Entering the palace means entering a high position; I'm His Majesty's cousin, who am I afr

Of the several things to be done, Shen Jiayu planned to repair Yihua Palace first.

After a child is born, he/she must live in the main hall for a period of time, and can only live on his/her own after he/she turns one year old.

However, all things considered, he could only stay in Yihua Palace for three years.

According to palace custom, once a prince or princess turned three years old, they had to move to the palace of their birth mother or adoptive mother and live in the prince's residence or princess's residence.

Although the time was short, Shen Jiayu didn't want to be too casual and wanted to put her heart into making a palace.

Yihua Palace is a two-courtyard palace, and several areas have been renovated. The front hall is used for living quarters, the east side hall is a small kitchen, and the west side hall is a storeroom. The rear hall has been renovated with a white jade pond, while the two side halls behind it have remained vacant, but they are poorly lit and unsuitable for living.

In addition, there are two small pavilions, which are used for entertaining guests and enjoying the scenery.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Jiayu decided to vacate the west side hall and move all the large boxes and items inside to the two side halls at the back, leaving the halls empty and ready for people to live in.

The west wing hall is close to the main hall, making it convenient to enter and exit. More importantly, the west wing hall was originally intended for the concubines to live in, so it has everything except for the lack of furnishings.

In this way, you can simply have someone move things in, clean up, and add some items before moving in.

Without hesitation, Shen Jiayu quickly had Hongling and Lü'e check the warehouse accounts and tally them up one by one.

When she first entered the palace, she brought three large trunks with her. In the year or so that she had brought so many things, she had lost count.

The gold, silver and porcelain alone filled six large mahogany chests, not to mention the silks, satins, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and the jewelry and precious stones.

Hongling and Lü'e took inventory, and after each item was finished, they had Zhao Bingzhong lead people to carry it to the back. This process was repeated for two whole days before the west wing was finally cleaned up.

The Sixth Bureau had been keeping a close eye on the situation, and just as things were set up, a female official from the Department of Ceremonial Affairs arrived with her entourage.

Upon meeting Shen Jiayu, they presented her with the list of the young prince's allowances. After she reviewed and confirmed it, they were able to move their belongings over.

After looking around for a while, Shen Jiayu only wanted a large rosewood bed, a long table, and a bookcase; she didn't want anything else.

Although the female official of the Imperial Household Department was surprised, she did not ask any further questions.

In the past, some imperial concubines would refuse their due allowances and add the rest on their own, but none would ask for such a small amount as the Imperial Concubine.

She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking that the Imperial Concubine was indeed from a prestigious family and had won the Emperor's favor, so she was wealthy and never lacked money or possessions.

That's a misconception. Shen Jiayu didn't intend to get it from him; she had other plans.

There was a man who never lacked these things, and they were all rare treasures, so it was the perfect person to ask him for them.

Shen Jiayu had specially calculated the emperor's days off and led him on a tour of the west side hall.

Pei Yan was initially confused.

Until Shen Jiayu sighed softly, "Your Majesty, don't you think this room is too cold and empty?"

Pei Yan raised an eyebrow: "So?"

Shen Jiayu stepped forward with a smile, took his arm, and said in a clear, melodious voice, "Therefore, Your Majesty should do your part!"

Pei Yan understood what this "contributing a share" meant.

He bent down, bringing his face close to her exquisitely beautiful face. "You've been waiting for me here, haven't you?"

Shen Jiayu raised her voice and looked directly at him: "Then, Your Majesty, would you like to participate?"

Although the tone was questioning, the expression was very confident and certain.

Pei Yan gently tapped her fair forehead with his distinct finger bones. "Just say what you want. Why bring me along on this trip? It's unnecessary."

Shen Jiayu hugged his waist and rubbed against his clothes: "There has to be a reason, otherwise it's not appropriate to ask His Majesty for so many things for no reason."

Pei Yan glanced at her and called out loudly, "Qing'an."

A moment later, Qing'an, who was guarding the entrance to the palace, entered in response.

Pei Yan said, "Whatever Your Highness desires, write it down and retrieve it from my private treasury."

Qing'an respectfully replied, "Yes."

Shen Jiayu stopped hugging him, stepped back, and began to recount the items to Qing'an one by one.

"We need six pairs of porcelain vases, two pairs of Yuhuchun vases, two pairs of Mei vases, one pair of Baoyue vases, and one pair of Guanyin vases."

"There are also two beaded curtains, both made of red glass, not white jade. White jade is too plain, and I don't like it."

"I'd like a soft sandalwood couch..."

The people in the imperial court acted quickly; the food Shen Jiayu had requested during the day was delivered before dinner.

It took up almost half of the courtyard.

Shen Jiayu directed the palace servants to take it in, and instructed them on how to arrange it, almost forgetting the time.

Seeing the emperor's darkening expression, Shen Jiayu hurriedly left with him.

The next day, after having breakfast, Shen Jiayu came over to check on things.

The interior of the hall has been tidied up nicely, with rest areas, living quarters, and a small study, all decorated with exceptional elegance and beauty.

Shen Jiayu was very satisfied with this.

As her belly grew bigger each day, the Duchess visited the palace more and more frequently.

With nothing to do at home, aside from managing the household and attending banquets, the Duchess would take time to do needlework.

She was born into a noble family in the capital, and her skills were outstanding. However, in recent years, she had been busy managing the affairs of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and rarely did this craft.

Now that I have some free time and my precious grandson is about to be born, I've picked it up again.

In just two or three days, he regained his proficiency.

The few little clothes I made had fine stitches and exquisite, beautiful patterns.

Since the gender was unknown, the colors chosen were suitable for both men and women.

Regarding this matter, the Duchess had privately asked Shen Jiayu whether the baby was a boy or a girl.

Shen Jiayu only said to let nature take its course, without asking Physician Zhou or Lü'e.

Although she didn't ask the two men, Shen Jiayu still had a guess about the gender of the fetus in her womb based on their daily behavior.

I just don't know how accurate it is.

*

Because Shen Jiayu was in her late pregnancy, she did not go to the imperial palace this winter and stayed in the palace instead.

Before the dead of winter arrived, Shen Jiayu made arrangements for the New Year's celebrations in advance, so that she wouldn't be too busy to attend to these matters when her due date approached.

After several busy days, it was finally discussed and finalized with the female officers of the Sixth Bureau.

By the end of October, the first snow fell in central Beijing.

Frost was overjoyed, running around the courtyard, rolling and chasing people. Compared to previous years, it had grown quite a bit, and ran with great momentum, though it had gotten a little chubby, and would pant for a while after playing for a bit.

Wearing a thick fox fur coat, Shen Jiayu admired the auspicious snow for a while under the corridor before returning to the palace.

Now that she is more than seven months pregnant, she has to be extra careful and can't afford to make any mistakes, as getting cold is no small matter.

Inside the hall, it was warm and cozy, like springtime.

Shen Jiayu took off her fox fur coat and gave it to a palace maid to put away. She casually asked, "Have those two midwives been brought into the palace?"

Hongling asked doubtfully, "It's about time. Let me go outside the palace to greet them."

To ensure a smooth delivery for Shen Jiayu, in addition to the imperial physicians and female doctors in the palace, the emperor specially arranged for two experienced midwives to be sent to the capital.

The message from the Emperor said it would arrive this morning, but there's still no sign of it; it must be delayed by this heavy snow.