As Yanshu had just beco pregnant, and Yuwen Lan still had governnt affairs to attend to, after placating the Empress Dowager, the two bid farewell and left the Palace of Benevolent Peace.
With the Emperor present, Yanshu dispensed with the sedan chair and rode directly in the imperial carriage on the way back.
At this ti, with no outsiders in the spacious carriage, Yuwen Lan asked Yanshu, "It was just a matter of a lake brush. I could have easily explained it for you. Why did you feel the need to hurriedly reveal your identity to the Empress Dowager?"
Yanshu replied, "Although Your Majesty covered for this ti, what about next ti? Moreover, when I saw how Zhu Shu spoke just now, the Empress Dowager had already beco suspicious of . Even if we manage to explain it away, I suspect the Empress Dowager will not feel the sa about as before. Besides, the Empress Dowager greatly enjoys my novels. If one day she insists on eting the 'Carefree Young Master', am I supposed to find soone else to impersonate ? If the Empress Dowager learns the truth then, I'm afraid she'll be even angrier."
Initially, she had felt the Empress Dowager was a dangerous figure. If she knew those novels were written by her, she might use it as an excuse to punish her. After spending more ti together, she realized the Empress Dowager was actually quite nice, and since she enjoyed her novels so much, she probably wouldn't use it against her.
So it was better to take this opportunity to co clean, rather than having to hide and make excuses in the future.
Between people, it's actually better to be a bit more honest.
Yuwen Lan listened and felt it made sense, so he nodded, "Very well. In the future, if the Empress Dowager bestows more gifts, I won't need to pass them on anymore."
She was right - it was better to be honest sooner rather than later. Most importantly, the Empress Dowager had accepted it, which wasn't a bad outco.
Yanshu nodded, but suddenly frowned and said, "Co to think of it, does Zhu Shu have so issue with ? Why did she imdiately assu I was concealing the Empress Dowager's gift when she saw use the lake brush? Does she think I'm a bad person?"
Before Yuwen Lan could respond, the system chid in, [It's simple. Zhu Shu actually likes the Emperor and has always seen you as a love rival.]
Yanshu let out a sound of surprise, [Zhu Shu likes the Emperor???]
The system replied, [Why so many question marks? Is it that unbelievable? After all, the Emperor is quite handso. Zhu Shu ca to serve the Empress Dowager when she was only thirteen, and at that ti the Emperor was just ten. They basically grew up together.]
Yanshu stamred, [But, but, but... the Emperor couldn't perform before.]
Yuwen Lan, who had been secretly listening, felt a twitch between his brows.
Why suddenly bring this up again?
That was all in the past, okay!
The system continued, [She didn't know the Emperor couldn't perform before! Just like Consort Zhou, Consort Ning, and Consort An, they all thought the Emperor was a normal man. With such a handso, powerful, young and vigorous man, it's hard not to like him.]
Yanshu was speechless.
That's true. Who else in the world would be like her, not minding the Emperor's inability to perform?
Thinking of this, she unconsciously touched her belly, secretly marveling that the saying "with enough perseverance, an iron rod can be ground into a needle" was indeed true.
Yuwen Lan: "???"
That's the wrong idiom!
"Patience is rewarded" would be more appropriate!
What do you an by grinding an iron rod into a needle?!
Yanshu returned to Ganlu Palace in the imperial carriage. Not long after, people from the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau and the Office of Imperial Treasures arrived.
They were busy taking asurents for new clothes and selecting jewelry for quite so ti.
The next day, the imperial edict for her formal appointnt was issued. After the confernt ceremony, she officially beca Imperial Consort Yi.
Her family outside the palace, the Household of the Earl of Loyalty and Righteousness, was officially elevated to beco the Marquis of Loyal Righteousness's Mansion, inspiring much envy.
anwhile, in the Palace of Benevolent Peace, Nanny Zhuang, who had finally been allowed to leave after kneeling in the Buddha hall for three days, was now weeping bitterly before the Empress Dowager, begging for forgiveness.
"This slave forgot her place in a mont of anxiety. Please forgive , Your Highness."
The Empress Dowager still spoke coldly, "His Majesty has an heir now. What are you anxious about?"
