The Enchanting Imperial Concubine (Book 2)

Chapter 229 - Chess Pieces

Speaking in front of all the officials and royal relatives, Ning Chen found it difficult to refuse.

With the weight of filial piety pressing down on him, he could not ignore it.

If it were a private matter, he could act a bit willfully, but now, facing the civil and military officials, he had to be cautious.

Moreover, he was more afraid that the Empress Dowager's move was colluding with the Duke of Ying.

If he refused, he feared that the Chen family and its supporters would have something to say.

"Mother is well-intentioned, but the eldest prince is weak and requires considerable effort to care for. Such a labor-intensive task, how can it be entrusted to you, Mother? It would be better to wait until the child is older and in better health before bringing him over."

It was the Empress who spoke first about this matter.

She was the first to express her disagreement.

Although the Emperor would ultimately not agree to have the eldest prince recorded under her name, as long as the child was by her side, the Emperor would visit more often.

Seeing each other brings a connection, which would certainly be beneficial.

"Taking care of the child, I can handle that. There are always servants around, and those four wet nurses have been serving for a long time. I have raised children myself, so the Empress need not worry about these matters."

The Empress Dowager was very firm, smiling as she glanced at the Empress's belly.

"You should focus on nurturing your health. I sincerely hope you will give birth to a legitimate son soon."

This display of concern for her well-being left the Empress with no way to counter her.

After all, she was not the child's biological mother. If she had given birth, she could have said the child was still small and needed his birth mother, but now she found it hard to say anything at all.

With the Empress silent, Ning Chen had even less to say.

However, his considerations were all for the child.

At present, there truly wasn't a suitable candidate in the imperial harem to care for the eldest prince, so it would be fine to send him to the Empress Dowager for upbringing.

The eldest prince was frail and sickly; he would no longer entertain thoughts of succession. If the Empress Dowager could enjoy the joy of family, that would be good too.

Although Ning Chen knew that the Empress Dowager was not genuinely thinking of these things.

As long as he himself was convinced that the eldest prince was not destined to inherit the throne, he didn't care what others thought.

So he nodded, saying, "Since Mother has this intention, then let's take the eldest prince there. I will trouble you to take care of him more."

"The eldest prince is my dear grandson; of course, he must be well taken care of." The Empress Dowager was satisfied, and her smile became even more genuine.

After handing the child over to the wet nurse, he continued, "The child is getting older; it's not appropriate to keep calling him the Eldest Prince. Emperor, please give him a name."

Ning Chen thought for a moment before speaking.

"The late emperor was carefree; none of my siblings or I had our names given according to any specific order. From now on, however, we will follow the rules. The princesses will have names starting with 'Jia,' and the princes with 'Yu.' So, the Eldest Prince shall be named Yu Rong. As for the other two, we can decide once they turn one year old."