The Enchanting Imperial Concubine (Book 2)

Chapter 378 - A Stirring Tide

"Sigh, the imperial harem is always bringing in new faces, and it's making this servant quite anxious. Your Highness really needs to give birth to another heir," Nan Zhi lamented.

"I didn't deliberately avoid it; what can I do if I'm not pregnant? Just let nature take its course," Ye Yun said with a smile.

Moreover, the Fourth Prince was still young, and she didn't want to divide her attention by having another child.

The most important thing right now was to raise this first child safely and soundly.

Ning Chen was still young and might have many more children in the future; with more princes, there would certainly be competition.

"Alright, when it's time to have another, it will happen naturally," Ye Yun said as she adjusted her sleeves and stood up. "Go call the Fourth Prince back; he's been playing for half the day. He should come back to drink some water and have lunch."

Before long, the Fourth Prince returned with Nian Gao, both of them running back.

During Tai Guifei's mourning period, they hadn't been allowed to stray too far and had just played around the vicinity.

Bai Zhu was serving the Fourth Prince some water and also poured some for Nian Gao.

The two little ones drank.

After finishing his water, the Fourth Prince eagerly grabbed his mother's hand.

"Mother, I want to study!"

Ye Yun was puzzled; she had been teaching him literacy through illustrated books regularly, so why was he suddenly mentioning this today?

Bai Zhu quickly explained, "The Fourth Prince went out to play and ran into the Third Prince after his lessons. The two princes exchanged a few words, and the Fourth Prince remembered it."

Hearing this, Ye Yun understood.

She reached out to rub her son's head, smiling, "You're turning three this May; it's time to find a proper teacher for your education. But you poor thing, you have no one to keep you company."

The three older princes were in a group for lessons, and the Fourth Prince was quite a bit younger, so he was left out.

The Fourth Prince didn't understand these things and, seeing pastries on the table, dashed over to grab some, leaving Ye Yun, as his mother, to ponder which teacher would be best for him.

This matter needed to be discussed with Ning Chen as well.

In fact, Ning Chen was even more concerned about their children's education than she was; he had already been looking for candidates early on.

The teacher selected needed to be of similar caliber to those teaching the older princes, or else it would be obvious there was a disparity at such a young age, inviting suspicions from the court officials.

However, before this matter was settled, the palace welcomed the fifth prince.

On March 12, Qin Wanrong safely gave birth to the fifth prince, and both mother and child were well.

Due to her successful childbirth, Qin Shi was elevated to the rank of Meiren.

Women ranked below concubines were not permitted to raise heirs. For a time, the fifth prince's upbringing became a topic of turmoil in the harem.

It was clear that Ning Chen hadn't yet decided on this matter either, so for now, he instructed that Qin Meiren would take care of it. Both mother and child remained in Zhong Cui Palace, with Jing De Fei also providing some oversight.