Entering the palace at 6 o'clock

  Time flies, and it's already Mid-Autumn Festival. Many of the imperial consorts' families have sent in name cards to enter the palace, so they can reunite with their loved ones during this festive season and alleviate their homesickness.

  As the younger sister of Empress Jing, Li Shi was also invited into the palace. Even when she was a young girl, Empress Jing had been particularly fond of this younger sister, and the sisters got along extremely well. Empress Jing's straightforward and generous personality complemented Li Shi's gentle and beautiful nature, so over the years, even after Li Shi got married, Empress Jing did not sever her relationship with her younger sister. Moreover, Murong Jin was a trusted general of the Emperor and a capable official, and the complex relationships involved here cannot be explained in just a few words.

  I've long heard about the dragon and phoenix twins, and Jing Fei is also very curious. She's been thinking of finding an opportunity to meet them and give her sister some face. However, the children are too young, and she doesn't want to stir up trouble again in the palace. After all, the palace is a place with too much yin energy, and she's afraid that the little ones can't handle it.

  She is three years old now. It's said that she has been healthy since childhood and has never been ill, which makes Jing Fei extremely delighted and even more eager to see her.

  On this day, Li Shi took her two children back to her mother's house and then went to the palace with her mother to visit Jing Fei.

  Arrived at the Li's residence, now Li's elder brother is serving as the Minister of Revenue, also a prominent position. He has a reputation for being strict and upright in the Qingliu faction, with a very good relationship with others.

  The garden of Li's mansion is not as large as that of Murong's, but it was indeed built in the style of Jiangnan. The old home of the Li family is from Jinling, so they have a deep affection for Jiangnan.

  Just past the second gate, it's a small bridge with flowing water, artificial hills and stone bridges, which has a delicate and elegant painting style. The roads on both sides are lined with various green willows and flowering trees, which bloom in different colors according to the season. The soft green willow branches stretch out in the sunlight, revealing their slender figures, as if they were the waist of a young girl, exuding a refined and elegant demeanor.

  This was the first time that Long Fengtai had come to their home, and Yuwen didn't stop looking around with her big, black eyes shining brightly with intelligence. As soon as she entered the house, she caught Mrs. Li's eye and delighted her heart.

  "Oh my, these are the twins! They're really well-behaved. I've never seen children with such red lips and white teeth before. Just look at their eyes, how bright and clear they are!" Mrs. Li immediately took a liking to the dragon and phoenix twins.

  Wan Yu still felt a little self-satisfied after hearing this, for the sake of her and her brother's health, she had spent a lot of money, not only feeding Pei Yuan Dan, but also secretly dripping some Ling Quan into the wet nurse's food, so that she and her brother could eat well and grow strong, not pale and tender.

  Mrs. Li smiled and said, "It's also the heavens showing mercy to me, taking pity on me once, I didn't expect these two kids to be so easy to bring up, never getting sick, from birth till now they've never had a headache or fever, eating well and having sturdy bodies. This is your paternal grandmother, this is your aunt."

  Wanyu and Qige immediately clasped their hands together in greeting, "Grandma is well, Auntie is beautiful."

  "Oh dear, these two kids are killing me!" Even the sister-in-law standing next to Mrs. Li was covering her mouth and giggling.

  Two little guys are wearing the same clothes, both big red shirts. Because they're still young, they can wear the same ones. They look like the child attendants of Guanyin (the Goddess of Mercy). At home, whether it's grandma or grandpa, uncle or aunt, nobody can tell them apart when they wear the same clothes. The two of them love playing this game the most: guess who I am, and if you can't guess, you have to give a gift.

  Sister-in-law was delighted with the two children, so lovely and sensible. She picked up Yuanyu and kissed her, "Ah, I recognize this is Nini, what a beautiful child." After speaking, she looked at Li with a hint of jealousy in her eyes, unable to help but gaze at her with envy, "Sister, you're really lucky, if I had such a lovely pair of children, I wouldn't trade them for anything, even gold." She thought that even if they were born out of wedlock, it would still be good, especially since their mother was dead and there was only one aunt left in the maternal family, with no worries or concerns at all, what a wonderful thing.

  Li smiled and joked with her sister-in-law, "You're not allowed to snatch my child, my husband is anxious about it."

  Mrs. Li was supported by Mr. Li, and as they walked out, she asked: "Does Brother-in-law like his siblings? Is he good to Lǐ Gē?" Meaning don't neglect my grandson, who is the real flesh and blood.

  Mr. Li naturally understood his mother's meaning, smiled and nodded, "The old master attaches great importance to Lige, personally teaches him by his side, the two children are very close to their brother, especially Yuwen, with these two little guys around, as long as the old master is at home every day, he will come back to see the children, and also spend more time with Lige than before. These two are Lige's little followers, wherever they go."

  Mrs. Li smiled contentedly and patted her daughter's hand, saying: "You've also managed to come out on top, raise the child well, don't learn from those petty-minded people, teach them well and whether they're boys or girls, they'll be a great help to Lige, Lige is alone after all."

  "Mother, don't worry, I understand. It's all recorded in the family tree, and even if I wasn't happy about it, I couldn't bring it up. Aunt He is a good person, and I know that in my heart. Her cousin is now Yu's nanny, having her own relatives nearby will make her more attentive to the child, and I'm doing this all for the child's sake."

