Tong Lanshu's words had left Yinzhen extremely excited. After returning to his quarters, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep, making quite a commotion. It wasn't until the palace maid and eunuch on night duty came to quietly remind him that Yinzhen finally settled down.
He tried to restrain himself from rolling around and making noise, but even so, it took a long time before he finally fell asleep.
Having been so restless the night before, it was only natural that he woke up late the next day.
Yinzhen woke up half an hour later than usual. Startled from his sleep, he drowsily asked the young eunuch for the time. Upon receiving the answer, he abruptly sat up in bed.
Hastily throwing on a set of clothes, he hurried as fast as he could to Tong Lanshu's bedchamber.
The palace maids and eunuchs behind him couldn't stop him in time, nor could they run around Chengqian Palace like the Fourth Prince. They could only quicken their pace, fearing they wouldn't be able to keep up with him.
By the time Yinzhen arrived, Tong Lanshu was already up, sitting at her dressing table and yawning. Just as she was about to chat with Zhilan to wake herself up, she heard Yinzhen's voice from outside, "Mother, your son has come to pay his respects."
Tong Lanshu responded clearly, "Come in."
Zhilan wondered how the Fourth Prince had arrived so quickly, as just a quarter of an hour ago, a palace maid had reported that he hadn't yet risen.
Tong Lanshu, however, wasn't too surprised. Rubbing her forehead softly, she said, "He probably ran over as soon as he woke up."
She didn't keep Yinzhen waiting long. As soon as she finished speaking, she instructed Dong Zhu to go and greet him.
And just as Tong Lanshu had predicted, when Yinzhen entered, his outer robe was not properly fastened, and his hair was disheveled. According to Dong Zhu's report, several attendants who were supposed to help him wash and dress were following behind the Fourth Prince.
However, they were not allowed to approach Tong Lanshu and were all kept outside by Dong Zhu.
Yinzhen had rushed over in a panic, fearing he was late. Now, seeing his mother in the middle of her morning routine, he belatedly realized his own abruptness and carelessness. Just as he was considering whether to excuse himself, he saw his mother gently beckoning to him.
Yinzhen hesitated for a moment, but his legs moved honestly toward her. "Mother."
"Why are you in such a hurry? It's snowing outside—what if you slip and fall?"
Seeing his mother's concern, Yinzhen hurriedly explained that he had run quickly and hadn't stepped on much snow. His intention was to reassure Tong Lanshu, but he only made things worse.
Tong Lanshu's expression darkened slightly, and she sternly warned him not to run around in the snow.
Her voice wasn't particularly harsh, but Yinzhen was somewhat frightened. He looked at Tong Lanshu with fear, "Mother… your son, your son knows he was wrong. Please don't be angry."
Seeing Yinzhen like this, Tong Lanshu truly lost her temper. She suddenly remembered the scene when Yinzhen had brought the ferule to her to confess his wrongdoing, and she dreaded facing such a situation again.
Sighing, she explained that she wasn't angry, only worried he might get hurt. "It's been snowing heavily these past few days, and the weather is freezing cold. The roads are covered in ice. What if you slip and injure your arm or leg?"
Tong Lanshu's tone softened considerably. Seeing this, Yinzhen felt even more guilty and lowered his head to admit his mistake. "…Mother, your son knows he was wrong."
"Promise Mother that you won't run around in the snow again, alright?"
Yinzhen nodded eagerly, afraid he might respond too slowly.
Tong Lanshu reached out and touched his forehead. "Your hair is a mess, and your clothes aren't properly fastened. Why were you in such a hurry?"
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen instinctively lowered his head and saw his own clothes, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "This… this is…"
Tong Lanshu raised her hand and carefully straightened Yinzhen's clothes. Yinzhen stood dumbly before Tong Lanshu, managing to remain calm at first. But when he saw his mother about to dress him, his face instantly flushed red. "M-Mother, your son will go back and put on clothes right away."
"It's no trouble."
After fastening the misplaced buttons, Tong Lanshu naturally picked up the comb from the dressing table and began to comb Yinzhen's hair. Yinzhen was small and did not take up much space standing before Tong Lanshu.
