"Grandmother, are you going out again later?"
Ning Chuge held the soup bowl in her hand, her eyes darting around.
The Empress Dowager did not avoid speaking to Ning Chuge, so she did not intend to hide it from her.
"Yes, I will go to Cining Palace in a while, but," seeing Ning Chuge's happy expression, the Empress Dowager still couldn't resist teasing him, "you don't need to think about outdoor activities today. Just stay in Shou Kang Palace, or you can go to Qixiang Palace for a stroll."
In short, she must not be allowed to ride horses or shoot arrows. After the Empress Dowager finished speaking, she instructed the palace servants around her to write it down in case anyone disobeyed her.
Ning Chuge: ...Oh well, all that excitement for nothing.
Nodding listlessly, Ning Chuge quickly finished the soup in her hand, gave a curtsy, and got up to leave.
"Oh, this child, he's still too playful," the Empress Dowager shook her head.
"The princess is like this because her master dotes on her," otherwise who would care so much? Someone like Chunxi, who lives alone in the princess's quarters, is a pitiful little thing with no one to love or care for her.
"She's my only granddaughter, who else should I spoil if not her?"
As she spoke, the Empress Dowager recalled the matter of Sumalagu coming to invite her earlier.
It's really strange. Usually, she's the one who goes to Cining Palace, and the Empress Dowager rarely sees her (you can refer to the time when Consort Shu had her accident). Now, the Empress Dowager is willing to send Su Ma La Gu to invite her. Could it be that she has exposed something again?
It's no wonder the Empress Dowager always thinks bad things; she had been arrested several times before, and each time the Grand Empress Dowager made a grand spectacle of it, causing her to lose more and more power.
Now that Sumalagu has arrived, the Empress Dowager's first thought is about her own problems.
However, she has been behaving herself lately and hasn't made any moves against anyone in the harem. Even if something happens, it shouldn't be as serious as before.
After comforting herself, the Empress Dowager wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, then changed into casual clothes and hurried to Cining Palace.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has arrived."
Sumalagu came to the bedchamber and spoke to the Empress Dowager, who was reading scriptures.
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager snapped the book shut and stood up, taking Sumalagu's arm. "Since you're here, help me over."
She gave a soft "yes" and walked around the screen in front of her. The Empress Dowager appeared in front of the main hall.
"Great-aunt"
The Empress Dowager bowed to the Grand Empress Dowager, her expression calm.
The Empress Dowager smiled and waved her hand. "Please sit down. I've called you here for nothing important. I just wanted to discuss with you what your thoughts are on the Emperor's Mid-Autumn Festival investiture ceremony."
view?
The Empress Dowager was taken aback, then shook her head. What opinion could she possibly have? It wasn't like she was being formally appointed.
The Empress Dowager simply mentioned the two Borjigit concubines in Yanxi Palace, saying, "What I mean is, I want to confirm with you whether you want to bring one of them up."
Should we bring one up?
The Empress Dowager was taken aback again, then realized that the Empress Dowager was referring to the investiture ceremony.
The Empress Dowager replied calmly, "Wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate?" Anyone with eyes could see that the Emperor disliked the Mongol concubines, so promoting them to the rank of concubine or even imperial consort would not make much sense.
"If I could obtain a position as the head of a palace, it would be perfectly legitimate to adopt an imperial heir in the future," the Empress Dowager tentatively revealed her true intentions.
The Empress Dowager shook her head. "Then it would be better to entrust the imperial heir to her grandniece to raise." Compared to handing the imperial heir over to a younger relative with a slightly more distant blood relationship, the Empress Dowager trusted herself more. The distance of the relationship was a practical matter.
"Aruna, you want to raise the prince?" The Empress Dowager's eyes lit up, then she quickly put them away.
The Empress Dowager nodded. There was nothing she didn't want to do. Although Ningchuge was good, she was a girl. Ever since Yider had the name Yinyi, the Empress Dowager understood that the Emperor would not allow this child to be too closely associated with them. So, upon careful consideration, it was indeed the only way to provide Mongolia with an extra layer of protection by adopting a prince herself.
Would the Emperor agree?
The Empress Dowager was somewhat uncertain, mainly because her relationship with the Emperor was not yet deep enough to allow her to directly adopt a prince. Moreover, when Lady Hitara gave birth, the fact that the child could be named Ider was already a concession, but the Empress Dowager dared not think about going any further.
"It depends on your choice," the Empress Dowager said, no longer hiding anything from the Empress Dowager. She discussed the matter of this investiture with the future adoption of a prince, saying, "You can only choose one of the two."
As long as they are not greedy, the Emperor will agree, given his style of doing things.
“The prince is naturally more important.” What use is a high position in the harem? During the reign of the late emperor, there were many high-ranking concubines from Mongolia, but now they can only live in Shou'an Palace.
The Empress Dowager's heart inevitably burned with excitement. She looked at the Grand Empress Dowager and said, "Grand Aunt, could the choice of the prince be made by your grandniece?"
"You want to ask about the Hitara clan?" The Empress Dowager saw through the Empress Dowager's thoughts at a glance and shook her head decisively. "Don't even think about the Hitara clan, the Emperor will not agree."
The Empress Dowager frowned. "Why?"
"The Hitara clan has too many offspring. If you adopt one, it will be detrimental to the balance of the harem," the Empress Dowager tapped the table, thinking to herself that the Hitara clan already had a son and a daughter, and the daughter was being raised by the Empress Dowager. The relationship between the two was already closer than that of others. If the Empress Dowager were to adopt the child in the Hitara clan's womb, it would be a blatant way of telling the other women in the harem that their Mongol lineage supported the Qixiang Palace.
"With the Empress and the Crown Prince both present, the harem cannot be in chaos," so the princes that the Empress Dowager could adopt would most likely be chosen from among some of the lower-ranking concubines in the harem.
"But you don't need to worry. If you're willing, someone will come looking for you."
It wasn't just the Empress Dowager who wanted to adopt a prince; her power had always been coveted by others, and it was just a matter of who would be unable to resist taking action.
...
"Why are you rushing back under the scorching sun again, child?"
When Xiu Ning saw Ning Chuge enter, she beckoned him to her side while complaining that the child had returned at the worst possible time.
It's not that I can't come back, it's just that the weather outside has been unusually hot lately.
Ning Chuge's face was sunburned and he is currently resting with ointment. Xiu Ning couldn't bear to see this child ruin himself.
Ning Chuge giggled and dodged Xiu Ning's nagging, then hugged Xiu Ning's arm and whined sweetly.
Xiuning couldn't help but shake her head and laugh, "Still acting like a child, doesn't she realize how old she is?" What will she do when Xu Ren arrives in a couple of years?
“No matter how old she is, she is still her mother’s daughter,” Ning Chuge said proudly, looking as if she was proud of herself, which made Xiu Ning feel helpless.
Xiu Ning ruffled Ning Chuge's hair. "Tell me, what brings you back this time?"
Ning Chuge muttered to herself, "Grandmother has been acting strangely lately. She keeps pulling her daughter aside to ask about the baby in her mother's belly."
"Mother, Grandmother isn't planning to adopt someone, is she?"
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