latelenovela Chapter 147 The Duke sent you a letter
Chapter 147 The Duke sent you a letter
The weather was already quite hot at the end of June, but the sun still shone brightly on every corner of the palace. That morning, after carefully dressing herself, Su Nuannuan, holding her two adorable children's hands, slowly walked towards the palace where the Empress Dowager resided. Along the way, the children were excited, chattering excitedly.
Before long, they arrived at the gates of the Empress Dowager's palace. The palace maids respectfully bowed to Su Nuannuan and quietly announced her arrival. After receiving permission, Su Nuannuan led the children into the palace.
Upon seeing the Empress Dowager, Canglan Jingyao eagerly broke free from her mother's hand and ran happily forward. Clutching a painting tightly in her hand, her face beaming with an innocent smile, she said to the Empress Dowager in a childish voice, "Grandmother, this is a painting I gave to you."
Seeing her beloved granddaughter so well-behaved and sensible, the Empress Dowager was overjoyed. She quickly reached out and pulled Canglan Jingyao into her arms, saying affectionately, "Oh my! My little darling can draw now! Quickly, let your grandmother see what our little darling has drawn." With that, the Empress Dowager took the painting from Canglan Jingyao's hands with a look of anticipation.
The Empress Dowager gently unfolded the drawing and examined it carefully. On the paper, simple yet charming lines sketched an adult and a little girl. The Empress Dowager couldn't help but laugh and softly asked, "Let me guess, is this adult your mother? And this little girl our darling, isn't she?"
However, Canglan Jingyao shook her head, stretched out her chubby little hand, pointed at the adult in the painting, and corrected in a childish voice, "No, Grandmother, you guessed wrong! This is Grandmother."
The Empress Dowager was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter. Holding the drawing paper in one hand, she gently stroked Canglan Jingyao's little head with the other, saying with affection, "So it's the Empress Dowager! Haha, our little darling is so clever, she drew so well!"
Su Nuannuan watched with a smile the warm and amusing interaction between her adorable little girl and the Empress Dowager. After the Empress Dowager finished coaxing Canglan Jingyao with a loving expression, she beckoned to Canglan Jingcheng and affectionately called out, "Little Cheng'er, come here to your grandmother and let your grandmother take a good look at my precious grandson."
Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's summons, Canglan Jingcheng immediately walked briskly to her side, respectfully performed a standard bow, and said in a childish voice, "Grandson greets Imperial Grandmother!" His obedient and sensible appearance was so endearing that it made people want to love him.
The Empress Dowager, overjoyed, pulled Canglan Jingcheng to sit beside her and asked softly, "Little Cheng'er is such a good boy. Tell your grandmother, what have you been busy with lately?"
Cang Lan Jingcheng raised his little face, a hint of pride in his eyes, and excitedly replied, "Grandmother, my sister and I have been studying hard with Mother Consort lately, and we already know so many words!" After saying that, he didn't forget to spread his arms to show the meaning of "so many".
Then, Canglan Jingcheng couldn't wait to share the stories he found so interesting with the Empress Dowager. Unfortunately, the little guy was still quite young, and his stories often became disjointed and incoherent. Fortunately, Canglan Jingyao was always able to spot the problems and correct or supplement them. The siblings worked together quite well, making the Empress Dowager laugh heartily.
Standing to the side, Granny Song quietly watched the harmonious interaction between the Empress Dowager and the two young princes, a smile of satisfaction involuntarily spreading across her face. At the same time, she discreetly glanced at Su Nuannuan, who sat not far away, and then subtly bowed slightly to her. This gesture was both an expression of gratitude for Su Nuannuan's excellent upbringing of the two children and a sincere appreciation for her skillful ability to make the Empress Dowager laugh heartily.
Su Nuannuan smiled slightly, revealing a sweet smile to Granny Song, but she did not speak. She simply gazed at the scene before her, like a quietly blooming flower, listening attentively to the back-and-forth questions and answers between the three old and young women.
Time slips away unnoticed; it seems like only a blink of an eye before lunchtime approaches.
Just then, Granny Zhang, who was in charge of the small kitchen, hurried in. Granny Song, with her sharp eyes, spotted her immediately and quickly reminded her, "Your Majesty, it's time for lunch."
When the Empress Dowager heard Song Mama's voice, she was first taken aback, and then she came to her senses and belatedly sighed, "Oh dear! How come it's already noon?" After saying that, she slowly got up, holding Cang Lan Jingcheng's hand with her left hand and Cang Lan Jingyao's hand with her right hand. Her face was full of loving smiles, and she said softly, "Come on, let's go have lunch together."
At this moment, the Empress Dowager turned her gaze to Su Nuannuan, who had already stood up, and invited her with a smile, "Why don't you stay here and have lunch with me today? There's an extremely delicious sour bamboo shoot and old duck soup for lunch today. My brother specially sent someone to deliver this sour bamboo shoot from afar. In such hot weather, a bowl of sour bamboo shoot and old duck soup can help relieve the heat."
Upon hearing this, Su Nuannuan was overjoyed. She quickly smiled and bowed to the Empress Dowager, replying sweetly, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I am deeply grateful."
"Alright, alright, this isn't the first time you've tried to freeload at my place. Don't give me that nonsense!" The Empress Dowager glanced at Su Nuannuan and scolded her irritably.
Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Su Nuannuan did not show the slightest displeasure. Instead, she smiled slightly, gracefully curtsied to the Empress Dowager, and softly replied, "Your Majesty is right."
She knew perfectly well that even with her close relationship with the Empress Dowager, she couldn't neglect the proper etiquette. Otherwise, if she developed a casual and undisciplined habit in this temporary palace, she would unconsciously reveal it when she returned to the palace. At that point, it wouldn't be a symbol of favor anymore, but rather a handle for others to attack her with, like a sharp sword that could wound her.
Within this temporary palace, with only her and the Empress Dowager as her mistresses, there was naturally no need to be overly reserved. As long as the Empress Dowager didn't mind, it wouldn't be a problem to act a little more freely. However, the situation was completely different within the imperial palace.
The palace not only housed the Crown Prince, who was of noble birth, but also the Fourth Prince, the Sixth Prince, and other members of the royal family and nobility.
The sixth prince was the son of Consort Qing, born last year. Recalling the time when Consort Qing was giving birth, a small mishap occurred, giving everyone a fright. Fortunately, at the last moment, everything turned out alright, and both mother and child were safe; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable, potentially resulting in a tragedy of two lives lost.
After enjoying a sumptuous and exquisite lunch at the Empress Dowager's place, Su Nuannuan and her two children were "chased" out by the Empress Dowager with a smile.
Back at Caiwei Palace, once inside, Granny Jin and Granny Ru led the two children to their bedrooms for their afternoon nap. Although the children were somewhat reluctant, they obediently followed the nannies inside.
Li Quan tiptoed into the room, his face respectful. He lowered his voice and reported to Su Nuannuan, "Your Highness, the Duke has sent you a letter." With that, he handed a sealed letter to Su Nuannuan with both hands.