The Good Concubine of the Qing Dynasty [Red Mansion]

The news of Luoyu’s pregnancy spread, and it didn’t take long for the Concubine De to learn about it.

She recalled that she had once considered marrying her off to the Fourteenth Prince. Not only did her father have influence, but in terms of offspring, she was indeed a lucky match. What a pity.

However, her Fourteenth Prince was doing well now; he already had a legitimate son, and the mother of his other son was also of Manchu descent.

Thinking of this, she let it go.

Concubine De didn’t care much, but there were still many who did.

Wang Xifeng had finally managed to piece together a gift that would satisfy Grandmother Jia. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she received a letter from her cousin, Wang Xiluan.

She could be said to be questioning her, asking whether this was fake news. The tone of the letter made Wang Xifeng very angry. What was she doing?

Did she still remember that she was a Gege of the Pingjun Wangfu?

Her eyes should only be for the prince.

The Lin family was just an ordinary relative! A distant relative!

Fortunately, she still knew that some things should not be written in the letter. If others saw it, they might think that she and Luoyu had some kind of conflict, without considering other possibilities.

If Chenyu’s name appeared in the letter and was seen by someone else, it could easily be taken out of context, leading to a major incident.

“What a troublesome girl!” If something happened to her, the Wang family would be implicated as well.

Even all the Wang family’s daughters would be overshadowed.

Therefore, Wang Xifeng could not sit still. She returned to her natal family and clearly explained the seriousness of the situation to her aunt. She had already mentioned it last time, but evidently, her aunt hadn’t taken it to heart.

This is not something that can be overlooked.

Madam Wang indeed understood the importance of this matter and soon found an opportunity to visit the Pingjun Wangfu.

This was her second time discussing this issue with her daughter.

What they talked about in the courtyard was inaudible to others; the area was cleared in advance. Only a few words were overheard, and someone secretly found a chance to report what they had eavesdropped on.

“Lin family, pregnant?”

Mrs Zhen immediately connected the dots. The Lin family indeed had a daughter who married into the Fourth Beile’s residence and was already pregnant. Why were they discussing this matter so cautiously?

They even sent away the servants, so there must be something else.

Mrs Zhen: “Is that all you heard?”

Nanny: “Yes, their voices were not loud, and I only overheard it when they suddenly became excited.”

Mrs Zhen nodded, “Keep an eye on it.”

Nanny replied, “Yes.”

In February, the Emperor made an inspection tour to the outskirts of the capital and brought several princes along with him.

There were the Eldest Prince, the Crown Prince, the Fourth Prince, the Ninth Prince, and the Thirteenth Prince.

Then the Emperor immediately followed up with a southern tour to inspect the rivers.

Not only the princes were busy, but Lin Ruhai was also extremely occupied.

He was going along on the southern tour to check on the salt administration there.

Yun Shuyou had packed everything up. Besides the long-time attendants and a servant, he wouldn’t take anyone else with him, as there was limited space on the boat.

The old lady was somewhat worried; would anything happen if he went to Jiangnan?

Lin Ruhai was not completely unconcerned, but after his earlier troubles in Yangzhou, he had calmed down a lot. This time he was going for an inspection, and the reforms had only just begun, so it shouldn’t be that dangerous.

Lin Ruhai left, and with his departure, the focus of the household shifted to Chenyu, who was going to take the provincial examination this year.

Soon, he would also head south to meet with his mentor and then go directly to Suzhou for the exam.

After a while, he set off south. With the two men gone, the household was left with only a few female members, and the old lady reduced her social visits.

Yun Shuyou didn’t feel bored at all; she still had a lot to do.

She was skilled in cultivation and grew things at home. The old lady and Lin Ruhai didn’t pay much attention to it because most of what she raised were flowers and plants, which made the Lin family’s residence even more beautiful.

Because of this beauty, some people even eyed the Lin family’s garden, saying that if it were in the outside world, they would be willing to pay to rent it for entertaining other guests.

This was a compliment.

There were many such places in the capital, like the Plum Garden and the Bamboo Garden, which were gardens specifically maintained by people and publicly rented out to others.

Once rented, anyone could go in.

As long as a bit of silver is paid, many people in the capital engage in this business. The living pressure in the capital is too great, and many small officials cannot afford to maintain their own gardens. With places like this, they only need to spend a little money to rent it when needed.

This way, they can maintain their dignity while also saving money.

However, what Yun Shuyou is planting now isn’t just those ornamental flowers and plants; she has started growing some vegetables and fruits.

In this era, many vegetables and fruits have already come into circulation, but due to inconvenient transportation and communication, people living just over a mountain may be unaware of the vast changes happening outside.

She had her people collect these fruit seeds, selected some, and planted them. When Lin Daiyu first saw them, she was quite curious and asked, “What kind of flowers are these?”

She didn’t recognize them, but the maid did: “These are vegetable seedlings.”

“Why has Aunt Yun suddenly started planting these?”

Yun Shuyou replied, “I find it interesting, and it doesn’t affect the aesthetics.”

She planted them in the corner of the courtyard.

Lin Daiyu nodded; some of them did indeed look beautiful.

Yun Shuyou was laying the groundwork in advance.

If someone pointed out that it was inappropriate, she would have someone take care of it. But since no one said anything, she decided not to remove them.

When Lin Ruhai returned, he saw the bountiful vegetables.

