Chapter 172: Ah Bao’s New Year Gift

Concubine Chun glanced at her. “The Queen Mother did not say otherwise, so it must be that she does not want us to enter. Let’s continue kneeling.”

Concubine Rou: …

Concubine Hui sighed. “How long will we have to kneel? This is not like the past, where we would visit the Queen Mother, pay respects, and then leave.”

Soon, the palace gate opened again, and the old nanny came out. “Everyone, please go back. The Queen Mother said it will be this way this year. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year. The Queen Mother has heard all of your well-wishes.”

The concubines were about to explode.

“What? We’re going back just like this? We haven’t even seen the Queen Mother’s face.”

The old nanny smiled faintly. “The Queen Mother is busy playing with the little princess. The weather is so cold, afraid you might get frozen, so it’s been waived. Please return, everyone.”

“But why does the little princess get to enter the Cining Palace while we cannot?” A younger, less understanding concubine complained.

Many concubines with lower ranks wanted to show their faces before the Queen Mother  on the first day of the New Year to increase their chances of gaining favor in the future.

After all, the Queen Mother  is the Emperor’s mother. Her word could be worth more than a decade of their own efforts to gain favor!

The old nanny immediately grew stern. “She is the Tenth Princess. Are you?”

“Nanny, I also want to go see the Queen Mother . I even brought a New Year gift for her. I…” Di Hongluan took this opportunity to step forward and tug at the old nanny’s clothes.

This gift will surely be liked by the Queen Mother .

She personally copied a Buddhist scripture!

“Is it the little county princess?”

“Nanny, I want to personally deliver the New Year gift to the Queen Mother .”

The old nanny frowned. “Little county princess, the Queen Mother  is not meeting anyone today.”

“But the princess has gone in. If she can go, why can’t I?”

This puzzled the old nanny.

The little county princess seemed quiet and well-behaved before, but recently she’s become a bit aggressive.

“All are of royal blood. If the princess can go in, then naturally I can too.”

“Little county princess, it doesn’t work that way. She is a princess; you are a county princess. It’s not the same.”

Being of a lower rank doesn’t mean you should have the same privileges.

Di Hongluan didn’t care. She had prepared this gift for several days, waiting to show off on the first day of the New Year, especially in front of Di Jiaoyang. What’s so great about a princess? They’re all granddaughters of the Queen Mother . To put it another way, she’s a county princess!

“Hmph.”

The old nanny noticed that Di Hongluan was becoming increasingly unreasonable. Given her status, it wasn’t appropriate to say too much. Besides, it was the first day of the New Year, and she didn’t want to ruin the festive atmosphere, so she quickly had the Princess Han take Di Hongluan away.

As they were leaving, Di Hongluan stubbornly handed over the gift she had prepared to the old nanny before reluctantly leaving.

“Luan’er, on New Year’s Day, you mustn’t make a fuss,” the Princess Han reassured Di Hongluan on their way.

Di Hongluan was furious. “The Queen Mother  is so biased, she likes princesses but not county princesses. Mother, why did Father have to give up the throne and become a hostage instead of the Emperor? If it had been the Emperor as the hostage, then Father would be the Emperor now and I’d be a princess.”

“Luan’er!” The Princess Han quickly shot her a disapproving look, glancing around. Thankfully, the palace path was quiet, and no maidservants seemed to be overhearing. “How can you speak like that?”

Di Hongluan pouted. “I’m just not convinced.”

She was supposed to be the heroine. Where did the heroine’s halo go? Even seeing the Queen Mother  was so troublesome. This was different from the heroine she had imagined, and the feeling of being neglected was hard for her to accept.

She felt that since she was the chosen one, everything should go according to the script and she should smoothly become the object of protection for all the powerful figures in the world.

What went wrong!

Was it because she hadn’t met the male lead yet?

“But what’s meant to be mine, I’ll find a way to get. I won’t give up anything like Father did back then, suffering while giving benefits to others! The gift I gave the Queen Mother  today, she’ll definitely like. Mother, let’s go back to the Prince Han’s residence. Maybe the Queen Mother  will come to visit us later.”

The Princess Han was surprised. “Do you really think that Buddhist scripture will please the Queen Mother ?”

“Mother, trust me. No one knows the Queen Mother ’s preferences better than I do.”

She was confident that winning the Queen Mother ’s favor was simple!

Unlike Di Jiaoyang, who was always either crying or eating, like a little piglet—so annoying.

In the Cining Palace, Ah Bao was held in the Queen Mother ’s arms, drowsy and sleepy.

The old nanny observed, “Queen Mother , the little princess is the cutest child I’ve ever seen.” In all her years in the palace, having seen two generations of emperors, she had never seen a princess as endearing as Ah Bao.

Looking at the little girl in her arms, the Queen Mother  was all smiles. “Ah Bao is different from other children.”

On her birthday, Ah Bao wished her well, dreamed of curing her ailments and bringing blessings, and she remembered it all clearly. Although it was just a dream, she firmly believed that she was still alive today because of Ah Bao’s blessings.

On New Year’s Day, she had been thinking about meeting Ah Bao. This little girl had brought her new life.

“What is that you’re holding?” The Queen Mother  noticed the box in the old nanny’s hands.

“It’s a gift from the little county princess.”

“That child… is thoughtful,” the Empress Dowager said with a smile. “Let me see.”

The box was opened to reveal a Buddhist scripture, and the Queen Mother ’s mood changed instantly.

This… a Buddhist scripture on the first day of the New Year???

But, given that it was the first gift from her granddaughter, the Queen Mother  still picked up the scripture, which seemed to be hand-copied. Opening the first page, the starkly written ‘Ksitigarbha Sutra’ appeared before her eyes.

The Queen Mother ’s arm trembled. “Oh my heavens, this child!”

The Ksitigarbha Sutra is mainly used for souls’ liberation.

The old nanny also looked alarmed. “Queen Mother , this???’”

“This child is trying to send me off at New Year’s!”

Who gives a sutra for souls’ liberation on New Year’s Day? That’s a gift for someone about to die.

The old nanny quickly packed up the item, repeatedly muttering, “Queen Mother , please don’t be angry. The little county princess might be too young to understand, this…”

There was really no way to explain it.

It was like giving a funeral robe to an old lady on the first day of the New Year—such symbolism…