Chapter 94: Mother and Daughter

Chapter 94: Mother and Daughter

"Take Nian'er to sleep for a while; he can eat when he wakes up," Jiang Hui said to Pomegranate.

"Yes," Pomegranate stepped forward to take Nian'er, who was lying in Jiang Hui's arms, and quietly left the warm pavilion with Hongying.

Qiukui then approached, "My lady, His Majesty has chosen Consort Luo from Yufu Palace for tonight."

Jiang Hui couldn't attend to the Emperor recently, and recently favored in the palace were Consort Luo and Lady Wanmei. However, with the Emperor's ambition to undermine the Xiongnu internally using his children, he naturally needed to spend more effort with Consort He.

"Hmm," Jiang Hui responded lazily, sitting up from the soft chair, "Serve dinner here... What did the small kitchen prepare today?"

As Qiukui assisted Jiang Hui in washing her hands, she replied, "It's the smashed cucumber and japonica rice porridge you wanted to eat yesterday, along with jade shrimp with white jade, steamed yellowfish..." listing a series of dishes.

"Good," Jiang Hui, her appetite aroused, sat down at the table, allowing the maids to set the meal and arrange the dishes.

After finishing dinner and taking a brief walk in the courtyard, Jiang Hui returned to the warm pavilion to ponder over the birthday gift for the Empress Dowager.

Last year she had sent a scripture copied by Wan Song and a string of sandalwood Buddhist beads; the year before, a jade Guanyin ornament. This year, struggling to come up with an idea and not wanting to spend too much effort, she simply asked Qiukui to pick something from the treasury and show her the choice.

They finally settled on a kesi (woven silk tapestry) Buddha meditation screen. This screen, with its Buddha seated on a lotus, had been gathering dust in the back of the treasury but now found its purpose. The only concern was the careful transport by the palace staff to Mount Wutai.

Having sent the screen to Fengyi Palace, Jiang Hui washed her hands of the matter. The next day was the fifth birthday of Princess Xiao Wu, the Emperor’s eldest daughter.

A grand banquet was held at Fengyi Palace, attended by ladies of the court, both from inside and outside the palace.

Princess Xiao Wu, being the Emperor’s first child and dearly loved, was turning five, the age to enter Chongwen Academy, a well-known fact. Consequently, ladies hoping to secure a “princess’s study companion” position for their daughters brought suitable candidates for the Emperor and Empress to choose from.

The Emperor, remembering Princess Xiao Wu’s request, paid special attention to girls a few years older than her. Eventually, he summoned the youngest daughter of Honglu Temple’s Minor Prefect, Qin Wanwan, and inquired more about her, seemingly favoring her.

Princess Xiao Wu, however, had her own preference. During the short banquet, she clung to a girl in a goose yellow dress, exclaiming to the Emperor, “Father, Wu'er likes Sister Zhou!”

The girl, only six or seven years old, was sensible and not too intimidated, courteously greeted the Emperor, "Minister's daughter Zhou Zhen greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty enjoy endless fortune and peace."

She was somewhat nervous, forgetting to mention her family's name.

Sheng'an quietly informed the Emperor, "Your Majesty, this is the youngest daughter of the Minister of Revenue."

The Emperor nodded slightly, pointing to Qin Wanwan, and smilingly said to Princess Xiao Wu, "What about this sister?"

Princess Xiao Wu took a careful look in that direction, then released Zhou Zhen's hand and circled around Qin Wanwan a few times.

Qin Wanwan, appearing a year or two older than Princess Xiao Wu, wore a carmine-colored brocade dress, looking adorably shy and blushing. Remembering her mother's instructions, she kept her head down, not daring to speak, and clasped her hands tightly in front of her.

The Empress, sitting to the side, watched with a smile and didn't interject. Jiang Hui sipped some warm water prepared especially for her, slightly lowering her eyelids. Between the daughter of the Minister of Revenue and the daughter of the Minor Prefect of Honglu Temple, the Empress naturally hoped the princess's study companion would be the former.

Although the ministers wouldn’t be biased just because their daughters were the princess's study companions, it was still good to foster some goodwill in advance.

