Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Love

However, Ruyi's pregnancy did not allow Yanwan to receive the favor of the king as expected.The emperor seemed to be ashamed of Ruyi, except that he would accompany Ruyi or Yuyan for meals every day, and would only rest at Luyun and Concubine Qing on weekdays.Even the Empress Dowager couldn't help sighing: "It takes a long time to see people's hearts, and those who serve the emperor should be more calm, which shows the value of Concubine Qing. The Yongshou Palace was so nonsense that day, after all, Concubine Qing never got in." These words were a tactful reprimand to Yan Wan and the others.In this way, the emperor also refused to easily go to these few palaces, and only patiently took care of his body, and eventually he was left out in the cold.

Not long after learning that Ruyi was pregnant, the emperor started a grand and important draft.The ancestors became a rule in the triennial draft.However, after the emperor ascended the throne, he has been working hard to govern and put his mind on the previous dynasty.In addition, there is a way to select young women from court ladies or other prefectures as concubines, so there has never been a good draft.Now it is suddenly proposed that only beautiful women are selected to serve the palace in the name of the empress dowager's sixty years of longevity. Although the empress dowager and Ruyi are shocked, they know it is the ancestor's rule.Moreover, since the emperor neglected Yan Wan and others, Ruyi and Yuyan were also pregnant and unable to serve the emperor, and it was not good to have only a few old people in the palace to serve the emperor, so they could only make up according to the emperor's temper.

Because Ruyi was pregnant and couldn't work hard, and the queen mother was content to enjoy the celebration of her 60th birthday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Rites made arrangements, and the emperor personally selected the candidate. Rong Pei said to Ruyi privately: "The talent show should be presided over by the empress, but the emperor didn't even allow her to show up, but she was annoyed by the fact that the empress gave mung bean lotus heart soup back last time?" Ruyi supported her waist and slowly paced in the courtyard, caressing a luxuriant golden osmanthus branch and said: "There is nothing perfect, if you think that the emperor wants to be cold-hearted and cut the face of the empress of the palace, that's it. You If you think that the emperor is only concerned about this palace's pregnancy, then it is the emperor's painstaking efforts."

Before the Empress Dowager's birthday, the emperor chose Xilinjueluo, the daughter of the governor Eshun, as the jubilee resident, Bahrain, the daughter of Dutong Naqin, as the nobleman, Lin, the daughter of Tang Afoyin, as the gong changzai, and Demuzi Saiyinchake's son. The daughter of Baiergos is always there. Perhaps it was because there were many women in the Han army flag in the palace, and the emperor selected most of them were the daughters of Manchu and Mongolian relatives.When Ruyi saw the list of draftees from the emperor, she couldn't help laughing and said, "This is the emperor's first draft, why did he spend so much effort and only select four?"

The emperor smiled and said, "That's enough. Choose four, and the four corners are complete." Ruyi sat in a comfortable position, smiled lightly and said, "Then they must all be beauties with both talents and looks. It's just that the concubine is thinking that the emperor just came back from the southern tour this spring, so he will choose a few more Han army flags." Where's the girl?" The emperor showed Ruyi the title set by the House of Internal Affairs, and said, "Xilinjueluo's family belongs to the Manchu army. Although the Lin family belongs to the Han army banner, her Ama Baitang Afoyin belongs to the Mongolian army banner. The Baiergos family and the Bahrain family The surname is also from the Mongolian army flag. The queen has a look, how should the palace be arranged?"

Ruyi thought about it and said, "It's a pity that Jingren Palace has been empty since the late Emperor's Empress Ulanara passed away. It is also the Xianfu Palace of Emperor Huixian. I think it's better to let Gong often be with you. Jubilee lives in Jingren Palace, while Yinggui and Ke often live in Xianfu Palace." The emperor said: "That's fine. Let someone clean it out today. Especially Yinggui and Kechangzai are the daughters of Mongolian relatives, so the decoration should have a Mongolian flavor." Ruyi smiled and nodded: "Yes, the emperor just quelled the rebellion of Zhuermot Namzal, the king of Tibet, in the previous dynasty, and now the internal strife in Zhungeer is about to start. Such a candidate is very good for Manchuria, especially Mongolia Excellent reassurance from all ministries."

The emperor put down his pen, took a meaningful look at Ruyi, and said in a gentle and concerned tone: "The empress is pregnant, only three months old, so it's not advisable to think too much, especially don't listen to the gossip of the previous dynasty." Ruyi's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly leaned over and said, "The concubine is just casually talking about the family affairs of the draft, if it offends the emperor, it will be the concubine's fault." The emperor smiled, but the smile didn't fill his eyes, he just said: "The empress has a hard pregnancy, it's better to go back to the palace to rest early. I'm going to see Qing Bin." After finishing speaking, he got up and passed the sedan chair out.

