Chapter 417

Chapter 417 Concubine Shen nodded along. "I shouldn't have come to disturb you today, Sister. You should rest quickly—I still need to go pay my respects before the Retired Emperor's spirit tablet." With that, Concubine Shen couldn't help but sigh. What an unfortunate stretch of days—two major mourning periods in succession. Even the most resilient person would find it hard to endure. After Concubine Shen left, Xie Run's quarters quieted down once more. With three major funerals in the palace, Xie Run could lie in bed and rest, but Taotao could not. After all, one of the deceased was his imperial grandfather, and the other was his imperial uncle. Day after day, Taotao still had to follow Nanny Xu to wail before the Retired Emperor's spirit tablet. No matter how patient a child was, this kind of ordeal would wear them thin. In just four or five days, the nannies of the Second Princess, Third Princess, and Sixth Prince had all successively reported in sick. Xie Run was just thinking about requesting sick leave for Taotao as well when she suddenly heard the sound of Taotao wailing at the top of his lungs. Xie Run's heart tightened, thinking something major must have happened. Then she saw Nanny Xu carrying Taotao—who had cried himself into a tearful mess—into the room, her face full of helplessness. "Your Ladyship..." Xie Run: "What's wrong? Why is he crying so miserably?" In all of Taotao's life, he had never cried this hard before. Nanny Xu: "Your Ladyship... today the Fifth Prince noticed that the Second Princess, Third Princess, and Sixth Prince all skipped the vigil. He was kneeling there when he suddenly felt wronged and burst into tears." "I tried to soothe him for half the day, but I simply couldn't calm him down!" Xie Run took Taotao's hand and asked gently, "Come now, tell Mother—why are you crying?" "Did someone wrong you?" Taotao nodded vigorously, his head bobbing up and down like a chick pecking at rice. Xie Run: "What wrong was done to you?" Taotao wiped his tears. "Why don't they have to observe mourning, but I'm the only one who has to?!" Just as Xie Run was feeling sorry for her son, she heard Taotao sob, "They're all not going—they must be secretly playing together without me!" Taotao demanded with grief and indignation, "Why didn't they take me?!" "I always used to include them when I played!" With that, Taotao burst into heartbroken sobs. He cried as if he had been abandoned by the entire world. Xie Run: "..." "Play, play, play—all you know is play." Xie Run gritted her teeth and couldn't help but swat him. "Your imperial grandfather and imperial uncle are gone, and you still have the heart to think about playing?" "They're sick—that's why they requested leave to rest. Once they're better, they'll still have to go before your imperial grandfather's spirit tablet." "Besides, your third sister's mother is gone. She must be grieving and miserable—where would she find the mood to play with you?!" "Really?" Taotao looked utterly unconvinced. "Last time Mother requested leave for herself and for me, saying we weren't feeling well, but she was actually secretly taking me out to play!" Xie Run finally understood why the boy thought requesting leave meant sneaking off to play. It turned out she had dug her own grave. Xie Run said with the utmost seriousness, "So Mother knows she was wrong, and from now on, I won't request leave for you anymore." Taotao stood there stunned, only realizing what his mother had said after a long moment. He was silent for three seconds, then suddenly threw his head back and wailed. "Waaah—I'll never get to play again!" Just then, the Emperor happened to arrive. Hearing Taotao cry so pitifully, he couldn't help but ask, "What's happened?" "The Fifth Prince is crying like this out of nowhere—have you all been negligent in your care?!" The moment those words left the Emperor's mouth, everyone else's faces turned pale with fright. Xie Run: "Your Majesty, don't scare them." Xie Run explained the reason for Taotao's crying, and she felt the Emperor's gaze on her turn somewhat odd. She had the distinct feeling he thought she was the one who had corrupted their son. Xie Run pretended not to understand, lowering her head to play with her younger son. The Emperor felt a mix of helplessness toward both mother and son. He could only coax Taotao, "Enough—if your mother won't grant you leave, how about I grant it for you?" Taotao finally stopped crying, staring at the Emperor with eyes like two black grapes. "Then I can go out and play?!" The Emperor: "...You can, but you can't go outside to play." Taotao said knowingly, "I understand—just like last time." The Emperor couldn't help but glance at Xie Run again. That look seemed to say, "Look what you've turned your son into." Xie Run: "..." Fortunately, the Emperor was busy. He stayed at Zhaohua Palace for lunch with Xie Run, then hurried off to the Imperial Study. Once he was gone, Xie Run asked curiously, "Is the Emperor personally handling the Retired Emperor's funeral arrangements now?" "No." Dantao said in a low voice, "I heard His Majesty has entrusted everything to the Empress Dowager to manage. The Empress Dowager has been working hard day and night—when I went to pick up the Fifth Prince last time, I vaguely noticed she looked several years older from exhaustion." Xie Run said curiously, "The Empress Dowager is being this... diligent?" Xie Run had initially wanted to say "well-behaved," but felt it inappropriate, and couldn't find the right word for a long while. "The Retired Emperor's funeral rites have been prepared excellently. The Empress Dowager handles everything personally, never delegating to others. I heard... it seems His Majesty said that if she didn't do it well, he would send her to the imperial mausoleum to eat vegetarian meals and chant sutras, guarding the Retired Emperor's tomb for three years." "I knew it..." The Empress Dowager had suddenly become so obedient—there had to be something behind it. So it turned out the Emperor had scared her into submission. Though it probably wouldn't be long before the Empress Dowager realized the Emperor was just bluffing her. Since ancient times, no Empress Dowager in peacetime had ever been sent to guard the imperial tombs. Xie Run asked again, "And what about Consort Hui's funeral rites?" "They were arranged entirely by Consort Jingshu." Xie Run remarked, "The Emperor really knows how to shirk his duties." Prince Wei's funeral was naturally handled by his own household. With three funerals to manage, the Emperor only needed to make appearances without getting involved, so even at his busiest, there was a limit to his workload. Taotao got a day off and spent it playing around Zhaohua Palace, but found it boring. The next day, she obediently went to the Retired Emperor's mourning hall. Unexpectedly, the Sixth Prince was a clingy child who couldn't stay put in the palace and insisted on going too. Lady Xian was reluctant at first, but with the Emperor's people watching from the side, she couldn't control the Sixth Prince much. The child wanted to observe mourning for his imperial grandfather—how could she stop him? Still, seeing the two brothers so affectionate with each other, she couldn't help feeling like she was paving the way for someone else's gain. By the time late November approached, Xie Run had been resting in Zhaohua Palace for half a month. Consort Jingshu suddenly came calling. "Elder sister has been blessed with a prince. I've long wanted to visit, but with so many palace affairs, I truly couldn't spare the time. I hope elder sister won't hold it against me." Xie Run lay in bed, a faint smile on her lips. "I've managed palace affairs myself, so I know how busy you are." "But I didn't expect you to actually find time to visit me?" Consort Jingshu clicked her tongue. "Now that Noble Consort Zhao has two princes by her side, she's become even more blunt in her speech." Her words carried a hint of sourness, but also the tone of a familiar acquaintance teasing. Xie Run chided lightly, "What a thing to say—as if I was ever polite to you before?" Consort Jingshu was left speechless. She had once criticized the consorts of the Six Palaces without a shred of fear, yet she repeatedly met her match in Xie Run. Thinking back carefully, Xie Run had indeed never been polite to her.