The wailing little boy was carried into the hall by a tall, imposing guard, followed by Wan An, who was covered in dirt and whose clothes were soaked with water.
Qian Shengyan frowned as she looked at Hongshan, who was tightly embraced by the cloak but was still dripping wet. Helplessly, she took two steps forward, wanting to check but not knowing where to start: "What happened?"
"Your Highness, I heard the little prince shouting while I was on patrol today, so I went to check and happened to see him jump into the lake..." Before the guard could finish speaking, Hongshan kicked his little legs and jumped down from his arms, then dragged his long cloak and tried to rush into Qian Shengyan's arms: "Mother!"
"Oh dear, little darling, Mother can't hold you right now!" Ferguchun quickly stopped her younger brother, then touched his body and saw that apart from being soaked, he was fine and didn't hurt anywhere. He must have just fallen into the water and wasn't injured.
The guard ordered someone to take Hongshan away to change his clothes. He continued, "I was a little too slow and failed to stop the young prince. I beg Your Highness the Imperial Noble Consort to punish me."
"It's not your fault, Hongshan was naughty. Thank you for saving Hongshan, sir," Qian Shengyan said gently, then looked at the green willow beside her.
Green Willow then handed over a purse, saying with a smile, "Thank you, sir, for saving our brother."
"I dare not, thank you Your Highness." The guard was well-mannered, taking the purse and bowing again, but his eyes quickly glanced at Folgochun, and a smile appeared on his handsome face. "Greetings, Princess."
"No problem, no problem, thank you for saving Hongshan again." Foerguochun said with a smile. Qian Shengyan glanced at her, then at the guard, and suddenly asked, "Is that Guard Errong'an?"
"How did Your Majesty know that I..." E Rong'an was taken aback, then looked at Fuerguochun, who immediately waved his hand: "It wasn't me, I don't know your name either."
"His Majesty mentioned it to me, and seeing it today, I can confirm that Guard E Rong'an is indeed a handsome and talented man," Qian Shengyan said with a smile.
E Rong'an looked a little embarrassed, but couldn't help but glance at Ferguchun again. Then, perhaps not knowing what to say, he bowed properly and left.
After the outsiders left, Qian Shengyan looked up at Wan An, who was still standing to the side. Wan An, who was kneeling on the ground, lowered his head and said in a cascading manner, "Ever since the prince learned to swim, he has wanted to swim, but His Highness said that it is too cold to go into the water now. Today, the prince heard that the fourth prince and the princess went to the front to handle some business, and His Highness has not been coming out often lately, so he insisted on practicing swimming. This servant deserves to die for failing to persuade the prince."
Qian Shengyan: ...
Well, even if you put it this way, Hongli and his two children combined, they don't cause her as much worry as Hongshan.
To prevent her child from drowning, Qian Shengyan specially hired two young eunuchs who knew how to swim to help Hongshan learn to swim this summer. However, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather turned cool, so she forbade Hongshan from going into the water. But the child actually managed to secretly go into the water by himself, keeping track of the time.
Qian Shengyan felt an itch in her palms and needed to spank the child's bottom to relieve it.
But seeing Hongshan emerge from the inner palace with shrugged shoulders and a guilty look on his face, Qian Shengyan immediately deflated. She pulled Hongshan to sit on the small couch and asked first, "Are you cold?"
"It's a bit cold..." Hongshan hunched his shoulders, blinking his big eyes at Qian Shengyan. "Mother, aren't you angry?"
"I'm so angry!" Qian Shengyan glared at him. He understands reason, but he won't listen, which makes things difficult.
"Mother... Hongshan knows he was wrong and won't go swimming by himself again." Hongshan looked at Qian Shengyan with pleading eyes and begged in a soft voice.
He was recently required to study, and only managed to steal a moment to play during his busy schedule. However, he unexpectedly ran into that familiar guard and was dragged into his mother's palace.
Hongshan pouted, feeling utterly unlucky.
Qian Shengyan thought for a moment and said gently, "How about this, if you really want to swim in the future, it's not impossible..."
“Mother!” Hongshan’s eyes lit up.
Qian Shengyan smiled and asked him, "How about we keep going on a five-day trip every day?"
"Five days?" Hongshan counted on his fingers, feeling it was a bit short, but not bad, so he nodded, "Okay! Hongshan agrees!"
Qian Shengyan smiled and then reminded him to warm up before swimming, change into his swimsuit (which she had specially made for him), and take a hot shower and change clothes immediately after swimming. Although it was a bit complicated, the child really loved playing in the water, and Hongshan agreed after hesitating.
Having understood his mother's intentions, Folgochun watched with a smile, and then patted his younger brother's curly hair.
Forget it, with that kind of scheming, what are you hoping to do secretly?
A short while later, Hongli, who had received his mission, came over to pay his respects to Qian Shengyan. Upon learning that Hongli would be heading south in three days, Qian Shengyan couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"Mother, don't worry. Father Emperor has sent Fifteenth Uncle with us. He has some experience from accompanying Grandfather Emperor on his southern journeys before," Hongli said with a smile.
“It’s better if Prince Yu is with you; otherwise, it’s really worrying to have just the two of you children,” Qian Shengyan sighed.
After talking for a while, Hongli took Hongshan back to the depths of the cave. Qian Shengyan, however, kept Ferguchun behind and asked, "I forgot to ask you, was the guard who kicked Zhang Qinglan at the New Year's Eve banquet the same one who brought Hongshan here today?"
"Yes, didn't you tell your mother, daughter?" Folgochun blinked and then smiled. "He's quite skilled; no wonder Father Emperor made him his personal bodyguard."
Qian Shengyan smiled at her, and Foerguochun felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze, turning her back slightly: "Mother..."
"Alright, you're all grown up now. Your mother is willing to give you the greatest freedom, as long as you don't regret it." Qian Shengyan lovingly stroked her daughter's thick hair, and couldn't help but touch her own belly again.
She's also hoping to have another little daughter, who's much more well-behaved than any boy!
However, in September, when Qian Shengyan was about five months pregnant, Imperial Physician Yu told her some devastating news.
"Twins? How could I possibly be pregnant with twins?" Qian Shengyan couldn't believe it. There was no history of twins in her family.
Wait, did the original owner's family have that?
Imperial Physician Yu was also filled with mixed feelings of joy and worry. The Emperor did not have many children, and this time there were two more children. Regardless of whether they were boys or girls, it was a good thing. However, the Imperial Noble Consort was indeed a bit old. Giving birth was not an easy thing to begin with, and twins would be even more dangerous.
Upon hearing the news, Yinzhen was initially delighted: "No wonder your belly has always been bigger than when you were pregnant with Hongshan. I thought I had misremembered."
Qian Shengyan only just realized that in the past, whether it was Hongshan or Foerguochun, her lower abdomen was still flat when she was three months pregnant. This time, however, she discovered something was wrong with her stomach before she could feel the pregnancy.
Yinzhen happily circled her belly twice, but then gradually calmed down. Later, he slowly frowned as he looked at Qian Shengyan's belly, then pursed his lips, looking slightly displeased.
The following day, Yinzhen specifically summoned Imperial Physician Liu and Physician Yu to the Hall of Mental Cultivation for questioning.
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