Chapter 178 - 154: Promotion to Zhaoyi

The Empress stepped forward. "Your Majesty, Gu Wan Yi and the Eldest Prince are both safe and sound. She was exhausted after childbirth and has fallen asleep. Would you like me to wake Wanyi to speak with you?"

Just as expected, hearing the Empress’s words, Xie Che was no longer in a rush to storm the birthing room.

Xie Che waved his hand. "Let’s speak in the main hall. Don’t disturb Gu Wan Yi’s rest."

He took the swaddled baby. The infant was tiny, a soft little bundle that would melt anyone’s heart. But Xie Che thought of the three-year-old child from his dream. ’He’s still so small,’ he said. "Serve the Prince well."

After a quick look at his son, Xie Che handed him back to the wet nurse.

Since Gu Wan Yi was asleep, there was nothing more for him to do. Having seen his son and confirmed that both mother and child were safe, he returned to Qiankun Palace to think of a name for the Eldest Prince. "I will come see her when Gu Wan Yi wakes up."

※

At the Emperor’s word, the Palace Attendants of Bihua Palace scrambled to find ways to clear the scent of blood from the room.

Jiang Xian only slept for a short while before waking up.

Seeing her awake, Zhenqiu immediately brought the Eldest Prince to her side.

The baby was a small, reddish bundle that could do nothing but eat and sleep. It wasn’t as good as when he was in the womb, where they could have a spiritual connection through the umbilical cord and get a head start on his education.

Ms. Zhang smiled from the side. "The Eldest Prince is so healthy! His cries are loud and strong, even more robust than Yanchuan’s... What are you thinking about, Your Ladyship? You look so solemn, it’s a bit frightening."

Jiang Xian cupped her chin, thinking, ’How can anyone do nothing but eat and sleep?’

Ms. Zhang was baffled. "He’s just a baby, what did you expect him to do? During your postpartum confinement, you won’t be able to do anything but eat and sleep, either. What else were you thinking of doing? You’re a scary woman."

Hearing that she, too, would be allowed to do nothing, Jiang Xian couldn’t help but look horrified.

Not long after she woke up, Xie Che arrived with a list of names.

The moment she heard the Emperor had arrived, the once-energetic Jiang Xian switched her Little Pitiful Halo back on. With the ’sickly and weak’ buff activated, she instantly transformed into a pale, delicate, and ailing Beauty.

Xie Che’s heart ached the moment he saw her.

"Xian’er, you’ve suffered so much this time," he said. "I will be sure to treat you and our son well."

"Your Majesty..."

Jiang Xian’s voice was heartbreaking, a blatant hint.

Xie Che sighed in resignation.

"Fine," he relented. "What rank do you want?"

Jiang Xian glanced at him weakly. "I’ve grown a little tired of titles with two characters."

’She wants to be made a Consort!’

Xie Che’s blood pressure shot up instantly.

It wasn’t that he cared about the stipend that came with the rank. The problem was that if he promoted Jiang Xian to Consort one day, he’d be drowned in memorials of protest from the court the next. Still, seeing how much she had suffered, he couldn’t bear to refuse her.

After some back and forth, they compromised. She would be promoted to Zhaoyi, a title of the Junior Second Rank.

Even so, this was an incredible, rank-skipping promotion.

Lu Ronghua, at least, would want to strangle her when she heard the news.

Having settled on her new rank, the two chose a name for the Eldest Prince: Zhao. The character ’Zhao’ (昭), like ’Yao’ (曜), signifies brightness and passion, but ’Zhao’ is considered nobler. In the ancestral temple, the left side is designated *zhao*, demonstrating its uniquely honored status.

Xie Che sighed. "The Mother Empress is very fond of Zhao’er. She wants to take him to her palace to look after him for a few days. I was going to ask for your opinion, but seeing you like this... it’s best I go and refuse her myself. I don’t want to make Xian’er sad."

’How could I let the woman I love endure the pain of being separated from her child?’

Unexpectedly, Jiang Xian said, "Since the Empress Dowager is so fond of Zhao’er, let her take him. She can care for him until his first-month celebration. There’s no rush to bring him back."

’Her mother-in-law wants to help with the baby? What could be better?’

If any other high-ranking concubine had asked, the answer would be a definite no; it would be seen as an attempt to steal her son. But for a Prince to be raised by the Empress Dowager, even for a month, was a great honor that would elevate his status. It was all gain, no loss.

