Ever since Consort De mentioned to Lady Jia Zhen her intention to send her son to the Qianqui Palace to be raised by the Empress Dowager, she visibly began to wilt.
Due to the lessons learned from the previous incident, she had grown more cautious.
Not only did she not express her reluctance, but she also forced herself to put on a happy face, earnestly telling Lady Jia Zhen and Lady Xiahou,
“Our Suisui is so fortunate! Being with the Empress Dowager is far better than staying in the Peixiang Palace!”
Lady Jia Zhen and Lady Xiahou, seeing her forced smile, felt a mix of emotions.
They knew that this decision was indeed better for the prince’s future, and they could not, would not, and dared not shatter the facade she was desperately maintaining.
The Emperor seemed to have noticed something.
When he came by, he took advantage of Consort De’s absence to quietly ask Lady Jia Zhen,
“I’ve noticed she’s been listless these past few days, her spirits not as high as usual. I checked her medical records, and there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. What’s going on?”
Lady Jia Zhen couldn’t help but feel surprised.
It was the second month of spring, and the Ministry of Rites was busy organizing the imperial examinations.
The Emperor had always placed great importance on this matter and had been exceptionally busy lately, rarely visiting the inner palace.
Given the circumstances, it was unexpected that he still found the time to inquire about Consort De’s health.
Touched by his concern, she saw no reason to withhold the truth and promptly explained,
“Her Majesty mentioned that she plans to send the young prince to the Qianqui Palace.”
The Emperor was also taken aback.
“Why haven’t I heard about this?”
Lady Jia Zhen glanced toward the inner chamber and sighed, lowering her voice.
“The matter hasn’t been finalized yet, so I didn’t dare spread the news. She said she would wait until everything was packed before sending him over. But it seems she’s still reluctant. It’s been two days, and she hasn’t finished packing.”
If the Peixiang Palace had let word slip, it would have been a done deal.
Otherwise, wouldn’t it have been disrespectful to the Empress Dowager?
Consort De wouldn’t dare do such a thing even if she had ten thousand times the courage.
So now she was just painfully torn, knowing that sending her son to the Qianqui Palace would benefit his future, but at the same time, she couldn’t bear to let him go.
How could she part with her own flesh and blood?
The Emperor finally understood, and a hint of emotion and pity flickered across his face.
He sighed softly and nodded slightly. “I see.”
Then he turned to Lady Jia Zhen and said,
“She sometimes acts inappropriately. Please be patient with her.”
Lady Jia Zhen replied respectfully,
“How could I dare? Your Majesty is far more patient with her than I am.”
This was the truth.
In the end, many in the palace had been patient with Consort De not out of respect for her, but out of respect for the Emperor.
The Emperor’s willingness to take responsibility for Consort De was the fundamental reason she could continue her life in the inner palace despite her arrogance.
The Emperor sensed the underlying meaning in Lady Jia Zhen’s words and also noticed her bewilderment.
He smiled lightly and said,
“I bear a certain responsibility for the latter half of her life.”
He paused briefly before continuing,
“I was the one who brought her into the palace and amplified the prideful aspects of her personality. So I can’t simply wash my hands of her and walk away.”
Lady Jia Zhen knew her place and didn’t comment on this, merely bowing her head and saying,
“Your Majesty is benevolent.”
The Emperor didn’t say anything more, and Lady Jia Zhen thought the matter was over.
However, when they entered the inner chamber, the Emperor unexpectedly got straight to the point:
“I heard you’re planning to send Suisui to the Empress Dowager to be raised?”
Ruan Rensui, held by the wet nurse, perked up his ears in confusion and unease.
Consort De, on the other hand, was momentarily stunned, as if a freshly scabbed wound had been abruptly torn open.
Her face paled, and after a moment of silence, she finally nodded, her voice barely audible as she murmured,
“Mmm.”
The Emperor, seemingly oblivious, casually asked,
“When are you planning to send him over?”
Consort De wanted to avoid the question, but reality forced her to face it.
In the end, she stammered, her voice unclear,
“Probably in the next couple of days…”
She kept her head down, so the Emperor bent over to look at her expression.
