Chapter 3 – the Empress' only son
8 weeks later
"Adelaide, child, you must stand close to Ai Jia, alright? You just arrived at the palace two months ago, Ai Jia is worried that others might take advantage of you," said the Empress Dowager.
Adelaide silently nodded and assisted the Empress Dowager into settling on the carriage.
She for one, can't believe that it had been two months ago since her arrival at the Palace of Eternal Longevity.
But for the weeks that had passed, the Empress Dowager was quite smitten with her.
Adelaide had been given a position to serve as one court lady who aided the Emperor's mother in her daily life. All in all, the humble and serene abode of the Empress Dowager is made up of four court ladies and includes herself.
Adelaide, together with Wunli, the head of the court ladies, is assigned to be by Empress Dowager's side every time. In total, there are 4 senior handmaidens that serve the Empress Dowager.
Wunli, aged 42 summers, is the only senior court lady amongst the four of them, she was by the Empress Dowager's side ever since the Emperor was but an infant, and the Empress Dowager was still a Consort of the previous Emperor.
The other two are twins who are surprisingly Wunli's children.
It is scarcely seen of a senior court lady such as Wunli to get married and still choose to remain inside the inner court.
Wunli's husband was an imperial guard of middle status, and when he lost his life to a border invasion decades ago, their twin daughters, Chun Hua and Lu Yun entered the palace under the care of the Empress Dowager.
The twins are junior court ladies.
Chun Hua, charge of managing the chores inside the Yongshou Gong and has the duty to give out tasks to all the other servants, while Lu Yun was entrusted to supervise the kitchen and preside over the meals eaten by the Empress Dowager.
Two months ago, the Emperor with the Princes who are of age, together with the high-ranking consorts left for the yearly southern trip.
Remembering what she had read, Adelaide recalled that the previous Emperor of the Linjiang Empire had undertaken six southern inspection tours during their reign.
The southern trip's purpose is to undertake multiple tours of inspection to all corners of the empire.
These personal inspection tours were part of a strategy for extending and solidifying the Imperial family's rule throughout the empire.
This evening is the arrival of the Sixth Prince, and being the Prince's guardian, the Empress Dowager is very eager to welcome her legitimate grandson on his arrival from the southern trip with the Emperor.
The deceased Empress and Empress Dowager came from the same Mu Clan, hence, why the grandmother-grandson relationship is quite strong, as Wunli described it.
In the warm, sunlit corner of the Empress Dowager's private garden, the scent of blooming jasmine and roses filled the air.
The garden, a sanctuary of peace and beauty within the bustling palace, provided a perfect setting for the lesson ahead.
The Empress Dowager, accompanied by Chun Hua and Lu Yun, stood a few meters away from them.
The Imperial noblewoman was fascinated by the multicolored koi fishes released in the garden ponds, gifted to her personally by the Japanese envoys.
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Empress Sunrise
Historical Fiction"Behind every successful Emperor, there stands his Empress," A foreign woman arrived at the Imperial Palace of the Linjiang Empire as a slave but rose to become the first foreign Empress and became the legitimate wife of the most powerful Emperor t...
