all, others might take care of Hongye and Jingyi because of personal feelings, but the Empress Dowager's care was pure love.
The Empress Dowager was genuinely fond of the two great-grandchildren of the Crown Prince. Upon hearing Buerhe's request, she readily agreed. She also instructed Buerhe to rest well and report to her as soon as the little prince was born. If she was afraid, she should write in advance so she could rush back to Yuqing Palace to take charge.
In order to appease the Queen Mother, Burhe naturally agreed to all of it and brought the Tuna Mama left behind by the Queen Mother back to Yuqing Palace that same day. This Tuna Mama was from the same group of old people as Naren Mama. It can be said that Burhe's visit to Ciren Palace this time was a good deal.
In the same month, the confinement period of Yinzhen and Yinxi also ended. However, this time Kangxi did not plan to take these two sons to Changchun Garden to escape the summer heat. It was not because he was angry or cold, but on the contrary, it was because the eldest prince and the eighth prince had not made any progress in collecting money in the past two months. So far, they had only collected a few hundred thousand taels, which made Kangxi angry. Even if they went to Changchun Garden to escape the summer heat, they would still have to drink bitter medicine soup all day long because of the heat in their stomachs.
For this reason, Kangxi thought of Yinreng's previous suggestion to let the Fourth and Ninth Princes continue to take over this matter. Regardless of whether they had selfish motives, in short, what they had done before was very good. This matter was first discovered by Yin'er and Yinzhen, and it was indeed reasonable for things to return to their hands now.
Therefore, after Yin'er's house arrest ended, the imperial edict was delivered directly to Yin'er and Yinzhen. The general meaning was that even if they accepted the money, if they had any problems, they could ask him, the emperor, to make the decision, and all ministers needed to cooperate and not make any mistakes.
This time, the corner that was previously opened was finally taken back. In other words, the Eighth Prince worked hard for most of the day, but got nothing good out of it. He also left a label of being useless in the emperor's mind.
On the day the imperial edict was issued, Yinsi not only handed over his job of collecting debts, but was also called directly to the Prince's residence by the eldest prince and scolded in front of all the staff, and warned not to make any more small moves.
Li Rulin watched quietly from the side. The Eighth Prince's patience was probably running out. The next cooperation between the two should be about to begin. He didn't believe that the Eighth Prince could be so tolerant. Others stepped on his head, but the Eighth Prince could still pretend nothing happened.
If he really endured it, it would mean that he, Li Rulin, was blind, and he would make careful plans at that time. However, once the Eighth Prince was moved this time, revenge would not be far away.
The Eighth Prince did not dare to show any dissatisfaction in the Zhi Beile Mansion, but as soon as he returned to the South Third House, he closed the door and smashed all the porcelain in the room. Seeing this, Xiao Zhuzi, who was following behind him, quickly knelt down beside him, and did not dare to move even though the porcelain fragments flew and scratched his face.
Outsiders all say that his master is gentle and kind, and is much easier to serve than the Fourth Master who always has a cold face. However, only he who really follows his master knows that those are just appearances, and his master is not someone who is easy to get along with.
Normally, if a servant did something wrong, he would be punished physically and that would be the end of it. However, if a servant following the master made a mistake, he would be punished with life and heartbreak.
The master's favorite thing to do is not to punish them simply and roughly, but to directly seize their weaknesses and find their pain points. Just like him, the reason why he has been following his master for so many years and dared not make any mistakes is not only because of the affection they grew up with, but more because the girl he likes is serving behind Concubine Liang.
As long as he had any ulterior motives, Xier would disappear from the palace quickly. Don't think he was exaggerating; he knew his master's abilities well, and he would definitely do what he said. To be honest, even he, who had always been following his master, had no idea how many of his spies were in the palace.
After about a quarter of an hour, Yinsi finally calmed down. He directly ordered Xiao Zhuzi: "Have someone clean up the room. If you break things again, I will send you back to the Ministry of Punishment."
