Chapter 453

Chapter 453 Unexpectedly, when this news spread, not many of the court officials objected. Consort Jingshu arrived early in the morning at Zhaohua Palace for tea: "This concubine has come to congratulate Noble Consort elder sister." Xie Run glanced at her sidelong. "Have you finished handling matters in your palace today?" "I hear that the Seventh Prince and Eighth Prince have never been on good terms. If you have leisure, you might at least talk more with those two brothers." Consort Jingshu had initially been in the mood to trade barbs with Xie Run. But upon hearing Xie Run's latter remark, she couldn't help but sigh. A person as strong-willed as she was now finally understood the hardship of raising children. "Matters in the palace are simple enough, but Lian'er and Hu'er... I don't know what karmic debt from a past life this is—separately, both are of good temperament, but they simply cannot be kept together." The Seventh Prince was named Xiao Lian, and the Eighth Prince Xiao Hu. "Now I envy elder sister. Cong'er and Baozhen are far apart in age, the elder brother is kind and the younger respectful—they never have conflicts." Xie Run thought of what she had heard, a faint smile on her lips, and said only one sentence. "Only after raising children did I come to understand a saying." Consort Jingshu raised her eyes to look at her. Xie Run spoke unhurriedly: "When children are not harmonious, it is because the elders lack virtue." Consort Jingshu's eyes held shock, then she suppressed it a moment later, forcing a smile: "Today I came to congratulate elder sister—I don't know how we drifted onto the topic of children." "I hear that Physician Xie has saved the Emperor from danger several times on the front lines, and the Emperor has specially conferred upon her the title of Marquis Zhaoping—she is the first woman in this dynasty to be enfeoffed as a marquis." "Elder sister's elder brother has also become Vice Minister of Rites. I suspect that even elder sister's enfeoffment ceremony as Empress will be personally managed by Lord Xie himself." Xie Run smiled. "The Emperor's edict has not yet come down. Such words must not be spoken carelessly." Consort Jingshu couldn't help but want to roll her eyes: "Elder sister is far too cautious." "In this palace now, besides you, who else is worthy of the Empress's position?" Xie Run raised an eyebrow: "Younger sister's words grow increasingly bold. How can such remarks be uttered so freely?!" Pretend, keep pretending! Consort Jingshu said: "This younger sister misspoke." Xie Run also knew exactly why Consort Jingshu had come to her palace so early in the morning. She chuckled softly. "This Ben Gong has also received younger sister's congratulations, and so wishes to add one more word." "When the Emperor returns victorious this time, he intends to bestow rewards. Younger sister has managed the harem diligently these past years and has labored hard in raising the two princes. I imagine the Emperor will not forget younger sister." The meaning was that when the Emperor returned, he would sooner or later grant a great reward across the Six Palaces. Even if she had no merit, she had her toil, and perhaps her rank could rise a step further. Upon hearing this, the smile on Consort Jingshu's face finally became somewhat sincere. She knew well that she had no chance at the Empress's position, and so had never harbored any intention of contending with Xie Run. But one must always have some ambition. If she could not become Empress, that did not mean she could not continue to rise. Among the four first-rank Fei, before Consort Shu stood Noble Consort and Consort De. If she could endure her way up to the position of Noble Consort through seniority, then her life would not have been lived in vain. Seeing Consort Jingshu's satisfied expression as she prepared to leave, Xie Run suddenly spoke: "Does younger sister only wish to ask for this one thing?" Consort Jingshu turned her head to look at Xie Run, her eyes filled with uncertainty. She smiled and said: "This younger sister does not understand. Would elder sister be willing to enlighten me?" Xie Run smiled gently, her tone warm: "Cong'er often praises the Eighth Prince to this Ben Gong for being filial and sensible, gentle and respectful." "Such a good child—doesn't elder sister wish to seek something for him?" "The bond between mother and child is precious. Do not let that bond grow estranged." Even to this day, the Eighth Prince was still only fostered under Consort Jingshu's name, not truly registered as hers. Strictly speaking, Consort Jingshu was only the Seventh Prince's birth mother. The frequent conflicts between the Seventh and Eighth Princes were likely related to this matter. Though both were adopted sons, there was still a difference between one adopted son and another. Consort Jingshu's emotions churned within her. She had never imagined that Xie Run would bring up this matter. Before leaving the capital, the Emperor had only reluctantly placed the Seventh Prince under her