Chapter 527 - 305: He’s Just a Doorman for Song Zhaoyi

Chapter 527: Chapter 305: He’s Just a Doorman for Song Zhaoyi

The baby was born seven or eight days ahead of his due date. Afterward, she asked the Imperial Physician, who said everything looked normal from his pulse reading. Nanny Yu had also checked everything inside and out and found nothing amiss, so it seemed he had just arrived a little early naturally.

Of the two midwives, Nanny Fan was reliable and capable, while Nanny Qiao was a bit lacking. However, the latter hadn’t done anything suspicious. Song Yunzhao later reflected that there were probably two reasons for this. First, she had been very strict in vetting the midwives. Second, Nanny Yu had been watching over them during the delivery. No matter what ulterior motives Nanny Qiao might have had, as long as she had given birth safely, she would let it go.

’When I have another child, I definitely won’t use her again,’ she thought. ’It’s unsettling to use someone who’s under suspicion.’

In her past life, she often saw those short essays online complaining about family conflicts during postpartum confinement, but that wasn’t an issue for her here. With dozens of people in Wangyou Palace waiting on her and her son, what was there to be unhappy about?

Not to mention, Consort Shu now visited almost every other day. She would barely say a few words to Song Yunzhao, spending the entire time doting on the baby.

In Consort Shu’s own words, she had put in a great deal of effort to ensure the child was born safely, so she felt a special connection to him just by looking at him.

Song Yunzhao: ...

The Eldest Prince had been well-nourished during the pregnancy. Although he was born seven or eight days early, he was fair and tender from the start. After a few days, the redness in his face faded and his features settled. His eyes were large, round, and dark as lacquer. In any case, even before he could utter a word, he had already coaxed plenty of fine things out of Consort Shu to use as toys.

Consort Shu later complained to Wang Zhaorong, "Song Yunzhao’s mouth is infuriating, but how can the son she birthed be so darn lovable? He can’t even talk yet, and I’ve already given him so much. Once he starts talking, I’m afraid my entire little stash of savings will be his for the taking."

For the first time, Consort Shu felt that money was truly a wonderful thing.

What could Wang Zhaorong say? She was very poor now. After her family’s fall from grace, her mother and sister-in-law had used up much of their dowries to fill the gap. Their family’s standard of living had plummeted, and with a younger sister still unmarried, she had to send them what little help she could. She was living on a tight budget herself, hardly able to be as generous as Consort Shu.

Soon, Song Yunzhao received another letter from Feng Yi. He wrote that he would be returning to the Capital City soon, which made her instantly happy. In the letter, Feng Yi also said she had worked hard and apologized for not being able to rush back to be with her.

The letter was a thick stack of seven or eight pages. After reading it, Song Yunzhao couldn’t quite put a name to her feelings. Consort Shu, however, saw the stack of paper, flung her sleeves in a huff, and left. This time, not even the Eldest Prince’s laughter could make her stay.

She was green with envy.

’The Emperor wrote a separate letter just for Song Yunzhao, and such a thick stack of paper at that! Do they really have that much to talk about?’

’The Emperor is so busy with official duties, yet he still remembers to write to her!’

’I’ve been in the palace for so many years and have never received a single word from the Emperor.’

The Eldest Prince’s third-day bath ceremony was not held. It had originally been planned, but the Empress Dowager said that the Emperor had not yet returned to the Capital City. His journey back might not be peaceful, so how could anyone be in the mood to hold a third-day bath ceremony?

She also hinted that although Song Yunzhao had given birth to a Prince, she should still prioritize the Emperor.

This made it sound as if Song Yunzhao was hoping for something to happen to Feng Yi. In a fit of pique, she canceled the ceremony. Consort Shu, who adored the Eldest Prince, felt it was an injustice to the child. But Song Yunzhao was now at loggerheads with the Empress Dowager. Unable to persuade the Empress Dowager or convince Song Yunzhao, Consort Shu felt caught in the middle like a blade of grass swaying in the wind. Frustrated, she threw up her hands and decided to stay out of it.

Later, she picked out a few nice things for the Eldest Prince to play with. ’When adults fight, isn’t it the child who suffers?’

Before her postpartum confinement was over, the Empress Dowager sent over a wet nurse. She was like a nail that couldn’t be removed. Whenever they tried to send her away, the wet nurse would threaten to smash her head against a wall to prove her loyalty by death.

