Since learning about the future fate of the Pan family, Shi Lan suddenly felt a sense of urgency. Although the old lady of the Pan family did not treat her well, and her own father was indifferent to her, Han Shi and Sun Shi treated her very well. Apart from some of her brothers and sisters, the rest were all very good to her. Moreover, there was the imperial concubine who loved her the most. Shi Lan did not want these people to deviate from the path of life and enter such a tragic situation.
Therefore, she made a very bold decision: she wanted to persuade the Imperial Concubine to adopt Shi Yuan as her son. This way, no matter how the situation changed in the future, her mother, as the Crown Prince, would eventually have a good day. Others would show leniency to the Pan family out of consideration for this and would not exterminate them.
Next, Shi Lan planned how to get the Imperial Concubine and Shi Yuan closer. This was a difficult problem. The Imperial Concubine had experienced the ups and downs of the palace, and nothing in the palace could be hidden from her. Shi Yuan was also very precocious, so it would be very difficult to deceive him. Moreover, Shi Lan did not want to deceive him. He would be spending a long time with the Imperial Concubine, and she did not want the two of them to harbor any resentment.
After much deliberation, Shi Lan decided to talk to Shi Yuan first and see what his attitude was.
In the afternoon, after Shi Yuan finished practicing martial arts, Shi Lan handed him a hot towel, poured him a cup of tea, and sent away the servants around him.
Shi Yuan wiped the sweat from her neck, turned her head and saw her smiling brightly, and said, "That smile is really ugly."
Shi Lan's face stiffened, her smile vanished, and she said unhappily, "Who are you calling ugly?"
Shi Yuan glanced at her and said, "That's much better."
Shi Lan "..."
Shi Yuan sat to the side, turned to look at her, and said, "Speak, what is it?"
Shi Lan looked at him, who was so young yet acted like an adult, and said, "Shi Yuan, have you ever thought about finding a powerful backer in the palace to be your foster mother?"
Shi Yuan shook her head and said, "No, given my current status, it's best not to implicate others."
Shi Lan sighed softly. Indeed, the Emperor's attitude towards him was a bit strange, always fluctuating between hot and cold. It wasn't exactly good, as he cared a lot about his food, clothing, and daily necessities. However, considering the Consort's future fate, Shi Lan still felt it was better to tie the two of them together. So she asked, "What do you think, my aunt?"
Shi Yuan tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying, "It's fine."
Shi Lan's face lit up with joy, and she asked, "Then do you like her?"
Shi Yuan glanced at her sideways. "What? The 'backer' you're talking about is your aunt?"
Shi Lan nodded quickly and said, "Look, she's the most powerful person in the palace right now. If you were raised by her, you would have more contact with the emperor, and he wouldn't be so strange to you."
Shi Yuan suddenly grinned and said, "You told your aunt?"
Shi Lan shook her head. "I have to ask for your opinion first."
Shi Yuan said, "I think we should forget about adopting a foster mother."
Shi Lan frowned, wanting to speak.
Shi Yuan raised her hand to stop her, saying, "Listen to me on this matter. You know better than I do about things in the palace. It's best to just leave things as they are."
Shi Lan was puzzled. It was clearly a win-win situation, so why was he so opposed?
Shi Yuan had known Shi Lan for quite some time and knew that this young woman, who was a few years older than her, seemed intelligent, but sometimes her eccentricities could be quite worrisome. So she said, "I know you're worried about your aunt. I promise you, if that day ever comes, I will treat her well and make sure she has a glorious life."
Shi Lan nodded. Although it was not quite what she wanted, it at least provided some protection for the Imperial Concubine.
Only then did she realize that she had forgotten to ask Zhang Erniang whether Shi Yuan was the one who later ascended the throne. But now it seemed that the emperor probably had no other choice, otherwise why would he choose someone else's child to raise in the palace?
In late April, Han presented a plaque to the palace. Shi Lan was drawing kites for Shi Yuan in her room when Mama Ruan came in and said, "Madam, the Imperial Concubine requests your presence."
After finishing the last stroke, Shi Lan put down her brush, stood up, and asked, "What does my aunt want with me?"
Madam Ruan then said, "The eldest daughter-in-law's matter has been settled. Because the date was set in a hurry, the eldest madam asks you to go back and help embroider the dowry."
Shi Lan's eyes widened suddenly; she wasn't good at embroidering.
Seeing her like this, Madam Ruan smiled and said, "It's just a token of my appreciation. There are embroiderers in the manor; who can really rely on you?"
Shi Lan breathed a sigh of relief and obediently followed Madam Ruan to the front.
Inside the room, the Imperial Concubine sat leaning against a soft, water-red pillow adorned with gold sparrows and flowers, talking to Madam Han. Upon seeing Shi Lan, she quickly beckoned and said, "Come here."
Shi Lan obediently bowed to her and Han before standing beside her.
The Imperial Concubine took her hand and said to Madam Han, "This child has no one to discipline him while he's here. If he goes back and has his aunt to keep an eye on him, he might become more sensible."
Madam Han chuckled awkwardly and said, "Fourth Sister is naturally kind-hearted, she doesn't need any discipline."
In his heart, he thought, "If no one dares to interfere in front of the Imperial Concubine, who will dare to interfere when I return to the Marquis's residence?"
The Imperial Concubine looked at Shi Lan and said, "Fourth Sister, there may be something going on in the palace in a couple of days. Your aunt is worried that she won't be able to take care of you. You should go back to the Marquis's residence for a while. Once your aunt has dealt with the matter, she will bring you back."
Shi Lan nodded obediently, her eyes filled with longing.
The imperial concubine's eyes reddened involuntarily. She wanted to speak, but found her throat tighten. She quickly blinked to suppress her overwhelming emotions and smiled at Shi Lan.
"Alright, go back with your aunt. Your aunt will take care of everything. As long as I'm not dead, no one else can make decisions for you."
The Imperial Concubine began speaking in a gentle tone, but as she seemed to have thought of something, her voice became firm and her expression turned cold and stern by the end.
Shi Lan was a little stunned, not understanding what she was talking about.
Madam Ruan quickly grabbed Shi Lan's hand and made her kneel down to express her gratitude to the Imperial Concubine.
Shi Lan followed her movements blankly.
The Imperial Concubine stopped her from kneeling, pulled her back, and looked at Madam Han, "Sister-in-law, this child has had a hard life. Now that he's back in the manor, I'll have to trouble you to take good care of him."
Madam Han also sighed. It was truly a tragic fate. Her biological mother died when she was born, and she was taken away before she even opened her eyes. She went through countless hardships to find her way home, but she was not welcomed by her grandmother, and her biological father was indifferent to her. In the end, the only person who was truly kind to her was the Imperial Concubine.
"Your Majesty, you can rest assured that you will not lose an ounce of meat when you enter the palace next time."
When the Imperial Concubine heard this, she laughed, realizing that she had overreacted. After all, Han was her aunt, and she was just a young lady with no vested interests. On the contrary, she could even benefit from it, so why shouldn't she be nice to Shi Lan?
Thinking of this, the Imperial Concubine let go of her hand and asked Mama Ruan, "Is everything packed?"
Madam Ruan nodded and said, "I already gave the instructions when I came out. Yuxia went to help, and I reckon the boxes are packed by now."
The Imperial Concubine nodded. It was getting late, and since the decision had been made to let her leave the palace, she should leave as soon as possible to avoid any further changes later.
The group quickly followed the alleyway out of the palace gate. (To be continued.)
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