Chapter 184: Initial Signs
It was morning meeting time and all the concubines were gathered in Zhaohua Palace.
Jiang Yingli walked in front, and Yunniang followed closely behind, carrying Lin'er out of the inner hall.
When they saw the eldest prince, everyone's eyes lit up.
Children are rare in the palace, and this one is more precious than gold.
The concubines stayed in the palace all day long. Although there were no annoying trivial matters to bother them, life became boring over time. Now it was a fun thing to play with the children.
"Ah, to be more specific, the last time I saw the eldest prince was when he was being crowned as the crown prince. How come he has grown so much bigger in the blink of an eye?"
The first person to speak was Ying Xiuyi. When Jiang Yingli was pregnant and in confinement, she was the one who assisted in the affairs of the harem. Now she has become very popular in front of everyone.
Jiang Yingli smiled and continued, "Yes, any changes in a baby are noticeable. Now that Lin'er is almost five months old and can recognize people, it's a good opportunity for him to take a good look at you. When he grows up, he'll naturally recognize you."
Jiang Yingli sat down and raised her hand slightly to signal Yunniang to hold Lin'er and go around in front of the concubines.
Concubine Song Xian, who had been eating pine nuts, quickly waved: "Come, come, come to me first. With so many ladies here, how could the little prince not recognize me first?"
Yunniang held the child over, and Lin'er stared at Concubine Xian for a while, babbling and sucking his fingers.
Jiang Yingli smiled and looked at Concubine Xian: "Concubine Xian, why don't you hug him?"
Xian Fei was stunned for a moment. Seeing Yun Niang was about to go up and hand the baby over, she quickly declined: "This... just take a look. This palace doesn't know how to hold a child."
The most important thing is that when they entered the hall just now, they heard the prince's deafening crying, as if he had been coaxed into crying before being carried out.
What should I do if I hold him in my arms and he starts crying again?
"Empress, please let me weigh him and see how heavy our Crown Prince is." Ying Xiuyi was very tactful and immediately said with a smile that she wanted to hold him.
Jiang Yingli smiled and nodded slowly.
Ying Xiuyi walked forward and carefully took over Xiao Chenan who was sucking his fingers happily.
She shook her arms gently. Xiao Chenan stared at her with his big eyes for a moment, giggled, and drooled inadvertently.
Ying Xiuyi didn't mind and directly took the handkerchief that was placed on Xiao Chenan's chest and wiped it for him.
She looked at Xiao Chen'an, her mind full of calculations - she had spent the first half of her life working for the Empress, and had picked up a position as the assistant manager of the six palaces, climbing to the position of the first person under the Concubine Xian. Although it was still quite glorious, she probably wouldn't have any chance to make further progress in the second half of her life.
From now on, she should build a good relationship with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. When His Majesty is a hundred years old and she is old, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will ascend the throne and leave her a position as a concubine dowager in the palace so that she can enjoy a good life and she will not be sent to the imperial mausoleum to guard the tomb.
The life plan became clearer and clearer, and Concubine Ying looked at Xiao Chen'an with more and more love - Your Highness, Your Highness, when you grow up, you must remember your Concubine Ying.
Your Queen Ying really held you in her arms when you were a child!
Not only that, we also have a friendship that allows us to wipe each other's saliva.
Yunniang didn't dare let the concubines hold him for too long. Seeing Ying Xiuyi's increasingly fanatical eyes, she quickly reached out to hold Xiao Chenan back.
Ying Xiuyi then reluctantly let go.
Yunniang carried Xiao Chenan and went somewhere else.
"No wonder the Empress wanted to hide it before. It turns out the eldest prince is so handsome. Is the Empress afraid that the concubines will steal the child?"
Xiao Chenan is only a few months old, but his eyelashes are already very long, and his big eyes blink, which is really cute.
Lady Fang felt that Lady Mei's words were inappropriate and immediately reminded her, "What do you mean by 'Your Majesty is hiding it?' Even if Your Majesty leaves the palace door open every day, would you dare to steal? If you dare to touch the young prince, His Majesty will immediately return from the northern border to have you banished to the secluded palace."
