Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Being the principal wife is no easy task. Even in weather this cold, I still had to go check on Attendant Lin and put on the proper show of concern. Exhausting.

Attendant Lin lay in bed, her face pale, her eyes full of helplessness. Noble Lady Ning was crying too, while Attendant An comforted her at the side. Only after asking did I learn why Attendant Lin had fallen: Noble Lady Ning had slipped first, and Attendant Lin, standing beside her, had tried to catch her. In the end, they both went down together.

It was cold, so everyone was dressed in thick layers. Noble Lady Ning took a fall and was fine, but Attendant Lin lost her child. All I could say was that Attendant Lin truly had terrible luck. There was no one else she could blame.

Lady Xue had said the plum blossoms were lovely, but she had not tied Attendant Lin up and dragged her out to see them. Noble Lady Ning had slipped, but Attendant Lin was the one who reached out to help her; Noble Lady Ning had not pulled her down. If I were Attendant Lin, I would be furious enough to die.

Of course, when I comforted her, I could not be that blunt. I could only tell her that her fate with the child had been too shallow. After hearing that, she still looked dazed. She clutched at me and asked, “Then will my child come back to me?”

That was not something I could answer. After all, I was not the Emperor. Was I supposed to pray her back into pregnancy? If prayer really worked, why would I bother being Empress?

Winter passed and spring came. All things stirred back to life, and the weather warmed. It was rare for Lady Xue to bring the sickly Fourth Prince over. Compared with the Second Princess, the Fourth Prince was a whole size smaller. I held him for a while, then handed him back to Lady Xue.

As we chatted, Lady Xue complained to me that His Majesty still had not given the child a proper name. “Changsheng is already half a year old, yet His Majesty rarely sees him. Your Highness, do you think His Majesty also believes Changsheng won’t survive?”

I was the Empress, and she was the favored consort, but our relationship was not nearly as irreconcilable as others imagined. I cared about my clan, my children, my power, and many other things, but the one thing I did not care about was the Emperor’s affection. To me, it was enough that he gave me the dignity and respect due to his legitimate wife. Lady Xue was the opposite. Since what we wanted was different, our relationship was naturally not that bad.

Besides, Lady Xue was frail, wholeheartedly adored His Majesty, and was not particularly spoiled or arrogant. Under such circumstances, if His Majesty had to have a favored consort, I thought Lady Xue was an excellent choice. Being frail meant she might not live long; I could outlast her. Having eyes and heart only for His Majesty meant she would not fight me for power. And being somewhat sensible meant she would not turn the inner palace into a complete mess.

“His Majesty likes you. How could he not like Changsheng?”

“Never mind Your Highness’s First Prince-even Consort Kang’s child received a name early on. Only my child is different.”

That was because those children looked sturdy at a glance. They could cry, eat, and sleep, looking as if they would grow with the wind. As for Lady Xue’s child, my guess was that His Majesty did not dislike him. He was simply afraid that if he invested too much affection and the child died young, he himself would suffer.

“You are different in His Majesty’s heart too,” I comforted her.

She gave a faint smile. “Your Highness, will you help me? His Majesty will listen to Your Highness. Will Your Highness ask His Majesty once, for Changsheng’s sake?”

“His Majesty may be…”

“Your Highness, I beg you.” A beauty shedding tears was enough to make even me pity her. No wonder some people lost themselves in beauty. I wanted to as well.

I had thought this matter would be difficult, but to my surprise, the moment I brought it up, His Majesty agreed. He even asked me whether the character chen was suitable.

Chen means treasure. It seemed His Majesty had been considering the Fourth Prince’s name for a long time. Song Chaochen was a fine name. I only hoped His Majesty could protect his treasure well.

“I was only afraid. The Imperial Physician said Changsheng’s health is poor, and I was afraid.” He held my hand as he spoke of the pain in his heart.

I showed nothing on my face, but inwardly, I looked down on him. Did Lady Xue not know that as well? Yet she still cared for the child diligently every day, hoping he would live a long life. His Majesty’s way of handling it, however, was to avoid him. How cruel. Perhaps it was because His Majesty had many children, while Lady Xue had only this one. If I put myself in her place, I would naturally do the same as she did. That was the child she had risked her life to give birth to. How could she avoid him just because she feared he might die young?

Men. Emperors. Hah.