Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1253 Epilogue : Maid's Promotion Path and Family Progress

Upon hearing that the princess had given birth, people came to visit her in an endless stream.

Even those princes whose identities were sensitive sent their princesses or wives.

As royal relatives, we cannot cut off contact no matter how much we try to avoid suspicion.

In addition, there are Xie Yan’s friends and colleagues, not many in number, but quite a few too.

Many science scholars living in Luoyang took the opportunity to visit and congratulate Xie Yan and discuss the change of scientific units with him.

After seeing off another group of congratulators, Xie Yan strolled back to the inner residence.

Qingluan came out from behind the screen and said with a smile: "Congratulations, my lord, your highness has finally produced milk."

Xie Yan walked around the screen and saw Zhu Tangxi breastfeeding her baby while the wet nurse was giving instructions.

Why did the princess have to breastfeed herself even though there were four wet nurses?

This is of course also the medical progress brought by Taizu and Taizong.

Since colostrum is yellowish and thick, it reminds people of pus. Therefore, in ancient times, more particular families would deliberately squeeze out colostrum, believing that it was harmful to babies.

There are even doctors who attribute babies' illnesses to drinking colostrum.

Nowadays, anyone who has been a parent knows the benefits of colostrum for babies. Even if you don’t know it at first, the nurse will remind you repeatedly.

When babies eat colostrum, it not only improves their immunity, but also promotes the growth of intestinal epithelial cells, promotes the development of epithelial cells in the liver and other tissues, and participates in regulating the pH value of gastric juice.

During the reigns of Taizu and Taizong, even many obstetricians and pediatricians did not accept this view.

The two time-traveling emperors forced the princes and princesses to drink colostrum. All the queens and concubines had to feed their children with colostrum before they could hand the children over to the wet nurses to feed.

Gradually, this method became a rule in the palace and spread to the homes of the powerful and wealthy.

Doctors were still skeptical, but after long-term observation, they found that colostrum did seem to be useful, and only then did they gradually accept it and promote it nationwide.

Therefore, in those families who were rich enough to hire a wet nurse, the mother herself had the task of feeding the baby for two or three days.

Later, some doctors even wrote papers, inferring that the reason why the emperors of the Song Dynasty were weak and sickly was because they never drank colostrum as infants - this view is difficult to confirm, but many doctors agree with it.

Xie Yan sat nearby, watching the princess breastfeed, and asked the nurse, "Will it be uncomfortable when the milk stops flowing if you only breastfeed for two or three days?"

The wet nurse is experienced: "Don't worry, Prince Consort. On the first day of weaning, the princess will feel a little uncomfortable. She should drink malt water first, then eat fried chicken liver with leeks, and apply sodium sulfate. On the second day, the swelling will not be so severe, so continue with the first day's method. On the fourth day, there will be basically no milk, and the breasts will no longer be lumpy and painful."

Drinking malt water is to help lower blood sugar, regulate milk secretion, and supplement B vitamins.

The main purpose of eating fried chicken liver with leeks is to supplement vitamin B6.

Today’s doctors in the Ming Dynasty are certainly not clear about the specific scientific principles, but long-term observations and summaries have taught them that it is effective.

Brother Hu soon drank his fill.

Zhu Tangxi did not leave the child to the wet nurse, but learned from the wet nurse how to burp the child.

Her face was filled with a maternal smile, and when the little one burped up the milk, the princess instantly felt a great sense of accomplishment.

After teasing the child for a while, the nanny took the child away.

Zhu Tangxi was very happy and said to Zifeng who was sitting next to him, "Go pick a small courtyard and two maids. You don't have to serve me in the future. Just come and greet me every day."

Zi Feng was both happy and nervous when she heard this.

She was happy because she had a separate courtyard and maids, and her treatment was equivalent to that of a concubine, the only thing missing from being officially accepted as a concubine.

I was worried that the princess would get jealous.

"I will serve Your Highness for the rest of my life!" Zi Feng quickly bowed to show her loyalty.

If she hadn't been pregnant, she would have already fallen to her knees.

This kind of loyalty is still very useful. Seeing that she was still humble and respectful, Zhu Tangxi's dissatisfaction with Zi Feng instantly dissipated a lot: "Wait until you give birth to the child, and then restore your real name and surname."

"Your Highness's kindness is something I cannot possibly repay!" Zi Feng became even more excited.

Taking a concubine also requires legal procedures.

Since the Tang and Song dynasties, concubines recognized by law had to sign a marriage certificate, and the wife had to sign the marriage certificate.

If the wife does not sign the marriage certificate, it is considered an illegal concubine. The government will not come to investigate and hold her accountable, but if there is a lawsuit in the future, the government will not recognize the concubine.

Don't really think Zhu Tangxi is a naive person.

She has been controlling Xie Yan, and Qingluan and Zifeng. But her methods are gentler, and you have to be grateful for being controlled by her.

Zifeng was pregnant, so she was given the courtyard and the maid. That is, she was treated as a concubine.

After Zifeng gives birth to the child, her original name will be restored to pave the way for officially taking her as a concubine.

But he didn't really give the concubine the marriage certificate, and kept Zifeng hanging.

Only when Zhu Tangxi is satisfied one day will she take the initiative to propose to take a concubine for her husband and sign her name as the legal wife on the marriage certificate.

…The next day, Zifeng moved into the private courtyard.

