Princess Fuqing and the Fourteenth Princess exchanged a surprised glance upon hearing Emperor Jingming’s words.
Emperor Jingming said, “You two can go out and play now.”
The two princesses curtsied and withdrew together.
The Empress Dowager slowly fingered her Buddhist prayer beads and said, “This is rather sudden. I haven’t heard Your Majesty or the Empress mention it before—”
Emperor Jingming replied with a smile, “As soon as I made the decision, I hurried to share the good news with you, Mother. Besides the Empress, you’re the second person in the palace to know.”
“Oh? Who was the first to know besides the Empress?” the Empress Dowager asked with a faint smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“The first was Consort Xian.”
The Empress Dowager shook her head and laughed, “How forgetful of me. Of course, such an important matter should be discussed with Consort Xian first. Has the Imperial Clan Court been informed?”
Emperor Jingming nodded, “The Director of the Imperial Clan Court has already updated Seventh Brother’s information. I announced it to the court officials during this morning’s audience.”
The Empress Dowager’s smile froze for a moment before returning to normal. “Your Majesty is truly decisive and efficient.”
“When I thought of the difficulties you went through in adopting me back then, Mother, I felt it was best to handle this matter as quickly as possible…” Emperor Jingming spoke in the tone of a son seeking praise from his mother, clearly hoping for the Empress Dowager’s approval.
The Empress Dowager didn’t disappoint him. After listening, she nodded lightly, “Your Majesty has indeed handled this beautifully. The Empress is more fortunate than I—”
“How can you say that, Mother? I am your son, and no one in this palace is more fortunate than you…”
The mother and son continued their pleasant conversation for quite some time.
“Your Majesty should attend to your duties now. I need to rest as well.”
Emperor Jingming stood up, “Then please rest well, Mother. I’ll take my leave.”
“Mm,” the Empress Dowager seemed tired, her eyelids drooping and her voice softening.
As soon as Emperor Jingming left, the Empress Dowager’s eyes flew open. She grabbed her Buddhist prayer beads and hurled them to the ground.
The string of beads broke upon impact, scattering the beads across the floor.
“Your Highness—” the only elderly palace maid left in the room called out cautiously.
The Empress Dowager’s anger seemed to dissipate with the breaking of the beads. She said flatly, “Pick up the beads and restring them. Don’t miss any.”
“Yes.” The old palace maid dared not ask why the Empress Dowager was angry, nor did she dare to speculate. She knelt down and carefully picked up the scattered beads.
After some time, the old palace maid carefully said while holding a box full of beads, “Your Highness, one bead is missing—”
The Empress Dowager sighed and murmured, “Never mind. What’s broken is broken…”
As Princess Fuqing walked out of Cining Palace with light steps, she pulled the Fourteenth Princess along, saying, “Fourteenth Sister, let’s go see Mother.”
The Fourteenth Princess’s eyes flickered slightly.
Princess Fuqing explained with a smile, “I guess Mother must be extremely happy right now. Let’s go congratulate her.”
The Fourteenth Princess nodded slightly.
Seeing the two princesses arrive, the Empress smiled and asked, “Why are you here so early today?”
Princess Fuqing curtsied and sat down next to the Empress, smiling brightly, “Father Emperor went to see Grandmother, so Fourteenth Sister and I came out.”
Upon hearing that Emperor Jingming had gone to Cining Palace, the Empress’s lips curved slightly.
“Mother, did you adopt Seventh Brother as your son?”
“What’s the matter? Worried someone will compete with you for a favor now?” the Empress teased, seeing her daughter’s eyes full of curiosity and excitement.
Princess Fuqing’s face reddened slightly, “Having an elder brother makes me happy beyond words.”
“Yes, Mother is happy too,” the Empress said softly.
She had conceived the idea of adopting a prince for Fuqing’s sake. She only hoped that Prince Yan wouldn’t disappoint her.
The news of the Seventh Prince, Prince Yan, becoming the Empress’s son spread through the palace like a gust of wind after Emperor Jingming visited Yuquan Palace and then Cining Palace.
For a time, some came to congratulate the Empress, while others went to console (or secretly laugh at) Consort Xian, suddenly making the palace a lively place.
An eunuch hid in a secluded spot, slapping his mouth and muttering, “So that’s how it is, that’s how it is—”
A familiar voice came from behind, “Little Le, have you gone mad with boredom, hiding here to slap yourself?”
It turned out that the self-slapper was Pan Hai’s apprentice, Little Le.
Seeing his master appear, Little Le quickly bowed and smiled, “I suddenly heard about Prince Yan’s matter and thought I was dreaming, so I slapped myself to see if it hurt.”
Pan Hai looked at his apprentice as if he were looking at an idiot, suddenly feeling weary.
If he thought he was dreaming, why not slap someone else instead of himself? It dawned on him that he had taken on a foolish apprentice.
“Many are surprised by Prince Yan’s situation, but none have reacted like you. How embarrassing!”
Little Le laughed dryly, “Master is right to reproach me. How could I compare to you, Master? You could remain unfazed even if Mount Tai collapsed before you—”
“Alright, stop your nonsense. Let’s go.”
Pan Hai walked in front, with Little Le following behind, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
Of course, he was more surprised than others.
Earlier, when he went to Qianhe County as an imperial envoy to inspect the earthquake damage, he discovered that the unremarkable Prince Yan was quite an extraordinary person.
It was from that time that he began to have dealings with Prince Yan.
What he didn’t expect was that Prince Yan wasn’t just extraordinary, but also a god of wealth. Soon, he found himself receiving money pouches faster than he could handle.
At first, when the amounts were small, he accepted them without guilt. Later, as the pouches grew thick enough to alarm him, he had become accustomed to receiving them and couldn’t refuse.
Little Le certainly understood the principle of being indebted to those who feed and pay you.
Not long ago, Prince Yan finally approached him, asking him to arrange for someone to let the Empress overhear some casual conversation in the Imperial Garden.
Although he was puzzled by Prince Yan’s intentions, he couldn’t refuse and carried out the request as instructed. Who would have thought that today he would hear the shocking news of Prince Yan being registered under the Empress’s name?
At that moment, Little Le truly thought he was dreaming.
Others might think Prince Yan had stumbled upon good fortune, but only he knew that Prince Yan’s current situation was undoubtedly due to that arrangement.
But how could the Empress decide to adopt Prince Yan after hearing just a few words? And how did Prince Yan ensure that he would be the one chosen in the end?
Little Le dared not think too deeply about it, feeling more and more that Prince Yan was unfathomable.
Thinking of the handsome man he usually saw with a casual smile at the corner of his mouth, Little Le firmly made up his mind: No more thinking, from now on, he would follow Prince Yan!
Walking ahead, Pan Hai noticed the lack of footsteps behind him. He stopped and turned around, scolding, “You little rascal, still not awake from your dream?”
Little Le quickly caught up, skillfully rattling off a string of flattering words to please Pan Hai.
Pan Hai listened with a pleased mood, revealing a smile.
In his position, it didn’t matter how clever his apprentice was; what mattered was keeping him in a good mood to serve the Emperor.
After walking a few steps, Pan Hai stopped and quietly advised, “Be more courteous to Prince Yan in the future. Don’t be negligent.”
“Yes!” Little Le bowed, responding more sincerely than ever before.
That went without saying; Prince Yan certainly couldn’t be treated carelessly. He was now on Prince Yan’s pirate ship too.
Should he give his master a hint?
Considering Pan Hai’s cunning nature, Little Le put away the thought.
Better not. His master had a keener eye than him and surely knew what he was doing.