Chapter 66 Zhu Family
If we were to ask who was the happiest after the emperor was deposed, it would naturally be Zhou Yingying.
Her son became the emperor's only legitimate heir, and Zhou Yingying herself fought her way out among the concubines whose status had been abolished. She is now the only noble concubine in the palace, in charge of harem affairs, and her status is second only to the Empress Dowager Cihui Zhaosheng Wende, Hu Shanxiang, who had just been given the title.
Even though she was a little busy, Zhou Yingying was still "happy and sad" and always smiled when she greeted Hu Shanxiang every day.
Although Hu Shanxiang did not take care of palace affairs, she was not completely ignorant of what was going on in the palace. Naturally, she knew that Zhou Yingying would inevitably take advantage of the situation when dealing with Zhu Qizhen's former concubines. Therefore, after Hu Shanxiang gave her a few simple reminders, Zhou Yingying restrained herself and changed from treating her harshly to ordering these concubines to work in order to share her pressure.
It's not that they were asked to do rough work, but they were just asked to help copy and compile books.
Zhou Yingying didn't mind. Her most important goal was to demonstrate her current power. If she offended the only empress dowager for such a small matter, it would be a loss.
Anyway, her position is as stable as a mountain. Those concubines are not as lucky as her. There is no point in always competing with them. It is better to be more filial to the empress dowager. Maybe her treatment can be improved to a higher level.
Therefore, Zhou Yingying ran to Shouning Palace very diligently.
"My dear lady, the emperor is here."
Originally, most palace servants addressed the emperor as "Huangye" or "Wansuiye", but now with the advent of Zhu Yuhuan, a unique figure, they all changed their address to "Shengshang". Some eunuchs also called Zhu Yuhuan "Nanny" or "Shengmu". There were all kinds of names. However, most people called him "Shengshang".
When Zhou Yingying heard that Zhu Yuhuan had arrived, she could no longer sit still. She stood up with a smile on her face and saluted, saying, "I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
The emperor and the concubines paid their respects at different times, and the emperor was busy with government affairs. It was estimated that the two had not seen each other for nearly half a month. If Zhou Yingying had not come to accompany Hu Shanxiang today, they probably would not have been able to see the emperor.
Zhu Yuhuan wore a black cloak today, with auspicious clouds outlined with gold thread covering the outside of the cloak, and a lying rabbit with warm ears, which made him look more majestic.
However, Zhu Yuhuan smiled as she entered the hall and said, "My daughter is here to pay her respects to you again. Please don't be bothered."
Hu Shanxiang was amused by her daughter's words and said, "What do you mean by 'annoying or not'? You don't even remember where you grew up?"
Zhu Yuhuan raised his hand to signal Zhou Yingying to stand up without any formalities. Zhou Yingying had already walked to Zhu Yuhuan very consciously, helped her take off the ear warmers and cloak, and handed them to the palace servant beside her.
She often helped Zhu Qizhen do these things on a daily basis, so she was very adept at it.
Zhu Yuhuan patted his dragon robe and sat down on a chair beside him. He asked, "Why did the imperial concubine come to pay her respects at this time today?"
Zhou Yingying walked to Zhu Yuhuan's side and said with a smile, "Princess Yongqing's book is almost finished, and she's very busy, coming and going every day in a hurry. Prince Qing is a foreign man after all, so it's not convenient for him to enter the palace. So I thought I'd come and spend more time with the elders."
"Your Highness is thoughtful." Zhu Yuhuan looked around and said, "Why aren't Yuan'er and Shen'er here?"
Hu Shanxiang smiled and said, "I'm tired from playing here just now, so I went to the side hall to rest."
Of course, Zhou Yingying would not miss this opportunity to let her children get close to Zhu Yuhuan, and immediately asked the people around her to bring the two children over.
Zhu Shuyuan was about to turn two years old and could speak much more fluently. She and Zhu Yuhuan had almost never met before, so she was a little timid and held on to her wet nurse unwilling to let go.
