Chapter 431

Chapter 431 Although filial mourning required restraint in eating, Xie Run felt sorry for herself and for her child, so she always had the small kitchen prepare meat dishes to fill their stomachs, never letting him go hungry. Taotao looked at Xie Run with a pitiful, aggrieved expression. "Mother..." Xie Run said, "If you keep nagging like this next time, I'll have the small kitchen stop making meat and we'll eat vegetarian every day." Taotao's eyes widened in dismay. "Eat vegetarian every day?! Your son doesn't want to become a monk!" Xie Run let out a teasing "oh." "You actually know what a monk is?" Taotao nodded. "Monks can't marry, can't eat meat, and can't drink alcohol." Then, curious, he asked, "Mother, what is alcohol? Is it tasty?" He looked like a little glutton, pestering Xie Run with questions. Xie Run said with a straight face, "It's not tasty. It's just like the talisman water in front of the mourning hall—awful. But when you grow up, I'm afraid you'll have to drink it." Taotao blinked, shocked. "It's awful, and you still have to drink it?" Xie Run nodded solemnly. "After all, by then you'll be an adult, and there will be many things you simply have no choice about." Taotao stared at his mother with a bewildered, shocked expression, completely forgetting to demand meat. Although the Emperor held a noble status, at the end of the day, he was just an ordinary father with human nature. Having been pestered by his son until he was annoyed, he hastily slipped away. As he thought about it on the way back, he felt a mix of helplessness and amusement for no clear reason. The next day, he suddenly issued an edict, ordering that the Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince be brought to Zichen Hall. When Xie Run learned of this edict, she wasn't particularly surprised, only arranging for the palace attendants to take Taotao to Zichen Hall. Over at Lady Xian's side, she was rather flattered and taken aback, thinking the Emperor had finally remembered her. But she also feared that the Sixth Prince, with his small mouth and big tongue, might say something unfavorable about her. After agonizing over it for a while, she still sent the Sixth Prince off properly. That evening, Taotao returned beaming with joy, grabbing Xie Run's hand and making her feel his belly. "Mother, Imperial Father gave me and Sixth Brother meat to eat—so much meat!" Xie Run felt his round, bulging belly, alternating between anger and laughter. She poked Taotao's forehead between his brows. "You ungrateful little thing—have I ever starved you? You're grinning like that just because you had a meal of meat?!" Having gotten what he wanted, Taotao was now very well-behaved, standing there with a silly grin, letting his mother poke him. Still, Xie Run truly hadn't expected that the Emperor would summon his two sons to Zichen Hall just to give them a bite of meat. If word of this got out, people would probably laugh their heads off. After teasing Taotao for a while, Xie Run had someone take him out to play, to digest the meat in his stomach and avoid indigestion. After Xie Run finished her month of confinement, she told the Emperor of her plans. Her earlier talk with Consort Jingshu about sending Taotao to the Princes' Residence after the new year had mostly been bickering. Taotao would only turn three after the new year, and Xie Run couldn't bear to send him to the Princes' Residence so early—she wanted to keep him for at least another year. She had already told the Emperor in advance about spending more time with the child, and the Emperor had agreed, putting Consort Jingshu in charge with Xie Run assisting. When Consort Jingshu received this news, it was said she was so angry she skipped dinner. Afraid she might get too upset, Xie Run deliberately sent some pastries over. In a fit of pique, Consort Jingshu took Xie Run's pastries and went to visit Consort Wen. Ever since the Empress's funeral, Consort Wen had fallen ill. Day after day, she stayed cooped up in her own palace recuperating. Passing by Yongming Palace, one could smell the scent of medicinal herbs from afar. No one knew what Consort Jingshu said to Consort Wen, but three days later, Consort Wen suddenly rose from her sickbed and began helping manage affairs. In terms of skill, Xie Run truly admired her. There were few consorts in the palace now—the high-ranking ones had been whittled down to almost none, and those remaining were all newcomers who had entered the palace this year. Newcomers meant docility, and they wouldn't dare act recklessly in the short term. With Xie Run and the others joining forces to manage the harem, things became much easier. A cold wind blew through the night, and by early morning, frost and snow blanketed the land. The moment she stepped outside, she was greeted by a vast expanse of white. Dantao calmly opened an umbrella, holding it over Xie Run's head, and said softly, "Your