Nong Nu Jiao

Lingzhi and Zhusha exchanged a glance. They had no choice but to step forward, take the portraits, and show them to Cen Lingyi one by one.

"Qin Luoshui has the Empress Dowager behind her, so naturally she must stay."

Cen Lingyi looked at Qin Luoshui's portrait and spoke without hesitation, her eyes calm as still water.

Lingzhi nodded and put down the portrait of Qin Luoshui.

"Chen Yanyan, a cousin from a branch of the Empress's maternal family, is sixteen years old. She is of upright character and gentle and charming."

Zhu Sha picked up a portrait and said.

"Let's keep the Empress Dowager's people; we can't be biased. Let's also keep the Empress's people."

Cen Lingyi spoke in a light tone.

Chen Yanyan is good-looking and has a good figure. She is from the Empress's side, so she has a powerful backer.

The inner quarters of the Eastern Palace are going to be even more lively from now on.

"Wang Xiling, the second daughter of the Imperial Censor, is fifteen years old and possesses a dignified and composed nature..."

"Wen Shuya, daughter of the prefect of Huangzhou..."

"Xu Zhian, daughter of a compiler at the Hanlin Academy..."

At first, Cen Lingyi looked at them one by one.

Later, she became numb to it all, and asked Yan Huaijiao in her arms, "Your Highness, do you want this?"

"want."

Yan Huaijiao's eyes were clear and bright as she looked at her and nodded blankly.

Why would he choose this?

Anyway, whenever his mother asked him if he wanted it, he would say yes.

"What about this? Do you want this?"

Cen Lingyi asked him again.

"want."

Yan Huaijiao nodded her little head very firmly.

But after choosing for a while, the little guy got impatient and pointed outside with his little finger: "Let's go, we want to go out."

"Wait a minute, let's finish selecting these. Your Highness, do you want this one?"

Cen Lingyi pointed to the portrait in Lingzhi's hand.

"No, no..."

Yan Huaijiao shook her little head like a rattle drum.

At this moment, he didn't want anything anymore; he was extremely impatient and wanted to go out and play.

"Alright, alright, we don't want this one. Be good, Your Highness. There aren't many left. Let's go out after we've chosen."

Cen Lingyi picked up her son, took small steps to soothe him, hurriedly finished selecting the remaining few cards, and then carried her son out.

"Miss, wait a moment."

Lingzhi called out to her.

"What's wrong?"

Cen Lingyi turned to look at her.

Yan Huaijiao was extremely impatient, wriggling in her arms like a fish out of water: "Go, go!"

"We'll leave right away, don't rush."

Cen Lingyi patted the little one's back to comfort him.

"It seems like we left too much behind."

Lingzhi frowned.

Zhu Sha was counting the portraits. After finishing, she looked up and said, "Miss, a total of sixty portraits were sent. You chose forty-two of them. What about you?"

Forty-two people!

There were only four people in His Highness the Crown Prince's backyard, but Cen Lingyi wanted to take in forty-two people, which was more than ten times the previous number.

"This is too many, young lady, could you please filter out a few more?"

Lingzhi advised her.

Is it appropriate for a girl to choose a partner like this?

"These are all good ones, chosen with great care. Let's send them to the Mingde Hall like this."

Cen Lingyi gave an instruction, then hurriedly carried Yan Huaijiao out the door.

He let her choose.

He'll be unhappy if you choose fewer people; people will think he's being selfish.

Give him a few more options; he's got plenty of energy and enjoys doing that.

She was simply pandering to his tastes.

*

"Your Highness."

Yun Que pushed open the door.

Yan Chenghui sat at his desk and looked up to see Yun Gong standing at the door holding a large stack of portraits.

"Why bring it back again?"

He frowned.

Yun Que was hesitating about how to say it.

Yun Gong, oblivious to the danger, spoke first: "Your Highness, these are the people Miss Cen has chosen for you. There are 42 portraits. She had Lingzhi and the others bring them back for Your Highness to review."

