Nanny Xiang had made up her mind to stay from the moment she arrived at Hexi Palace.
However, as Jiang Xinyue had not yet spoken to the Xuanwu Emperor about it, she became a bit anxious and tried her best to prove her usefulness, hoping Jiang Xinyue would notice her value.
Everyone was well aware of this situation.
Nanny Li privately advised Jiang Xinyue: "Your Highness, Nanny Xiang is quite capable. She entered the palace the same year as this old servant, and we were both sent to serve the Emperor by the Dowager Empress before being gifted to you by His Majesty. Unlike me, she has no family outside the palace, so she doesn't wish to leave. If you find her useful, you might consider keeping her. I'm sure the Emperor wouldn't object."
Initially, when Jiang Xinyue was in Xihuo Palace, she had always lacked a nanny. Later, when she moved to Hexi Palace, fearing that someone might take the opportunity to plant spies, she refused the Internal Affairs Department's offer to send nannies.
It wasn't until her pregnancy that the Emperor sent Nanny Li and Nanny Xiang, finally providing her with elderly nannies.
The wet nurse had just finished another feeding, and after about half an hour, Nanny Xiang picked up the Sixth Prince to burp him.
Jiang Xinyue put down the book in her hand and said, "Nanny Xiang, that's enough for now. Go and rest for a while. You've been busy all day, and don't you still need to help me with breast massage tonight?"
She was concerned that if Nanny Xiang didn't preserve some energy, she might faint from exertion later that night.
Eager to demonstrate her capabilities, Nanny Xiang quickly replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, but this old servant is not tired."
Jiang Xinyue smiled, "After the Sixth Prince's full moon celebration, Nanny Li will be retiring from the palace. Nanny Xiang, if you don't mind, would you like to become the managing nanny for the Sixth Prince's quarters?"
Being the managing nanny for the Sixth Prince was essentially equivalent to being the head nanny of Hexi Palace, as the Sixth Prince was currently the most precious person in the entire palace.
By entrusting the Sixth Prince to her care, Her Highness was showing her trust.
Moreover, if she hadn't misheard, Her Highness's words implied that she intended to keep her, right?
"This old servant... This old servant will go rest now. I'll return to help Your Highness with the breast massage after you've had your evening meal."
Jiang Xinyue felt that one side of her "food source" had already become as hard as a rock, but Nanny Xiang had been running around all day without a chance to eat, completely exhausting herself. Jiang Xinyue didn't have the heart to mention it and just let her go rest.
"Xi Que, go fetch a basin of warm water for me to apply."
"Yes, Your Highness."
At the Southern Imperial Palace—
It was the beautiful spring scenery of April, and a huge painted barge was anchored on the emerald waters of the river.
The bright moon hung in the window, and the night scene was like a painting.
A gentle, slightly cool evening breeze rustled through the treetops, creating a rustling sound. The moonlight, filtered through the tree shadows, cast dappled spots of light.
From the center of the lake, the melodious sound of a pipa drifted from the painted barge, its enchanting notes lingering in the air.
Accompanied by the soft, dulcet voices of Wu dialect singers, the men on the shore felt their hearts melting.
Inside the boat were many beautiful young women, clustered around the feet of an elegant, well-preserved noble lady.
A matron nearby said, "Dowager Empress, by my calculations, Concubine Zhen should have given birth by now. Shouldn't we be heading back to the capital?"
After all, when the Emperor had forcibly sent them to the South, he had said they could return after Concubine Zhen gave birth.
The Dowager Empress hummed softly along with the singing girls, clearly in a good mood.
She didn't answer, her gaze falling on a young woman in the center of the barge who was brewing tea.
The young woman's jade-like fingers lightly touched the fragrant tea leaves before dropping them into the water. Fresh dew collected from gardenia petals that morning cascaded like a ribbon from the spout of the teapot.
After rinsing the white tea, she placed it into the tea cup with utensils.
The porcelain cup rippled with water patterns, and a delicate fragrance wafted through the air. The gentle breeze caressed faces like silk, while the beauty's graceful tea-making movements were captivating.
"Ah Wu, your tea is always the most fragrant."
The young woman smiled brightly in the soft lamplight, "It is the white tea's good fortune to be favored by the Dowager Empress."
Her eyebrows were like delicate feathers, her skin as white as snow, her waist as slender as bound silk, her teeth like pearls. When she spoke, her voice was as soft and soothing as a mountain spring, instantly calming any restless heart.
The Dowager Empress nodded with satisfaction, "That day at Xiangshan Temple, it was thanks to you that I wasn't harmed by those unruly commoners. Although you and Consort Li are cousins, I find her utterly lacking in refinement. The difference between you two is like night and day."
Pei Wu didn't join in criticizing Consort Li, but instead smiled gently and said, "My cousin was the pearl of the Song Family, pampered since childhood. After entering the palace, the Emperor treated her like a treasure for ten years without change. It's inevitable that her temperament became somewhat strong."
She became that way, ultimately because the Emperor indulged her, didn't he?
He spoiled her to the point of lawlessness, and then suddenly declared, "How could you be such a vicious woman?" effectively condemning her to the eighteenth level of hell.
In the end, the most irresponsible and vicious person under heaven should be the Emperor.
His passion, his callousness, his fickleness, his ability to turn on someone in an instant - for the women in the palace, these were like a potent, slow-acting poison. When it finally "took effect," it was often fatal.
Hearing the word "treasure," the Dowager Empress's facial muscles twitched involuntarily. She deliberately feigned indifference and said, "Concubine Zhen's child in the palace should be born in these few days. Would you like to enter the palace with me? However, because the Emperor resents me for being strict with him in his youth, I cannot appear too close to you after entering the palace. Otherwise, it might cause the Emperor to dislike you as well. You'll have to rely on yourself."
Pei Wu sighed and sat down next to the Dowager Empress, "My family had originally arranged for me to be betrothed to the Crown Prince of Ruyang, but the Princess of Ruyang didn't like me and chose my younger sister instead. By the time I found out, they had already exchanged birth charts. Everyone in the family kept it from me, taking advantage of the fact that my mother passed away early. Dowager Empress, if I enter the palace, will they no longer dare to bully me?"
As she spoke, small pearls of tears fell from her eyes, her demeanor fragile and pitiful.
Before entering the palace in her early years, the Dowager Empress had also had a lover. But for the glory of the Wu family, they had sent the beautiful her into the palace. In the end, she had to rely on her son's power throughout her life, constantly scheming for the Wu family, only to end up estranged from her son.
Although Great Yan was ruled by filial piety, and the Emperor would give her the glory due to a Dowager Empress, and no matter what mistakes she made, he wouldn't and couldn't take her life.
But...
She wanted more than just that.
When the love, family affection, and friendship she sought in her youth were all unfulfilled, all she wanted in this life was supreme power.
Only power would never betray her.
And what she wanted, this son of hers would never give her.
So, Pei Wu was carefully chosen by the Dowager Empress as a substitute for the Virtuous Consort.
Pei Wu's words made her see her younger self, and she sympathetically held Pei Wu's hand, patting it gently, "Yes, after entering the palace, with your talents and beauty, you will surely secure a place for yourself. I will assist you in secret."
Pei Wu lowered her head, concealing the sharp glint in her eyes.
