Chapter 119

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Li Huairou spoke a lot during the bath and when he changed clothes. The fifteenth prince was not impatient at all, becoming happier and happier.

After changing clothes, Li Huairou finally stopped talking, and a smile had already appeared on the fifteenth prince’s face. “Sister Rou, I ate some yellow split pea cake for lunch, and I think you should like it. I made Xiao Dengzi bring some back so you can try it. Xiao Dengzi.”

Xiao Dengzi hurried forward, took out a pea cake wrapped in oil paper from his sleeve, and handed it to Li Huairou.

Li Huairou smiled. “Thank you, Your Highness.” She didn’t tell the fifteenth prince that she had everything in Yongshou Palace, so there was no need for the prince to bring anything. This was the fifteenth prince’s intentions, so how could she bear to refuse them?

Then, in the fifteenth prince’s expectant eyes, she finished eating the piece of yellow split pea cake, little by little.

“Is it delicious?” the fifteenth prince asked.

Li Huairou nodded vigorously. “It’s delicious!”

The fifteenth prince suddenly smiled. “Sister Rou, you can go do your business, I’m going to find Concubine Mother to read a book.” Then he took the book and happily rushed out. The two palace maids quickly chased him out.

A palace maid named Caixia glanced at her. “Just now, you should have refused. The princes have their share of the dim sum in the study room. His Highness gave them to you, and he himself will have less. You have everything in Yongshou Palace. Do you still need His Highness to save his share?”

Li Huairou didn’t say a word. She simply turned around and took out the sweat-absorbent towel that she’d made and handed it to Xiao Dengzi, telling him to replace it in time for the fifteenth prince.

The palace maids were not allowed to enter the study room; only eunuchs like Xiao Dengzi could follow.

Xiao Dengzi responded and opened one to take a look.

After a while, those sweat-absorbent towels were brought to Wei Qingxue. Wei Qingxue unfolded one and took a look. After listening to Xiao Dengzi’s instructions on how to use them, she smiled with satisfaction. Wei Qingxue shook her head. “Just do as she said!”

“Yes!” Xiao Dengzi put the sweat-absorbent towels away and backed out.

The palace maid came in and replied, “My lady, the emperor is here.”

“Get ready to pick up the emperor, and go and call the fifteenth prince,” Wei Qingxue said softly.

Wei Qingxue held the fifteenth prince’s hand, and when she saw the emperor coming, she knelt down. “This concubine greets the emperor.”

“Son, greet your father emperor.”

The emperor was in a good mood today and strode forward, helping Wei Qingxue up. “No need for a lot of etiquette. It’s windy, why didn’t you wait inside?”

“I wanted to see the emperor earlier,” Wei Qingxue said affectionately.

The emperor seldom heard such straightforward words; he felt a little refreshed. He just liked Concubine Ling’s straightforwardness. She would say what she thought and what she wanted, instead of beating around the bush like other women in the harem. There were nine turns and eighteen bends.

[Jiu qu shi ba wan (九曲十八弯) means too many twists and turns]

If he was in the mood, he could still guess. But if there’d been too many things on the court, when he returned to the harem, he just wanted to relax and have a good rest instead of playing guessing games with the concubines.

At this time, it was fine to have Concubine Ling.

Besides, Concubine Ling’s fortune was not bad.

For example, when his queen mother talked about the fifteenth prince that day, when he didn’t speak, everyone thought he was still angry with Concubine Shu or doubted the fifteenth prince’s life experiences. Only Concubine Ling stood up and said that she had nobody under her knees and wanted to adopt the fifteenth prince.

In fact, from the beginning to the end, the emperor had never suspected Concubine Shu, but Empress Yuan had been involved at that time, and the emperor did not want to investigate. As for not paying attention to the fifteenth prince, if he’d shown the slightest concern for the fifteenth prince, the fifteenth prince would not have been able to live until now.

Falling out of favor was also a protection for the mother and child.

It was a pity that Concubine Shu couldn’t understand his thoughts and had died in depression. The emperor was sad for a while, but, over time, it was forgotten.

As for the fifteenth prince, he was his son, after all. So when he reached the age to enter the study room, he would find a reason to pick him up.

The empress dowager was his mother, so she could naturally understand what he meant. He just hadn’t expected Concubine Ling to be so knowledgeable. Concubine Ling had entered the palace late, did not know what happened in the past; no matter what the reason, it could be regarded as an accident, which made the emperor very satisfied.

Because of Li Huairou’s identity, she was unable to enter the room, so she just stood outside the door and waited.

But, listening to the voice inside, the emperor seemed very happy.

After a while, the meals were brought inside.

After a while, the fifteenth prince came out with a smile on his face.

“Father Emperor praised me today, saying that I did a good job in my homework. Sister Rou, I have to work harder to live up to Father Emperor’s expectations,” the fifteenth prince said with a smile.

“Alright, this servant will accompany you,” Li Huairou said with a smile.

The fifteenth prince was really reading at night, and Li Huairou was sitting next to him, doing needlework. It was estimated that it was almost ten o’clock. Concubine Ling called for water twice, and the lights went out. She probably should have rested!

Li Huairou put down the needlework in her hands. “Your Highness, it’s getting late. You should rest. You have to get up early to go to the study room tomorrow morning. If you don’t get enough sleep, you won’t grow tall.” This was the best weapon many mothers used to scare children.

Of course, this was also backed by science.

