My father-in-law is Kangxi

Chapter 1862 Competitiveness

Several princes' palaces are next to each other and are all on the same street.

It is still the New Year, and every household has put up Spring Festival couplets and hung red lanterns, making the front of the door very bright.

When the small bow was hung at the gate of the Ninth Beile's Mansion, the people in the front and back streets had not noticed it yet, but the Eighth Beile's Mansion and the Fourth Beile's Mansion got the news one after another.

The Eighth Prince is in the study.

The New Year is coming. I don’t know how other people’s families are doing, but the Eighth Prince’s Mansion is no different from usual.

The Eighth Prince was thinking about the banquet to be held tomorrow and the grand court session the day after tomorrow.

When someone came to report that the Ninth Prince's Mansion was under threat, the Eighth Prince was a little confused.

The Ninth Prince got married in the same year as me, but two months later. It is said to be five years, but in fact it is only four and a half years.

After four and a half years of marriage, they had three sons and one daughter, all legitimate...

The Eighth Prince felt empty inside, thinking of the child he had lost in the first month of the thirty-eighth year.

If it is a prince, then he is his eldest son; if it is a princess, then he is his eldest daughter.

If she had not had the miscarriage that time, Fu Jin would not have been so upset that she had to go to Tongzhou and catch a cold, damaging her body.

If time could be turned back, and his wife gave birth successfully, would he have a second and third legitimate son now?
The Eighth Prince couldn't help but lower his head and look at his crotch.

The Ninth Prince was deceived by Nanny Liu when he was a child, which caused his spleen and stomach to become disordered and almost ruined his foundation.

The imperial physician treated him for a whole year before his health improved.

The Eighth Prince narrowed his eyes and wanted to check the prescription used by the Ninth Prince.

Is it the prescription from the Imperial Hospital that works, or is it the "Yanzi Pills" made by Le Fengming from Tongrentang that works?
After sitting at his desk, the Eighth Prince became deeply moved.

But he knew that there were too many people in the mansion and he couldn't try it here.

Otherwise, if it gets out, you will become a joke.

He thought of the villa located inside Chongwenmen...

*
Sibeile Mansion, main room.

After the couple had their meal, they were talking about hiring a female teacher for the Second Princess after the New Year.

The second princess is one year older than Honghui. She was born in 1944 and will be nine years old next year.

Because she was a princess, she had not hired a female teacher before.

She learned needlework from Mrs. Li, learned reading and accounting from the Fourth Lady, and had a wet nurse to teach her the rules.

"Let her try all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting to see what she likes..."

The Fourth Prince loves his daughter dearly.

The Fourth Lady thought for a moment and said, "Two years ago, Princess Li taught Princess Er how to play the zither. Princess Er prefers quietness and dislikes noise. After learning how to pluck the strings, she refused to learn any more. You can try some other things. Princess Er likes to listen to stories about talented women. After she learned to read, she likes to hear me read Nalan's poems to her the most..."

The Second Princess was raised in the main courtyard, and her relationship with her stepmother, the Fourth Lady, was no worse than her relationship with her biological mother.

The Fourth Lady had no biological daughter, so she raised the Second Princess for many years and treated her as her own daughter.

When the Fourth Prince thought of this, his eyes softened as he looked at the Fourth Lady.

Among so many princes' wives, only his own wife can treat concubines' children as her own.

Fu Jin is the daughter of a general and has an open mind.

The Fourth Prince said, "The Second Princess is about to be saved. Go and look for the children of the Nala family. Are there any with good qualifications that you can keep an eye on for two years..."

After hearing this, the Fourth Lady understood the Fourth Prince's intention.

This was because he hoped for a harmonious family, and was afraid that he would be wary of Li's mother and son, so he wanted to "strengthen the relationship."

The Fourth Lady did not nod, but looked at the Fourth Prince and said, "Master, although the Second Princess was not born by me, I raised her. If the children of the Nara family had become successful, they would not have fallen into such a state. My sisters-in-law have a normal relationship with me, and they are not kind people. I am reluctant to marry the Second Princess back. It is better for me to ask for a family with a clean family tradition among the nobles..."

The Fourth Prince was stunned. He didn't expect that the Fourth Lady would directly refuse the matter without even a second thought.

The Second Princess is the second child, but because the eldest daughter died young, the Second Princess is actually the Fourth Prince's first child, and she is determined to ask for grace to stay in Beijing.

If a son-in-law is not chosen from the Nara family, then one will be chosen from other families in the Eight Banners.

For the Fourth Lady, this marriage is beneficial and harmless.

The Fourth Prince looked at the Fourth Lady, wondering whether her words were sincere or just an excuse for refusal.

The Fourth Lady smiled bitterly and said, "I entered the palace when I was ten years old, and I have only met my nephews twice. If I regard them as more important than the master and the second princess just because of their blood and surname, then wouldn't I be a fool?"

She did not hide her estrangement from her natal family.

Apart from her father, she really didn't have much affection for her mother's family.

After hearing this, the Fourth Prince felt a little sorry for the Fourth Lady.

