Chapter 212 – I Am The Empress Dowager, Who Am I Afraid Of? (part 5)

A few days later, the people in the kitchen really developed the yoghurt. Li Su first tasted it. Although the taste was different from her previous life, the milk smell was strong and the taste was very good. She was very satisfied, so she rewarded the people in the kitchen.

Li Su also ordered people to peel and cut the fresh melons and fruits into pieces to put into the yoghurt. When she tried it, it tasted even better. She was happy to eat it and asked Wet Nurse Xu to give one to Emperor Long’an, Empress Jiang, Zhao Defang, and a few other princes and princesses. She only told the nursing mother to watch them to make sure they didn’t add ice and to make sure they didn’t eat too much.

Yoghurt in summer tasted really good. Emperor Long’an finished his political affairs and tried it. Then he smiled knowingly, put down his political affairs, and went to Reaching the Clouds Palace where Li Su lived.

Zhao Defang was pestering Li Su inside. “Empress mother, I still want to eat a bowl. Give me another bowl!”

Li Su couldn’t think of how to escape, so when she saw Emperor Long’an coming, she quickly said, “The emperor is here. Quickly come and look after your younger brother. He is about to break Our old bones!”

As soon as Zhao Defang saw Emperor Long’an coming, he really didn’t dare to mess around. He stood to the side honestly.

Emperor Long’an tapped Zhao Defang’s forehead lightly, and then said with a smile, “Empress mother is joking. Empress mother is in her prime. How is she getting old? Defang, what are you doing with empress mother? Have you finished your homework?”

Zhao Defang shook his head.

“Then let’s go soon. Do you still want the ink the governor of Shandong province paid as tribute?” Emperor Long’an asked with a stern face.

“Yes! Younger brother wants it!” Zhao Defang’s eyes lit up when Emperor Long’an mentioned that ink. He nodded repeatedly.

“Then hurry up and do your homework. I will check your homework tomorrow. If it is done well, then We will give the ink to you. If it is not good, then next time,” Emperor Long’an said.

“Imperial brother is determined! Empress mother, your son will go back to read.” After Zhao Defang saluted Li Su and Emperor Long’an, he ran away in a hurry.

“It’s still you who can control this monkey! This monkey causes Us so much trouble! If he was not Our family, We would have thrown him away! Whose child is so annoying?!” Li Su couldn’t help but complain. “Move the ice basin over here a little. It’s too hot!”

“Is it for the yoghurt?” Emperor Long’an asked. The yoghurt tasted good. He was an adult and could control his appetite. Defang was still young, so he was probably greedy.

“No! He has eaten three bowls, and it’s not enough for him. This unfortunate child. We hope that he will eat too much cold yoghurt and have diarrhea!” Li Su said angrily.

Emperor Long’an couldn’t help but laugh. “Although empress mother says this, if Defang really gets diarrhea, then empress mother will worry again.”

“Why would We worry? We want him to suffer some losses. After all, there are some things that can only be remembered if they have been experienced. Otherwise, no matter what others say, he will not take it to heart,” Li Su said angrily.

Emperor Long’an laughed. It seemed like he didn’t have to worry after all. After he left Reaching the Clouds Palace, he ordered the imperial doctor to check on Defang for fear that Defang’s greedy mouth would ruin his stomach.

Zhao Defang, relying on his good health, didn’t take it to heart at all. He was afraid that the imperial doctor’s pulse would delay his time to review the book, so he asked the imperial doctor to go back.

The imperial doctor had no choice but to report this to Emperor Long’an. Emperor Long’an laughed. If this was how it was, then he would ask the maids who were taking care of Zhao Defang to be more vigilant.

When Zhao Defang was reading the book, he craved cold dishes and ate a few bowls of iced sour plum soup. After he rested at night for a while, he started vomiting and had diarrhea. It didn’t take long for his face to turn pale and weak.

When the servant saw this, he didn’t dare to hide it. The servant quickly informed the empress dowager and the emperor. Emperor Long’an came in a hurry, but Li Su only let Wet Nurse Xu go over to take a look.

