tallest building

Chapter 286 Closeness and Distance

The Empress eventually fell ill.

He hadn't gotten out of bed for several days, so naturally many people came to visit him, but not everyone could be seen.

But whenever someone came, everyone in the Empress's palace had to keep busy. In addition, they had to attend to the Empress when she was ill, so everyone was exhausted.

Wen Mingqian was naturally also busy, having not slept through the night for several days in a row.

Gong Chang'an asked quietly, "Mother, why don't I pretend to be sick too? That way you can stay and rest with me for a while."

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m not too tired and I can manage. At this time, I need to spend more time with the Empress so that she will trust me more.” Wen Mingqian said, lowering his head to finish the last stitch.

It tied a knot on top and then bit through the thread.

“You’ve grown taller since spring started. Try this dress on.” Wen Mingqian shook the dress before holding it up to Gong Chang’an.

This is a spring shirt with a pale blue face and a gray fishtail collar. The stitches are even and fine. Although it does not have complicated embroidery, it is elegant and dignified, just the attire of a scholar.

"The size is just right," Wen Mingqian said, carefully examining Gong Chang'an after she put the clothes on. He was very satisfied. "It's just that it will probably be too small by autumn."

“Mother, why don’t you make more clothes for yourself? Don’t always make clothes and shoes for me,” Gong Chang’an said. “I have enough clothes to wear.”

“I have plenty of clothes too. The Empress just gave me a few outfits a few days ago,” Wen Mingqian said with a smile. “There are also some given to me by Princess Duanmin, which are all sitting there unworn.”

As the mother and son were talking, Xiaoyue came in, holding a letter with the seal open: "Young Master Chang'an, this is a letter sent to you from outside."

Gong Chang'an is the fourth young master of the Gong family, not a servant in this palace. Moreover, his status is special, so Xiaoyue has to address him in this way.

"Xiaoyue, pick out a couple of clothes from over there. It's a shame to leave them lying around." Wen Mingqian said, "I can't wear those bright colors out. I'm not that old anymore."

"These are all nice clothes," Xiaoyue shook her head. "How could I be worthy of wearing them?"

"Look at what you're saying. We all serve Her Majesty the Empress together. Don't be so polite with me. I've troubled you quite a bit on a daily basis." Wen Mingqian had always subtly cultivated good relationships with those around him, which did her no harm.

"Since you say so, madam, then I won't stand on ceremony." Xiaoyue thanked her and indeed picked out two outfits and left.

After she left, Gong Chang'an pursed his lips and tossed the letter aside: "It was written by Gong Er, asking when I'm going back to the Gong family."

“Yes, you haven’t been back since you came to the palace,” Wen Mingqian said. “Why don’t you take some time to go back and visit him sometime, so he won’t keep urging you.”

"Let's talk about it in a few days! I don't want to see him if I can avoid it." Gong Chang'an rarely showed a cold face, but when Gong Xu was mentioned, his face was full of displeasure, as if his face was covered with a layer of eye cream.

"Then you should write back a letter, after all, you are nominally his son. If he harbors resentment over time, it won't be good for you either." Wen Mingqian naturally prioritized the bigger picture. She knew that the reason Gong Chang'an treated Gong Xu this way was because he resented how harshly he had treated her in the past.

However, time has passed, and she and Gong Xu are now complete strangers.

Secondly, the things they need to do are extremely important, and they cannot afford to lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of trivial matters. It would be really not worth it to add unnecessary trouble to the important things for such minor issues.

"I understand, Mother. I'll write a letter later and tell him that Ying Shan has just entered the palace, and the Emperor has ordered me to accompany him every day, so I don't have any free time." Gong Chang'an's excuse came out so easily, and besides, he wasn't exactly lying.

Because the emperor did not want Master Zhuge to leave, he simply made Gong Chang'an a companion to Ying Shan, the youngest son of the King of Chu.

Ying Shan is young and only at the beginner level, so she can't learn much each day.

In addition, upon entering the palace, he often cried because he missed his family.

The Emperor issued a special decree instructing that he not be overly restrained and should be well cared for so that he could gradually adapt to life in the palace. Moreover, the reason for bringing him into the palace was to atone for Ying Tong's mistakes and to comfort the Chu Prince's family. If anything were to happen to him, wouldn't it be a betrayal of their original intentions?
There were more than a dozen servants from the Chu Prince's mansion who accompanied Ying Shan into the palace, and the leader of them was Ying Shan's wet nurse, Mama Wang.

Ying Shan was very dependent on her and stayed by her side day and night.

In addition, he was also very close to Gong Chang'an, since there weren't many children in the palace.

Princess Jiu and the others are all girls, so they don't get along well.

With Gong Chang'an's abilities, it would be incredibly easy for him to win over Ying Shan. Within a few days, Ying Shan had reached the point where she wanted to eat and sleep with him.

"Is Young Master Gong here?" someone asked with a smile outside.

"She's here, come in quickly." Wen Mingqian recognized the person as Bi'er, Ying Shan's maid, and got up to lift the curtain.

Bi'er, true to her name, was dressed in a green dress. She had a thick head of jet-black hair, which was tied up in a glossy palace-style bun. She looked delicate and exquisite. Although she wasn't particularly beautiful, she was certainly a pretty girl.

Bi'er entered the room with a smile on her face and said to Wen Mingqian, "I'm so sorry to bother you, Madam Wen, but my husband only wants the Fourth Young Master Gong to accompany him."

“He was just about to go! I was the one who had him try on the new clothes, which is why he was delayed.” Wen Mingqian pulled Bi’er down to sit. “I’ll go make some tea.”

Bi'er quickly stopped her, saying, "Madam, there's no need to be so polite. I just had some tea and came over. If Fourth Young Master Gong has nothing else to do, please come with me. That little brat is making a scene!"

It was clear that Ying Shan was throwing a tantrum, and the servants couldn't appease her, so they had to rush to find Gong Chang'an.

Gong Chang'an returned after half a day. Feeling tired, he washed his face and sat down to write a letter.

Wen Mingqian knew that it was written to Gong Xu.

Only half a page of writing was sparsely written on a single sheet of paper. After the ink dried, it was folded and put into an envelope.

Then Xiaoyue took it and handed it to the person in charge of delivering things, naturally with a small piece of silver attached.

This is an unwritten rule in the palace: even if the items being passed around don't cause any harm, a benefit must still be given.

The letter soon reached Gong Xu's hands.

Gong Xu was on leave at home for the past two days, hoping that Gong Chang'an could return so that the father and son could reunite. That's why he wrote a letter and sent it to the palace.

Unexpectedly, Gong Chang'an did not return, but instead sent a letter.

Yunying was also nearby, holding her daughter Yining.

"Has Fourth Young Master said when he'll be back? I even made him two pairs of shoes, but I don't know if they'll fit?" Yunying asked.

Gong Xu read the letter and was somewhat displeased: "He said that he is currently in the palace accompanying the young prince of Chu and cannot spare the time. He said we should talk about it in a few days."

“Yes, look at my brain, how come I didn’t think of that? That young master just entered the palace, he needs someone to accompany him, right?” Yunying said. “Children get to know each other after playing together for a while.”

"Hmph, he's become quite familiar with people, he's almost forgotten his own father." Gong Xu sneered.

"Don't say that, Master. The Fourth Young Master is busy with important matters," Yunying naturally advised.

"Perhaps! After all, his mother is also in the palace, and mother and son are reunited every day." Gong Xu's implication was that Wen Mingqian had instigated Gong Chang'an to distance himself from him.