In any case, the imperial carriage has now stopped at the gate of Chuxiu Palace.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." Concubine Wende was already waiting with her servants.
Ning Chen glanced at her. Concubine Wende had a faint smile on her face, and the joy in her eyes was obvious.
"Get up." He finally helped her up. "Where's the child?"
Because the eldest prince was weak and dared not move at will, Ning Chen always went to Chuxiu Palace to visit him. He was busy these days and had not come for a few days.
Concubine Wende smiled and said, "He is being played in there by the nurse. The eldest prince can sit now."
As the saying goes, one sits at seven and crawls at eight. The eldest prince was born at the end of November last year. He is about nine and a half months old now, but he has just learned to sit. It is obvious that his health is not good.
Ning Chen nodded slightly without saying anything and went in directly.
In the inner hall, a wet nurse and two little palace maids were seen playing with the eldest prince, sitting on a soft couch by the window.
The wet nurse protected the eldest prince with three thick and wide pillows, and the eldest prince sat leaning against the pillows.
This is what Concubine Wende meant when she said the child could sit down.
Seeing him come in, the servants all knelt down and saluted.
Looking past the crowd, Ning Chen and the eldest prince on the couch met each other's eyes.
He often came to Chuxiu Palace, and the children still recognized him. They smiled when they saw him and babbled something.
Ning Chen's brows relaxed slightly and he carefully picked up the child, but he couldn't help frowning after picking him up.
The child was light and fluttery. He remembered that the eldest princess was chubby and had arms like lotus roots when she was this age.
"After all, he is close to our father. Look how happy he is smiling, Your Majesty." Concubine Wende walked closer and stretched out her hand to tease the child.
"The eldest prince seems to have a faint bruise under his eyes. What's the reason? Has the imperial physician taken a look?" Ning Chen noticed something was wrong.
Concubine Wende looked unnatural for a moment, and explained, "The eldest prince has caught a cold again these past two days. Whenever this child gets cold, his eyes will turn purple. But the imperial physician has examined him and prescribed medicine, so he should be fine."
"He is still a little weak. Ask the imperial physician to take better care of him."
After handing the child to the wet nurse, Ning Chen waved his hand and asked the servants to retreat.
Seeing that he did not blame her, Concubine Wende felt slightly relieved.
In fact, Ning Chen has now become accustomed to the eldest prince's condition of being treated with medicine. A mere cold is already normal for this little guy.
Besides, Ning Chen came here today with some worries and didn't have the energy to pay attention to other things.
Concubine Wende observed his expression, carefully served him tea, sat down beside him, and fanned him gently.
"The eldest prince is afraid of cold, so I don't use much ice in my palace. The summer heat is still here. If the emperor feels uncomfortable, I will order someone to add two more basins of ice."
"No need, let's serve the meal first. I'm hungry." Ning Chen didn't know how to start, so he changed the subject.
An had been serving her since she came to the Qiandi Palace. She was chosen by the late emperor because of her beauty, talent, and gentle and well-behaved personality.
In fact, young men do like the gentle and considerate type.
Concubine Wende was gentle and affectionate. She had the elegance of a beautiful girl from a small family, the cultivation of a lady from a noble family, and was well-versed in poetry and books. She was a perfect match for Ning Chen, who was an idle nobleman at that time.
Even though others became favored later, she was always the most outstanding.
This also stems from one point. Concubine Wende has served for so many years and rarely has any dirty dealings with others. There have been verbal disputes in public, but she has never done anything shady behind people's backs.
Ning Chen really didn't believe the rash accusation that Concubine Wende had ordered the kitchen to maliciously and harshly treat Ye Jun.
The meal was quickly arranged.
It is a first-class meal with four concubines, with a total of eighteen dishes.
"Most of these are the emperor's favorites. I'll serve the dishes to the emperor." Concubine Wende raised her chopsticks and smiled.
Ning Chen finally couldn't help himself, "No need, please sit down, I have something to ask you."
Concubine Wende was stunned for a moment, her face turned pale, "Your Majesty, you can just say it directly."
"I heard some bad rumors today, saying that you ordered the kitchen to treat Ming Jieyu harshly."
"Your Majesty, I would never dare to do such a thing. Someone must have framed me. I am already a concubine and have given birth to a prince. Why would I want to make things difficult for a little concubine?"
Concubine Wende reacted extremely violently. She immediately knelt down and spoke indignantly.
Ning Chen put down his bowl and chopsticks and reached out to help her. "It's just a rumor. How could I believe it? I know your nature best. You would never do such a dirty thing, right?"
The man stared at the other person's eyes with his phoenix eyes, as if asking or discerning.
Concubine Wende's breathing stagnated. She was extremely scared and regretful at the moment. She wanted to dodge, but there was nowhere to escape. Her throat tightened and she couldn't speak.
Finally, he avoided that sharp gaze by lowering his head.
"I thank the emperor for his trust."
The words came out soft and low, without any of the excitement from before.
Ning Chen narrowed his eyes and pulled her up. "You have followed me for many years and have given birth to my children. I naturally value you. I made you Consort De because I value your virtue."
"Your Majesty's grace is something I will always remember and will never let Your Majesty down." Concubine Wende has adjusted herself and is now much more natural.
Just the moment her eyes dodged, Ning Chen understood in his heart.
The words at the end are both a reminder and an exhortation.
The harem is the place with the most secrets and intrigues. These concubines are involved with the previous dynasty, so intrigue is inevitable, but Ning Chen still hopes that there will be someone who remains upright.
Even if someone was as domineering as Ye, she always did things openly and never did anything behind the scenes.
This meal was tasteless.
In the end, Concubine Wende naturally wanted to keep the emperor overnight, but Ning Chen returned to Jiuchen Palace on the pretext of being busy with government affairs.
Ning Chen was disappointed after all.
This is a rare thing.
Watching the imperial carriage going away, Concubine Wende felt her heart skip a beat. She thought the emperor must know something, but she always held on to hope.
If he really knew, why would he come to see her
"Your Majesty, it's very cold at night, please come into the house quickly." Bai Lu said in a low voice.
Concubine Wende retracted her gaze and whispered, "Do you think I was wrong?"
"How could that be? In this deep palace, who wouldn't use some tricks to gain the emperor's favor? Are they all clean? Your Majesty is doing this to establish your authority, so that they won't think you have a good temper."
"Have you forgotten how Sun Xiurong disrespected you when she first gained favor? Over the years, you have always been good-tempered and your servants were not afraid of you, but now that you have the eldest prince, a mother must be strong, your majesty. If you don't do it for yourself, you should make plans for the eldest prince."
Speaking of children, it really touched Concubine Wende's soft spot.
"Yes, for the sake of my child, I can't just avoid it anymore. I can choose not to fight, but I can't help but fight for a good future for my child."
Once you enter the palace, you’ll rarely avoid being caught up in this mess.
First for yourself, then for your children, pushing you forward step by step, sinking into the mud.
How many people can be sober from beginning to end