Zhaowang nodded repeatedly in agreement, but Huishen remained cold and detached: "If I ever hear from anyone that you've leaked the secret, I won't forgive you. The Purple Mist Pavilion"

  Zhao Wang was really scared, and as he walked away, he kept telling himself in his mind that he absolutely must not slip up, absolutely must not offend Concubine Hui.

  Then he was thinking of recognizing Wenyun as his foster mother. He never calmed down to think, why did Huisheng help him for no reason, and how did she know about Mr. Xu's affairs?

  He never thought about whether Wen Pei would really treat him well.

  "Son... son, I heard it from Wang's nanny." Zhao Wang lowered his head and began to fiddle with the hem of his clothes. This excuse was also thought up by Hui Bin, who said that since Wang's nanny was already dead, he could just shift the blame onto her if anyone asked, as the dead couldn't defend themselves.

  Tuoba Hong's gaze gradually revealed a deep meaning. This kid has always been straightforward, and today's words are likely to be taught by someone.

  Is it Wen Piao?

  Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

  He took another look at his son and waved his hand: "You can withdraw first. The matter you requested from me, I will consider it."

  ***

  The matter of Zhao Wang stirred up a great storm in the entire harem. In fact, concubines raising their stepsons was a very common thing throughout history, but in the palace of the Qianwu dynasty, it was a shocking big deal. The reason was simple: Taobai Hong's sons were few, and being an imperial son was like being a piece of fat meat. As for Taobai Hong's father's generation, losing one of their eleven sons would be heart-wrenching, so the concubines all wanted to give birth themselves and didn't bother fighting over others'.

  Three days later, Emperor Taizong of Northern Wei issued an edict and the eldest son Zhao Wang Ji was named under the name of Empress Wen. In addition, Empress Wen had been in the palace for many years, serving with merit, and was specially appointed as Guipin.

  The six palaces all turned their attention to him.

  Wengui Pin arrived at the Jianzhang Palace to thank the emperor's grace, and then the Minister of Rites opened the Tai Temple. Prince Zhao was in front of the Tai Temple, kneeling before Wengui Pin and performing a grand ceremony, after which he could acknowledge Wengui Pin as his mother.

  Because he was a named foster son, he had to follow this rule and the etiquette was complicated. In the palace, not all children without mothers would be "named", if the emperor thought of their birth mother, they would only find a place for the child to settle down. Such foster mothers were at a disadvantage, raising the children with hardship and bitterness, but not being considered their own. However, there were also many named ones, mostly because the birth mother was of lowly origin or had committed a crime, the emperor considered the child's future and found him a noble foster mother, while erasing the existence of his birth mother.

  The mother of King Zhao was also executed for a serious crime. The emperor gave the name to Consort Wen Gui, which means that King Zhao is the biological son of Consort Wen Gui, and Shen Fei has nothing to do with King Zhao at all.

  Everyone couldn't help but sigh at Wen Gui's good fortune.

  Wen Gui Bin, who returned to Bi Xiao Hall with Zhao Wang, was a bit dazed. From hearing the rumors in the palace that Zhao Wang personally asked the emperor, to now the emperor's edict came down and gave this child to her for free, she didn't understand why this pie fell on her own head.

  Moreover, due to Zhao Wang's reason, she was promoted to a first-rank imperial concubine and became a Gui Pin. As the eldest son of the Emperor, the Emperor naturally raised her status, making her a proper mother of the Crown Prince.

  Take another look at Zhao Wang, who is holding his own hand with a joyful face. Wen Gui Fei secretly sighed - I don't know what this child is thinking. She didn't deliberately try to win him over on ordinary days, so why did he take a liking to her?

  To be honest, Wen Gui Niang didn't have any intention to compete with Zhao Wang. She wasn't infertile, and Emperor Taizong of Northern Wei had given her plenty of opportunities. Recently, she had been taking good care of herself, preparing for childbirth. Zhao Wang was already seven years old, and he was the son of Empress Shen, a poisonous woman... Wen Gui Niang wasn't a kind-hearted woman, and she didn't have any affection for other people's children.

  Having children of one's own is the right way.

  But now that things have been settled, she can't throw Zhao Wang out again. For the time being, she hasn't given birth yet, and having a foster son is better than nothing, so she'll raise him for now.

  The matter of Zhao Wang was thus concluded. The Wen Gui Concubine, who had vied with the Tian Concubine for favor in the past like a play every year, was now pushed to the forefront again.

  Tian Bin had once recommended herself to the Emperor, and her intention to raise Prince Zhao gradually spread in the palace. Tian Bin was more popular than Wen Guiren due to her smooth personality, and many concubines who were jealous of Wen's success began to get along with Tian.

  But Er Dan was no longer dared to mention Zhao Wang's affairs, and served Tuoba Hong peacefully every day.

  Lin Wan in the Rouge Smoke Pavilion listened to the lower-ranking eunuch reporting the news from the palace, and the smile on her face grew thicker. The golden scissors in her hand cut down, and two branches of golden tangerine fell with a rustling sound. Several palace maids beside her exclaimed: "Your Majesty! Those are the fruit-bearing branches, why did you cut them off?"

  Lin Yandan took a closer look and indeed, she had cut it wrong. She made another cut on the side, and this time, the person behind her cried out again: "Your Ladyship! That's the main vein! This plant is probably going to die..."

  "Has His Majesty turned over Weigui's placard again today?" Lin Yan put down her scissors and asked those around her.

