Nong Nu Jiao

Breakfast was laid out on the octagonal table in the side hall and the main hall.

"No need." Cen Lingyi held her son, who had just calmed down, and fed him a spoonful of milk. Her face was tired but peaceful. "I've only been in charge of the household affairs for a short time. It's not proper for me to make excuses for every little thing."

Xia Qinghe had already begun preparations for the arrival of new women in the Eastern Palace when he was in charge of the palace.

With the end of the year fast approaching, it's time to put it on the agenda.

Lingzhi glanced at her face and carefully advised, "Miss... if you're feeling down, you don't have to force yourself. Even if the Crown Princess's injuries haven't fully healed, Consort Gu can take over. This matter doesn't require you to do it."

She felt sorry for her daughter.

Your Highness is still with the young lady, isn't he? How is the young lady supposed to face those other women?

Moreover, the girl is stubborn and may not say it, but she might secretly shed tears at night.

"What are you thinking about?" Cen Lingyi fed her son another spoonful of porridge and smiled gently. "It doesn't matter to me how many women he takes in. Why should I be upset? I'd love for him to pick a few more."

The words he spoke in Yan Qingci's study still echoed in her ears.

How dare she, a nobody, think such inappropriate things?

She is self-aware and wouldn't make such a foolish mistake.

Lingzhi was taken aback: "Miss?"

She couldn't believe the girl wouldn't be heartbroken.

Although the girl didn't say it, she was inseparable from her and probably knew about the entanglement between the girl and the prince.

Sigh, they say even a day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness, Your Highness is truly heartless.

"There should be more." Cen Lingyi wiped Huai Jiao's lips with a handkerchief, her tone still calm. "As the Crown Prince, His Highness should have more concubines to ensure the continuation of the royal family. More people in the inner quarters would make it more lively, which is in line with his status as the Crown Prince."

"tasty."

Yan Huaijiao pointed her little finger at the white mung bean roll, her dark eyes filled with longing, and smacked her lips as she looked at her.

Cen Lingyi was amused by him: "You little glutton."

She broke off a small piece of pastry and fed it to him. The heart that had been heavy all night seemed to feel much lighter in the face of the little guy's adorable appearance.

She sincerely hoped that Yan Chenghui would select more women to enter the Eastern Palace, ideally filling the entire inner quarters.

With so many people around, Yan Chenghui was naturally overwhelmed and his attention became scattered.

In that case, he definitely wouldn't have time to keep an eye on her, he wouldn't nag her constantly, and he wouldn't humiliate her, torment her, or treat her with unpredictable moods.

She could stay quietly in the side hall, accompany Huai Jiao through his peaceful days, and take care of him as he grew up, no longer having to face his humiliation and harm.

Thinking back to those days makes me feel good; at least they were much better than now.

As for adding people to Yan Chenghui's backyard, what kind of matter is that?

Anyway, he's already filthy, so what difference does it make whether he sleeps with one person or ten?

Anyway, it has nothing to do with her.

Yun Que walked into the side hall courtyard and saw his own prince standing at the hall entrance, not pushing the door open to go in, his face ashen.

"Your Highness..."

He hesitated for a moment, then bowed outside the stone steps.

Yan Chenghui clenched his fist, flicked his sleeve, and turned to leave.

He walked very fast, his sleeves brushing past the pillars under the corridor, passing in front of Yun Que, stirring up a gust of wind.

Cen Lingyi aptly remarked, "I wish he could pick a few more."

Does she really want to push him to someone else? If we don't go along with her wishes, it would be unfair to her!

Yun Que sighed inwardly and followed. He was only a step late. What happened this time?

Inside the side hall, Cen Lingyi and Lingzhi were completely unaware that Yan Chenghui had been there.

Lingzhi looked at her mistress, her eyes reddening: "With new people coming in, it's inevitable that His Highness will favor some. There's already Consort Sun in the Eastern Palace who's always targeting you. What will we do if a few more like her come along?"

She was genuinely worried that the girl would suffer mistreatment in the future.

Which of the noble ladies in the capital is easy to deal with? Besides, many of them know the young lady and are aware of her past with His Highness.

Even if you don't know the girl, you'll hear about her once you enter the Eastern Palace.

They didn't care that those were things of the past; they only focused on the girl, constantly harassing and making things difficult for her.

"I'll just follow the rules, what's there to be afraid of?" Cen Lingyi laughed. "Look at you, nothing's even happened yet, and you're already looking so worried. You'll age faster if you do that."

"You're still laughing? I can't laugh."

Lingzhi sighed.

Not only could she not laugh, she was also so worried that she couldn't eat.

The girl is already suffering enough; how will she survive in the future?

"When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it. There's no hurdle in this world that can't be overcome. Eat up!"

Cen Lingyi took a bite of porridge.

"Mother, mother."

Yan Huaijiao had finished eating and called out to her repeatedly.

"You can't call her that," Cen Lingyi put down her spoon and corrected him. "You should say 'wet nurse'."

Yesterday, Yan Qingci said that Huai Jiao had called the wrong person, and she realized that she couldn't let Huai Jiao continue to call her that.

Huai Jiao is her child. It's enough for her and Lingzhi to know this. They need to be extra careful and never let anything out of the public.

Huai Jiao was already a thorn in the side of the women in Yan Chenghui's household. If they found out that Huai Jiao was born to her, not to mention others, Sun Peihuan alone would go to extreme lengths to harm the child.

She could no longer let Huai Jiao call her "Mother," even though she liked hearing Huai Jiao call her that.

"Wet nurse".

Yan Huaijiao, being obedient, imitated her and called out clearly.

"Good boy, our little prince is so smart."

Cen Lingyi smiled, but her heart ached.

Her own child is such a poor little thing, he can't even openly call her "Mother".

"Walk."

Yan Huaijiao pointed outside.

"Do you want to go out and play?" Cen Lingyi smiled. "After your nanny finishes the porridge in her bowl, I'll carry you out, okay?"

"it is good."

Yan Huaijiao nodded vigorously and obediently agreed.

"Our little prince is so well-behaved."

Cen Lingyi couldn't help but rub his little head, her heart melting completely.

For him, she would endure any hardship, even risk her life and fortune.

"Young lady, you just escaped from the jaws of death and haven't slept all night. After you've eaten, go and get some sleep. I'll carry the little prince out."

Lingzhi reached out to hug Yan Huaijiao.

Yan Huaijiao was extremely reluctant; he was determined to have his mother take him out to play.

Lingzhi had to coax and trick him to finally hold him in her arms.

Yan Chenghui hurried back to Mingde Hall, pushed open the hall door without saying a word, and sat down at the desk.

Yun Que stopped and stood guard at the door.

Yun Gong mouthed to him from across the way, "What's wrong, Your Highness?"

Yun Que shook his head.

He arrived too late and didn't know why His Highness was displeased.

He noticed that His Highness hadn't entered the side hall, nor even opened the door, so he figured he must have overheard what Miss Cen was saying at the entrance.

Last night, the Second Prince kidnapped Miss Cen.

His Highness spent a sleepless night personally guarding the Second Prince's residence and rescuing the girl.

Logically speaking, at this time, His Highness should have comforted and reassured Miss Cen, and the two of them would have naturally made up, right?

Your Highness probably still can't forget the time when Miss Cen left him, and he can't get over that hurdle in his heart.

The relationship between Miss Cen and His Highness... is truly unsolvable.

Yan Chenghui opened a book of official documents, but couldn't read a single word; her words kept echoing in his ears.

"I'd love for him to choose more than a few."

Frustrated, he slammed the document shut.

"Cloud Palace".

"Your Highness."

Yun Que entered in response and bowed in greeting.

"Where has the selection process reached?"

Yan Chenghui asked him.

"The lists and portraits of the girls from various families have already been submitted, and they are just waiting for Your Highness to make the selection."

Yun Que bowed and replied.

Where are the roster and portraits?

He invited Huiwen to a banquet.

"These are all."

Yun Que pointed to one side, where there was a thick stack of them on a small table.

He reported to His Highness when he brought these things in.

But His Highness didn't seem to take it to heart and didn't even remember it.

"Send it to her, let her choose for me."

Yan Chenghui glanced at the pile of portraits.

Doesn't she want more? Then let her choose, and see how many she picks!

