Chapter 372

Chapter 372 Xie Run didn't stand on ceremony and smiled, "Rewards!" "Everyone who attended to Wu Baolin's childbirth will be rewarded!" "Do your jobs well, and once the Emperor and Empress hear the good news tomorrow, there will likely be more rewards." Sounds of congratulations from the palace maids and eunuchs rose around them. Consort Sun seized the opportunity to put on a troubled expression and asked hesitantly, "Wu Baolin has rendered meritorious service by giving birth to a prince, but according to palace regulations, Wu Baolin likely cannot raise the child herself." Xie Run and Consort Wen both looked at Consort Sun. Both instinctively assumed that Consort Sun had designs on the child. Unexpectedly, Consort Sun changed her tone, "Wu Baolin had a difficult labor, and now it's the dead of winter. It wouldn't be good to carry the newborn Seventh Prince around in the cold. Why not let her keep the child for now, and wait until the Emperor and Empress issue their decree tomorrow?" Xie Run's mood grew increasingly strange. Consort Wen was not one to make decisions, and upon hearing Consort Sun's words, she fell into hesitation. "With such a significant matter, it wouldn't be appropriate for us to make the decision directly?" Xie Run glanced at Consort Wen, "But when it comes to the Seventh Prince, only the Emperor and Empress can make arrangements. We can't very well send someone to disturb the Emperor and Empress in the middle of the night, can we?" Xie Run's tone conveyed an attitude of "if you want to go, you go—I'm not about to invite trouble for myself." Consort Wen immediately backed down. Xie Run seized the moment and said, "As things stand, this is the only way to handle it." "But it's only for one night. Once the Emperor issues his decree tomorrow, the Seventh Prince's fate will be settled." Consort Sun bowed respectfully, "Then I shall, on behalf of Wu Baolin and the Seventh Prince, thank Consort Zhaode for her grace." "There's no need to speak of grace." Before leaving, Xie Run slipped a bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Dantao, "Give this bracelet to Wu Baolin, and tell her that Ben Gong is sending it as a gift for joyfully giving birth to a prince." Dantao accepted the bracelet with both hands, "Yes." Sending Dantao to deliver it was a way to have her check things over while the imperial physician was still in the delivery room, to avoid any hint of trouble sticking to them later. Having received the good news, Xie Run led her people back to Zhaohua Palace. The moment she entered the palace, she saw Nanny Xu's anxious face, "Your Ladyship, you've finally returned. The Fifth Prince refuses to sleep and is throwing a fuss demanding to see you." Xie Run smiled, "Why on earth is he making a fuss to see me?" Taotao had long stopped sharing a room with Xie Run. Under normal circumstances, he would go to sleep at his usual time and wouldn't make a fuss demanding to see her. Nanny Xu said as she walked, "Someone must have told the Fifth Prince about staying up for the New Year, and now he insists that he must stay up with Your Ladyship." "At this hour, the Fifth Prince would normally be fast asleep, but today he's lying on Your Ladyship's bed, insisting he won't sleep until he sees you." A helpless smile crossed Xie Run's face as she entered the room and saw a chubby little boy wrapped up like a round dumpling rolling around on her bed. As he rolled, he shouted, "I want my mother! I want to stay up for the New Year with my mother!" "Where's my mother? Have you hidden my mother away?" Xie Run lifted the curtain and said with slight exasperation, "Taotao?!" Taotao, who had been throwing his tantrum, brightened at the sound of Xie Run's voice, "Mother, you're finally here!" "I've been missing you to death!" Xie Run nearly tripped over flat ground, staring at Taotao in astonishment, "Who taught you to say that?" Taotao said proudly, "I thought of it myself!" Xie Run reached out and poked his forehead between the brows, amused, "Do you even know what that means?" Taotao nodded seriously, "It means missing Mother!" Nanny Xu said helplessly from the side, "It's probably those servants who speak without restraint, and the Fifth Prince overheard them and started mimicking." "Children at this age really do love imitating what others say." Xie Run thought to herself that she would need to be more careful with her own words from now on, lest Taotao pick up things he shouldn't and occasionally say something startling. When it came to cleverness, the boy did have a bit of a sharp mind. Sometimes his cleverness was endearing, and other times it was exasperating. Xie Run poked his forehead, "Mother's back now, so shouldn't you go sleep in your own bed?" Taotao shook his head, "I want to stay up with Mother for the New Year." Xie Run sighed helplessly, "Do you even know what staying up for the New Year means?" Taotao nodded eagerly, "Fireworks!" Xie Run let out a sigh, "So that's why you're making a fuss and refusing to sleep in the middle of the night." Anything related to play, and Taotao became like a wild horse that had slipped its reins—impossible to manage. Xie Run had initially thought about picking him up and giving him a spanking, making Taotao cry all the way back to his own room. But as she thought about it, her hand landed on Taotao's head instead. Xie Run crouched down, meeting Taotao's eyes at eye level, "Taotao, you have another little brother now." Taotao looked at Xie Run blankly, not quite understanding what she meant. Xie Run only smiled softly, "Mother is quite happy." The more