Chapter 12 The Crown Prince is not the Queen’s biological son
Inside the Fuyao Palace.
The palace maids Hongbi and Xie Zhenrong reported, "Crown Princess, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has given Wen Fengyi something more."
Xie Zhenrong was quite surprised.
She put down the account book in her hand, looked up and asked, "What is the gift?"
"Replying to the Crown Princess, it is a chess manual, a unique copy from the previous dynasty."
Upon hearing this, Nanny Zhuang frowned.
"Crown Princess, it seems His Highness is quite fond of Wen Fengyi."
Xie Zhenrong stroked her belly, her eyes full of bitterness.
"Nurse, it's better for His Highness to favor Wen Fengyi than Yang Fengyi. If His Highness's first child is born from Wen Fengyi's belly, I can worry less."
Nanny Zhuang looked at her forcing a smile, her face full of heartache.
In the Eastern Palace, only the Crown Princess and the concubines are qualified to bring their own wet nurses and maids into the palace.
There is no concubine in the Eastern Palace yet.
The nanny and four maids around Xie Zhenrong have been serving her since she was a child.
They all knew that the dirty things that happened in the Xie family's harem had caused the Crown Princess to suffer an unprovoked disaster.
She fell into a lotus pond in the freezing cold, which caused her body to become severely cold and made it difficult for her to get pregnant.
Of course, this news was kept secret, otherwise it would be hard to say whether Xie Zhenrong could take the position of Crown Princess.
Xie Zhenrong came from a prominent family and was trained to be the Crown Princess since childhood.
She had long known that her future husband would have three harems and six courtyards.
Therefore, she had already prepared herself mentally for the prince's favoritism towards other women, so there was nothing to be sad about.
What made her sad was her own health. She had been married into the Eastern Palace for two years and had yet to give birth to a legitimate son for His Highness.
Even though His Highness's first child would be brought to her courtyard and raised by her, he would not be her own flesh and blood after all.
As she thought about it, her eyes became blurred and tears could not help but slide down from the corners of her eyes.
Seeing Xie Zhenrong's sad look, Madam Zhuang felt heartbroken.
She went to the kitchen herself and boiled a bowl of black medicinal juice.
"Crown Princess, it's time to take your medicine today."
When Xie Zhenrong smelled the smell, she felt sick to her stomach.
But in order to have her own child, she pinched her nose and drank the medicine in the bowl in one gulp.
After drinking, she rinsed her mouth, changed into a palace dress, and went to the Cining Palace with a group of servants.
The Empress was also in the Cining Palace, reading a travelogue to the Empress Dowager.
The Queen is the Queen Mother's niece, so their relationship is naturally close.
If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's protection, the unfavored Empress might have made way for Yang Guifei long ago.
Xie Zhenrong stepped forward and greeted the two of them.
The Empress Dowager seemed to like her granddaughter-in-law Xie Zhenrong very much. She patted the seat next to her and asked her to come and sit down.
When the queen saw her daughter-in-law coming, she continued to read the travelogue without stopping.
The Queen Mother waved her hand and said, "Take a break, have a cup of tea and rest for a while."
The Queen shook her head and said, "I'm not thirsty. I have nothing else to do, so I'll just read a few more volumes for you."
The Queen Mother couldn't help getting angry when she saw her wasting time doing nothing.
"If you don't do anything serious every day, can I still let you hide away here with your aunt and have a rest for the rest of your life?!"
The Queen remained calm upon hearing this. She closed the travelogue and handed it to a maid from the Cining Palace.
She herself sat there obediently, taking the scolding.
Xie Zhenrong felt a little embarrassed when she saw her mother-in-law being scolded in front of her.
After thinking for a moment, she quickly changed the subject.
"Grandmother, my granddaughter-in-law has heard from the palace maids that my father is worried that my third and fourth brothers are not keeping up with their studies, so he wants them to attend the Grand Tutor's lectures with Your Highness."
In the Dayan Dynasty, before the crown prince was appointed, the princes all listened to lectures by great scholars together.
But after the crown prince is appointed, he will be separated from other princes. In addition to listening to lectures from great scholars, he also has to listen to lectures from the imperial tutor.
Most of what the Taifu talked about were about the ways of being a king, the concerns of the country, and the heavy responsibilities of the people.
Yang Guifei would whisper in the emperor's ear from time to time, so that the two princes she gave birth to would be treated the same as the crown prince in this strictly hierarchical palace, and some were even treated far better than the crown prince.
Xie Zhenrong was anxious. She and the prince were husband and wife, and they would prosper and suffer together.
She couldn't bear to see the child born by that evil concubine being on equal footing with His Highness!
The Queen Mother waved her hand and said, "Don't worry, this matter has not yet been decided. Not only will the civil and military ministers try to stop it, I will too."
After hearing this, Xie Zhenrong felt a little relieved and took her leave with the Queen Mother and Empress Fuli.
The Queen Mother looked at the Queen who was like a wooden stake beside her, and continued to scold her in anger.
"Look, even the Crown Princess is worried. As a mother, can't you also worry about your son?!"
The Queen said calmly: "Aunt, he is not my biological son either."
"You raised her yourself! As the saying goes, the grace of raising is greater than the grace of giving birth. Xu'er has always treated you as her biological mother. Even if you have a heart of stone, after all these years, it's time to warm her up!"
The queen lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers.
She looked so depressed.
The Queen Mother stroked her chest, worried that she would be so angry that she would pass out.
"What can I say to you, aunt? What man doesn't get bored with the old and love the new? He's the emperor, after all. The most important thing for you is to hold on to power, not to be here in front of me every day like a bereaved family! Look at that girl from the Yang family, she's about to ride on your head and act wild!"
The Queen said, "All that power was given to her by the Emperor. How can I take it back? I'd rather eat and drink well and enjoy a leisurely life."
The Queen Mother felt a pain in her heart and pointed at her, unable to speak.
What a sin! How could the Li family raise such a stubborn and headstrong daughter?
If I had known this would happen, I would have sent a concubine's daughter in. She would have been better than her.
She sighed deeply and waved her hand to send him away.
"You may return to your Fengxiang Palace. I will not be bothered by seeing you."
The Queen stood up and said, "Then I will come again tomorrow. Aunt, please rest early."
After the others left, the head nanny of the Cining Palace immediately stepped forward and helped the empress dowager massage her temples.
The Queen Mother said with some sadness, "Zhong Yun, do you think I made the wrong decision? I forced Wei Yue and Wei Yue into such a miserable couple, causing them to waste their entire lives in this palace."
Wei Yue was the empress's maiden name, Li Wei Yue, who was famous for her talent in the capital at that time.
Nanny Zhong was silent for a moment before she spoke, "Empress Dowager, you're not wrong. Your mistake is that the Empress was born in the wrong era. What she desires is something no woman in this world dares to dream of. A lifelong companionship—what a luxury! Therefore, whether the Empress marries into this palace, into another aristocratic family, or into an ordinary commoner, her wish will be difficult to fulfill. It's simply a matter of wasting time."
When the Queen Mother heard this, she felt that what she said made sense.
At least in this palace, she is protecting me.
If she had married somewhere else, she might have been wasted even more.
It is not easy for women in this world. To live a good life, one needs more than just sufficient ability, vision and tolerance.
You also have to be able to endure and dare to do it.
Endure what ordinary people cannot endure, and dare to do what ordinary people dare not do.
Although Wei Yue is talented, she is too arrogant after all.
A character that would rather break than bend may be praised by the world as noble.
But for men, they prefer the kind of flattery that comes with subtlety.
I can only say that it is fate that plays tricks on me.
…
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