Chapter 3: The Third Day Dispute
On the day of the Fourth Prince's eldest son's third birthday, the mansion had already made arrangements.
Crown Prince Yinreng came to watch the ceremony with a group of brothers. The eldest prince Yinzhi felt annoyed when he saw that all his brothers followed the lead of the crown prince. He was only half a step behind the crown prince and looked like he would be ahead of the crown prince at any minute.
The prince showed no sign of displeasure: "Congratulations, fourth brother, on having a legitimate son. You must work even harder for the Emperor in the future."
A group of princes followed suit and congratulated him.
"Where's my little nephew? Bring him out to show me." The fourteenth prince Yinzhen was full of curiosity. It would be interesting if the fourth brother, who was a big iceberg, gave birth to a small iceberg.
By then, their family of three can live directly in the cold storage.
The masters were all in the front yard, and Yinzhen greeted them.
The wives naturally came to the backyard and were led by the Crown Princess to visit Yihuan.
Yihuan had already dressed up and was ready to pay her respects to the Crown Princess.
Guaerjia waited for Yihuan to finish her formalities before calling out, "Fourth brother's wife has just given birth, there's no need to be so polite. Where's the little prince? Hurry and bring him out so we can share in the good fortune."
Although Guaerjia was the prince's principal wife, it was no secret that the concubine Lijia was more favored. After all, all the eldest sons were born from Lijia's belly, but there was no movement on her side, and she was very anxious inside.
The Fourth Prince favors Li more. The person in front of him was originally a pitiful person, but in the blink of an eye, she has a legitimate eldest son. In the future, even for the sake of this child, the Fourth Prince will respect her.
Guaerjia had a lot of thoughts in her mind and felt a little unfair. They were both legitimate wives, so why could she have children even though she was not favored, while she was not so lucky.
Honghui is awake, which is rare. He stares at you with his grape-sized eyes and opens his arms to ask Yihuan for a hug.
After spending these few days together, Honghui completely remembered his mother's smell.
Guaerjia smiled and stretched out her hand: "Give me a hug."
The wet nurse looked at Yihuan hesitantly. The Crown Princess was still wearing armor on her hands. The child's face was tender, and if she was accidentally scratched, the adults would be heartbroken.
Yihuan took it and patted it twice: "This kid eats more and more every day. I can't hold him anymore. Is Su Peisheng here? You carry him to the front yard and tell me that the child is too young to be exposed to the wind."
Upon hearing this, the wet nurse carried the baby away.
Guaerjia sneered, "Fourth brother's wife is really careful. I think I still have some strength. Is the eldest brother made of porcelain and will break if touched?"
Yihuan rubbed her waist which was a little sore from sitting down: "Is the Crown Princess cursing your nephew? I dare not accept this question. I must send someone to the front yard to ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Is this the etiquette for you to visit the house?"
Yihuan didn't give the Crown Princess any good treatment for daring to curse Honghui.
"How outrageous!" Guaerjia slammed the table and said angrily.
"Crown Princess, this is the Fourth Prince's residence. Please calm down. It is understandable that Fourth Prince's wife is emotionally agitated after giving birth, but as their sisters-in-law, our job is not to tolerate these little ones." The eldest prince's wife, Irgen Jueluo, said softly. She was pale and her breath was unsteady, but she was confident.
The eldest prince Yinzhi dotes on her almost exclusively. Although she is in poor health, the rest of the people in the mansion are just decorations. The confidence given by her husband makes her not afraid to talk to the Crown Princess.
Seeing that the eldest wife had given her a step, Yihuan also stepped down: "The third-day bathing ceremony is about to begin, let's get ready and go to the front yard."***
Soon, the men in the front yard also knew about the quarrel between the wives. The eldest prince Yinzhi looked at the darling in Yinzhen's arms and said, "Prince, I am a rough man and I will speak frankly. The Crown Princess's words are really unpleasant to hear. Our little nephew will surely live a long life, right?"
Yinzhen's expression was as cold and calm as ever, with only a hint of anger in his eyes: "It's just a quarrel between women. Who has the patience to listen to this? Brothers, don't take it seriously."
There is no need to say more about the Crown Prince's dissatisfaction with the Crown Princess.
At the beginning of the third day of the lunar year, the servants put water boiled with locust leaves and wormwood into the bathtub. The weather in March was still a bit cold, so the water used was boiled hot water.
The prince took off a jade pendant from his body and put it in the basin. He had originally prepared something else, but now it seemed that the gift had to be heavier. What he took off was a relic left by the late queen, which she had worn since she was a child, and it had a special meaning.
"Prince, this jade pendant..." Yinzhen looked at it and was about to refuse.
"It's okay. I have a connection with him." The prince patted Yinzhen on the shoulder, signaling him to relax.
The brothers who followed also put the things they had prepared in it, which was considered as adding to the basin.
The ninth prince Yinzhen directly put in a gold ingot, the thirteenth prince Yinxiang put in a writing brush, and the fourteenth prince Yinzhen put in a jade bow he had carved himself, which looked delicate and lovely.
The midwife watched the masters fill the basins with baby's milk, said auspicious words, stirred the water in the basin, and gently patted the baby's body three times with the white part of the scallion.
Being treated like this suddenly, Honghui cried out "Wow" in grievance, and his voice was very loud.
The midwife smiled even more happily, and Honghui's uncles and aunts congratulated Yinzhen one after another, saying that this was a healthy child.
Honghui didn’t understand why everyone was so happy even though the baby was beaten.
"The imperial edict has arrived--" Yinzhen's previous children could not be raised, and when he heard that this time a legitimate eldest son was born, Kangxi wanted to leave blessings for this grandson, so he directly gave him a name.
Sure enough, the little fat boy in this life is still called Honghui. Yihuan looked at her still crying son with a smile, and the happiness in her heart was so full that it was about to overflow.
Since she couldn't be exposed to the wind right after giving birth, Yihuan quickly carried the child back to the yard, leaving Yinzhen to entertain the guests.
Yihuan couldn't go out of the Fourth Prince's house, Li was pregnant, and Song was a taciturn person. It was only after the help of the Third Lady Dong'e and the Empress Defei sent a nanny to take care of the female relatives that things were settled.
"Remember to prepare some hangover soup for me." Yihua took off her clothes and lay on the bed comfortably. Hongxiao massaged her waist. "Send it over after the guests leave. Is Honghui still crying?"
"The eldest prince is tired. The wet nurse coaxed him into falling asleep after feeding him." Hong Xiao replied.
"Is there someone watching the eldest princess? The mansion is in such chaos today, nothing can happen to her." Yihuan continued to ask.
Yu Xiao stepped up her pressure: "Don't worry, Fu Jin, Nanny Chen has sent someone to keep an eye on the eldest princess. She didn't leave the East Courtyard today, and Li Gege is also holding her."
That's all. For Yinzhen's eldest daughter, Yihuan can only fulfill her responsibilities as a concubine. It would be a lie to say that she has a loving motherly heart.
Her heart is very small and can only accommodate Honghui at present, and at most one more Yinzhen.