Transmigrated into a Qing Dynasty concubine and asked the system to help me raise my children

The old city of Beijing seemed to have no autumn. Once summer passed and the autumn rain fell, winter came.

After winter came, Concubine Jia became too ill to get up.

After all, she was his favorite concubine who gave birth to four sons, so Qianlong would go to see her whenever he had time.

However, Concubine Jia followed the example of Lady Li of the Han Dynasty. She did not want Emperor Qianlong to see her haggard and dying appearance, so she only spoke to Qianlong through the screen.

"I do not ask for honor after my death. I only ask that Your Majesty find a good adoptive mother for the Eleventh Prince. Then I can rest in peace in my nineteenth century." Concubine Jia used up almost all of her strength to say this one sentence in a halting manner.

Qianlong pondered and said, "Don't say such depressing words. You should take care of your health as soon as possible."

Concubine Jia smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, I know my condition, and I'm sure you know it too. The imperial doctors are not blind or foolish, so please don't comfort me. I don't ask for anything else, I just want a promise from you before I die."

Qianlong sighed and said, "You are just overthinking. Isn't Yongyan my son? I will naturally arrange his future life."

In order to reassure Concubine Jia, he told her his plan: "There are only a few concubines above the rank of concubine. The Queen cannot raise another child. The twelfth prince is still young, and she is pregnant with another one. As for Concubine Chun, she also has several children. Concubine Yu already has the fifth prince, and Concubine Shu has given birth before. I still prefer Concubine Shu."

Concubine Jia secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She knew it wouldn't be the Queen, but fortunately it wasn't Concubine Ling either. If it was Concubine Shu, it would be acceptable.

"I thank the emperor for his grace."

Qianlong nodded, knowing that Concubine Jia was satisfied. After all, Concubine Shu had a good family background and was talented in literature, so raising the eleventh prince would not be a problem.

After that, Qianlong no longer came, but he often sent people to inquire and show concern.

No matter how much "care" was given, Concubine Jia still could not survive the winter of the 20th year of Qianlong's reign. At the end of the winter month, Concubine Jia passed away.

As it happened, Shen Jiang was already nine months pregnant and was due to give birth in another month, so it was not appropriate for her to hold a funeral for Concubine Jia. So, the matter fell on Concubine Chun, Concubine Shu, Concubine Yu and Concubine Ling.

Fortunately, there were precedents for everything, so they followed them and didn't make any mistakes.

On the twenty-first day of the twelfth lunar month, Shen Jiang gave birth to the Thirteenth Prince.

Yongqi and Erhe surrounded the carriage and waited for a long time but did not see the Thirteenth Prince open his eyes. They expressed their disappointment: "Enie, why is your brother sleeping all the time?"

Aunt Rong smiled and said, "My two young masters, the Thirteenth Prince is still young, and he just sleeps all day long!"

Shen Jiang said: "Newborn babies are all like this. When you were just born, you also slept all day long and cried for milk when you were hungry."

Yongqi covered his eyes and said, "I didn't!"

Erhe laughed loudly, and after laughing twice, he quickly covered his mouth for fear of waking up his brother.

She whispered to Yongqi: "Brother, let's go out and play, don't bother my brother."

Yongqi nodded, and the brother and sister went out hand in hand. Mainly because it was boring to stay here, and the younger brother was too young to play with them.

Rong Mama smiled lovingly, brought a bowl of hot noodle soup and fed it to Shen Jiang herself. She said, "The master and the queen are finally happy this time. With two princes by her side, there is hope for the future."

Shen Jiang smiled slightly and said, "Yes!"

No matter what, she had to keep her position as queen and her status as the legitimate son of Yongqi and the Thirteenth Prince.

Because she knew that Qianlong had a mysterious yearning for a legitimate son. If Empress Xiaoxian was still alive and all the children she had given birth to were still alive, the crown prince must be Empress Xiaoxian's child.

Later, although Qianlong also valued the fifth prince, he did not give the fifth prince the imperial edict of succession and sealed it behind the plaque with the words "Zhengda Guangming".

