The palace maid by the Empress Dowager led a little boy about four or five years old, his large eyes clear and pure, innocently gazing at Song Jiyun.
Her heart "clenched."
Wasn’t this the little boy she had encountered at the door of the outer chamber that day?
"Miss Song," the palace maid by the Empress Dowager said politely with a smile, "The Noble Consort prefers to use her own people, so we entrust Lord Prince to you."
Upon hearing this, the little boy hurled himself onto Song Jiyun, hugging her waist and burying his head in her abdomen.
Song Jiyun was at a loss for words.
What kind of luck was this? Going out for a food box, she encountered Noble Consort Wan; stepping out for some air, she met the Eldest Prince.
She did not want to attract attention.
She just wanted to idle in a corner like a mushroom.
Song Jiyun’s mind raced, contemplating how to decline the assignment, when she suddenly realized the little boy clinging to her was shivering.
The boy was scared!
Thousands of words suddenly stuck in Song Jiyun’s throat.
She couldn’t help but reach out and touch the boy’s soft hair.
"I thank Miss Song in advance." Seeing this, the palace maid hastily performed a bow and, pulling along the young palace maid who was guiding her, hurriedly left the West Palace.
Song Jiyun gave a bitter smile.
If there was anything she couldn’t refuse, it was children.
"Have you eaten?" she asked the Eldest Prince gently, "Where are the little eunuchs and palace maids who serve you?"
Even ordinary children, when they visit someone else’s home, would at least bring a water cup and mention their habits, let alone a prince.
They just left him here like this. She was completely in the dark about how to arrange for the child.
"They, they were stopped outside the palace by the Noble Consort," the little boy stammered, "the Empress Dowager said not to let me eat anything. Not even a sip of water."
Song Jiyun fell silent for a long while.
She wanted to ask if this place wasn’t Anxi Palace?
Seeing the child’s lips were chapped, she poured half a cup of leftover tea from her teapot and handed it to the Eldest Prince: "Moisten your throat."
The Eldest Prince didn’t hesitate, taking the teacup and pouring it into his mouth.
Song Jiyun then fetched a package of mung bean cakes from the cabinet: "You can snack on this to fill your stomach."
She needed to find someone to ask the Empress Dowager what the Eldest Prince should eat and drink these next few days.
The Eldest Prince wolfed down the snacks, and Song Jiyun was about to call the young palace maid assigned to serve her. But as soon as she lifted her foot, the Eldest Prince stopped eating all at once like a wary hamster, his eyes wide as he looked at her, timidly asking, "Where are you going?"
Fear was written all over his face.
What kind of life had this child lived before!
Song Jiyun’s heart ached, and she reassured him, "I’m going to find a young palace maid to see if the Empress Dowager has any other instructions." She even explained further, "Like, where to get your bedding for sleep? Should someone fetch clean clothes for you from the Empress Dowager’s place, or should the needlework department send new ones?"
Listening to her, the Eldest Prince gave a laugh.
His eyes and brows curved, looking very gentle and well-behaved: "The Empress Dowager said that I should wear yours. She will return them to you."
It seemed that everything had already been arranged by others.
Song Jiyun had always believed that children should not be involved in adult grievances, she smiled and said, "Then I’m afraid you’ll have to wear my old clothes."
He nodded earnestly and said, "I often wear Eunuch Zhang’s old clothes, I like wearing old clothes."
Eunuch Zhang must be the eunuch who had secretly raised him.
Listening to this, Song Jiyun’s tears were almost falling.
After he had his fill of snacks, she used a fresh handkerchief that she had never used before to wipe the child’s face, changed him into an undergarment that she had bought at a high price from the palace maids, and let the child take a nap.
But his nap was restless; he kept clutching the corner of her clothes, startling every time she moved.
Song Jiyun’s heart ached even more as she watched him.
However, she thought about it and marked all the snacks in the cupboard, deciding to let the child subsist on these snacks for a few days.
Fortunately, that very evening the Chief Eunuch from the Empress Dowager’s side came to take the Eldest Prince away.
Song Jiyun breathed a sigh of relief and only then learned from Nanny Chang and others about the infamous "suspicion of poison in the soup" conversation.
And Noble Consort Wan had started another argument with the Emperor over this incident.
Song Jiyun had a splitting headache as she racked her brains on how to extricate herself from this vortex.
Yuan Yunzhong had returned to the capital.
She heard it from Nanny Chang, "Amitabha! Lord Xiao Yuan has finally come back. The Emperor will surely keep him for lunch, and Her Majesty and the Emperor won’t have to argue. We’ll all get to rest for a day."
Song Jiyun was taken aback.
Nanny Chang smiled and explained, "It’s customary. Whenever Lord Xiao Yuan returns to the capital, the Emperor always invites him to eat. He never discusses the matters of the Emperor’s harem, which Noble Consort likes about him, so when just the Emperor and he have a meal, the Noble Consort doesn’t bother chasing the Emperor with questions. The Emperor particularly enjoys dining with Lord Xiao Yuan. Sometimes, even if he went elsewhere, he would say he went to eat with Lord Xiao Yuan."
Song Jiyun was torn between laughter and tears, "So there’s never a slip-up?"
Nanny Chang secretly told her, "Noble Consort is clear about it, she just doesn’t want to puncture the Emperor’s narrative."
The atmosphere in Anxi Palace got much better.
Song Jiyun then figured out how to meet Yuan Yunzhong.
Prince Ning casting aspersions against her was merely a ruse, akin to dancing with a sword, with the real target being Yuan Yunzhong.
She needed to warn him and also discuss with him what precautions she should take on her end.
Unexpectedly, that evening, Nanny Chang came to her in high spirits, "These next few days you should be able to leave the palace. I heard from an eunuch on duty at Qianqing Palace, that while Lord Xiao Yuan and the Emperor were dining, he asked about you, even offering to vouch for the purity of the Song Family’s porcelain, convincing the Emperor to give you a chance to prove your innocence."
Indeed, it was Yuan Yunzhong who understood her.
Song Jiyun took a deep breath.
All the pent-up frustrations of the past days seemed to vanish in an instant.
"Lord Xiao Yuan is back, the Emperor is in a great mood," continued Nanny Chang, "When he heard this, the Emperor was so pleased. He asked Lord Xiao Yuan if he needed help preparing anything, to avoid any embarrassment during the public trial of the Three Departments, in case your porcelain doesn’t fire correctly. He even ordered the Supervising Pottery Officer from Jingde Town to come and align testimonies with you in advance, and find a place for you to fire a batch of Sacrificial Porcelain."
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