Nanny Li: "She is still the little highness’s companion, and with His Majesty’s current favor for her, whenever she comes to Jiaofang Palace, His Majesty is likely to follow often. We can seize this opportunity to curry favor with the Eighteenth Princess, make her work for us, help us regain His Majesty’s trust, and lift your confinement in advance, so that you can regain control of the harem."
Regaining control of the harem is certainly important, but...
"Nanny, are you senile? How can I, the dignified Empress, lower myself to win over a foolish boy disguised as a girl?"
"I will not go." The Empress refused.
"Your Majesty," Nanny Li urged, "do you not wish to regain control of the harem? Do you want things to continue ? Until the Imperial Concubine completely sidelines you?"
"Of course, I don’t want that." The Empress got angry at the thought, "How could I stand by and be sidelined and ranked beneath someone else?"
"So, now is the best opportunity to stand up."
To curry favor with Jun Ning, for the sake of not being sidelined, the Empress considered it might be possible to grit her teeth and do it, but...
Nanny Li said, "The old servant knows what Your Majesty is worried about. You’re afraid that once the Eighteenth Princess comes to Jiaofang Palace, she will continue to spend every day with the Seventeenth Prince, their relationship will deepen, and Your Majesty will end up with nothing but useless effort, raising someone else’s son."
Jun Ning has now fallen out of favor.
But the Seventeenth Prince has not!
How could the Empress not fear Qiong Hua taking away the Seventeenth Prince?
From the moment she knew Jun Ning was Qiong Hua’s son, she was on guard.
She had previously told Nanny Li that under no circumstances could Jun Ning be allowed any opportunity to meet the Seventeenth Prince.
"Your Majesty, there’s absolutely no need to worry about that. Winning over the Eighteenth Princess and preventing the Seventeenth Prince from having contact with the Eighteenth Princess are two separate matters. There’s no need to confuse them."
"But what if, once the Eighteenth Princess arrives, she insists on seeing the Seventeenth? If we don’t satisfy her, our attempts at winning her over will surely be in vain, and we might even face backlash." For origınal chapters go to 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✶𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲✶𝗻𝗲𝘁
Nanny Li said earnestly, "Your Majesty, you are the Empress; can you be led by a child’s nose? We have plenty of reasons to refuse, and if you can’t, the old servant is here to help!"
The Empress, after hearing these words, hesitated for a moment but finally agreed.
To lift her confinement as soon as possible and regain control of the harem, she was willing to try to win over Jun Ning.
On this day, Jun Ning came to be Jun Yu’s companion. As soon as he stepped into Jiaofang Palace, he saw the Empress and Nanny Li coming out smiling to greet him. Their cordial demeanor would make anyone unaware think they were welcoming a very important person.
Empress: "Ah Ning, you’ve come? Come in with mother."
Nanny Li: "The Empress knew you were coming today and had been waiting since early morning. She also prepared many good things for you."
Jun Ning felt a chill watching these two smiley people.
He hadn’t forgotten what the Empress had done to him before.
Thus, at the sudden goodwill from these two, he only felt suspicion in his heart.
The Empress, unaware of Jun Ning’s suspicion, acted like a loving mother, looked Jun Ning up and down, held her small hand, and said, "Our Ah Ning looks so lovely in a dress, like a porcelain doll, so adorable and endearing."
Jun Ning just smiled and said nothing.
He had recently heard such words from Emperor Yongning so often that he was numb to them.
The Empress had expected that by saying such things, little Jun Ning, being a child, would not hold a grudge and would trust others easily...