"Your Highness, the selection of new concubines for the Eastern Palace is also up to you. Miss Cen, she…"

Yun Que hesitated for a moment before offering words of advice.

This is not a good task for Miss Cen. Wouldn't it make her very upset?

"She likes this job." Yan Chenghui said expressionlessly, flipping through the official documents again: "She is in charge of all the preparations for this new recruit."

"Yes."

Yun Que dared not offer any further advice, and waved for Yun Gong to bring people in to carry the roster and portraits out to the side hall.

*

After a night of fear, Cen Lingyi was exhausted, both physically and mentally. She slept until noon when Lingzhi called her for lunch.

She ate a few bites hastily, then hugged her son and fell asleep again.

As the sun began to set, Yan Huaijiao sat beside her, her small hands gently touching her face, tickling her until she finally woke up from her sleep.

"Are you awake?"

Cen Lingyi held the little guy's hand.

"mother……"

Yan Huaijiao grinned at her, reached out her hands, and hugged her head.

"No, she's a wet nurse."

Cen Lingyi supported him and corrected him very seriously.

"Wet nurse".

Yan Huaijiao pounced on her again and hugged her.

"Bad guy."

Cen Lingyi nuzzled her face against his chest, teasing him.

The little guy was tickled and kept giggling.

The mother and son played on the bed for a while before Cen Lingyi let him sit in her lap and dressed him.

"Let's wear more layers, and your nanny will take you to play in the yard, okay?"

Cen Lingyi coaxed him.

When she's with the little guy, she likes to talk to him a lot.

Sometimes, she even felt that she was being a bit long-winded, but she couldn't help it.

"Okay, let's go out and play."

Yan Huaijiao pointed outside.

Cen Lingyi carried Yan Huaijiao out of the bedroom, just as Lingzhi and Zhusha came in from outside.

"Have you and the young prince woken up?"

Lingzhi greeted them with a smile.

Cen Lingyi responded, then noticed a large stack of things on the table and went over to look: "What are these?"

Lingzhi and Zhusha exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke.

I really don't know how to bring this up with the girl!

Could it be that I should tell the young lady that His Highness has asked her to select a woman from these portraits to enter the Eastern Palace?

"portrait?"

Cen Lingyi took one of the papers, placed it in front of her, and saw it clearly.

The person depicted in the portrait is Qin Luoshui, whose charm and figure are excellent, and who is much more beautiful than Qin Luoshui herself.

She seemed to understand a little. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a roster next to her, with each portrait corresponding to a name, and details about the person's place of origin, family background, and personality clearly marked.

Just as she had expected, these portraits were sent to the Eastern Palace for Yan Chenghui to choose from.

Lingzhi and Zhusha approached, but neither of them spoke, their eyes filled with reluctance.

"Why did he send all these things?"

Cen Lingyi looked away from Qin Luoshui's portrait and at the two of them.

Yan Huaijiao, restless in her arms, reached out to grab the portraits.

Cen Lingyi removed her son's hand and took a step back.

What does Yan Chenghui mean by this? Is he telling her that he doesn't lack women?

"His Highness has asked you to select someone to enter the Eastern Palace."

Even though Lingzhi couldn't bear it, she had to reply to her.

"When was it delivered?"

Cen Lingyi frowned, her gaze falling once again on the portraits.

She laughed, but felt a deep sadness in her heart.

Yan Chenghui asked her to select a woman for him to enter the Eastern Palace.

He understands how to kill someone by destroying their spirit.

"It was delivered this morning. The girl was probably too sleepy during lunch and didn't notice."

Lingzhi looked at her, her eyes filled with heartache.

"Then let's choose." Cen Lingyi casually hefted her son in her arms, coaxing, "Your Highness, let's not go out to play anymore, let's choose someone for Daddy, okay?"

"it is good."

Yan Huaijiao obediently agreed.

He loved his mother the most. Whenever his mother asked him if he was alright, no matter what it was, he would always say "yes".

"Lingzhi, come and help me pick up the portraits one by one and let me look at them."

Cen Lingyi took two steps back with her son in her arms and sat down on a chair.

Since Yan Chenghui had entrusted this task to her, she couldn't let him down, so she decided to choose carefully for him.