“I heard you’ve been packing for two days. Are you reluctant to let him go?”
Consort De turned her face away, holding back her heartache, and stubbornly replied,
“Not at all!”
The Emperor chuckled, then waved his hand, signaling the wet nurse to bring the prince over.
Ruan Rensui looked at his father’s face with confusion and anxiety as it drew closer, then heard his father ask with a hint of sigh and temptation,
“What do you think? Do you want to go to your grandmother’s place?”
Ruan Rensui: “…”
To be honest, when his mother first mentioned sending him to the Empress Dowager, he hadn’t been too thrilled after all, he was the one being sent away, so why hadn’t anyone asked for his opinion?
But now that someone was actually asking, he felt a bit uneasy.
Why would anyone seriously ask a child such a question?
Fortunately, Consort De, both amused and helpless, stepped in to take over.
“Suisui is still so young! How could he understand?”
The Emperor, observing her expression, asked softly,
“Are you really willing to let him go?”
Consort De forced herself to nod.
“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s not like I’ll never see him again.”
The Emperor glanced down at his son and suddenly said,
“In that case, it’s better to end the long suffering quickly. Let’s send him over tomorrow.”
Consort De was shocked and couldn’t help but exclaim,
“What?!”
The Emperor looked at her with ease.
Consort De stared at him in a daze, then looked at her child, her eyes slowly reddening.
Lady Jia Zhen thought she would protest, but after a long silence, all Consort De said was,
“Oh.”
Ruan Rensui let out an angry cry.
The Emperor called the wet nurse over.
“He’s hungry. Take him to be fed.”
Ruan Rensui struggled and cried even louder.
The Emperor, propping his chin on his hand, laughed heartily.
“So full of energy! Take him farther away!”
Ruan Rensui: “…”
Consort De, however, couldn’t bear it and reached out to stop them.
But the Emperor calmly asked her,
“Once he’s in the Qianqui Palace, will you be able to go over and take care of him?”
Her body stiffened, and she finally withdrew her outstretched hand.
Ruan Rensui was anxious, but there was nothing he could do.
He couldn’t jump up and voice his opposition, nor could he change the decision his parents had made.
In fact, he couldn’t even resist the instincts of a baby-after being fed, he fell asleep…
When he opened his eyes again, it was already the next morning.
He lay in the cradle in the bedchamber, while his father and mother were having breakfast together.
The Emperor’s expression was calm, giving no hint of what he was thinking.
His mother’s face looked as if she were attending a funeral, but perhaps it was a joyous one, so she couldn’t show too much sorrow…
After breakfast, the Emperor gestured for the wet nurse to wrap the child up.
He would first take the little one to the Empress Dowager, then attend court.
Consort De had spent the entire night preparing herself mentally, knowing that her son would be sent away today.
She just hadn’t expected it to be so early…
But since it had already been decided, what was the point of delaying any longer?
She forced a smile and, with a choked voice, tried to appear happy as she said,
“That’s fine, that’s fine.”
What’s fine?
It’s not fine at all!
Ruan Rensui started crying again.
His father patted his fuzzy head, smiling and unfazed, as if he were holding a noisy whistle, and calmly walked out.
Ruan Rensui cried for a while, but seeing that his father was completely indifferent and that he himself couldn’t resist, he felt a wave of sadness.
This time, he really wanted to cry.
The weather wasn’t too cold now, and the Emperor probably wanted to stretch his legs, so he didn’t call for a sedan chair.
Instead, he carried the child and walked slowly, occasionally patting him gently.
Ruan Rensui, feeling hopeless and miserable, stayed in his arms for a while, then suddenly sensed something was off.
They had been walking for quite a while, so why hadn’t they left the Peixiang Palace yet?
That Taihu rock was by the lotus pond on the west side of the Peixiang Palace…
He came to his senses and looked at his father with disbelief and delight.
The Emperor continued walking at a leisurely pace, and when he noticed his son’s gaze, he looked down at him.
Ruan Rensui saw his own small reflection in his father’s dark eyes.
He grinned: Happy.
The Emperor smiled at him, tilting his head slightly as if pondering something.
