Chapter 77 The End of the Year: Raising one child is the same as raising two children...
The group returned just before the end of the year. In five or six days, it would be the New Year. On this day, Shen Yujiao went to the palace to pay her respects to the Empress and chatted about her experiences on the journey north.
During the conversation, Shen Yujiao was on edge almost constantly. She couldn't mention that Jiang Chen and He Zhiju had gone to search for General Qi's assassination attempt in private. She only said that they encountered a blizzard and were trapped on a mountain when they reached the northern border, and that Qi Zheng was found at that time.
Shen Yujiao was also conflicted about this matter. On the one hand, Jiang Chen did not want people in the capital to know about General Qi's affairs. On the other hand, the fact that the Crown Prince had an extra child could not be kept secret. As for the Empress, Shen Yujiao always told her the news with a mix of truth and falsehood, and this time was no different.
However, how could a young girl like Shen Yujiao possibly control the Empress's position? She had heard about the situation in the Northern Frontier; the idea that a random child could be the son of the commander of the Northern Frontier camp was simply too far-fetched.
Faced with the Empress's scrutiny, Shen Yujiao gritted her teeth and knelt down, saying, "This matter is of great importance. Please dismiss everyone else, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, the Empress raised her hand, and Zhiyuan led the palace maids away. Once only the two of them remained in the hall, Shen Yujiao carefully spoke, "Besides the successive droughts and snow disasters in the Northern Frontier, there has also been some unrest among the border people. My brother encountered a small team heading to Anqing Prefecture for reinforcements on the way, and learned that the situation in the army is not good either."
"The Northern Barbarians have invaded several times. Now the commander of the Northern Frontier camp has been captured, and the situation in the army is unclear. Envoys have already returned to the capital to request reinforcements. Although we do not know what the Emperor plans, the three sons of the commander, General Qi, are already in the army leading troops to fight. Only the youngest son is still young. The army is currently a mixed bag, and the generals are worried that if they are not careful, the child will be captured by the enemy and taken hostage. Therefore, they have ordered a small team to secretly send him away from the Northern Frontier."
"...My brother originally wanted to send the child to the garrison camp in Anqing Prefecture, but His Highness said it would be safer to bring him back to the capital. After all, the northern frontier is in chaos right now, and the three prefectures in the north are interconnected. Bringing the child back to the capital, under the emperor's nose, is always better than the borderlands."
Shen Yujiao was halfway through her sentence when she saw the Empress's serious expression. She carefully added, "Moreover, His Highness seems to have great pity for that child, saying that... now that he can't see his father and isn't by his brother's side, he might get into trouble if he's alone."
As expected, after Shen Yujiao finished speaking, the Empress's serious expression softened a bit. She originally wanted to see the Crown Princess's attitude, and now that she saw that Shen Yujiao was quite honest with her, she stopped making things difficult for her and, after thinking for a moment, let her get up.
After Shen Yujiao sat down next to the Empress, she heard the Empress say, "The situation this year is not good. The past year has not been peaceful in the north and south, and there has been trouble on the northern border... His Majesty thought it would be simpler this year, so the New Year's Eve banquet has been canceled. You and the Crown Prince should stay in the East Palace."
As she spoke, Shen Yujiao noticed a rare hint of hesitation in her expression: "If you have time, please take Yong'an with you. The child gets along well with you two. Right now, there are many affairs in the palace, and I really can't take care of her."
The princess isn't spending the New Year in the palace? Shen Yujiao concealed her surprise and curtsied, replying, "Your Majesty is busy with palace affairs, so I will naturally share the burden. As for Yong'an's affairs, Your Majesty can leave them to me."
In the past, the Empress would have certainly asked Shen Yujiao to stay and talk with her and have a meal, but today, the Empress simply nodded slightly and then had someone escort Shen Yujiao out of the palace.
Such unusual behavior made Shen Yujiao wary. On her way out of the palace, she waited for Zhiyuan and learned from her about the recent events in the harem. She was greatly alarmed and told Jiang Chen about it as soon as she returned to the East Palace.
“Rong Jieyu miscarried after we left. I heard that the incident caused quite a stir, and it still hasn’t been resolved.”
According to Zhiyuan, the incident occurred at Consort Qi's birthday banquet. The menu that day was full of loopholes. First, there was crab, which is not suitable for pregnant women, in the dishes. Then, there was honey sweet potato, which is incompatible with crab. Fortunately, both dishes were discovered and removed by Consort Qi before they were served.
After two such ordeals, just as everyone was relieved, Consort Rong suddenly experienced abdominal pain while eating a dessert. Before the imperial physician could arrive, her lower body was already covered in red marks. In the end, the imperial physician diagnosed that the dessert had been poisoned, stating that it was already a miracle that Consort Rong had survived.
Upon hearing this, the emperor was furious and ordered the Imperial Prison to investigate the matter thoroughly. There were far too many people involved that day. Almost all the prominent concubines were present at Consort Qi's birthday party. Moreover, because the incident occurred just as the banquet was about to end, almost no one present could be exonerated.
Such methods are truly clumsy, especially considering that it took place at Consort Qi's birthday banquet. Logically, this matter should have been easy to investigate, but to this day, there is still no conclusion.
This also explains why the Empress looked so unwell when Shen Yujiao entered the palace today. Although she knew in her heart that Consort Rong would not be able to give birth to this child, the Emperor attached great importance to this pregnancy. Now that she had suddenly miscarried, it was natural that the palace could not take care of Princess Yong'an.