Looking at the figure of the emperor, Ruyi felt mixed feelings, caressing her lower abdomen with a sad expression.This is Jun En, even though she is pregnant, even though the turmoil in Yongshou Palace hurt Lizi after all. " With such a reason, the Emperor will celebrate the Empress Dowager's 60th birthday in November with great excitement and excitement. In addition to singing and dancing as usual, presenting treasures, the Empress Dowager's insignia "Chongqing Cixuan" Later, the four characters "Kanghui Dunhe" were added, and the empress dowager was honored as "Chongqing Cixuan Kanghui Dunhe".

However, Ruyi also knew that behind such honor, it was because the empress dowager's eldest daughter, Princess Duanshu, married in Zhungeer, which had the effect of restraining the internal strife, and the emperor was able to sing and dance so peacefully.But every time Tai Chang cared about Duan Shu, the emperor would smile back and say, "My sister is fine, and she has the dignity of a princess, so you don't have to worry about anything." In December, when newcomers enter the palace, the emperor is quite dying, and these four people are often in bed.Among them, nobleman Ying has almond eyes and a cherry mouth, and a face like pink snow. She is young and innocent with a bit of prairie sharpness, which is especially liked by the emperor. She was conferred the title of concubine Ying near the New Year, which can be said to be a thriving talent.In this way, Yan Wan was increasingly neglected, and life became more and more sad.

The weather was cold at the end of the year, and it snowed several times in succession. The emperor decided to stay in Xianfu Palace instead of Yangxin Hall.However, Concubine Ying has some tricks to gain favor. He Ke often surrounds the emperor tightly. How could Yan Wan see her? "Concubine Ling, don't worry, the emperor is doing well with me, and he won't be greedy for stag blood wine." Concubine Ying was in the limelight, so Yan Wan had no choice but to come back angrily.This time, Yan Wan became very anxious, and had to order Chun Chan to call Madam Tian over to speak.

