Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Afterward, the Empress rewarded me by ordering a golden chamber pot made especially for me.
It even had golden steps.
The Crown Prince’s household paid for it.
The poisoner had been sent from his residence and was supposedly an expert in medicinal cuisine.
From then on, the maids and eunuchs attending me upgraded my name from “Jiaojiao” to “Her Highness Jiaojiao.”
That alone was not enough to secure my future.
I heard my two littermates had already begun hunting lessons.
The Empress held me in her arms and teased, “Jiaojiao, are you bored in the inner palace every day? Shall We take you bird hunting?”
I nearly died of fright.
Did I look like I could endure that kind of hardship?
From that day on, I practiced my sweet mew and butt-wiggling dance with even greater devotion.
I am not exaggerating when I say that palace maids cheered wherever I went.
They simply could not help themselves, and the Empress never stopped them.
She herself was more restrained. Usually she just watched my dance with smiling eyes.
My position was secure. I would not be sent hunting.
Naturally, I began to miss Zhuzhu.
Ah, Sis. I wondered how she was holding up.
Speak of the devil: Number Two came to the palace.
I was sunning myself on the little jade platform Her Majesty had prepared for me. When I opened my eyes, the second prince and I stared at each other.
I had to admit he was rather cute. His mother’s genes spoke for themselves, and his father had been selected from thousands to become the Imperial Consort.
Number Two was only nineteen. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and long-legged, with phoenix eyes and a hint of baby fat still softening his face. He looked more adorable than either the Crown Prince or their younger brother.
He studied me for a long time.
Then he said, “Xiaoshui?”
I stared back in horror.
Zhuzhu! What had you been telling him?
Looking profoundly confused, Number Two forced out another sentence. “The Princess Consort asked me to tell you that she is fine, not to worry, and… eight-eight-six.”
Got it. “886,” internet slang for bye-bye, was there to prove those were really her words.
Not bad, Sis. Even your messages came with anti-counterfeit protection.
I gave Number Two a cheerful little mew.
He looked as if lightning had struck him. Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
Then he drifted away in a daze.
Her message settled my nerves.
For about three minutes.
Then Number Two started arguing with the Empress.
His point was that the maid sent by the Crown Prince was known to understand medicinal cuisine. How could an attempt on Her Majesty’s life simply be dismissed?
“You punished him with nothing but a chamber pot!”
The Empress looked at him. “Are you finished?”
Of course Number Two was not finished.
He actually shouted at her. “Imperial Mother, is Eldest Brother your only trueborn son? Are Third Brother and I not your children too?”
I nearly lost my mind from fear.
He had been her son for nineteen years. How had he still not learned that, with this mother, the squeaky wheel did not get grease? It got slapped.
Her face darkened.
“Your eldest brother is the Crown Prince. He is your sovereign, and you are his subject. You were confined last time for the same offense. Have you forgotten the moment you were released?”
Number Two stubbornly replied, “This son asks for a full investigation into the Crown Prince’s treason.”
Her Majesty answered with a magnificent slap across his face.
Then she sent him home for another round of confinement.
Zhuzhu came to the palace to apologize again.
This time, the Empress was holding council in the Pavilion of Clear Hearts and left her waiting beneath the corridor.
Apparently, Her Majesty intended to let her stew awhile.
I scampered over. “Zhuzhu.”
Oh, my poor Sis. She had lost so much weight. Her small face was pale, and she looked exhausted.
Was she not supposed to transmigrate into the glamorous life of a princess consort? How had she ended up more miserable than a lynx?
Zhuzhu stroked my back. “You really have gotten a lot fatter.”
I sat down beside her with a thump. “Did Number Two drag you into trouble?”
She looked around. Only when she was sure no one was nearby did she dare sigh.
“I don’t know what Her Majesty is thinking. I understand him. She plays favorites too blatantly. Back home, parents who emotionally manipulated their children like this would be torn apart online.”
Hmm. She was not wrong.
Everyone could see that the Empress favored her eldest son. The Crown Prince was also arrogant and rather unpleasant.
And she truly did suppress her other two sons.
By modern standards, that was certainly wrong.
A parent might not divide affection with perfect equality, but surely the difference should not be this extreme.
Prince He, the youngest, had already given up and gone limp.
Only Number Two remained perpetually furious.
Zhuzhu sighed. “All he wants is a little motherly love.”
My instincts prickled. “Zhu, this is their family business. It has nothing to do with us. And do not say I never warned you: pitying a man is the first step toward a lifetime of bad luck.”
The corner of her mouth twitched.
Zhuzhu was summoned before the Empress.
She behaved with restraint and good sense, humbly apologizing on Number Two’s behalf.
“His Highness was goaded by others and acted out of concern for Imperial Mother.”
Without hesitation, she handed over the advisers who spent every day whispering nonsense in Prince Yong’s ear.
I could not quite follow her strategy.
The Empress looked at her as if she saw through everything. “You wish to place yourself under Our protection?”
“Your Majesty is our mother. This daughter naturally stands with Mother.”
Excellent answer.
The sovereign might be an empress, but Number Two was still the child she had carried for ten months and borne herself.
I looked up. Her Majesty was watching Zhuzhu with an extraordinarily complicated expression.
“You are a good child. Our family is fortunate to have you.”
She ordered Number Two’s advisers punished, ended his confinement, and awarded Zhuzhu a peck of pearls.
Zhuzhu looked rather surprised.