In the past, when the Empress Dowager returned to the palace, she would end up leaving very soon after. Besides being greeted by the concubines in the harem or dealing with some imperial issues, the Empress Dowager didn’t think that there was much of a difference between staying here in the busy, bustling palace and staying in remote Mount Wutai. But now, things were different—having an imperial grandchild or two that were willing to be affectionate with her had fulfilled one of her deepest wishes.
The Empress Dowager also nodded with a smile.
Liu Zhi continued to speak in a daze, “The 6th Imperial Prince was born with such a handsome face. Besides, he is also adorable and likable. If Honourable Lady Lan didn’t give birth prematurely…” She paused before stopping her train of thought that she uttered out loud and quickly begged for forgiveness, “This humble servant has misspoken out of turn.”
The Empress Dowager waved her hand slightly, “It’s fine,” She squinted her eyes slightly, but the cogs in her mind were spinning due to Liu Zhi’s words. She then recalled, “During the previous Emperor’s reign, several concubines gave birth prematurely as well. In those cases, it was either the mother who would die or the fetus who would suffocate. A situation like Xiao Lan’s to cause mental impairment of a child is truly a first since the establishment of the Great Lin Dynasty.”
Liu Zhi replied,”That’s it, isn’t it? That’s why His Majesty paid special attention to it.”
The Empress Dowager was thinking of something as she asked Liu Zhi, “When Xiao Lan was pregnant, were there any abnormalities or anything odd?”
Liu Zhi stayed by her side for many years, accompanying and aiding her fight in the harem at every step of the way; she was used to witnessing all sorts of tricks and schemes ever since. When the Empress Dowager phrased the question that way, she instinctively knew what she was trying to say, “Your Highness Empress Dowager, are you suspecting that in that year, Honourable Lady Xiao Lan might have fallen a victim to someone else’s schemes?”
Being favoured by the Emperor and getting pregnant at the same time were factors that would inflict jealousy and conflicts— it was a normal occurrence.
The winner of the previous harem’s battle believed that it was a very likely possibility.
If something like this was brought to her attention before she met the two children, the Empress Dowager wouldn’t bother to involve herself further into the matter. The incident had already happened many years ago and there was no use crying over spilt milk anyway— which essentially meant that she wouldn’t pry into nor order a reinvestigation.
But she met Lin Zhanyuan today. The petite grandson of hers was so adorably obedient and he felt like an actual grandchild to her. Every time he addressed her as ‘grandmother’, she felt her heart soften by another level.
After having this discussion with Liuzhi, she started to realise that something suspicious might have occurred that year. If my cute little grandson was indeed born mentally impaired through natural causes, then so be it; but if it was a calculated act of jealousy, then I will have to reinvestigate what truly happened that year.
Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager whispered a few words to Liu Zhi, who left after accepting her orders.
…
The next day was none other than Lin Feilu’s birthday.
Early in the morning, an endless stream of gifts were sent to Mingyue Palace. The Fifth Princess’s glory was now in full swing whereas Xiao Lan had regained her imperial favor and was already considered nothing short of a celebrity in the palace. All the other palaces have prepared generous gifts for them— no matter if it was friend or foe, the superficial efforts needed to be committed for the public eye.
Lin Feilu enjoyed receiving gifts.
She spent her entire morning opening all of her presents.