An Qingran took another deep breath and said, "There is such a good place in the capital. Why didn't I know about it before?"
Dongfang Jin looked at her intoxicated look without saying a word, but with fondness in his eyes. He brought the tea to her lips, took a sip gently, and then her beautiful eyes were slightly drunk, not knowing whether it was because of the intoxicating tea or the person in front of her who was more intoxicating.
Finally, An Qingran came back to her senses and looked at Dongfang Jin: "You brought me here so mysteriously, not to invite me for tea, right?"
"Well, try the tea first and see if it suits your taste. After a while, when you see the visitor, I'm afraid you won't be in the mood for tea anymore."
His words aroused An Qingran's great interest.
Sure enough, just as she finished a cup of tea, an old woman was brought in. Her hair was gray, but she was very neat and tidy, and one could still feel the grace and cultivation of her youth.
"I am honored to meet the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess." The old woman bowed, which was the authentic standard palace etiquette.
An Qingran looked at her, then looked at Dongfang Jin: "Did you finally find it?"
Dongfang Jin nodded: "This is Granny Hua. Forty-five years ago, she was on duty in the palace. Forty-four years ago, she was released from the palace walls and returned to Lingcheng. It took me a lot of effort to find Granny Hua... Granny Hua, please take a seat."
"I dare not."
"Grandma Hua, please sit down. You have served my grandmother before, so you are qualified for this seat."
Granny Hua's eyes sparkled with tears, and she sat down respectfully: "Prince, I never thought that I would be able to meet the descendants of Concubine Xie..."
"Thank you, Imperial Concubine?" An Qingran heard the hint in her words.
After listening to this, Granny Hua nodded slightly. Then, An Qingran heard a legendary story, but this story was not unfamiliar to her. She did not expect that everything that happened in the palace was so similar to what happened in the An family. It was simply an upgraded replica.
****
Forty-five years ago.
The late emperor was in his prime.
Empress Dowager Murong was still Empress Murong at that time.
There was only Empress Murong in the harem, and the emperor and Empress Murong were extremely affectionate. So, even though the ministers had always asked the emperor to consider royal offspring and to enrich the harem, the emperor had no plans to select a concubine. Empress Murong loved the emperor very much. She had always been gentle and kind, making the emperor not know how to cherish her. Therefore, he had no intention of choosing a concubine so soon.
The story of the two people's love in the palace spread to the people. People were envious and lamented that the emperor was so devoted, and what would happen if the queen had no children.
It was true. The Queen had been in the palace for two years but had not become pregnant. The imperial doctors had also examined her but had come to no conclusion. The Emperor was still bent on doting on the Queen and had not adopted anyone's suggestions. For a time, the Emperor was under a lot of pressure from the previous dynasty. Although Queen Murong was always gentle and soothing, the Emperor was still a little depressed and would drink to drown his sorrows from time to time.
One day, the emperor was drunk and the empress had her period and was unable to serve him. Fearing that it would affect the emperor's mood, she asked her personal maid Xie Wan'er to help the emperor to the side room to sober up. Xie Wan'er had been with the empress for some time and looked somewhat like the empress. The emperor, while drunk, did so intentionally or unintentionally, but he had sex with Xie Wan'er. The next morning, when the empress found out about this, she was not angry, but congratulated the emperor. She then took the opportunity to ask the emperor to take Xie Wan'er as his concubine. The emperor did as she wished, but felt sorry for the empress and did not step into Xie Wan'er's room for more than a month.
When Xie Wan'er was conferred the title of imperial concubine, Granny Hua was arranged to serve in Concubine Wan's courtyard. Therefore, she knew everything that had happened. Concubine Wan was very sad at that time because the queen had scolded her twice. Of course, she had her reasons. She said that she got up late and did not go to the emperor's house to pay her respects morning and evening. But only she knew that Concubine Wan was extremely weak at that time. She could not sleep at night and always vomited after eating. She did not dare to find an imperial physician for fear that the queen would think she was too pampered. She was also a slave brought by the queen's family and was afraid of the queen. Later, she found out that she was pregnant at that time.
The pregnancy was discovered two months after she had slept with him.
Granny Su still remembered the first time the Emperor stepped into Concubine Wan's courtyard after hearing the news. He was very happy and rewarded Concubine Wan with many things. He also directly named Concubine Wan as a noble concubine, second only to the Queen. Not to mention, since Concubine Wan became pregnant, everything in the court went smoothly. The Emperor believed that it was a blessing brought by Concubine Wan and the baby in her belly, so he went to her courtyard more and more often. Of course, he was just showing concern and did not stay overnight.
After learning that Concubine Wan was pregnant, the Queen Mother always gave her gifts. Granny Hua remembered that Concubine Wan put all the gifts from the Queen Mother in the warehouse and did not allow anyone to use them. She also never ate the gifts. When she went to pay her respects to the Queen Mother, she refused to eat or drink anything in the Queen Mother's palace. Granny Hua was very surprised at the time, but later she figured it out. It was obvious that Concubine Wan was afraid that the Queen Mother would do something to her and harm the child.