She was actually not very sensible and didn't understand what was happening at home. She was just instinctively afraid of strangers.
Zhou Yingying's expression changed slightly, and she was about to scold him, but Zhu Yuhuan stopped her and ordered the eunuch beside him, "Bring me the gift for the eldest princess."
When Zhu Shuyuan was celebrating her first birthday, Zhu Yuhuan asked someone to send a lot of good things back from Yunnan as gifts for Zhu Shuyuan, and this time was no exception.
After Zhu Yuhuan ascended the throne, Yunnan was the first to send a congratulatory message. The two marquises of the Mu family even wrote two congratulatory messages respectively and sent them together. At the same time, there were also gems sent from Yunnan.
Zhu Yuhuan picked out a few items and made a longevity lock for each of the two children, and also had someone make a few puppets.
Zhou Yingying noticed at a glance that the gemstones on the golden lock were of excellent quality. A delighted expression crossed her face as she said, "Yuan'er and Shen'er are still young. Why would Your Majesty give them such fine things..."
Zhu Yuhuan put the tigers on the two children, then took the cloth tiger from the palace maid and handed it to them.
Zhu Jianshen was still young, and he held the red doll tightly when he saw it. Zhu Shuyuan first looked at Zhu Yuhuan cautiously, then took the little tiger and hid in the wet nurse's arms again.
"The child is still young and has never met me, the Empress Dowager, so it's natural for him to be shy. Your Highness, don't rush things." Zhu Yuhuan reached out and touched Zhu Shuyuan's bald little head, saying, "The more anxious you are, the harder it will be for the child to accept it."
Zhou Yingying was exposed by Zhu Yuhuan on the spot, and she said hesitantly, "I know."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "You are doing this for their own good, how could I not know that? It's just that I have been very busy recently and have no time to spend with these two children. Guilan and Huai'en come to visit them on weekdays, so you can rest assured."
Although Zhou Yingying is now in power, she is still a little worried.
Deep down, she still hoped that her child could be recognized by the emperor, so that it would look better both in appearance and in reality.
After hearing Zhu Yuhuan's answer, Zhou Yingying felt more at ease. She took her daughter from the nurse's arms and presented her to Zhu Yuhuan like a treasure. She also taught her daughter, "Yuan'er, the Queen Mother personally had someone make a cloth tiger for you. Why don't you call someone quickly?"
Zhu Shuyuan blinked her eyes and finally said timidly, "Queen Mother..."
She called out fluently, which showed that she had studied a lot in private. Zhu Yuhuan could immediately hear Zhou Yingying's "hard work".
Zhu Yuhuan saw that she looked quite similar to Zhu Youtong when she was little. He smiled and pinched her little face, saying, "We are all family. From now on, just call me mother."
Zhu Shuyuan just lowered her head and fiddled with the doll in her hand, as if her entire attention was focused on the toy. She whispered, "Mother... Mother..."
Zhou Yingying was practically grinning from ear to ear as she said, "This girl is afraid to speak because of His Majesty's majesty. Normally, when Princess Yongqing is around, she calls you Aunt very easily, but she becomes embarrassed when she sees His Majesty."
"You won't be shy if we meet every day." Zhu Yuhuan noticed that Zhu Jianshen was a little thin beside him and said, "Wangzhi will be back from Yunnan soon. Let him take a look at you and the two children. They are too close in age, which is not good for your health. You should pay attention to taking care of yourself."
Zhou Yingying said in surprise, "Xu Siyao is coming back from Yunnan. I've heard that Siyao has amazing healing powers, but he went to Yunnan with His Majesty to take care of his health. Now that he's back, he should check Mother's pulse first to make sure she's ok. The two little ones are not in a hurry."
Her words were sincere and heartfelt, and she seemed to be caring about Hu Shanxiang and Zhu Yuhuan, mother and daughter, as if she were Hu Shanxiang's own daughter.
Zhu Yuhuan was a little amused and praised: "Your Highness, you have put in a lot of effort."
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