Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family - Chapter 938 - 938 938 Moms Two Little Cotton-Padded Jackets
Chapter 938: Chapter 938: Mom’s Two Little Cotton-Padded Jackets Chapter 938: Chapter 938: Mom’s Two Little Cotton-Padded Jackets “Is this matter related to Sisi?” Di Yelei narrowed his eyebrows, feigning ignorance as he asked.
The attention of everyone present shifted to Elder Gan, whose aged face was full of wrinkles: “According to a message from a secret informant in the palace, right after Princess Ruyu left the palace, the traitor Zhao Dun appeared disturbed. He actually bit off his own tongue and committed suicide during the night when the palace maids were off guard. He didn’t leave a single word before his death. His Majesty has issued a gag order, proclaiming to the outside that he died of a sudden illness, and anyone who gossips about it will be executed on the spot.”
So, there was such a secret involved.
Di Yelei understood: “Did His Majesty say anything else?”
On the surface, this matter didn’t seem related to Sisi, but as the old saying goes, “It’s easy to find a pretext to punish someone,” and “if the Emperor wants his minister dead, the minister has to die.” If His Majesty really wanted to punish Sisi, such a charge would already be sufficient.
“His Majesty didn’t say much more but carried out a severe crackdown on the rebel forces instead. It seems he is determined to eradicate those traitors completely,” Elder Gan was naturally very concerned about these matters.
No wonder Elder Gan was anxious. Nowadays, in the capital city, the only active princes in the court were Prince Qing and Prince Fenyang, while the rest of the princes were either indirectly exiled to barren lands or directly punished to oversee the Imperial Mausoleum. And Elder Gan’s legitimate daughter, Honored Concubine Princess Consort Gan, gave birth to the Eighteenth Prince, who is only eight years old this year and is the only prince currently being raised by the Emperor’s side.
In such a situation, it was no wonder that Elder Gan harbored certain ideas in his heart.
However, although Elder Gan and Honored Concubine Princess Consort Gan harbored certain ideas, with countless precedents laid out before them, and although the current Emperor was getting on in years, he was still in good health, and the Eighteenth Prince being young, they could only cautiously conceal their true intentions. They prayed even more that the Emperor would live longer; the longer he lived, the greater the odds for the Eighteenth Prince.
Although Di Yelei had not been back in the capital for long, he had a clear understanding of the current situation. Elder Gan was eager to get close to him and build a relationship, and even if Di Yelei didn’t want to be involved in these battles for succession, he and the Gan Family were already tied together like grasshoppers on a rope, sharing both prosperity and misfortune.
A solitary tree cannot make a forest! As long as the current Emperor was alive, at least he could protect the Di Family. But if anything unexpected happened to the Emperor and the Gan Family truly fell, it likely wouldn’t be long before the Di Family’s day of doom arrived.
“Our men won’t be implicated in this, will they?”
“It’s hard to say about this matter. Recently, the Prime Minister’s faction has shown frequent signs of activity, and His Majesty might use this opportunity to punish a large number of people… We must think carefully and try to minimize the impact…”
All the ministers nodded and discussed their strategies.
In private, however, Di Yelei was thinking about the future of his soldiers. It seemed like a good time to strategically place a few more people in suitable positions, lest when the time came, he wouldn’t even have someone to send a message…
–
Amidst the groggy haze, Liu Sisi heard faint voices near her ear and seemed to hear Chou Chou’s distinctive voice as well. Then she opened her eyes and immediately met several small heads.
“She’s awake! Mom’s awake!” exclaimed Chou Chou in delight.
Niuniu quickly squeezed to her side: “Mom, are you feeling unwell? Are you hungry? Do you want to eat some cooked dishes? But Dad said before he left that if you woke up, you should drink your medicine first before eating. Oh, Dad’s got official business; he said he’ll come to see you as soon as he’s finished.”
Liu Sisi blinked her eyes and then noticed that the room was filled with quite a few people. Chou Chou, Niuniu, YingEr, and Xiao Feng were all there.
She propped herself up from the head of the bed: “Weren’t you all confined to the Ancestral Hall as a penalty? Who let you out?”
“Yes, it was dad who asked us to come out to accompany mom. Dad said that mom, you were sick…” Chou Chou was somewhat incoherent.
Seeing that something was not right, Niuniu hastily stepped forward and hugged Liu Sisi’s arm: “Mom! Niuniu and Chou Chou were wrong, we won’t make mistakes again. Mom, you’re not feeling well, Niuniu and Chou Chou are worried about you. Mom, Niuniu misses you…”
Listening to the child’s soft and sweet voice expressing missing her, Liu Sisi felt as if her heart had melted away.
Any thoughts of punishment evaporated into thin air.
She sighed inwardly, alas! It seemed she was never going to be a strict mother.
She pulled Niuniu into her arms in one swift motion: “Mom misses you too, worried that you would run out so recklessly. What if you met with kidnappers, what if you couldn’t eat or sleep well, or encountered danger and couldn’t escape, you naughty little imps…”
The more she spoke, the more heartbroken she became, and she started to smack Niuniu’s palms.
“That’s for being naughty! For always thinking about running away from home! For making me worry…” As she spoke, tears began to stream down her face.
Back when she first realized the two children were missing, she had not been so worried.
Now, just thinking about how the children had not only lost their way but also encountered a wolf pack filled her with fright!
Seeing Liu Sisi’s tears, Niuniu and Chou Chou were clearly terrified!
“Mom, don’t cry anymore! In the future, Niuniu and Chou Chou will definitely be obedient and won’t run away from home again. Mom! We really are sorry!” Niuniu and Chou Chou were both sobbing and wiping their tears.
Xiao Feng took the bowl of soup medicine from Xue Lan’s hands and walked up to the bed with a smile: “Third Auntie, don’t be sad. Feng’er sees that younger brother and sister already realize their mistakes, and what happened is in the past; don’t be heartbroken anymore. Come, drink your medicine first, so you can recover quickly.” While speaking, Xiao Feng handed the soup medicine to Liu Sisi.
Only then did Liu Sisi notice Feng’er and the others still standing by, especially YingEr, who stood at the bedside with her eyes red and brimming with tears.
“It’s just that I’m too agitated! When someone is sick, they just love to cry; I’ve almost turned into a creature made of water.”
Liu Sisi said self-deprecatingly, finished the medicine in one gulp, and handed the bowl back to Feng’er: “You are in a delicate condition, why don’t you rest properly? If there’s something that needs to be done, let the maids and pageboys handle it. Focus on nurturing your health, and try to give birth to a baby boy, to carry on your Li family’s bloodline sooner.”
After Di Cheng, Feng’er gave birth to another daughter this summer, much to the disappointment of the child-hungry ironworker old man of the Li family. After all, there had been an early agreement that Feng’er and Di Cheng’s second child would be given to the Li family to continue the family line.
Feng’er had also tearfully lamented over this, never expecting that soon after her confinement, she would become pregnant again, which joyfully surprised everyone.
Feng’er felt somewhat embarrassed: “Third Auntie is teasing Feng’er again. This child really is sensible; I don’t feel anything even though I’m pregnant—I’m afraid it might be another daughter…”
“A daughter is also good, they say a daughter is like a little cotton-padded jacket to her mom. You already have one little cotton-padded jacket. If you have one more, being embraced from both sides would be just right,” Liu Sisi consoled.
