Widowed for Five Years, the Widow is Pregnant with the Emperor’s Child

Chapter 212

When Xiao Mingyang was five months old, she began teething. Whenever someone made her laugh, her little mouth would stretch wide, revealing two tiny rice-grain-like teeth on her gums.

At ten months old, she started babbling, mimicking the adults when they spoke.

"Mother, I am back. Where is my sister?"

As soon as Sui returned, he took off his heavy cloak, greeted Yun Wan, and immediately began looking for Xiao Mingyang.

Xiao Mingyang had just woken up. Lying in her cradle, she was amusing herself by hugging a little cloth tiger sewn by Yun Wan. Hearing her brother's voice, she kicked her chubby little legs in the air, babbling out of tune.

Yun Wan gently squeezed the baby's warmly bundled legs and waved to Sui. "You must be tired. Come sit down and rest a while. Little Treasure just woke up."

Nearing seven years old, Sui had grown taller. The baby fat on his cheeks had slightly faded, revealing the contours of a young boy. With an upright posture and a calm temperament, he looked much more reliable than other children his age.

As he grew older, Sui had more and more things to learn. Emperor Jingxuan did not shy away from having Sui present when handling state affairs, meeting with ministers, or discussing national matters; he would even occasionally ask for the boy's opinions and views.

The elderly Grand Scholar Xu was no longer sufficient to teach Sui the ways of a ruler, so Emperor Jingxuan carefully selected several officials from the court to become Sui's teachers.

Despite the heavy burden of his studies, Sui found joy in them. Returning every day to chat with his mother and sister was the most relaxing and anticipated moment of his day.

Sui sat down next to the cradle, and a palace servant brought hot water for him to wash his hands.

Infants were fragile, and everyone in Qiyun Palace dared not be careless. Before touching the little princess, one had to wash their hands with fragrant soap to avoid passing any impurities to her.

Only after washing his hands and warming them by the fire did Sui reach out to touch his sister's soft, tender cheeks.

Xiao Mingyang tossed aside the cloth tiger in her arms, grabbed his hand, and opened her mouth to chew on it, unsurprisingly covering Sui's hand in drool.

Sui did not mind at all. He took the opportunity to check her gums and, as expected, saw the newly emerged little teeth.

He praised her with doting affection, "Little Treasure is so amazing, you grew another tooth."

At the teething age, her gums were itchy. Xiao Mingyang did not like chewing on teething sticks; she much preferred grabbing people's hands to gnaw on.

Of course, she was also very picky. She only gnawed on the hands of her parents and brother. Among them, her favorite was her father's hand because his skin was rough and thick, making it durable to chew on. There was no worry of hurting him, and it would even make her father burst into hearty laughter.

After chewing on her brother's hand for a while, Xiao Mingyang got bored and let go. She turned her head to look at Yun Wan, and a single word popped out of her little mouth:

"Na!"

Yun Wan was curious. "What does Little Treasure want to take?"

"Na!" Xiao Mingyang shouted again, staring at her intently.

Yun Wan looked down at herself, but she had no accessories on her chest.

However, Nanny Zhong looked thoughtful and said hesitantly, "Your Highness, the little princess seems to be calling you."

Just as she finished speaking, Xiao Mingyang called out again, "Nan!"

Her big eyes stared straight at Yun Wan, her little mouth opening wide as she tried hard to articulate the word.

Sui suddenly realized, "Mother, Little Treasure is calling 'Niang'!"

A bright smile blossomed on Yun Wan's face. She leaned over to pick up her daughter, her tone filled with anticipation. "Can Little Treasure call 'Niang' again?"

Xiao Mingyang: "Liang!"

"It's Niang, not Liang. Say it with me, Niang—"

Yun Wan patiently corrected her over and over again until Xiao Mingyang finally got it right: "Liang! Niang!"

The word 'Niang' was called out crisply and loudly, sounding like the most beautiful music in the world. Showers of praise immediately fell upon Xiao Mingyang.

"Little Treasure is so incredible! She knows how to call for her mother."