When Wet Nurse Xu came, Zhao Defang took the medicine and stopped vomiting and having diarrhea, but he was still very weak.

Zhao Defang felt a little relieved when he saw that only Wet Nurse Xu came. He fell ill because he was greedy. He was afraid that empress mother would laugh at him and be angry, but empress mother did not come. He was also a little disappointed in his heart. He couldn’t say why.

Emperor Long’an was a little surprised when he saw that only Wet Nurse Xu was here. “Where’s empress mother?”

“The empress dowager is resting, so this servant came to take a look. This servant has something to ask the prince. Will the prince be greedy next time?” Wet Nurse Xu asked helplessly.

Zhao Defang was embarrassed and he covered his face with a quilt and refused to come out.

Wet Nurse Xu smiled and said, “The empress dowager said to let the prince drink more salt water. It is good for the body.”

Emperor Long’an frowned. “Why is empress mother…”

“The empress dowager is also concerned about the prince’s body, but she said that the prince is too big and should be a little more restrained. Today’s affairs were completely the prince’s own fault. The prince doesn’t listen to people’s words and does whatever he wants. She was afraid that if she came to look, she would be distressed and would not find it easy to teach the prince.” Wet Nurse Xu explained, “The empress dowager also said that Your Majesty should not blindly indulge the prince. The prince should be properly disciplined.”

Emperor Long’an looked back at his younger brother with a bit of shame. When he heard the message from the servant, he was very anxious. He only wanted to come over to take a look. He did not care about anything else. After knowing how Defang got sick, he wanted to discipline him. But, when he saw Defang’s ill appearance, he was reluctant to discipline him.

“When Defang recovers, We will take good care of you.” Emperor Long’an accompanied him with a smile.

Wet Nurse Xu smiled and looked around. “The empress dowager ordered that all those who are serving in Overlooking Virtue Hall today will be punished with being hit twenty times. The prince is the master, and if there is something wrong with the master, you should be responsible for admonishing him instead of just blindly coaxing the master to be happy!”

Emperor Long’an had forgotten about this before, but now that he remembered it, he nodded and said, “They should be punished!”

The palace people of Overlooking Virtue Hall were kneeling outside at this time. They all burst into tears when they heard the words of Wet Nurse Xu and Emperor Long’an, but they did not dare to beg for mercy aloud. They were afraid of angering His Majesty, but they also knew that the prince was ill. It was true that they did not admonish the prince and fulfill their duties.

Among them, Wet Nurse Yang was the most ashamed. She was the wet nurse who was sent by the empress dowager to take care of the prince’s daily life, but she failed to perform her duty. It was her dereliction of duty that allowed the prince to fall ill under her nose.

Wet Nurse Yang was thinking about it when she suddenly felt that someone was standing in front of her. She looked up and saw that it was Wet Nurse Xu.

Wet Nurse Xu frowned and looked at her. “The empress dowager said that, from now on, you don’t have to serve by the prince’s side. You are to go to Royal Elegant Palace to □□ the new palace maids!”

Wet Nurse Yang’s expression changed greatly. This was a more serious consequence than being hit 20 times. She admitted that she was negligent, but she would change. How could the empress dowager…

Looking at Wet Nurse Xu’s cold eyes, Wet Nurse Yang suddenly understood. Who was the empress dowager? The empress dowager was a person who could control her life and death with one sentence. What couldn’t the empress dowager do?

Wet Nurse Yang understood this and fell to the ground. She did not dare to say anything else.

The rest of the people didn’t dare to speak when they saw that Wet Nurse Yang was like this.

Emperor Long An watched all the people serving in Overlooking Virtue Hall get beaten. There was no one around to serve Defang for a while. Empress mother seemed to have forgotten about this and he didn’t say anything. He was busy waiting for a few people around him to serve at Overlooking Virtue Hall. After the commotion, Emperor Long’an went back to rest.

In the early morning two days later, he personally ordered Qin Li, the most capable servant by his side, to visit Zhao Defang with the ink that Zhao Defang wanted most.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Defang did not accept the piece of ink that he had been looking forward to for a long time. He said that, when he was in good health, he would ask the emperor to test his knowledge again. Then he would get the ink based on his true abilities.

