After escaping danger, there was naturally harmony in Zhaochunxuan, but the other concubines were not so lucky.
Yi Zhaorong got back and threw a tantrum.
Seeing that Ye Jun was about to get the position of imperial concubine, and she was only just one of the top three concubines among the nine concubines, she was extremely jealous.
Her favor has been declining year by year in recent years. The emperor only sees her two or three times a month, and it is considered good if he can sleep with her once.
She also wants to have a baby, but she needs the emperor's cooperation.
The only consolation is that the third prince is very hardworking and good at studying. He is often praised by his teacher and the emperor.
Just as I was thinking about it, I heard the servants say that the third prince had arrived.
"Son greets mother." The third prince entered the room and bowed politely.
"Stop being polite. Why are you here in this hot weather?" Yi Zhaorong quickly helped the child up and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
The third prince smiled happily, "My son recited his lessons today, and the teacher praised me again. I was supposed to go back to Ruyi Pavilion with my second brother at noon, but Concubine De sent someone to pick him up to have lunch at Zhongcui Palace, so my son came back."
"Okay, mother is planning to bring you some snacks after you get home from school this afternoon." Yi Zhaorong said with a smile.
He then hurriedly ordered Yunxiu to prepare the dishes that the Third Prince liked.
The third prince asked after the mother and son sat at the table.
"Mother, today I heard from the people around Concubine De that Empress Ming is going to give birth to a little brother again, is that right?"
We had a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet last night, but the children were still young and were not brought along, so they didn’t know about what happened yesterday.
Yi Zhaorong's eyes darkened, "She is pregnant again, but it's still unknown whether it's a boy or a girl."
Feeling his mother's depressed mood, the third prince lowered his head uncomfortably.
"Father usually goes to Madam Ming's place. If Madam Ming has two children, Father will have to go more often. Then will I still be able to see Father?"
"Of course." Yi Zhaorong quickly calmed down and patted her son's head with a smile, "As long as you study hard, the emperor likes you and will naturally meet you. There is no need to worry so much."
The third prince nodded immediately, "Yes, mother, don't worry, your son will study hard."
At the end, he added, "Father has no time to accompany you. Your son will come back to see you often after finishing his studies. You will have your son to accompany you."
"Good boy, as long as you work hard, mother doesn't care about anything else." Yi Zhaorong looked relieved.
The mother and son had their meal, and the Third Prince went back because he had to do homework assigned by his master in the afternoon.
Yi Zhaorong felt sorry for her son, so she prepared a lot of things and asked someone to send them over.
The eldest prince was sitting in his own courtyard. When he heard some noise outside, he went out for a walk and saw his third brother bringing back a lot of things.
She couldn't help but think of the past when Wan Xiuyuan would prepare a lot of things for her, as well as the Royal Grandmother and the Queen.
As for his biological mother, Mrs. An, he had completely forgotten her.
Unfortunately, all these people are gone, and he is now alone again, a child without a mother.
Ning Chen sent the female official Liang Yu to take care of him and made her the manager of the eldest prince. Now everyone calls her Aunt Yu.
She was originally going to be married, but unfortunately Liangyu's husband has been useless in the past two years. He betrayed her and took two concubines.
Liang Yu divorced him in a fit of anger. She only had one daughter, who was now being raised by her brother and sister-in-law at her parents' home. She devoted all her attention to her work in the palace.
"My Lord, what are you looking at? It's time to take your medicine."
The voice came from behind. The eldest prince turned around and said sadly, "Aunt, I miss my mother."
Although he didn't know who his mother was, or maybe he was thinking of Mrs. Wan, he himself didn't know, he just envied her.
Liang Yu felt distressed. Her daughter was about the same age as the eldest prince. To be honest, in her eyes, the eldest prince was like her son.
"Be good, eldest prince. Your aunt is here to accompany you, as well as your father and your brothers." Liang Yu coaxed.
This child was nearly killed by Mrs. Wan and has just recovered. We cannot let him be sad or depressed, as it is bad for his health.
The eldest prince nodded and drank the medicine obediently without even eating the candied fruit.
I grew up taking medicine and am familiar with the taste.
At this time, the second prince also came back, and as usual he brought a bunch of things, but unlike the third prince, he brought two things.
"Brother!" The second prince came running over, pointing at two identical boxes and said, "My mother prepared a box for each of us. We all have the same things. You should quickly ask someone to move them in. There are also snacks. Aunt Tanxiang's osmanthus cake is delicious."
In an instant, the eldest prince's eyes lit up and he clenched his hands in confusion.
"Thank you, second brother. Thank you, thank you, Mother Virtue."
The second prince waved his hand with a smile, asked someone to put the things down, and went back to his own courtyard.
But he did not forget to send a portion of osmanthus cake to the third prince.
The Third Prince has a biological mother, so naturally there is no need for Concubine Jingde to prepare anything for him, but the brothers still have cakes and other things.
Liang Yu saw it all and had to admit that Concubine Jingde was very thoughtful.
But even so, he still checked the gifts inside and out before he felt comfortable giving them to the eldest prince.
The eldest prince cherished these things very much. He was now longing for maternal love, so the things given to him by Concubine Jingde made him feel that he was also loved by his mother in a sense.
Liang Yu naturally had to tell Ning Chen about these things.
In fact, ever since the second prince moved in, Concubine De has been taking good care of the eldest prince. Many of the things that the second prince had were prepared for the eldest prince, and the fifth prince also had a separate copy.
The second prince also has a good personality and often comes to talk to the eldest prince whenever he is free. Now that there are three brothers, the second prince is like a bridge between them.
All three children are related to the second prince.
It’s just that the fifth prince is younger and can’t play with him.
Concubine Jingde has been in charge of palace affairs for the past two years and has been quite popular, even better than Concubine Shu in every aspect.
He always behaves calmly and steadily, without any competition.
"The harem is now lacking someone in charge." Ning Chen said with his eyes lowered.
In recent years, Concubine Shu, Concubine Jingde and Concubine Hui have been in charge of affairs together. Normally, it's fine, but when something big happens, they don't know who to let take the lead. Now it seems that Concubine Jingde has the ability and qualifications to do so.
Concubine Jingde was the first person to follow him. From the time she lived in the palace till now, she had never made any mistakes. However, she was once murdered by Xie and lost her fertility.
Ning Chen thought for a long time and finally decided to promote Concubine De to Concubine Xian, and announced this at the Double Ninth Festival Ceremony in September.
As for why it was Consort Xian, Ning Chen already had a candidate in mind for the position of Imperial Consort.
However, at the moment, Concubine Jingxian surpassed Concubine Shu in one fell swoop, breaking the balance that had existed for many years and also attracting attention from the harem.
Shufei was so angry that she almost lost her composure on the spot if the eldest princess hadn't stopped her.
When he returned to the palace after the banquet, everyone in Zhongcui Palace knelt to welcome him and congratulate him.
Concubine Jingxian was also happy, but she didn't show it too obviously.
What does this mean? She has her eyes on more than just the position of virtuous concubine. There are also noble concubines and queens above them.
Now that the emperor did not give her the position of imperial concubine, she could guess why.
But she is determined to get that position and will not give up.