Concubine Wen brought the prince back to the palace, but did not announce it to anyone. The emperor had not even decided on his official name, so he temporarily called him by his nickname.
One concubine wanted to take the opportunity of visiting the emperor to take a peek at his eldest son's appearance, but was politely refused.
For a time, Lady Wen's child became a mystery.
And it still carries an ominous mystery.
Wei Shuyi stood outside the gate of the Yanx Palace, waiting for Mu Tao to come back and pass on the message. She was not sure whether she could successfully step through this threshold today.
"Jia Wanrong, my young master wants you to come in."
"good."
She entered the front hall and did not see the eldest prince. Only Concubine Wen was sitting calmly at the table, flipping through a storybook to relieve her boredom.
"Sister is here? Please take a seat."
"I heard that my sister hasn't been seeing anyone lately, and the Queen has also asked for leave. I was worried, so I came to see her." Wei Shuyi sized up the other person's expression. He looked radiant, not like he was bothered by trivial matters. "Has the Ministry of Rites decided on a name? I still don't know what to call the eldest prince."
"No! The Emperor said that we should wait until the child's condition gets better before naming him."
She did not ask any further questions: After all, she knew exactly what happened to Concubine Wen on the way back home and why she gave birth prematurely.
I hadn't meant to rub salt into someone else's wounds, but unexpectedly, Concubine Wen actually brought it up: "My elder sister really can't stand seeing me get along well. First, she used astrology to force me out of the palace, and then she arranged for a master to cause me to give birth prematurely. Perhaps, she didn't even want to spare my life, and let me have the luck to give birth to a son..."
"Is this really true?!" Wei Shuyi pretended to be surprised. "Do you have any evidence? It's out in the middle of nowhere, who knows if someone else did it?"
"Tsk, evidence? Sister, haven't you seen the reality yet?" Concubine Wen took a deep breath. "In the past, we had evidence, but so what? The Emperor is biased towards my elder sister and will only try to make someone else take the blame."
"Sister, what I mean is..."
"I don't ask for a son in one go and be promoted to the ninth concubine, I just want a healthy and lovely child. Just like my sister's Princess Zhaohua, who everyone who saw her couldn't let go and their hearts would be softened. But she refused to give me even such an opportunity! Since the emperor is reluctant to convict, then we can only resort to private punishment, right?"
Wei Shuyi pretended to be puzzled: "This kind of thing is not allowed to happen in the palace. Even palace maids cannot be treated like this..."
"Of course, we can't punish her openly. We have to do it quietly, just like she made us cry in secret." Noble Lady Wen's face was filled with only ruthlessness. "I will make sure that she cries out to heaven and earth, but nothing will come of it!"
"I understand. If you have a plan in mind, I will definitely help you."
"Sister, please go in and take a look! Only when you see his face can you truly understand the hatred in my heart!"
Wei Shuyi took a few hesitant steps inside. In the inner room, the cradle was placed far away from the bed. There were two wet nurses taking care of the prince, and bedding was placed next to the cradle, making it convenient for the two to rest there.
Considering how Zhaohua was treated at that time, her intuition told her that Concubine Wen did not love the child, but was full of disgust.
"This servant greets the young master." "Get up."
She walked forward quietly, trying to get a clearer look at the baby in the cradle.
The thin body like a dead branch, the strange skin color, and the particularly prominent big eyes all scared her!
Is this the baby who was born prematurely?
"How is he...how is he doing?"
"In reply to the young lady, His Royal Highness is eating and drinking normally and has never been sick. He just cries a lot and is a little difficult to comfort."
"That's good."
Wei Shuyi retreated with mixed feelings. When he looked at Concubine Wen again, he instantly understood the helplessness behind her extremely abnormal behavior.
"Sister, you've seen it, right? The child I've carefully cared for for months turned out to be this weird... weirdo! Not to mention the Emperor, even as his own mother, I'm terrified! If the Emperor keeps seeing the prince like this, he'll be disgusted with me sooner or later!"
"Don't worry, sister. The Emperor isn't such a heartless person. This is his biological son. How could he treat you so harshly just because of your appearance?"
Noblewoman Wen laughed at herself and said, "Fortunately, our emperor is not that kind of person. It is thanks to him that I can sit peacefully in the Yanxi Palace and drink tea."
She comforted him a few more times before taking Wen Yu away.
"Miss, you don't look well. Did you see something?"
"The little prince is rather pitiful. He's so skinny that he's not even as big as a man's boots. His eyes are huge and scary, and he's not very likable. It's even harder for someone who doesn't even care about his own mother to gain the emperor's favor!"
Wen Yu probably guessed what was going on: "Who made him born into an imperial family? It's fate. Miss, we can't be soft-hearted at this moment. We have to move forward with what we have to do."
"I understand. Qu Yuexi has already developed a strong hatred for Concubine Jin. In a few days, we can make arrangements for Mu Tao."
"Yes, I understand."
Every day that Concubine Wen stayed in the Yanx Palace felt like a year.
Xie Yanci came to see the prince several times, but he always gave him a quick glance and left without even a hug. She saw all of this and felt even more anxious.
"Oh no! My lady, His Highness is vomiting milk!"
"Just feed it back after you vomit it out. Why are you panicking?"
The wet nurse was also very helpless: "My lady, if it continues like this, it will not be good for His Highness. Let's ask the imperial physician to come and take a look!"
She glanced over and said, "Daddy didn't send you here to enjoy a leisurely life and order the master around. The master said you can't call in the imperial physician. Don't you understand?!"
"I dare not."
"Then go and serve him quickly! Don't let him cry! It's very annoying!"
After a while, the nurse cried out in panic again: "My lady, His Highness has a sudden high fever, it's terribly hot!"
"What?! How could this happen out of the blue?!"
Concubine Wen immediately stood up and saw the baby in the cradle. There were milk stains near the chest and a sour smell filled her nose. She couldn't help but take a few steps back.
"My lady, you should ask Aunt Mu Tao to call the imperial physician! If this continues, His Highness might not survive tonight!"
That won’t do!
Nothing can happen to this freak before I figure out how to give up the chess piece!
She quickly asked Mu Tao to go to the Imperial Hospital to ask for help, while she dressed neatly and sat in the front hall.
As luck would have it, Concubine Jin said she was not feeling well these days, and most of the imperial doctors were kept in the side hall of Chengqian Palace so that they could provide immediate help.
While Xie Yanci was bathing and changing, Qian Wei stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, I heard something happened in the Yanxi Palace. Noble Lady Wen's personal maid has come to see the imperial physician. Should we release her?"
"Did anyone say who was feeling unwell?"
"No."
"Then..." Concubine Jin suddenly covered her stomach and groaned in pain, "Ouch! Someone, come quickly! Why is my lower abdomen so painful? It hurts so much!"
Upon seeing this, Qian Wei immediately ran outside and shouted loudly, spreading the news of Concubine Jin's "illness" throughout the Chengqian Palace.
Then, he told Mu Tao with an apologetic look: "I'm so sorry, the imperial concubine is having trouble with her pregnancy, and the imperial doctors can't leave."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com