"Chengyun, this will be your name in the future. The word Ji was given by your royal grandfather himself. From now on, your mother will call you Ji'er, okay?" Yao Niang showed him this word specifically.

Cheng Yun shook his head: "I still like the name my father gave me, Cheng Yun."

Yao Niang was suddenly very pleased: "Then in the future, father and mother will still call you by your nickname at home. When you go to school, when you are outside, we will call you by your full name, okay?"

"I will listen to whatever my mother says." Cheng Yun said with a smile.

Yao Niang hugged him and said, "You are such a good boy."

The matter of her son came to an end. Yao Niang was pregnant and could not move around easily. However, she had to continue to follow up on Concubine Yan's affairs, so she often had to pay her respects to Concubine Hong.

Concubine Yan actually has few people available, and she is cautious, so she uses her confidants to get things done. It is now three o'clock in the morning, and Nanny An, who is by Concubine Yan's side, has not returned for almost the entire night.

“My queen…”

"Is it Aunt An who's back?"

The little palace maid shook her head: "No, it was Sister Xi Liu who was taken away by the Ministry of Punishment."

Xi Liu? Concubine Yan suddenly became anxious. She knew that Nanny An would never betray her, even if she died. She was the first maid to serve her when she entered the palace. Although the master and servant had already become close relatives.

But Xiliu...

This little bitch is so sweet that she made Nanny An think she was her godmother. Unfortunately, there are very few people in Concubine Yan's palace who can be used. I wonder if she will confess? If she confesses, what should I do?

She had never been so nervous before. Even when her son deliberately fell off a horse and became lame, she felt relieved. At least she and her son were no longer a threat to anyone in the palace.

Obviously Luo Yaoniang was fine, so why did the emperor want to make trouble for her?

It would be fine if the emperor usually doted on Prince Chen, but now even Prince Chen's wife and son are doing the same. After all, she is the biological mother of the Fourth Prince. Why doesn't the emperor give her any respect at all?

Compared to Concubine Yan's worries, the Fourth Prince didn't care much. He just said to Mu Wantong, "Third sister-in-law is shocked. Concubine Hong has been investigating and must have started with my mother. After all, my mother is not favored, and my son is not doing well."

In the eyes of the Fourth Prince, his mother was a humble and low-key person who never fought with others. Concubine Hong probably thought that his mother was easy to bully. Since ancient times, people always bully the old and not the young. Concubine Yan was not favored. Although he was an adult prince, he was not favored either. Therefore, Concubine Hong also used her mother as a target.

Mu Wantong of course knew the whole story. She felt a little regretful and was afraid that something would happen to Concubine Yan, which would then affect the Fourth Prince.

But if she said so, if she intervened at this time, it would mean that she had known about this matter for a long time, but allowed Concubine Yan to do so. Not only would the Fourth Prince turn against her, but the Emperor and the Concubine were now investigating the truth. If she intervened, the Fourth Prince's future would be even more bleak.

There was no time to clear herself, so how could she possibly rescue Concubine Yan?

Otherwise, just blame her for having bad intentions.

Therefore, Mu Wantong said, "Fourth brother, please don't say that. You are in good health now, and you will be able to do more for father in the future. I don't believe that there are so many things in this world. Will father not assign you tasks? There will always be a place for you to be useful. When you get better and better, mother's place will also be improved."

The fourth prince nodded and said, "You are right. Look at Ji'er, a little kid. At the age of two, he knew that the Heavenly Dog Eater should be driven away by ringing the gong. He was not afraid at all. I knew it, but I didn't dare to go forward."

Sometimes the Fourth Prince also realized that he was too timid and too cautious.

Mu Wantong couldn't stand the Fourth Prince belittling her, "Fourth brother, why do you have to say that? You know what kind of person Prince Chen is. He is not as good as you. He only knows how to use military force and fight for power and profit. Even if he wins, the national treasury will suffer a lot. When Emperor Yang Guang of Sui fought for the throne, he was even more courteous and humble, but what happened? In the end, he wasted money and even lost the country."

The fourth prince smiled bitterly: "You praise me too highly."

The Fourth Prince was indeed sent by Emperor Jianzhang to visit an old minister in Huguang, which was also a symbol of the Emperor. Because the mission was sent in a hurry, and it was heard that the old minister was once the teacher of Emperor Jianzhang and was dying, he did not even have time to come back and say goodbye.

When he left like this, Mu Wantong and Yao Niang both knew that Concubine Xiao Yan was going to be in trouble.

"The Emperor is trying to protect the Fourth Prince. He can't let him see his mother being punished." Yao Niang admired the emperor for his kindness.

