"Have everything in the various palaces registered and recorded, no need to present them," Su Jing said lightly. After giving birth, regardless of what kind of thoughts the various consorts had, they all sent people with gifts, but she wouldn't use any of them.

  Yao nodded, "I know, Your Majesty. However, there are a few special ones: the first is the Long Life Lock and Face Pendant sent by Empress Dowager, and the second is this Blood Red Warm Jade sent by Consort Shu."

  Su Jing took a look, both were not ordinary objects, exquisite craftsmanship, one glance was worth a lot of money. "Put them away for now, does Empress Shu have anything to say?"

  "It's nothing, just let the lady take good care of herself during her confinement and recover well."

  Su Jing nodded slightly, not entangling herself in this matter any further. "Let Qing Rou, Yi Xiang and Yun Xiang go take care of the Fourth Prince first, as well as Xia Momo. The palace here is not short on people. Tell them that they absolutely cannot make any mistakes."

  Even if she had given birth to the child, Su Jing still didn't feel at ease. Since ancient times, many children have died in the palace, and it's not uncommon for them to be unable to survive.

  Also, let Xiaolu go too, he's clever and can keep an eye on things," Su Jing thought for a moment, still feeling somewhat worried.

  "Yes, Your Ladyship can rest assured, I will instruct them accordingly," Xiang Ya naturally knew what her mistress was worried about and also knew what she should do.

  "Let the wet nurses take turns, every day, let Qing Meng check on them before they can feed the Fourth Prince. The food and clothing of the wet nurses must be carefully selected, with many taboos, including no jewelry or adornments allowed on their bodies. At all times, at least one of our own people must be by the Fourth Prince's side, and if there is even a hint of anything unusual, report it to me immediately."

  There are only a few people who can be dealt with, but the methods are endless, making it difficult to cope. Indeed, not a single detail can be neglected.

  Ting Yao nodded, "I'll personally see to it."

  "That's good," Su Jing nodded, "Did anything happen while I was unconscious?"

  Su Jingxiao had never asked herself if she missed anything in these short one or two days, or whether she really verified her own guesses and expectations.

  Yao shook her head, "There's nothing special, the empress hasn't given birth yet, but the emperor has ordered all other consorts to leave, only leaving Concubine Shu. The concubine is pregnant and not feeling well, yet she's still here waiting on you for a whole night, isn't that inappropriate?"

  Su Jing furrowed her brow, as Empress Shu's behavior was truly too unusual. From the previous helpfulness and never making things difficult for her, if it were outside the palace, perhaps she would believe in this genuine feeling. But within the deep palace, no matter what, she wouldn't believe it.

  Especially since they both still share one man.

  It's about grace and favor, it's about descendants, it's about life and death, it's about a bright future, it's about family honor, it's about wealth and glory. There are too many things involved, making it impossible for there to be any simple emotions in this matter.

  "What does Your Majesty have to say about this?"

  "Nothing, it seems that Concubine Shu has no ill intentions towards Your Ladyship. According to what you said, since entering the palace, she has been helping you in every way. I think there must be some ulterior motive, but I don't know what it is."

  Su Jing nodded in agreement. She thought so too. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world, everything comes with a price to pay.

  Shu Gui Fei has imperial favor, has children, and also has a good family background. In the future, she may go even further, it's not impossible. As for herself, there really isn't anything that can be utilized from her.

  "Is there anything else?"

  Ying Yao shook her head, hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to speak out, "Your Majesty, when you were giving birth, I heard that the imperial physician said you might have a difficult delivery, and the Emperor's decision was to prioritize the safety of the child."

  Su Jing nodded slightly, "I understand, when the fourth prince wakes up, bring him over, you can go down first."

  Yao Fu nodded and said, "Yes, I will withdraw."

  Su Jing saw her back figure leave, slowly moved her body, lay down, and had a complex and unspeakable heart, finally only hooked the corner of her mouth and closed her eyes to sleep.

  Time is quiet and good, why not cherish it.

  The time spent sitting in the month is extremely hard to bear, but fortunately it's winter, otherwise with doors and windows tightly closed, not washing for a long time, I'm afraid there will be a foul smell on my body that makes people sneeze.

  Now, although it's a bit uncomfortable, fortunately, it's just that her hair is a bit oily, and wrapping it with a headscarf doesn't show anything. At least he didn't seem to mind, still coming in every day to visit her, chat with her, tease the little one, without any hint of disgust on his face or in his eyes.

  He didn't mind, so she didn't either.

  Time flies so fast, and in the blink of an eye, it's already New Year's Eve. Su Jing had been sitting for over 20 days, but because Xia Momo said that sitting for a few more days would be good for her body, Zong Zhengjin knew about it and with a wave of his hand, he directly decided that she would still be lying in bed on New Year's Eve night.