name. She was not favored, and had just incurred the Emperor's displeasure, so she naturally did not dare to raise the matter of registering the Eighth Prince under her name. Moreover, saying such words would make her seem too greedy. After all, she had no children of her own. That the Emperor was willing to give her one child to raise was already a great favor. If she asked for another, she would inevitably appear to be contending with Noble Consort Zhao. Thus, although Consort Jingshu had been raising the Eighth Prince all along, she had neither the courage nor the confidence to raise the matter of formal registration. She only hoped that one day the Emperor would soften, consider the two children, and voluntarily bring up the matter of registration. She had never imagined that the first person to raise it would be Xie Run. Consort Jingshu's gaze was complex as she respectfully bowed to Xie Run. "If elder sister is willing to speak a few good words on this younger sister's behalf, this younger sister will be grateful to the point of tears and will never again dare to harbor any thought of offense." This was an offer of allegiance. Xie Run reached out to help her rise. "Before Lady-in-waiting Bai fell gravely ill, she once wrote a line of poetry." Consort Jingshu quietly watched Xie Run, not understanding why she would bring up Lady-in-waiting Bai. Xie Run said slowly: "Only seeing the moon cold and the sun warm, coming and going to boil away one's years." Xie Run's gaze was gentle, and she spoke unhurriedly: "She felt she could no longer endure the days in the palace, lost her will to live, and so fell into illness from which she could not recover." "There are only a few of us sisters left in the palace now. Who knows how many more years we have ahead of us—why make things difficult for one another?" A casual helping hand was simply storing up blessings for herself and her children. Doing good deeds and cultivating virtue always let one live more freely than scheming to harm others day in and day out. Xie Run said, "Two innocent children should not have to pay for the grudges of their elders." Tears had unknowingly gathered in Consort Jingshu's eyes, yet she suddenly smiled. "Now I know why the Emperor and Empress have both been so fond of you all these years." Xie Run truly was a person of great personal charisma. Her charm did not lie in an immediate, striking impression. Rather, it seeped into people's hearts through gentle words and soft tones. Like a slow-flowing stream, it irrigated bit by bit until a garden of fragrance bloomed in full. Across the entire Six Palaces, there were very few with such character. Even if there were others, the Emperor likely had no inclination to savor and explore them. This position of Empress truly belonged to her. The news of her elevation spread throughout the realm of Yu, and only then did the Emperor recall another matter. The Empress Dowager was still at Baohua Temple praying for the late Empress! Back then, when the Empress had been hounded to death by the Empress Dowager, the Emperor had harbored deep resentment. The mother and son had clashed, and the Empress Dowager had lost, being sent to Baohua Temple to pray for half a year. Originally, the Empress Dowager should have returned to the palace after six months. But who would have expected the Emperor to depart directly for the front lines, leaving the Empress Dowager at Baohua Temple to endure an additional three years. During that time, the Empress Dowager had not once failed to raise a fuss about returning to the palace, but the Emperor was far away at the front. After several deliberations among the senior princes of the clan, they concluded that the Empress Dowager should remain at Baohua Temple to pray for the Emperor and offer blessings for the Retired Emperor, and they firmly refused to agree. After several rounds of back-and-forth, the Empress Dowager ended up enduring nearly four years at Baohua Temple. ... PS: I discovered something quite coincidental. Seventh Prince Xiao Lian, Tenth Prince, Xiao Baozhen. Damn, it seems I've stumbled upon Jia Baoyu and Jia Lian—I can't bear to look directly at it. It's truly a coincidence; I absolutely had no such intention! ... This book concludes with the elevation to Empress, and I'll write a few epilogues afterward, but not too many. Currently planned: Consort Jingshu, Fang Yuan'er, Lady Fang, Taotao (Xiao Cong). If any readers want to see other characters, you can leave comments, and I'll add one or two depending on the situation. Characters like Wan Linlang don't have much depth to explore—she's simply a persona of ambition, cunning, and ruthlessness. And characters like Hua Yu, the naive sweet type—her background and personality determine that she won't be favored, but she also won't make major mistakes, and her life won't be difficult. Lady Fang is included because she's connected to the earlier Consort Yun, and she offers a perspective of rising from the most ordinary nobody to a high position, living out her days in peace.