"The Empress Dowager has summoned Consort Sun twice in the past few days." Consort Jia said with a hint of unease, "She really thinks highly of him."
After all, in the eyes of everyone in the harem, Sun Baolin was someone the Empress Dowager had taken a liking to.
Yan Nangui just smiled, thinking to himself, "You don't know, this is a smokescreen from the Empress Dowager."
Sun Baolin is really unlucky.
"She's arrogant too. The other day she argued with Consort Wang. Even though Consort Wang isn't favored, she's still someone from the Wang family. Yet she's ended up being worse off than a newcomer to the palace," Consort Jia sighed.
“Things in the palace have always been like this; you should get used to it,” Yan Nangui said.
"Sister, don't just be carefree. Although you are now a Noble Consort and are favored, my brother once said something to the effect that the higher your position and power, the more you should be careful of those insignificant people. Sometimes it's not that you fall at the hands of someone of equal strength, but rather that you suffer losses at the hands of those little people."
“It seems your brother is indeed wise, and he truly cares about you,” Yan Nangui said.
Jia Zhaoyi said shyly, "It's not very nice to say these things, but I sincerely hope that my sister is doing well."
"For someone to say these things to me means you consider me one of your own. Of course, I'm grateful," Yan Nangui said.
After Consort Jia left, Jiang Xiang said, "Consort Jia is right. This Consort Sun is indeed a bit arrogant, but no matter how arrogant he is, he wouldn't be arrogant enough to do that to you."
"In your opinion, which ones in this year's class are the smarter?" Yan Nangui asked.
“I can’t see which one is bad now. In my opinion, both of you are intelligent people. This Sun Baolin may be a bit frivolous, but he is not stupid,” Jiangxiang said.
Yan Nangui nodded: "We'll see. As for His Majesty, he's unlikely to find true love again."
Regardless of whether Shu Chengfeng understands true love, if he does, it's her.
"Your Majesty, news has arrived from Suning Palace: Attendant Jin is ill, and it seems quite seriously," said Shuanzi.
"Send the imperial physician to take a look."
After Shuanzi left, Yan Nangui said, "Jin Shi, you've been here for five years now, haven't you? Shouldn't you come out?"
"What does Your Majesty mean?" Jiangxiang asked.
"Back then, I was just suspicious about what happened in the Lotus Garden. But as I thought about it later, it couldn't have been the Empress who did it. She was just eager for a child at the time and went along with it."
"Then... do you have any clues?" Jiangxiang asked.
“Yes, I sent someone to investigate the home of that Eunuch Gu who died back then. Although there wasn’t much evidence, do you remember when you first entered the palace? When the Empress was seriously ill, Consort Xiang helped the Empress manage palace affairs for a few days. It just so happened that His Majesty was repairing the Lotus Garden,” Yan Nangui said.
"You mean, that's when Eunuch Gu was planted? How would she know that Eunuch Gu was serving you?" Jiangxiang asked, puzzled.
"You don't need to serve me. You can serve anyone. Xichun Xie is a good place to live. Even if I don't live there, it will be a high-ranking place. It's where the former Consort Jing, or Consort Ke, or His Majesty's favorite new favorites live. In short, it must be a place of importance. It doesn't matter who Eunuch Gu serves. Because the people back then were scheming against the Empress."
"Even the Jin family and the Second Prince are just pawns. It was an accident that they swept me away."
“But time has passed, and this doesn’t count as evidence anymore; the person is dead,” Jiang Xiang said.
“Yes, but it doesn’t matter. I can find out these things, surely His Majesty knows? Lady Jin is still alive and well. Just have Shuanzi send a message to the Hall of Joyful Longevity,” Yan Nangui said.
Jiangxiang listened and smiled in agreement.
Not two days later, before His Majesty had even set off, a minor incident occurred in the Hall of Joyful Longevity.
It was during the time when His Majesty was resting in Zhaochun Palace.
I was woken up in the middle of the night.
Yun Ji, who was outside, said, "Your Majesty, the Second Prince has fallen ill with a nightmare. The imperial physician has been summoned. Would you like to go and take a look?"
In ancient times, nightmares could be a serious matter or a minor one.
So even if the emperor's most beloved child wasn't the second prince, he was still the father and couldn't possibly ignore him.
"Go and see. When I was little, I had nightmares several times, and nobody cared about me. When I told the people who took care of me, they complained that I was a nuisance. In the middle of the night, I was so scared that my heart was pounding." This wasn't a lie; Yan Nangui really did have nightmares several times and nobody cared about him.
Shu Chengfeng hummed in agreement.
Before long, the two of them were riding in a sedan chair, heading towards the Hall of Joyful Longevity one after the other.
"It's the middle of the night, tell everyone in the harem not to move." These were the words of Consort Chen.
His Majesty had no objections.
Inside the Hall of Joyful Longevity, after examining the prince's pulse, the imperial physician only said that the prince's condition was caused by a state of distress and worry.
Shu Chengfeng frowned: "Is it because the people serving you are bad? Why did they suddenly become like this?"
The second prince's eyes reddened: "It's my fault, I disturbed Father and Consort Chen in the middle of the night..."
"Get up and speak properly," Shu Chengfeng said.
"Yes, thank you, Father." The second prince stood up, looking pitiful.
Once a father stops expecting his child to be successful, he gets used to his child's behavior.
"Why is this happening? What's bothering you?" Shu Chengfeng asked again.
"Tsk! Your Majesty, do you even need to ask? I just heard from my servant a couple of days ago that the one in Suning Palace is ill. I had the imperial physician examine her." Yan Nangui frowned, looking like he couldn't stand it.
Shu Chengfeng glared at her: "What are you saying?"
Yan Nangui hummed and then fell silent.
They couldn't get any answers by asking. After a while, Yan Nangui said, "Second Prince, you should rest well. Don't go to the morning reading tomorrow. Take a day off. Your father and I will go back first."
"Yes, thank you for coming to see your son, Father and Consort Chen. I am well," the Second Prince hurriedly replied.
Shu Chengfeng stood up, gave the Second Prince a few deep looks, and left without saying a word.
After seeing him off, the second prince stood at the door for a while.
It wasn't until the young eunuch said, "Your Highness, let's go back. It's quite chilly at night."
The second prince hummed in agreement and went back to sleep.
He closed his eyes and reminisced about the events of the past few days.
In fact, he always remembered that his mother was from the Jin family.
Jin Shiyu was imprisoned in the Suning Palace.
As a prince, it would naturally be better for him if his mother came from a high-ranking family. But surely he shouldn't abandon his wife just because she came from a humble background?
Mother...
His mother didn't care much for him. During the years he spent in Fengxiang Palace, he was extremely cautious.
He doesn't like that person.
He knew he was weak-willed and less learned than his elder and younger brothers, so he had no chance of ascending the throne. His father also favored his elder and younger brothers.
Therefore, he longed for his birth mother even more.
So in the past few days, he listened to a story.
All we need to do is one play. The timing is perfect.
He wasn't stupid; at his age, having lived in several palaces, he understood everything. The children in the palace were all very precocious.
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