Consort Zhuang doesn't want palace intrigue; she just wants to raise her child and live a caref

Chapter 380 5 year later

"Grandma! Grandma!" Accompanied by a cheerful shout, a group of innocent and carefree little kids, like a flock of happy birds, chirped and ran towards Cuiwei Palace.

Su Nuannuan was leisurely lying on a recliner, enjoying the peaceful afternoon. However, when she heard the children's energetic calls, a faint sigh welled up in her heart.

She simply couldn't understand how she had ended up like this, having to continue raising a child. Life is truly unpredictable!

"Grandmother, Father is angry!" The five-year-old Crown Prince ran anxiously to Su Nuannuan to report this important news.

Upon hearing this, Su Nuannuan's heart tightened, and she quickly sat up from the recliner, asking with concern, "Oh? Why is your father angry?"

The crown prince blinked his big eyes and answered seriously, "Because my fifth uncle refuses to marry the princess."

"Oh?" Su Nuannuan was a little surprised. She turned to look at the Second Prince beside her, only to see the four-year-old boy echoing, "That's right, Grandmother, Fifth Uncle just won't marry a princess, and Father is very angry!"

At this moment, the four-year-old princess, who had been standing quietly to the side, suddenly interjected curiously, "Grandmother, why doesn't Fifth Uncle marry a princess?"

Su Nuannuan was caught off guard by the little princess's sudden question. After thinking for a moment, she smiled and replied, "Well, Grandmother isn't quite sure either. Perhaps Fifth Uncle hasn't met the right person yet."

Just as Su Nuannuan was talking with the children, the three-year-old Third Prince toddled over to Su Nuannuan with his short legs, then opened his arms and said in a childish voice, "Grandma, hug me!"

All four children were born to the Empress, and the second prince and the little princess were twins, a boy and a girl.

Seeing the adorable appearance of the third prince, Su Nuannuan had no choice but to get up from the recliner and hug the third prince.

"Why don't you little ones go play with your great-grandmother?" Su Nuannuan asked softly with a gentle smile.

The little princess blinked her big eyes and answered innocently, "Grandmother is not feeling well. Father and Mother said that we should not disturb her rest."

Upon hearing this, Su Nuannuan felt a little worried and asked with concern, "Oh? How is the Empress Dowager's health? Has the imperial physician been summoned to see her?"

The little princess shook her head, seemingly unaware of her grandmother's illness.

At this moment, Su Nuannuan noticed that the little princess was looking at the third prince, whom she was holding in her arms, with envious eyes. She looked so adorable. So, she smiled and said to the little princess, "Come here, Jing'er, come to Grandma and let Grandma hold you."

The little princess was overjoyed when she heard that her grandmother wanted to hold her, but when she saw the third prince sitting on Su Nuannuan's left lap, she sensibly shook her head and said, "Grandmother is already very tired from holding my third brother. Jing'er can't let Grandmother get tired anymore."

"Oh my! How can you be so sensible!" Su Nuannuan looked at the well-behaved and adorable Cang Lan Yun Jing in front of her and couldn't help but feel a surge of affection in her heart.

"Jing'er, come here," Su Nuannuan called gently, reaching out to lightly stroke Cang Lan Yun Jing's little head.

“Jing’er, remember this: you don’t need to be so sensible here with your grandmother.”

At this moment, Jinse, who was standing to the side, said with a smile, "Your Majesty, please let me hold the Third Prince!"

Su Nuannuan turned to look at Jinse, then looked down at Canglan Yunxu sitting on her left lap and asked, "Xu'er, would you like to be held by Granny Jinse?"

However, Cang Lan Yunxu shook his head without hesitation and refused, saying, "No." His little hands tightly gripped Su Nuannuan's clothes, as if he was afraid that someone would take them away from him. His appearance was both pitiful and funny.

Seeing this, Su Nuannuan quickly and gently comforted him, "Xu'er, shall we go play?"

Upon hearing this, Cang Lan Yunxu's eyes immediately lit up, and he happily nodded in response, "Okay."

"Okay, let's go play then." Su Nuannuan smiled and put Cang Lan Yunxu on the ground.

Five years ago, Su Nuannuan returned from Huiyang City with a small plan in mind. She had a climbing trellis rebuilt in the yard, which made the original grape trellis disappear.

At that time, there was only Crown Prince Canglan Yunsheng in the palace. He was deeply loved and was the darling of everyone.

After the Crown Prince learned to crawl, Su Nuannuan would often have Jinse go to Anning Palace to bring him over. Then, she would play with the Crown Prince on the climbing frame, and seeing his happy smile, even though he wasn't her own grandson, Su Nuannuan would still feel incredibly happy.

The reason for this was not only because Su Nuannuan liked children, but also because the Empress was pregnant again. Su Nuannuan knew the hardships of pregnancy, so she felt sorry for the Empress and hoped to share some of the burden with her.

From a young age, the Crown Prince frequently traveled between Cixi Palace and Cuiwei Palace, only occasionally staying at Anning Palace for a few days. However, after the Empress gave birth to twins, her life became even busier, and despite the many palace servants taking meticulous care of her, the Empress was still worried.

As the saying goes, "One should not have the heart to harm others, but one should not be without the heart to guard against others." The Empress was well aware of the complex interpersonal relationships in the palace, and she always maintained a high degree of vigilance regarding the safety of the children.

Although she is currently the only one in the harem, she dares not let her guard down.

Finally, after the Empress finished her confinement period, she personally came to Cuiwei Palace and earnestly asked Su Nuannuan to help take care of the Crown Prince for a period of time.

As for why he didn't go to see the Empress Dowager?

How could the Empress not go to the Empress Dowager? She entrusted one of her two children to the Empress Dowager's care.

Then, after she got pregnant with her third child, well! All three of the previous children were dumped on Su Nuannuan.

The Empress Dowager's reason was that she was not feeling well and was too weak to take care of the children.

It is true that the Empress Dowager was feeling unwell.

In recent years, the Empress Dowager's health has been fluctuating, especially in winter, when she almost never stops taking herbal medicine.

Su Nuannuan had even suspected that someone had poisoned the Empress Dowager, which was why she was bedridden.

They even had Jinse examine it specifically, and the result was indeed the Empress Dowager's own fault.

From then on, she resigned herself to her fate. What else could she do? She couldn't let someone who wasn't feeling well take care of the baby for too long!

Don't assume that the harem is safe just because there's only the empress.

On the contrary, it was not safe at all; everyone wanted to get rid of the queen and take her place.

The emperor was determined not to take concubines. He didn't want to spend money to support women, nor did he want to be cuckolded. So he could only have the empress give birth to more children to shut up the court officials.

Didn't you say I had few children? Are they few now?