The Imperial Concubine spoke softly and gently. Yinzhen's ears moved, and he gradually opened his eyes wide. He nodded heavily, and the uneasiness on his young face disappeared, turning into pure joy.
He called out "mother", his dark eyes sparkling, "Son knows, son will treat sixth brother well!"
"In this way, mother will be relieved." The imperial concubine said gently, stroking the hair by her ears, and then looked at the gradually withering flowers and trees outside the window with a relieved look on her face.
After looking for a long time, her eyes flickered, and she said casually, "In this case, mother wants to ask you. Is Yinzhen closer to the second brother or the sixth brother?"
Yinzhen was stunned for a moment, counting on his fingers for a moment, and then he said seriously, "My second brother treats me as his younger brother, and I treat my sixth brother as my younger brother. Mother, this cannot be compared."
The Imperial Concubine was stunned for a moment, then smiled with her lips curved: "Yes! You are right, there is indeed no comparison."
As she spoke, she stopped smiling, sighed softly, and looked very worried: "Mother knows that you and the prince have a deep friendship, so she shouldn't have said this. But the emperor loves the prince and doesn't allow anyone to be rude to him... The prince is the legitimate son of the empress, and has a noble status. He is different from you. It's nothing now, but in the future, even if your second brother doesn't care, there will be people who will care for him!"
Seeing that Yinzhen didn't understand, the Imperial Concubine touched his head lovingly and whispered, "I'm accusing you of disrespecting the crown prince and committing crimes instead of praising your deep brotherly love. I've suffered such a big loss before. It's precisely because of this that my mother doesn't want my son to get hurt. In the final analysis, there is only a difference between the monarch and his subjects..."
The Fourth Prince understood the distinction between an emperor and his subjects.
He had been in the study room for a year, and had memorized the enlightenment books such as "Three Character Classic" and "Rules for Being a Good Pupil and Child" by heart. Words such as filial piety, brotherly love, propriety and righteousness were also the teachings that his Chinese studies teachers often mentioned.
Yinzhen twisted his fingers and hesitated sullenly: "Second brother, second brother, do you really think so?"
No, that's not the case. The second brother never acted superior. He not only taught him, took him to play, but also gave him a pony. How could he treat his younger brother as a subject as his mother said
"Your second brother is still young, and everything is unknown..." The Imperial Concubine swallowed her unfinished words, smiled calmly, lowered her eyes, and her smile revealed a hint of sarcasm, "But with Lord Suo here, it's not certain."
Her voice was extremely soft and finally disappeared in the hall.
The Imperial Concubine understood Yinzhen's personality. This child was stubborn. Once he made up his mind about something at a young age, he would be quite stubborn and would not be easily shaken. But it didn't matter. Over time, Yinzhen would eventually understand her meaning and gradually become estranged from the prince!
"You just need to remember what mother said." The Imperial Concubine lovingly took Yinzhen's hand, smiled slightly, suppressed the urge to cough, and said loudly: "Look at me, it's almost time for dinner, I shouldn't mention these things. Zhen Ma, go get a plate of chestnut cakes, make sure they are hot, so that our Fourth Prince can fill his stomach."
Nanny Zhen stood respectfully aside, responded quickly when she heard the order, and left with a smile.
*****
These past few days, Concubine Hui has been having a very difficult time.
It had only been a few days since the Imperial Concubine gave birth to the Tenth Prince, and the palace affairs were still handled by the three concubines. Because Rong Fei often made things difficult for her, and her words were full of pressure, the tasks that were easy for her in the past were no longer so easy, which made her very annoyed.
There was also Concubine Yi standing next to her, watching the fun. She wore gorgeous makeup and clothes every day, which made her already haggard face look even worse. Although she was seven or eight years younger than her, she looked like two generations apart.
When had Concubine Hui ever been treated like this? As soon as she returned to the palace, her face darkened.
When Nara was still a concubine in her early years, she lost a prince and experienced some setbacks. After giving birth to Yinzhi, she was promoted to concubine and then concubine, and was the head of the four concubines. With Mingzhu's help, she lived a life of luxury for many years. It is not an exaggeration to say that everything went smoothly for her.
This time, she was caught off guard for the rare occasion.
The emperor personally granted her grace. In the past, Hui Fei would have been delighted. But when Wupin had just expressed her intention to surrender, she had to preside over the Fifth Princess's full-month ceremony. Not only did she not fulfill her promise to help her release from the ban, but she also took on the role of her biological mother. It was really, really...
All plans were disrupted!
Concubine Hui became very popular, and everyone in the palace looked at her with daggers, but she had no place to seek justice.
Yinzhi complained to her, "Mother, why should I care about Yonghe Palace? It's a thankless job and I only get superficial fame."
"Princess Wu has displeased the Emperor, but now she can't cause any trouble. Mother knows it. Besides, there is my eighth brother in the Yanx Palace, and with the addition of Moyaqi, can you take care of them all?" The eldest prince muttered, and when he saw his mother's ugly expression, he smiled awkwardly and finally stopped talking.
Concubine Hui gave her son a look, and was so angry that her liver ached. She waved her hand and drove him out.
…
Who could she blame? The Emperor? The Queen Mother
Concubine Hui would never dare to do so, so she could only dispel her depression and do her best to arrange the banquet.
