"Go ahead. I think the child and I get along well. Leave him with me. You can rest assured."
"With the Empress Dowager taking care of him, I'm of course at ease. I'm just afraid the child might be too naughty and bother you."
"No. I had no problem taking care of you three when you were little, let alone just one. Now, go and attend to your business. Don't worry about me."
"Okay."
As Ji Huang walked on the road, he still felt a bit surreal. He never thought the Empress Dowager would be willing to come and live with He Hui, and now she was even willing to take care of his and He Hui's child.
His subordinate beside him felt a bit headache seeing him smiling like a fool.
"Your Highness, please don't show up in front of others like this later. Otherwise, I'm really afraid others might think you've gone crazy."
Ji Huang kicked at him, but the subordinate dodged.
Ji Huang said half - annoyed and half - amused, "I've been too kind to you. You've become more and more disrespectful recently. How are the things I asked you to prepare?"
"Don't worry. I've almost brought over the best fabrics and decorations in Yijin City. The Empress Dowager doesn't seem like a picky person. Is it really necessary for you to go through so much trouble, Your Highness?"
Ji Huang rolled his eyes at him and his face was filled with a bit of longing.
"Mother has always taken care of me before. Now I hope to give her the best. I want her to know that I'm no longer the innocent child she used to protect behind her. I can take care of her now."
There were other emotions in his words. The subordinate's eyes welled up slightly, but he didn't say much.
...
Shi Muwǎn looked at the child, their big eyes staring at each other. She took out a piece of candy from her pocket.
"Grandson, tell your imperial grandmother, what's your name?"
The child's eyes were fixed on the candy, and the drool at the corner of his mouth was about to fall.
"My name is Ji Junlin."
Just hearing the child's name, it was easy to guess who had named him. He Hui really didn't put them in her eyes. One could tell from the child's name how ambitious that woman was. Ji Huang didn't even notice such an obvious thing.
Forget it. She currently only wanted an answer to one question.
"Junlin, it's a very nice name. Tell your imperial grandmother, do you like candy?"
Almost without any hesitation, she got the answer from the child.
"I really want to eat it, but mother won't let me. Mother said that others would only give me candy if they wanted to harm me."
A look of surprise flashed across the young girl's eyes.
"Why would your mother say such a thing?"
When she asked this, there was a bit of struggle in the child's eyes, as if he was avoiding something. The more he was like this, the more Shi Muwǎn was sure that there was something fishy going on.
She took out another handful of candies. This time, they were of different colors, which really tempted Ji Junlin.
He stretched out his little hand to grab the candies, but she deftly dodged.
Seeing this, the boy's eyes were full of grievance and innocence.
"Imperial grandmother, I want to eat the candies. Can you give them to me?"
"Of course it's okay."
As she said this, she stuffed all the candies into the boy's hands.
The boy's eyes immediately sparkled, not knowing that he was falling into Shi Muwǎn's trap.
"Imperial grandmother has given you the candies you wanted. Shouldn't you also answer the question I asked you just now?"
Since she had said so and the child had gotten what he wanted, he finally didn't refuse anymore.
"I'll only tell imperial grandmother. Imperial grandmother, let's pinky - swear. You mustn't tell anyone else."
"Okay. Pinky - swear, no going back for a hundred years. Whoever goes back is a puppy."
The two made this agreement, and the young girl finally got the answer, but it was beyond her expectation.
"Mother said that when I was little, I almost died after eating candy once. My whole body turned purple and I had a lot of scary red bumps."
No matter how one heard it, it sounded like an allergy.
She frowned. Not only Ji Huang, but also none of the previous generations of the royal family had ever had such a situation. Although according to modern genetic science, some children might be different from their parents, this was just too much of a coincidence.
It was better to be safe than sorry. Coupled with the fact that He Hui was already acting strangely, she decided to investigate thoroughly.
She had asked almost all the questions she wanted to ask. She picked up the child and was about to send him to the side courtyard.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she walked out of the door, she saw a furtive figure.
She recognized this person. It was another personal maid beside He Hui.
Judging from her appearance, she should have just arrived. Shi Muwǎn couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she had asked the questions quickly.
Her expression gradually turned cold, showing her dissatisfaction.
"What? Are you afraid that I'll run away with your young master?"
"Your servant doesn't mean that. The young prince is a bit naughty on weekdays. The princess consort doesn't want to bother the Empress Dowager, so she sent me here to check. Now that it seems everything is okay, the princess consort can rest assured."
"Humph, come on. Don't think I don't know your tricks. Forget it. I'm too lazy to argue with you. Take the child back. By the way, have you cleaned up my courtyard?"
Hearing this, a flash of jealousy crossed the maid's face, and then it quickly returned to normal.
"Everything is ready. We will never let the Empress Dowager feel wronged. How about you go and take a look now?"
"It's not a bad idea. Lead the way."
When Shi Muwǎn saw the courtyard, she was quite satisfied.
From the decoration inside, it could be seen that Ji Huang had specifically asked someone to put in a lot of effort.
She smiled and waved her hand casually. "Take your young master away. By the way, as a daughter - in - law, she should pay morning and evening respects to me every day. Do you think I'm right?"
The maid understood the meaning in her words. Helplessly, since she was just a servant, she couldn't refute.
"Your servant will convey the Empress Dowager's meaning to the princess consort."
After they left, a group of servants quickly came to the courtyard. Seeing that some of them wanted to enter the house, Shi Muwǎn's face fell.
"Without my order, you all just wait outside."
"Yes."
It was easy to guess where these people came from.
He Hui would definitely not miss such a great opportunity.
She suddenly became a bit eager to know what methods that person would come up with to deal with her.
At night.
Ji Huang came to Shi Muwǎn's place to have dinner. As soon as he sat down, cries came from outside.
"Mother, why? If you have any grievances, just come at me. Why hurt an innocent child?"
The two people at the dinner table looked at each other. Ji Huang's face changed slightly.
"Someone! What's going on?"
An old woman knelt beside him tremblingly and forced herself to speak.
"Your Highness, the princess consort is kneeling outside with the young prince in her arms."
"What!"
He strode out. Seeing that figure, he was quite touched.