Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1166 Zhen Huan Enlarged to 90

Prescriptions for women's maintenance have always been the most popular among female relatives. In the past, only the Eighth Prince, her own daughter, could show off her recipes to Concubine Rou, but now she can even reproduce the ancient recipes. The wives of the royal family followed the concubines in the harem and extended an olive branch to her.

Looking at the room full of valuable gifts in front of Concubine Rou, Concubine Fu couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Concubine Rou looked at the gifts with a smile, thinking that she had also made some efforts, and perhaps others did have the intention of winning her over, but as long as she did not agree, their little tricks would be of no use.

Therefore, Concubine Rou had the right to accept the gifts.

But Concubine Rou also knew that Concubine Fu was also thinking about her and the Eighth Prince, so she was very happy to help Concubine Fu: "These things were sent to you under the pretext that I had copied some ancient recipes. Their reasons were very legitimate, and the Empress also nodded and asked me to accept them, so we have nothing to worry about."

The next topic needed to be cleared before the room could be discussed. When she and Noble Lady Fu were the only ones in the room, Concubine Rou took Noble Lady Fu's hand and comforted her, saying, "I know that my sister is doing this for my own good. She is worried that the Eighth Prince and I will be used by others and lose favor in front of the emperor. But since the Empress said that it's okay, there must be no hidden dangers."

"I have also checked carefully. Although the things in the room are valuable, there is nothing out of line. Sister, please choose a few that you like later. I will keep the rest for the Eighth Prince."

Fu Guiren breathed a sigh of relief. "Although my entire family, including relatives and friends, have moved out of the Imperial Household Department, is there anyone willing to give me, a noble lady, some face? The Fourth Prince is now particularly valued by the Emperor, and I heard that he has already started preparing a mansion outside the palace."

"I know that the Eighth Prince is good, but the only downside is that he was born a little late. Not only does he have several adult brothers, but he also has two older brothers who are of similar age and are from a prominent Manchu family."

"But everything has two sides. Now that the Fourth Prince has come to the fore, no matter if he is the one who will eventually take the throne or not, the Eighth Prince just needs to leave the palace and build a residence safely, and wait to become a prince."

Concubine Rou agreed with that. "I am also optimistic about the Fourth Prince. I heard that the general election this year has been cancelled. The Emperor is specially selecting wives for the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Prince. The ladies who will come will all be noble ladies from the great Manchu families. It's a pity that the future Fourth Prince's wife will have to become a ready-made mother as soon as she enters the palace."

Although Fu Guiren was also worried for a moment about the Fourth Prince mentioned by Concubine Rou, she was a concubine who was born as a palace maid and could only reach the rank of a noble lady. How could she have the face and position to worry about the prince's wife who had a high probability of becoming the empress?

She just sighed and said, "Don't think it's hard to be the Fourth Lady, but as long as you can keep steady, your future will be bright."

Although it is not certain who the Fourth Lady is, she is very likely to compete for the position of Queen, which is really enviable.

Every time when Concubine Rou heard about the beauty pageant, she would always see the disparity between people. Fortunately, she is now the head of a palace, and there are still many legitimate ways for her to help the Eighth Prince earn some wealth. If it were two years ago, she would still only be jealous of the Queen Jiang Xinxin.

At first, she thought she was the victim of some conspiracy and almost became unrecognizable. However, after checking, she found that nothing had happened in her palace. Many times when it was late at night and everyone was asleep, she had to admit that she had bad thoughts simply because she saw the queen's wealth and status.

Seeing that she had no shortage of money now, Concubine Rou could be generous in her dealings with others. She immediately picked out a pair of gold bracelets inlaid with seven treasures for Concubine Fu to wear. Before they had even put away all the gifts in the room, the Eighth Prince came running back from outside. Fugui didn't even bother to continue refusing the set of pearl headwear that Concubine Rou had picked out, and she also came up to ask about the Eighth Prince's well-being.

