"Yes, I understand."
Granny Qingzhu came over and helped the Empress Dowager leave. Hailing looked at Shimei behind her and calmly ordered, "Shimei, I have Fuyue and Shilan here. You will go to the Empress Dowager's Lanqing Palace these few days to take care of her daily life."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Shi Mei went out to Lanqing Palace to take care of the Empress Dowager.
Inside the palace, seeing that everything was alright, Shen Ruoxuan withdrew, leaving the large space to the family.
Ye Lingfeng stared intently at Hai Ling with his deep eyes, a smile playing on his lips: "Ling'er."
Hailin walked to his side and said softly, "Take a nap, don't overwork yourself."
Ye Lingfeng knew that Hai Ling was still angry, so he reached out and took her hand, shaking it twice: "Ling'er, don't be angry."
"Okay, you should get some sleep."
"Then you stay with me."
Hai Ling was speechless. This was clearly a rogue's act, but considering he was a patient, she agreed for now. However, she didn't think that was the end of it. With a forced smile, she said, "Okay, you go to sleep. I'll stay with you and your son."
"Okay," he said, and lay down, holding Hailing's hand tightly. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in a while, and now that Ling'er and his son were back, he was really tired. Ye Lingfeng thought to himself, and then fell into a deep sleep.
After he fell asleep, Hailing let go of his hand, intending to leave for a while. However, his hand was gripping tightly and she couldn't let go at all. Just then, the little cat opened his eyes, looked at his parents, and unconsciously smiled. The family was very warm and cozy together, so Hailing sat down to continue keeping the father and son company.
Emperor Ye Lingfeng was poisoned, but the ministers and people of Beilu were unaware of this. Otherwise, Bianliang City would have been in a state of panic long ago. Not only that, but even the Ji family did not know that the emperor had been poisoned. Although they had suspected that something had happened to the emperor, when Ji Shaocheng asked the emperor, the emperor said that nothing was wrong, so they had no idea.
They had previously heard that the Empress had been sent to a secluded place by the Emperor to recuperate, and they were still speculating about where she had been sent. They were unaware of the changes that had occurred. They assumed that the madwoman Xi Xiu was still outside, so the Emperor sent Hai Ling away to protect Ling'er and the child.
When Hai Ling returned to the capital, many ministers in Bei Lu knew about it, and the people of Bianliang City were overjoyed. The news brought by the envoy of the Great Zhou Dynasty was depressing, but the birth of the little prince was a cause for celebration. Therefore, the return of Hai Ling and her son made the capital city and surrounding areas extremely lively.
As soon as the Ji family received the news, they prepared gifts and went to the palace to pay their respects to the Empress.
Ji Cong, in particular, was overjoyed to hear that Hai Ling had given birth to a son. He couldn't sleep all night and urged his son to get up and go to the morning court before dawn. After the court, he would go to Liuyue Palace to visit Hai Ling and her little grandson.
Inside the Ji residence, Nalan Mingzhu naturally knew that Ling'er had returned. She had felt uneasy when Ling'er left, and now that she was back, she couldn't wait to see her. So, early the next morning, Ji Cong and his son went directly to the palace after attending the morning court session, while Nalan Mingzhu went directly to the palace after finishing breakfast.
Inside the palace, in the Liuyue Palace, a report was first received from a young eunuch.
"Your Majesty, the young mistress of the Ji family requests an audience."
“Mingzhu,” Hailing nodded, signaling the little eunuch to immediately order the eunuchs outside the palace to bring Mingzhu into the palace. Although she hadn’t been separated from her for long, it felt like a long time had passed. Hearing that Mingzhu had come to visit, she felt especially warm.
The young eunuch acknowledged and withdrew. Soon after, Nalan Mingzhu entered the palace and bowed to Hailing as soon as he entered: "Mingzhu greets Your Majesty the Empress."
"Get up, get up."