The yard is very small, with only eight rooms, but it made Zifeng so excited that she couldn't sleep last night.

All the maids, including Qingluan, were extremely envious and hoped that they could be like them one day.

Zi Feng also picked two low-ranking maids to take care of her daily life. She suddenly changed from a servant to the master of the courtyard - although her current identity was still a maid and her employment contract was not invalidated.

Qingluan walked around the courtyard, feeling a little unhappy, and said with emotion: "You are lucky, you have flown to the tree and turned into a phoenix."

Zi Feng said quickly, "Sister, please don't say that. No matter what happens from now on, I am your Highness' maid and your sister. I was just lucky enough to get pregnant first. My husband dotes on me so much, I will definitely get pregnant in two months."

The two had always had a good relationship before, and Qingluan felt that she had said too much, and sighed, "Alas, I am not that lucky."

Zi Feng suggested, "After His Highness is out of confinement, he will definitely go to various temples to pray for the young master and fulfill his vows. If you are not pregnant by then, you can go with him and make a wish. Perhaps a deity from some religion will appear and help you."

"You made the wish during the New Year when you followed His Majesty to worship the gods, right?" Qingluan asked curiously.

"No... yes." Zi Feng was afraid of offending the gods by lying, so she told the truth, "At that time, I followed Liu Lang and His Highness to various temples to worship the gods. I first prayed to the gods and Buddhas to bless His Highness and the fetus. By the way, I also prayed to the gods and Buddhas to let me get pregnant."

Qingluan muttered, "It seems that some god or Buddha has appeared. Why did I forget to make a wish? Oh, I am so stupid!"

Zifeng coaxed Qingluan for a while and finally made her happy.

She is very humble and even as a pregnant woman she has to coax others.

As if all the grudges in their hearts had been completely eliminated, the two women held hands and talked as intimately as sisters, recalling their childhood memories in the palace and talking about the loneliness and grievances of previous years.

Finally, let’s look to the future.

They agreed that no matter whether they gave birth to a boy or a girl, the children would regard each other as their adoptive mothers. Moreover, they would give each other nicknames for their children.

Qingluan left the courtyard full of expectations. She wanted to take advantage of the princess's postpartum recovery period to engage in childbearing activities with Xie Laoliu.

When the doctor came to her house yesterday and confirmed that Zifeng was pregnant, she secretly asked the doctor to diagnose her.

The doctor said there was nothing wrong with her body and she should be able to get pregnant.

She planned to do some housework in her spare time, secretly sewing more embarrassing underwear to make her lover more obsessed with her body. She would agree to all the solutions her lover had suggested, which she had not been willing to do before.

Zi Feng, on the other hand, continued to admire the yard.

Zifeng felt that the small courtyard with only eight rooms was more magnificent than the imperial palace. This was her private territory, and her life suddenly had a purpose.

And the two maids.

Due to the princess's weakness and indulgence, not only did the servants brought by her ex-husband's brother show off their power, but also some disloyal servants of the princess defected to her.

After her ex-husband was executed, the princess also cleaned up the servants in her home.

At that time, a large number of male and female servants were fired, and then some new ones were recruited.

The two maids chosen by Zi Feng were hired more than four years ago and their contracts were almost up. They were both around eighteen or nineteen years old.

"Your employment contracts will all expire in the fall," Zi Feng said, "If you don't plan to renew them, let me know three months in advance."

One of the maids said, "I am already nineteen years old and my family lives in Beiguo. When I went home for the New Year holiday, my parents talked about marriage. There is a man in the same neighborhood who is very suitable. He is only one year older than me, but he is already a patrolman directly under the Five Cities Military Department. He also has an uncle who is a first-class official in the North City Military Department..."

"I understand. You don't need to say anything more," Zi Feng interrupted, "I'll let you go home and get married in the fall."

Another maid was quite conflicted: "I...I don't know whether to stay or not."

In the summer, the princess would recruit people again, and based on the attendance trends of the existing maids, she would recruit a new batch to supplement the maids.

After two or three months of training, you can change jobs.

Zi Feng planned to pick out the one he liked and train him as his own confidant.

She didn't think about any house fighting.

Can you beat the princess in a fight?

But you still need a trusted maid.

Letting the two maids do their work, Zifeng went back to the room and took out paper and pen.

She wanted to write home to announce the good news, but she was worried that it was too early to be happy. What if she had a miscarriage or a difficult birth? Wouldn't that make her family worry?
bah bah bah!
Nothing will happen to my child.

Zifeng finally couldn't help it and picked up the pen to write a letter to her parents and brothers.

She said that the princess treated her very well and her husband doted on her. Now that she was pregnant, she had her own courtyard and maids. When the child was born, she might be made a concubine. At that time, her husband would send someone to propose marriage to her.

Then he urged his parents to urge his nephew and brother to study. Even if they failed to pass the imperial examination and become officials, it would be easier to make a living with knowledge.

Like many maids, Zifeng was very frugal. She saved her salary and bonuses and sent them back home through the post every year.

Her family's tea stall in the town has been turned into a tea shop, and they have also bought the store.

It can be considered a well-off family.

If she was really taken as a concubine, she would be able to send more money home, and then she might even be able to buy land in her hometown. Slowly, they would become a small landlord family!
Isn’t this a way of achieving class transcendence?
(End of this chapter)