Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 1178 - 1175_1

Chapter 1178: Chapter 1175_1

In the square of the Temple of Heaven, under the scorching sun,

officials stood closely packed together, each one of them drenched in sweat, dripping like rain.

Many people were secretly wiping their sweat with a handkerchief from time to time.

At the altar, even the emperor’s dragon robe was soaked through, but its bright yellow color made it hard to notice.

Xiao’er took out the ice soul from her robe and put it on Qingqing.

"Xiao’er, why do you keep putting that jade pendant on and off your child?" Du Yijin asked, fanning herself with a fan as she approached Xiao’er and noticed the pendant.

"This is an ice soul, it can cool you down if you wear it. Why don’t you have your child brought over as well? They can take turns wearing it for a while. The weather is so hot, I worry the children might get heatstroke."

"Alright, I’ll get the wet nurse to bring the child over immediately." Du Yijin quickly signaled to the wet nurse standing not far away to bring her child over after hearing this.

Xiao’er took the ice soul off Qingqing and put it on Shangguan Weifan.

The moment the ice soul was taken off, Qingqing pouted, seemingly about to cry. Unavoidably, among all the children, Qingqing who was the plumpest usually suffered the most in the heat.

Xiao’er quickly patted her. "Be good, Qingqing. It’ll be your turn again soon."

"Or let Qingqing keep it!" Du Yijin suggested, feeling a bit embarrassed by the situation.

"It’s okay. Weifan had been suffering from the heat for quite some time. Let him wear it for a while. The day has just begun and the sun is already this fierce. How on earth are we supposed to endure until noon?"

Du Yijin wanted to say something.

Just then, Aunt Fu from the Empress Dowager’s side approached them.

"Princess Rui, Crown Princess of Prince An, I am here on the Empress Dowager’s instructions to take the little masters to the Cining Palace to avoid the heat. By the end of the hour, they will be brought back to give thanks to Heaven and Earth. This way, the little masters won’t distract the Princess and the Crown Princess from the ceremony."

Upon hearing this, Xiao’er and Du Yijin were overjoyed, and they both responded simultaneously, "The Empress Dowager is really thoughtful. Aunt Fu, please convey our thanks to her on our behalf."

"Indeed. The Empress Dowager really loves these little masters from the bottom of her heart." Aunt Fu replied with a smile.

"Absolutely, these children are fortunate to have the Empress Dowager looking after them. Thank you very much, Aunt Fu!" Xiao’er said with a smile.

"Thank you very much, Aunt Fu!" Du Yijin echoed Xiao’er’s sentiment.

"Princess, Crown Princess, you’re being too kind," Aunt Fu said modestly.

"Yang Liu, Yang Mei, go to the Empress Dowager with the wet nurse and the Crown Prince and Princess. Take good care of the little masters, don’t let them disturb the Empress Dowager," Xiao’er said to them meaningfully.

"Yes!" They responded in unison.

So, they followed Aunt Fu towards the Cining Palace with the children.

Shangguan Xuanyi glanced their way from the altar, but then he was called to perform the Sacrifice to Heaven ceremony and he looked away.

With the children not under the sun, even though she herself was still under it, Xiao’er didn’t feel the time drag as much.

.....

Aunt Fu brought the children to the Cining Palace, where the Empress Dowager saw their sunburnt rosy cheeks and lamented, "It’s my fault for not thinking of bringing you here sooner. Look at my great-grandchildren, they’re all hot and red-faced."

Perhaps it was the sudden coolness indoors, the children finally felt comfortable. They grinned at the Empress Dowager, making her laugh out loud.

"Empress Dowager, it’s been a while since we last met, and these four children have grown even more handsome. I can’t even tell who is who anymore!" Aunt Fu said affectionately as she watched the children.

"You can’t tell them apart? They don’t look that much alike. This one is the eldest, Mu Chen, this one is the second, Nuannuan, this one is the third..." The Empress Dowager began to point them out one by one.

"The Empress Dowager is really amazing, she can remember all of this!" Aunt Fu quickly replied.

"Of course, for four children, each with a different look, the eldest is most like the late Emperor!" The Empress Dowager chatted with Aunt Fu while playing with the children.

...

After Yang Mei arrived at the Cining Palace, she borrowed a small kitchen to cook rice porridge for the children.

More than a quarter of an hour later, noticing that the Empress Dowager had played enough with them, Yang Liu suggested:

"Empress Dowager, I think the children might be hungry now. Shall I feed them with some rice porridge?"

The Empress Dowager nodded after hearing this: "All right, feed them quickly, don’t let them starve."

Yang Liu, Yang Mei, and the wet nurses then fed the children rice porridge.

The children didn’t eat much, and they were full after half a bowl.

After the children were full, the Empress Dowager took out a rattle and played with them for a while. Soon they fell asleep from exhaustion.

The previous environment was too harsh, they were restless all morning, now that the environment was more comfortable, they felt sleepy.

Seeing the children had fallen asleep, the Empress Dowager disliked having so many people in the room, so she told Yang Liu and the others: "You all should leave. When the children wake up, you may attend to them then."

Yang Liu, Yang Mei, and the others did not dare disobey, so they stayed and waited outside the door.

Aunt Fu saw that the children had fallen asleep, and suggested: "Empress Dowager, you had said that although you cannot participate in the Sacrifice to Heaven ceremony, you would like to worship in the small Buddhist temple as a token of your sincerity. With the princes and princesses asleep, perhaps this is a good time."

"That might be a good idea! Please lift me up!" the Empress Dowager assented.

Aunt Fu and another maid quickly aided the Empress Dowager off the Phoenix seat. They then helped her towards the small Buddhist temple.

Half a quarter of an hour later, screams for help were heard from the small Buddhist temple: "Help! Help!"

Also, the Empress Dowager was wailing: "Ah! Fire! Fire! I’m on fire!"

When Yang Liu and Yang Mei heard the cry for help, they were startled. They were both worried about the Empress Dowager and the safety of their young masters. After exchanging panicked looks, Yang Mei decided, "Yang Liu, you go check it out. I’ll stay here with the young masters."

Yang Liu nodded, and quickly ran off.

After Yang Liu left, the sound of a window opening came from inside the room. Yang Mei was shocked, she quickly pushed the door open and went in, only to see a figure in black holding a child jumping out of the window.

Yang Mei noticed that one child was missing from the bed, she was horrified. She told the wet nurse to watch the children.

She then quickly chased after them while shouting loudly: "Help! There’s an assassin! There’s an assassin!"

The intruder, holding the child, zigzagged through the Imperial Garden, avoiding areas with a heavy guard presence and aiming towards the palace walls.

The intruder was very skilled in Qinggong, Yang Mei was always a step behind in the chase. Soon, many of the Imperial Guards were also in pursuit.

After Yang Mei left to chase the black-clad intruder, two more broke into the room.

The wet nurses started screaming: "Assa...."

But before they could finish, the three wet nurses were knocked unconscious.

One of the intruders took a child from a drawer, while the other randomly grabbed one from the bed. They fled in two different directions, neither matching the route taken by the first intruder.

Obviously, these people had planned their moves thoroughly!