“But all the princes are like this. Father Emperor has been like this since he was a child, but Father Emperor has grown very tall,” the fifteenth prince asked, as if he didn’t understand.

Li Huairou was stunned. She blinked her eyes. “That’s because the emperor is the real dragon emperor. How could the real dragon emperor be measured by the standard of ordinary people! Your Highness must work hard to grow taller, study hard, and share the emperor’s worries in the future!”

The fifteenth prince nodded. “Okay, I’ll listen to Sister Rou.”

Li Huairou quickly ordered someone to bring hot water, wipe his face and feet, and serve him to go to bed and rest.

Then she blew out the candles and laid down on the low couch next to him.

“Your Highness, go to sleep. This slave is by your side!” Li Huairou said softly.

“Mm.” The fifteenth prince’s voice came from inside the bed.

Li Huairou just closed her eyes and fell asleep. According to the rules, she couldn’t sleep with the fifteenth prince like before, but the wet nurse could. However, the fifteenth prince refused to be approached by others, especially when he was sleeping, and he could never leave Li Huairou. Therefore, Li Huairou could only do night duty. Fortunately, Li Huairou had nothing to do and could make up for sleep when the fifteenth prince went to study in the study room during the day.

Outside the window, the emperor and Wei Qingxue heard that there was no movement inside, so they lightly returned to the bedroom.

“The emperor really is something. How can the dignified emperor learn to eavesdrop and still pull the concubines together?” Wei Qingxue knew that the emperor was in a good mood at this time, and she deliberately said this angrily. Li Huairou, this girl, her luck was really good. Her words could really make the emperor happy!

The emperor truly was in a good mood at this time. He’d learned from the palace maid that the light in the fifteenth prince’s room was not yet extinguished, and they estimated that he was still reading. Although this child had been in the cold palace since childhood, he could respond appropriately, was intelligent and witty, and looked at him with admiration on his face. He was a good child. Plus, with Concubine Ling’s extra points, the emperor still cared a little about this son. So, on a whim, the emperor had taken Concubine Ling to see him.

Who knew that they’d arrive just in time to hear these words.

Anyone could say good things. But from the words you say unconsciously, only then you can see the truth.

This showed that Concubine Shu had been sincere towards him. Along with her children and the palace maid by her side, they were sincere towards him.

“The fifteenth prince is a good boy. You take good care of him!” The emperor thought for a while and said, “Also, that palace maid, who is loyal. She reminds me of Fang-gugu.”

Before entering the palace, Concubine Ling had done a lot of preparation. She had an in-depth understanding of all the emperor’s affairs, and she naturally knew who Fang-gugu was. It was said that she was the old momo who’d followed the emperor since he was a child. The emperor had always respected her, but unfortunately, a few years after the emperor ascended to the throne, she passed away.

“This concubine knows. The emperor can rest assured.”

“I am naturally at ease when you do things.” The emperor patted Concubine Ling’s hand. “Otherwise, I would not have handed the fifteenth prince to your support. I thought that, in a few years, I would officially change his jade plate. I’ll put the fifteenth prince in your name.” It had been so many years since the matter of Concubine Shu—what was the point of pursuing it further.

“This concubine thanks the emperor for giving the fifteenth prince to me,” Wei Qingxue said with a smile.

The emperor turned over and pressed Wei Qingxue under him. “In addition to the fifteenth, I will give you a lot of children.” Then he buried his head into Wei Qingxue’s chest.

Wei Qingxue gently embraced the emperor’s shoulders, but there was no expression on her face. A child? How could she give birth to his child? That would be impossible in this lifetime!

The next day, when the sky was not yet bright, Yongshou Palace was brightly lit. The emperor got up early to go to court, and the fifteenth prince got up early to study.

After sending off the emperor and the fifteenth prince, Li Huairou planned to go back to sleep, but she was stopped by someone.

Concubine Ling’s personal maid, Qingxin, said, “This is a reward for you from the lady, and the lady said that there is no need to go say thank you.”

Li Huairou stared blankly at the fabrics, jewelry, and money in front of her. “Thank you for your grace.” Then she looked at the pile of things with a troubled expression. She was in the palace, and she didn’t need them. What should I do with this?

She’d choose some useful ones and then see if she could send the rest to Jiang Man!

Li Huairou thought about asking Xiao Dengzi in the evening to see if he had a way.

Who knew that, in the afternoon, she would receive another reward, this time from the empress dowager.

Full of doubts, Li Huairou went to Shoukang Palace to kowtow and thank her. She still didn’t understand what had happened.

Concubine Ling knew the reason. It turned out that the empress dowager, on a whim, had called all the princes to Shoukang Palace for a meal. After the meal, she called on a few younger princes to talk. The princes had a good time, and they sweated a lot. The maids hurriedly gathered around to change the clothes for the princes.

Only on the fifteenth prince’s side did Xiao Dengzi take out the sweat-absorbent towel on his back and replace it with a clean one.

The empress dowager just happened to see this. So she called the fifteenth prince to her side and asked what was going on, and then she took a clean sweat-absorbent towel and looked at it. She thought it was a good idea. The children in the palace were difficult to raise, and a small cold could kill people. This method was good; if you sweated, you could just exchange it for another one, and it also saved the trouble of taking off the clothes.

Whether it was useful, this idea deserved to be commended.

The empress dowager was happy, and after asking whose idea it was, she ordered someone to send something over to reward Li Huairou for her loyalty to her master.

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This translation is presented by Nocturne Translations.

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