After circling around, the Grand Princess returned to Zhou Zhen's side, holding her hand sweetly and said, "Sister Qin is also nice, but Yu'er still prefers Sister Zhou!"

The Emperor, not wanting to hurt his daughter's feelings, nodded in agreement.

At this moment, the Empress called Zhou Zhen over to inquire about her birth date and presented her with a pair of jade bracelets as a meeting gift, then said to Madame Zhou, the Minister of Revenue's wife, "Yu'er can be quite mischievous, so please take good care of her."

Madame Zhou humbly demurred, exchanging a few courteous words, after which the luncheon concluded.

The Grand Princess, not in a hurry to leave the palace, returned to Yaohua Palace with Jiang Hui.

Sitting on the couch, playing with Nian'er in her arms, she asked her daughter, "How do you feel about this pregnancy, Hui'er?"

Sitting beside her mother, Jiang Hui leaned her head against her and replied softly, "Mother, I feel quite well, not as uncomfortable as when I was pregnant with Nian'er."

Hearing his name, Nian'er looked up from his grandmother's embrace and responded, "Nian'er is here."

This amused both mother and daughter, who couldn't help but laugh.

After a while, the Grand Princess stopped laughing and said warmly to Jiang Hui, "About the midwife, Mother Qian, I will still send her to the palace in a couple of months to take care of you."

"Alright," Jiang Hui nodded in agreement.

The Grand Princess continued, "Your father sent Steward Jiang to Wutai Mountain, but although Jinzhou is not far, careful investigation there will take time, so he won’t return soon."

"I understand," Jiang Hui smiled, "There’s no rush. The Empress Dowager... she wouldn’t dare directly target me again."

"The Empress Dowager..." The Grand Princess's eyes sharpened, "I never realized back when she was still a concubine... So cautious and prudent, yet she turned out to be an old prude who cannot tolerate her son’s women!"

Hearing the high pitch in her voice, Nian'er looked up at her. The Grand Princess quickly switched to a smiling face and kissed Nian'er, then continued, "With so many guards around her, it's not easy to take action. Otherwise, it would have been better if she simply disappeared on the road."

"Mother!" Jiang Hui sat up straight and grasped the Grand Princess’s hand, "Please don’t joke about such things. If it were found out... it’s not worth the risk."

The Grand Princess, however, was not joking. She whispered to Jiang Hui, "Mother is not foolish. There's no way to kill her openly or secretly, I've endured for so long... but some natural disasters are unavoidable."

Slightly shocked, Jiang Hui pondered for a moment and whispered back, "How confident are you about this? Do you need me to do anything?"

"My child, you don’t need to do anything. Just take good care of yourself and Nian'er," the Grand Princess shook her head slightly, paused, and then said, "Your grandmother's health is deteriorating. Your father is considering holding a joyful event to counteract the bad luck. The wedding of Ah Yun and Miss Lin may be moved up. I need to visit the Lin family to discuss, so I won’t be coming to the palace for a while."

"Grandmother?" Jiang Hui sounded concerned, "What did the imperial physician say?"

"Your grandmother gave birth to three sons, two of whom died in battle… The physician says it's just her time due to her age," the Grand Princess stroked her daughter's hair, "Don't be sad, everyone has their day. If your grandmother passes away... it would be a blessed release."

"Mother…" Jiang Hui, being pregnant and in front of her mother, struggled to control her emotions, tears swirling in her eyes, "I want to see grandmother."

Seeing his mother cry, Nian'er crawled out from his grandmother's embrace, hugged Jiang Hui, and nestled against her slightly swollen belly, softly saying, "Mother, Nian'er, be good."

Jiang Hui gently stroked Nian'er's tender back without speaking.

"Alright," the Grand Princess wiped Jiang Hui's eyes and softly said, "Once Mother finalizes the date with the Lin family, I’ll send you a message. You can ask the Emperor for permission then to attend the wedding and meet your brother and sister-in-law."

"Okay," Jiang Hui murmured, then looked up at her mother, "Father mentioned you had a cough again. I’ve asked Imperial Physician Liu to come to the hall, Mother, would you let him check on you?"

The Grand Princess paused briefly, then smiled, "Alright."