0p0 Chapter 206 44 Stone Mother Arrives
Chapter 206 44 Stone Mother Arrives
The next day, the Fourth Prince returned to Changchun Garden from the Forbidden City.
When he came back, he first went to pay his respects to Kangxi. Kangxi was busy with government affairs and did not see the Fourth Prince. He only asked Liang Jiugong to tell the Fourth Prince to ask his concubine to disturb Concubine Xian less in the future.
When the Fourth Prince received the message, he still looked stern, but his hands hanging by his sides were clenched.
Then he went to pay his respects to Concubine De.
Defei was playing with the three-year-old Fourteenth Prince, leaving the Fourth Prince aside. After a long while, she seemed to have just realized what was going on. She simply greeted him indifferently and then mentioned the Fourth Prince's visit to the Forbidden City.
"I am very happy to see that you value your future wife so much. Since you value her so much, let Rongyue come out to entertain you on the wedding day. She is your concubine, and having her come out to entertain you will also bring honor to your wife."
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince raised his head abruptly. This action was not at all to save the First Wife's face, but rather more like a demonstration.
Moreover, Shi Rongyue was pregnant. Although he no longer liked her and she had even tricked him into drinking the love wine in order to consummate their marriage, the baby in her belly was his first child after all, and it meant a lot to him whether it was a boy or a girl.
On the wedding day, there were many people there, and it would be easy for something to go wrong if Shi Rongyue, who was pregnant, came out to entertain them. Even if he didn't want to see Shi Rongyue, he had to see the child, so the Fourth Prince was ready to decline.
However, Concubine De did not give the Fourth Prince a chance to refuse. She waved her hand and said:
"Okay, you must be tired after traveling all the way, go back and rest!"
After saying that, she turned around and hugged the Fourteenth Prince and shook the rattle, her expression as gentle as water. The Fourth Prince looked at this scene, his thin lips suddenly pressed into a straight line, and after a pause, he turned and left.
In the Fourth Prince's courtyard, Shi Rongyue was surprised that the Fourth Prince came to see her as soon as he returned. However, when she heard the Fourth Prince convey Kangxi's words, her face turned pale.
She still remembered the terrifying look in Kangxi's eyes when he wanted to deal with her after the aphrodisiac incident. She was instantly sweating profusely and said with a pale face:
"...I understand. I will not disturb Empress Xian unless necessary in the future."
The Fourth Prince saw through Shi Rongyue's fear and did not comfort her. He just nodded with a cold face and then brought up what Concubine De said.
"You're only one month pregnant."
As he said this, he couldn't help but take a look at Shi Rongyue's flat belly. No matter how cold and indifferent a person is, he still couldn't remain calm when he learned that he was pregnant.
"It's not even three months until the wedding, so I can just show up and I'll let Madam Zhou take care of the rest."
Shi Rongyue was stunned. What did they mean by asking her to be the one to host Ulanala and He Sui's wedding?
But just when she was about to explode, she suddenly had an idea. She was pregnant with the Fourth Prince's child. If she showed up to entertain Ulanala Hesui with her belly bulging on the day of her wedding with the Fourth Prince, Ulanala Hesui would definitely be furious.
Thinking of the gloomy faces of Ulanala and Sui on the wedding day, Rongyue bit her lip tightly, almost laughing, and said quickly:
"Thank you for your concern, Master. I will listen to you."
After hearing this, the Fourth Prince just looked at her coldly and left, but Shi Rongyue was very happy.
As expected, after she had a child, the Fourth Prince began to pay attention to her and did not even mention her plan to consummate the marriage. Then, when she gave birth to the Fourth Prince's eldest son, the Fourth Prince would definitely accept her completely.
Shi Rongyue's good mood continued until the next day, because Shi Nanxi sent someone to tell her that she had conveyed the imperial edict to Shi's mother, and Shi's mother would arrive at Changchun Garden that afternoon.
……
Danningju, study.