However, he rarely had such close moments with his mother, making him feel somewhat uneasy.
This reaction was misunderstood by Tong Lanshu, who lightened her already gentle touch even further.
"If it hurts, you must tell me," Tong Lanshu instructed carefully. Yinzhen nodded silently and stole a glance at the bronze mirror.
His mother's expression was earnest, and her movements were gentle, not causing him any pain.
Tong Lanshu's attention was entirely focused on Yinzhen, paying no mind to what hairstyle Zhilan had arranged. Due to Tong Lanshu still being in confinement, her hairstyle was kept simple, making it easy to take down later.
Tong Lanshu was not skilled at styling children's hair, merely smoothing it out. When she looked up and saw that Zhilan had already finished arranging her own hair, she naturally handed the task over to her.
Thus, Zhilan took over the work from her master, deftly braiding the Fourth Prince's hair.
Once everything was tidied up, breakfast was served.
Tong Lanshu naturally took Yinzhen's hand and led him to the table. The palace maids took out a variety of breakfast items from the food boxes—almost everything Tong Lanshu could think of was there.
Tong Lanshu had not been in this place for too short a time; in a few days, it would be nearly a month. However, she had been recuperating earlier, and breakfast had mostly consisted of whatever she wanted to eat, ordered and prepared accordingly. She had never seen such a grand display before.
Today's occasion was simply because Tong Lanshu wanted to know what Yinzhen liked to eat.
Her confinement period was almost over, and many matters needed to be addressed.
In Tong Lanshu's eyes, the most important thing was to build a good relationship with Yinzhen, so that when he became emperor in the future, he would not remember her only with coldness and distance.
That would not be a good thing.
Historically, Noble Consort Tong died young, but Tong Lanshu only wished to live a long life.
"Try this shrimp dumpling—it's translucent and looks delicious," Tong Lanshu said, placing a shrimp dumpling into Yinzhen's bowl. Yinzhen took a careful bite, but his face showed little delight, and his reaction to the shrimp dumpling was rather indifferent.
Undaunted, Tong Lanshu searched the table for breakfast items that children might like, persuading Yinzhen to try many things.
With a purpose in mind, Tong Lanshu occasionally encouraged him, and Yinzhen, eager to please his mother, accepted every breakfast item she offered. Fortunately, the Imperial Kitchen had prepared the breakfast in small portions, each containing only a few pieces—small and delicate, meant for tasting.
Otherwise, Yinzhen would not have been able to handle Tong Lanshu's feeding.
Thankfully, although Tong Lanshu had never raised a child, she still had some sense of moderation. Seeing that most of the breakfast items on the table had been tried, she did not persist further and only asked Yinzhen if there was anything he particularly liked.
Yinzhen's expression still held a trace of bewilderment. When faced with the question, he instinctively wanted to shake his head, but an inadvertent glance upward revealed his mother's earnest look, prompting him to begin pondering.
He truly didn't have many strong preferences when it came to food, but Yinzhen was not a child lacking in taste.
What he liked to eat and what he disliked were not difficult to distinguish.
It was just that no one had ever cared about such things before, and speaking up would only have caused trouble for others.
But now, it seemed different. His mother's inquiry was sincere; she genuinely wanted to know his preferences.
Though still young, Yinzhen could clearly discern the difference.
He looked up earnestly at Tong Lanshu and said softly, "Mother, I like milk pastries."
Tong Lanshu hadn't actually expected to hear Yinzhen's answer. She had always assumed it would take a long time for him to open up to her, so this smooth progress came as a surprise.
She glanced over the table but didn't see any milk pastries.
She recalled that Noble Consort Tong had little interest in pastries and snacks, and Yinzhen had never mentioned his preferences before, so Chengqian Palace didn't usually keep such things on hand.
They were only available every few days, and most of them were gifts from the two palaces.
Now that Tong Lanshu knew, she quietly noted Yinzhen's preference in her heart and immediately instructed Zhilan to have the kitchen prepare some.
