After Ah Qi entered the palace, he thought he could act like a prince and show off his power, but he didn't expect to feel like a prince at all, because everyone treated him coldly.
Even his so-called mother was like that—but thinking about it, it makes sense, since he wasn't born of her, it would be strange if she insisted on being close to him.
He thought to himself, "It must have been this old witch who instigated this."
He was once again neglected, and with a long face, he went to the Empress for comfort, and also to verify his suspicions.
As soon as I reached the door, I heard the Empress talking to her maid inside.
"Everyone says that a child is flesh of the mother's flesh, but I don't have that feeling at all with this child. I even feel that he is not my child at all."
The maidservant massaged the Empress's shoulders and said, "His Highness the Crown Prince has probably been away for a long time and has grown up so fast that it's normal that you don't recognize him."
Just as the Empress was about to speak, Ah Qi pushed open the door and walked in. The two looked at each other but neither spoke.
The Empress insisted on her opinion, believing that this was definitely not her child.
After thinking it over, he told the maid to send Ah Qi away. The maid smiled and advised, "The Empress doesn't like noise lately. Your Highness, please come and visit again in a few days."
Although Ah Qi was dissatisfied, he had no choice but to pinch his nose and say, "Your subject takes his leave."
Then he rolled his eyes and walked out of the Empress's residence.
“He is definitely not my child. His tone of voice, his demeanor, and his attitude towards me are all completely different from before. Even if he has been away from me for a long time, it shouldn’t be this drastic.” The Empress still insisted on her point of view.
The maidservant was helpless and could only assume that the Empress had missed the Crown Prince too much before, and now that she had finally found him, the clash of these two feelings had made her less lucid.
Ah Qi's thoughts were confirmed by the Empress's words; the Empress did indeed have some suspicions about him.
He was wandering aimlessly when he suddenly heard laughter coming from ahead. He looked closely and saw that it was Consort Min and her daughter, the Ninth Princess.
The two were playing shuttlecock in the Imperial Garden, having a great time.
Just then, the Ninth Princess kicked the shuttlecock a little too hard, and the shuttlecock flew straight towards Ah Qi.
He picked up the shuttlecock, went outside, and asked, "Your Highness, can I play with you?"
Just as Consort Min was about to agree, the Ninth Princess stepped forward and refused: "No!"
"Why?"
"There's no reason why, I just don't like you!"
The Ninth Princess made a face at Ah Qi and pulled Consort Min away.
But who would have thought that Consort Min would have wicked thoughts when she looked at Aqi? She scolded the Ninth Princess and said, "How can you speak like that? According to seniority, he is your elder brother and the Crown Prince. How can you be so disrespectful?"
"Mother, if you like him, then play with him yourself. I don't like him at all." The Ninth Princess ignored Consort Min's reprimand and answered decisively.
After saying that, he snatched the shuttlecock from Ah Qi's hand and walked away without looking back.
Ah Qi immediately pretended to squeeze out a few tears and said, "Why doesn't anyone like me? Why doesn't anyone want to play with me?"
Consort Min knelt down to wipe away his tears and said, "Don't listen to her. I've spoiled the Ninth Princess. Who says no one likes you? Consort Min likes you very much."
"Really?" Ah Qi asked, her little face pouting.
“That is certainly true,” Consort Min replied, looking at A-Qi.
Ah Qi immediately stopped crying and burst into laughter, throwing herself into Consort Min's arms.
Consort Min was taken aback, then hugged Aqi tightly. The more she looked at Aqi, the more she liked her. Her own womb was uncooperative, only giving birth to two girls. After they grew up and got married, she would be all alone.
If she had a son, things would be completely different. After thinking about it, her gaze towards Ah Qi became intense.
Seeing that Ah Qi had stopped crying, Consort Min tentatively asked, "Would you like to come to my place for a while? There's delicious food there."
"What's so delicious?" Ah Qi asked, feigning excitement.
In his heart, he thought to himself: You're such a dawdler. You just want me to take care of you in the future, why don't you just say so directly? Why do you have to go through all this trouble?
He noticed the burning intensity in Consort Min's eyes when she looked at him, and naturally guessed what was going on.
"You'll see when you get there," Consort Min replied with a smile.
After saying that, she took Ah Qi's hand and walked towards the Scarlet Smoke Palace.
Once outside, she went in first and dismissed all the servants. After all, this was tantamount to kidnapping the Empress's child; what would happen if the Empress found out?
Then she took out all the pastries that she usually couldn't bear to eat, which were tributes from foreign lands, and went out to welcome Ah Qi in.
Ah Qi went in and wolfed down her food. Consort Min smiled and said, "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."
After speaking, he didn't forget to pour Ah Qi a glass of water.
Ah Qi stopped what she was doing and cried, "Aunt Min, my mother said I'm not her child. Does that mean I won't have a mother anymore?"
"How could she say that?" Consort Min was very surprised, but in her heart she thought that it was really a case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. She longed for a son, but the Empress had a son and made him the Crown Prince, yet she didn't want to acknowledge him.
After thinking it over, she casually said, "It's okay, it's okay. If you're willing, I'll be your mother from now on, but only the two of us should know about this, okay?"
"Would you like to be my mother?" Ah Qi asked.
"Of course I'm willing." Consort Min looked at Ah Qi like a hungry wolf eyeing its prey.
"Then I will be your child from now on. I will take care of you when you get old, and only the two of us will know about this." Ah Qi agreed immediately. No matter what, he had to find a backer first so that the empress could help him succeed in the future. Anyway, the empress had some suspicions about him, so he could just change the person. It didn't matter who he called "Mother"; they were just pawns he was using.
Consort Min was unaware of what Ah Qi was thinking. She was completely immersed in the joy of having a son, imagining that even when she grew old, no one would dare to swagger at her because of Ah Qi's status, which made her feel very comfortable.
Little did he expect that his decision would later put him in a very dangerous situation.
But that's a story for another time. She was still immersed in joy, and she held Ah Qi and started spinning around in the palace.
Ah Qi was also very happy, finally having a small backer in the palace, which allowed him to barely gain a foothold.
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