  "It's been three days now." Chuxue replied softly, and with a wave of her hand, the two little palace maids retreated. She stepped forward and whispered to Lin Yuan: "It seems that things have developed in a second direction. The Emperor still treats Wen Gui Bin with favor, and has not distanced himself from her due to her ambition for the throne."

  "It won't be a problem, the Emperor will absolutely not know that I'm behind this. He'll only suspect Wen Gui Fei. Wen Gui Fei is different from Tian Fei, apart from adoption, there's no other way out for her, and she doesn't really want to take in Zhao Wang either. Lin Yan concentrated her mind and said: "The reason the Emperor hasn't neglected her is because her father is a clean-stream scholar, without any real power in his hands. Even if she were to raise Zhao Wang, it wouldn't stir up much trouble. Although the result now is that Zhao Wang personally requested it from the Emperor, the Emperor has already made his own choice in his heart. Wen Gui Fei and Wang Shu Rong, Zhao Shu Yuan are all of the same kind, they're all suitable."

  Chu Xue suddenly enlightened, nodded repeatedly: "So that's it. The empress is following the emperor's intentions to smooth things out, and the emperor will easily agree with King Zhao."

  "I'm doing this as a last resort, and it's not what I want to do." Lin Yan shook her head: "If there were another way, why would I let Wen Gui Fei get the upper hand? Wen Gui Fei has always been at odds with Tian Fei, and now the only one who can help me control Tian Fei is her. Jing Fei could also be used, but her power is too great, if I help her, it would be like raising a tiger."

  "Don't just look at how much the emperor favors me over Consort Tian, but if we really get into a dispute, Consort Tian's maternal family had their own power in the previous dynasty. If it comes to competing for the position of empress or even competing for the crown prince in the future, even if the emperor is biased towards me, I still won't be able to surpass Consort Tian."

  "Chu Xue also began to sigh: 'Moreover, Tian Pin's mind is deep and calm, not inferior to Niang Niang...'"

  The days in the harem, on the surface, were still harmonious.

  Wengui Pin was already the mother of the legitimate eldest son, but unlike the emperor's daughter who could grow up in the palace and get married, the prince had to go to school from the age of five. He would get up early and return late at night, and couldn't spend much time with his mother. Zhao Wang was also ordered by the Emperor himself to move to Qianxi Wusuo for residence, and since Bixiao Hall where Wengui Pin lived was too far away from the school, he could not go back there every day.

  Zhao Wang would at most go to see Wen Gui Fei every three to five days, and occasionally dine with her.

  However, after having a foster mother, Zhao Wang's days were like returning to the world from hell. With the favor of Wen Gui Pin, not only did the palace staff no longer dare to neglect Zhao Wang, but even the concubines and masters did not dare to disrespect him.

  Wengui Pin took over Zhao Wang and also understood the principle of mother and son being one, treating Zhao Wang with great care. Before that, Zhao Wang was often bullied by the lower-ranking people and couldn't eat enough food. The first thing Wengui Pin did was to ask the imperial doctor to prescribe a nourishing diet for Zhao Wang. Then she did another thing, which was to ask Zhao Wang which consorts had ever bullied him, and then reported it to the Empress. The Empress wouldn't tolerate any partiality, after investigating that Wu Jieyu and others had beaten Zhao Wang, Qian Meiren had scolded Zhao Wang as "low-born", and Feng Xuan Shi had pushed Zhao Wang into the lotus pond, she dealt with the three of them according to the palace rules.

  Finally, Wu Jieyu from a noble family was reduced to a caizi, Qian Meiren, the daughter of a sixth-grade judge, entered the Cold Palace, and Feng Xuan Shi, who was originally under Changhe Guifei's command, had long lost favor due to Guifei's departure from the palace. She was dragged by the Empress to the front yard of the Longxing Palace and beaten to death with sticks.

  When Feng Xuan was caned to death, the concubines were just coming out of Changxin Palace after paying their respects. Feng Xuan's sharp and mournful cry almost pierced the sky. The stick used for caning was a thick black wooden rod as thick as an arm. The concubines did not dare to look at Feng Xuan's bloody lower body, and they all fled from Changxin Palace with pale faces.

  But Wen Gui Fei, she pulled Zhao Wang's hand and walked at the very end of everyone. When they arrived at the front yard, Zhao Wang subconsciously covered his ears and asked Wen Gui Fei: "It's so noisy, it sounds terrible! Mother, let's hurry up!"

  Wen Gui pin grabbed his wrist: "Put your hand down, look over there. Take a good look at the end of this woman, she's the one who pushed you into the pond and almost froze to death. Ah, Your Highness, do you want to go up and give her two slaps?"

  "Empress Dowager! This... this is too cruel..."

  "No, Your Highness." Consort Wen shook her head, but her eyes were firm: "Letting Lady Feng be punished in this place was a request made by the Empress Dowager to Her Majesty the Empress, and the purpose was precisely for you to see. You see, this is what the imperial family is like; as a child of the imperial family, you absolutely must not show mercy to your enemies."

  Zhaowang's eyes still held fear. He was just a child, and seeing the blood on Feng Xuan's bodyguard made him instinctively afraid.

  Wengui let out a sigh, secretly resentful in her heart. She didn't know how Shen's wife had raised her child, but Zhao Wang was simply a little lamb... It was also because Shen's wife had been too favored in the past, and as a result, Zhao Wang was like a moon surrounded by stars. A person who has never suffered will not grow up.

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