They are all concubines, so of course they choose the future emperor.

Chapter 141

Jiang Zhi was a little surprised.

He knew what happened in today's court meeting not long after the court session ended. After thinking about it, the only thing that could arouse Wan'er's interest was the Censorate.

Jiang Zhi didn't expect that his granddaughter thought the same as he did.

He was full of comfort, stroking his long beard with an expression of admiration on his face.

"I see. It just so happens that I miss Yue'er and my two grandchildren too. I wonder how they are doing in office. By the way, when they arrive in Beijing, let Yue'er take the children to the East Palace to meet Wan'er. They should get closer to each other as aunt and niece."

Xiuchun responded with a smile and nodded.

After finishing her business with the old man, Xiuchun went to see the lady again.

Since I came to the palace to make cakes for my wife, I naturally have to bring some back.

Shen took Xiuchun aside and asked her many questions, mainly because she was worried about the child.

"The Crown Prince will definitely go on the Spring Hunt, so won't Wan'er have to go with him? Xu'er is still young, so we can't take him with us, right? Go back and tell Wan'er that if she's worried, I'll go to the East Palace to help her look after the child. As a grandmother, no one will gossip about me when I go."

Xiuchun agreed with a smile.

"Madam, rest assured. I will tell the young lady when I get back. By the way, has the second young master's marriage been decided?"

"It's settled. It'll be in September, after the Double Ninth Festival. The weather will be cooler then, so it won't be so tiring to hold a wedding."

When talking about happy events in her family, Shen couldn't stop smiling.

Both sons performed well in this exam. The eldest son ranked in the top ten in the palace exam and has been admitted to the Hanlin Academy. The younger son also passed the imperial examination. If he passes the imperial examination in three years, he can also be appointed as an official.

Shen held Xiuchun's hand and talked for a long time before reluctantly seeing her off.

Xiuchun went all the way back to Yichun Palace and told Jiang Wanyue everything about her family.

Jiang Wanyue said “hmm”.

"There is no rush for my second brother. There are still three years left! Let him think about it in these three years and decide whether he wants to stay in the capital or be sent out."

"Actually, being sent to a distant place is not bad. Even if you become a county magistrate, you can make the decisions for the county yourself." Xiuchun now has her own opinions.

"Yes! It is easier to achieve political achievements when being sent out, but it is far away from the emperor. If there is no one in the court, no matter how well you do, it will be useless if the emperor doesn't know you. Of course, our Jiang family does not have such a problem."

Jiang Wanyue stood up, stretched, and went to see Xuer.

As for the question of whether to bring the children with her during the spring hunt that Shen mentioned, she was also worried about it!

Originally, Jiang Wanyue had not planned to go on the spring hunt as there were a lot of things going on in the Eastern Palace and the child also needed someone to stay with.

Unfortunately, this morning He Yu from Yi Qiu Palace sent someone to report that Zhu Yan was ill.

Originally, Qi'er had just caught a cold and was not seriously ill. However, the child was too young to take medicine, so the only option was to ask the wet nurse to take the medicine, which would then turn into breast milk for the child to drink.

However, this would make it impossible to control the effect of the medicine, so Dr. Zeng prescribed a very low dose, and Qi'er's condition had not improved after three days.

Zhu Yan was extremely anxious and thought the wet nurse was not good enough for taking good care of the child. She scolded the wet nurse twice and then started to take care of the child herself.

As a result, she was also infected.

Zhu Yan's illness was severe, even more serious than the child's. She had a stuffy nose last night, but this morning she had a splitting headache and couldn't get out of bed.

The spring hunt would begin in three days, and Zhu Yan obviously couldn't go in this state.

Jiang Wanyue originally wanted to ask another concubine to take over, but she had just recently resumed her relationship with Li Ce. If she pushed Li Ce to someone else at this time, he would probably have overthinking it again.

This man is so hard to please!

Jiang Wanyue hugged her son and sighed.

"Please ask mother to come tomorrow! Xu'er can only be left to her. I don't trust anyone else."

In the evening, Li Ce came over for dinner, and the first thing he asked was about this matter.

"Come with me to the Spring Hunt!"

It’s not about asking, it’s about making decisions directly.

Jiang Wanyue was not surprised. She nodded slightly and sighed.

"Sister was looking forward to this spring hunt, but she fell ill at this time. Sigh... Your Highness, please go and see her after dinner! Sister must be in a bad mood."

Li Ce didn't comment and pulled her to sit down.

"I originally gave Qi'er to her to raise as compensation and to give her something to do. I didn't expect that she would be so devoted to the child that she even fell ill in order to take care of the child. I kind of regret giving the child to her."

Jiang Wanyue glanced at him.

