Chapter 1754: Chapter 1692: Mother and Son
Empress Dowager Mo waved at Ah Jiu, inviting him to sit beside her, and instructed Nanny Shui to bring the tonic over.
"The ginseng chicken soup has been stewing for a while. You need to finish it all for me, look at your face, so thin, thereās barely any meat." Empress Dowager Mo looked at him with a face full of concern.
Ah Jiu gave a faint smile, "Whenever I return to Royal Mother, thereās always good food and drinks. Iām truly blessed."
Empress Dowager Mo feigned displeasure, snorted, and said, "Since you know this, why did you return so late? If it werenāt for your Imperial Brotherās sudden incident, youād probably still be enjoying yourself without returning."
"Royal Mother..." Ah Jiu put on a flattering face and said, "You know I have my difficulties."
Empress Dowager Mo tapped his forehead, teasingly saying, "Your difficulty is that once you have a wife, you forget your mother."
Ah Jiu laughed, rubbed against her hand, "Royal Mother should be happy that Iāve finally started a family."
Empress Dowager Mo sighed, "You acted first and reported later. Look at the history of previous dynasties, which prince marries in such a playful manner like you? Not to mention, Royal Mother hasnāt even seen her face yet, tell me, which mother-in-law lets her daughter-in-law enter the door without having met her?"
"At the time, the situation was urgent, and since I was determined, thereās no one else but her. Sooner or later, we would have held the ceremony, itās just..." Ah Jiu said with some regret, "I also wanted to welcome her with great fanfare, but the situation didnāt allow it."
Empress Dowager Mo sighed again, "Her mother is also unfortunate."
At that time, Ah Jiu sent an urgent message back, which seemed improper. Later, she thought heād already publicly proposed, how could he back out? She let it be for now. Thinking if it didnāt work, they could marry another noble lady as a concubine, and if it was truly inappropriate, a successive consort could be arranged.
Ah Jiu remained silent.
"Though you hurried to marry while her mother was alive, it counts as a marriage but doesnāt feel right. In the future, it would be appropriate to hold a proper grand wedding," said Empress Dowager Mo.
Ah Jiu smiled, "Thatās what I thought too, but the grand wedding has to wait until she finishes her mourning period."
Empress Dowager Mo calculated with her fingers, frowned, and said, "In that case, I have to wait two or three years to have a grandchild?"
"Royal Mother is still young, you can wait!" Ah Jiu quickly comforted.
Empress Dowager Mo scoffed lightly, then composed herself, "You rushed the wedding, which is fine if youāre happy, Iāll go along. The formal wedding can wait and be supplemented later. But, sheās in mourning now, and no matter how legitimate your status is, you canāt act recklessly or have a child during the mourning period. A child born during mourning is notorious."
Ah Jiu quickly said, "I have a sense of propriety."
"I know you have propriety, but Iām afraid both of you are still young and inexperienced. A moment of excitement might..." Empress Dowager Mo couldnāt bear to delve deeper, so she changed the subject, "When she comes, Iāll send a couple of reliable nannies over to you."
"Thatās exactly what weāre hoping for; even if Royal Mother didnāt say, we planned to ask you to recommend an older nanny to us!"
Empress Dowager Mo raised an eyebrow, "Oh? She doesnāt suspect I want to send someone to spy on her?"
"Royal Mother worries too much, you said weāre still young. Her motherās incident was also due to having too young people around, lacking experience, which inadvertently fell into a trap," Ah Jiu quickly explained.
Empress Dowager Moās expression turned solemn, "Thatās right, itās said that having an elder at home is like owning a treasure."
"Then in the future, Iāll invite Royal Mother to live in my mansion!" Ah Jiu tentatively suggested.