Nong Nu Jiao

Lingzhi didn't know why Cen Lingyi was so agitated, but she listened to her very much.

"Please sit down, young lady, I'll help you."

She helped Cen Lingyi sit up straight and then picked up Yan Huaijiao, who was sitting on the bed.

"mother……"

Yan Huaijiao clutched a corner of the brocade quilt, struggling in dissatisfaction.

He wanted to sit next to his mother and didn't want Lingzhi to hug him.

"Your Highness, don't move. Let the wet nurse take a look."

Lingzhi coaxed him and pulled up his trouser leg.

The ivory-white brocade trousers were pulled up to the knees, revealing the little guy's fair and soft calves.

Lingzhi turned him around, with his back to Cen Lingyi, and peeked into the little guy's knees.

Cen Lingyi couldn't help but widen her dark eyes and look over.

A dark red crescent-shaped birthmark, the size of a fingernail, stood out clearly on the inside of Yan Huaijiao's soft, fair knee.

It was exactly the same as the birthmark on my brother's knee in my memory, even the location was exactly the same.

The color is just a little light; this birthmark should gradually darken as he grows up.

Her mind went blank, as if the sky were falling and the earth were splitting open; she stood there stunned for a moment.

She had heard her mother say that her brother's birthmark also appeared after he was over a year old.

My father also has a birthmark like this on the back of his knee.

My mother once jokingly said that this was a mark of the Cen family children.

When she was little, she would cling to her mother and cry whenever she thought about it because she didn't have the same birthmark.

Her mother was so bothered by her that she even applied rouge to her face several times to appease her.

Every time, she would run to her brother to show off, saying that her crescent moon was a prettier color than her brother's.

She had glanced at Yan Huaijiao a few times before when she bathed him, but she hadn't seen this birthmark on him.

Later, after finding Cen Chiyao, she specifically looked at the back of his knees and found nothing there.

Now that things are clear, it's no wonder she could never feel the same intense affection for Cen Chiyao as she did for Yan Huaijiao.

It turns out that Cen Chiyao wasn't her child at all.

The child she had searched for and longed for for so long turned out to be Yan Huaijiao, who was in front of her every day and always by her side.

No wonder the little guy was so close to her when he was so young, only wanting to drink her milk, and he would stop crying when she held him.

No wonder Princess Taihe and her second sister both said that Yan Huaijiao looked like her. At the time, she didn't think about it at all and always felt that it was impossible.

No wonder Xia Qing was so cold to Yan Huaijiao, showing no maternal affection whatsoever...

No wonder Yan Huaijiao's smile looks exactly like Yan Chenghui's...

All the past events flashed before my eyes, and everything seemed to come together at once.

All the clues converge on one sentence: Yan Huaijiao is her biological child!

Cen Lingyi stared at the dark red crescent moon, opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word, and her eyes suddenly reddened.

"Young lady, are you alright?"

Seeing that her lips were slightly parted and she looked like she was about to cry, Lingzhi was really worried and carefully asked her what was wrong.

Is there any interpretation of this birthmark?

Cen Lingyi came to her senses and tremblingly stretched out her hands to Yan Huaijiao.

"Give me a hug..."

Her voice went hoarse, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"daughter."

When Yan Huaijiao saw that she wanted to hug her, she giggled and opened her little arms to meet her, almost jumping for joy.

His mother was always asleep and hadn't held him in a long time.

Cen Lingyi hugged his small body into her arms, and when she heard him call her name, tears immediately streamed down her face.

The shock and joy of finding what was lost, the lingering worry and fear all surged into my heart.

Overwhelmed with emotion, she hugged the little one tightly, feeling his weight and warmth, tears streaming down her face, and she sobbed uncontrollably.

Yan Huaijiao was originally happy, but as mother and son are of one heart, seeing his mother crying so sadly, he pouted and tears quickly welled up in his eyes. With a "waaaah," he also cried loudly and aggrievedly.

"Good girl, please stop crying. You're not fully recovered yet, and crying like this will only harm your health. You need to take good care of yourself and look after His Highness."

Lingzhi had already guessed what was going on, and she wiped away her tears.

She was happy, happy for the girl.

Unexpectedly, after searching for so long, the girl's child was right in front of them.

She had always felt that the young prince sometimes had a very girlish expression. But everyone says that children resemble whoever raises them, so who dared to think too deeply about it?

Isn't it said that the young prince is the child of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess?

She couldn't figure out the reason behind it, so she stopped thinking about it. As long as the young lady and the prince were alright, that was all that mattered.

When Cen Lingyi saw Yan Huaijiao crying, she felt a pang of heartache. She stopped crying, wiped away his tears, and found it amusing.

Why are you crying?

She looked at the little one with tears in her eyes and smiled.

Yan Huaijiao also reached out her little hand to wipe away her tears, her face still wet with tears, and then grinned at her.

