Dantai Ji abruptly rose to his feet. “Has the imperial physician gone?”
“He should be on his way.”
“Prepare the imperial procession for Xiaguang Palace.” After saying this, Dantai Ji paused. He looked at the bewildered mother and daughter, then composed himself and explained gently, “Shengping has been in poor health since she was little. I need to go see her. Beloved Consort, would you like to come with me?”
Cui Huaiyin frowned slightly. She took her daughter’s hand and calmly replied, “Yao’er is hungry, and so am I. We won’t be going. I respectfully see Your Majesty off.”
Dantai Ji hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he hurriedly left Changle Palace.
After Dantai Ji departed, Cui Huaiyin sat down again and picked up her chopsticks to serve her daughter food.
“Yao’er, you must be hungry. Come, eat quickly. You need to eat your fill before you’ll have the strength to practice your calligraphy.”
Rongyao glanced in the direction her father had left, pressed her lips together, then picked up her chopsticks and began eating heartily. She stuffed her mouth full of the food her mother had placed in her bowl.
Suddenly, as though she had thought of something, Rongyao paused. She looked up at her mother, Cui Huaiyin, swallowed the food in her mouth, and asked, “Mother, have the Sun family been found?”
Cui Huaiyin asked, “Sun Yi’s parents?”
Rongyao nodded enthusiastically. “Mm-hmm!”
Cui Huaiyin replied, “Mother wrote to your Third Uncle. Your Third Uncle has already sent people to look for them, but the journey is too far, and there’s still no news.”
With that, Cui Huaiyin patted her daughter’s head reassuringly and said in a gentle voice, “If things truly happened as you described, there won’t be no clues.”
Rongyao’s eyes dimmed. She lowered her head and continued eating.
She had to eat her fill. Once she was full, she would learn how to pretend to be ill too!
…
Xiaguang Palace.
Xiaguang Palace was much quieter than before. Consort Chen had been demoted to a commoner, and the only reason the palace had not been sealed was that Princess Shengping and the Third Prince still lived there.
Even though Consort Chen had become a commoner, none of the palace maids or eunuchs serving there dared to neglect Princess Shengping and the Third Prince.
Dantai Ji entered Xiaguang Palace, waived the attendants’ greetings, and hurried toward the side hall.
Inside, an imperial physician was taking the pulse of a child lying on the bed.
The moment the imperial physician saw him, he hurriedly knelt. “This servant pays his respects to Your Majesty.”
Dantai Ji walked over and glanced at the six-year-old child wrapped in blankets on the bed. His brows drew together even more tightly. He sat down beside the bed and asked the imperial physician, “What is the matter with Princess Shengping?”
The imperial physician replied, “Your Majesty, Princess Shengping has been in poor health since childhood. Her spirits have also been low these past few days, and after being exposed to the wind, she fell ill.”
“Prepare medicine for the Princess as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Father…”
The little girl on the bed opened her eyes and gazed at Dantai Ji. Her eyes were red as she tugged at his arm and said, “Father, you finally came to see me. You haven’t visited me in so long. Yuer has missed you.”
Dantai Ji’s gaze softened. “Father has been busy these past few days and neglected you. That was Father’s fault. From now on, Father will come to Xiaguang Palace more often to see you and your brother.”
Tears streamed down Shengping’s pale, fragile face as she clung to Dantai Ji’s hand. “Father, can’t you really forgive Mother? Mother only loved you too much. She made a mistake, but she can change. You two used to be so happy together. Why has everything changed now?”
Dantai Ji’s expression darkened, and he said firmly, “When someone makes a mistake, they must be punished.”
Shengping’s tears flowed even more fiercely. “B-but Brother and I can’t be without Mother. People will bully us.”
Dantai Ji’s expression turned cold as he looked at the palace attendants.
They all fell to their knees, trembling as they spoke.
“This servant wouldn’t dare!”
“This servant wouldn’t dare!”
“Even if this servant had a hundred heads, this servant would never dare mistreat the Princess!”
Dantai Ji asked Shengping, “Who bullied you? Tell Father, and Father will see justice done for you.”
Shengping only cried. Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head, refusing to say a word.
She looked as though she had suffered an enormous injustice.
The Third Prince, who had heard the commotion from nearby, ran over as well. When he saw his sister crying, he began to cry too.
Just like that, two children were crying inside the room.
Dantai Ji’s face turned black with anger.
The palace servants kowtowed until their foreheads bled. Not one of them dared lift their heads or move an inch.
They had served the Princess and Prince with the utmost care and would never have dared slacken in the slightest. Even though Consort Chen had fallen from grace, the Imperial Prince and Princess were not people lowly servants like them could afford to offend.
What was more, Princess Shengping was exceptionally clever—more formidable, even, than Consort Chen had once been. Those who had served at the Princess’s side since she was little had long since learned this. How could they possibly dare provoke her?
Yet they had never imagined that, without warning, the Princess would claim they had neglected and bullied her.
Even with ten mouths, they would never be able to explain themselves.
If His Majesty blamed them, they would lose their lives here.
Princess Shengping cried for a long while before finally calming down.
Once she had stopped crying, Princess Shengping even took on the role of a good older sister and comforted her younger brother. Then she turned to the Emperor, whose expression remained displeased, and said, “Father, Chang’er and Brother are both fine. Father governs the empire from dawn to dusk and must have many matters to attend to. You should hurry and get back to work.”
As she spoke, she stubbornly wiped away her tears, looking exceedingly obedient.
After hearing this, Dantai Ji’s brows furrowed even more deeply. He sighed and patiently said, “Father isn’t busy right now. Don’t worry. Father will not allow anyone to mistreat you siblings. In this imperial palace, no one can bully my children!”
Shengping looked at him expectantly. “Really?”
Dantai Ji nodded. “I will choose a new mother for the two of you and have her care for you.”
“But Yuer only wants her own mother.”
Dantai Ji fell silent, his expression showing no sign of relenting.
Seemingly afraid that her father had become angry, Shengping hurriedly wiped away her tears and said, “Father, please don’t be angry. Yuer was wrong. Yuer won’t be willful anymore. I’ll do whatever Father says.”
Dantai Ji’s expression softened slightly. He drew the four-year-old Third Prince Dantai Chang to his side and lowered his head to ask him patiently, “Chang’er, there are several consorts in the palace. Is there one you like?”
Third Prince Dantai Chang sniffled. He looked at his sister, then at his father, his large eyes filled with confusion. “Chang’er… Chang’er doesn’t know.”
“If you cannot choose, Father will choose for you.”
Third Prince Dantai Chang glanced at his sister and tentatively nodded.
After questioning Dantai Chang, Dantai Ji turned to the frail Princess Shengping. “Yuer, all the ladies in the palace are kind people. Is there one you like?”
Shengping lowered her head. “Your daughter doesn’t know whom to choose.”
“If you do not know either, Father will choose for you.”
Shengping quickly raised her head and gazed at Dantai Ji with eyes glistening with tears. In a soft, tentative voice, she asked, “Can Shengping choose anyone?”
Dantai Ji’s expression relaxed. “Of course. You may choose any of them. The Empress and Consort Liu are both kind-hearted, and each has only one prince. Zhaoyi also has only one princess, while Lady Ma and Lady Lü have no children. Whichever consort you go to, she will take good care of you. Father guarantees that you will not be mistreated.”
Shengping gazed at Dantai Ji with innocent eyes. She clutched the blankets and asked uneasily, “What about Consort Cui? Why didn’t Father mention Consort Cui? Is Consort Cui not a good person?”
