The prince longs for me every night after mastering thought-reading
Chapter 460 - 406: Xiao Jinyan’s Furious Anger Scared the Baby, Heart Aches for His Majesty the Emperor_2

Chapter 460: Chapter 406: Xiao Jinyan’s Furious Anger Scared the Baby, Heart Aches for His Majesty the Emperor_2

"This palace will bandage it for you."

Shen Chuwei had already spent a lot of energy and strength looking for the poisonous insects, so naturally, it was better for someone else to do the bandaging for her.

"Okay."

Xiao Jinyan took out the adhesive bandages from the medicine box, which Xiao Jiu said were specially prepared for small wounds and were very practical.

It didn’t take long to apply a few band-aids.

Shen Chuwei picked up the teacup from the low table and took a few sips of water, only then did she relax.

Xiao Jinyan saw her complexion looked somewhat off, which also indicated the harmfulness of the poisonous insects. No wonder Taosu cried so fiercely.

"This palace feels that there is something suspicious going on, and I fear someone may have intentionally wanted to harm Taosu."

Upon hearing someone intentionally wanted to harm her baby, Shen Chuwei immediately became unhappy, "Your Highness, who could it be?"

Xiao Jinyan brushed the hair from her forehead, "We don’t know yet. You just rest; this palace will get to the bottom of it."

Shen Chuwei nodded, "Whoever dares to harm Taosu, no matter who they are, we can’t let them get away with it."

Xiao Jinyan said, "This palace will see to it."

When the Imperial Doctor arrived, he gave Taosu a thorough examination.

After repeated confirmations from the Emperor that there were no issues, the Emperor finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Watching Susu, who had played until tired and then fallen asleep in his arms, the Emperor felt his heart melt at the small figure.

"Susu is truly cute."

The Emperor held him, unwilling to let go, but regretfully as a ruler of a nation with daily responsibilities, he could not hold Susu all the time.

He carefully placed Susu in the little bed, "Grandfather Emperor has to attend to duties now, but I will come to see you again when I’m free."

Reluctantly taking his gaze back, the Emperor left the East Palace and headed straight for Cining Palace.

The Empress Dowager had just woken up from a nap and was sipping tea newly brewed by Wanxin.

With a slight smile on his lips, the Emperor said, "Mother, I have just returned from the East Palace. The babies were indeed unwell, crying incessantly. Their eyes were even red from weeping. It was reasonable for the Crown Princess not to let them be held; afraid it might disturb Mother."

On hearing this, the Empress Dowager became even more angry, "It’s that serious? Then what kind of mother is the Crown Princess?"

The Emperor explained, "Mother, the Crown Princess can’t possibly hold the babies all the time; it’s the wet nurses who take care of them. The Crown Princess is also unwell."

"In my opinion, the Crown Princess is simply not a qualified mother. Why does the Emperor always favor such women?" The Empress Dowager still believed that Consort Xu was more suitable to be the Empress, remembering the actions of the current Empress.

The Emperor immediately guessed the meaning behind the Empress Dowager’s words, "Mother, you have just returned to the palace. After spending more time with the Crown Princess, you will see that she is a good girl. The Empress also likes her very much."

Despite her age, the Empress Dowager was quick to respond, "Is it because the Empress likes her that you established her as the Crown Princess?"

The Emperor explained, "It’s not entirely because of the Empress. I hope for the children to be of legitimate birth rather than born out of wedlock. Besides, although the Crown Princess does not come from a notable family, she is a good person. I trust the Empress’s judgment."

The Empress Dowager snorted, "In the Royal Family, the former court and the inner palace are closely linked. The future Empress is particularly important. I have heard that the Crown Prince favors only the Crown Princess, and other women in the East Palace don’t even have the chance to see the Crown Prince. No wonder after more than two years of taking concubines, there are only two children."

Massaging his temples, the Emperor felt quite a headache, "Mother speaks sense. I will urge the Crown Prince to be more equitable in his attentions to ensure the continuance of our lineage."

"What use is merely urging? You need to see the Crown Prince take real action."

"I understand."

After leaving Cining Palace, the Emperor took a deep breath. If he had a way to make the Crown Prince spread his favor more equally, would he wait until now?

No, he needed to handle pressing matters. Tonight he would go to Fengyi Palace, and as long as he stayed put and didn’t leave, the Empress would have no way to handle him!

The Emperor went directly to the Imperial Study Room to deal with government affairs.

After the Emperor left, the Empress Dowager’s face was stiff.

Wanxin comforted her with a smile, "Empress Dowager, I have prepared some flower cakes for you. After eating them, your mood will surely improve."

"You still understand me," said the Empress Dowager as she took Wanxin’s hand. Suddenly, she asked, "How would you feel if I entrusted you to the Crown Prince? You could be an acceptable lady."

Wanxin lowered her eyes modestly, a shy expression crossing her face, "Empress Dowager, I can’t bear to leave you. You are like my own grandmother, and I want to spend more time with you. I’m not in a hurry to marry."

The Empress Dowager felt delighted to hear this, "Silly child, even if you marry into the palace, you can still come to accompany me often."

Wanxin revealed a gentle smile mixed with a bit of playfulness, "But I want to accompany the Empress Dowager all the time and serve you."

"Then we’ll wait a bit longer," the Empress Dowager happily agreed.

Shen Chuwei woke up after an hour’s sleep and immediately went to check on Taosu.

Taosu had also awakened by then and was sitting in the crib playing joyfully with Xuetuan. The happiness of a child is simple and easily satisfied, as if the incident with the poisonous insects had never occurred.

Susu was tugging on Xuetuan’s tail, dragging it closer, and her tender little mouth muttered, "Momma... momma..."

Xuetuan meowed in response.

Seeing this, Shen Chuwei couldn’t help but laugh out loud, "Susu is getting better at calling for momma."

Seeing that Taosu was playing, she took out the glass jar and began to study the black poisonous insect inside.

Concubine Xue had been waiting for news, and seeing Shuiyao hurry in, she didn’t even finish her tea, "Have they all failed?"

"Princess, I have not heard any news. The Emperor has been here and only just left; it doesn’t look like anything went wrong. His Highness is thoroughly investigating the matter," Shuiyao said.

Concubine Xue’s grip tightened on her tea cup, her eyes full of resentment, "With such a poisonous insect burrowing into the skin, if not removed promptly, they would undoubtedly die. They can’t possibly still be alive."

Shuiyao was also puzzled, "But I saw that Hehuan Hall was as usual, with no signs of trouble."

"Princess, maybe we should wait a bit longer; surely there will be good news," Shuiyao suggested.

"That’s all we can do now," Concubine Xue frowned. Now all they could do was wait. She did not believe Shen Chuwei and those two children could be so lucky to survive.

In the side room

The wet nurses had been uneasy since the incident with the babies, feeling a wave of fright and also puzzled.

"We haven’t gone anywhere else today, so how did we come into contact with those poisonous insects?"

"I was wondering the same thing. We’ve always been carrying the little masters without putting them down. We wouldn’t dare let just anyone hold them."

"Luckily, the little masters are alright. Otherwise, we would probably have to accompany them in death."

"Exactly. Just thinking about it makes my legs weak."

One wet nurse seemed to remember something, "Could it have something to do with that Shuiyao? She brought flowers for the babies; other than that, we haven’t met anyone else."

ps: One more Chapter to come.