Yinzhen, sitting nearby, heard Tong Lanshu's words clearly. His eyes widened with obvious surprise, his round almond-shaped eyes appearing somewhat dazed.
Still young, this expression didn't make him look foolish but rather indescribably adorable. Seeing this, Tong Lanshu couldn't help but laugh, though after her laughter, a pang of sorrow welled up in her heart.
He was a noble Imperial Prince, yet…
Tong Lanshu lowered her head, as if to hide her emotions, and took a sip of porridge before asking softly, "Besides milk pastries, what else does Yinzhen like to eat?"
She asked with restraint, trying to keep her expression natural, but Yinzhen's reaction was different. He stared blankly at Tong Lanshu, seemingly unable to understand.
He didn't know why his mother was suddenly asking about these things, and he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
Fortunately, he didn't keep his thoughts entirely hidden and finally asked Tong Lanshu, "Mother, why are you suddenly asking about these things?"
"You never used to ask about them before…"
Tong Lanshu had been worried that acting differently from before would arouse suspicion, but she hadn't expected the first person to question her would be Yinzhen.
"Because Mother wants to understand Yinzhen better."
"These past few days, Mother has thought a lot. Perhaps it was because we didn't communicate well before that so many misunderstandings arose." Tong Lanshu often didn't know what attitude to adopt when facing a three-year-old child.
Sometimes, he seemed mature beyond his years.
But looking at his small stature, Tong Lanshu was reminded that he was indeed just a child.
Hearing this, Yinzhen timidly lowered his head. The matter of his birth mother and adoptive mother was something he truly couldn't ignore. He hadn't expected it to cause his mother to fall ill. "It is my fault."
"This matter isn't Yinzhen's fault. It was because Mother was unwell before, often lacking energy, that I neglected you." Tong Lanshu very much wanted to avoid mentioning it altogether, but she worried that being too deliberate would make her seem strange and conflicted.
After much thought, she could only gloss over it, hoping this would be the last such conversation.
She told Yinzhen with utmost sincerity that, in her heart, he was very important.
Yinzhen seemed somewhat shy, masking it by drinking the porridge before him, yet his beautiful eyes grew increasingly bright.
In Chengqian Palace, the mother and son were enjoying harmonious delight; even the palace's winter snow could not diminish this joy by half.
But Yonghe Palace nearby presented a different scene.
Consort De's pregnancy symptoms were severe this time; she vomited incessantly, feeling utterly weak.
She had just finished breakfast, but soon vomited everything clean. After rinsing her mouth, she leaned on the soft couch to rest with closed eyes, yet shortly after, Shiliu entered, her face seeming somewhat troubled.
Consort De had opened her eyes as soon as Shiliu entered the room, smiling faintly, "Why do you look so troubled? Pregnancy discomfort is a normal reaction; the other consorts probably envy me."
Hearing this, Shiliu felt even more heartache, but forced a smile nonetheless, "I have important news to report…"
The dismissal of palace maids and eunuchs in Chengqian Palace had not actually been widely announced, but palace servants had their own ways of survival and channels for obtaining information.
Chengqian Palace had not acted too conspicuously, yet Yonghe Palace's servants still learned of this matter, and after several rounds of transmission, it reached Shiliu's ears.
Shiliu knew how much her master cared for Fourth Prince, thinking it better for her to speak up rather than having others bring it to her attention.
"What are you saying?" Consort De was startled by this news, not expecting her pregnancy to affect Yinzhen.
"Those palace maids and eunuchs gossip too much," Consort De said harshly.
Shiliu quickly comforted her, then blamed herself repeatedly.
Shiliu immediately presented the gift list. Consort De examined it carefully, then instructed her to add two bolts of cloth.
The yellow fabric was bright and vibrant, exuding elegance and luxury.
The red fabric was festive and auspicious, perfect for children.
Given how frequently the Imperial Noble Consort summoned the Imperial Garment Bureau, this cloth would likely be used soon.
Consort De’s expression softened.
She had three bolts of this red cloth altogether—one for Yinzuo, one for the child in her womb.
And naturally, one for Yinzhen as well.
Author’s note: