Chapter 968: Entering the Palace
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the inner hall of Kunning Palace, Empress Song, who was dressed in a phoenix robe, was sitting in front of the dressing table. A few other palace maids surrounded her and helped her tie her hair and do her make-up in an orderly manner. The eldest palace maid, Su Yun, walked in with a smile. “Your Majesty, the Duchess is here.”
Empress Song was slightly surprised. She looked up at the bronze mirror and saw that it was about time. She waved her hand to dismiss them and hurriedly said, “Hurry up and invite Sister-in-law in.”
It was no wonder that she had such a reaction. Two years ago, Madam Li had injured her body because she gave birth to a pair of twins. It took her more than a year to recover. The children were too young to leave their mother. Madam Li had not entered the palace for a long time.
As the empress of the Central Palace, it was not easy for her to leave the palace. The last time she met Madam Li was when the twins were born. It had been two years since they last saw each other.
Thinking of the small banquet that Emperor Chong’an suddenly asked her to prepare, a solemn expression flashed across Empress Song’s face.
Not long after, Su Yun brought in a woman in an imperial order. Beside the woman was a fair-skinned girl.
When she said “sister-in-law”, Empress Song was stunned when her gaze landed on the little girl.
There was no other reason. The little girl had a simple bun on her head and a flower bud between her eyebrows. There was still some baby fat on her jade-like face. Her almond-shaped eyes seemed to be filled with water, moist and pure. She was wearing a red dress with snow fox fur. She was really better-looking than the child sitting under the Guanyin in the painting.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
When she came back to her senses, Empress Song hurriedly went forward to help her up and rebuked, “Sister-in-law, what are you doing?”
“Your Majesty, you can’t abandon your courtesy.” Madam Li shook her head to stop her and stood up.
Seeing her like this, Empress Song felt upset.
His father had fought on the battlefield with the late emperor and made outstanding contributions. When the late emperor was in power, the Song family could be said to be in the limelight.
However, when it came to Emperor Chong’an, in just a few years, her father had handed over all his military power. Her brother was clearly ambitious, but he always hid his talents. Sister-in-law was like this because she did not want to cause trouble.
The reason was that Emperor Chong’an was too suspicious.
“I haven’t entered the palace for a long time. Your Majesty seems to have lost a lot of weight. Is there anything troubling you?”
Empress Song put away her complicated thoughts and shook her head. “There’s food and drinks in the palace. There are many servants. There’s nothing to worry about. ”
With a wave of her hand, Empress Song dismissed the palace maids in the hall. She personally held Madam Li’s hand and sat down in front of the soft couch.
Su Yun brought over tea, fruits, and snacks at the right time.
Although the Bulwark Duke had to attend court every day, he was an outsider. Even though he was her biological brother, he could not come to the harem. It was not easy for the two of them to meet, so they naturally had a lot to say.
However, it was mostly Empress Song who asked and Madam Li who answered. The topic of conversation included the twins who had just turned two years old.
At the mention of the child, Empress Song remembered the young lady who had entered the palace with Madam Li and turned to look.
Alright, the young lady was not embarrassed to be ignored. She was sitting there alone and eating snacks happily.
Madam Li followed her gaze. “Look at me. I was so happy to see Her Majesty that I forgot about Sister Jia.”
As she spoke, she waved at Little Jiajia. “Sister Jia, come over quickly. This is
Brother Chen’s aunt.”
Little Jiajia had just finished eating a snack. When she heard this, she took out a small handkerchief she carried with her and wiped the crumbs off her fingers. She walked over and called out softly, “Hello, Aunt.”
She was as obedient as she could be.
Fortunately, no one familiar with her temperament was around. Otherwise, their jaws would have dropped.
Was this still the young princess who dared to secretly hide behind the emperor’s dragon throne in the imperial court at the age of two and make faces at the court officials below? She was so bold as to hide the jade seal and say that she wanted to play a treasure hunt with the emperor… She was so young, but she had already stirred up the prince’s residence and even the palace of the Xuanyuan Kingdom.
In short, tales of the “great deeds” left behind by the young princess in the Xuanyuan Kingdom could not be finished in three days and three nights.