"Your Highness, you can say this to me, but you can't say it in front of my sister. My sister has always liked children, but besides that, it's also because of Your Highness! Your Highness entrusted the child to her, which is a great trust for her, so of course she will be very careful!"

Li Ce didn't expect her to say that, and couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.

"You! You are so biased towards Zhu Yan. Sometimes I feel a little jealous."

"Your Highness!"

Jiang Wanyue slapped him angrily.

"If you keep talking nonsense, I will ignore you."

Li Ce kept his head down and tried to hold back his laughter. He held her hand and coaxed her for a long time before making Jiang Wanyue smile again.

At this time, dinner had been served in the outer room, and Xing'er came over to invite the two masters to eat.

Li Ce pulled Jiang Wanyue to the outer room, only to see his eldest daughter already sitting at the table, staring at the food.

He frowned immediately.

"Yu'er, come down and greet me."

Li Chengyu turned his head and found him here. He quickly got off the chair, stood up properly and saluted the two of them.

"Yu'er pays respects to father and Madam Jiang."

"We are all family, there is no need to be so formal."

Jiang Wanyue walked forward, pulled Yu'er to sit down, and pointed at the dishes in front of her and said.

"This is your favorite, but we agreed that you can't eat more than three pieces."

Li Chengyu was happy at first, but when he heard the second half of the sentence, he immediately became dejected.

"Three dollars is not enough!"

"My Lord Princess, you are still in mourning! If the mourning period ends, and the eldest son loses weight while you gain weight, how will outsiders see it?"

Jiang Wanyue’s words made sense, and Li Chengyu nodded.

"Then I'll eat three."

After speaking, she added another sentence.

"I'll practice boxing when I get back so that no one can tell that I'm fat!"

She was serious about what she said.

Jiang Wanyue held back her laughter and praised her.

Li Ce's mouth twitched.

"Your Highness, please take a seat!"

Jiang Wanyue gently tugged at his sleeve and blinked, telling him not to spoil the children's fun.

Li Ce really didn't say anything. He walked to the main seat and sat down.

The maids served the dishes and the three of them finished their dinner quietly.

As soon as she put down her chopsticks, Li Chengyu stood up and said goodbye. She didn't even dare to look at her father and ran away.

Li Ce wanted to give him a lecture, but he never got the chance.

Seeing the person running away, he became very angry and pointed at the door.

"Look at this girl, how can she look like a girl?"

Jiang Wanyue advised while waving her hand to have the table cleared.

"Your Highness, are you going to be angry about this? I think the eldest princess is much better than before. She listens to everything I say. Although she is still a little willful, as your Highness's child, it's okay for her to be a little willful. She knows what she can and cannot do, and she won't cause trouble for your Highness. Your Highness, don't ask for too much."

Li Ce didn't know what to do with Li Chengyu for a moment.

Sometimes he even doubted whether this daughter was his own.

When he was ten years old, he had already dodged several attacks in the palace; Ye'er is now ten years old and is also very sensible and calm.

Why is Yu'er so brainless?

"Fortunately, it's just a daughter. She can just find a husband and get married in the future."

Li Ce couldn't help but say.

Jiang Wanyue glanced at him and had many complaints in her mind, but she didn't say them out loud.

"Your Highness, have some tea first."

Li Ce took the teacup she handed over and took a big sip.

Jiang Wanyue rolled her eyes and suddenly asked an irrelevant question.

"Will Prince Ding's Mansion also go to the spring hunt this time?"

"Of course I have to go. Father has always loved my second brother and would always take him with him wherever he went. Although my second brother is mentally handicapped, he is quite strong. Once when we went hunting, he dragged a wild boar back by himself. Father was very happy and rewarded him with a wild boar statue made of gold when he returned. He placed it in my second brother's room."

"Then Princess Ding and Princess Qixia will also go?"

Jiang Wanyue asked casually.

Li Ce frowned: "Second sister-in-law is going, she is going to take care of second brother. Qixia...I didn't see her on the accompanying list."

"Perhaps it's because Princess Ding is looking for Princess Qixia, so the princess is embarrassed to come out. By the way, I heard that Princess Ding intends to match Princess Qixia with her nephew from her mother's family. Is this good thing coming soon? When the time comes, we must prepare some good gifts to send."

Jiang Wanyue seemed to be chatting casually, and just a few words aroused Li Ce's interest.

He didn't pay attention to these trivial matters, so he waved outside and called Eunuch Liang in to ask.

Unexpectedly, Eunuch Liang shook his head.

"Prince Ding had this intention before, but for some reason she gave up the idea a few days ago and arranged a marriage for her nephew from her mother's side, with the granddaughter of the Imperial Academy's chief academic officer. The two families have already exchanged engagement letters."

This news really surprised Li Ce.

"Why did Princess Ding suddenly change her mind?"

