Lady Jiazhen boldly confronted De Fei directly.
De Fei, unable to contain her anger, was left fuming.
Yet, she could do nothing about it.
Lady Jiazhen was not one of her palace attendants but a proper court official, someone only the Empress or the Chief Palace Matron could formally discipline.
De Fei knew this, which only made her angrier.
Her face flushed red, and she clenched her fists:
“…You’re mocking me! I’ll go to His Majesty and complain about you!”
Lady Jiazhen replied with a light-hearted tone, as if she were on a spring outing:
“Go ahead. I don’t want to stay in Pixiang Palace anyway. This is a perfect excuse for me to leave. Teehee~”
De Fei: “…”
Although Lady Xiahou wasn’t particularly sharp herself, having lived decades longer, she could tell that Lady Jiazhen’s straightforwardness with De Fei was a sign of their closeness, not disrespect.
She gently advised De Fei:
“Your Highness, please calm down. Rest and take care of yourself. If you let anger get to you, it might harm your health.”
Then, with great politeness, she bowed to Lady Jiazhen:
“Madam, we’ve seen how you’ve handled everything for Her Highness with such care. Though she may not say it, she’s truly grateful in her heart.”
Lady Jiazhen returned the gesture:
“You’re too kind, Madam.”
Back in the familiar surroundings of Pixiang Palace, De Fei finally let go of the tension she had been holding.
Lady Jiazhen and Lady Xiahou urged her to rest on the couch, but she wasn’t sleepy.
After lying down for a while, she suddenly sat up and asked the wet nurse to bring her child over.
Strangely, when the baby was first born, she hadn’t felt much affection and even thought he looked a bit ugly.
But now, after just one day, he seemed different.
He was asleep.
His eyes were closed, his cheeks chubby, and his lips slightly pouted, resembling a little frog.
His hair was thick.
The wet nurse said he would grow up to be tall, and though De Fei knew it was just flattery, she still rewarded her.
She believed her child was the best.
Thinking about the ups and downs before and after the baby’s birth, and today’s events, even someone as carefree as De Fei couldn’t help but feel a bit dazed and melancholic.
Ruan Rensui felt a faint dampness.
He opened his eyes and, after a moment of confusion, realized it was his mother’s tears falling on his face.
Lady Xiahou, looking sympathetic, softly advised:
“Don’t cry. Falling ill during the postpartum period is no joke.”
De Fei held the little child, first nodding, then shaking her head, and finally said,
“I understand.”
The initial confidence she had felt after giving birth to the Emperor’s eldest son had faded, replaced by anxiety and unease.
And a mother’s instinct.
She looked at the tiny, tender hand in her palm and wondered:
‘Can I raise him safely?’
The late Emperor had only two children, both born to the Empress Dowager, and they grew up safely.
But before the late Emperor, during the reign of Emperor Mingzong, the strife in the inner palace had been far more severe.
The women in the palace kept giving birth to children, but few survived.
Some died right after birth, others passed away in early childhood, and one princess, almost of marriageable age, succumbed to illness.
With so many children, it wasn’t unusual for some to be lost, but for none to survive, who could say that was normal?
It was largely due to Emperor Mingzong’s excessive favoritism and the infighting among his concubines.
De Fei feared she might follow in their footsteps.
She hesitantly asked Lady Jiazhen:
“Was I too reckless in the palace before?”
Lady Jiazhen: “…”
Lady Jiazhen expressionlessly retorted:
“What do you think?”
De Fei: “…”
De Fei’s already chaotic mind became even more tangled, and she belatedly realized:
“I… I must have offended many people, haven’t I?”
Lady Jiazhen: Amused
De Fei: Not amused.
De Fei was panicking, tears welling up in her eyes again:
“Lady Jiazhen, you must help me!”
Seeing this, Lady Jiazhen began to understand why the Emperor favored De Fei.
She was so transparent.
Like a blank sheet of paper, whatever was in her heart was immediately visible on the surface, with no need for guesswork.
It was a kind of sincerity, after all.
Lady Jiazhen found some amusement in this thought and then seriously consoled her:
“Your Highness wanting to change your ways is a good thing, but there’s no need to be so anxious.”
“This temper of yours isn’t a recent development. Did you only start offending people after the Crown Prince was born? Since nothing major happened before, you can relax now.”
Those who hated De Fei could only spread rumors and try to undermine the Crown Prince’s future.
They couldn’t do much more.
Lady Jiazhen told her:
“What you need to do, secondarily, is to temper your previous arrogance.”
De Fei blinked at her eagerly:
“And the primary thing?”
Lady Jiazhen emphasized, speaking slowly:
“The Emperor’s favor.”
