vrcanaries Chapter 1186 The Emperor Comes to See the Four Princes
Chapter 1186 The Emperor Comes to See the Four Princes
The warm room was filled with warmth and a faint aroma of milk.
In the small cradle, the Sixth Prince, less than four months old, was sleeping soundly. His face was flushed, his breathing was long and even, and his fist was loosely clenched, resting on his cheek.
He seemed to be a little rounder than when he left the palace, and it was obvious that he was well taken care of.
Xuanbin's footsteps became extremely light in an instant, and she almost held her breath as she walked to the cradle.
Looking at the Sixth Prince's peacefully sleeping face, her tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed, her nose suddenly felt sore, and her eyes instantly turned red.
Xuanpin bent down carefully, stretched out her slightly trembling hand, and picked up the soft little body from the cradle as if touching a rare treasure, holding it tightly in her arms.
"Jin'er... Mother's Jin'er..."
She pressed her face against the Sixth Prince's tender and warm cheek, her voice choked with sobs: "Mother is back... Mother will never leave you for so long again..."
The little Sixth Prince seemed startled, his brows furrowed slightly, and his lips smacked twice. Enveloped in his mother's familiar scent, he fell into a deep sleep again, his little head nestled in Xuanpin's arms, leaning back in dependence.
Xuanpin felt that her heart was filled in an instant.
She came to the main hall of the Yanx Palace and thanked Concubine Xue again. Then she carried the Sixth Prince and went back in the sedan chair.
……
The sky above the Cining Palace seemed to be shrouded in an invisible haze.
The early winter wind blew through the copper bells under the eaves, and the sound they made was also a bit lonely and dull.
The news that Empress Dowager Liu was bedridden had already been known to everyone.
Even though there was solid evidence that the Duke of Dingguo was plotting treason, many people were implicated and rivers of blood were shed.
But the one in the Cining Palace has a different identity after all.
She was the empress married by the late emperor in a formal ceremony, and the legitimate mother of the current emperor.
The Great Zhou ruled the world with filial piety, and this identity was her amulet!
On the surface, Empress Dowager Liu was still the most respected Empress Dowager, and no one dared to neglect her in the slightest.
The best doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau took turns on duty, and countless rare and precious medicinal materials were still delivered to the Cining Palace like water.
Every morning, Master Xingchen's deep chanting voice would punctually pierce through the heavy curtains, attempting to soothe Empress Dowager Liu's fading health.
However, which of the concubines in the palace is not a thousand-year-old fox?
Outward honor cannot cover up inner decay.
The sudden collapse of Duke Dingguo's Mansion meant that Empress Dowager Liu's most solid and powerful support in the court had been reduced to ashes.
The Empress Dowager Liu, who once had the power to influence the affairs of the court and the harem, and even the emperor had to give her some courtesy, is now just a sick body struggling with the effects of medicine.
Her dignity is like thin ice under the warm winter sun. It looks crystal clear, but in fact it will shatter at the touch of a finger and there is no possibility of it solidifying again.
Visiting someone who is sick or asking about their well-being? There is no way they can go.
At this moment, the Cining Palace was like an isolated and dangerous island in the eyes of the concubines.
Smart people would avoid it as much as possible, fearing that they would be tainted by the bad luck of the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion, or that the dying man would seize it as a last straw and bring disaster upon himself.
Concubine Zhuang stayed indoors, twirling her Buddhist beads.
Princess Wang claimed to be ill and declined the visit.
Even Concubine Kang, who was always gentle, only prayed for Empress Dowager Liu in the Buddhist temple and never mentioned the word "visit".
In the vast harem, apart from the imperial physician, the palace maids who served as ordered, and Master Xingchen who recited scriptures every day without fail, the gate of the Cining Palace was shockingly cold.
……
In the warm room of Zhongcui Palace, the floor heater was burning brightly.
Shen Zhinian sat upright behind the rosewood desk, his fingertips unconsciously brushing across a pot of daffodils in full bloom on the desk.
The icy and delicate flowers emit a faint cool fragrance in this warm room.
She raised her eyes and looked calmly at Xiao Mingzi below her: "During the time I was away from the palace, has there been any abnormality with Master Xingchen?"
Xiao Mingzi immediately bowed and replied in a flurry of words, "Your Majesty, I have been following your instructions and have sent my most intelligent and reliable men to monitor the Buddhist hall and Master Xingchen in the Cining Palace in shifts day and night."
"Every day, except for the three quarters before dawn, he would go in and chant sutras for the Empress Dowager. After he finished chanting, he would return to his small Zen room to meditate and never leave."
"All the food and utensils are from the small kitchen of the Cining Palace. They are vegetarian dishes sent in separately. Not even a fly can fly in. Chatting with Master Xingchen."
At this point, Xiao Mingzi paused and said, "However... there are a few young masters who, under the pretext of seeking Buddhahood, have 'accidentally' met Master Xingchen outside the Zen room and asked him for some Buddhist teachings."
Shen Zhinian's eyes darkened slightly: "Oh? Who are they?"
Xiao Mingzi reported a few names, all of whom were low-ranking palace concubines with extremely low positions and almost no sense of existence in their daily lives.
Shen Zhinian took note of it silently, but his expression remained calm. He simply nodded and said, "Go on."
"Yes."
Xiao Mingzi continued, "The people I sent out saw them clearly. They and Master Xingchen were talking in the corridor outside the meditation room."
"It was broad daylight, and there were quite a few palace maids sweeping the area. Those young ladies simply left after asking questions, without staying for long, let alone... passing on information privately or holding secret conversations."
After Shen Zhinian finished listening, he lightly touched the slender leaves of the narcissus with his fingertips, and the leaves trembled slightly.
She pondered for a moment, and said in a cold voice as usual: "I understand."
"Keep watching Master Xingchen. I want to know everything he says and comes into contact with, both inside and outside the Cining Palace."
Xiao Mingzi bowed respectfully and said, "I understand!"
Then, he retreated quietly.
evening.
Shen Zhinian was sitting on a soft couch covered with a thick velvet blanket, smiling as she watched the Fourth Prince babbling and dancing in his wet nurse's arms.
Nangong Xuanyu's tall figure stepped into the hall, his dark black uniform still lingering with a hint of coldness.
Shen Zhinian immediately stood up and saluted: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects..."
Nangong Xuanyu raised his hand to support her: "No need to be so polite."
When his gaze fell on the Fourth Prince, it softened instantly.
"Axu."
The emperor's voice was low, with a hint of imperceptible tenderness.
He strode over and took the excitedly wriggling Fourth Prince from the wet nurse's hands.
Suddenly falling into his father's broad and solid arms, the Fourth Prince was stunned for a moment and blinked his big black eyes.
Then, as if recognizing a familiar breath, a big smile instantly broke out on the little face, and an even more cheerful "cluck" sound was made, and the little head rubbed affectionately into the warm neck of the emperor.
Nangong Xuanyu held the Fourth Prince firmly, feeling the heavy weight in his arms.
The Fourth Prince's unreserved dependence and intimacy relaxed the Emperor's heartstrings, which had been tense for days due to the great changes in government and the purge of the rebels, as if they were gently plucked by a soft little hand.
He lowered his head, a smile from the heart appearing on the corner of his lips, a warmth that he would never show in the court.