vrcanaries Chapter 290 The Empress is Pregnant with the Emperor's Child
Chapter 290 The Empress is Pregnant with the Emperor's Child
Shen Shixi returned to Zhaoyang Palace and heard that Granny Qu wanted to see her.
She had someone bring Granny Qu over.
Granny Qu bowed and said, "This servant's actions are truly outrageous, but Consort Jing is currently very vulnerable. The Seventh Prince is in poor health, and I take care of him daily. Consort Jing also requires a great deal of my attention."
"I am heartbroken by this terrible turn of events that befell Consort Jing. My only wish is for her to recover and have a peaceful end. I am deeply grateful for the Empress's kindness and virtue. I humbly beg the Empress to help Consort Jing; she truly does not need many clever servants by her side."
Shen Shixi pondered for a moment, then said, "Please rise, Granny. Bai Ping, please take a seat!"
Granny Qu knelt on the ground, "This servant dares not. It is an honor for this servant to even have a place to stand before Her Majesty the Empress. How could this servant be worthy of sitting!"
"You are an elder, and you have always been loyal to Consort Jing. I have always respected loyal servants!"
Granny Qu wept, saying, "I am ashamed. If I were a loyal servant, I wouldn't have gone through this!"
Shen Shixi said, "The nanny has her difficulties, but I also have things I cannot do. Consort Jing is the former empress, and to be honest, I am not unaware of the internal affairs of Jiafu Palace, but I really cannot interfere."
"I am very pleased that the nanny trusts me. I also want to tell her something: if Consort Jing behaves herself, I will never do anything to kill her!"
"On behalf of Consort Jing, this servant thanks Her Majesty the Empress for saving her life. Your Majesty's wisdom and magnanimity are a blessing to the harem!"
After Bai Ping saw Granny Qu out of the palace, she returned and asked, "Your Majesty, what did Granny Qu want with us? I didn't understand what she meant."
Shen Shixi said, "In Jiafu Palace, Tingqin, who serves Consort Jing, is a woman with great ambitions. However, Consort Jing cannot see through people and often listens to her instigation. Granny Qu is old and has limited energy. She is afraid that Consort Jing will listen to her words and go astray!"
"Ah, at her age, it must be so hard for her! Consort Jing is truly blessed to have such a person by her side; it remains to be seen whether she can cherish him!"
Bai Ping couldn't help but sigh as she thought about how Granny Qu's hair had turned completely white in such a short time.
After Shen Shixi's morning meeting ended, another small meeting was held in Consort De's palace. It was the same group of people: Consort Su Fuying, Lady Wang Yuehuai, Beauty Cui Xianhui, and Consort Wang Yueyao.
Consort De then said, "Today I also intend to talk about Consort Que's raising of the imperial heirs. Now that you are a palace lady, how can you not be qualified to raise the Third Princess and the Fourth Princess?"
"Since you gave birth to this child, it's time to give it back to you to raise."
Consort Que, like a puppet, rolled her eyes at Consort De. Coming to her senses, she cried out like a frightened bird, "No, no, Your Majesty, I am not qualified to raise her. I have committed so many evil deeds, how could I be qualified to be a mother?"
These are the words the Empress Dowager recently ordered someone to scold her, and she also said that from now on, no one in the harem is allowed to say that the Third Princess and the Fourth Princess were her children.
Wang Cairen glanced at her with disdain, her contempt evident in her expression.
But she dared not say anything, after all, the other party was the Empress Dowager.
"I am foolish and did not understand Your Majesty's meaning today. The Emperor said that Your Majesty is in charge of all matters in the harem. I wonder if the arrangement of this night service is decided by Your Majesty?" Wang Baolin asked.
She originally entered the palace intending to set things right in the Emperor's harem, but the Pei family rebelled, and she didn't have time to do anything.
The Emperor's decision to depose the Empress was understandable; how could she possibly speak up for the Pei family?
However, if Her Majesty the Empress does nothing, she will have something to say!
