Inside the study, Bai Yan and her father Bai Qing finished discussing the political situation in Jiangnan over the past two years, and then they started talking about family matters.
Bai Yan personally poured a cup of tea for her father, the emperor, and said with a smile, "Your subject has not yet congratulated Your Majesty on the birth of your son."
Bai Qing smiled as he accepted the tea from his daughter: In the past two years, his daughter has been his proudest achievement, followed by the second prince born to Consort Yun.
Bai Yan looked at her father with curiosity: "I heard that when the Second Prince was born, there were unusual signs in the sky. Unfortunately, I was not there at the time and was unable to see it. Father, could you tell me about it?"
Thinking of his newborn son, whose birth was bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Bai Qing's smile widened.
He told his curious daughter about the celestial phenomena of that day, and then said, "This Consort Yun may be muddle-headed, but she is blessed. Your younger brother is only two years old, but he walks and talks faster than ordinary children. He seems to be very clever and quick-witted."
“If I can hold on for another seven or eight years, perhaps—” Bai Qing was about to say.
“Father!” But his daughter interrupted him, frowning as she said, “What do you mean by holding out for seven or eight years? Father is the emperor, he is to live a thousand years and ten thousand years.”
She noticed it when they were on the city wall today; his health was not as good as before.
This was a lingering ailment he developed on the battlefield in his early years. In the original storyline, the situation in the Southern Dynasty was far worse than it is now, with chaos on the borders and bandits roaming the south. The exposure of the Crown Prince's collusion with foreign enemies further enraged the Emperor.
He died shortly after his child was born to Meng Ruoyun and he was made crown prince.
Perhaps because of the textile factory she brought with her in this life, she wasn't sick like in the story, even though she was in a good mood. But why is she still like this...?
Bai Yan's eyes were a little red. There was indeed some scheming between her and Bai Qing and his daughter, but people are not plants or trees, and even in the scheming, there was still genuine affection mixed in.
Bai Qing saw this and reached out to pat his daughter's shoulder again, saying, "Birth, aging, sickness, and death are things even an emperor can't control."
He smiled, then remembered something: "I remember I still owe you a polo match. The weather is fine tomorrow, how about I bring your mother and ask her to watch my daughter and me play polo?"
Bai Yan smiled and nodded, then suggested, "Father, since we're going out to play, why don't we all go together? Let's invite all the married princesses and their husbands, and also let the concubines in the palace go out for a stroll together."
Bai Qing agreed, and the father and daughter talked for a while longer. Seeing that he didn't look well and seemed sleepy, Bai Yan excused herself to go see Consort Li and quickly knelt down to take her leave.
After leaving Bai Qing, Bai Yan went to see her birth mother, Consort Li, and asked her if anyone in the palace had made things difficult for her in the past two years.
Consort Li shook her head: "Given the Empress's health, I don't think she'll survive the year. She won't be able to cause me any trouble. It's just Consort Yun—"
When Consort Yun was mentioned, Consort Li frowned slightly: "She gave birth to a prince and asked His Majesty for the power to assist in managing the inner palace."
"But she made things difficult for you?" Bai Yan's voice was slightly cold.
"No, the head steward takes care of Mother."
Consort Li said, "But she always looks at me with disdain. There was also a time at a palace banquet when I overheard her telling someone that I should die for Nan Yue..."
“I should die for Nanyue to uphold the integrity of a woman. To live in humiliation is truly shameful. She looks down on me and has no interest in having any dealings with me.”
Bai Yan: ……
"Mother, don't take her words to heart."
Consort Li nodded, and Bai Yan stood up again.
"It's getting late, what are you going to do at this hour?" Consort Li asked, looking at her with a puzzled expression.
Bai Yan raised her eyes: "Go and pay your respects to Consort Yun."
Yunfei Palace
Meng Ruoyun sat in front of the little prince's cradle, gently rocking his crib. "I don't want to see her. I went and told her that I'm tired."
She despised people like Princess Tianfu who would grovel for petty gains.
Previously, seeing her weakness, she framed her and Young Master Jin, resulting in the deaths of three people. Now, she's simply trying to curry favor with her now that she's given birth to a prince.
"Your Highness..." a maidservant advised, "You're not alone anymore. You still have our little prince. Have you forgotten what Prince Duan told you? You must not antagonize Princess Tianfu!"
Meng Ruoyun clenched her hands, her mind racing, and then said, "Fine, let's just consider it for the sake of the child."
Otherwise, she would disdain associating with Tianfu.
She gently combed her hair again: "By my decree, let her in."
But before the maid could deliver the decree, the princess, impatient, had already left.
Meng Ruoyun's lowered eyes showed even more disgust. She really couldn't like this princess at all. "She has no manners or rules whatsoever... His Majesty is really something. Doesn't he know that spoiling a child is like killing him?"
"How will the princess, so arrogant, ever marry and survive?"
She pinched her son's cheek again: "My son, you must not learn from your good-for-nothing sister."
At the same time, the Crown Prince had also received the news. He kicked over the table and shouted, "Tianfu, Consort Yun, fine, none of you want to give me a way out... If you won't give me a way out, then none of you should live!"
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