The Empress Dowager saw that every word he said refuted her, and she was extremely furious.
"I will never agree!"
"If you had a Prince, then going would be fine, but you don't even have a Prince now—what kind of Incognito Visit nonsense is this!"
Sheng Jinyan was rarely choked up for a moment.
He was extremely incredulous. "You mean, if I had a Prince, I could safely go and die?"
The Empress Dowager was silent...
That wasn't exactly what she meant.
It was, "It's just that without a Prince, this throne might be coveted by someone at any time."
If she had an Imperial Grandson, she would feel more at ease.
Sheng Jinyan felt she was being too harsh.
"You only think about the Prince, you didn't think about me!"
He was hurt.
He was angry.
Seeing his lips pursed in anger, the Empress Dowager quickly explained, "Ah, no, I am afraid that if you stay away for too long, it might delay having a Prince. I worry that if you have no Prince in the future, the Court Officials will gossip about you again."
Sheng Jinyan wouldn't listen; Sheng Jinyan was angry.
"I will take Noble Consort Shi with me, and bring all the Princesses along. You can just think about your Imperial Grandson!"
After saying that, he left in a huff.
The Empress Dowager watched his departing back, her head buzzing, and asked the Nanny beside her, "He wouldn't really leave the palace to do a hundred Good Deeds, would he?"
The Old Nanny shook her head. "Perhaps. After all, His Majesty is quite bold."
And he thinks differently from ordinary people.
The Empress Dowager sat down with a headache, rubbing her forehead. "He just said he wants to take Noble Consort Shi and the Princesses out of the palace? Did I hear wrong?"
The Old Nanny nodded. "Yes, he did say that."
The Empress Dowager thought about Shi Zhenxiang's formidable fertility, and after some thought, she agreed.
"Well, Noble Consort Shi can have children, but she hasn't given birth to a son in the palace. Perhaps leaving the palace will allow her to conceive."
Shi Zhenxiang was the last to learn of this news.
When she heard that Sheng Jinyan was going out of the palace to do a hundred Good Deeds, she was very surprised.
Then she heard that she was also going, and she was utterly dismayed.
"Wait? He's going to suffer among the folk, why is he dragging me along?"
She didn't want to go!!
The maid Jin Jin was torn between laughter and tears. "Don't say it so loudly, be careful not to be heard."
If it were the Retired Emperor's time, going to the folk would mean a warm carriage and servants and guards attending to him; it would be like a vacation.
But with Sheng Jinyan, there would definitely be no warm carriage.
There would certainly be no Servants to attend to them along the way.
Maybe they couldn't even afford an Inn!!
She was perfectly fine in the Imperial Palace, eating delicious food and drinking fine wine, with a monthly income to cook her own meals in the Small Kitchen, eating whatever she wanted. She simply didn't want to go on a Budget Travel trip and suffer!
Jin Jin reminded her, "Actually, the Princesses are also going."
Shi Zhenxiang was even more bewildered.
"Wait, he's making the Princesses go too?"
Has he gone crazy?
A Budget Travel trip is tiring enough, and bringing five Children along—who does he want to exhaust?
Jin Jin also sighed. "I wonder if we can bring a few Nannies along?"
Otherwise, with so many children to look after, Her Empress would definitely collapse.
Shi Zhenxiang was on the verge of collapsing just thinking about it.
Although she loved her five Daughters very much, they were usually taken care of by the Nannies. She only had a chance to bond with the Children during meal times.
If she had to take care of five children all day, she would go mad.
"No, I don't agree to this."
She wanted to go see the Empress Dowager and absolutely must not let the Princesses leave the palace.
Either bring three or five Nannies, or she wouldn't do it.
But just as she was about to go to the Empress Dowager's palace, Sheng Jinyan arrived.
He seemed to be in a bad mood at the moment.
His face was sour, looking very cold and stern.
Shi Zhenxiang immediately retracted her originally sarcastic expression.
She was very perceptive and greeted him cautiously, "Your Majesty?"
