Chapter 9
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Hearing the announcement, Ling Fu hurried out.
At the gate, a young eunuch was bending over with a smile. He said to Yue Er, a maid from Lan Pavilion, “The Emperor is at Zaochun Palace, playing chess with Consort Li. Hearing that Consort Ru is good at chess, the Emperor specifically asked her to join them.”
Meeting the Emperor was indeed good news for the consorts.
Yue Er, overjoyed, quickly turned to inform Consort Ru.
Ling Fu, hiding behind a pillar, listened to the conversation between the eunuch and Yue Er. Before Yue Er could inform Consort Ru, he ran to her first.
“Royal Mother, don’t go to Zaochun Palace.”
Ling Fu was filled with thoughts of the dream Little Seven had shared with him. He pulled on Consort Ru’s sleeve, anxiously pleading with her not to go.
Consort Ru was puzzled by his urgent plea.
Soon, Yue Er came in to inform Consort Ru of the Emperor’s summons. “Niang Niang, Consort Li is indeed kind-hearted. If it were another Noble Consort, she would find ways to keep the Emperor from summoning others so late at night.”
“No, Royal Mother, don’t go out.”
Ling Fu was extremely anxious. He tried to pull Consort Ru, attempting to stop her from leaving.
But Consort Ru hesitated only briefly before allowing Yue Er to apply her makeup. The Emperor had summoned her; she couldn’t refuse.
“Be good, Fu Fu. Royal Mother is just going for a while and will be back soon.” Not for the Emperor’s favor, but for the Sixth Prince’s future, she couldn’t disobey the Emperor.
Consort Ru insisted on going, and Ling Fu couldn’t stop her.
He watched as she left the palace, then sat alone at the doorstep, counting the time until she returned.
Unlike the chubby little one waiting eagerly, another little one was joyfully kicking his short legs under the covers.
“If you kick the covers again, you’re going to get a spanking.”
Noble Consort Yi looked down, grabbed Ling Rui’s little short legs, and coldly threatened, “The little game we just played is over. Now you should go to sleep.”
“Play some more.”
Ling Rui, not yet satisfied, clung to her, begging to play once more.
Noble Consort Yi snorted coldly, “No more playing. I don’t want to play with a silly child who can’t even understand basic arithmetic.”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui whimpered in protest, “I’m not a silly child.”
He was very smart!
Noble Consort Yi glanced at him without saying anything.
Before bed, she had tried to teach him, intending to correct his mistakes in arithmetic, but the little guy just couldn’t seem to grasp it no matter how she explained.
Thinking about this again, Noble Consort Yi’s mood started to sour.
The two of them laid in the same bed, Ling Rui’s small arms and legs pressed against Noble Consort Yi, warm and soft. This feeling was so comforting that it quickly soothed Noble Consort Yi’s mood.
“Niang Niang, tell me a story.”
Seeing that Noble Consort Yi didn’t want to play with him anymore, Ling Rui wriggled around in the bed, found a comfortable sleeping position, and then asked for a story.
The past few nights, when he was sick and couldn’t sleep well, Noble Consort Yi had stayed with him and told him stories.
These stories had left a lasting impression on Ling Rui.
Ling Rui loved hearing stories about the frontier, about the soldiers and the scenery there, about the young woman running a tavern alone in a small border town.
And about the brave female general on the frontier.
As she told the stories, Ling Rui’s small hand held onto Noble Consort Yi’s clothes, but soon he closed his eyes. When he slept, he was very quiet, with shallow breathing.
Noble Consort Yi looked down at the little child in her arms.
In the long night, ever since she had this little child in her arms, it seemed she no longer cared as much about where Emperor Ling spent his nights.
“Niang Niang.”
Noble Consort Yi didn’t mind, but Ji Yan still reported, “Tonight, His Majesty is at Zaochun Palace. A quarter of an hour ago, Consort Ru also went there.”
“I see.”
Noble Consort Yi responded, the warmth on her face directed at the little one fading instantly with Ji Yan’s words.
She knew Emperor Ling was fickle in his affections.
Unfortunately, she only discovered this after entering the palace.
Since she entered the palace, compared to other concubines, Emperor Ling had favored her greatly for many years. Her position in the harem was unshakable.
Many consorts envied her, were jealous of her, and wanted to be her.
But if given a choice, she wouldn’t want to be the highly favored consort. She just wanted to be an ordinary person with Emperor Ling, to be a normal husband and wife.
After reporting, Ji Yan quietly withdrew.
Noble Consort Yi sat on the bed, lost in thought.
“Hug, hug.”
A mumbled request interrupted her thoughts. The little one, whose small hand had slipped from her clothes, was groping around with his eyes closed.
She looked at the chubby little hand and reached out to hold it.
“Alright, sleep.”
Holding the small hand, Noble Consort Yi put all her thoughts aside. She closed her eyes and listened to the little one’s breathing, slowly drifting into sleep.
The next day.
Before noon, Ling Fu came to Fenghua Palace.
He came straight for Ling Rui: “Cuixi, where’s Little Seven? I need to talk to Little Seven!”
Cuixi saw him running so fast and tried to calm him, “The Seventh Prince is playing in bed after waking up. Sixth Prince, please slow down.”
Ling Fu didn’t listen and continued running quickly.
Soon, Ling Fu arrived at the bedchamber, where Ling Rui, who had just taken off his undergarments and was about to change, was sitting on the bed.
Seeing his sixth brother rush in, Ling Rui was startled and instinctively grabbed the covers to hide his bare body, “Not, not dressed yet.”
He hadn’t dressed, and his sixth brother had seen him naked.
