CHAPTER 599: CHAPTER 599: JUST LIKE A PAIR OF BIOLOGICAL MOTHER AND SON

"Although there is an imperial decree, I am of limited learning. How could I possibly come up with a name?"

"The Princess is born of the legitimate line; I wouldn’t dare tarnish her reputation!"

Having said that, she kowtowed again.

"I earnestly request the Empress to bestow a name!"

Shih Jieyu kept her head lowered, her heart bleeding within. How could the Emperor ask me to name the child? The Princess is to be raised by the Empress; what business would it be of mine to name her? Would that not displease the Empress? Better not. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to name my child. Rather, for my daughter’s sake, this was the only choice I could make. This was probably the only thing I could do for the Princess now. So, my heart was bleeding.

The Empress narrowed her eyes, observing for quite some time before finally smiling with satisfaction.

"The ground is cold, Sister Shih, please rise!"

"Yu Lan, help her up and offer her a seat!"

Shih Jieyu continued to kowtow.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, the Empress!"

"Shih Jieyu, please rise!" Yu Lan also came forward to help her.

Shih Wanying looked on and finally stood up timidly.

The Empress was very pleased with Shih Jieyu’s attitude. She liked obedient women who knew their place and followed the rules. She particularly liked women like Shih Jieyu, who could see things clearly and maintain their proper position.

"Sister Shih, there is, in fact, a precedent for the Princess’s name. What we can decide is merely the last character!"

"I have selected a few characters; would you pick one?"

With that, she took out a piece of paper from the side.

On it were several pre-written name options.

The Eldest Princess was named Yiming, and the Second Princess was named Yi An.

Shih Jieyu held the paper, looking at it for a long while, still not daring to decide.

"Your Majesty, the Empress, I..."

The Empress smiled.

"I think the character ’Jing’ is the best choice!"

"For a girl, to be virtuous and quiet!"

Upon hearing a choice had been made, Shih Jieyu finally breathed a long sigh of relief. The heavy anxiety that had been weighing on her heart finally eased.

What the Empress said after that, she didn’t know and couldn’t process.

She didn’t even know how she had left Jiaofang Hall.

By the time she returned to Lijing Pavilion, her complexion was terrifyingly pale.

Zhaoer was taken aback.

"What’s wrong, My Lady?"

"Are you feeling unwell, My Lady?"

Shih Jieyu, her face pale, shook her head. She staggered into the room, slammed the door shut behind her, then threw herself onto the bed and burst into tears, crying her heart out.

In another month, it will be my child’s first birthday. Once she has a name and is recorded in the Jade Butterfly, she will be completely separated from me!

Overwhelming sorrow, like a roaring tornado, engulfed her, tearing her to shreds.

Her heart felt as if it were breaking.

"Princess! Princess..." Zhaoer knocked on the door from outside.

"My Lady, open the door! My Lady..."

Shih Jieyu was already overcome with hysterical grief, crying too hard to hear anything.

The sorrow emanating from Lijing Pavilion was trivial in the context of the Harem. Within the vast Imperial Palace, it was as insignificant as dust. She was just a neglected Jieyu; who would care if she was heartbroken? Besides, she wasn’t the only heartbroken person in the Harem.

「Ningshou Palace」

Ever since the Lantern Festival, the Empress Dowager had been in low spirits. Feeling unwell, she had no appetite, and in half a month, she had visibly lost weight.

Sister Qing advised with concern, "Your Majesty, you can’t go on like this!"

The Empress Dowager lay on the kang, covered with a blanket, her face haggard.

"Qingyun..."

"You don’t understand!"

Sister Qing looked at her, hesitated for quite a while, and eventually let out a slight sigh.

"Your Majesty, I truly don’t understand!"

"I don’t understand why you insist on tormenting yourself like this!"

"I don’t understand, after all these years, why you still can’t let go!"

"And I understand even less what’s truly in your heart, Empress Dowager!"

She had followed the Empress Dowager all her life, but now, she understood her less and less.

Tears welled in the Empress Dowager’s eyes. She closed them, forcefully holding the tears back.

After a while, she suddenly asked, "Has Junqi arrived?"

Sister Qing sighed again. "A summons was sent from the palace early this morning. He should be arriving soon!"

The Empress Dowager hummed in acknowledgment and closed her eyes.

After about a quarter of an hour, a Little Palace Maid came in to relay a message.

"Crown Prince Yan has arrived!"

Sister Qing hurriedly instructed, "Quick, let him in!" As she spoke, she also quickly rose to her feet.

As Sister Qing spoke, Zhao Junqi strode into the room. He wore a purple python robe under a long, ink-black cloak, a jade crown upon his head, and black cloud-patterned boots on his feet. He moved with wide, brisk steps, his python robe and cloak billowing around him. A broad, hearty smile lit up his face, which bore a striking resemblance to Prince Yan’s.

"Empress Dowager!"

A familiar voice, a familiar tone.

The Empress Dowager, who had been resting in the inner chamber, suddenly opened her eyes.

"Come in!"

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Zhao Junqi strode right in. He unceremoniously entered the inner chamber, deftly handing his cloak to a Palace Maid before settling himself beside the Empress Dowager. His movements were so familiar, it was as if he had performed them a thousand times.

"Empress Dowager, are you feeling any better?" Zhao Junqi asked with concern.

The Empress Dowager looked at his face, so similar to Prince Yan’s, and felt a tumultuous mix of emotions she could not quite define. It took her a long time before she managed to say, her voice choked, "My good child, my health is not a concern."

Zhao Junqi finally breathed a sigh of relief. "That’s good, that’s good!" Then he added, "This morning, someone from the palace sent a message to the Prince’s Mansion so early, I thought something had happened to you. It scared me to death!"

The Empress Dowager saw the look of lingering fear on his face, and a warmth spread through her heart. She suddenly teased, "I’m not your mother. What were you so afraid of?" They were, after all, separated by a degree; she was merely his aunt by marriage.

Zhao Junqi paused for a moment, thought it over, and finally said, "Though you’re not my mother, I’ve played in the palace since I was young, and you’ve cherished me as I grew up!"

"Whatever my Imperial Brother had, I had too!"

"We’re only cousins, but you dote on me as if we were true brothers!"

"Sometimes, you treat me even better than you do my Imperial Brother; I even used to think I was your biological child!"

Zhao Junqi said these playful words to cheer up the Empress Dowager. But the Empress Dowager didn’t seem cheered by his words. Instead, her expression froze, as if she had been struck by lightning. It took her a long while to regain her composure. With great effort, she forced a rigid smile. "You certainly have a way with words, child!" she said, then added with a strained chuckle, "You really know how to make someone happy!"

She smiled with all her might, not caring whether it seemed forced or natural.

The carefree Zhao Junqi, however, didn’t notice the Empress Dowager’s strained demeanor at all. He chattered on, jumping from one topic to another, sharing amusing stories from both inside and outside the palace, all to make the Empress Dowager happy.

The Empress Dowager lay there on the kang, watching him speak with such animation and enthusiasm, and a sense of contentment filled her heart.

Gradually, she found herself captivated by the fascinating news and stories Zhao Junqi shared. He spoke, and she smiled and laughed along—he, a filial son, and she, a doting mother, appearing for all the world like a true mother and her biological son.

The Empress Dowager had him stay for lunch. Zhao Junqi readily accepted. After the midday meal, he even took a nap in a side chamber the Empress Dowager had arranged for him.