Xiao Zhuzi lowered his head even more, his voice trembling: "Yes, Master, I will go right away."
Seeing Xiao Zhuzi stumbling towards the door, Yinsi's eyes flickered: "Find a chance to get rid of him. He knows too much. I don't believe he will be so honest."
"Yes." Although he didn't see anyone, a faint response slowly spread in the room. Then Yinsi turned around and went back to the inner room, walked to the desk, picked up a wolf hair brush and wrote a letter.
That night, Li Rulin finally saw Yinsi, whom he had been waiting for: "The Eighth Master is here."
"I'm here. I agree with what you said before."
"Eighth Master is straightforward. Don't worry, the candidate has been decided. All you need to do is guide the current emperor to witness it with his own eyes at the right time. I believe that by then, the emperor will trust the prince and will not let him off easily. If the prince has such a reputation, we can give him a gentle push, and Prince Zhi will definitely take the bait and confront the prince. In the end, we can just sit back and reap the benefits."
"Okay, but you have to make sure there's no trace of me here. I'll help you, but I don't want to get into any trouble."
"Relax, as long as the Eighth Master provides convenience, I will do the rest. I only seek revenge on the Crown Prince, and the rest will not be unnecessary."
Although Yinsi did not trust the person in front of him, he was of course willing to take revenge now that he had the opportunity, especially since he would only need to cooperate and would not need to take any action at all, and he would be able to see his opponent's joke. Why not do it?
The two chatted briefly, reaching a preliminary agreement on a partnership, and Yinsi quickly left the place. Lately, with many people watching him, he'd been extremely cautious, unwilling to venture out unless absolutely necessary. Because Yinsi left so quickly, without turning back to confirm, he had no idea who else had entered the small room where they'd just been talking.
The man in black: "How is it, is everything settled?" Unexpectedly, although the other party was wrapped tightly, a soft and pleasant female voice came out.
Li Rulin: "Don't worry, this matter has been arranged long ago. Everything is ready, only the east wind is missing. But is there any problem with you? After all this trouble, you still haven't got the position of a concubine. It's really shameful. Tangtang Xiangzhu is only capable of this. In this case, I will have to consider cooperating with you in the future."
The man in black said, "You, huh? Don't worry. I don't want to attract too much attention right now. Everything I did before was just to test the reaction of that old thief Kangxi. Now that I know his attitude, everything is under control."
Li Rulin: "I hope it's just as you said. This is a matter of life and death. There can't be even a single mistake. I hope you can keep your word. Well, I've been out long enough. Next time, let's not meet and just pass on the news. Everything depends on that day."
The man in black wanted to say something, but Li Rulin had already taken the lead, making her swallow the words back.
There was a creaking sound, and the person outside pushed the door open: "Master, shall we go back?"
"Hmph, you don't know what's good for you. Let's see what happens next. Let's go back." With a wave of his sleeves, the man in black walked out of the hut with his maid.
After another cup of tea, after confirming that no one appeared in the house, a dark figure fell down from the roof, gently opened the window, then turned over and jumped away.
On June 27, the 36th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the Yuqing Palace was bustling with activity early in the morning, simply because the mistress had begun labor. Speaking of this pregnancy, Buerhe hadn't been particularly active, with only a little morning sickness in the early stages. By the time the baby was three months old, the symptoms had subsided, and she'd been eating and drinking regularly. Even the Empress Dowager remarked that this baby was a well-behaved, quiet, and good-natured child.
They were all experienced palace veterans, and this time, Buerhe didn't even invite her family to help with the birth. As early as when Buerhe felt her water break, the servants had already prepared everything they needed. When Yinreng carried Buerhe into the delivery room, the maids quickly pushed Yinreng out the door.
The prince would be a hindrance if he were inside at this point, so he should just wait outside for good news. Basins of hot water began to be carried into the delivery room, and Liuli brought over the chicken soup that had been warming in the small kitchen, along with the dumplings and pastries that had been made this morning.
