Chapter 635: 306 Spoiling Grandson Like Crazy (Double Update)_2 Chapter 635: 306 Spoiling Grandson Like Crazy (Double Update)_2 The crown prince emerged from the study, completely drenched.
The palace maids waiting outside immediately stepped forward, presenting him with a handkerchief and fanning him.
Fortunately, it was the height of summer, so sweating was not unusual.
Only the crown prince knew that most of his sweat was cold sweat.
Xiao Liulang calmly walked out of the study.
The crown prince glanced again at his walking stick.
Xiao Hen was indeed vain and cared a lot about others’ gaze. When he lost two front teeth as a child, he even refrained from speaking in public for half a year.
He would never allow himself to appear disabled, he would rather sit in a wheelchair than limp around in broad daylight.
On the other side, the imperial concubine left the Changchun Palace in a sedan chair.
The emperor was reviewing documents in the Imperial Study Room when Eunuch Wei announced, “Your Majesty, the imperial concubine is here.”
The emperor furrowed his brows: “Now?”
It was time for lunch.
The emperor glanced at the Empress Xiao, who was quietly waiting for him, cleared his throat, and said to Eunuch Wei, “Let her in.”
“Yes.”, Eunuch Wei stepped out.
Empress Xiao said nothing, quietly drinking tea on the chair across from him.
Qin Chuyu was rolling on the ground.
He was practicing Toad Gong, a martial art technique that he and his friends at the Guozijian had read about in a book. It was said to be a powerful technique that could ward off many enemies when mastered.
He was trying to show his father the emperor his strength, to tell him that he could protect him too.
The Emperor didn’t see his son was practicing martial arts. He thought his son was just too fat and need to lose some weight. He saw that rolling around could be a form of exercise, so he didn’t stop him.
The imperial concubine expected to find the emperor alone in the study. She was surprised to find the entire royal family—emperor, empress, and prince—present.
“This concubine greets Your Majesty, greets the Empress.” The imperial concubine suppressed her embarrassment and paid her respects.
“Qin Chuyu.” said the emperor.
While rolling, Qin Chuyu turned to look at his father: “Father?” He also spotted the imperial concubine, “Uh? Gu Jiao?”
He got up, giving the imperial concubine a polite bow: “Xiaoqi greets Madame Gu.”
“Such a good boy,” the imperial concubine said, smiling.
What kind of behavior was this rolling around on the ground? And the empress, she must have forgotten propriety in teaching her son.
“Do you have something to report?” the emperor asked the imperial concubine.
She had a matter to discuss, but how could she bring it up in front of the empress and the young prince?
“Eunuch Su, take Xiaoqi out,” Empress Xiao ordered.
She was planning to stay behind alone.
“Prince Xiaoqi, this servant will accompany you outside to play marbles,” Eunuch Su proposed with a smile.
Qin Chuyu was currently quite enthusiastic about marbles, so he left with Eunuch Su.
“The rest of you withdrawal,” the emperor ordered the numerous palace girls who were fanning him and Empress Xiao.
“Yes,” the palace girls filed out.
Eunuch Wei stayed at the doorway.
“Now, what is the matter?” asked the emperor succinctly.
The imperial concubine looked troubled.
Empress Xiao chuckled. “It seems to be something I shouldn’t hear. I’ll come another day to visit you, Your Majesty.”
“No, it’s not like that!” The imperial concubine didn’t have the guts to have a private conversation with the emperor without the empress present. It would be inappropriate if it came to light.
The imperial concubine laughed: “Why would I hide anything from the Empress? Just now, I was trying to figure out how to raise the issue. Now that the Empress has asked, it immediately clarified things for me. Interestingly, the matter at hand also requires validation from the Empress.”
Empress Xiao picked up her teacup and gently stirred the tea with the lid, commenting: “Oh? What matter requires the verification of this palace?”
The act of turning against one’s own kin, framed as loyalty to the emperor, would undoubtedly appear scandalous if it spread to outside ears.
The imperial concubine didn’t want the empress to mock her over this, but since she had no option but to fire the arrow in her bowstring, she steadied herself and exposed Gu Jiao: “… Today, I was stunned to discover that the girl has made some connection with the Dowager.”
The imperial concubine had always been neutral in palace intrigues, not courting the Noble Consort nor showing excessive favor to Empress Xiao. However, she consistently maintained her distance from the Dowager.
By mentioning this, she indicated she wanted to be disassociated from the matter, just as she also wanted to disassociate Marquis Residence from it: “Ever since that girl arrived in the Capital City, she has not come to pay her respects to me, nor has she gone to the residence to give her greetings to her grandparents. Her brothers in the family are like strangers to her…”
Therefore her collusion with the Dowager Emprss couldn’t have been orchestrated by the Marquis Residence.
Empress Xiao had also been planning on reporting the issue, but differently from the concubine, she wasn’t in such a hurry. She wanted to first gauge the emperor’s attitude towards the girl. She wouldn’t shoulder the unnecessary burden.