Pregnant Before the Royal Marriage

Chapter 296: The Palace’s Daily Gossip

Translator: 549690339 |

Chunlai said, “It would be fine if it were just once or twice, but these feasts are held every now and then, and we always have to participate.”

Huang Ying said, “If the Princess Consort doesn’t want to go, just refuse. Even if she is the Crown Prince’s wife, our Master is frail, and even the Emperor and Empress and the Concubine won’t let the Princess Consort be overworked, let alone her? She wouldn’t dare do anything.”

“Actually, it’s not just for her, I also want to see Xiaoqian in the palace.”

Li Tingqian lost his parents when he was young and had grown up with Li Hongyuan. He had always lived in the East Palace because he was born there.

Now that Prince of Huai had become the Crown Prince, his wives, concubines, and children had moved into the East Palace. Furthermore, since Li Hongyuan was not around, the task of educating the emperor’s eldest grandson had fallen on the Crown Prince and his wife.

In the past, Xiaoqian was relatively free, being able to go wherever he wanted. But now that he was under the control of the Crown Princess, it seemed to be more strict, and he hadn’t left the palace for a long time.

Last time Jiang Ning went to the palace to see him, the Crown Princess said that he was already six years old and was studying with the officials of the Imperial Academy, so she didn’t let her see him.

Jiang Ning had been thinking about him for a long time since she hadn’t seen him in a while.

Taking advantage of this Qixi Festival to enter the palace, she specifically prepared her self-made food, which were all Xiaoqian’s favorites.

He certainly wouldn’t lack anything else, and Jiang Ning liked to please people by giving them good food.

Huang Ying was prudent, intelligent, and capable, and now she was in charge of the entire Prince’s mansion and could no longer accompany Jiang Ning out at any time. So when Jiang Ning went out, she only took Dongxie and Xiaoman.

Dongxie was also of a gentle and introverted nature, while Xiaoman was strong and loyal.

Taking them out was worry-free.

As for Chunlai and Xiachu, one was headstrong and the other was impetuous.

Neither was suitable.

Wenzan and Lingzi had grown a lot and had begun to crawl all over the place, babbling as if they wanted to learn to speak.

Jiang Ning instructed Huang Ying to watch them and then entered the palace with Dongxie and Xiaoman.

After entering the palace, she first followed the usual practice to pay her respects to the Empress and then to the Concubine Jin.

Qixi Festival was a holiday for young women, neither the Empress nor the Concubine Jin cared to participate. But when they saw her coming, they greeted her with smiles.

The age of the Empress was close to that of the Emperor, and her spirit wasn’t great. She was lazy to make a move, and after a few idle words, Jiang Ning asked about Xiaoqian.

The Empress adored her only grandson, but her health was never great, so she didn’t have the energy to raise Xiaoqian by her side.

She smiled and said, “The Crown Princess is also a well-bred noble lady, gentle and graceful. It should be a good thing for Xiaoqian to be under her care.”

“I haven’t seen Xiaoqian for some time and miss him dearly.”

“It’s kind of you to think of him, but now that he has grown, he should be learning to make progress.” The Empress smiled and said, “How about this, I’ll ask someone to summon him back to say that he doesn’t need to study today.”

Although the Empress was unwell, she was still clear-headed. She probably knew that the Crown Prince was strict, and Jiang Ning might not be able to see Xiaoqian.

If she summoned him in the name of the Empress, neither the Crown Prince nor the Crown Princess could disobey.

Jiang Ning was very happy, and after bowing in gratitude, she took her leave to see Concubine Jin.

Concubine Jin had always been indifferent, and every time Jiang Ning called on her, she would exchange no more than a few bland words before sending her away.

Unless, Jiang Ning brought food she made herself.

Only then would Concubine Jin’s eyes light up, and she would talk to Jiang Ning with a full-faced smile.

Today, Jiang Ning brought a small bag of melon seeds.

Looking at it, Concubine Jin appeared somewhat disinterested and said, “Today’s snack isn’t fresh, I’ve had it every day.”

Jiang Ning smiled and said, “Although it may look the same as the usual ones Your Highness has had, the taste might be slightly different.. Why not give it a try?”