Just as the most important thing in buying a house is location, location, location, the most crucial thing in the palace is the Emperor’s favor, favor, favor!
If the Emperor truly wanted to protect someone, that person could likely avoid both overt and covert attacks.
De Fei might be foolish?
Her background wasn’t as illustrious as Empress Zhu’s, and her family connections weren’t as strong as Lady Xian’s, but that didn’t stop her from being the most favored concubine in the palace.
In many matters, such as when merchants and local officials came to the capital to offer tributes, they would also pay their respects to the Xiahou family.
The households of the Duke of Ding and the Duke of Chengen also received such gestures, but none compared to the Xiahou family.
Because everyone knew that De Fei enjoyed the Emperor’s deep affection.
Local officials couldn’t compare to those in power.
For example, when De Fei first became pregnant, the Emperor had already made it clear to the Empress Dowager that Lady Jiazhen would take care of her.
This was also a manifestation of his attitude.
As long as the Emperor was willing, he could ensure that those he cared about lived well in the palace.
But Lady Jiazhen also saw clearly that the Emperor wasn’t someone who would be swayed by personal feelings in major matters.
For instance, during the earlier conflicts between De Fei and Empress Zhu, he hadn’t shown favoritism.
The same was true this time.
This was a rational consideration, a weighing of interests by the Emperor.
He wouldn’t dote on De Fei without limits.
This also meant that De Fei’s earlier overreach in front of the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Ancestral Temple was, in the Emperor’s mind, an inappropriate action.
This inappropriateness was like a delicate yet sharp chisel, slowly and silently eroding the Emperor’s affection for De Fei.
What De Fei needed to do most was to maintain the Emperor’s love for her and strive to prolong its duration.
As for the rest..
Honestly, it was just an extra.
There wasn’t much to fight for in the palace.
As long as you could get the Emperor, the ultimate referee, on your side, it would be hard to lose.
Lady Jiazhen’s words were golden, and De Fei listened with rapt attention.
Lady Jiazhen saw her somewhat nervously holding the Crown Prince’s little hand, her face slightly red, and said with a hint of worry:
“But I’ve just given birth. I can’t attend to His Majesty yet!”
Then, her eyes shining, she asked Lady Jiazhen:
“Lady Jiazhen, do you think I should stick to the old ways when the time comes, or try something new and exciting?”
Lady Jiazhen: “…”
Lady Jiazhen was caught off guard.
They had been having a serious conversation, and suddenly De Fei was steering it into uncharted territory.
She felt like she’d been hit with a hammer:
“Your Highness, what are you talking about?”
De Fei, surprised:
“Didn’t you say I need to secure the Emperor’s favor? I’m discussing how to do that with you!”
Lady Jiazhen: “No… You… I…”
She didn’t know how to respond.
In the end, she could only say:
“Do as you see fit.”
Then she left.
Leaving De Fei somewhat speechless, she looked down at her son and said:
“Lady Jiazhen doesn’t seem that smart after all.”
Ruan Rensui: “…”
Ruan Rensui thought: Sigh!
Empress Zhu hadn’t explicitly issued an edict to confine De Fei, showing some consideration for her and the newborn prince.
De Fei, in turn, tacitly accepted this without actively defying the restriction.
She thought the matter was over, but in reality, it wasn’t.
In Chongxun Hall, as soon as Empress Zhu left, someone from Qianqiu Palace came to deliver a message:
“Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager says that if you have time today, you might want to come over for a chat.”
The Emperor knew this was about De Fei and the Crown Prince.
He agreed and, after finishing his tasks, headed to Qianqiu Palace.
The Empress Dowager didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point:
“Do you think De Fei is suitable to raise the Crown Prince?”
She reminded him:
“You only have two children, and he’s the eldest.”
The Empress Dowager’s words were subtle, but the Emperor understood her meaning.
If he had hopes for the prince’s future, De Fei might not be the best mother to guide him.
She lacked political acumen and was somewhat… unconventional in her actions.
Contrary to what many thought, the Empress Dowager didn’t care much about legitimacy or the distinction between princes and princesses.
What she valued most was ability.
What did being legitimate matter?
She herself was legitimate, but from a fallen family.
Her childhood wasn’t even comparable to the daughters of wealthy families, let alone their maids.
What did being a woman matter?
She herself was a woman, yet she had risen to the highest position, ruling over this vast empire.
The hall was silent, the palace attendants standing like wooden puppets, only the ticking of the clock breaking the stillness.
The Empress Dowager’s voice came through the smoke rising from the incense burner:
“This is your child. You decide.”
The palace servants brought dinner, but De Fei only picked at it before stopping.