"The little princess can speak now, truly like a little fairy child!"

"The little princess calls it out so well!"

It was an age where even a yawn would be praised.

Xiao Mingyang did not understand what they were saying, but that didn't stop her from calling out to Yun Wan over and over again after learning how to say 'Niang'. Her soft, milky little voice sounded as if it were coated in thick honey, so sweet it melted the heart.

Envious, Sui held his sister's hand and gently guided her, "Little Treasure, call Brother. Come on, Bro~ ther~"

"Ah, ah~"

"Imperial Brother?" Seeing that she couldn't get the pronunciation right, Sui changed the title.

Xiao Mingyang popped out a word: "Xiong!"

Sui tried again, "Call Gege, Gege?"

Xiao Mingyang: "Ge! Ge!"

"Ge ge ge!"

Although her pronunciation wasn't standard, Sui, as her older brother, was already very satisfied.

His sister had learned to call her brother before her imperial father.

Upon learning that his daughter could now call out to people, Emperor Jingxuan immediately dropped his memorials and rushed to Qiyun Palace to hear Xiao Mingyang speak.

Memorials could be reviewed later—at worst, he could just use them to train his son—but the chance to hear his daughter speak for the first time absolutely could not be missed.

However, whether it was 'Imperial Father' or 'Daddy', the pronunciation was too difficult for a ten-month-old infant just learning to speak. In the end, Emperor Jingxuan settled for the next best thing, allowing his daughter to call him 'Wu-Wa'.

In the following days, Xiao Mingyang's speech became more and more fluent. She liked to call people using a single syllable. For example, she called Fuling 'Ling~', Yue Ya 'Ya~', and Nanny Zhong 'Mo~'. Her adorable and exquisite appearance made everyone love her dearly.

At the same time, she also learned how to walk. By the time she passed her first birthday, Xiao Mingyang could walk several yards without anyone's support.

However, she was also a lazy baby. She didn't like walking on the ground and only liked being held, especially in the arms of her old father, Emperor Jingxuan.

Staying in his arms gave Xiao Mingyang the widest field of vision. Emperor Jingxuan had always been completely accommodating to this youngest daughter, often carrying her around everywhere. He even placed a baby crib for Xiao Mingyang in the Hall of Diligent Administration.

As a result, the ministers were no longer surprised by the Emperor frequently attending morning court smelling of milk; one look and they knew he had been holding the little princess not long ago.

In the palace hall, Yun Wan ordered the servants to move the chairs, stools, and her daughter's toys off the floor, clearing out a spacious area.

She signaled the servants to put Xiao Mingyang down, then waved her hand. "Little Treasure, come to Mother."

As soon as the soles of her tiger-head shoes touched the ground, Xiao Mingyang instinctively curled her legs up.

The servants reflexively moved to support her, but Yun Wan stopped them. "Don't move, let her walk over by herself."

Yun Wan had discovered that once her Little Treasure realized no one would refuse her when she reached out to be held, she became increasingly reluctant to touch the ground, refusing to even stand.

Worried that continuing this way would be detrimental to the growth of her daughter's leg bones, Yun Wan consulted the imperial physicians and decided to be a strict mother. She had to require her daughter to walk on the ground every day.

Without the servants' support, Xiao Mingyang stood on the floor and looked pitifully at Yun Wan. "Niang~"

This cry softened everyone's hearts.

Suppressing her softheartedness, Yun Wan deliberately kept a straight face. "Acting cute won't work. Walk over to Mother."

Whenever this little one opened her mouth, no one could resist her; otherwise, her father's and brother's bottom lines wouldn't have been lowered step by step.

Nanny Zhong, Fuling, and the others hurriedly lowered their heads, pretending not to see the little princess's big, teary eyes.

Xiao Mingyang froze in place. Her pink and white clothes made her look as adorable as jade and snow, with two little buns tied on top of her head, completely fragrant and soft.

"Mother, hug." She reached out her hands, simply refusing to take a single step.

Yun Wan persisted in coaxing her, "Little Treasure, be good. Walk over here, and Mother will hug you."

