in2ebook Chapter 255 Can I adopt you as my adopted daughter?
Chapter 255 Can I adopt you as my adopted daughter?
However, the emperor did not come that day, but the imperial concubine came.
The Emperor is not fond of beautiful women. He currently has thirteen concubines in his harem, but most of them rarely come out, staying in the inner palace for a long time and rarely seen. The only ones who appear frequently are the Imperial Concubine, Concubine Xin, and the most favored Concubine Rong.
The Imperial Concubine's maternal family, the Cui family, is one of the four families in Kyoto. In the past, Old Master Cui was the right prime minister. Unfortunately, after the old master passed away, the Cui family's nephews and nieces were not capable, and without the support of titles, they were no longer as powerful as before.
Fortunately, the imperial concubine was able to conceive and gave birth to the second prince after entering the palace.
At present, the Central Palace is vacant, and the one in charge of the harem is the Imperial Concubine.
Concubine Xin's situation was quite similar to that of the Imperial Concubine. She had a good family background and was favored by the palace before giving birth to the Third Prince. Moreover, shortly after the Third Prince was born, the Emperor, who was still only a prince at the time, was named Crown Prince by the previous Emperor.
So in the eyes of the emperor, this third son is his lucky star, so he especially dotes on Concubine Xin.
After the Empress passed away, the Emperor initially considered appointing a new Empress. However, the Imperial Concubine, with her longevity and high position, had worked diligently and without fault, and the Emperor preferred Concubine Xin. Court officials were opposed to the idea, fearing that if Concubine Xin ascended to the throne, the Emperor would depose the Crown Prince and appoint the Third Prince.
That's why the current situation is that the Central Palace is vacant, the Imperial Concubine is in charge of the harem, and the Imperial Concubine Xin is assisting.
The emperor has only three children: the crown prince, the second prince and the third prince.
The other concubines were unable to give birth to a son or daughter for many years. As for Concubine Rong, who was favored by the emperor as soon as she entered the palace and remained in favor for six years, she was weak since childhood and unable to give birth.
The Empress Dowager had long since abolished the harem's rule of morning and evening visits. After she became seriously ill, she only saw the Emperor even during the New Year holidays and refused to see other concubines.
The Empress Dowager was a little surprised that the Imperial Concubine came today.
However, she was in poor health and did not express anything. She pointed at the new material sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and asked the palace maid to try it on Shao Qin.
"It's time to make Qin'er's autumn clothes."
Shao Qin didn't know the Queen Mother at all. She looked up with a smile and asked the maid next to her, "Aunt, what do you think of Qin'er wearing this color?"
Peach pink is not suitable for Shao Qin, who is over 40 years old.
But the Queen Mother was filled with joy, and the maids naturally flattered her: "Your Highness looks best in this color."
Shao Qin took the material, walked up to the imperial concubine and asked, "Madam, do you think this material looks good on Qin'er?"
The imperial concubine's mouth twitched. Shao Qin was seven years older than her, but she called her Madam, which was really weird.
She smiled, pointed to another piece of lake blue material and said, "I think... your skin is fair, and lake blue will look good on you."
Shao Qin looked back puzzledly: "But lake blue, isn't it too old-fashioned?"
The Queen Mother spoke up: "Yes, I also think the lake blue color is old-fashioned and not suitable for my Qin'er. Let's go with this one."
Upon hearing this, the imperial concubine dared not say anything more and hurriedly said, "It is my humble opinion, please...don't blame me. I have two pieces of similar material, but no one else can match them. If you like them, I will have them brought to you."
The empress dowager said nothing and drank the medicine from her younger sister's hand.
The imperial concubine turned around and hinted to her palace maid to go back and get it, then turned around and laughed again: "Your Highness, I am really too foolish to say this. Two pieces of cloth cannot be considered as apology. However, I just got a night-shining pearl, which is very rare. I thought young ladies would like such pearls. There are no other girls in the palace. Why not give it to the county lady for her to enjoy?"
After saying that, a palace maid opened the box. Inside was a pearl the size of a thumb, and next to it was a circle of smaller pearls of different sizes. Each pearl was plump and round, and not pure white, but had a hint of blue light.
It instantly catches your eye and makes you want to stare at it.
My younger sister had never seen such a rare thing before, so she took a closer look. I thought to myself that the Imperial Concubine was truly capable, having spent a fortune to collect such a round and lustrous pearl.
But the imperial concubine was showing kindness to her, a county lady with only an empty title?
"You have good intentions, but pearls are a bit bland and not suitable for a young girl." The Queen Mother said lightly, neither accepting nor refusing openly.
The imperial concubine understood the empress dowager's meaning and said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, you know that I only have one child, Ren'er. For so many years, I have been thinking and hoping to have a princess, but unfortunately, we are not destined to have that child. Now, I see that the county lady in front of you is so lovely, and I am truly happy..."
The younger sister was stunned and looked at the imperial concubine in surprise.
No way, her purpose of entering the palace was to become the emperor, not a concubine. She hasn't planned her next step yet, so why did the imperial concubine come to snatch her away?
The Queen Mother asked, "Do you want Wan'er to be your daughter?"
The imperial concubine said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, I understand. Wan'er has a father and a mother. If she is asked to live in the palace for a long time, it will definitely not work. But it is okay for her to come to the palace to accompany me occasionally. I don't want to take your daughter away from you, but I hope Wan'er can have another relative, someone who loves her. Is that okay?"
Seeing the Queen Mother's attitude soften, my younger sister's heart was alarmed and she quickly said, "No... No, I don't want it..."
The imperial concubine was stunned. She didn't expect the girl to refuse directly. She was now the most important concubine. Would it be unfair to her to have her as a daughter?
If the emperor had not taken a fancy to the Si family and his cousin Shao Qin, why would she want to have contact with the Si family?
If this girl were her daughter, when the empress dowager passed away, she would be a princess in full right.
The younger sister choked with sobs, looking at Shao Qin beside her and said, "Grandma, my mother has a brain injury, and it's been a while since she recovered. Even when she got better, she didn't remember my elder and second sisters, she only remembered Wan'er. Wan'er... Wan'er..."
As she said this, her eyes caught sight of Ginkgo walking quickly in from outside the door.
She and Ginkgo had an agreement that whenever the emperor came, Ginkgo would walk outside the bedroom to remind her, regardless of whether the eunuchs in the palace had informed her or not.
So now, the emperor is coming.
The little sister sobbed softly, turned around and ran out.
The imperial concubine was stunned for a moment and looked at the scene in a daze.
The Queen Mother said calmly, "They have been through so much hardship in the past, and the love between mother and daughter is even deeper than that of others."
The younger sister ran out crying and bumped into the emperor who was about to come in. She raised her head hesitantly, her eyes full of shyness, dissatisfaction and grievance.
"Wan'er, what's wrong with you?" The emperor looked at her in confusion.
The little sister didn't even call out for help, but ran away with her face covered.
The Emperor, always kind and gentle, did not blame the younger sister for her rudeness. He turned and went into the house and asked, "Who has made our little girl Wan'er unhappy?"
The imperial concubine quickly stood up and saluted, explaining, "Your Majesty, this is all my fault. I really like Wan'er and originally thought it would be better to adopt her as my daughter so that she can come to the palace from time to time in the future."