And who could have known that the Fifth Prince would die young when he had already reached adulthood!

Speaking of the untimely death of the Fifth Prince, Shen Jiang secretly thought: "Could there be another reason? After all, this is not orthodox history."

However, the Fifth Prince is only fourteen years old now. He is in good health and enjoys eating. He doesn't look like he will die early.

On the occasion of Thirteenth Prince’s third-day bathing ceremony, all the palace people came to visit the Queen.

It was the coldest time of the year, and even though the charcoal brazier in the room was burning brightly, the Thirteenth Prince was still crying out in pain from the cold, with his hands and feet turning red from the cold.

Shen Jiang couldn't bear to see this and quickly asked the system to cheat.

The concubines also said: "Poor little prince, hurry up!"

Concubine Chun thought of this summer and said with a smile: "At that time, Princess Xin's sixth daughter had her third birthday. We all said that life was good and the child was not afraid of the cold, but Princess Xin said that it was hard for her!"

Xinpin blushed and said, "I'm afraid the Queen also wants to give birth to the baby in the summer."

Shen Jiang said: "That's right, I would rather switch with you and have a baby."

Everyone talked and laughed as they put gold and silver ingots into the bowl, and after eating, they went their separate ways. Shen Jiang couldn't help but ask Shu Fei how the eleventh prince was doing.

Shu Fei smiled faintly and said, "With so many breast protectors, I naturally can't treat the Eleventh Prince badly."

Shen Jiang said: "He lost his mother suddenly. If you treat him well, he will definitely appreciate your kindness."

Shu Fei nodded: "I understand." She was also a person who had lost her loved ones, how could she not understand?

New Year's Day is approaching, and Shen Jiang is still in confinement, so all matters concerning the palace banquets are still jointly managed by the four concubines headed by Concubine Chun.

It was not until early February that Shen Jiang's postpartum period ended and she took back control of the palace affairs.

However, the beginning of this year was not smooth. In March, news of the epidemic came from the south of the Yangtze River.

Because of the flood in the south of the Yangtze River last year, a major epidemic followed a major disaster, so this year's epidemic spread very quickly. In just four months, serious disasters occurred in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Shandong and other provinces.

Qianlong discussed disaster relief matters with his ministers in the court every day and rarely set foot in the harem.

Shen Jiang was also happy and relaxed, guarding her own Yiku Palace and taking care of several children.

Xinpin would sometimes bring the Sixth Princess to play, and occasionally she would talk about a eunuch in the palace whose hometown was Shandong, whose family had suffered a disaster and had to sell his children, and she would cry secretly when she thought about it.

Shen Jiang sighed, "Natural disasters and man-made disasters are all merciless, and the people are the ones who suffer. You and I are in the harem, and we can't do things like the officials in the court. We can only do some frugality to the best of our ability."

Xinpin nodded in agreement repeatedly, and Shen Jiang called the four concubines to discuss with them the matter of cutting expenses in the harem.

The four concubines had nothing to lose. Their allowances were more than enough for them, and they often received rewards from the emperor, so they usually had some surplus.

"The exceptions for the maids and concubines below the rank of noble ladies are few, so there is no need to cut them together this time." Shen Jiang said.

The four concubines agreed, so Shen Jiang reported to the empress dowager, got her approval, and began to reduce the number of punishments.

Shen Jiang also left a message: "If the harem has any complaints, don't stop them, you can come to me to appeal."

There are certainly complaints. For example, Wanpin Chen grumbled that she celebrated her 40th birthday last year, but it happened to coincide with the death of Concubine Jia, and the emperor forgot to give her a reward. This year, they encountered a major epidemic and had to cut back on expenses. How unlucky!

However, she only dared to mutter a few words in private and did not dare to make a scene in front of the Queen.

When Emperor Qianlong learned that the harem had been reduced in number, he was impressed by the empress's virtue and rewarded the Yikun Palace with a pair of enameled vases, which were inlaid with gold!