Xiao Mingyang pouted. "Little Treasure is not good."

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but chuckle, their shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

Feeling helpless, Yun Wan slid off the couch onto the floor, clutching her chest and pretending to be in pain as she reached out to Xiao Mingyang. "Oh no, Mother fell down! Little Treasure, come quickly and help Mother up!"

A short distance away, Xiao Mingyang was stunned. The other servants cooperated with Yun Wan, saying in mock panic, "Your Highness, what happened to you?"

Influenced by the scene and atmosphere in front of her, Xiao Mingyang immediately panicked, thinking her mother had really fallen down.

"Niang!"

She lifted her leg and took a step toward Yun Wan, but because she was rushing and hadn't walked on the ground for a long time, her small steps were messy, and she tripped and fell halfway there.

Sitting on the ground, she immediately burst into loud wails. "Mother—"

Seeing this, Yun Wan and the palace servants completely forgot about their little act and immediately rushed over to her.

"Did you hurt yourself? Let Mother see!" Yun Wan hurriedly checked the child's hands and feet. After making sure she was unharmed, she let out a huge sigh of relief.

The floor was covered with a thick carpet. Xiao Mingyang sat on the ground looking like a little pink dumpling, her pretty little face streaming with tears. It was a heart-wrenching sight.

Feeling guilty, Yun Wan reached out and pulled her daughter into her arms, apologizing softly, "Mother is bad. I scared my little treasure, didn't I?"

Xiao Mingyang pressed tightly against her mother and said in a muffled voice, "Mother isn't bad."

As she spoke, she pointed a small finger at the floor. "It is bad!"

Children's tempers come and go quickly. Once coaxed, Xiao Mingyang stopped crying, her little face—so similar to Yun Wan's—puffed up in anger.

"Yes, yes, yes, the floor is bad."

"Let Imperial Father smash it!"

"Alright, alright, next time we'll have your Imperial Father teach this floor a lesson."

Yun Wan used a soft handkerchief to gently wipe away the tears on her face and applied some fragrant balm.

After her crying fit today, Xiao Mingyang became even more clingy to her mother over the next few days, following her closely wherever she went.

The good thing was that the little one no longer resisted walking on the ground. She even started taking steps every day, pitter-pattering in circles around the carpet, her short little legs growing steadier by the day.

On this day, after completing her daily walking task, Xiao Mingyang lay on her stomach with her bottom sticking up in the air, resting on her exclusive little blanket and babbling to herself.

Yun Wan smiled and let her be, thinking that she might just fall asleep once she got tired of playing.

Fuling entered the hall to report, "Your Majesty, Noble Consort Kang and several other consorts are requesting an audience."

Yun Wan nodded, glanced at her daughter who had shifted from lying on her stomach to her back, and smiled. "Take the princess to her room."

"Not going!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Mingyang climbed up from the blanket and hugged her mother's thigh. "Mother, I'm not going!"

Yun Wan lowered her head and kissed her cheek. "Alright, but Mother has important business to attend to in a moment, so I'm afraid I won't be able to play with you."

"I will accompany Mother!" Xiao Mingyang declared valiantly.

Yun Wan lifted her onto the seat beside her and instructed, "Let them in."

A moment later, Consort Hui, Noble Consort Kang, and the others entered. When they saw Xiao Mingyang sitting crookedly on the soft couch, their eyes instantly lit up.

They couldn't help but sigh in their hearts: I really want to take her back and raise her myself.

Yun Wan pretended not to notice the longing in their eyes, cleared her throat, and asked, "Is there something you sought me out for?"

Noble Consort Kang and the others looked at each other, not knowing how to begin.

Seeing this, Consort Hui spoke up. "Let me speak for them."

"They want to request permission to leave the palace, but they dare not go to His Majesty, so they came to ask you for guidance," she said concisely.

Yun Wan was stunned. "Leave the palace?"

Since someone had broken the ice, Noble Consort Kang no longer hid her intentions and simply said, "Your Majesty, we have known each other for some time, and you know my character, so I won't beat around the bush with you."