If it were any other emperor, he would have attacked together long ago. It is no wonder that such an emperor was given the title of Renzong when he died in his previous life.

During the interrogation at the Ministry of Punishment, although Nanny An beside Concubine Yan kept silent, Xi Liu told everything she knew, and it was all very funny. Concubine Yan had people wait by the roadside to pour oil on the sedan chair. When the sedan chair came, those people were not standing steadily, and it was dark, so it was very likely that the pregnant Yao Niang would fall off the sedan chair. Even Concubine Hong Gui sent people to interrogate all the Taoist nuns and monks that Concubine Yan knew, and only then did they discover the villain she had buried.

Those people would pass the buck and always say that it was Concubine Yan who did it herself and that no matter how they tried to comfort her, it would be useless. This was an attempt to shirk responsibility.

Concubine Hong opened the wooden box and saw a pregnant little doll on it, with Yao Niang's birth date and horoscope written all over it.

She really didn't expect that Concubine Yan was so dark and vicious.

…

"I really didn't expect you to do this? Why did you do this?" Concubine Hong really couldn't believe it.

Concubine Yan slowly turned around and greeted as usual: "I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Imperial Concubine."

When the time came, Concubine Yan was not afraid. She just saw Concubine Hong like this. She was much younger than Concubine Hong and her appearance was not worse than hers. In fact, because of her age, Concubine Hong's appearance was not as good as before, but she was more favored than her. She didn't know why?

Concubine Hong was originally very angry, but when she saw that she was fine, she was even more angry, as if punching cotton, and said in a cold voice: "Did you just listen to people's nonsense and want to harm a child? What deep hatred does she have with you? Why are you so heartless?"

This made Concubine Yan want to laugh: "Is it possible that your grandson is the only one in the world who can cause trouble to others, and others cannot retaliate? If it weren't for the baby that Luo was pregnant with, which killed my newborn grandson, how good would my twin dragon and phoenix be."

Concubine Hong was angry and said, "You are talking nonsense. What does my daughter-in-law have to do with your grandson? When your daughter-in-law gave birth, my daughter-in-law was already pregnant."

In fact, Concubine Yan had already regretted it, but it was too late to regret now, because Concubine Hong would not let her go.

She only regretted that her own methods were inadequate and there were too few people available in the palace over the years.

Therefore, Concubine Yan pretended to be sad, fell to the ground, and cried sadly: "That child was small, red and thin when he was born. They said that your grandson killed my grandson, but you already have a grandson as sensible as Ji'er. As for the child in Luo's belly, I..."

At this point, she burst into tears.

Concubine Hong was not soft-hearted, and slapped her hard with both hands: "You have such a cruel heart."

The burning pain on her face was no longer a big deal. Concubine Yan knelt down, abandoning all her dignity, and kowtowed to beg Concubine Hong: "Royal Concubine, I was blinded by greed. It's my fault. Let me serve you as a slave in the next life. I will accept any punishment you give me. I only ask you not to hurt the fourth brother. He knows nothing. When my daughter-in-law spoke rudely to Luo, he still spoke for her. Please, please..."

“Please…”

Concubine Hong thought that Concubine Yan was also a fool, but she was not to be pitied.

She clapped her hands and said, "The Emperor is merciful and will not harm your children. He has specially sent you some fine wine."

When she heard that her children would not be affected, Concubine Yan's tearful face showed a smile, but this smile was uglier than crying. She looked up to the sky and shouted: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Concubine Hong stood up and a pot of fine wine was brought in. "The Emperor is indeed kind, otherwise he would not have let you die so easily. If you die, he will be more compassionate to the Fourth Prince."

Concubine Yan drank the cup of poison without hesitation.

What flashed before her eyes was a rapeseed field in her hometown, where the rapeseed flowers were all bright and golden, and she and her brothers and sisters were running there. How carefree she was at that time...

After Concubine Yan died, Emperor Jianzhang announced to the public that she died suddenly while worshiping Buddha and was buried with the rites for a concubine.

Yu Shi brought a sign to the palace to ask this question: "I have seen your Concubine Yan before. How come she died so soon?"

Yao Niang sent the servants away and said, "Death? It would be a good thing for her to die like this. She heard the rumor from somewhere, saying that the child in my belly hindered her grandson, that is, the boy who died in the dragon and phoenix fetus born by Mu. Not only did she want to harm me with despicable means, she also wanted to haunt me."

"How come such a big thing happened? You never told your family about it?" She said that she had made a petition last month to pay respects to the palace, and the people at Concubine Hong's place said that she was pregnant and asked her to come to the palace later. She never expected that something really big would happen.