Liuli: "Master, this is what I made this morning. Mammy said it's still early and the uterus has just opened. You didn't eat much this morning, so eat two now to fill your stomach."
Bull was really hungry at this moment, the kind that felt both painful and hungry. She was experienced and knew that childbirth required strength. If she didn't eat enough, she would suffer when giving birth later. So even though she had a stomachache now, she endured it and ate the steamed bun that Liuli sent her.
After finishing the two steamed buns, Buerhe also drank a bowl of chicken soup. After finishing it, he found that there was ginseng in it. Buerhe joked, "Our Liuli's cooking skills are getting better and better. I can't really taste the ginseng in this ginseng chicken soup until I put it in my mouth."
Liuli was in no mood to joke at the moment, as her master was trying to give birth. However, she couldn't help but respond to her master's joke, so she honestly explained her method: "It's because my master doesn't like the taste of ginseng. You need to conserve your strength at this important time, and ginseng is the best medicine for replenishing qi. Madam Pang has long ago instructed that I must make ginseng chicken soup for you. In order to prevent you from smelling it, I have been experimenting for several days."
Buerhe was also a person who knew what was good for her. The servants under her were sincere for her, so of course they would not scold her. They just said, "Humph, this time is fine, but if you don't tell me in advance next time, I will punish you by making you a delicious meal."
Liuli laughed out loud when she heard this: "Master, as long as you are good, don't even mention one meal, even if you do it every day, I am willing to do it."
As soon as the words fell, the servants in the room all laughed.
"Ouch" Burhe also laughed. Maybe the little prince wanted to join in the conversation, so he kicked Burhe several times, causing him to cry out in pain.
The midwife lifted it up and exclaimed in surprise, "The Crown Princess is pushing harder. The cervix is already seven fingers dilated, and you can even see the little prince's hair. It seems the little prince can't wait to come out."
All of a sudden the entire delivery room became busy, and Liuli hurried out with the bowls and plates. Giving birth is a strenuous job, so she had to go to the small kitchen to prepare some more food so that her master could recover faster after giving birth.
As soon as Liuli came out, the prince grabbed her tightly and asked, "What's going on in the room? Why is there such a sudden noise?"
Seeing that it was the prince, Liuli excitedly said, "Mammy said that the master's uterus has opened and she will give birth soon. I will go and prepare some food for digestion and use it after the master and I give birth."
Upon hearing this, Yinreng quickly let go of Liuli: "Then you go, go quickly."
Just as he finished speaking, he heard a baby crying in the delivery room: "Wuwa wuwa..."
The nervous expressions of everyone outside the house suddenly relaxed: the baby is born!
The midwife quickly came out with a big red swaddling cloth. Yinreng went forward and saw another wrinkled red monkey, but this time he was not surprised. He just stood there at a loss, grinning.
"Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations, Your Highness! The Crown Princess has given birth to a healthy little prince."
"Rewards, everyone will receive a reward. He Zhu and Yu Qing Palace will each receive a half-yearly reward, and the midwife will receive two hundred taels of silver."
"Thank you for your grace, master. Congratulations on the birth of the little prince." At that moment, all the servants in Yuqing Palace knelt on the ground to express their gratitude.
After having the midwife take the little prince down to feed him, Yinreng walked to Buerhe's side in the delivery room. Seeing Buerhe, who was drenched in sweat and looked very embarrassed, he held her hand, put it to his lips and kissed her: "Thank you for your hard work, my dear. We have another son."
Buerhe was so tired that he was about to fall asleep. Seeing this, he shook his head slightly: "It's not hard. As long as the child is healthy, it's fine."
Yinreng also noticed that Burhe was drowsy, and hurriedly comforted him: "Go to sleep, don't worry, I am here." Burhe couldn't resist the sleepiness after hearing that, and fell asleep in just a few seconds.
After looking at Buerhe quietly for a while, Yinreng tiptoed out, took the small bow with red cloth handed to him by He Zhu, and hung it in front of the door of Yuqing Palace with his own hands.