Even the good-natured Consort Shu’s face darkened with anger. Song Yunzhao knew the Empress Dowager was doing this deliberately to vex her. By forcing this person on her, she could project an image of a caring grandmother to the outside world while making Song Yunzhao worry that the wet nurse had malicious intent, thus intentionally disrupting her postpartum recovery.

But Song Yunzhao was a force to be reckoned with. If the Empress Dowager started something on the first day of the month, she would finish it on the fifteenth. She had Nanny Yu lock the wet nurse in a rear hall, providing her with good food and drink but forbidding her from seeing the Eldest Prince or leaving Wangyou Palace.

Even when the wet nurse walked around the rear hall, two little palace maids followed her at all times. If the Empress Dowager summoned the wet nurse, Song Yunzhao wasn’t afraid of what she might say. When Nanny Yao did come to ask, Song Yunzhao coldly rebuffed her, "The Eldest Prince has a small appetite. He can’t even finish the milk from one wet nurse. We can’t very well stuff the child, can we?"

Nanny Yao muttered a few sarcastic remarks, but Song Yunzhao treated them as if they were farts.

Nanny Yao had never met such a thick-skinned, difficult person. She could only return to Shouci Palace with a dark expression.

Seeing Song Yunzhao’s methods, Consort Shu grew thoughtful, feeling they were worth emulating. The next time the Empress Dowager tried to vex her, she would use Song Yunzhao’s trick to fight back.

When Song Yunzhao was annoying her, she found it utterly unpleasant. But watching Song Yunzhao annoy someone else? Why was it so delightful?

Having failed with the wet nurse, the Empress Dowager later sent two disciplinary nannies, claiming that as a mere Zhaoyi, how could Song Yunzhao possibly be qualified to raise the Eldest Prince?

This time, Song Yunzhao didn’t hold back. She had the two women dragged into the courtyard and beaten with planks, then had Zhang Maoquan carry them back to Shouci Palace.

Song Yunzhao showed the Empress Dowager no courtesy, stating only, "If the Empress Dowager, who was once a mere Beauty, could personally raise the Emperor, why can’t I, a Zhaoyi, raise the child I gave birth to?"

The Empress Dowager was so furious she sent people to slap Song Yunzhao’s face, but Song Yunzhao had someone call Meng Jiuchang to block the gate.

Meng Jiuchang: ...

’So to Song Zhaoyi, I’m just a gatekeeper!’

During her month of postpartum confinement, the entire harem watched Song Zhaoyi and the Empress Dowager fight three hundred rounds. Life had become more lively than it had been in the past two years.

Song Zhaoyi was only a Zhaoyi, but her audacity wasn’t just great—it was sky-high.

But the Emperor had left a token with Meng Jiuchang. When Meng Jiuchang stood at the entrance of Wangyou Palace with the token, Nanny Yao could only retreat in defeat.

Unless the Empress Dowager came to Wangyou Palace to do the dirty work herself, but she couldn’t bring herself to discard her last shred of dignity and do so.

Although the Empress Dowager was the Emperor’s biological mother, she held no authority over the palace. She couldn’t command others and could only use the palace attendants from Shouci Palace. Compared to the token in Meng Jiuchang’s hands, it was clear at a glance which held more weight.

The Empress Dowager’s only leverage was her title, her final layer of respectability.

The Empress Dowager could not afford to lose.

But Song Yunzhao was truly willing to risk it all.

The difference in their positions was immediately clear.

On the day Song Yunzhao’s postpartum confinement ended, the Emperor’s procession arrived in the Capital City.

She was busy bathing and changing her clothes. For the entire month, she could only take simple sponge baths and hadn’t been able to enjoy a proper bath. She had been finding it almost unbearable.

Outside, Consort Shu, Wang Zhaorong, and a few others were playing with the Eldest Prince. They were all stunned for a moment when Zhang Maoquan announced that the Emperor’s procession had returned to the Capital City. Then, Consort Shu told everyone to go back and freshen up to welcome His Majesty.

Feng Yunjin and Han Jinyi rose to take their leave, but Lu Zhixue muttered, "Why bother welcoming him now? It’s not like the Emperor wants to see our faces."

Everyone: ...