Song Zhiyuan politely sent away the esteemed Buddha-like Emperor Chu and then headed to Chunhui Hall; there were indeed many questions he wished to ask his mother.
But as for his mother, the courtyard had been locked, and she had retired for the night.
Song Zhiyuan couldn’t very well call on her, especially since tonight Song Ci had been a bit out of sorts. Heaven forbid he should upset the old lady.
When is there a time you can’t ask questions? It’s not like people will run away!
Song Zhiyuan strolled off gracefully, unaware that a certain old lady was actually quite sly, afraid her sharp-witted son would come over and subject her to a tribunal. Claiming to be tired and needing to wash up and sleep early, she locked the door and evaded a crisis.
Little did she know, sometimes there are things you simply cannot escape.
The day after the princes’ grand weddings, an imperial edict was delivered to each prince, bestowing titles upon all.
The Second Prince was conferred the title of Prince Wu, the Third Prince received the title of Prince Zhou, and the Fourth Prince was named Prince Yan. Each Prince Consort enjoyed the same titles, listed in the Imperial Jade Scroll, granted the Strategy Seal, and announced to the Imperial Temple.
This announcement by the Court also marked the official commencement of the succession struggle.
The Eldest Prince felt a bit uneasy but knew this day would eventually come. Fortunately, he already had an advantage—his Princess’s belly had begun to show, and the midwife had felt it was very likely to be an Imperial Grandson.
Once he has the first Imperial Grandson born, he’ll have a greater chance in the succession struggle, as the title of "Imperial Grandson" carries significant weight.
Song Zhiyuan, after finishing court matters, returned to his residence and changed out of his court attire before heading to Chunhui Hall.
Song Ci was leisurely teasing a young maid when she heard her sharp-witted son was coming, and her heart skipped a beat.
There’s no escaping when you can’t escape.
Should she pretend to be sick?
Forget it, she’ll cross that bridge when she comes to it.
"Mother," Song Zhiyuan entered and greeted her with a bow.
Song Ci smiled and said, "Why did you return from court so early today? Did you come straight here after getting home?"
Song Zhiyuan nodded and asked, "Mother, last night with the Emperor present, I couldn’t ask you, why did you think of writing that document? That was too risky."
Here it comes, the tribunal has arrived.
Song Ci remained silent.
Seeing this, Song Zhiyuan felt a pit in his stomach and nervously asked, "Could it be that there’s really something wrong with your health that you’ve been hiding from us?"
Song Ci was momentarily stunned, then jokingly scolded, "Stop saying such unlucky things to curse your old mother, I’m perfectly fine."
"This honor, I’ve reached the status of a First Grade Imperial Madam, there’s nothing more to be conferred, and having too much gold and silver is of no use."
Song Ci said this with her conscience, though having more gold and silver would cure all her whims. But she had a more important experiment to conduct.
"Since there’s nothing more to confer, why not save it, so that in the future you can all see the majestic deeds I once accomplished?" Song Ci laughed divertingly.
But Song Zhiyuan felt that this argument wasn’t convincing enough and said, "No need for writing, we’ve all seen it. You’re really the one who managed to grow greenhouse vegetables, even I am amazed. How did you come up with this idea?"
Song Ci caught sight of his suspicious look, narrowed her eyes, and launched her ultimate move: "What look is that, suspecting your own mother? You brat, now that you’re Prime Minister, you’re doubting your old mother? Remember when you wet your pants as a child, your mother tricked you into thinking that by licking it, you’d stop wetting yourself, and you actually did it. How cute and innocent you were back then, and now that you’ve grown up and become a sly fox, you don’t believe your mother’s words anymore?"
Song Zhiyuan’s face turned dark. Follow current novels on nοvelfire.net
Song Ci secretly reveled in her heart, thankful for the memory she retained from her original self. Ha, such a deep, embarrassing black history, how could it fail to conquer?
Sure enough, Song Zhiyuan’s doubts dissipated. It was indeed his own mother; such a notorious episode was known only to them, not even to the second among them.