However, the young princess could still pretend to be obedient. Empress Song’s heart softened when Jiajia called her “aunt”.
“What a good child.” Empress Song held Little Jiajia’s hand. It was meaty and felt good to the touch. She subconsciously pinched it and thought to herself, “As expected, little girls are more lovable, unlike that brat.”
Thinking of something, Empress Song looked at Little Jiajia in surprise, then at Madam Li. Just now, her attention was on Little Jiajia and she did not think too much about calling her aunt.
“Is this really Brother Chen’s future wife?”
She liked this girl at a glance. She felt that it was too sudden to ask.
Little Jiajia thought to herself, “I’m famous. No wonder the emperor of Great Xia knew of my existence and even asked me to enter the palace to attend some banquet.”
“Yesterday, as soon as Han’er returned to the palace, he told me that Brother Chen’s wife had come looking for him. I thought he was spouting nonsense, but I didn’t expect to see her so soon. However, Sister-in-law, you hid it too well.”
Madam Li was speechless.
It was one thing to like Little Jiajia, but there was no reason to unilaterally arrange a marriage. Madam Li had no choice but to explain the whole story, including how Princess Linghui was beaten up by Little Jiajia when she came looking for her early this morning, and why she brought Little Jiajia into the palace.
Of course, she only knew that Little Jiajia’s full name was Xuanyuan Yijia. She had run away from home and came to Chang’an. As for the rest, Little Jiajia didn’t say anything, so she didn’t know much.
The reason why Little Jiajia didn’t say anything was very simple. She was afraid of being sent home.
Empress Song thought to herself, “She ran away from home, fell in love with Brother Chen at first sight, and hit Linghui. This was all done by an eight-year-old girl? You really can’t judge a book by its cover.”
Little Jiajia smiled sweetly at her.
Empress Song was speechless. No matter how she looked at her, she was a soft girl,
“Your Majesty…”
Empress Song waved her hand. “Sister-in -law, don’t worry about Linghui. It’s not enough for her to cause trouble in the palace and she decided to start messing around elsewhere, so it’s only right to teach her a lesson. You can’t just stand there and let her bully you.”
At this point, her lips curled into a mocking smile. “With the Xuanyuan Kingdom eyeing us covetously, His Majesty is worried about the relationship with the Song family. He won’t make a fuss because of this.”
She knew Emperor Chong’an too well. On the surface, he doted on the noble consort and her children, but it was only to strengthen the courage of the noble consort’s family to restrict the Song family.
Only the Liu family could not see through it and were smug about it. Thinking about it, it was ridiculous. As the empress of Great Xia, she was often glad that the Xuanyuan Kingdom was around.
It was like a guillotine hanging above Emperor Chong’an’s head. As long as it was around, his father, a brave general, would be able to rest in peace. Of course, she did not want Emperor Chong’an to really need her father one day.
Little Jiajia blinked. Why did she feel inexplicably guilty?
Author’s Note: While Emperor Chong’an was suspicious of the Song family, he’s also worried that the Xuanyuan Kingdom will attack. At that time, Old Master Song, who is brave and good at fighting, will definitely be needed. However, he’s afraid that Old Master Song will rebel, so he doesn’t dare to let him grow stronger. Therefore, he deliberately supports Noble Consort Liu’s family in suppressing him to balance the situation.
He even summoned the old master into the palace from time to time to show him some respect while comforting him.
Old Master Song knew this, which was why he obediently handed over his military power. In the main story, the Xuanyuan Kingdom was not powerful enough to scare anyone, so Emperor Chong’an did not have this worry. Old
Master Song did not say that he would hand over his military power directly.
As for why the Xuanyuan Kingdom was so powerful, it was naturally because Xuanyuan Ce had memories of his previous life. He had already produced black gunpowder and wooden kites in advance. It was simply too easy to use these to deal with Great Xia, which only had regular weapons.
Why then, did the emperor of the Xuanyuan Kingdom not unify the world?
The main reason was that the lethality of black gunpowder was too great. If they fought, too many people would die. The king was benevolent and could not bear to do so. In addition, he did not have such ambitions. He only wanted to protect his personal fief. Of course, he would not be polite if others attacked..
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