  Wanyu didn't know until she was over a year old and could talk that her wet nurse was actually the cousin of He Yiniang, but the wet nurse wasn't as stunningly beautiful as He Yiniang, only relatively pretty. Because their daughter had fallen ill and passed away, it happened to coincide with He Yiniang's affair, so they needed to find a new wet nurse for their newborn son. Li Shi chose one from her own entourage who was honest and reliable, and the other one was Wanyu's wet nurse, also letting others know that she genuinely cared for the child without any ulterior motives, not minding who the wet nurse was.

  Originally, the wet nurse didn't have any complaints about Li Shi. Even before her death, Eldest Sister had said that Li Shi was very good to her and had promised to raise her children under her name after they were born. Now, she was willing to use her own life to prove that she was sincere towards the child, because her own daughter had passed away, she treasured Wan Yu more than her own life.

  Li gave peaches to repay Li, and sent the nanny's family two sheep, so that the old people and children all had something to eat, and wouldn't starve the children. He also transferred the two families to the gatehouse and the second gate to keep watch, so that the nannies could occasionally take a look at their children when they missed them, and there would be no resentment.

  So the two wet nurses took care of their siblings with one heart and mind, without any distractions. Yu's wet nurse and her deceased aunt were both Miao people, who were skilled in medicine and poison, which was also why Li valued Hu's sisters.

  Mrs. Li nodded in satisfaction, acknowledging her daughter's behavior, open-minded and confident that as long as she had taught the child well, she would be her backbone in the future, genuine affection for genuine affection, no matter what, it wouldn't go wrong.

  "Has the matter of entering the palace been instructed to the child?" Madam Li was still worried about the child and asked again.

  "Don't worry, these two little rascals are clever and know to show respect and greet people properly. They have to be sweet-talking and respectful like they're taking care of an elderly lady, no mischief allowed." Li taught her mother once.

  Young children don't understand profound things, so if you tell them to respect their elders like their grandmother, they'll probably get it. They can't be naughty or mischievous, or they'll get a slap on the hand.

  Mrs. Li looked at Qi Ge, and Qi Ge blinked his eyes and smiled, Mrs. Li couldn't help but smile when she saw how cute he was, thinking that this might make the princess happy and pleased.

  Li sat in the carriage and held Qi Ge and Wan Yu's hands again, instructing them earnestly: "After entering the palace, do you know what to say when you see Her Majesty?"

  "I know, I should say that you're safe and sound, and that you look beautiful." Yuwen said with a blush, tugging at her not-too-long braid.

  Mr. Li nodded in satisfaction, although it was very simple and straightforward, but the child's innocent words were the most pleasant to hear, their purity was enough to move everyone.

  "What if it's a noble wearing dragon robes?" Li said with concern.

  "I know, the emperor is mighty." Yuanyu raised her fist and shouted exaggeratedly. Qige turned his head to look at his sister and also raised his fist in a silly manner, grinning from ear to ear.

  Mrs. Li and her sister-in-law were amused to laughter, Mrs. Li's sister-in-law patted her and smiled: "Alright, don't worry, what kind of heart does a noble have? How can they be petty with children? They are so lovely that one can't help but laugh."

  Li looked and thought carefully for a while, indeed there was nothing wrong with it. It's not that she didn't want the child to be simple-minded, mainly as long as he was innocent and lovely, that was enough. You can't expect a three-year-old child to recite Confucius' Analects, right? Being silly and cute was good enough.

  A group of people entered the palace, but because the wet nurse couldn't enter, when presenting their cards to enter the palace, there was a request for the number of people, and so many people couldn't rush in at once. Therefore, Yuanyu was carried by Li's sister-in-law, while Qige was carried by Li herself, as they entered the palace to meet Empress Jing.

  Not yet arrived at Yonghe Palace, Jing Fei's senior palace maid, Cai Wei, came over to pay her respects, "Greetings to the elderly madam, greetings to the madam, greetings to the young lady. Oh! Is this the little master? How handsome!"

  Cai Wei was born into the palace, and now she is the most trusted left arm of Jing Fei. She has a lot of face in front of Mrs. Li. Her brother, who loves martial arts, has already removed his slave status and gone to Murong Jin's camp to seek fame. His parents have long since removed their slave status and bought land to become small landlords. The whole family has received preferential treatment.

  It's no wonder that the Li family can cultivate/tame people, doing things with a big heart makes one feel especially comfortable in their heart. Cai Wei is devoted to Jing Fei, serving her wholeheartedly and single-mindedly.

  "Caiwei, how did you come? Is there any instruction from the empress?" Madame Li asked cautiously, being careful not to make a mistake in the palace where rules were strict.

  Cai Wei smiled, "Not at all, the empress asked me to come and pick up Old Madam, I've been waiting in the palace since early morning, the empress started getting ready a long time ago, and has been looking out for her several times already." Her voice was sweet and pleasant.

  "Tell me, how have the days been treating you? Is your wife doing well? How's the Fourth Prince's health? Are the servants diligent? If there's anything amiss, be sure to inform my lady promptly and don't take matters into your own hands, lest it brews into a great calamity."