Chapter 303 The child was taken away by Empress Cheng
The next day, Xie Shang and Jiang Fenghua returned to the palace. When Ao Xue saw them, she immediately knelt on the ground to beg for forgiveness. "Your Highness, Your Highness, the Crown Princess, the young master and the young princess were taken to Kunning Palace by Her Majesty the Empress. This humble servant was unable to stop them."
Jiang Fenghua gripped Xie Shang's hand tightly, extremely anxious, "Why would the Empress Dowager take them to Kunning Palace? When did she take them away? Why didn't any of you come to inform her?"
Ao Xue said, "Last night, there was a curfew in the palace, and I couldn't go out. The West Suburb Camp is not in the city, so I didn't inform the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. The Empress came to pick us up in person. We servants had no choice. Fortunately, Granny Wang and the wet nurse went to Kunning Palace, and Ye Ying also went to guard outside Kunning Palace."
Xie Shang frowned deeply. Why did her mother suddenly come to take the child away? She had no interest in raising children.
Xie Shang was about to take Jiang Fenghua directly to Kunning Palace, but Jiang Fenghua calmed down and said, "Mother Empress took the children there because she misses them. We just entered the palace and our appearance is not yet proper. Let's change into more appropriate clothes before going to Kunning Palace to pay our respects to Mother Empress." She wouldn't give Empress Cheng an opportunity to find fault with her.
Xie Shang said, "That's fine too." This would save the Empress Dowager from having anything to say about their attire.
After changing her clothes, Jiang Fenghua redid her makeup and made herself up until she was properly dressed before following Xie Shang to Kunning Palace.
At this moment, Empress Cheng was playing with her two grandchildren in her bedchamber, her love for them evident.
She said to Granny Wang, "These children are so cute, I want to raise them myself. Watching them grow up little by little is just too adorable. Their cuteness melts my heart."
"His Highness the Crown Prince is exceptionally handsome, so his child will naturally be the best-looking." Granny Wang was genuinely afraid that the Empress would suddenly say she wanted to raise a child, and sure enough, her fears came true.
"Yes, Shang'er is so beautiful, she should have more children to make it more lively. Jiang Fenghua is the Crown Princess but she doesn't think about the imperial offspring. If she doesn't arrange for the concubines to serve the emperor, how can there be more imperial offspring?"
“Yes, yes…” Granny Wang quickly replied.
Empress Cheng smiled, then hugged Xie Hongyou and kissed him twice. "I am your imperial grandmother. From now on, I will teach you, okay?"
Xie Hongyou was probably feeling unwell; he pouted and started whimpering, about to cry.
Upon seeing this, the Empress asked, "What's wrong with him? Is he about to cry?"
Granny Wang said, "It's probably time to change the diaper. Let me take the young master from you."
Empress Cheng handed the child to Granny Wang again, then went to hold the little princess, saying, "Yan'er is much better behaved than her brother..."
Before she could finish praising her, Xie Ziyan burst into tears. The Empress was immediately at a loss. "What's wrong with her? Is she going to have diarrhea too?"
Finally, after the wet nurse checked, neither of the siblings had defecated or urinated, and they didn't cry when the wet nurse held them. That meant the Empress would cry when she held them.
No one dared to say anything more. Seeing this, Empress Cheng exclaimed, "They still look down on their grandmother, the Empress Dowager!"
"The child doesn't understand anything," the wet nurse explained. "Your Majesty, please don't be angry."
“How could I be angry with the children?” she said again. “It must be because I haven’t been taking care of them often. From now on, I will raise them by my side, and that’s why they are so close to me.”
Granny Wang was extremely anxious, not knowing what the Empress meant.
At this moment, Xie Shang arrived one after the other with Jiang Fenghua. The two bowed and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty. Your concubine pays respects to Your Majesty."
Empress Cheng knew that the Crown Prince had taken the Crown Princess out of the palace yesterday. There were so many beautiful women in the Eastern Palace, and she had to take care of them all in order to have a son!
Even though Shang'er is so busy, Jiang Fenghua still asked Shang'er to take her out of the palace to ride horses. She's so inconsiderate.
"Get up, all of you!" In front of her son, Empress Cheng could not show a bad face, so she smiled and said, "I was just about to send someone to find you. I want to discuss something with you."
The two of them didn't know what the Empress meant, but they heard her say, "I usually have nothing to do, so I thought I'd bring my beloved grandsons to Kunning Palace to raise. The Empress Dowager likes them very much."
“No,” Xie Shang said directly. “The children are too young. They can’t be separated from Ruan Ruan and cannot be raised by the Empress Dowager.”
"I noticed you didn't come back last night. It's fine for the child to be cared for by the wet nurse. The Crown Princess doesn't usually take care of the child either. Isn't it the same whether the child is with me or with her?" Shang'er refused directly, not giving me any face at all. It must have been Jiang Fenghua who instigated this.
Jiang Fenghua clenched her fists without making a sound. With Xie Shang present, it wasn't her turn to speak. Her mind raced. She suspected that Empress Cheng was acting this way because of that concubine Ye Liang in the Cold Palace.
Even when Empress Cheng became Empress Dowager in her previous life, she didn't pity her, let alone think of taking the child she gave birth to to raise herself, because the child had no value to Empress Cheng. This shows that she didn't care about the child at all.
It truly deserves to be sidelined by the Emperor for twenty years.
Xie Shang knew that his mother was only saying this because Ruan Ruan hadn't returned to the palace last night. He softened his tone, suppressed his anger, and said in a deep voice, "Mother, you cannot keep them by your side."
“I am their grandmother, why can’t I raise them by my side?” she said deliberately. “The Crown Prince has few children now, and the Crown Princess is still young. She can take care of her health and have a few more children. If the Crown Princess doesn’t have the energy, then let the young ladies of the Eastern Palace serve her. We must add more imperial offspring to our royal family. A large and prosperous family is a blessing. Your father also thinks so.”
Xie Shang clenched his fingers, finally understanding the other meaning. His mother didn't actually like children; she was clearly using Jiang Fenghua's child to force him to have a child with another woman. If this trivial matter were brought before his father, he and Jiang Fenghua would likely face punishment.
He said, "Your subject understands."
Immediately afterward, seeing that he had become much more docile, Empress Cheng finally calmed down and said sarcastically, "There was originally another imperial heir in the palace, but he was banished to the Cold Palace. No matter how wrong she was, we should protect the imperial heir first. Don't you understand this simple principle? The Crown Prince is busy, so the Crown Princess should find an excuse to bring him out!"
Xie Shang finally understood that his mother didn't actually want to raise Ruan Ruan's child; she was clearly using her child to force him to release Ye Susu.
When did the Empress Dowager start playing these petty tricks? She threatens Jiang Fenghua's child to force people to release them.
Xie Shang felt extremely uncomfortable, as if someone had a grip on his throat. He had been controlled by his mother since childhood. He said in a deep voice, "Ye Susu and Su Tingwan are causing trouble in the East Palace. They are living in the Cold Palace for peace and quiet. I have already made a decision on this matter. Without my permission, the Crown Princess cannot make the decision to release them."
"You..." Empress Cheng's face turned cold again upon hearing this. "Crown Prince, which is more important, the imperial heir or Jiang Fenghua? Don't forget that Ye Susu is also your woman. She is pregnant, and the child in her belly is the imperial heir."
"I didn't forbid her from having children. If Mother wants to raise children, once she gives birth, they will be imperial heirs, and Mother can take them in to raise. I have no objection," Xie Shang said coldly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