Ling Fu approached and first saluted Noble Consort Yi, who was helping Ling Rui dress, then spoke to Ling Rui, “It’s fine. Next time I change, I’ll call you to watch too.”
Ling Rui: “…”
Ling Rui didn’t really want to watch.
Ling Fu initially wanted to tell Ling Rui that his mother had been called out last night, but seeing Noble Consort Yi, he decided to say it in her presence.
“My royal mother returned after about a quarter of an hour. I heard her chatting with Yue Er, saying that Consort Li took good care of her tonight.”
“This morning, she went to Zaochun Palace again, and when she came back, she was in a good mood. Yue Er congratulated her, saying she was going to regain favor.”
Growing up in the harem, Ling Fu, despite usually being carefree, showed some wisdom at crucial moments.
He clearly explained what happened last night and this morning, then asked, “Noble Consort Yi, is Father going to favor my mother?”
Noble Consort Yi frowned slightly.
After falling ill, Consort Ru’s beauty was not what it used to be. It was unlikely that the emperor would suddenly favor her again, especially with Consort Li involved.
Consort Li wouldn’t be so kind as to send someone to Emperor Ling voluntarily.
“Little Six.”
Noble Consort Yi looked at Ling Fu and said calmly, “You and Little Seven should just play. Children’s affairs should be separate from adults’.”
Ling Fu looked up at her and nodded.
He had said what he needed to; now it was up to Noble Consort Yi to decide whether to act.
As Ling Fu spoke to Noble Consort Yi, Ling Rui listened carefully.
“Little Seven, lift your arm.”
Noble Consort Yi held a small blue garment, ready to dress him.
Ling Rui previously had few clothes, and what he had was dirty and torn.
After coming to Fenghua Palace, he had more clothes than he could wear.
The palace had a quota for making clothes for princes and princesses, and it wasn’t a lot, but Noble Consort Yi had money—
She could pay extra to have more made.
From little clothes to little shoes and various items that young children could use, everything was continuously delivered to Fenghua Palace.
Ling Rui might not even know that he was now the most affluent little prince in the entire harem.
After putting on his clothes, Ling Rui stretched out his little hands for Noble Consort Yi to lift him down.
He stood on the ground, patted his small belly, and said to Ling Fu, “Sixth Brother, let’s eat!”
Anything could wait until after they were full!
As soon as Ling Rui got out of bed, Cuixi brought over some water.
While he was washing up, dishes for lunch started to be laid out on the table.
Ling Fu stayed for another meal.
After lunch, Noble Consort Yi didn’t stay with the two little ones but went out for a while.
When she left, she called Ji Yan: “I’ve been busy taking care of Little Seven these days and haven’t had time to deal with Zhen Li.”
“Yan Er, go find out what mischief Zhen Li is up to this time.”
Every day, she saw the injuries on Little Seven’s body when changing his clothes.
She remembered the location of each and every wound.
Zhen Li would have to pay for all these injuries.
Ji Yan accepted the order and left.
In the main palace.
Ling Rui patted Ling Fu’s hand, comforting him: “Sixth Brother, don’t be afraid, we are together!”
The visions he saw would not be wrong.
But he would accompany Sixth Brother to change Consort Ru’s fate.
Changing Consort Ru’s fate meant changing Sixth Brother’s fate too!
He liked chubby Sixth Brother, who taught him numbers and arithmetic.
“Little Seven, you are so good.”
Ling Fu sniffed, moved, and hugged Ling Rui: “Sixth Brother will definitely teach you well in the future.”
He had nothing else to give back to Little Seven, so he could only repay him with tutoring.
With him around, his Little Seven would definitely become the smartest in the academy!
The two little ones didn’t stay together for long since Ling Fu had to go to the academy in the afternoon. After a nap, they reluctantly parted ways.
Ling Rui watched as Sixth Brother went to school, feeling very envious.
He sighed a little and then laid on the table, continuing to look at the large characters and arithmetic problems that Sixth Brother had left for him.
He was so focused that he didn’t notice Noble Consort Yi approaching.
Noble Consort Yi looked down, and after a few seconds, her face darkened. She took away the large characters and arithmetic problems left by Ling Fu.
The large characters Ling Rui was learning were mostly incorrect.
And the two arithmetic problems, finally not “1+1=3” anymore.
This time “1+1” equaled 11.
“Little Seven, don’t learn with your Sixth Brother anymore.”
These two, one dared to teach, and the other dared to learn.
After taking away the papers, Noble Consort Yi told Cuixi to bring out the new wooden rocking horse: “Take Little Seven to play, let’s postpone the studying.”
If he kept learning like this, her Little Seven would really become a little fool.
The wooden horse was very fun, and Ling Rui played for half an hour before he was too tired to continue.
His little face was flushed from exhaustion, but his eyes were bright and shiny.
Handing the wooden horse back to Cuixi, Ling Rui walked with his little legs to find Noble Consort Yi.
Noble Consort Yi was in the side hall.
As he approached, he heard Ji Yan talking to Noble Consort Yi: “It’s been found out that Consort Li has her sights set on the Sixth Prince.”
“The Emperor has no intention of restoring Consort Ru’s favor, it’s Consort Li who deceived Consort Ru into thinking she was going to be favored again…”
“She had Consort Ru send soup to the Emperor, with an aphrodisiac drug added by Consort Li’s people.”
The Emperor hated such drugs the most. Consort Ru sending that soup would have dire consequences.
“How far has Consort Li’s plan progressed?” Noble Consort Yi asked.
Ji Yan lowered her head and said softly, “Your servant found out too late, Consort Ru is already on her way to deliver the soup.”
Noble Consort Yi: “…”
Noble Consort Yi rubbed her forehead.
Standing at the door, Ling Rui paused for a few seconds, then turned and ran out.
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