She glanced at the others and said in a low voice, "The few of us... genuinely wish to leave the palace of our own accord."

Meeting Yun Wan's concerned gaze, Noble Consort Kang felt a warmth in her heart and continued to explain, "Since entering the palace through the draft, we have stayed within these deep red walls for over ten years. We originally thought that this was it for our lives, and that one day we would eventually... grow old and die here."

"Your Majesty's appearance gave us hope, making us think that His Majesty would step foot into the inner palace once more. The truth is, we overthought it."

She gave a self-deprecating smile, yet seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as she said, "Now, we have lost all desire to fight. After hearing Big Sister Consort Hui talk about life outside the palace, we have developed a yearning for it."

"We didn't come today to beg Your Majesty to agree to our request, but merely to ask for your assessment. If it seems feasible, we will go and beg His Majesty for this grace. Whether we succeed or fail, we will absolutely not implicate Your Majesty."

She spoke with deep sincerity, not wanting Yun Wan to misunderstand. After all, if an Empress were to lobby the Emperor to allow other consorts to leave the palace, it would sound like it was for the Empress's own selfish desires.

The others nodded in agreement. "If Your Majesty feels it is inappropriate, just pretend we never mentioned it."

Yun Wan didn't say much, only asking, "If you leave the palace, where will you go?"

Noble Consort Kang pursed her lips into a smile. "Please don't worry, Your Majesty. We had dowries before entering the palace, and over the years, we've gradually saved up quite a bit of private money. If our families find us disgraceful and refuse to accept us, we will live away from home and establish our own independent female households."

Not all of them had families in the capital. Some had harmonious relationships with their parents, while others had poor ones. Having not lived under the same roof for over ten years, there would inevitably be rifts and conflicts.

They had thought about all of this before coming and had discussed it thoroughly. At worst, they would spend a bit more money to buy a residence far from the capital and far from any trouble.

"There will always be a place for us to shelter in this vast world."

After more than a decade in the palace, life was like a pool of stagnant water. Yun Wan's entrance into the palace had stirred up this stagnant water; the three high-ranking consorts who originally had children by their sides were all gone, not a single one left.

The spirit of these remaining women had long been gradually worn away day by day. They lacked the courage to fight and clearly understood that there was no meaning in climbing higher.

They had originally intended to just muddle along and spend the rest of their lives like this. However, ever since the Third Prince was granted the title of Prince An and the Emperor bestowed a mansion upon him, Consort Hui, Zhou Xianyue, had lived outside the palace for a period of time under this pretext, and she had visibly changed a great deal.

To be specific, those eyes that never used to look at people directly now held a light, and that mouth that spent all day making sarcastic remarks and stirring up trouble everywhere had quieted down, speaking words that were much more pleasant to the ear.

In short, her complexion had visibly improved by leaps and bounds.

They were not as lucky as Zhou Xianyue to have a prince to rely on. They figured that rather than being trapped in this deep palace for the rest of their lives, they might as well fight for themselves. After all, the worst possible outcome was just maintaining the status quo.

Especially when they saw Xiao Mingyang, who was holding her mother's arm and looking drowsy, Noble Consort Kang and the others wanted to leave the palace even more.

Once out of the palace, even if they couldn't marry, they could adopt a homeless child to raise by their side and pass the time. Life would finally have something to look forward to, which was better than staying in the palace, looking up at the same sky every day, and envying the birds flying by.

Yun Wan said softly, "I will convey your intentions to His Majesty, but I cannot guarantee it will succeed."

After all, since ancient times, there had been no precedent for imperial consorts leaving the palace. But thinking of the man who always liked to set precedents, she thought that this matter might actually work out.

Noble Consort Kang and the rest were ecstatic. "If this matter can be achieved, we will never forget Your Majesty's great kindness for the rest of our lives!"

Their sudden voices startled the dozing Xiao Mingyang, making her jump. She opened her eyes a crack, but soon her body pitched forward, burying into Yun Wan's embrace as she fell fast asleep.