Yun Que touched his nose and lowered his head.

He couldn't think of a tactful way to tell His Highness, so it was good that Yun Gong had spoken up.

"How many are there in total?"

Yan Chenghui looked at the pile of portraits, and it seemed that there were only a few fewer than when he had taken them away.

"Your Highness, there are a total of sixty portraits."

Yun Gong answered loudly.

Yan Chenghui smiled.

She selected forty-two of the sixty portraits. What kind of place was this? Could it be a place where any Tom, Dick, or Harry could be brought in?

She's really generous, going to great lengths to push him towards other women, choosing so many for him all at once!

"Send it back and let her choose again."

He looked back.

"Your Highness, why don't you just specify how many people you'd like to choose?"

Yun Que quickly reminded him.

If Your Highness doesn't make things clear, Miss Cen might reduce the number of people by one or two, and then send the portraits back—given Miss Cen's personality, she's capable of doing that.

"At most two."

Yan Chenghui said calmly.

"Go."

Yun Que gave instructions to Yun Gong.

Yun Gong responded and went off carrying the stack of portraits.

Yan Chenghui put down the purple-tipped brush in his hand, frowned, and raised his hand to rub his forehead.

She made me so angry I had a headache.

"Your Highness, that's just the girl's personality, please don't take it to heart..."

Yun Que cautiously tried to persuade him.

"I'll make her furious sooner or later."

Yan Chenghui breathed a sigh of relief.

"Calm down."

Yun Que poured him some tea.

Yan Chenghui had only drunk half a cup of tea when Yun Gong returned.

"Your Highness, the portrait has been delivered."

He entered the palace to report.

"What did she say?"

Yan Chenghui lifted his eyelids to look at him.

"The young lady said that choosing two out of sixty is a difficult task that would offend people. She is just a palace maid and cannot make such a big decision." Yun Gong did not mince words and said directly, "The young lady asked me to tell His Highness that knowledge gained from books is ultimately superficial. It would be better to hold a simple banquet and invite all the women to the East Palace so that His Highness can personally look at them and choose the ones he likes. This way, it is convenient and saves trouble, and His Highness can get what he sees."

"Let her handle it, leave everything to her."

Yan Chenghui's temples throbbed with anger.

And she even said "what you see is what you get"—she knows exactly how to annoy him!

"Yes, then I will go and have Miss Cen make the preparations immediately."

Yun Gong was solid, and immediately turned and left.

Yun Que reached out to pull him.

That fool didn't even wait for His Highness to calm down before he went to deliver the message.

If he ever becomes too busy to attend to things, Miss Cen and His Highness's relationship will definitely deteriorate further because of him.

"stop."

Yan Chenghui felt even more suffocated.

"Does Your Highness have any further instructions?"

Yun Gong turned around and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"No need to choose." Yan Chenghui gently pressed his temples, paused, and said, "Keep the two portraits given by the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, send the rest of the portraits back to the family, and give each of them a piece of jewelry."

"Your Highness is no longer hosting the brief reading banquet?"

Yun Gong was taken aback.

"Yes, I will arrange it immediately."

Yun Que pushed him, wishing she could slap him into the wall.

Your Highness has already conceded, yet this fool keeps asking questions. Is he afraid Your Highness isn't angry enough?

"Yes."

Yun Gong hurriedly bowed and accepted his greeting.

*

Before we knew it, it was November 11th, and the weather was freezing cold.

Cen Lingyi sat at her desk, checking the accounts for the previous month and finalizing the distribution of winter clothes and firewood to the various courtyards.

Most importantly, we need to prepare for tomorrow's dinner.

Tomorrow is the day Qin Luoshui and Chen Yanyan will enter the Eastern Palace.

Qin Luoshui was the Empress Dowager's grandniece. She grew up by the Empress Dowager's side and had a close relationship with her. She was granted the title of Liangyuan.