At first, she didn't believe that such a gentle and kind queen would do such a thing. Until one time, that is, on the tenth day after she found out she was pregnant, the queen brought a bowl of tonic soup and asked Concubine Wan to drink it in front of her. Concubine Wan had no choice but to drink a few sips. After the queen left, Concubine Wan immediately induced vomiting and vomited some. Even so, she had spotting in the middle of the night. Fortunately, the imperial physician at the time treated her properly and saved the child. The emperor had never known about this, and Concubine Wan didn't let them tell anyone, but she was always cautious. Fortunately, five days later, the queen also found out she was pregnant, and the child was only half a month older than the one in Concubine Wan's belly.
Ever since the Queen became pregnant, the Emperor had been overjoyed and had visited Concubine Wan's palace only a few times. Concubine Wan was not disappointed but relieved instead. She knew that since the Queen had a child, the harm to her might have to be postponed.
But her worries still remained. If the empress gave birth to a daughter and she gave birth to a son, then the position of crown prince would be controversial. If the empress could not give birth to a son, her child would have a chance to inherit the imperial power. Even a fool could understand such a thing, so how could Concubine Wan not understand it?
So, she was very careful.
Fortunately, the Queen knew that the baby in her belly was a boy five months later, and she no longer cared about Concubine Wan's condition. Concubine Wan did not dare to let the imperial physician determine the gender of the baby at that time, for fear of causing trouble. The child was also very well and had no problems. However, when the Queen was pregnant, she was very delicate and often sick, which made the Emperor very worried.
The two empresses were pregnant at the same time, so the emperor took the opportunity to select another concubine, but for some reason, those concubines were unable to give birth, and even if one of them occasionally got pregnant, they would have miscarriages.
Although the two queens gave birth to their children half a month apart, they were both boys on the same day. Therefore, the prince born by the queen would naturally be the future crown prince. However, because of the dystocia during childbirth, Concubine Wan exhausted her energy and bled heavily. She asked Granny Hua to send her child to the queen so that the child could see the queen as soon as he was born and treat the queen as his biological mother...
"At that time, she was dying and wanted to take the orphan with her. I cried and didn't believe that something would really happen to her, so I refused to go. She asked me to say that the child must recognize the queen as his mother. She knew she couldn't do it herself... After she said that, she really left. I carried the child to the queen. The queen also fainted at that time. The emperor was waiting outside. After hearing what I said, he asked me to take the child in. It was right. The swaddling clothes for the children were exactly the same. At that time, the midwives and palace maids were busy dealing with the queen's bedside. I just had a flash of thought and changed the child..." When she said this, Granny Hua's eyes were full of tears, "So, I know that you are Concubine Wan's children, because afterwards, no one found out that I gave the child to Rong'er who was by the queen's side, She took the child and put it on the bed in the far away Qiansha cabinet, and asked someone to take care of it, and then let me go. After Concubine Wan died, we, the serving maids, were also sent out. No one knew about this except me. Concubine Wan was completely unaware of it, but I don’t regret it. Concubine Wan treated me very well. I was just afraid that the queen would abuse the child, so I changed it. I didn’t expect that this change would make Concubine Wan’s child become the emperor. For so many years, I have kept this secret. I always wanted to take it into the coffin, until the prince found me and expressed his suspicion of the queen mother. So, I think it must be after the emperor ascended the throne. For some reason, the queen knew the truth, otherwise, there is no reason for her to do this. ”
Yes, what kind of grandmother would want to kill her own grandson.
An Qingran took a while to react, and she felt even more sorry for Concubine Wan. What had she done wrong, but she had to pay for the late emperor's drunkenness with her life!
As for Concubine Wan, An Qingran felt as if she had traveled through time and space and they were suddenly attracted to each other. She was a smart and introverted woman who had exhausted her life for her son, and her life was also reflected in this outstanding young man in front of her. She was worth it.
In front of a man who didn't love her and a woman who saw her as a thorn in her side, she did everything she could.
Dongfang Jin's eyes were moist, and he finally spoke: "What kind of person is my grandmother?"
When he said this, he believed everything Granny Su said, and also believed that Concubine Wan was his grandmother. Although An Qingran was surprised that the usually strict Dongfang Jin would be like this, he was relieved after thinking about it. In his heart, he had always hoped to have a grandmother like this, right?
Granny Su's eyes showed memories, and she smiled: "Noble Concubine Wan was very beautiful and kind, and she took great care of us servants. The word she said most often was gratitude. She said that she was grateful to everyone for being able to become a noble concubine. Noble Concubine Wan was definitely the kindest woman, but it was a pity that she had a short life..."
Dongfang Jin nodded and took a deep breath: "Okay, Granny Su, I will arrange your future life..."
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