A few moments later, he lifted Ruan Rensui up, squinting as he observed him from below.
“Is it just my imagination, Suisui? It seems like you know what I’m doing.”
Ruan Rensui: !!!
Sweating bullets, folks!!!
He didn’t dare move a muscle, not even blink.
After a moment’s thought, he realized this reaction was wrong, so he opened his toothless mouth, kicked his legs, and giggled foolishly.
The Emperor laughed, as if he found it amusing to tease a child like this.
He held him again and muttered to himself,
“I must have been mistaken…”
Then he turned to the eunuch and asked,
“How long have we been out?”
The eunuch stepped forward and replied respectfully,
“Your Majesty, it’s been almost half an hour.”
The Emperor considered this and, deciding it was enough, patted his son’s bottom through the swaddling clothes.
“Alright, let’s go back.”
If this scene were to be captured in a painting, it would undoubtedly be titled
“Consort De Wailing in Grief.”
Why isn’t Consort De in the picture?
Because she’s wailing in grief…
The kind that can’t be soothed.
Lady Jia Zhen stood by her side, her expression helpless and slightly pained, while Lady Xiahou silently shed tears.
Consort De cried as if she were about to cough up her heart, liver, spleen, and lungs.
Once the child was sent away, how could she see him whenever she wanted?
She could only visit the Empress Dowager three times a month at most!
Even if she could go to the Qianqui Palace to pay her respects at any time, it still depended on whether the Empress Dowager was willing to see her!
Lady Jia Zhen didn’t try to console her, because she knew that for a mother, any words at this moment would be feeble and hollow.
Consort De buried herself under the covers and sobbed, not caring about anything else.
Then she felt someone tugging at the blanket covering her, and assuming it was either her mother or Lady Jia Zhen, she didn’t pay attention, just gripped the corners of the blanket tighter and continued crying.
The person outside seemed to pull harder.
Consort De, crying until she was physically weak, tried to tug back but couldn’t.
Her sorrow turned to anger, and she suddenly threw the blanket off her head, her face covered in snot and tears, and snapped,
“What do you want? Can’t you just leave me alone?!”
The Emperor quickly handed the little one back to her.
Ruan Rensui: Smiling.
Consort De froze in place, a mix of shock, surprise, and joy, tears streaming down her face.
After standing still for a while, she suddenly came to her senses, snatched the child back, and hugged him tightly as she burst into tears.
“Suisui!”
After a moment, she realized what had happened and, still holding her son, chased after the Emperor, hitting him while crying,
“You did this on purpose! You wanted to see me suffer, wanted to make me so miserable!”
The Emperor was quick on his feet, and Consort De couldn’t catch him.
Furious but also overwhelmed with the joy of having her treasure returned, she didn’t care about her appearance, sat down on the floor, buried her face in the child’s swaddling clothes, and couldn’t stop her shoulders from shaking.
The Emperor sighed softly, not minding his own appearance, and sat down beside her.
“If I hadn’t tricked you into thinking he was being sent away, how would you have known how much you’d miss him, how hard it would be to let him go?”
He brushed the tears from Consort De’s hair and said,
“Alright, we’ve gone through the motions of sending him away, and you’ve cried enough. Let’s end it here and never bring it up again.”
Consort De sighed with mixed emotions, sniffling, her eyes red, and said,
“Will Suisui blame me in the future…”
Being raised by the Empress Dowager and being raised by her were two completely different things!
The Emperor, sitting beside her, also sighed with mixed emotions.
“He won’t. From what I can see, he doesn’t seem very bright. Even if he were sent to
the Empress Dowager, it’s unlikely she could turn him into a prodigy. It’s better for you to keep raising him…”
Ruan Rensui: “…”
Huh???
Consort De’s tears stopped abruptly, and she was furious.
“What are you talking about?! He’s my son, of course he’s intelligent!”
She declared fiercely,
“If you underestimate our Suisui, I’ll make sure he becomes outstanding just to prove you wrong!”
Ruan Rensui: “…”
Huh???
Maybe it’s just my imagination, but Dad’s looking at me with a hint of pity in his eyes.
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