children there were in the harem, the safer Taotao would be. As for what came later, she couldn't plan that far ahead—she only wanted to raise Taotao safely in the present. "Taotao is happy too!" Taotao grinned along with her. Xie Run pulled him into her arms and pinched his cheek, "You can't eat so much anymore." "You're still young, so being a bit chubby is fine, but if you keep it up as you grow, you'll become a little butterball." Taotao: "Not fat! It's sturdy!" This was a phrase Nanny Xu often praised him with, and he had learned to repeat it. Xie Run smiled wryly. "Have they all left?" Wu Baolin asked weakly. The palace maid attending her wiped the sweat from her body, while another old nanny held the newly born Seventh Prince. The palace maid replied, "To answer mistress, the various consorts have all returned." "Before leaving, Consort Sun mentioned that according to palace rules, you may not be able to raise the Seventh Prince yourself." Wu Baolin's expression shifted slightly, and she said angrily, "I knew she meant no good—she's had her eye on my child all along. Now she's finally shown her true face!" The palace maid was startled and quickly said, "Mistress, you misunderstand." "Consort Sun said that since you had a difficult labor and it is now the dead of winter, it would not be good to carry the newborn Seventh Prince about. She suggested that you keep the child for now, and wait until tomorrow when the Emperor and Empress issue their decree." Wu Baolin was stunned. "Would she be so kind?" The palace maid lowered her head. "This servant would not dare lie." Wu Baolin recalled what she had just said and felt secretly annoyed, so she scolded the maid, "Who told you to speak in such fits and starts? You nearly made me wrongly suspect Consort Sun." Though she was unwilling to acknowledge Consort Sun's kindness, she did not want to reveal her capriciousness before her servants. "If you report matters in such a manner again, I will punish you severely!" The palace maid felt wronged but dared not argue, and continued, "This servant dared not make such a major decision on her own. Noble Lady Xian said it would not be proper to disturb the Emperor and Empress late at night, so she took it upon herself to leave the Seventh Prince by your side for now." Hearing this, Wu Baolin finally breathed a sigh of relief. When she had been in labor, Consort Sun had suddenly appeared, frightening her half to death. She had always believed Consort Sun harbored ill intentions. Even though Consort Sun had helped her through the delivery, Wu Baolin still thought Consort Sun's sudden kindness was for the sake of the child in her belly. Who would have thought that after the birth, Consort Sun would simply leave? She was utterly exhausted after giving birth, but fearing someone might take her child, she forced herself to stay awake and refused to collapse. Now that everything had settled, the tension released, and all her fatigue and pain surged over her at once. In a hoarse voice, she said urgently, "Quick, bring the Seventh Prince to me!" The palace maid wanted to advise her, but remembering how she had just been scolded, she dared not speak. She glanced sidelong at the old nanny holding the child, and seeing her with lowered brows and meek, obedient demeanor, she understood somewhat and adopted the same posture. Wu Baolin held the child in her arms, her maternal love overflowing. Thinking that this was an Imperial Heir born from her own body—her support and hope for the rest of her life—she felt even the pain of her wounds ease. If only her rank were higher, and she could raise this child herself... how wonderful that would be. As she thought about it, Wu Baolin could not help but shed tears. Without the Emperor's oral decree, she ultimately could not feel at ease. The old nanny and the palace maid beside her dared not offer comfort, only standing with lowered heads. Consort Sun's palanquin had traveled halfway when snow suddenly began to fall heavily from the sky. She simply stepped down from the palanquin and walked on her own. Her personal maid held an umbrella over her. "Your Ladyship showed such kindness today, bustling about for Wu Baolin's labor, missing the palace banquet, receiving not a single word of gratitude, and instead being met with suspicion and misunderstanding." "This servant truly feels wronged on your behalf." Consort Sun said slowly, "Misunderstanding is precisely what I want." The maid looked at her in confusion. Consort Sun continued, "If all Six Palaces misunderstand me and I suffer this grievance, how could the Emperor not feel some sympathy for me?" "Today's events were sudden, but since I happened upon them, even knowing I would invite suspicion by lingering near melon fields and beneath plum trees, I could not pretend not to see." Consort Sun wore an expression of reluctant compassion. "I and Wu Baolin have old grudges, true enough, but I bear no enmity toward the Seventh Prince in her belly. Consider it accumulating merit for myself." What a perfect opportunity—why should she pass it up to avoid suspicion? Everyone would misunderstand her, thinking she had harmed Wu Baolin, or that she was putting on a false show of kindness for the sake of the newborn Seventh Prince. But none of it was true—she had merely helped out of goodwill, and yet she drew misunderstanding. When shocking things happened often enough, they could gradually overturn the poor impression she had left in people's minds. The others did not matter; what mattered was changing how the Emperor and Empress saw her. If she were an unreliable