Lin Ruhai: “…”

Although they were planted in the corner, the fruits hanging from the vines were indeed very eye-catching.

Lin Ruhai certainly recognized what these were; he wasn’t unfamiliar with rural life.

After taking a look around, he had to admit that everyone has their own expertise.

“Shuyou, you’re not only good at raising flowers and plants, but you also do a great job with these.”

Well, this is what an experienced old farmer would produce.

Yun Shuyou smiled brightly, “Thank you for the compliment, my lord. Recently, our household’s vegetable supply is almost self-sufficient, which helps save on some expenses for the household.”

Of course, this was an exaggerated statement.

The amount of vegetables needed by the Lin family could be covered, but if you included the household staff and family members, it would definitely not be enough.

She hadn’t planted that much.

Lin Ruhai couldn’t help but smile.

Yun Shuyou said, “My lord, I have prepared a surprise for you.”

Lin Ruhai raised an eyebrow, “What surprise?”

Yun Shuyou replied, “The timing of your return is perfect. If you had come back a little later, all these flowers would have bloomed, and you would have missed it.”

Lin Ruhai followed Yun Shuyou to a corner and was momentarily speechless.

The “Eighteen Scholars” camellia doesn’t refer to having eighteen different colors; instead, the name comes from the arrangement of its petals, which typically has eighteen layers.

Most of the flowers are in shades of pink, red, and white.

However, the plant before him had pure white, pure red, pure pink, and also purple, green, yellow… making up a total of eighteen colors!

Lin Ruohai was silent for a moment before asking, “How… did you manage to cultivate this?”

Yun Shuyou replied, “Grafting.”

This was something she had worked hard to grow. Although the colors of the flowers that would bloom in the future were uncertain, for now, they looked quite pleasing to the eye.

Lin Ruhai let out a breath, his eyes sparkling with delight.

Grafting wasn’t anything new.

However, at first glance, he couldn’t see any signs of grafting.

Moreover, the colors of these flowers were incredibly vibrant.

Lin Ruhai spent a long time in front of this “Eighteen Scholars” camellia, composing two poems and painting a picture.

Clearly, he was very pleased with this surprise.

After enjoying the flowers for three days, Lin Ruhai, suppressing his reluctance, presented the pot of flowers as a tribute to the emperor.

As a minister, he also needed to show his capabilities.

Yun Shuyou smiled as she watched this scene unfold; she had anticipated it.

Growing another pot, now that she had this experience, wouldn’t be too difficult, but rarity makes things valuable.

Yun Shuyou didn’t plan to grow another pot in the coming years.

After Lin Ruhai presented the flowers, Kangxi was indeed pleased to see the pot of flowers. Kangxi was a ruler with a good memory; he remembered Yun Shuyou and the rewards he had given her. Upon receiving the flowers, he even took the initiative to ask about her recent situation.

Yun Shuyou was laying the groundwork for the future.

As Luoyu’s pregnancy progressed, she began to show quite early. Luoyu noticed this and had her suspicions.

When Yun Shuyou visited later, she confirmed it; she heard two fetal heartbeats and sensed two life forces.

Upon receiving this news, far from being happy, Yun Shuyou felt a toothache.

She was having twins, and Luoyu was also pregnant with twins, while Yun Shuyou’s maternal grandmother had also given birth to twins.

The gene for having twins had been passed down, and Yun Shuyou didn’t know whether they were boys or girls. Fortunately, this was the residence of a prince.

Twin sons among the princes would be seen as a bad omen, so only one could be kept.

Because twins often look similar, if one were to inherit the position and the other killed him to take the throne, others might not even notice.

However, this was the Fourth Prince’s residence, not that of a prince, and there was still the Crown Prince above him.

At this time, the Crown Prince’s position was still very stable.

So even if Luoyu gave birth to twins, there weren’t as many taboos.

And what if they were a pair of dragon and phoenix twins?

Or twin daughters?

Rather than worrying about that, it was better to be concerned about whether the twins could be born safely and whether they could be raised well.

In this era, the infant mortality rate was very high, and the mortality rate for twins was even higher.

When her pregnancy advanced a bit, the court physician was also able to diagnose it when checking the fetal heartbeat.

He should have diagnosed it earlier, but he waited until now to say something out of caution.

These court physicians have always acted this way.

Unless they are absolutely certain, they won’t say anything.

This is also determined by the special nature of their patients.

For an ordinary family, it’s just an empty surprise, but for royalty? If they get angry, you might end up losing your head.

“Congratulations to the Concubine, and congratulations to the Prince; the Concubine is expecting twins.”

Luoyu touched her belly, feeling a mix of emotions, while the Fourth Prince, after his initial joy, began to worry.

Twins are not easy to deliver, and it’s not easy to raise them either.

He had already lost quite a few children.

So this news was kept secret by the Fourth Prince, who instructed everyone, “Do not let this be known.”

Aside from the Main Wife, no one else was aware.

However, as her pregnancy progressed and people saw Luoyu visiting to pay her respects with her noticeably larger belly, others began to guess.

There were other pregnant women in the household, but Luoyu’s belly was larger than average.

Moreover, considering that she herself was a twin, the likelihood of her having twins was quite high.

The atmosphere around everyone was filled with a sour tension: “…”

How could she be so fortunate?!

She had two children all at once?!

As a result, some people couldn’t hold back any longer.