Chapter 17

Inside the Cishou Palace where the Empress Dowager resides.

On a hot summer afternoon, the palace felt as hot as a furnace.

Due to the Empress Dowager’s advancing age and her cold constitution, the court physicians have repeatedly advised against placing ice pots in the Cishou Palace, making it especially stuffy compared to other palaces.

The Empress Dowager Chen’s face has aged significantly due to years of illness, but her youthful beauty still shines through her face marked by the passage of time.

Her daughter, the Grand Princess, bears some resemblance to her, though she also resembles her father, the Yongfeng Emperor, with a distinctly blunt look to her features.

In contrast, her granddaughter Pei Yuqian, being a generation apart, resembles the younger Empress Dowager even more than the Grand Princess does.

Pei Yuqian has slightly upturned phoenix eyes, yet she does not appear vulgar. She has a slender, willow-like figure and an elegant demeanor, embodying the grace of a distinguished lady.

As the Empress Dowager had been weak for many years and had no more children after her daughter, she poured all her affection and attention into her daughter and granddaughter.

She had particularly high hopes for her granddaughter. As early as the Yongfeng era, the Empress Dowager had bribed the Bureau of Astronomy multiple times to publicize that her granddaughter was destined for greatness.

When Emperor Yongfeng was alive, the heir had not yet been decided, and the court was rife with intrigue, so she refrained from arranging an early marriage for her granddaughter.

Later, when the line of succession was confirmed, the throne went to the second son of King Qin, born to Zhao, the Emperor’s first wife, whom she detested. This was a source of great resentment for her.

When she first entered the palace through a selection process, she was still a naive and simple girl from a modest background, initially assigned a lowly position.

Due to her exceptional beauty, she gained the favor of Emperor Yongfeng and was promoted from a lowly consort to a higher rank.

The then Empress Zhao, however, saw her as a rival and made every effort to hinder her, partly because she resembled the Emperor’s deceased former fiancée.

Zhao even went so far as to put extremely cold items into her food, causing her fertility issues and leading to her cold constitution.

Fortunately, after years of seeking treatment, she eventually found a miraculous medicine that helped her conceive.

She successfully gave birth to the current Grand Princess. Though she did not have a male heir, she still had a granddaughter with a supposed “phoenix’s destiny”!

Once Pei Yuqian bears a son, she is determined to do whatever it takes to have her bloodline sit on the throne.

The Empress Dowager calmly picked up a cup of hot tea and sipped it carefully. The bright red cardamom on her nails was striking.

She thought of her granddaughter, who had just dressed up to visit the Zhaoming Palace, and her resolve about her burning ambition grew even stronger. The fine lines around her phoenix eyes flashed with a hint of determination.

There is no man who does not appreciate a woman’s affection.

Especially when it comes from someone as stunning as her granddaughter. She didn’t believe any man could refuse such attention.

In the east wing of the Renshou Palace, where the Empress Dowager resides.

Kang Yu Yi slept until the afternoon today. After having a meal, she had nothing to do and thought about visiting the little chubby child who resembled her so closely.

This time, she encountered the Empress Dowager Cui, the former Qin Wangfei, who had not been seen for many days.

The Empress Dowager appeared much thinner than Kang Yu Yi remembered the Qin Wangfei to be. Her complexion was also very haggard and pale, revealing that her claims of illness in recent days were not mere excuses.

Since the death of her husband more than five years ago, the Emress Dowager had devoted herself to Buddhism. If it were not for her concern for her only son, the Emperor, she would have preferred to become a nun and spend her days with a green lantern.

Fortunately, now that she has the precious crown prince, her life has improved considerably.

“Now that you are willing to be close to this child, why not just take him back to the Luhua Palace and raise him there?” the Empress Dowager suggested.

She knew that Kang Yu Yi had visited the Renshou Palace several times recently to see the child and thought that Kang had let go of her old grievances.

Kang Yu Yi hesitated at the Empress Dowager’s suggestion, her brows furrowing slightly.

She did not understand why the crown prince was being raised in the Renshou Palace. She had intended to ask for clarification the previous night but had not received an answer, so she was reluctant to agree without knowing more.

After a moment of contemplation, Kang Yu Yi said cautiously, “I am not sure. Perhaps we should ask His Majesty first?”

The Empress Dowager studied her for a while before saying, “As you wish. It’s fine for the crown prince to stay here; he can keep me company and add some liveliness.”

The Empress Dowager had watched Kang Yu Yi grow up and had even named her “Yu Yi.”

She might have sensed something unusual about Kang Yu Yi but did not intend to probe further.

The little chubby child, sitting steadily on the nanmu soft couch, seemed eager to join the conversation between his royal grandmother and mother. He babbled and echoed their words with his little mouth.

With his big, bright eyes, he looked alternately at his mother and his royal grandmother, as if he had many things to say to them.

At five months old, the baby changed rapidly. Just yesterday, he was wobbling when sitting, but today he could sit steadily on his own.

He quickly waved his little hands toward Kang Yu Yi, asking for a hug.

“Usually, he clings to me, but now that his mother is here, he doesn’t even want to be close to me,” the Empress Dowager said with a doting smile.

Kang Yu Yi’s heart was also softened, and she quickly picked up the little chubby child and kissed his white, tender face.

They played with him for a long time until the nurse reminded them that it was time for the crown prince to be fed. Seeing that the sun was setting, Kang Yu Yi excused herself from the Empress Dowager and returned to her Luhua Palace.

The orange-red sunset was gradually dispersed by the summer night breeze, and the sky darkened in an instant.

Outside the Luhua Palace, a clever little palace maid was reporting to her superiors, Zisu and Qingzhu, about the events of the day in the palace.

One of the things she reported was that Miss Pei, the daughter of the Grand Princess, had taken the initiative to visit the Zhaoming Palace to see His Majesty.

Since Pei Yuqian’s visit to the Zhaoming Palace was open and aboveboard, everyone in the palace knew about it.

Zisu and Qingzhu looked at each other and then glanced around the hall.

Kang Yu Yi had just finished dinner and was reclining on the soft nanmu couch, comfortably eating a whole plate of chilled lychees, which had been peeled for her.

Lychees, a rare tribute sent from Lingnan to the capital, were so scarce that the emperor gave them out one by one to the kings and ministers.

Only the Noble Consort could enjoy eating a whole plate at once.

That’s why Zisu had deliberately flaunted the emperor’s favor towards the Noble Consort in front of Pei Yuqian last time.

Seeing her mistress focused solely on her indulgence and unaware of the dangers, Zisu was very anxious.

After enduring for a long time, Zisu seized the opportunity while Qingzhu was preparing water and quietly said, “Your Highness, I heard that today Miss Pei went to Zhaoming Palace to seek an audience with His Majesty. It seems she stayed there for quite a while, and it’s rumored that a new lady might be joining our palace!”

Kang Yu Yi was taken aback by this news. Recalling Pei Yuqian’s slim and graceful figure, she felt a pang of envy.

Since her menarche at twelve, her figure had become cumbersome, and she envied those slender women who moved gracefully.

The slender, elegant figure of Pei Yuqian was what she had always envied…

Would His Majesty prefer a woman like that?

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