"Little liar." Cen Lingyi shed a large tear, feeling a pang of heartache as she looked at his thin face. She hugged him tightly, saying, "It's my fault. I've made you suffer these past few days."

She didn't know it was his child before, otherwise she would never have abandoned him and left him to suffer.

Yan Huaijiao seemed to understand, and hummed twice in grievance, rubbing her little face against hers.

The thought that this was her child softened Cen Lingyi's heart, giving her an indescribable sense of satisfaction and comfort; this was probably the feeling of being connected by blood.

At this moment, she was incredibly grateful that she had entered the Eastern Palace and become his wet nurse.

She breastfed her own child.

Actually, God has been quite kind to her.

"Girl, let me change your blanket and brew you a new bowl of medicine."

Lingzhi took a clean brocade quilt out of the cabinet.

"Lingzhi." Cen Lingyi looked at her. "I'm hungry."

Holding her son, she suddenly regained her lost strength, and in that instant, she felt hunger.

She suddenly felt energized and determined to take care of her health and protect her son.

"The food has been kept warm. I'll go...go and bring it in for you."

Upon hearing this, Lingzhi was so moved that she almost shed tears.

That's great! The girl knows she's hungry and wants to eat, which means her energy is returning and her body is starting to recover.

She stumbled and ran outside, nearly falling over.

"Slow down."

Cen Lingyi couldn't help but speak.

"Eat."

Yan Huaijiao snuggled into her arms.

"You've already been weaned, haven't you? You're still thinking about this? No way."

Cen Lingyi lifted him up.

Yan Huaijiao whined and acted spoiled, tugging at her clothes.

"No, you can't. You're all grown up now. You'll have dinner with Mommy later. Be a good girl."

Cen Lingyi kissed him and coaxed him with a smile.

Yan Huaijiao was unwilling, nestled in her arms without moving, his dark eyes blinking pitifully.

Cen Lingyi stroked the little guy's head, thinking of Cen Chiyao.

Looking back now, she realized that Cen Chiyao was someone Lu Huaiyou had somehow gotten to fool her.

But Song Mingchi... how could he not find out that Cen Chiyao wasn't her child at all?

Did Lu Huaiyou manage to deceive him? Or...?

She shook her head; she didn't know how Song Mingchi was doing either.

The Song family is not to be trifled with. Surely Yan Chenghui won't really execute him?

She lowered her head, her gaze falling on Yan Huaijiao.

Now that the child has been found, what is she going to do?

Take the child away?

It's definitely not that easy.

Stay in the Eastern Palace? What about our parents?

She sighed; no matter what, she couldn't leave for the time being.

Remembering how Consort Sun had harmed Yan Huaijiao, he feared that his days in the Eastern Palace would be even more difficult.

She frowned. For her son's sake, she had to find a way to break the deadlock and not let her child live in danger.

Lingzhi quickly returned with a food box and set the food on a small table.

Chicken and bird's nest porridge, glutinous white fungus soup simmered with ginseng and red dates, honey-steamed pumpkin, and a bowl of steamed pigeon.

"The imperial physician said that since the young lady has just recovered from a serious illness, she should eat something light and soft."

Lingzhi embraced Yan Huaijiao.

"Eat."

Yan Huaijiao was not honest; she reached out her little hand to scoop something out of the bowl.

"No, Your Highness."

Lingzhi quickly stopped her.

"Don't touch me, Mommy will feed you."

Cen Lingyi used a spoon to pick up a little bit of soft, glutinous pumpkin and fed it to his mouth.

Yan Huaijiao smacked her lips, eating with relish, nodding her little head and staring at the pumpkin, pointing with her little hand: "I want to eat some."

He wanted to eat more.

Cen Lingyi couldn't help but laugh and fed him a few more bites.

Seeing the harmonious relationship between the mother and son, Lingzhi felt extremely gratified.

Before she knew that the young prince was the young lady's child, she thought the young prince was good. She said that this little child could always protect the young lady at critical moments. It turned out that they were mother and son.

"Lingzhi, don't tell anyone about this."

Cen Lingyi took a bite of porridge and whispered some instructions to her.

I don't know how Huai Jiao ended up in the East Palace.

Judging from his attitude, Yan Chenghui didn't know that Huai Jiao was actually his child, so he was disgusted by Huai Jiao's drooling and didn't care much about Huai Jiao usually.

Xia Qinghe was probably unaware of this either. Otherwise, given the hatred Xia Qinghe felt for her, she wouldn't have made her raise Huai Jiao herself.

It now appears that the couple adopted Huai Jiao by some coincidence and publicly claimed him as the eldest son of the Crown Prince.

Why would they do that?

Could it be that Xia Qinghe has some hidden illness that prevents her from having children?

She shook her head, not wanting to delve into the matter; what happened between them was none of her business.

Anyway, she found her child, and she will protect him well in this cannibalistic inner palace.

Right now, everyone outside thinks that Yan Huaijiao is Yan Chenghui and Xia Qing's child, and they won't expose this matter themselves.

