novelraw Chapter 1248 - 467: Palace Intrigue or Rebellion (Part 4)
Chapter 1248 - 467: Palace Intrigue or Rebellion (Part 4)
"Erlang, is the Empress Dowager feeling better?"
Lady Hu gauged Emperor Yongcheng’s expression and softly asked.
"Yes, Mother has woken up!"
Emperor Yongcheng was full of concerns, with a sense of inexplicable unreality.
Upon hearing the voice he so relied on, he did not show the usual fond, joyful smile.
He casually replied, and proceeded directly to the low couch.
Lady Hu’s eyes flickered slightly, she subtly adjusted her expression, and sat cross-legged on the low couch before Emperor Yongcheng could.
Seeing this, Emperor Yongcheng habitually nestled in front of Lady Hu, resting his head on her lap.
Lady Hu adeptly untied Emperor Yongcheng’s hair bun, using her hands as a comb to gently smooth his hair and massage his scalp.
While she worked, Lady Hu occasionally touched Emperor Yongcheng’s forehead, feeling his temperature.
Her warm, soft palm rested on his forehead, giving Emperor Yongcheng a familiar sense of security.
He seemed to return to his childhood, whenever he was unhappy, his mother was busy battling Father Emperor, hardly caring for him at all.
Only the wet nurse would hold him like a mother, gently smoothing his hair and softly asking if he had been wronged.
This made him feel deeply cared for, wrapped in a delusion of maternal love.
"Hoo!"
With that familiar feeling, with that warmth of being cared for, Emperor Yongcheng let out the breath trapped in his chest.
"Erlang, have you encountered something distressing?"
Seeing Emperor Yongcheng like this, Lady Hu knew it was about time.
She gently asked, like a loving mother spoiling her child.
"..." But Emperor Yongcheng did not open up to the wet nurse as he usually would.
It’s not that he didn’t trust the wet nurse, but rather, how to express it?
For the matter itself, it should be something to be pleased about—the Empress Dowager, who always pushed him to marry a noble lady from a powerful family, suddenly changed her tune, letting him choose whoever he wished to be Empress!
Finally able to marry his beloved little best friend and grant the wet nurse respect and honor.
Yet, Emperor Yongcheng couldn’t be happy.
He even felt a sense of anxiety and shame as if being grilled over an open flame.
Why is it like this?
Why did the Empress Dowager change her mind?
Emperor Yongcheng lacked much affection for his biological mother and could not talk of trust or dependence.
Just now, He Tiantian said that she, as a mother, pitied Emperor Yongcheng, henceforth allowing him joy.
But Emperor Yongcheng did not believe a single word.
He even secretly thought, perhaps the Empress Dowager had another plot.
No matter what the Empress Dowager was brewing up, as of now, Emperor Yongcheng was caught in a dilemma.
"Does the Empress Dowager still hope for you to marry Miss Wang?"
Lady Hu discreetly watched Emperor Yongcheng’s face and tentatively asked.
Emperor Yongcheng’s body stiffened, after a moment, he shook his head.
Curiosity flickered in Lady Hu’s eyes, she continued to probe: "Could it be that the Empress Dowager has set her sights on another noble lady from a prestigious family?"
The late Emperor Zhao Jiong left behind the Three Great Ministers, after all.
Besides the Wang Family, the other two families have eligible daughters as well.
But the Wang Family holds the status of a noble family, seemingly more valuable for marriage alliances than the other two.
Though Lady Hu hopes her daughter could marry the little Emperor, she knows well, the Zheng Family’s status is too low.
Furthermore, the Empress Dowager holds no fondness for Lady Hu, and naturally disregards Zheng Nianer, Lady Hu’s daughter.
Only because Lady Hu had cared for and nurtured Emperor Yongcheng, and early on due to palace intrigues, Empress Dowager He had Emperor Yongcheng raised outside the palace.
Seizing this opportunity, Lady Hu not only deepened her bond with Emperor Yongcheng but had her children accompany him.
With the bond of growing up together, and Zheng Nianer’s charming, alluring appearance, she won the heart of the adolescent Emperor.
As long as Zheng Nianer enters the palace, even as a lower-ranked Bao Lin or talented person, Lady Hu is confident her daughter could become Favored Consort, glorifying the Zheng Family name.
Empress... Zheng Nianer had harbored thoughts of becoming Erlang’s principal wife, but everyone in the Zheng Family knows it’s a mere delusion.
Not only would Empress Dowager He not consent, but even the little Emperor himself probably wouldn’t—
Emperor Yongcheng shook his head once more.
Lady Hu found herself puzzled, could it be the Empress Dowager didn’t want the Emperor to marry an equally esteemed noble lady?
Impossible!
Both Lady Hu and her husband were servants under the He Family, back then because she had just given birth to a daughter, had good health and pleasant looks, she was appointed as the young Prince’s wet nurse.