Nanny Zhuang cried, "This slave was entrusted by the old master and mistress to help Your Highness maintain the glory of the Duke of Cheng'en's Mansion. Who would have thought that now, watching others about to give birth to the emperor's firstborn son, this slave couldn't help but feel resentful on behalf of the Duke of Cheng'en's Mansion!"
Having been mistress and servant for decades, and since this was a maid she had brought from her maiden ho, the Empress Dowager knew her words were not false. She could only sigh, "What is there to resent? I have done my best these past twenty years. If they themselves are incompetent, what can be done?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Nanny Zhuang quickly wiped her tears and said, "After all that has happened, I expect the Duke of Cheng'en has reford. Now the third young miss has also grown up. The third young miss has a gentle disposition, as you know..."
Before she could finish, the Empress Dowager raised her hand to stop her and said, "Do you think entering the palace is a good thing? If one can live well outside, why co into the palace to suffer this darkness? Why go and ruin the third girl's life? Do you think I'm living happily now?"
If she could choose again, she would never enter the palace. Looking back, her whole life seems to have been wasted like this.
Nanny Zhuang frowned and said, "But aren't you worried about what will happen to the Zhou family in the future?"
The Empress Dowager gave a cold laugh, "That's for the Zhou family to worry about themselves. Out of consideration for our years as mistress and servant, if you still want to stay by my side, just do your duty. If you don't want to, I'll find a place outside the palace to settle you, and we need never see each other again."
Nanny Zhuang paused, then could only cry again, "How could this slave abandon Your Highness and go outside the palace? From now on, this slave will never ntion this matter again."
As her pregnancy progressed day by day, Yanshu's symptoms beca more and more severe.
At first, she could still eat, but later she would feel nauseous at the sll of at and oily foods, and vomited for several days in a row.
Seeing his beloved consort's face noticeably thinner in just a few days, the Emperor was naturally worried. After so thought, he had no choice but to send soone to the Marquis of Loyal Righteousness's Mansion to invite the Marchioness into the palace.
As soone who had been through it herself, Ms. Zhu knew her daughter was going through a difficult ti. So she specially prepared so of her daughter's favorite foods from before and brought them into the palace.
As soon as Yanshu saw her mother, she slled the aroma she had been dreaming of.
Chive dumplings!!!
Before her mother could speak, she asked eagerly, "Mother, did you bring chive dumplings?"
Ms. Zhu smiled and opened the package she had brought, "The young mistress has a keen nose indeed. Here, I just made these before getting in the carriage. They're still warm."
As she spoke, she handed over a warm chive dumpling.
Yanshu was like a traveler who had journeyed long through the desert and finally found an oasis. She imdiately took it and stuffed it into her mouth.
Mmm, it was indeed her mother's handmade chive dumpling. The pastry had a rustic wheat fragrance. Knowing that she was currently averse to oily foods, her mother had only used tofu and chives for the filling, and had used almost no oil when pan-frying. It tasted light and pure, yet very flavorful. It was exactly to her liking. In just a few bites, she had finished one.
Seeing this, her mother Ms. Zhu worriedly handed her so tea and advised, "Eat slowly, my dear. There are plenty more. Don't choke."
Yanshu made a sound of acknowledgnt and picked up another one. In no ti at all, it too had gone into her stomach.
Mmm, her stomach, which had been feeling acidic for days, finally had sothing in it. She felt much better.
Yanshu drank two more cups of tea before asking her mother, "How is everything at ho recently? How are you and father? How is grandmother's health?"
Ms. Zhu nodded quickly, "Everything is fine at ho, don't worry and just focus on taking care of yourself. Your grandmother is doing well too. She had originally... wanted to co along today, but when the eunuch delivering the imperial edict said His Majesty hoped I could stay in the palace for a couple of days, she didn't dare co and stayed at ho instead."
Yanshu's eyes lit up, "Is that what His Majesty said? That's wonderful!"
Having her mother by her side was like having a spiritual pillar, making her body, tornted by pregnancy symptoms, feel sowhat better.
Ms. Zhu nodded, "That's what the eunuch delivering the edict said. I specially brought a few more changes of clothes."