Nanny Tian was still very considerate, and she joked when they met: "The young master called the slaves over at this time, but he took a fancy to the afterbirth of Concubine Jia? Considering that Concubine Jia is about to give birth." Yan Wan didn't answer the words for a while, just pointed at the table.There used to be a box of silver there, Yan Wan raised her face, and Lan Cui added a small pot of jewels, which made Nanny Tian's eyes straighten. Yan Wan smiled and said: "I heard that Mother Tian's only son is going to donate his career, these things can just help!" Nanny Tian withdrew her eyes that were about to stick to those jewels, smiled knowingly, and said, "What's the matter, my lord, just tell me. I will definitely do my best." Yan Wan smiled and took a sip of tea; "I don't care about Concubine Jia's afterbirth, I want the best one. How about the one on the empress's body?" Tian Nanny was stunned, and quickly retracted it as if she had been pricked by a needle. As soon as he touched those silver hands, he was stunned: "What does the young master mean, do it the same way as you did to Concubine Shu?" Yan Wan caressed a pair of golden vines with heart-shaped tourmaline beads on her temples, and said slowly: "The empress gave birth, and the nanny has the most senior qualifications, so she will definitely deliver the baby. Once the baby is born and the second time is familiar, the nanny's practice makes perfect, and she will definitely be able to do it again." Unknowingly." Nanny Tian didn't dare to raise her face: "My lord, that's the Empress!" "The same is a woman, what's the difference? You dare to attack Concubine Shu, but you dare not attack the Queen?" Yan Wan smiled slightly, "I didn't ask you to kill the child in the empress' womb, but I just hope that the empress will not have another child. The empress is in her thirties, and it's not surprising that she can't have another child after giving birth! No one will suspect you." She stretched out her slender fingers and tore off the afterbirth, "It hurt the uterine body, it's over once and for all." Grandma Tian's face changed with fright, her legs gave way and she knelt in front of Yan Wan, begging, "Mrs. Lingfei, don't dare! That's not someone else, it's Empress Empress!" Yan Wan raised her bluish-blue willow eyebrows, and said disdainfully, "Concubine Shu is also a favorite concubine, how dare you?" Nanny Tian fell on the ground and kowtowed desperately: "Master Concubine Shu belongs to the Yehenala clan, no more than the Empress Empress is the mother of the Central Palace. Moreover, the Empress Empress is the firstborn, the Emperor is so solemn, and even went to Fengxian Hall to pray for blessings." Yes. Even the Empress Dowager, who doesn’t wait to see the Empress Dowager on weekdays, would greet her with care and care. At this juncture, she wouldn’t even dare to kill her servants!” Yan Wan saw that her brow was also blue, she was afraid that others would ask questions, so she hurriedly stopped and said: "Okay!" Terrified, Mother Tian quickly knelt up straight and stared at Yan Wan.Yan Wan waved her hand in annoyance: "Forget it. I just asked casually, so forget it if you don't want to. Lan Cui, take Tian Nanny out." Lan Cui promised to drag Mama Tian out with half-armed and half-supported. Seeing Yan Wan's gloomy face, Chunchan handed her some tea and went up and said in a low voice: "Actually, it's not difficult to ask Nanny Tian to do it, just use her to hurt her last time." Concubine Shu threatens her, forgive her for not daring to attack the queen." Yan Wan rested her chin and concentrated, and said: "Nurse Tian is a person who can be used. If you push her away, it will be of no benefit to anyone in the future. There is no natal family in this palace. There is one person who can be used in the palace." Count one and use them all.” Chun Chan was indignant, and also wondered: "The empress did not have a child of her own, but she and Concubine Shu are all pregnant. Is there nothing we can do?" Yan Wan looked at the dark night outside the window, and said bitterly: "I don't dare to kill the emperor's children, I just want them to experience the pain of not being able to have children like I am." The cold moonlight fell On her haggard face with duck egg blue, "Hey, if the emperor is willing to come, this palace will not be so sad. What matters is Jun En!" However, there is only a smear of cloud in the sky, which faintly covers the trace of the faint moon.The cold Yongshou Palace seems to be unable to even have a little moonlight. When Ruyi was in her sixth month of pregnancy, Er Niang came into the palace to accompany her. Ruyi knew the emperor's grace, and also accompanied herself for the emperor who had been unable to sleep for several months. When the Queen Mother sent Aunt Fu Jia to see her, she also smiled: "After all, the empress is very lucky. When the first empress Xiaoxian was alive, she only came to accompany her when she gave birth to her second elder brother in the hidden mansion. After all, she did not enter the palace. It’s such a serious matter here.” Elderly people talk a lot about having children, and Aunt Fujia is very talkative, saying “Mrs. Cheng’engong,” straight Ruyi's mother was very happy. After arriving, the mother asked her daughter about having a boy or girl, Ruyi also had a calm face: "The imperial doctor said it like a princess." Mother was taken aback for a moment, she couldn't believe it: "Which imperial doctor said it, is it correct?" Ruyi didn't take it too seriously: "The emperor also asked about his daughter, but the imperial physicians serving her, Qi Lu and Jiang Yubin, one is a seasoned national player and the other is a rising star, both of them are among the best in the imperial hospital." The mother's complexion became a little ugly, and she sighed for a long while and said, "It's fine, it will bloom first and then bear fruit, and a prince will always be born." In fact, when she was five months pregnant, the emperor often looked at Ruyi's swollen belly, and sighed, "If it's a concubine..." Seeing Ruyi's faint smile, he smiled and said, "Of course, the princess is also good." Ruyi smiled and sewed a water-blue baby shirt: "Yes, the emperor has only two princesses under his knees, and Princess Hejing married to Mongolia again, and the concubine also wants to add a princess. How caring my daughter is." When she turned her back and no one was there, Ruyi stared at Jiang and Bin and asked, "How is the fetus?" Jiang Yubin smiled and bowed: "Everything is safe." Ruyi weighed it up and asked, "Male and female?" Jiang Yubin cupped his hands to congratulate Dao that his pulse is strong and powerful, that the emperor will get what he wants, and that he has a son-in-law. " Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief: "I believe what you said. Qi Lu is mature and cautious. He dare not talk about men and women to me, nor to the emperor." Jiang Yubin said with a smile: "Of course I don't dare. After I say it, if it is wrong, it will be a capital offense." Ruyi glanced at him with a smile: "How