  Coquetry, playing spoiled and protesting were all useless, in the end they could only accept their fate.

  Who made her "gentle and soft-spoken", while he was "overbearing"?

  After grumbling in her heart, she watched him leave with a gaze that sent off a ground full of resentment.

  Zong Zhengjin pretended not to see her resentful eyes, with a hint of smile in his own, and walked out with big strides. "The Emperor has arrived," the eunuch's sharp voice rang out, Zong Zhengjin collected the smile in his eyes and put on a normal expression, stepping inside.

  All officials and concubines rose to their feet and paid homage, shouting in unison: "We pay our respects to Your Majesty, may you live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, forever!"

  Zong Zhengjin was already used to this and felt a bit numb, not thinking there was anything wrong with it. He walked up to the front and casually waved his hand, "You may rise, there's no need for so much courtesy."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  After a simple and routine speech, Zong Zhengjin let them take their seats. He swept his eyes over the crowd of concubines below, knowing that he wouldn't be able to see the little woman's figure, but still feeling a slight sense of loss that couldn't be seen. The crowd in the hall surrounded him, but he didn't feel as lively and excited as he had imagined.

  On the contrary, there is a lack of interest.

  Apart from its significance, it's actually not that important. Most of the things that happened when his mother was alive, he had already forgotten. After his mother passed away, leaving him alone, every New Year's Eve was just a formality, attending banquets with his imperial brother and others, pretending to be happy, but actually feeling extremely hypocritical.

  Never having spent today as a real holiday, there is also no joy to speak of.

  The emperor did not speak, quietly appreciating the music and dance. The concubines below also dared not to make a sound, disturbing the emperor's interest, but only pretended to be focused on appreciation, with the corner of their eyes paying attention to the movements beside them.

  Qiao Jingyu saw that he was just sitting there alone, although his gaze was on the singing and dancing in the center of the hall, but she knew that his mind was not on this at all.

  She didn't know where his heart was, but she knew it wasn't here.

  She swept a glance over the crowd of consorts, their faces were beautiful and youthful, they were indeed those with good looks and pure features. However, after entering the palace for so long, each and every one of them had more or less tainted that pair of beautiful eyes with some greed, no longer pure, no longer clean, making people feel displeased at first sight.

  Qiao Jingyu saw her own reflection in them, but in reality, there wasn't much difference.

  "Your Majesty, today is New Year's Eve. Although I shouldn't be saying these things at this time, I have no choice but to speak out. I hope Your Majesty will grant my request," Qiao Jingyu withdrew her gaze and turned to the person in front of her.

  Zong Zhengjin also brought his gaze back upon hearing the sound, hooked up the corner of his mouth, and smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes. "What's wrong, my dear concubine? Just say it."

  Qiao Jingyu smiled lightly, "It's not a big deal, it's just that I'm pregnant and will probably give birth soon. With the affairs of the harem, I won't have as much energy to take care of everything. I wouldn't want to drag down all my sisters because of my own situation."

  The other consorts all rejoiced at this, regardless of whether it showed on their faces or not. However, they had already harbored greedy thoughts. With Shu Guifei's words, the imperial power was about to be handed over, and they would have an opportunity.

  Zong Zhengjin glanced at her bulging belly, furrowed his brow imperceptibly, and others were unclear about the truth of the matter, but he was clearer than anyone.

  The reason for keeping the "child" in her belly, creating such a false image, is only to ensure that the real child can be completely safe, and to attract other people's attention, blocking both open and secret arrows.

  But now the young woman's child has been safely born, and this "child" naturally no longer has much use.

  He couldn't guess what she was thinking, but Zong Zhengjin believed that she wouldn't act rashly and even more so, wouldn't challenge his bottom line. As for the rest, he could tolerate it.

  Nodding, "As Yisi said, who should the imperial power be handed over to?"

  Qiao Jingyu wasn't surprised that he agreed to her, she had always known where his bottom line was. As for the others, it was just mutual use. She smiled lightly and said, "I think, in terms of seniority and honor, this person is indeed not as good as Xian Fei's sister. Previously, when she assisted me in managing the six palaces, her performance wasn't bad either."

  Xian Fei didn't know what Shu Gui Fei's intention was, but she had a feeling that Shu Gui Fei wasn't being kind-hearted. The relationship between the two of them had always been superficially harmonious but inwardly discordant; when something unusual happened, there must be evil intentions involved.

  She shook her head repeatedly, "Where did Concubine Shu say that? I'm just a humble and ignorant concubine, only knowing some superficial things. If it weren't for Concubine Shu's guidance, the harem would have been messed up by me long ago. It's not worthy of your praise at all."

  Although this sentence is somewhat excessive and unfavorable to her next step, there is no way at present. For the time being, she really can't think of a better excuse.

  Palace Concubine (Yi Fu)

  Gong Shu