Sheng Jinyan didn't speak; he walked straight in with a cold face.
He sat on a chair with a low-pressure aura, looking like someone not to be approached.
Shi Zhenxiang figured he had been upset outside, so she decided not to provoke him for now.
So she had the Small Kitchen prepare some Braised Snacks and also had a pot of wine warmed.
Soon the Braised Snacks and side dishes were on the table, and Sheng Jinyan's expression improved slightly.
He looked at Shi Zhenxiang with a hint of surprise, not expecting her to understand him so well.
Earlier he was irritated and wanted a drink.
He didn't expect she would immediately think of it, showing that she was in tune with him.
Sheng Jinyan's mood eased a bit, and his mouth was no longer pouting. He looked at Shi Zhenxiang. "Imperial Consort, are you thinking of having a small drink with me?"
Shi Zhenxiang was very considerate. "Yes, Your Majesty. These Braised Snacks were specially saved for you. I was hoping you would come over to have some."
Sheng Jinyan, seeing that she had been saving dishes for him from time to time after she started her small business, felt comforted.
Among all the women in the Harem, only Noble Consort Shi truly cared for him, worried about whether he had eaten, and noticed he liked Braised Snacks. She even saved so much for him.
His mood improved, and he asked her to sit down. "Pour it."
Shi Zhenxiang rolled her eyes inwardly but still respectfully poured wine for him.
And she picked up two pieces of braised Pig Ears with chopsticks for him.
"These Pig Ears are very crunchy. Please eat them while they're hot."
Sheng Jinyan was comfortable being attended to by her, and his mood relaxed. He couldn't help but drink a few more cups.
After getting tipsy, his cold and stern face showed a childish side, and his lips pouted. "Mother Empress doesn't love me."
"She only loves Sixth Brother."
Shi Zhenxiang was surprised. She had thought the robotic Emperor wouldn't care about such familial love, but it turned out he did care?
However, she dared not respond to that, lest someone with ulterior motives hear and it reach the Empress Dowager's ears.
So she continued to pour wine for him.
Sheng Jinyan drank cup after cup, and his inner thoughts spilled out. "When I was little, she never hit Sixth Brother, only me."
"When visiting Grandmother's family, she preferred to take Sixth Brother, not me."
"Even when going to the Border Pass, she recommended me to Father Emperor, never letting Sixth Brother go."
She was afraid Sixth Brother would die on the battlefield, but never worried about me dying.
Shi Zhenxiang was hearing this for the first time.
She hadn't expected Sheng Jinyan's childhood to be so miserable.
She had met the Sixth Prince; he was the type with a sweet tongue who could easily win over his elders.
But he seemed rather frail physically, and for years he had been in his Fiefdom without returning, apparently recuperating there.
She guessed that the Empress Dowager might be more partial to her sickly younger son, which led to her neglect of Sheng Jinyan.
Thinking of how he was usually so aloof and never gave in to the Empress Dowager, perhaps it was because he had been treated unfairly by her since childhood, and that's why he now antagonizes her?
Shi Zhenxiang was also a mother. Seeing him so pitiful, she reluctantly had the Small Kitchen bring out two new dishes.
Sheng Jinyan had originally hoped for some comfort after pouring out his heart, but she remained silent without a single word of consolation, making him even more depressed.
He was about to ask her if she no longer loved him when a freshly made Braised Pork Hock and Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs were brought up.
These were substantial dishes in the Harem.
Sheng Jinyan was moved on the spot. "Noble Consort Shi~~"
So this woman wouldn't comfort him with words, but instead hid her solace in the dishes.
He knew the National Treasury was empty, and the Monthly Stipend for these Imperial Concubines was pitifully small. She must have used her Personal Savings to buy meat for him.
Sheng Jinyan felt warm inside, and the corners of his eyes reddened slightly.
"Noble Consort Shi~"
He wanted to say, you are so good to me.
But then he heard Shi Zhenxiang say, "You can have two pieces first, and leave the rest for the Children."
Sheng Jinyan was speechless...
It wasn't all for him?
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