A Crossover of Film and Television: Miao Miao's Life Transmigration

Chapter 274 Fang Nanxi's Transmigration to the Qing Dynasty 28

The little princess born to the Nian family was premature and did not recover properly. Despite the best efforts of the family physician, the little princess still died two months later.

Lady Nian cried so hard she almost fainted and was bedridden. Fang Nanxi, as a concubine, went to see Lady Nian. Lady Nian's face was even paler, and her health was probably much worse than before.

The Fourth Prince felt sorry for Lady Nian, but he was preoccupied with matters of the court and the Crown Prince had been deposed, so he had no time to comfort Lady Nian, who had lost her child. He sent her some tonics and visited her at Shuyu Courtyard at night.

Fang Nanxi coldly observed the changes in the relationship between Madam Nian and the Fourth Master. In the end, the Fourth Master was still an egoist. Madam Nian was related to the Nian family, and since she suited his tastes, he favored her a little more.

The Eighth Prince, Yinzhi, was always in the court, forming cliques and currying favor with powerful officials. He had gathered around him the Ninth Prince, the Tenth Prince, and the Fourteenth Prince. When the Emperor saw this, he wanted to find a prince to oppose Yinzhi, so he thought of the Fourth Prince. He praised the Fourth Prince's achievements while suppressing Yinzhi.

The Fourth Prince directly began to venerate Buddhism and Taoism, and even called himself "the most idle person in the world," managing to barely avoid matters of the court.

When the emperor saw that the fourth prince was not responding, he brought out the third prince, Yinzhi, to confront the eighth prince, Yinsi. However, Yinzhi was clearly no match for Yinsi, so the emperor turned his attention to the fourth prince.

In March of the fifty-second year of Kangxi's reign, today, the Emperor praised him again, clearly intending to treat him as the second eldest prince. The Fourth Prince returned to his residence and consulted with his advisors, ultimately deciding to avoid the limelight.

So, the Fourth Prince went to the hospital to find his wife and said he wanted to take the children and several concubines from the mansion to the Yuanmingyuan Garden for some recuperation.

Knowing that she shared both glory and ruin with the Fourth Prince, and being aware of the affairs of the previous dynasty, the Fujin (principal wife) suggested, "Since the Fourth Prince has already made his decision, then he may take the children of the manor with him. However, I still need to manage affairs in the manor. I wonder who the Fourth Prince would like to take with him?"

After thinking for a moment, the Fourth Prince said, "Since the children are all going, then the children's birth mother should go with them, and Lady Nian should also go. The Fujin will need to take good care of things in the mansion."

In mid-March, the Fourth Prince found a reasonable excuse, saying that the children in the mansion had lived in a wealthy family since childhood and were unaware of the hardships of ordinary people. He wanted to make the children understand the hardships of ordinary people and introduce them to the five grains.

Seeing that the Fourth Prince truly had no intention of seeking power, the Emperor granted him a two-month leave.

Inside Shaoguang Courtyard, Fang Nanxi excitedly directed Xingluo and the others to pack their things. After being in the manor for so long, they finally had a chance to go out, and they were going to Yuanmingyuan.

The principal wife stayed in the mansion to manage affairs, while the three secondary wives, Song Gege, Niohuru Gege, and Geng Gege all went with her.

The Yuanmingyuan Garden wasn't too far from Prince Yong's Mansion, about two hours away. However, the road was quite uneven, and the journey was bumpy and shaky, making Fang Nanxi suffer a lot.

The twins were overjoyed as soon as they arrived at the Old Summer Palace. They strolled around and looked at everything. This wasn't Fang Nanxi's first time visiting the Old Summer Palace, but the Old Summer Palace at that time was still a large courtyard, half the size of the Old Summer Palace that came later. There was no Penglai Island or Yaotai. Fang Nanxi was assigned to the Bitong Academy and lived with the twins.

Upon arriving at the Yuanmingyuan, the Seventh Prince Hongli fell ill. Fortunately, the accompanying physician said that the Seventh Prince had developed a fever due to the unfamiliar environment and that the fever would subside by tonight.

At Bitong Academy, after Fang Nanxi finished packing her things, the next day, unable to resist Hongxi and Hongchen's insistence, she took the two of them for a stroll around the courtyard.

There were quite a few flowers in the spring. After walking for a while, they met Song Gege, who was carrying Ergege in her arms while strolling in the garden. When Song Gege saw Fang Nanxi, she bowed to him while carrying Ergege.

Fang Nanxi quickly said, "Princess Song, there's no need for such formalities."

The two chatted briefly with the child, and Song Gege sighed, "Now all I want is for my Jingyue to grow up healthy and happy."

Fang Nanxi saw Song Gege watching Er Gege play gently. Er Gege was a few months older than Hongli and was almost two years old now, or three years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning, which was two years younger than the twins.

The three children squatted there looking at the forsythia, surrounded by their nanny; it was quite a harmonious scene.

Fang Nanxi chuckled and said, "Yes, the children will all grow up healthy."

Song Gege was trying to get closer to Fang Nanxi. The Fourth Master's attitude was very clear: he didn't value Hongshi, and who knows, one day Hongxu might inherit the Fourth Master's position. At that time, they might have to live by Fang Nanxi's whims.

Her Jingyue is still so young, and she can no longer have children. If Jingyue had two or three close brothers, she would have someone to rely on after she passes away.

Not long after they started chatting, they saw Geng Gege bring Hongzhou over. Hongzhou was really good-looking, chubby, and Fang Nanxi thought he was over-nourished.

"Greetings to Consort Fang." Geng Gege was in a good mood; as long as Niohuru was not doing well, she felt at ease.

"Gege Geng, there's no need for such formalities, please rise," Fang Nanxi said. Gege Song and Gege Geng then exchanged polite greetings.

Geng Gege looked at the twins and saw that Hongzhou looked like he was about to go play. She instructed the wet nurse beside her to pay attention to Hongzhou's safety.

"We finally made it to the Yuanmingyuan this year, but Hongzhou was being playful and kept insisting on coming out. We didn't expect to run into these two older sisters," Geng Gege said.

Fang Nanxi had a fairly good understanding of Geng Gege's personality; she was a capable and beautiful woman. Although she hadn't found out why Geng Gege had fallen out with Niu Gulu Gege, the falling out between the two was advantageous to Fang Nanxi.

"Yeah, Hongxi and Hongchen are the same way. They're so naughty, sometimes it's a real headache," Fang Nanxi complained.

Song Gege chimed in, "The concubine is truly blessed."

The three chatted casually, and when they realized it was getting late, Fang Nanxi took her leave with the twins.

Everyone in the Yuanmingyuan knew about the three of them meeting. Princess Niohuru sat wearily in a chair, and Shiliu gave her a massage.

Last night, Hongli suddenly developed a fever. Princess Niohuru was worried and didn't sleep much all night. It wasn't until about 1:15 a.m. that Hongli's fever subsided.

Haitang jogged over and saw that Niohuru Gege had her eyes closed and was resting. She didn't dare to speak, but Niohuru Gege suddenly opened her eyes and gestured for her to speak.

"Consort Fang, Consort Song, and Consort Geng were strolling around the garden with their child. The three of them chatted for a long time, but they were quite far apart, so I couldn't hear what they were saying," Haitang said softly.

"I understand, you may leave." Princess Niohuru said wearily. Fang Shi never made close friends with anyone, but today she chatted with Geng Shi and Song Shi for so long. Could it be that she was trying to form an alliance?

Fang Nanxi had no idea that her small action had aroused the suspicion of Princess Niohuru.

Lady Nian, who lives in Xinghua Chunguan, has not been able to recover well since giving birth to the Third Princess. Her health has deteriorated further due to the death of the young princess. Lady Nian is currently recuperating and it is estimated that it will take several years before she can conceive again.