When she was in the palace in her early years, most of the bondservants were obsessed with wealth and fame, and they often grumbled behind the back about the decline of the family of the Fourth Lady, her "child bride".

Among the wives of the princes, the one who seemed to have the worst background was the Fifth Wife, but she had a grandfather who was a minister. As for the Fourth Wife, her father, who was a high-ranking official, had died many years ago. Among her brothers, the third brother inherited the title and was appointed as a second-class guard, and the eldest brother was also appointed as a flag official, but his rank was not high.

The second elder brother is idle and has a half-brother who is not yet an adult.

The Fourth Prince thought of Fusong and said, "Wait until he is five years old and let him come over to be a guard..."

Wu Ge is the half-brother of the Fourth Lady, and he is fifteen years old this year.

His biological mother died of illness, and he was raised by his stepmother since he was a child.

Among the brothers, the Fourth Lady should have been the closest to this younger brother, but she entered the palace early and the Fifth Lady was still young to remember things, so it would be a bit far-fetched to say that they had a deep sisterly love.

The Fourth Lady thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "It's not the lack of wealth that's worrying, but the imbalance of wealth. It's better to have a relationship with them that's neither too far nor too close..."

The key is that there is still an idle second brother. If the couple promotes Wu Ge, the other side will probably follow suit.

The Fourth Prince is not a partiality-oriented person, otherwise he would have mentioned the Nara family when he founded the government.

The Fourth Prince, however, had other plans. He promoted the Fifth Prince in order to check and balance the other brothers of the Nara family.

They must have something in mind before they will respect the old lady as their stepmother.

At this moment, there was a noise outside and the eunuch in the front yard came over to report.

"Master, Fu Jin, the Ninth Prince's Mansion hung up the bow two quarters of an hour ago..."

The Fourth Prince and the Fourth Lady looked at each other in surprise.

The Fourth Lady expressed her concern and asked, "They said it was around the Lantern Festival, why did it start so early?"

Living next to each other, the Fourth Lady and Shushu were not only sisters-in-law, but also cousins, and they had gotten along well in the past few years. She couldn't sit still, so she stood up and said, "Master, let's go and take a look, otherwise I'm really worried."

The Fourth Prince was always a worrier and was also thinking about it, so he said, "Then let's go and take a look."

This is the advantage of living close to home. You don’t even have to worry about curfew.

Because during curfew, the intersections are blocked.

But there is no curfew yet.

The couple changed into thick clothes and went to the Ninth Prince's Mansion.

It was only half a mile away, so the couple didn't call a taxi. They just walked over with lanterns in hand.

It happened that the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince were sending Qi Xi's family out.

Jueluo said to the Ninth Prince, "I will come here with the county lady on the second day of the new year."

The Ninth Prince said, "What about your situation? It's the New Year and things are busy. How about you come back a few days later?"

It was originally agreed that Jueluo would come to take care of her daughter during the postpartum period, but tomorrow is the 30th and they have to worship their ancestors. And on the first day of the new year, Gaoming will have to go to the palace to pay his respects to the empress dowager.

I really can't spare the time these two days.

Jueluo said: "Just be busy on the 30th and the first day, it won't be a problem."

The Ninth Prince said: "It depends on your convenience..."

The sound of clappers could be heard in the distance, and curfew would be in another quarter of an hour.

Qi Xi's family didn't want to delay any longer and prepared to leave.

At this time, the Fourth Prince and his wife were seen holding lanterns and approaching from afar.

"Fourth brother, fourth sister-in-law..."

The Ninth Prince lowered his hands and said, "How are you two..."

The Tenth Prince was standing nearby and also followed suit to greet them.

The Fourth Prince nodded, and then looked at Qi Xi's family.

After Qi Xi's family paid their respects, they apologized and left.

The Fourth Prince then looked at the Ninth Prince and said, "I heard from the servants that you have a bow hanging here? Did your sister-in-law give birth to a little prince?"

The Ninth Prince was very proud when he heard this and said, "Yes, my brother's wife gave birth to a Baturu, and the little prince weighed seven and a half kilograms..."

At this point, he said, "The midwife said that in 30 years of delivering babies, this is the first time she's seen such a chubby baby!"

Needless to say, just looking at the child's physique, he must have inherited the ten powers from his father.

Perhaps the disciple is better than the master, and it is not just the ten powers.

The Fourth Prince looked at his smug expression and was happy for him, which also aroused his hidden competitive spirit.

Three legitimate sons, the first among all the princes.

When people outside talk about the Ninth Prince, they say he is weak and has a bad temper, but when people mention the Ninth Prince's Mansion, they know that he and his wife have a good relationship and live a prosperous life.

Although his relationship with his wife was good, their offspring were ordinary. After more than ten years of marriage, they only had two sons.

The Fourth Prince was immediately dissatisfied...

*
In the delivery room, Shushu had already woken up and was talking to the Tenth Lady.

Seeing that the Tenth Prince did not return home for dinner, the Tenth Lady sent someone to inquire about him. Only then did she learn that Shushu had given birth, and she hurried over to check...

(End of this chapter)