When Emperor Long’an heard this, he was both proud and satisfied. His younger brother was so sensible. He was very pleased to be his older brother. Then, he asked Qin Li, “Has empress mother arranged for anyone to serve in Overlooking Virtue Hall?”

“When this servant went, the empress dowager had also gone to visit the prince. The empress dowager said that His Majesty could choose the people who would serve the prince,” Qin Li said respectfully.

“Since that’s the case, if you go in person, be sure to pick a few good ones and send them to Overlooking Virtue Hall,” Emperor Long’an instructed. The incident with Mrs. Yuan was absolutely not allowed to happen again!

“Yes, this servant understands,” Qin Li said.

“Wait a minute, after you choose, let Us take a look first!” Emperor Long’an thought that since empress mother had entrusted Defang to him, he would have to be responsible and not let empress mother down.

In Reaching the Clouds Hall, Li Su leisurely ate yoghurt and fruit while Wet Nurse Xu was a little worried. In the past, when the empress dowager was focussed on the prince and attached great importance to the prince, she felt bad. Now that the empress dowager had let go and handed over all the affairs of the prince to His Majesty, she felt bad again.

“A-Xu, it’s such a hot day. Sit down and take a break. We see that you are frowning. What are you doing?” Li Su asked.

Wet Nurse Xu opened her mouth and closed it before she could speak.

Seeing this, Li Su smiled narrowly. It could be seen from this that Emperor Long’an was a person who attached great importance to family affection. The original owner and Zhao Defang rebelled. He could not kill them, but only banished them. She believed that handing over Zhao Defang to Emperor Long’an would not allow people the opportunity to sabotage the relationship between the two brothers because Emperor Long’an attached great importance to family affection. She could also save a lot of money.Seeing this, Li Su smiled narrowly. It could be seen from this that Emperor Long’an was a person who attached great importance to family affection. The original owner and Zhao Defang rebelled. He could not kill them, but only banished them. She believed that handing over Zhao Defang to Emperor Long’an would not allow people the opportunity to sabotage the relationship between the two brothers because Emperor Long’an attached great importance to family affection. She could also save a lot of money.

Besides, she really didn’t care about everything. She just wanted to dominate the situation as a whole! She was very important, okay?

It took Zhao Defang 5-6 days to recover. During those days, in order to regulate his stomach, he could only drink some clear porridge and eat some side dishes. He could not touch any meat or fish. After the imperial doctor announced that he was well, Zhao Defang’s hungry eyes glowed green.

Seeing him like this, Li Su thought it was funny. She didn’t bother giving him face and just laughed.

Zhao Defang was a little unhappy. Why was empress mother like this? She didn’t give him any face at all. It was too much.

Emperor Long’an came over full of concern. He arrived just in time to see his younger brother’s aggrieved expression while empress mother was happily laughing at his younger brother’s misfortune.

Emperor Long’an felt sorry for his younger brother. “What happened to Defang?”

“Imperial brother, empress mother is bad. She is laughing at me!” Zhao Defang immediately complained when he saw his older brother coming.

Emperor Long’an’s face was full of disapproval, but when he faced Li Su, he didn’t dare to say it directly to her. He only said euphemistically, “Empress mother, Defang is also old. Don’t…”

Li Su stopped laughing. “Okay, okay. I won’t laugh at you anymore. You should pay more attention to your diet. Those cold and spicy foods should not be eaten.”

Zhao Defang’s eyes widened. “Then what can I eat? Is it congee and side dishes again? I don’t want it! Imperial brother!”

“What empress mother said is reasonable, but it can’t be too strict. You can eat a little at lunch. You can eat a little more at dinner. Is this okay?” Emperor Long’an persuaded patiently.

As soon as Zhao Defang heard that it was still possible, he agreed.

Li Su saw that Emperor Long’an had something on his mind, so she said a few words to coax Zhao Defang to go back to studying. She then let the other palace people who were serving them leave, leaving only Wet Nurse Xu by her side. “What’s wrong? We saw that, when you came in, you seemed to have something on your mind!”