Partly because she had no appetite, and partly because she was deliberately controlling her diet, hoping to return to her pre-pregnancy figure.
Lady Jiazhen and Lady Xiahou watched but said nothing.
What was there to say?
Imperial concubines didn’t compete over virtues or wisdom but over beauty.
Did they expect the Emperor to see past appearances and appreciate their pure, beautiful souls?
Fortunately, he couldn’t, because De Fei’s soul probably wasn’t all that pure or beautiful…
Ruan Rensui, full from nursing, lay on the couch, closing his eyes, ready to sleep.
His father arrived at this moment.
The Emperor didn’t mention the events of the day, and neither did De Fei.
She could be foolish at times, but in matters of being a favored concubine, she had an uncanny instinct.
Since certain things couldn’t be changed, dwelling on them and acting coy would only harm their relationship, with no benefit.
So De Fei didn’t bring it up.
The Emperor hadn’t come empty-handed.
He carried a bunch of slender willow branches adorned with yellow winter jasmine buds.
The buds, swollen with the energy of winter, were just days away from blooming.
Lady Jiazhen, seeing this, couldn’t help but smile:
“It’s really warming up. The winter jasmine is about to bloom!”
She had someone fetch a jade vase, filled it with water, and placed it on the table.
Ruan Rensui glanced over and thought:
‘So my father liked gardening even when he was young.’
Then he perked up his ears to listen to his parents’ conversation.
First came the good news-he had a name!
Though it wasn’t much of a secret to him.
De Fei savored the two words:
“Rensui…”
The imperial family’s children of this generation used the character “Ren.”
She asked the Emperor:
“Is ‘sui’ meaning long life?”
The Emperor smiled and shook his head, taking her hand and writing the character “**” in her palm.
De Fei’s mind went blank.
There were too many strokes; she couldn’t make out what it was…
Don’t laugh at her if this character were written on your hand, you’d be confused too…
Lady Jiazhen, watching from the side, smiled:
“It’s a very good name.”
De Fei, still somewhat puzzled, followed along happily.
She looked at the Emperor, her eyes shining: “Is it?”
The Emperor gently explained:
“The character means flame, and tracing back further, it refers to Suiren, the fire-making sage.There was a sage who drilled wood to make fire, turning raw meat into cooked food, and the people were pleased, making him king…”
De Fei, not fully understanding but impressed:
“It really is a great name!”
Suddenly, she thought of something and laughed:
“Then his nickname will be Suisui!”
She asked the Emperor:
“How about it?”
The Emperor lifted his son up with a smile:
“Sure, we’ll call him Suisui.”
Ruan Rensui thought: Fine.
He had these names in his past life, and now they’re back.
No big deal.
De Fei panicked:
“Don’t lift him so high!”
The Emperor tilted his head, amused, and carried his son to the other side.
De Fei, like a squirrel whose nuts had been stolen, circled around him anxiously:
“Be careful…”
Seeing her genuine worry, the Emperor stopped teasing her and gently put the child down.
De Fei quickly took him back, shooting the Emperor a reproachful look.
She stroked her son’s little feet and complained to him:
“Your father is so bad, isn’t he? He scared our Suisui!”
Ruan Rensui looked at her and giggled.
De Fei pretended to pinch his ear and laughed:
“You’re such a brave little thing!”
The Emperor watched them, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
The words he had been considering now hesitated on his lips.
After much deliberation, he sighed softly and tentatively said:
“The Empress Dowager mentioned that if you’re willing, she could take care of
Suisui…”
Ruan Rensui’s heart skipped a beat!
De Fei was stunned for a moment, processing the words several times before she understood.
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, chilling her from the soles of her feet:
“Does the Empress Dowager want to take Suisui away to raise him?”
She instinctively grabbed her child’s little foot and shouted: “No!”
Only after speaking did she realize how strongly and harshly she had reacted.
De Fei calmed herself slightly, holding the child tightly and looking at the Emperor with a mix of pleading and fear, her voice low as she repeated:
“…No.”
The Emperor reached out and gently pried open her clenched hand.
De Fei resisted physically but eventually let go.
The Emperor patted her shoulder, trying to ease her tension:
“The Empress Dowager only suggested it. It’s not set in stone.”
He held her and softly reassured her:
“If you don’t want to, then we won’t do it.”
De Fei, still shaken, asked uncertainly:
“Really? Can I really refuse?”
The Emperor sighed inwardly: “Yes.”
He couldn’t bear to see her like this:
“You’ve turned pale from fear.”
De Fei began to cry, tears streaming down her face:
“I can’t bear to part with him…”
She cried and hit him lightly:
“You didn’t carry him for ten months, of course you don’t feel the same! Waaah!”