It is true that Chen Yanyan was sent by the Empress, but she was only a cousin from a collateral branch of the Empress's maternal family and her relationship with the Empress was not very close. Therefore, her rank was slightly lower than Qin Luoshui's, and she was given the title of Ruren.

Since Yan Huaijiao's birthday, she had not seen Yan Chenghui for a month and two days—she had not gone to Mingde Hall, and Yan Chenghui had not come to look for her, nor had he sent anyone to summon her.

He probably felt that there was no point in constantly humiliating her, or perhaps he had completely forgotten about her.

That would be better.

She had wanted this for a long time, so she could finally have some peace and quiet.

When a new woman enters the Eastern Palace tomorrow, he will think even less of her.

The peaceful and stable life she wanted, watching her child grow up, has finally arrived.

"Wet nurse".

Yan Huaijiao stood beside her, fiddling with the cloth tiger in his hand, and looked up to call her.

After days of correction, the little guy has learned to call her "nanny".

Cen Lingyi looked down at him, a smile appearing on her face: "What's wrong?"

Yan Huaijiao grabbed the cloth tiger by the tail and showed it to her.

"Tail."

Cen Lingyi taught him.

"Tail."

Yan Huaijiao mimicked her speech.

"Baby is so smart, so amazing!"

Cen Lingyi praised him with a smile.

"ear."

Yan Huaijiao's obsidian-like eyes sparkled when she praised him, and he pointed to the cloth tiger's ears and told her about it.

"Wow, our little prince is so amazing! He even knows what a tiger's ears are. That's incredible! He's the smartest baby I've ever seen."

Cen Lingyi stroked the little guy's soft hair and praised him even more exaggeratedly.

Yan Huaijiao looked up with her fair and tender face, waiting for her to praise her, and giggled.

Lingzhi laughed along, "The young prince loves it when you praise him, young lady. Look how proud he is when you praise him."

"Kids are all like that."

Cen Lingyi looked at her son, her voice gentle.

"Miss, perhaps you shouldn't go to the front flower hall tomorrow night?"

Lingzhi hesitated for a moment, but eventually spoke her mind.

Actually, there aren't many people at the banquet tomorrow night.

Qin Luoshui and Chen Yanyan, though called Liangyuan and Ruren respectively, were in reality just two concubines.

The Crown Prince would certainly not hold a grand ceremony for their entry into the palace.

It was His Highness the Crown Prince and his wife, along with a few women from the inner quarters, who greeted the two newcomers.

They offered tea to the Crown Princess as a way of acknowledging her presence.

The girl probably didn't want to face that kind of scene.

"Hmm." Cen Lingyi nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking. Tomorrow night, after I've put Huai Jiao to sleep, I want to go to Xichi to see the moon. Please take good care of him for me."

She didn't want to see Yan Chenghui, nor did she want to witness him taking a new wife.

Now, she is the head of the Eastern Palace and her occasional comings and goings are unrestricted.

West Pond is located in the west of the city. It is a lake that stretches as far as the eye can see and is used for training sailors in the summer.

In winter, that lake surface boasts a magnificent winter night scene that is praised by everyone in the capital.

She hadn't seen that scenery in a long time and wanted to go see it and sit there by herself.

"Shall I have Cinnabar go with you?"

Lingzhi made the suggestion.

"No need, I'll go on horseback myself." Cen Lingyi smiled. "I'll be back in an hour or two, it won't take long."

By the time she returned, the banquet should have ended, and Yan Chenghui should have entered the newlyweds' room.

She stopped appearing in front of him to avoid spoiling his mood.

"But I'm worried about you going out alone."

I'm a bit conflicted about Ganoderma lucidum.

"What's there to worry about? I'll ride out on horseback; few can catch me. Once we get there, we'll just rent a boat and get rid of the boatman." Cen Lingyi wasn't too concerned. "Besides, it's very lively over there at this time of year, with lots of people and patrolling soldiers. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Alright," Lingzhi couldn't persuade her otherwise, "Then come back early."

Cen Lingyi responded softly.