They were all the emperor's concubines, and it was only natural for the emperor to favor them. It was also only natural for them to carry on the royal family line. The empress's arrangement for them to serve the emperor was to show her magnanimity. Why should she be allowed to ignore them?
Consort De said, "Her Majesty the Empress has always been one to avoid meddling in other people's affairs. This was true in the past, and it is even less so now. As you can see, I am powerless to do anything about it."
Besides, the Empress has not yet given birth to a legitimate son, so it is only natural that she serves the Emperor more often, and no one can say anything against it. However, for some reason, on the day the Empress was to change her clothes at the end of the month, the Emperor did not summon any of his concubines.
Among them, Wang Baolin was the most anxious, as she had always had great ambitions.
"I entered the palace late and have only served the emperor twice before he personally led an expedition. I have no idea what kind of person the emperor likes."
Consort De then smiled and asked, "Look around the palace, who is the most favored?"
"Naturally, it's Her Majesty the Empress!" Wang Baolin exclaimed as if waking from a dream.
After returning home, she began to study history books. The Empress liked to meddle in politics, and the Emperor not only did not mind, but also liked her very much, and even gave the Empress the opportunity to rule as regent.
Shen Shixi felt disgusted when she heard that the Consort De's palace held morning meetings every few days. She used to be too lazy to care about it, but after it happened so often, she started to feel resentful and her temper became bad.
"Go, take the Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince to Consort Yuan and Consort Guo and let them raise them. Move Consort Xu to Consort Guo's palace and let her help take care of the Ninth Prince."
Consort Guo and Consort Yuan have practically become the palace's caretakers, sending any child without a caregiver to their palaces.
No sooner had the Third Prince been taken from Consort Yuan's palace and returned to his birth mother than the Eighth Prince was sent over.
The second princess was only two years old when she saw a little baby arrive. She was overjoyed. She didn't like her third brother very much because he was older than her; she preferred those younger than her.
"Mother, will Eighth Brother be given away to someone else by the Empress Dowager?" The Second Princess held the Eighth Prince's cradle, watching him blow bubbles, and found him incredibly cute.
"Empress Dowager doesn't know either, but as long as Eighth Prince is in our palace, you can play with him, right?"
"He's so thin! Doesn't he eat properly?" The second princess poked the eighth prince's face, making him cry instantly.
By early April, before the weather had even changed much, Shen Shixi started to feel the heat, finding it unbearably hot and stuffy. The weather this year hadn't been very good either, with no rain for a long time.
Bai Ping was very anxious. "Your Majesty, please ask Physician Jiang to come and take your pulse!"
Shen Shixi objected, "What's the point? What's meant to come will come, and what's not meant to come, you can't force it!"
She had a feeling that she had probably won.
She didn't want to make a big fuss because it was still early in her pregnancy. What if something went wrong? Would she still have any face left?
Especially Li Yuanke, ever since her period became irregular, he has been acting like a nervous freak, constantly staring at her belly, and getting nervous if she takes even a small step.
Also, she heard that if a woman finds out she's pregnant, she'll experience morning sickness, and she doesn't want to experience it.
But what's meant to happen will happen.
It was time to take the pulse again, and Li Yuanke left court early and hurried back to Zhaoyang Palace. He drank a cup of tea, but Jiang Lingyou hadn't arrived yet, so he became impatient and wanted to send someone to invite him.
Shen Shixi rolled her eyes. "Li Yuanke, is this your first time being a father?"
Li Yuanke was furious and retorted, "Can't you speak properly? What business is it of yours how I am treated? Do you even have a mouth anymore?"
Jiang Lingyou and Zhang Yuanpan came together. This time, the pulse diagnosis was no small matter, and Jiang Lingyou dared not be negligent.
The two examined each other's pulses for about half a cup of tea's time. Finally, they exchanged a glance, and Physician Zhang said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty the Empress! Your Majesty is pregnant with the imperial heir! This is a blessing for our Great Zhou!"