Grace, mind your step." "Mm." Xie Run looked up at the snowy scenery in the distance and couldn't help but sigh. "After lying in bed all this time, my bones have gone soft. It's good to get out and walk a bit." There was still half a month until the new year, and part of this year's procurement arrangements fell on Xie Run's shoulders. Coincidentally, the Imperial Embroidery Workshop had just received a new batch of fabric and cotton, so Xie Run thought she might take the opportunity to go out and take a look. Xiaoshu laughed. "You used to love walking the most, Mistress—you'd walk for half an hour after every meal. But ever since you became pregnant with the Tenth Prince, you've been moving less." Xie Run nodded seriously. "Indeed, I've grown lazy. I need to get moving again." If she didn't move around more, how could she keep a healthy body and live a long life? Dantao said, "Both princes are considerate—they haven't given you much trouble, which has made things much easier for you." "I heard that when the Ninth Prince was two months old, he fussed terribly. The people at Fanghua Palace couldn't sleep a wink all night, and Hua Cairen lost a full ten jin from the ordeal." This was also part of the reason Hua Yu had been lying low lately, as quiet as a ghost. The Emperor had already promoted Hua Yu's rank, from Hua Baolin to Hua Cairen. In Xie Run's view, the Emperor was being mischievous, deliberately toying with Hua Yu. He clearly intended to restore Hua Yu's rank—though perhaps not to her original high position, at least it would be within the Nine Concubines. Yet he refused to promote Hua Yu in one go, insisting on raising her rank step by step. Xie Run thought to herself that even if Hua Yu advanced from Baolin to Zhaoyi within half a year, she might not necessarily be happy. Xie Run: "Taotao and Baozhen are both well-behaved—they don't cry or fuss on ordinary days, eating when they should sleep and sleeping when they should eat. Raising children like them is a blessing from heaven for Ben Gong." Xie Run mused that if she ever had the chance, she would visit Baohua Temple to burn incense and pray for protective amulets for the two children. The mistress and her attendants chatted as they walked along the way. After inspecting the items at the Imperial Embroidery Bureau, Xie Run led her people back to the palace. Seeing the snow growing thicker, Dantao wanted to send someone to fetch a sedan chair for Xie Run. But Xie Run had been cooped up in Zhaohua Palace for far too long, so she waved her hand and said, "No need—let's walk back. It seems we'll pass by a grove of red plum blossoms on the way; we might as well take a look." Since the mistress had spoken, the others naturally dared not refuse. The snow was falling quite heavily at this hour, and Xie Run assumed that apart from the maids and eunuchs on cleaning duty, no one else would be about. Unexpectedly, her luck was truly good—just as she arrived at the red plum grove to admire the blossoms, she spotted Beauty Wu being supported by someone. Separated by a few red plum trees, Beauty Wu wore a thin, plain-colored cloak, leaning on a palace maid as she trudged with difficulty through the snow. Xiaoshu knew the palace paths best and recognized the direction at a glance. "Beauty Wu came from the direction of Yongning Palace?" "Her health has never recovered since childbirth. In this heavy snow, what business does she have going there?" Standing beneath her umbrella, holding a hand warmer, Xie Run watched the white snow swirling in the air. "She's probably gone to steal a glimpse of the Seventh Prince." After all, that child had cost her half her life to bring into the world—how could she truly not care at all? Dantao pondered for a moment, a hint of worry in her voice. "Consort Jingshu is raising the Seventh Prince. If she learns that Beauty Wu went to peek at him, she'll likely be displeased." Consort Jingshu was not a magnanimous person by any means. If Beauty Wu offended her by failing to mind her boundaries, tormenting her would be a trivial matter for Consort Jingshu. Xie Run watched the mistress and maid struggle for a long while, barely managing to move a short distance, and furrowed her brow. "Is Beauty Wu's illness very severe?" Dantao: "That's what I've heard." "But then again, she's not of any noble birth to begin with—whether her illness is serious or not, few people care." Such was the life of an imperial concubine who had fallen out of favor in the palace. The only reason Beauty Wu could still receive regular treatment and medicine from the imperial physicians was that she had given birth to a prince. "Judging by the look of things, this winter... she may have a hard time surviving it." "The palace has already held several funerals. We can't afford to invite more ill fortune during the New Year." Watching the mistress and maid, Xie Run truly worried that Beauty Wu would not live through this winter.