Chapter 249 Empress Dowager
The princess hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.
She realized that the last time she had seen such a phoenix-headed jade hairpin was at the imperial concubine selection banquet when the emperor was still the crown prince...
At that time, the Empress was just one of the candidates for the imperial concubine selection, and the Bai family was not a particularly prominent family among the many noble families in the capital, at most a second-rate family.
At that time, the emperor handed her a phoenix-headed blood jade hairpin, symbolizing her status as the crown prince's principal wife.
The eldest princess gripped the phoenix-headed white jade hairpin tightly in her hand, her voice hoarse.
Crown Prince! Qi Jun, that brat! How dare he!
She thought she had made herself clear enough after the Dragon Boat Festival banquet last year, but she didn't expect that the Crown Prince at that time was just flattering her and actually still had designs on Yu Xuan!
The princess's chest heaved with anger, and her cheeks flushed crimson with rage.
Qi Yuxuan was puzzled: "What's wrong, Mother? Is there something wrong with this hairpin?"
She watched the princess's expression nervously, and before the princess could come up with a reasonable explanation, she continued:
"Mother, please don't be angry. If it's not appropriate, then Yuxuan won't wear it. Mother has given me so many pieces of jewelry that I could wear them all in a year, and I don't need this jade hairpin."
The little girl's voice was soft and gentle; as soon as she opened her mouth, most of the princess's pent-up frustration dissipated.
She handed the hairpin to Aunt Meng, who was standing nearby, and then asked her to fetch her dressing case.
"It's just a jade hairpin. Mother has plenty of jade hairpins. Here, wear these..."
Qi Yuxuan was pressed down in front of the dressing table, where the dressing case was filled with jade ornaments: green jade, white jade, red jade, black jade, yellow jade, agate, jadeite, Hetian jade, and ice jade. The variety of jade made her dizzy.
"Mother...enough already..."
She stared at the three jade hairpins, each more exquisite and beautiful than the last, that were already adorning her head in the bronze mirror, and spoke uncertainly.
The eldest princess took a half step back, glanced at it, and nodded in satisfaction.
“It looks good. Let’s wear it like this. Come on, let’s go into the palace.”
The Empress Dowager had been away from the palace for a long time. This time, she returned to the palace for two reasons. Firstly, she was getting old and wanted to stay in the capital to enjoy her old age. Secondly, the Crown Prince's marriage had become a major concern for her. She was determined to return to the capital to settle the matter before she could feel at ease.
Before sunset yesterday, the Empress Dowager's entourage had already arrived in the outskirts of the capital. Considering that the Empress Dowager was too old to travel to the capital overnight, they stayed overnight at the temporary palace in the outskirts of the capital and entered the palace early this morning.
The wooden palanquin, carried by eight men, entered the palace gate. Qi Yuxuan secretly raised her eyes and saw the Empress Dowager sitting upright in the palanquin.
When the Empress Dowager was young, she gave birth to the Emperor and the Princess, twins. On the day of her birth, the sky was filled with rays of light, the Southern Yue Kingdom submitted to the Emperor, and the drought-stricken Jiangnan region received its first rain. With all these auspicious signs, the late Emperor decided to bestow upon her the title of Empress.
Qi Yuxuan didn't know the ins and outs of these events, nor did she disbelieve that such coincidences could really happen in this world; her own rebirth was already an incredible stroke of luck.
The old woman in the palanquin had a pair of sharp and shrewd eyes that looked exactly like the Princess at first glance. A calm smile played on her lips. Time had etched lines of age on her face, but it did not diminish the beauty that had once made her the most beautiful woman in the capital.
She was also holding 108 fine Bodhi prayer beads in her hand, which showed her sincerity.
As the person drew closer, Qi Yuxuan could smell the faint sandalwood scent that had accumulated on the palanquin over the years.
The Empress Dowager alighted from her palanquin, and the imperial family, led by the Emperor, immediately knelt and bowed, loudly offering their greetings.
"Get up quickly!"
The Empress Dowager seemed very pleased to see this large, mixed family, especially the Crown Prince standing next to the Emperor.
“Jun’er, come forward quickly so that your grandmother can take a look at you.”
The Empress Dowager smiled kindly and beckoned the Crown Prince to come closer.
"Our Jun'er has grown so tall! Grandmother has to look up to see you. My good grandson, you should be coming of age this July, right? Have you been engaged yet? Which family's daughter is it?"
The Empress Dowager held the Crown Prince's hand, looking at her closely as she asked questions.
Whether it was Qi Yuxuan's imagination or not, she felt that the Crown Prince's gaze had subtly swept over her before she heard him say:
"Grandmother, my marriage is not in a hurry."
"How can we not be in a hurry? Look at Huan-ge'er, his concubines are all pregnant, and he's about to become a father. You are the elder brother, the crown prince of the country. The Eastern Palace has no concubines, and you're not going to marry a principal wife or a concubine. How can that be?"
For every word the Crown Prince uttered, the Empress Dowager would have eight or ten to say. Qi Jun remained silent, only pulling the Empress Dowager's hand and leading her inside.
After the emperor, princes, princesses, and consorts had all finished their greetings, the eldest princess took Qi Yuxuan's hand and stepped forward to pay her respects.
"Your son, along with his daughter Yuxuan, greets Mother."
The Empress Dowager smiled and called for him to get up, and ordered someone to come and see for himself.
The eldest princess had been used to being spoiled by the Empress Dowager since childhood, so when she brought her daughter to the Empress Dowager's side, she was not worried that the Empress Dowager would not like her, and happily introduced her to the Empress Dowager.
"Yu Xuan, do you still remember? This is the daughter I adopted around this time last year. I wrote you several letters back then. I liked her the moment I saw her, and it just so happened that it fulfilled my destined bond with my adopted daughter..."
When the eldest princess saw the Empress Dowager, she seemed to have returned to the way she used to be by her mother's side. She spoke quickly and was in high spirits. The Empress Dowager kept smiling at her. Qi Yuxuan finally understood how the eldest princess had developed this personality. Just by looking at the Empress Dowager's attitude, one could tell.
"Yuxuan? Good child, let your grandmother take a look at you."
"Born so beautifully, just like her name, she's like a person made of jade!"
The Empress Dowager held the eldest princess's hand with one hand and Qi Yuxuan's hand with the other, looked around, and let out a puzzled "Eh?"
"Am I getting old and my eyes are failing me? You two look so alike. You could easily pass for mother and daughter."
Everyone looked up curiously and realized that what the Empress Dowager said was indeed true. The Eldest Princess and Princess Chang Le did look somewhat alike, at least more like mother and daughter than before.
After spending most of the day together, Qi Yuxuan discovered that the Empress Dowager was a kind person, especially towards the younger generation. Even Qi Huan, who had not yet married his principal wife and was still a bald prince, had his concubines become pregnant and give birth to his eldest son and daughter before the emperor. The Empress Dowager could still smile and talk to him.
It is evident that the Empress Dowager favored all her great-grandchildren and was particularly concerned about the Crown Prince's marriage.
“Jun’er, even if you don’t marry a principal wife or concubines, you should at least take some concubines to serve you. Since I came back from the south, I’ve heard countless nasty rumors about you not having married or taken concubines. Even if you don’t mind, you have to consider the stability of the country. Do you really want the people to spread these rumors and think you’re impotent…”
The Empress Dowager paused, then quickly changed her wording: "Is he a crown prince with a hidden illness?"
The crown prince pursed his lips.
He had already heard the harsh words through his informants; if he minded, he wouldn't have kept delaying marriage and taking concubines until now.
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