’The proper course of action is to pack up this eat-and-sleep-only baby and send him off to Grandma’s for some status-gilding.’

’Would the bond between a mother and son really break after just a month apart?’

’She’d given him ten months of prenatal education, for crying out loud!’

"The Empress Dowager is your mother, Your Majesty. I don’t want to put you in a difficult position. Besides, she’s also Zhao’er’s grandmother. It would be wonderful for them to grow closer." ’So close, hopefully, that he becomes the only grandson in her eyes, and she funnels all her resources to him.’

And so, before the spot in her arms was even warm, her son was bundled up and sent off to Changle Palace.

Along with this, the Emperor issued a decree to the Six Palaces, announcing Jiang Xian’s promotion to the rank of Zhaoyi.

When the Empress Dowager heard about this outrageous promotion, her first instinct was to have another talk with her son. But at that exact moment, a nanny placed the Eldest Prince, blowing milky bubbles in his sleep, into her arms.

He was so small, so soft.

The Empress Dowager’s heart melted instantly, though she feigned concern. "Why have you brought the Eldest Prince here? When Gu Wan Yi wakes up and doesn’t see him, she’ll be worried. She might even think that I’ve stolen her son."

While many in modern times fear marriage, childbirth, and even children, in the ancient harem, with its lack of entertainment, a child was a most welcome arrival. In the monotony of daily life, nothing could soothe the profound loneliness like a new life, full of laughter and noise. The Empress Dowager had long anticipated the joy of doting on a grandchild, but she had never paid much mind to Jiang Xian’s son.

The Empress Dowager knew full well the place Jiang Xian held in the Emperor’s heart, and she also remembered that Jiang Xian had once saved her life.

As far as the Empress Dowager was concerned, the women of the harem guarded their children more closely than their own eyeballs. She expected that even a ten-day stay at Changle Palace would provoke a heart-wrenching drama, and the Emperor would likely come pleading on his favorite concubine’s behalf... The mere thought was vexing.

It was just a grandson, after all. Wasn’t Consort Guo pregnant with one too?

The nanny said, "Gu Zhaoyi is deeply grateful that Your Highness is willing to lend a hand and care for the Eldest Prince while she is recovering. If she weren’t in postpartum confinement and forbidden from exposure to the wind, she would have come to express her gratitude in person."

These words were incredibly pleasing to hear.

Even knowing they were just polite pleasantries, the Empress Dowager was still delighted.

The little babe in her arms stirred awake. He wasn’t shy with strangers at all, giving the person holding him a toothless grin and waving his tiny fists. Seizing the moment, the nanny chimed in, "Look, Your Highness! The Eldest Prince has taken a real liking to you."

"It’s rare enough that he doesn’t cry. How can you say he’s taken a liking to me?"

The Empress Dowager scoffed, but she removed her armor and gently poked his soft cheek.

But the baby, curious about the finger dangling in his line of sight, raised his tiny hand and gripped it.

The Empress Dowager: "..."

Suddenly, the Empress Dowager felt that her promotion to Zhaoyi wasn’t so unacceptable after all. "Prepare a list of gifts," she instructed. "Send some nourishing supplements to Gu Zhaoyi. The items she can use as a Zhaoyi are different now, so select a few gifts befitting her new status... After her confinement is over, at the first-month banquet, I will return the Eldest Prince to her. Tell her not to worry."

When the news that Jiang Xian was to be promoted to Gu Zhaoyi spread through the Six Palaces, the other concubines practically ground their teeth to dust. They had hoped the Empress Dowager would intervene. An imperial edict couldn’t be rescinded, but couldn’t Her Highness at least ensure Jiang Xian would be stuck at the rank of Zhaoyi forever? Or perhaps just reprimand her, to make her new position feel less legitimate? That would be something!

The only one who thought the promotion to Zhaoyi was a good thing was Consort Guo, who was still carrying her own child.

’Jiang Xian was promoted to Zhaoyi for the merit of giving birth; surely I should also get a decent promotion, right?’

But as they waited and waited, all they saw was an endless stream of rewards from the Empress Dowager being sent to Bihua Palace.

’The Empress Dowager must have lost her mind!’

Then, after seeing the Eldest Prince being taken to Changle Palace, they thought they finally understood. Some even went to Bihua Palace to taunt her, mocking that her son had been taken away from her after all.