Chapter 12 Cao Qinmo's Worries
"Oh, Songzhi, go and bring Princess Wenyi here. The Emperor hasn't seen her in a long time. It's a good opportunity for him to take a good look at her today."
Nian Shilan sat there in deep thought for a while, and suddenly thought of something. She quickly instructed Songzhi who was standing beside her.
"Yes, I'll go right away."
Giving Wen Yi the opportunity to get along with the emperor was originally a good thing, but Cao Qinmo always felt uneasy after hearing Song Zhi's message.
"Miss Songzhi, could you please inform Concubine Hua that Wen Yi has just fallen asleep. If she wakes up and cries while walking around, it will cause trouble for the Emperor and Concubine Hua."
Cao Qinmo quickly thought of how to deal with the situation and felt that she must not let Songzhi take the child away tonight.
"Your Excellency, you are putting me in a difficult position. You know that the Emperor misses Princess Wen Yi very much. If I fail to bring the princess to the Emperor, I will not be able to report to the Emperor."
After Songzhi went to Concubine Duan with Nian Shilan before, she had some idea of the purpose of her master asking her to make this trip, so no matter what, she had to take the princess away.
"Please rest assured, my lord. We will carefully serve the princess on the way. Look, the queen specially asked us to bring an experienced wet nurse with us."
After hearing this, Cao Qinmo felt even more uneasy, but she was powerless to comply with Concubine Hua's request, so she could only watch Songzhi take the princess away from the room.
Coincidentally, Wen Yi actually woke up on the way, but the child was so well-behaved that he didn't cry or make a fuss, and just let himself be taken all the way to Yiku Palace.
"Your Majesty, Princess Wen Yi is here."
In her previous life, Nian Shilan had lost her own child, so she envied others for having offspring. When Wen Yi was just born, she often brought Wen Yi to the palace, but she did not have much patience for other people's children at that time.
Now, looking at the delicate little girl in front of her, her heart suddenly softened.
If her child had grown up safely, he would probably be able to follow her and call her "Mom" softly now.
"Emperor..."
Just as Hua Fei was sitting there holding Wen Yi and teasing her with her head down, Song Zhi, who was standing beside her, saw the emperor about to walk into the room.
She was about to remind Concubine Hua but was stopped by a look from the Emperor.
The emperor walked up to Nian Shilan and looked at the expression on her face.
At this moment, she seemed to be shining with a maternal glow. He thought of the joy Hua Fei felt when she first learned that she was pregnant, and the despair she felt when she lost her child.
A trace of pity flashed in the emperor's eyes. After all, this was the woman who had been with him for so many years. Although he had to make a choice for the sake of world peace, he did have some sincerity towards the person in front of him.
He took a deep breath, smelled the familiar smell in the room, and hid the thoughts in his eyes.
After so many years, he knew very well that Nian Shilan's body was no longer suitable for pregnancy, and her wish to become a mother would never come true.
Songzhi looked at the situation inside the house and tactfully gestured for everyone to follow her out.
"Shilan seems to be in a very good mood today."
The emperor stepped forward and gently pinched Wen Yi's face.
"When did the Emperor arrive? No one in the palace even knew to let him know."
"I told them not to make any noise."
In fact, Nian Shilan had already felt it when the emperor stepped into the room, but she needed him to see the side of her that longed for a child, so that she could arouse a trace of guilt in his heart. In this way, her next step could be carried out smoothly.
"Wen Yi, come here and call your Royal Father."
"Good luck to your Majesty."
A soft voice came out of Wen Yi's mouth, and the emperor's face softened even more.
He didn't have many children to begin with, and the few princes he had were afraid of him, so they couldn't be close relatives. It was rare for Wen Yi to smile so sweetly at him, and he seemed to feel a sense of ordinary happiness.
"Songzhi, serve the meal."
At the dinner table, Nian Shilan personally fed Wen Yi a few mouthfuls of food, and from time to time she would wipe the soup from the corners of her mouth.
"I didn't expect Shilan to have such a loving side. Since you like children so much, why don't you keep Wen Yi in the palace to raise her?"
Wen Yi's biological mother, Cao Qinmo, was just a noblewoman of low status and was not qualified to raise a princess.
The emperor originally registered Wen Yi under Nian Shilan's name just to appease her, and it could be considered a kind of compensation to her.
Now seeing how much Nian Shilan loves Wen Yi, the emperor suggested without hesitation that she could raise the child by her side so that she could have company.
When Nian Shilan heard what the emperor said, she was not surprised at all. Over the years, she had already seen clearly that the royal family always liked to give out small favors and then took it for granted that others would be loyal.
"Your Majesty, this isn't a good idea. Concubine Cao has been raising Wen Yi by her side. If I take Wen Yi to live with me, she'll be sure I'm trying to steal her child."
Nian Shilan knew that Cao Qinmo cared very much about her daughter Wen Yi, and she stayed by her side just to find a place for Wen Yi to stay.
"These matters are not hers to decide. It's already a special favor for her, a noble man, to let her raise him personally for such a long time."
The emperor didn't care about Cao Qinmo in the first place, and if it weren't for Concubine Hua, her daughter would have been sent to the prince's residence to be educated together.
"Actually, I don't think I have enough energy to raise a child. Doesn't Your Majesty want me to have more time to accompany you?"
After Wen Yi finished eating, she was carried out of the room by the palace maid. Nian Shilan was worried that although she was still young, most of the children in the palace were precocious, so it would be better for her to have less exposure to these things.
Nian Shilan looked at the emperor meaningfully, and the shyness on her face made the emperor dazed.
This was a feeling he had never had in other palaces. Most concubines were respectful to him, but did not dare to be arrogant or willful. Only Concubine Hua dared to treat him like this, which was a different feeling.
"It's just that I see that you seem to like Wen Yi very much, and I don't want you to be disappointed."
"For so many years, I have always thought of the child who left so early. Today, I happened to have some free time to visit Concubine Duan, and I thought of all the past again."
Concubine Hua knew that it would be difficult to hide every word and action in the palace from the emperor's eyes and ears, not to mention that she was going to Concubine Duan, and she didn't know how many people were watching her.
In this case, it would be better for her to take the initiative to bring it up in front of the emperor so as to avoid his suspicion.
"Oh, you're going to Concubine Duan's place?"
In fact, he came here because he heard that Concubine Hua took the initiative to go to Concubine Duan, and wanted to come and test whether she had noticed anything about what happened before.
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