"Xiuyuan, the Grand Concubine sent someone to tell you to take the Third Princess to Ci'an Palace for a short visit."
Nianwen came in from outside and whispered.
If there is nothing important, the Imperial Concubine usually won't send someone to pass on a message. This means that there is something to discuss with her.
"You go and report back to the person who delivered the message. I'll change my clothes and be there soon." Yao Xiang waved his hand.
Nianwen nodded and walked out.
In less than half an hour, Yao Xiang and her daughter arrived at Ci'an Palace.
"Greetings to my aunt."
"Please sit down." The Grand Concubine said gently, "Bring the princess here for me to see."
The servant behind nodded, took the child from the wet nurse's arms and brought him to the Grand Concubine.
"She will be one year old in another month. Will the Third Princess' birthday party be held on the same day as the Fourth Prince's?" asked the Grand Concubine.
Yao Xiang frowned, "I don't know yet. I guess they will be together. We have the same birthday, so it's not good to have one before the other."
According to the order of birth, the Third Princess was born more than half an hour earlier than the Fourth Prince and is older, but in terms of the status of her birth mother, Ye Jun is much higher than her by more than a little bit.
The Imperial Concubine nodded and stopped talking about it, then brought up another matter.
"Your second brother failed the imperial examination again this spring, and Yao Xu is gone. You are the only one left in our family. Fortunately, your father can still hold on for a few more years and wait for his grandchildren to grow up. Xiang'er, once you have recovered, you should give birth to another boy as soon as possible."
Speaking of this, Yao Xiang himself was also worried.
She had a difficult delivery when she gave birth to a daughter last year, and her health was badly damaged. Later, Yao Xu passed away suddenly. She was devastated and fell ill for a long time. Now she obviously feels that her health is not as good as before.
I am particularly afraid of the cold this winter. It is already early April, and I am still wearing one more piece of clothing than others.
"My niece knows. She's drinking the tonic. But the emperor doesn't come very often. Even if he does, he just looks at the princess and leaves. I'm not feeling well, so I don't dare to come and serve her in bed." Yao Xiang sighed.
The Grand Concubine said, "There is no rush for this matter. If you get pregnant again without recovering from your illness, it will be bad for both you and the child. I called you here this time just to ask you what you think about the eldest prince's matter."
Although the eldest prince is in poor health, it is estimated that he will not be able to become the crown prince in the future.
But the emperor is now anxious to correct the child's temper. Whoever succeeds in doing so will surely win his favor. As long as Yao Xiang is willing, the imperial concubine will help her.
However, Yao Xiang never had any intention of targeting the eldest prince, she had other plans.
At this point, there was no need to hide it from the Grand Concubine anymore, so he told her in detail.
"To be honest, aunt, I am thinking about becoming the queen. My strongest rivals right now are Ming Shunyi and Yi Shunyuan. They have suffered at my hands before, and now they are on high alert, so it is difficult for them to do anything. Therefore, my idea is to overthrow the queen first, so that the harem will be in chaos and I can fish in troubled waters."
"My niece has an informant in Fengqi Palace who is close to the queen. With a little guidance, he can still control the queen's movements to some extent. She wants to raise a prince, so I am prepared to help her. However, if there are any problems with the prince, the queen will naturally be held responsible."
Obviously, the Imperial Concubine didn't expect Yao Xiang to have planned this, and there was a hint of surprise in her eyes.
After thinking about it carefully, he felt even more approving.
Indeed, even if she could win the emperor's favor, it might not be a long-lasting favor. If she could stir up trouble in the harem and wait for an opportunity to bring down the empress, Ye and Wu, her chances of winning would naturally be many times greater.
"You are very smart. You can think of this level. I am shallow." The Grand Concubine smiled with satisfaction. "In this case, I will also order someone to help you secretly."
"Thank you, aunt." Yao Xiang stood up and bowed with a smile.
The aunt and nephew were having a very pleasant conversation here.
On the other side, Ning Chen suddenly came to Zhao Chunxuan during lunch.
There was news that they would go to Cui Wanrong's place today, so Ye Jun made no preparation at all.
Ning Chen was familiar with the place and sat down directly.
"Nanzhi, bring me a set of bowls and chopsticks."
"Yes." Nan Zhi responded and hurried to get it.
Ye Jun had already taken two bites by now, so he was too lazy to perform any greetings.
Holding the bowl and picking up the dishes, she said, "Your Majesty, why did you come at this time without informing me in advance? What you prepared today are all my favorite dishes."
Her casual look made Ning Chen feel very comfortable.
It feels like returning to your own home, there is no need to be polite at all.
"I saw the article your cousin wrote today. He is a talented person."
Ning Chen didn't respond to her and continued talking to himself.
"Really?" Ye Jun was surprised. "Ye Huai was abandoned by his uncle to study at Qingshan Academy when he was young. He was not brought back until he was ten years old. I am not familiar with this brother."
After a pause, he suddenly smiled.
"I didn't expect that the Ye family would have a scholar. Now the concubines in the harem can no longer say that I am a rough person."
The second half of the sentence is slightly sarcastic.
Ning Chen looked at her with amusement, shook his head and said nothing.
What a rough man! This woman is obviously very delicate and meticulous. The fact that she is not talented does not mean that she does not have any. She is good at chess and painting, and can also play the piano, make tea, and occasionally recite poetry.
Could this be a rough person
And Ye Zhe, who led troops to fight, was also a man of both civil and military talents.
There are only a few military generals who can write memorials in a clear, understandable and elegant manner, and Ye Zhe is one of the best.
I have to say that the young people of this generation in the Ye family are all good.
Without the support of their parents, they all stood up one by one.
When Ye Huai becomes an official in the imperial court, the second branch of the Ye family will have someone to rely on and will be able to live well away from the first branch.
"Your Majesty, you are not here just to praise my brother, right?" Ye Jun changed the subject.
It is better for concubines to talk less about the affairs of the previous dynasty. It is enough to know them in their hearts and there is no need to talk about them every day.
After all, it is against the rules and may easily cause trouble.
Ning Chen nodded, "Indeed, there is more than one thing. The Queen sent someone to ask me today what to do about the Fourth Prince and the Third Princess' first birthday banquet. I would like to see what you think."
Two kids’ birthdays on the same day are no big deal, but their first birthday is a big deal.
We really need to discuss this.
"Let's do it together. It's not better to spend the whole morning and afternoon doing it. It will only make the guests tired for the whole day." Ye Jun said.
She had thought about this a long time ago.
Don't hold them separately, otherwise she would have to go to congratulate Yao and then rush back to be the host.
That's too tiring.
The weather is getting hot in early May, and running around all day in your best clothes is really exhausting.
Seeing that her expression did not seem fake and she did not seem reluctant or unhappy, Ning Chen nodded.
But after a while, he suddenly looked up and said.
"I don't want to wrong you and your son. If you want to celebrate it alone, it can be done a day in advance. I will ask the Ministry of Rites to organize two ceremonies."
At that time, the Fourth Prince was born prematurely due to Ye Yun's fright. It's really scary to think about it.
He had never seen Ye Jun's face so pale.
Fortunately, both mother and child were safe in the end.
But it was that accident that made Ning Chen feel that the Fourth Prince had not come with such great difficulty.
It almost resulted in two deaths, which made me feel even more heartbroken.