Seeing that the two people started bickering again, Concubine Xian covered her lips and coughed twice, signaling them to stop.
These two kids are always bringing up things that are not relevant to the topic. His Majesty has been gone for almost three months.
It was Mei Mei who reacted quickly, receiving Concubine Xian's signal, and quickly elbowed Concubine Fang: "You are so ungrateful! The Empress must be missing His Majesty right now. You deliberately mentioned His Majesty and said that His Majesty had returned. Aren't you deliberately trying to make the Empress sad?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole hall fell silent.
He kept calling her "Your Majesty" as if he was afraid that the Empress didn't hear clearly.
The virtuous concubine rolled her eyes.
She now understood that her respected Majesty must have had some ulterior motives when he selected the concubines.
If she is sure that they are on her side, then she can choose smart people, such as her and Chen Zhuxin who has already left the palace. If she is not sure which side they are on, she can deliberately choose a bunch of idiots.
As for idiots, they have no intention to harm others, and when they have nothing to do, they can make a fool of themselves to make everyone laugh.
But in the current situation, this embarrassment is a bit sad.
Jiang Yingli rubbed her forehead helplessly.
Mei Mei just realized that she had said the wrong thing. She covered her mouth helplessly and apologized in a voice as thin as a mosquito.
"Your Majesty, I didn't mean it."
Jiang Yingli waved her hand: "I will pretend I didn't hear anything. Don't mention His Majesty again until he comes back."
"Yes, yes, I will remember this clearly. I will not say anything about Your Majesty again until Your Majesty returns."
Everyone: “…”
Although there had been silence for a while, the overall atmosphere in the hall was quite pleasant.
At this time, Lian Qiao entered the hall with a slightly heavy expression and whispered in Jiang Yingli's ear, "Your Majesty, there's a message from Wanshou Palace saying that the Empress Dowager has been sick and hasn't seen anyone for a long time. She feels very lonely, and wants you to go to Wanshou Palace to tend to her after the morning meeting."
As soon as the Queen Mother's news came out, everyone's chattering stopped.
The Empress Dowager was first assassinated, and then affected by the fire in Fukang Palace. She was in a coma for half a month. After several ordeals, although she was still alive, she was just barely surviving.
Now that His Majesty is not in the capital, the Queen Mother is probably thinking of using her illness and filial piety to control the Queen.
Back then, when the Empress had just entered the palace, the Empress Dowager had tormented her several times. If it weren't for God's mercy and letting her be bedridden after being assassinated, who knows how she would have dealt with the Empress.
Jiang Yingli lowered her eyelashes and smiled faintly.
"Go and tell them that I have already sent a letter to the high monk of Da En Shan Temple. I need to pray for His Majesty today, so I am afraid I will not have time to set foot in Wanshou Palace."
"Yes." Lian Qiao took the order and replied.
Jiang Yingli watched Lian Qiao's figure disappear at the door of the palace, and her premonition became stronger.
When His Majesty left, he told her to pay attention to what was happening with the Queen Mother.
Now that Empress Dowager Xue suddenly summoned her to take care of her illness, it must be something serious.
When His Majesty is away, she is the backbone of the palace. She has to think carefully and protect the people around her.
Thinking of this, Jiang Yingli smiled and looked at everyone in the hall: "There is nothing to do today, everyone go back."
All the concubines stood up and bowed: "I will take my leave."
After everyone left, Jiang Yingli looked at Qiuxia, who immediately understood and stepped closer to whisper, "Prepare the phoenix carriage as usual and head all the way to Da Enshan Temple."
Qiuxia accepted the order, and Jiang Yingli instructed Xiaoxiazi: "After the ladies of each palace have returned, use the name of this palace reward to go to their palaces and tell them to come to Zhaohua Palace quietly at night."
Xiao Xiazi realized that the matter was not simple and nodded seriously.
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