Soon it was the day of Moyachi's full moon. Before dawn, Concubine Hui got up early, dressed up carefully for half an hour, and then took a sedan chair to Yonghe Palace.
There was no sound in Yonghe Palace. It looked desolate at first glance. Concubine Hui squinted her eyes for a long while and ordered her attendants, "Inform."
With a voice saying "Empress Huifei has arrived--", the gate of Yonghe Palace slowly opened. The group waited for quite some time, but no maid or palace maid came to greet them.
Concubine Hui's face darkened slightly. Ying'er was dumbfounded and then extremely displeased: "Your Majesty, they are so rude! Is this how guests are entertained in Yonghe Palace?"
"Forget it..." Concubine Hui shook her head and stopped her outburst. "Princess Wu is still recuperating, so I can't blame her too much."
As she spoke, Concubine Hui sat upright in the sedan chair and sighed softly. I think Concubine Wu is blaming me.
She said calmly, "Go and bring the fifth princess here. Remember to be careful! The fifth princess cannot be exposed to the wind. If there is any mistake, I will hold you responsible."
Seeing that the Empress was not about to get out of the sedan chair, Ying'er and Yan'er shuddered, bowed, and hurriedly led the palace maids from the Yanx Palace inside.
*****
The main hall of Yonghe Palace was filled with a strong smell of medicine, as if it had not been ventilated for a long time.
This was the first time Ying'er had seen Concubine Wu since she came out of abstinence. She looked almost the same as before, but the feeling she gave was very different.
She wore an ochre robe over her snow-white undergarment, which was not gentle at all. Her beautiful face was covered with dust, layers of haze, pale with a hint of green, and a hint of obscurity.
"Madam Wupin, please don't make things difficult for us." After entering the inner room, Ying'er bowed to Wupin's murderous gaze without being servile or arrogant, and said with a slight smile: "The ladies and wives of the nobles have entered the palace one after another. They must want to see the Fifth Princess. Madam Huifei is waiting for your report. Today is the Fifth Princess's full-month ceremony. How can we let the Emperor wait?"
Wupin was originally lying on the couch. Upon hearing this, she stood up and stared at Ying'er for a long time. Finally, she closed her eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "... Ask the nanny to bring Mo Yaqi here."
The sound of rustling footsteps was heard, and the big red swaddling clothes was gently placed in Ying'er's arms.
Ying'er carefully opened the lid and took a look. Seeing the little princess' rosy face and sound sleep, she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled sincerely, "Thank you, Madam, for your consideration! Our Madam said that she will give the Fifth Princess a grand full-moon banquet and there will not be any damage. You can relax, Madam."
"Relax?" Concubine Wu had been looking at the swaddling clothes reluctantly, but after hearing these words, her almond-shaped eyes gradually turned cold, as if she had heard a joke.
"How can I relax?" She asked with a sneer, "Please tell your queen for me. I wonder if she still remembers what she said and the promise she made? I helped her, but she did something against her will... She took away someone else's favorite thing, and she is not afraid of being struck by lightning!"
Ying'er's expression changed in an instant.
"Empress Wu, you misunderstood." She suppressed her anger and explained in a gentle voice, "The emperor has bestowed grace on you, how can Empress Hui refuse? As for the promise, it always counts."
Wupin turned a deaf ear to her explanation and just sneered: "As expected of the head maid of Yanxi Palace, you have such a sharp tongue that you can turn black into white. Well, I have to open my eyes and see if Mo Yaqi can come back and if Huifei can help me out of the predicament!"
After that, she looked at the swaddling clothes in Ying'er's arms again and said softly, "After the full moon, if my child is in trouble... you just wait. Concubine Yi is not a vegetarian..."
Ying'er suppressed the creepy feeling in her heart, forced a smile and nodded, then quickly retreated.
…
On the way back to Yanxi Palace, after hearing Ying'er's report, Concubine Hui paused while holding Mo Yaqi's hand, and her lips flattened: "Is she threatening me?"
"My lady, I see that Concubine Wu is not in a good condition..." Ying'er said as she walked, her tone low and filled with fear, "It seems like she is going to fight to the death!"
Concubine Hui frowned. She did not expect Uya to be so arrogant.
But she couldn't just ignore it!
Those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who are wearing shoes. Seeing that she could no longer stand up, Wu Yashi was mad and had no scruples. Her anger was rising steadily. Did she really think that she could not control a person who was disliked by the emperor? !
"Calm her down first, and then we can make a long-term plan later." Concubine Hui closed her eyes and said coldly, "The most important thing right now is the full moon ceremony, and the rest can be put aside. We have been delayed in Yonghe Palace for too long, and they must be getting impatient! Let's hurry back."
"yes."
*****
From the emperor's satisfied expression, it can be seen that Concubine Hui had obviously put a lot of thought into the Fifth Princess's full-month gift.
The meal on the table was very rich, and Yunxiu ate it to her heart's content. After returning to the palace to digest the food, she ordered someone to bring Yinzhen over, smiling, ready to play with the little kid who changed every day.
Over there, before the nanny came in, Ruizhu hurriedly lifted the curtain and whispered in her ear: "Madam, the master sent someone to tell me that the master is about to be promoted and his official position in Shengjing has changed, but..."
Yunxiu's smile faded little by little.
"Going to the capital? Minister of Personnel?"
This is the territory of the Nara clan, under the command of the Minister of Personnel Mingzhu!