person, even her own biological child might not be given to her to raise. If she were dependable, even if she could not raise the Seventh Prince, there would still be the Eighth Prince, the Ninth Prince in the future. There were few high-ranking consorts in the harem now, and even fewer reliable ones. She only needed to hold steady at the Fei rank, displaying the methods and bearing befitting that rank to win people's trust. Later, when the palace had more Imperial Heirs and the Emperor sought foster mothers, he would inevitably think of her. That was her ultimate goal. Even a fool like Noble Lady Xian could raise the Sixth Prince. With her patience, her scheming, and her family standing, what did she have to worry about? If she had schemed and plotted to raise the child in Wu Baolin's belly, her greed would have shown, her methods would have been too crude, and she might have failed to imitate the tiger and ended up looking like a dog instead, earning the Emperor's utter disgust. The former requires enduring for a period but earns a good reputation and the favor of the Emperor and Empress, with limitless benefits. The latter carries too much risk for too little reward—not worth it. Consort Sun thought of the performance she still had to put on tomorrow, and her heart grew even more composed and self-satisfied. Relying only on schemes and calculations—how could that lead to lasting success? What she wanted, she had the ability to obtain through open, aboveboard stratagems. The next day was New Year's Day. The Emperor held the "Opening the Brush, Writing Blessings" ceremony at Zichen Hall, personally writing the character "fortune" and pasting it on the palace gates. He also wrote many more "fortune" characters to bestow upon the princes, imperial clansmen, court ministers, and the Six Palaces. Then came the Emperor receiving congratulations from the hundred officials, the Emperor and Empress conducting the sacrificial ceremony, and then leading the Six Palaces to pay respects to the Empress Dowager. With the entire sequence completed, the day passed just like that. For the first seven days of the new year, neither the Emperor nor the Empress had a moment of rest. The Seventh Prince was simply left in Wu Baolin's care. It wasn't until the eighth day of the new year that Hua Zhaorong suddenly brought up that it was inappropriate for the Seventh Prince to be raised under Wu Baolin. After hearing this, the Emperor gave it careful thought and ordered the Seventh Prince to be taken to the Princes' Residence. Xie Run had been continuously assisting the Empress with the affairs of the Six Palaces and only got free time on the seventh day of the new year. She finally managed to steal a lazy morning sleep and missed this drama entirely. When she woke up still groggy and sat while Dantao styled her hair, Xiaoshu's chatter filled her ears: "I heard that when the Seventh Prince was taken to the Princes' Residence, Wu Baolin didn't even care that she was still in her postpartum confinement—she chased all the way to the palace gate." "If she had chased even a little further, it would have made an ugly scene, and the Emperor would have gotten angry too." Xie Run paused, then raised a hand to rub her temples. "Putting on this show during the New Year—no one has it easy..." Dantao said softly, "But rules are rules. The Seventh Prince being raised under Wu Baolin for seven days was already an exception. If they let her keep him any longer, people would start talking." Xie Run thought to herself—indeed, people would talk. But no one expected Hua Yu to be the one to play the fool. Xie Run asked curiously, "Shouldn't Hua Zhaorong be focusing on her pregnancy? Why is she meddling in Wu Baolin's affairs?" Xiaoshu said, "Your Ladyship knows how she is. Hua Zhaorong has always acted on whims—who knows what Wu Baolin did to catch her eye?" "Rules are rules, but forcibly separating mother and child... If the Emperor had ordered it, that would be one thing. But the Emperor and Empress hadn't even remembered. For Hua Zhaorong to stick her nose in like this—Wu Baolin will probably hold a grudge against her for a long time." "The Emperor and Empress may not have forgotten about this matter..." Xie Run felt that the Emperor probably hadn't decided who should raise Wu Baolin's child. She said softly, "It's just that the New Year is busy. Wu Baolin had already been raising him for a few days anyway—letting it continue until after the festival would have been the same and saved trouble. But now that Hua Zhaorong has brought it up, the Emperor has no choice but to deal with it." Xie Run truly couldn't understand Hua Yu's way of thinking. A person completely unrelated to her—why would she go out of her way to mention it? Watching a mother and child be separated during the New Year, getting herself covered in trouble—what good could possibly come of it? This matter wasn't just being discussed in Zhaohua Palace—the entire Six Palaces were talking about it. Granted, Wu Baolin wasn't well-liked, but what Hua Yu did was even more distasteful. Every woman could one day give birth, and no one wanted their newborn child to be forcibly taken away right after birth. Xie Run paused, then suddenly seemed to realize something. "Wu Baolin gave birth to the Seventh Prince—that's a merit. Didn't the Emperor promote her rank?" Xiaoshu and Dantao exchanged a glance, hesitated for a moment, then said, "We haven't heard any news of that." Xie Run felt puzzled. This didn't seem like the Emperor and Empress's usual way of doing things. Could there be something more to this matter?