dare you say that?" "That's because the empress will not kill a humble minister." Ruyi chuckled, then turned serious, twirled a piece of sour plum cake and ate it: "Boys are fine too. But I don't want the emperor to be happy too early, and I don't want others to be unhappy too early." Jiang Yubin understood: "No one else knows about fetal signs except the person who asked for the pulse. If they want to guess whether the baby in the mother's womb is a boy or a girl, they can only look at the mother's diet." Ruyi held up a sour plum cake and smiled: "Sour girl?" "The folk rumors have some truth." Ruyi smiled slightly: "I am sour, so I have to eat more spicy food now." Therefore, the colors on the small kitchen running water are mainly spicy, and the spicy smell permeates in Yikun Palace, allowing all the noses who come in and out to smell it. " Then some good people began to speculate: "The empress loves spicy food so much, don't be a princess?" Someone echoed: "Isn't it? Sour and spicy girl. Jia Guifei Huaide loves sour food every time she gives birth. Today, I ate a large plate of pickled cabbage from her hometown and a bowl of fish in sour soup for lunch. " "Concubine Jia is still very lucky. The fetus is a prince. The empress is getting old, and it is very easy to conceive a child, but she is a princess. It is a waste of effort." "The emperor dreamed that he would be a son-in-law. If he were a princess, he would be so disappointed." "Tsk tsk, isn't Concubine Jia more favored?" Such rumors became even more prevalent on the seventh day of February in the seventeenth year of Qianlong's reign, after Yuyan's eleventh elder brother Yongxuan was left.Even the palace people looked at Ruyi with a little more pity in their eyes, as if lamenting the tragic fate of this elderly and first pregnant queen who could not give birth to a prince. Not to mention Yan Wan and Yu Yan, even the emperor's new favorite Concubine Ying laughed behind her back: "It's so easy to conceive a child, but it's just a princess, what's the fun. I heard that the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent some pink, purple and bright red horses. The material is going to make clothes for the child in the queen's womb." Ruyi heard the rumors, but she just smiled.As the delivery approached, Rong Pei led the people in the palace to be more vigilant, but that vigilance was not to mobilize the masses on the surface, but to check everything in detail secretly.Every drink and food that Ruyi entered was checked carefully with a silver needle, and then Jiang Yubin was asked to look carefully before entering.Even the silver scissors, white soft cloth, and even all the utensils, clothes and bedding during production are checked repeatedly, for fear of any mistakes or omissions. And Ruyi took the time to watch Dr. Zhang Zhenxi of Qin Tianjian choose the "auspicious position" of "Puxi Pit" beside the east gate of the rear hall of Yikun Palace as a place to bury the placenta and umbilical cord of the child after giving birth in the future. Good luck.Three eunuchs dug the "Happy Pit", and two nuns recited a happy song in front of the Happy Pit, and scattered some chopsticks, red silk and eight treasures of gold and silver, which means "happy birth and good luck". Ruyi watched with a smile along with her mother and queen mother, full of anticipation and joy, enjoying the pride and anxiety of being a first-time mother. The next day, the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent ten sisters Jingqi, Denghuo, and Water. Ruyi personally selected the two highest-status nurses with both children for backup.There are also four experienced midwives who have been "watching the night" at Yishen Palace since the beginning of March, and there are also six imperial doctors on duty in the Imperial Hospital in rotation, just in case of emergencies. Ruyi only dared to hide the sour apricots under the brocade quilt, secretly ate one, and ate one, sour that she burst into tears. Rong Pei smiled and said: "This is the sour apricot that Changping paid tribute to. The servant took it secretly. Is it delicious?" Ruyi smiled and said, "I ate so much spicy food for dinner, my stomach is burning with spicy food, now I feel better after eating apricots." Rong Pei whispered, "Your maidservant has hidden a lot. If you want to eat, tell your maidservant. At night, your maidservant keeps watch and eats all your maidservant. No one knows." Then she sighed, "You are a queen concubine, and you dare not conceive a prince." Casually let others know, the servants will see how hard it is.” "The big tree attracts the wind. When Empress Xiaozhuang was pregnant with the prince, how many eyes were staring at her. This palace is not as good as Empress Xiaozhuang's family, so I can only be careful." Ruyi supported her swollen belly and said, "Now in the belly It's still safe, but if it's born, I don't know how to be careful." Rong Pei looked solemn: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the slaves will protect your Majesty and the prince even if they die." Under everyone's sneering or puzzled eyes, on the 25th day of the fourth month of the 17th year of Qianlong's reign, Ruyi finally gave birth to a prince after a day and a night of pain. In the dormitory there is a small and exquisite cherry wood cradle that can be seen. The bright yellow top-grade cloud satin carefully wraps the child's delicate and soft body. Two round vortexes are formed between the child's black fetal hair. The small face is glowing with a pleasant red, very waxy and soft. At that time, the emperor was guarding the Fengxian Hall. After hearing the news, he was ecstatic. After offering incense to the ancestors, he immediately felt the Yikun Palace. Hailan had already been with Hou by Ruyi's side. The emperor had seen the newborn prince, and when he saw Ruyi, he wiped her sweat with his own hands, fed her Ningshen decoction, and said with a smile: "This son is the only son under my knees, so I can continue the base page. How about calling him Yongji?" Ruyi nodded with difficulty, and looked at the wet nurse holding the baby by her side, smiling and gratified. Hailan smiled and said: "When the concubine gave birth to Yongqi, the emperor said, Qiji is also the genus of jade. Yongqi and Yongji are really good brothers." The birth of Yongji has eased the inseparability between the emperor and empress after the Yongshou Palace turmoil.Ruyi sometimes thinks, no wonder there must be children between men and women, and children are the flesh and blood that are connected.Originally, two people who were only on skin to skin contact, no matter how sticky they were and then changed their numbers, it was nothing more than superficial clinging and physical attachment.But with a child, each other's blood has a common coagulation point, which cannot be separated or separated. And the emperor also loved Yongji very much, and he allowed Ruyi to be raised in his own palace, and never sent it to his elder brother.Because of the care of a wet nurse and the loving care of her mother, Ruyi quickly recovered.