If my daughter really wants to spread the message, there are actually channels through which she can do so.

Yao Niang said, "My daughter is in the palace, so she has to solve many problems on her own. You are outside the palace, how can you help me? Besides, many things are beyond my reach, and you may not be able to help me. Then you will worry for nothing."

"Why worry or not? Because of you, I haven't spoken to your father for several months." Yu lowered her head.

Yao Niang found it strange to see her acting like a little girl. In her impression, her mother was always respectful and kind to her father, so it was rare for her to be like this. Seeing her like this, Yao Niang asked, "Why are you like this? Daddy is that kind of person. I've known it for a long time."

Yu held Chengyun in her arms and said with emotion: "I always thought I was doing my best, but what is your father like? I married him when I was a teenager and had children with him. Couldn't he really favor me and my children just once? He always said he liked you the most, but it seems that's not the case."

Yao Niang understood this feeling very well. When Yu Shi first married into the family, it was with the permission of Old Lady Shan, but Luo Zhizheng forced her to marry him. He didn't like her very much at first. Later, Yu Shi's son was sick and her daughter had just returned from the countryside. She had to rely on a man to gain a foothold, so she could only try to please him all the time.

But this flattery was also full of sincerity and true love. She was now in her thirties and was in charge of all the household affairs. When she was at home, she found that Yu was introverted and would keep things to herself, always willing to take care of others.

She often comforted her mother at her parents' home, so Yu had a lot of smiles on her face. But since she got married, her father was not at home all year round, her younger brother had to study, and her two sisters-in-law were not very caring. Maybe her mother was lonely.

But his father only coaxed his mother in private. When he was young, he felt that such men seemed to be cold to others and gave all their tenderness to himself. However, at this age, he needs more consideration.

"Mother, my daughter's due date is approaching. I'll ask my mother to come to the palace to accompany me. Chengyun and I will accompany you. I've been teaching Chengyun whenever I'm free. He just happens to dislike me for being too strict. He will definitely be happy to have you here. Right, Chengyun?" Yao Niang winked at her son.

Cheng Yun quickly hugged Yu and said, "I love grandma the most."

Yu was also worried about her daughter, but she also wanted to have a few days of peace and quiet, especially for her little grandson. She couldn't bear to let go of him after holding him for a while. Although the Luo family also had grandchildren, they were not her own blood after all. As a step-grandmother, she couldn't deprive someone else of their child.

With Yao Niang's warm welcome, Yu Shi, who had no family to return to, could finally move around a bit. After returning home, she told Luo Zhizheng about her plan.

"Mrs. Yao is pregnant and wants me to go to the palace to take care of her. You, Master, have to take care of yourself at home."

Luo Zhizheng was puzzled: "Last time, didn't you say that Yao Niang said that she had someone with her and didn't need you to go? Why do you want to go now?" He then looked at Yu suspiciously: "Could it be that you want to escape from me?"

Yu sighed. She really couldn't hide anything from him. But she refused to admit it: "Master, what are you talking about?"

Luo Zhizheng knew it from the look in her eyes, "You wouldn't lie."

"I haven't been able to go back to my parents' home for so many years. Among my family, only Yao Niang understands and comforts me from time to time, and Cheng Yun holds me in his arms and calls me grandma. How can I bear to leave? Grandpa, you are always busy, and I am alone at home, sometimes from dawn to dusk. In this way, it will be more lively if I can go to the palace." In fact, it is more comfortable. Although the palace is full of red tape, it is easy for Yao Niang to stay at home while taking care of the baby, which makes her feel very comfortable.

Luo Zhizheng regretted it deeply: "If I had known earlier, I would have really bribed Yao Niang. I mean, just live at home, it would be good for both of us, right? Now, you can go to your daughter's house whenever you want, but it's difficult for me. I, your husband, also wanted to move to another place to live for a few days, but I am not as lucky as you."

It was rare for Luo Zhizheng to make a joke, and Yu couldn't help laughing: "Anyway, I'm luckier than you in this regard."

"Okay, okay, you are so proud. I sent you to the palace gate that day. The incident with Concubine Yan happened and the palace was not peaceful. You must take good care of yourself and then take care of your daughter. She is much smarter than you." Luo Zhizheng reminded her.

She was able to hold back her anger for a while, take care of her own body, and deliberately show weakness so that the one behind her could not hold back. Then, through Cheng Yun, she successfully killed all the girls in the Hong family, making Concubine Hong still value her. In this way, she achieved several goals in one go. In the end, Concubine Yan died, and no one knew it was related to her.

This daughter, who had used rough means to retaliate against Tang Huijun in the past, finally understood what political schemes were.