Shi Nanxi was looking at the account books. These account books were sent by the three concubines of Hui Derong, who said that Shi Nanxi should look at them and learn from them first.
"Madam, you have been watching for the whole morning. Drink some tea first and give your eyes a rest."
Hongying felt heartbroken when she saw the Empress writing and drawing at her desk for a long time without moving.
Upon hearing this, Shi Nanxi stopped howling, pinched the Qingming points of both eyes, took the tea and drank several sips, then said slowly:
"These account books are so fragmented that they make one's head swell."
Hongying was worried after hearing this:
"As your majesty expected, Concubine Hui and the others don't want to be given a share of power, so they deliberately sent so many account books to make things difficult for you."
Shi Nanxi shook her head after hearing this, glanced at the pile of account books on the table, and curled her lips:
"How can this be considered as making things difficult? It was Concubine Hui and the others who were kind and generous. They specially sent the account book to me so that I can be familiar with palace affairs. If I want to manage the harem with them, I must read and learn this."
Although she said this, there was no smile in Shi Nanxi's eyes.
Hongying looked at the Empress with some confusion.
Nanny Yang explained:
"There are so many account books. It will take a month to read them all. Reading them all does not mean you understand them. In addition to account books and being familiar with the affairs, the most important thing in managing the harem is people, reliable and loyal people."
"If there is no reliable and loyal person, the other party will pretend to obey but actually disobey, deceive the superiors and lie to the subordinates, and Your Majesty will be unable to do anything about it. On the contrary, if something goes wrong, Your Majesty will be held responsible. Fortunately, Your Majesty has a plan in mind, otherwise I'm afraid you won't know where to start now."
Hongying understood, but she had confidence in her own queen.
"So that's how it is. They wanted to make fun of the Queen, but they didn't know that the Queen had a plan. If there is no loyal person, then the Queen will create a loyal person."
Nanny Yang didn't say anything. She just looked at the empress and had great confidence in her. The empress had been looking at the account books these days, but the things she had previously asked them to do had made progress and the time would soon come.
Shi Nanxi looked at the two people's self-confidence and laughed. She put down the tea bowl, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and said:
"Since the emperor trusts me and asks me to help manage the six palaces, I naturally cannot live up to the emperor's trust, nor can I let Concubine Hui and her people laugh at me. What happened to Zixia and Ah Zao?"
Hongying heard this and said quickly:
"Zixia and Azao were overjoyed to hear the news from me, but they were worried that it would cause trouble for you. They are very dedicated to your instructions and will act immediately as long as you give the order."
Shi Nanxi nodded:
"I have no doubt about the two of them. Let them wait a little longer. After the palace offers sacrifices, they can take my orders and act."
Hongying obeyed the order, her eyes shining. Zixia and Azao would soon be able to serve the Empress together with them.
At this time, Qing'er came in and reported:
"My lady, Madam Shi is here."
The study suddenly became quiet.
Shi Nanxi's expression remained unchanged, and she gave a faint instruction:
"Please go to the side hall."
After Qing'er left, the study was silent. After a while, Shi Nanxi said with a complicated expression:
"Mother came so early. It seems that she is really worried about Shi Rongyue. She couldn't wait to come to Changchun Garden as soon as she received the news."
Hongying had lived in the Shi Mansion before and knew the relationship between the Empress and her mother, so she wanted to comfort her.
However, Shi Nanxi only shows her original personality. In ancient times, filial piety was the most important thing. She could lose her sisterly love for Shi Rongyue, but she could not lose her motherly love for her mother.
After saying that, without giving anyone a chance to speak, he stood up and left the study.
Dan Ning lived in a side hall. Shi Mu had been looking at him expressionlessly since she came in. Her eyes were sharper than Shi Rongyue's.
After reading it, he knew that Shi Nanxi entered the palace only because of Rongyue's blessing, and was favored by the emperor, and everything was an illusion. But seeing the sickly girl whom he looked down upon before living so well now, he still felt uncomfortable.