“I was thinking... let’s take him in. Anyway, Qi Zheng is in the East Palace now. We’ll raise one child or two children as well. The palace is in such a mess, I’m worried about Yong’an.”
Jiang Chen didn't have any particular thoughts on this: "It's up to you to decide these things. Not going to the palace for the New Year is the best outcome."
He was genuinely impatient to sit stiffly all night and then come back drunk.
"Mmm!" Shen Yujiao smiled as she thought of the New Year. "This is the first time we've spent the New Year together."
That's not actually the case. Jiang Chen and Shen Yujiao have been spending Chinese New Year together since they were born. The two families are very close, and during holidays they either gather at the Jiang family home or the Shen family home. The two grandfathers like lively gatherings, and the younger generation is happy to play together. So every year during the Spring Festival, it is the liveliest time for both families.
But Shen Yujiao was right. “Living together” and “living together” are not the same thing. Jiang Chen figured out the meaning behind her words, and the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl up. He reached out and took Shen Yujiao’s hand. Their fingertips touched and their eyes met. Even without speaking, the air was filled with sweet warmth.
"Your Highness—"
Zhu Yu's voice rang out from outside. Shen Yujiao immediately withdrew her hand as if she had been electrocuted. Jiang Chen saw that his hand had fallen into emptiness and lowered his head helplessly. Then he sat up straight and let him in.
Upon entering the study, Zhu Yu sensed something was amiss. Thinking of what he was about to say, his heart pounded. He took a list and handed it to the desk: "Chief Steward Lian has already had the New Year's gifts to be sent to the palace and various princely residences this year. Please take a look."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen vaguely remembered the matter. Last year, he had just transmigrated and naturally followed the plan devised by Steward Lian. However, this year, with a mistress in the Eastern Palace, he no longer needed to get involved in the matter.
So Jiang Chen took the list and handed it to Shen Yujiao: "Take a look."
Manager Lian was a seasoned professional, and his list was almost flawless. Shen Yujiao glanced at it briefly and put it aside: "Just send it according to this list."
Zhu Yu came and went quickly, but this incident reminded Shen Yujiao. She tugged at Jiang Chen's sleeve and said, "If we've decided to bring Yong'an over, why don't we take advantage of the lively atmosphere and take the two children to the street to buy some New Year's goods?"
Jiang Chen chuckled upon hearing this. He had no interest in shopping, but since Shen Yujiao had brought it up, he wouldn't refuse. So he sent someone to the palace to deliver a message, saying that Princess Yong'an would be brought to the East Palace early the next morning.
After settling the matter, Shen Yujiao thought of going to Jingtan Pavilion to discuss it with Chu Rou. Previously, when they were out, Qi Zheng was mostly taken care of by Chu Rou, but now that they had returned to the East Palace, Qi Zheng lived alone in the small courtyard in front.
Chu Rou was worried that he wouldn't adapt well, so she would send people to check on him four or five times a day, bringing him food or trinkets. Now that the New Year was approaching, she even took money from her own allowance to make new clothes for Qi Zheng.
Originally, Shen Yujiao had come to ask Chu Rou about her plans for the New Year, since this was Chu Rou's first time celebrating the New Year in the East Palace after her formal marriage. However, as soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Chu Rou picking and choosing among the fabrics scattered throughout the yard.
"What are you doing?"
"Your Highness is here—" Chu Rou turned her head and saw Shen Yujiao coming over. She walked out from the rack of cloth hanging on the rack, feeling a little embarrassed. There were so many cloths on the rack that she almost tripped and fell in front of Shen Yujiao, but Shen Yujiao caught her quickly.
"It's not even the New Year yet, and you're already giving me such a grand gesture?"
"Your Highness, please forgive my rudeness," Chu Rou said, her face flushed. She tidied her disheveled hair and bowed to the Crown Princess, "May Your Highness be well."
Shen Yujiao waved her hand casually. Seeing that the fabrics displayed in her courtyard were ones she never wore, she walked over curiously to take a closer look. Chu Rou followed behind and explained, "I wanted to make some new clothes for Qi Zheng, so I thought I'd see if there was anything usable in the storeroom..."
“You should have said so earlier. Our Eastern Palace has its own knitting workshop. We don’t need that much fabric to make new clothes for him,” Shen Yujiao said, then sighed. “You really like this child.”
Qi Zheng was originally brought back by He Zhiju. At first, he was only close to and trusted by He Zhiju. If it weren't for Chu Rou's meticulous care along the way, this child might still not be willing to be close to any of them.
But other people's children always have to be returned. Chu Rou cares for him so much now, I wonder how reluctant he will be when they part ways in the future.
Thinking this, she changed the subject before she could finish her sentence: "Princess Yong'an will be moving into the mansion tomorrow. Since the palace isn't holding a big celebration for the New Year this year, and I'm thinking that with both children at the mansion, I can't manage on my own. Why don't you move to a courtyard near mine for the next couple of days?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Rou was immediately overjoyed, but her happiness was fleeting. Recalling what the Crown Princess had just said, she immediately sensed something was amiss: "Has something happened in the palace?"
Shen Yujiao was surprised by her keen insight, but she didn't intend to hide anything from her. She briefly explained Rong Jieyu's situation, and Chu Rou immediately understood: "If there is anything I can do to help, Your Highness, please give the order at any time."
“There really is.” Shen Yujiao winked at her.
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