Yanshu quickly said that was good and told Lianxin to prepare a room for her mother.
After making the arrangents, she asked, "How is Tianrui doing at the Imperial Academy? Has he adjusted well?"
Co to think of it, in the blink of an eye, her brother Li Tianrui had already been at the Imperial Academy for three months.
Unfortunately, due to protocol, although Yanshu had seen her parents and grandmother, she still hadn't seen her brother.
Mother nodded and said, "He's doing well too. Being admitted to the Imperial Academy has really made a difference. Not only has he learned a lot, but his temperant has also improved. Just the other day, he was cheated while buying sothing on Examination Hall Street. In the past, he would have gotten into a fight right away, but now he knows his position is different. He didn't want to tarnish your reputation, so he managed to control himself."
Yanshu found this curious and quickly asked, "What happened when he was cheated?"
Ms. Zhu explained, "Well, you know Examination Hall Street is where they sell all the scholar's four treasures, right? At the Imperial Academy, they're required to use white hemp paper for writing. That day, he had run out of paper, so he went to Examination Hall Street to buy so. But when he got it, he realized sothing was off about the paper. He wanted to argue with the shopkeeper, but luckily, soone advised him against it, so he didn't pursue it further and went sowhere else to buy paper instead."
Ms. Zhu added pointedly, "Your father has warned him that now that we've been elevated to a Marquis's household, many eyes are watching us from the outside. It's better to suffer a small loss than to cause a scene that might affect you."
Yanshu nodded, understanding her father's good intentions.
After all, Li Tianrui was now the heir to a Marquis's household. If he got into an argunt with a shopkeeper over paper, who knows if soone might accuse him of bullying commoners.
Considering her brother's youthful temper, it must have been difficult for him to hold back.
Just then, her mother frowned and said, "Co to think of it, it's strange. I don't know what's going on with Examination Hall Street, but several paper shops there are passing off inferior goods as high-quality ones. Tianrui went to several places before finally finding genuine white hemp paper at a small shop next to our house."
Yanshu also found this odd. Examination Hall Street was supposed to be the most famous place in the capital for buying stationery. Most students went there for their supplies. How could the shopkeepers dare to sell substandard goods, making it impossible to buy good paper?
The system chid in, [It's simple. Soone in the court is using their position for personal gain, monopolizing the main stationery shops in the capital.]
Yanshu was stunned. [How could soone be so bold? Who is it?]
The system replied, [The man's na is Bao Qiwen. He's currently the Director of Studies at the Imperial Academy, responsible for its daily affairs. A few years ago, he secretly opened a paper mill outside the city. He's been selling cheap hemp sandpaper as white hemp paper, controlling the supply for several stationery shops on Examination Hall Street. Moreover, he's also supplying the Imperial Academy and several other governnt-affiliated academies. The students are all using his paper.]
Yanshu was puzzled. [He's being so blatant about it? Hasn't anyone noticed?]
The system explained, [He's been in this position at the Imperial Academy for many years and has built good relationships with many academies. Besides, he provides good paper for the teachers and inferior paper for the students. The students are young and naive, and the teachers are afraid of causing trouble. Plus, it's all paid for with governnt money, so who wants to bother with it?]
Yanshu gasped, [Each academy has at least several hundred students using paper every day. That's a huge consumption. He must be making a fortune!]
The system confird, [Indeed. Over the years, he's made a killing. He's practically the number one rat stealing from the governnt.]
Yanshu asked, [Has no one discovered this?]
The system sighed, [This man is excellent at feigning poverty. He still lives in an old house from over a decade ago, one that even leaks when it rains. His clothes are washed until they're faded, and he and his wife eat simple als daily. He appears extrely frugal. Who would suspect him?]
Yanshu was bewildered, [Then what's the point of making all this ill-gotten money? He's not enjoying any of it!]
The system replied, [Who says he's not enjoying it? In fact, many years ago, he bought the best lakeside mansion in the luxurious Golden Bright Pond area of the capital. It's filled with beautiful serving girls, creating a veritable paradise of wine and pleasure. He goes there every few days to indulge himself.]
Yanshu was speechless. [...] What a character!
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