As soon as the Eighth Prince opened his mouth, he wanted to eat prawns. Concubine Rou quickly ordered people to get some silver for the Eighth Prince. In an instant, the atmosphere in Louyue Kaiyun changed drastically.

There are strong winds in the South China Sea in summer. Jiang Xinxin endured the scorching heat this year while worrying about the safety of the fleet at sea. Her appetite decreased a bit. Jianqiu remembered that a few boils appeared at the corners of her mouth, but it was of no use. Then someone came to Jiuzhou Qingyan to announce the good news, saying that Concubine Shen was pregnant and it was almost a month now.

Jianqiu hurriedly arranged to look through the Tongshi, which was a necessary procedure for concubines when they were pregnant. After confirming that there was nothing wrong with Concubine Shen's pregnancy, Jiang Xinxin was about to give her a reward.

Jianqiu intentionally used the fact that Concubine Shen was pregnant to divert Jiang Xinxin's attention, and deliberately leaned close to Jiang Xinxin's ear and said, "This Miss Shen is quite capable. She was demoted to a commoner and sent to the cold palace, but she was still able to continue to be a concubine. Now there is good news again. I don't know what will happen this time."

Jiang Xinxin didn't quite react at first to why Jianqiu was so mean all of a sudden, but there were differences between close and distant relatives, not to mention that no one else heard Jianqiu's words, so she just reminded Jianqiu slightly, "Concubine Shen had the experience of being deposed as a commoner and sent to the cold palace once, and her behavior has changed greatly. It is impossible for her to do anything that will implicate the family again."

"Besides, the last time Concubine Shen got pregnant, she was framed. The Emperor disliked Concubine Shen because of her stupidity, not because she made any mistakes."

"What's more, the rules in the Imperial Hospital are becoming more and more strict nowadays. I heard that Concubine Shen has been in good health, and the emperor is also in good health. It is not uncommon for her to receive news of pregnancy."

Jianqiu pretended to admit her fault: "It was all my fault, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Jiang Xinxin had already reacted, and pointed at Jianqiu unhappily and said, "Is there anything we can't talk about? Why do I have to ask you to bring up Concubine Shen?"

Before Jiang Xinxin's reward was delivered, the fat orange man came back.

Logically speaking, Jiuzhou Qingyan was the "former dynasty" of the Old Summer Palace. Even though Jiang Xinxin was the queen, she was not supposed to live here. But for some reason, Fatty Ju actually sent Jiang Xinxin's gifts directly to Jiuzhou Qingyan and asked Jiang Xinxin to live with him.

Jiang Xinxin was too lazy to get up, so she just opened her mouth to greet him, "Your Majesty, are you here from Concubine Shen? Congratulations to Your Majesty on having another prince."

The fat orange man sat down next to Jiang Xinxin with a sword in his hand as if he was riding a horse. He picked up the teacup in front of Jiang Xinxin and took a few big gulps. Jianqiu next to him didn't know how to react.

Jiang Xinxin said disdainfully: "I deserve to die. I actually let the emperor drink my leftover tea——"

Fat Orange finally spoke after quenching his thirst: "Concubine Shen is really pregnant this time. Four imperial doctors have taken turns to check her, and her pulse must be fine. I plan to give her a title first, and then consider promotion after she gives birth safely."

This is serious business. Jiang Xinxin asked, "This title should be granted in a timely manner. I just wonder if the emperor wants to draft it himself, or let the Imperial Observatory send it to him first and then choose it?"

Big Fat Orange had obviously thought it through, and said directly: "I have drafted the word 'Ning', hoping that Concubine Ning's pregnancy will not cause any trouble."

Jiang Xinxin chuckled, but suggested, "Since Concubine Ning is only given a title and cannot be promoted, the reward should be two points higher."

Perhaps Fatty Orange was relying on the fact that there were quite a few princes and princesses in the palace, so he was not too happy and just nodded casually to express his opinion.