Raising Kids with My Aunt in the Qing Dynasty

Next up: I’m writing *They Say Consort Chen Is Thoughtful and Understanding*. Please add it to your favorites~ Synopsis: Hao Ruyue arrives in the Kangxi era with a medicinal cuisine space and is reborn as the younger sister of Empress Heseri. When the empress suffers a difficult labor, Hao Ruyue enters the palace with her family to care for her. With medicinal dishes in her arms, Hao Ruyue is full of confidence. “Sister, I’m here!” But when she looks at the tiny baby crying to be fed, tears fill her eyes. “Sister, I’m too late.” After Empress Heseri passes away, the medicinal dishes fall into the hands of a grief-stricken Kangxi. The Grand Empress Dowager keeps Hao Ruyue in the palace to care for Kangxi, who has just lost his wife, and the crown prince, who has just lost his mother. Three years pass in a flash. The harem has welcomed plenty of newcomers, all of them eyeing the position of empress and resorting to every trick in the book. Hao Ruyue takes care of the children while enjoying the drama. Yinreng: “Auntie, Auntie, someone in Zhongcui Palace is secretly burning paper, and someone else is crying softly.” Hao Ruyue counts on her fingers. “Today is Prince Changhua’s death anniversary. Changhua was your elder brother. Have someone send over some spirit money.” Yinreng: “Auntie, Auntie, big brother’s gotten into trouble again. Father has made him kneel.” Hao Ruyue smiles. “It’s so hot today. Take Prince Yonghuang a bowl of mung bean soup.” Yinreng: “Auntie, Auntie, Consort Tong’s child is sick and can’t catch their breath.” Hao Ruyue gets up, cooks a bowl of medicinal cuisine, and sends it to Consort Tong in the crown prince’s name. Yinreng: “Auntie, Auntie, Father and Great-grandmother had a fight. He said he can’t live without you and wants to make you empress.” Hao Ruyue pinches her philtrum. “When did this happen? How come I didn’t know?” PS: The Qing Dynasty setting is fictionalized. Everything serves the plot, so please don’t nitpick the historical details. Advance Preview: Hailan is reborn as Hai Lanzhu. The original Hai Lanzhu was beautiful, short-lived, and a bit of a handful. She used pearl powder as a face mask and changed cooks every seven days. She never got along with her younger sister, Bumbutai, and always had a snide remark for her whenever they met. She was still young, yet managed to ruin her own life. Hailan: “I’m not like her.” She grinds pearls into powder for her face, eats imperial cuisine, and samples food from every corner of the realm. When someone gets on her nerves, she simply pretends to be sick and skips paying her respects to the First Consort. One day, after the emperor summons her to his bedchamber, he stays busy until midnight before coming to see her, only to be turned away. The First Consort: “Sleeping for your beauty? This is outrageous!” Bumbutai: “...You’re even more spoiled than you were at home.” The next day, after court, Hong Taiji goes to reprimand the audacious woman. The palace maid is so nervous her hand shakes, smearing the nail polish on Hailan’s long fingernails. Hailan frowns. “It looks awful. Have the emperor fix it.” Hong Taiji has no idea how to paint nails. When she complains, “You’re only making it messier,” he looks down at her fingertips, then at his own dragon robe. If she’s worried about getting her nails dirty, shouldn’t he worry about his dragon robe? * Bumbutai has been reborn. She knows that although her elder sister Hai Lanzhu is doted on, she won’t live long. Once Hai Lanzhu dies, Bumbutai will have her moment in the spotlight and become empress. But as time passes, she discovers that everyone seems determined to pamper Hai Lanzhu to the heavens. The emperor’s first question after court: “How many pastries did Consort Chen have? Do we have enough pastry chefs from Jiangnan?” Haug has, for the first time, grown his hair long, hoping only to hear Hai Lanzhu call him handsome. Dorgon hunts a sable and eagerly sends it over to trim Hai Lanzhu’s cloak. Looking at the perfect image she has worked so hard to maintain, Bumbutai feels lost. Is this script... turned upside down? * Everyone thinks Hai Lanzhu is spoiled beyond measure, but no one can do anything about it. Only Hailan sometimes gazes at her peerlessly beautiful reflection in the mirror, utterly puzzled. “Am I not being thoughtful enough?” Theme: The importance of education.