If the status quo is maintained, Huai Jiao will remain the only heir to the throne and will be Yan Chenghui's eldest son.

The safest approach is for her to secretly protect the little one.

She didn't want Yan Chenghui to know about this either.

At present, Yan Chenghui still has some affection for Huai Jiao.

If they knew that Huai Jiao was actually her son, given Yan Chenghui's dislike of her, Huai Jiao would also fall out of favor.

"I know."

Lingzhi nodded solemnly in agreement.

"Is Huai Jiao's birthday coming up soon?"

Cen Lingyi took another bite of porridge and suddenly asked her.

"It's the tenth day of the tenth lunar month, less than half a month away, and Consort Sun is already preparing for the little prince's first birthday banquet."

Lingzhi replied.

"Why was it Sun Liangyuan who prepared it?"

Cen Lingyi looked at her with some surprise upon hearing this.

"Didn't I tell you before, Miss? You probably didn't take it to heart, but the Crown Princess suddenly fell ill, and now Consort Sun is in charge of all the affairs of the Eastern Palace."

Lingzhi explained.

Cen Lingyi chuckled. Could Sun Peihuan really manage this household?

However, it has nothing to do with her.

Her gaze fell on Yan Huaijiao's adorable little face, and she said softly, "The date is wrong. He was born on the sixth day of the tenth month."

Yan Chenghui and Xia Qinghe should have used the day they brought Yan Huaijiao back as his birthday.

In fact, he was born a few days earlier than that.

"Would the young lady like to quietly celebrate the young prince's birthday first?"

Lingzhi chuckled in a low voice.

Cen Lingyi rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment: "I don't think I have anything to give him."

She could say she has nothing.

"It's already the best that the young lady is accompanying His Highness."

Lingzhi smiled.

Cen Lingyi nodded: "What you said makes sense."

"By the way, young lady, I heard from Yun Gong this morning that General Song is alright. General Song personally went to pick him up that day, and now he has been sent by General Song to the Northeast Army for training."

Lingzhi then remembered this and hurriedly told her.

She knew that the young lady had always been thinking about General Song, and that hearing this news should help her feel more at ease.

"Really?" Cen Lingyi's brow relaxed. "That's wonderful."

Today seems to be an auspicious day; all I've heard is good news.

She was in a good mood and had a good appetite. She ate the whole small bowl of bird's nest porridge and half a bowl of pigeon soup.

Lingzhi tidied up the small table and changed the brocade quilt on the bed.

"I'm going down for a walk."

Cen Lingyi slipped on her embroidered shoes and got out of bed. Having not been out of bed for quite some time, she felt weak and her legs were a little limp.

"Mommy, hug me."

Yan Huaijiao sat on the bed and stretched out her small hand to her.

"Your Highness, I can't carry you right now. Would you please let me lead you around?"

Lingzhi lifted him off the bed, put his shoes on, and placed him on the ground.

Yan Huaijiao gripped Cen Lingyi's fingers tightly.

"Baby, come on, let go."

Seeing that he stood quite steadily and had strong legs, Cen Lingyi decided to teach him to walk on his own.

Yan Huaijiao, however, was very afraid of losing her life. With her protecting her, she could stand for a while, but she just didn't dare to take a step.

Cen Lingyi and Lingzhi teased him for a while, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.

Yan Chenghui peered through the crack in the window at Cen Lingyi's back as she bent down to play with the child. His face turned ashen, and he nearly snapped the window frame in his hand.

He merely instructed Yun Gong to inform her that Song Mingchi was unharmed, and she came back to life, completely different from before.

Song Mingchi is that important to her!

"So Your Highness was here. I've been looking for you for ages."

Sun Peihuan, dressed in a gorgeous gown, appeared at the courtyard gate and walked towards him with a beaming smile.

Yan Chenghui looked at her, his expression indifferent.

At the same time, the bedroom fell silent. Cen Lingyi and Lingzhi exchanged a glance. The window was half open, and both of them heard Sun Peihuan's voice.

Lingzhi couldn't help but pick up Yan Huaijiao.

Cen Lingyi walked slowly to the window and heard Yan Chenghui asking a question.

"What is it?"

Upon hearing his voice, Cen Lingyi's heart skipped a beat. She clutched her chest and silently cursed herself for being "pathetic."

"As Your Highness knows, I am not good at managing the inner quarters, and I am afraid of ruining the young prince's first birthday banquet, so I would like to ask Your Highness to lend me someone to help me."

Sun Peihuan spoke in a charming tone, her words tinged with laughter.

"Who?"

Yan Chenghui's words have always been concise.

"It's Cen Lingyi," Sun Peihuan said with a smile. "In the past, everyone said that Madam Cen was very good at managing the household. Cen Lingyi was a well-known noble lady in the capital for her ability to manage domestic affairs. Before the Cen family had any trouble, she arranged many banquets. Back then, everyone praised her."