At this moment, Hailing was holding her son in her arms. As soon as she saw Mingzhu come in, she waved for her to get up and come over. Mingzhu was overjoyed. She went over and peeked into the little baby in Hailing's arms. She was immediately attracted by the little guy. He was so cute and fair-skinned. His long eyelashes covered his eyes, his little nose was straight, and his mouth was small. He was sleeping peacefully in Hailing's arms, like a cute little kitten.
"What a beautiful child."
With such beautiful parents, the little one is bound to be good-looking too.
Mingzhu fell in love with the kitten at first sight and couldn't help but say, "Let me hold him."
"Okay," Hailing handed the kitten in her arms to Mingzhu. Mingzhu held it gently, unsure of where to put it. Just then, the little guy moved, seemingly very uncomfortable. His little mouth twitched, and his little eyebrows furrowed, as if he didn't want to be held by Mingzhu. Seeing this, Mingzhu didn't dare to hold him anymore and quickly handed him to Hailing.
"He seems shy around strangers and doesn't want me to hold him."
As soon as the little guy returned to Hailin's arms, his eyebrows relaxed again, and he fell asleep peacefully.
Hailin couldn't help but feel both annoyed and amused. This guy even knows how to pick people. She looked up at Mingzhu.
“I’ve always held him in my arms since he was born, so he’s not used to being held by others.”
"Hmm." Nalan Mingzhu nodded, then thought of how worried she had been since Hailing left the capital. Looking up at Hailing, she noticed that Hailing had lost weight. Although her face was still beautiful, it was heartbreaking. "Ling'er, where have you been lately? Why did you leave the capital without a word?"
“I went to Medicine King Valley to give birth. I came back after the kitten was born. You know that Xi Xiu has not been caught yet, so the Emperor is naturally worried about my child and me.”
She didn't want Mingzhu to know that she had taken the Forgetfulness Pill or that the Emperor had been poisoned by the Ice Jade Poison, so she glossed over it.
Mingzhu nodded without the slightest doubt. She had heard that Medicine King Valley was a good place that ordinary people couldn't enter. It was indeed a good idea for Hailing to go there to give birth. Moreover, when she heard Hailing mention the nickname of the kitten, she couldn't help but exclaim with joy.
"So the little guy's name really is Little Cat, what an adorable name!"
"I hope he can be strong and grow up safely and healthily. Giving him such a nickname will make him easier to raise."
"Then I'll name my child after he's born."
Nalan Mingzhu blurted it out, and her face turned a little red as soon as she finished speaking. Hailing, on the other hand, happily took Nalan Mingzhu's hand and asked her all sorts of questions.
"You're pregnant, Mingzhu, are you really pregnant?"
Mingzhu looked around the hall. Although there were many palace maids and eunuchs in the hall, they all kept their eyes down and didn't look anywhere. This made her feel a little better. She nodded and whispered to Hailing, "Yes, the doctor examined me a couple of days ago and said I am pregnant."
Upon hearing this, Hailing was genuinely delighted and grasped Mingzhu's hand tightly: "Congratulations, Mingzhu, my son will have a playmate from now on."
Moreover, her pregnancy meant that her brother treated her well and was sincere towards her. She was happy for her. She had suffered a lot when she followed him in the past, but now she was finally happy. She was very happy for her: "Mingzhu, I'm happy for you."
"Actually, I should thank you."
If it weren't for the fact that she and Hailing had such a good relationship, Ji Shaocheng might not have been willing to marry her. The person he wanted to marry would definitely be someone who was good to his family and his sister. So Ye Liushuang was kicked out.
"Why are we thanking each other? Stop with the thanks. Just let me have my way with your son after he's born."
“Okay,” Mingzhu agreed immediately, but poor thing, her little baby was sold by her mother before it was even born.
Inside the main hall, the two were having a pleasant conversation when a young eunuch rushed in to report: "Your Majesty, General Ji and Young General Ji have arrived."