latelenovela Chapter 36: Assisting the Six Palaces
Chapter 36: Assisting the Six Palaces
Su Nuannuan slowly turned her head to meet the Empress's gaze, her expression still calm and composed. She replied softly, "Your Majesty, I am indeed not surprised. Given her circumstances and the stark contrast in her situation, it would be strange if she could accept it so readily. I was simply trying to put myself in her shoes."
Upon hearing this, the Empress's smile widened, and she nodded approvingly, saying, "It seems that Consort Zhuang is the most insightful and clear-headed of all!"
"The Empress Dowager has been urging the Emperor to find suitable foster mothers for the Second Prince and the Third Prince as soon as possible. My two sisters must know very well that these two princes were born with disabilities, and the Emperor is now in his prime. It is really not easy to find a foster mother who is suitable in all aspects."
Therefore, after careful consideration, the Emperor and Empress Dowager finally decided to temporarily entrust the two princes to the care of this palace.
However, this has caused me a lot of trouble. My daily palace affairs are already quite heavy, and now with two more children to take care of, my time is even more limited, making it difficult to cope.
Therefore, I have specially kept my two younger sisters here today, hoping that you can lend me a hand and help me manage the affairs of the harem, so as to share some of the pressure on me. The Emperor is already aware of this matter and has agreed.
"Your Majesty, it would be more appropriate to entrust the power of assisting in the management of the six palaces to Consort Qin. As for me, I have always been used to being free and easy. I am really not up to the task of doing something that requires caution and careful consideration in every matter. I am afraid I am not capable of handling it."
"Why don't you allow me to temporarily adopt one of the princes? That way, it will at least lighten Your Majesty's burden a little, won't it?"
"Sister Zhuangfei, you really have a good plan. Look at how you talk, as if I could easily handle these things. You've always been so free and easy, so naturally you're not good at these trivial matters. But, well, I'm not much better than you."
Now that things have come to this, Your Majesty, perhaps I should temporarily take the other prince away to raise. This way, Your Majesty can focus entirely on palace affairs and won't need to worry about how to allocate power anymore.
Consort Qin had a faint smile on her lips. She casually retorted to Su Nuannuan, then turned to the Empress with a beaming smile and made a suggestion.
However, the Empress frowned slightly and replied softly, "The Second Prince and the Third Prince are twins who have been inseparable since childhood and have a deep bond. It would be unreasonable and illogical to forcibly separate them."
The Empress was secretly surprised. She had never expected that palace power would be so difficult to distribute. She had originally thought she could use this opportunity to lighten her burden and test whether the two women were interested in palace power, but who would have thought that she would fall into such a stalemate.
Just then, Su Nuannuan, who had been silent all along, suddenly gritted her teeth, as if she had made up her mind, and resolutely said, "Since that's the case, then I might as well take the Second Prince and the Third Prince with me!"
For Su Nuannuan, she would rather spend her energy raising two children than take on the dreaded power of assisting in the management of the six palaces. After all, it was an incredibly tedious and complicated task, and the slightest mistake could bring a lot of trouble. Besides, the birth mother of the second and third princes had passed away, so it was not inappropriate for her to take care of them.
"Your Majesty, I have been helping Consort Zhuang raise the two princes. You should take back the power to assist in managing the six palaces!" Consort Qin glared at Su Nuannuan when she heard that Su Nuannuan was taking the two princes away. Then she tried to ingratiate herself with the Empress.
"Why are you two sisters so wary of the power to assist in managing the six palaces?" The Empress frowned slightly, her gaze falling on the two women before her with suspicion.
She simply couldn't understand the reason behind this. If it were any other concubine, they would probably have been overjoyed and eager to seize this power.
Su Nuannuan smiled slightly and replied softly, "Your Majesty, the main problem is that I have never dealt with such matters before and know nothing about them. If I were to take over rashly, many mistakes would inevitably occur, and I would have to come to Your Majesty for guidance from time to time. In that case, it would be more appropriate for Your Majesty to take charge personally."
Upon hearing this, Consort Qin hurriedly nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, yes, Consort Zhuang is right! Your Majesty, we share the same thought. We also feel that the two of us are probably not capable of handling such a heavy responsibility. It would be more prudent to rely on Your Majesty the Empress."
When Su Nuannuan heard Consort Qin say, "Consort Zhuang is right," a sentence suddenly popped into her mind: "Second Senior Brother is right!" For a moment, she almost couldn't help but laugh out loud, but fearing that she would be impolite, she had to force herself to suppress her laughter and continue to maintain her dignified demeanor.
"Since my two younger sisters are not interested in the power to assist in managing the six palaces, I will not force them."
After all, while the power is great, the responsibility is also considerable. The Empress said casually, but her gaze seemed to sweep over Su Nuannuan and Consort Qin.
She paused, then continued, "As for Consort Zhuang's decision to raise the two princes, it requires careful consideration. I will find a suitable time to explain the pros and cons to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager before making a final decision."
At this point, the Empress frowned slightly, seemingly worried: "However, the journey to the summer palace is long, and these two princes are still young, so there will inevitably be many inconveniences along the way. Therefore, I will trouble my two younger sisters to take good care of them during this period."
Upon hearing the Empress's words, Su Nuannuan and Consort Qin quickly rose and bowed, replying, "It is our honor to have the Empress's trust, and it is also our duty to do our best."
Seeing how obedient the two were, the Empress nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, I know you are both sensible people, so I won't keep you here any longer. Hurry back and pack your bags, and prepare to depart at dawn on the third day of the month."
"Your Majesty, I take my leave." After bowing to Consort Qin once more, Su Nuannuan turned and slowly departed.
Watching the two figures gradually disappear into the distance at the palace gate, the Empress slowly stood up and said softly, "It seems they are both sensible people."
Seeing this, Yingchun asked softly, "Your Majesty, you just said that Consort Zhuang and Consort Qin are sensible people. What do you mean by that?"
The Empress smiled slightly and said slowly, "You see, when I mentioned the power to assist in managing the six palaces, neither of them showed the slightest greed; and when it came to taking care of the prince, they agreed without hesitation. It is clear that they know their limits and know when to advance and retreat, and are not the kind of people who are blinded by greed and will stop at nothing. In this way, they can naturally be considered to understand things."
"This servant understands. But will His Majesty and the Empress Dowager agree to entrust the two princes to Consort Zhuang's care?"