He naturally understood what Princess Ding was planning, but this was a good thing that had the best of both worlds, and Li Ce didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Eunuch Liang was in a dilemma.

"I don't know about this, but I heard that Princess Qixia has been staying at home recently, and Princess Ding didn't even take her with her when she went out."

Having said this, he suddenly paused, frowned, as if he suddenly remembered something, and continued.

"A few days ago, Princess Ding's maid suddenly disappeared. We searched for her for several days, but I don't know if it has anything to do with this incident."

"Stay back!"

Li Ce waved his hand and asked him to leave.

"This matter is a bit strange. I will ask someone to go to Prince Ding's Mansion to ask tomorrow."

Jiang Wanyue was next to him.

"Your Highness is too busy. Alas, if it weren't for Princess Qixia's special status and her relationship with... Wei Shi, I would have invited her to stay in the East Palace for a few days! She has a very good relationship with Yin'er, who likes her very much. She had begged you several times before to invite the princess to come over and play, and she even had a quarrel with you for this."

Jiang Wanyue's "unintentional" words made Li Ce's expression stern.

"When did she become friends with Yin'er? There's obviously a big age gap between them."

"Your Highness, have you forgotten? It was the Lantern Festival! Yin'er was almost hit by a falling lantern, and Qixia blocked it for her, injuring her arm. It was after that that the two of them became close. As for the rest, I don't know."

After saying that, Jiang Wanyue stood up straight.

"It's already this late. Your Highness, please go to Yiqiu Palace to see your sister! If it's any later, she might need to rest."

Jiang Wanyue pushed Li Ce out.

Li Ce was still thinking about Qixia and Yin'er, so he didn't say anything. He called a few palace maids and went to Yi Qiu Palace.

Zhu Yan had just taken the medicine and was feeling so groggy that she was almost falling asleep.

Li Ce said a few words of concern through the screen and let Zhu Yan have a good rest.

Then, he turned and went to Li Chengyin's side hall.

The little girl is learning calligraphy. She has been learning it sporadically since she was enlightened. Her handwriting is not very good, but her attitude is still serious.

Li Ce's own handwriting is not that good, but it is more than enough to guide his daughter.

After the father and daughter stayed together for a while, Li Ce asked Yin'er to write by herself, went to the outer room and called the wet nurse and palace maids.

"I heard that the Second Princess had a conflict with your Consort a few days ago? What happened?"

The palace maids looked at each other, and finally the wet nurse stood up and told the story of that incident.

At the end, he added a sentence.

"Mother and daughter don't hold grudges overnight. The next day, the Second Princess and Lady Liang made peace. The Second Princess was also much closer to the Fifth Master than before."

Li Ce rubbed the ring on his thumb, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

He didn't say anything, just gave a few instructions and then got up and left.

After returning to Yichun Palace, Jiang Wanyue looked concerned.

"How is my sister? Is she feeling better?"

"After taking the medicine, I feel a little drowsy. The maid said I still feel a little weak, but I don't have a fever. There shouldn't be any serious problems."

As they were talking, Li Ce held Jiang Wanyue's hand and walked to the bed and sat down.

The palace maids in the room were very tactful and quietly retreated.

But there was no charming atmosphere in the gauze tent.

"Wan'er, what do you think of Qixia?"

Jiang Wanyue's eyes widened slightly, with a look of confusion on her face.

"Why are you asking this, Your Highness? I have only met Princess Qixia a few times, so I am not familiar with her and don't know her well. But I think she should be a good child, right? Otherwise, Your Highness would not have tolerated her until now."

Li Ce snorted coldly.

"She is a good daughter, but I am afraid her heart has never been in Prince Ding's Mansion, but still in Prince Qi's Mansion."

His words were filled with anger, but Jiang Wanyue was not worried and just sighed.

"Your Highness, don't blame me for speaking bluntly. Everyone's heart will be more inclined towards their biological parents. However, Li Jian is dead, and Princess Qixia is alone and helpless. I don't think she will do anything, and dare not do anything."

"Who said she doesn't dare? Her father is dead, but isn't her mother still alive?"

Li Ce's eyes were cold.

Jiang Wanyue was shocked: "What do you mean, Your Highness? Could it be that..."

She exclaimed and couldn't help covering her mouth.

"Has Qixia known about Wei's affairs? However, since arriving at the East Palace, Wei has been keeping to herself and has not had any contact with the outside world."

"If it wasn't for her mother, why would she instigate the relationship between Yin'er and Zhu Yan? I used to feel sorry for her, but now it seems that she is just as mean as her father. I'm afraid she did it on purpose during Yuanxiao, just a self-torture trick. She is so vicious, we must not let Yin'er have any contact with her again. We also cannot let her stay in Prince Ding's mansion any longer."