Chapter 100

Chapter 100: Zhen Huan Chronicles, An Ling Rong

“Empress Dowager, the Fourth Prince is now Yun Si’s son.” Zhu Xi replied softly. “No matter what he does in the future, it has nothing to do with the royal family.”

“Hmph!” The Empress Dowager snorted coldly. “That Eighth Prince was never any good. He led my Fourteenth Prince astray. With that wretch following the Eighth Prince, how could he turn out well? Who knows what sins he’ll stir up next.”

“Please calm your anger, Empress Dowager. The Emperor is watching him,” Zhu Xi coaxed softly. “The Emperor won’t allow the Fourth Prince to act recklessly.”

“In the end, it’s still our imperial family’s reputation that gets dragged through the mud.” The Empress Dowager frowned. “How is the Empress now?”

“Replying to Empress Dowager.” Zhu Xi lowered her gaze as she answered, “Her Majesty the Empress is doing very well now. She eats three bowls of rice at every meal, and drinks two bowls of soup. She also has a few plates of pastries, plus all kinds of stews and medicinal dishes…”

“You mean all of that is what the Empress eats?” The Empress Dowager looked stunned, as if she couldn’t believe it. “How is Her Majesty the Empress now? Has her body recovered? Why is she eating so much? Can her body handle it?”

“No. I have to go see for myself.” The Empress Dowager stood up at once. “Zhu Xi, let’s go!”

“Yes, Empress Dowager!” Zhu Xi hurried forward to support her. The Empress Dowager and her attendants, surrounded by palace maids and eunuchs, went in a grand procession toward Jing Ren Palace. Jing Ren Palace.

After finishing a plate of pastries, Her Majesty the Empress looked thoroughly satisfied. “Your Majesty!” Hui Chun hurried in and bowed. “Your Majesty, Empress Dowager has arrived.”

“Empress Dowager is here?” Her Majesty the Empress froze for a moment, then immediately ordered, “Quick, help me up.” Jian Qiu and Hui Chun rushed forward. Just as they helped the Empress to her feet, they saw the Empress Dowager enter with Zhu Xi.

“This consort greets Empress Dowager.” The Empress bent her knees slightly and forced a smile. “I didn’t know Empress Dowager was coming, so I-” “Empress!” The Empress Dowager cut her off, staring hard at the woman who had grown nearly thirty jin heavier. If she hadn’t recognized the voice, she almost wouldn’t have known who she was. “You… how did you become like this?”

“I…” The Empress’s expression stiffened. She felt humiliated, yet still forced a smile. “Empress Dowager, I did it to nourish my body. I’ve been eating more lately. Once my body is fully recovered, I’ll control my appetite. I can still slim down. Right now…”

“Enough!” The Empress Dowager took a deep breath and ordered the person beside her, “Go. Summon Imperial Physician Zhang.”

“Yes, Empress Dowager.” A palace maid standing nearby hurried out. The Empress’s face went still. She stopped talking.

Just looking at her like this gave the Empress Dowager a headache. After sitting down, she simply closed her eyes to rest. Her Majesty the Empress looked resentful, but she could not say anything more. A short while later, Imperial Physician Zhang arrived, panting and drenched in sweat.

The moment he saw Her Majesty the Empress, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. The last time he had seen her, she had been thin as a rake. Now, “plump and glossy” did not even begin to cover it. Full-bodied, well-fed, round-every word like that fit the Empress perfectly.

“Speak. How did the Empress become like this?” The Empress Dowager suppressed her anger as she spoke. “I told you to restore the Empress’s health. How did you ‘restore’ her into this state?”

“Empress Dowager, I truly did give Her Majesty the Empress a prescription to regulate her appetite.” Imperial Physician Zhang wiped sweat from his forehead, replying with a bitter face. “I also don’t know how Her Majesty the Empress became like this.”

“You don’t know?” The Empress Dowager shouted. “You wrote the prescription yourself. Now the Empress has become like this, and you answer me with ‘I don’t know’?”

“Empress Dowager…” Imperial Physician Zhang felt like he wanted to die. “A month ago, Her Majesty the Empress couldn’t eat anything at all. If she wanted to recover, she had to eat. I wasn’t wrong to prescribe something to stimulate her appetite. I just never imagined her appetite would grow this large. Normally, that shouldn’t happen-unless…”

His gaze could not help sliding to the Empress’s abdomen. Sure enough, her belly was bulging high, and the size looked like someone carrying twins. His heart grew even more panicked. He had a terrible feeling he would not survive today.

The Empress Dowager and the others also stared at the Empress’s stomach. Seeing a belly that could only be described as enormous, everyone shuddered. The Empress Dowager understood one thing clearly: this could not go on. Otherwise, the Empress would not survive.

She immediately ordered, “Imperial Physician Zhang, go write a prescription right now. When it’s boiled, I will watch the Empress drink it. Go!”

“Yes!” Imperial Physician Zhang understood what she meant. He hurried to the side hall to write the prescription.

“Empress Dowager…” Her Majesty the Empress was a little dazed. She still did not understand what the Empress Dowager intended.

“The Empress will listen to me. I won’t harm you.” The Empress Dowager swept her a cold glance. “You should know, I’m doing this for your own good.”

Her Majesty the Empress nearly shut down. She did not know why, but unease rose faintly in her chest. When she saw Imperial Physician Zhang personally carrying in a bowl of medicine, that unease doubled and doubled again. Terror leaked onto her face before she could stop it.

“Empress Dowager, you… what do you want to do?”

“Drink it.” The Empress Dowager barked the order. “If you don’t want to die, do as I say. Drink every last drop of this bowl of medicine.”

“No!” The Empress struggled, trying to flee. She did not want to drink it. She felt horribly unsafe, as if something terrible was about to happen.

She thrashed and screamed, “I won’t drink it! I won’t drink medicine! Take it away! Take it away from me!”

“Guards!” The Empress Dowager stood up. Looking down with a harsh face, she shouted, “Hold the Empress down. I want her to drink every drop.”

“Yes!” Zhu Xi and the others moved at once, pinning Her Majesty the Empress tightly.

Jian Qiu, Hui Chun, and the others were shocked and terrified. They did not know whether they should help their mistress, yet they did not dare oppose the Empress Dowager. They could only watch as the Empress was held so firmly she could not move.

“Let go of me!” The Empress screamed wildly. “Wretches, let go of me! Did you hear me? I’m the Empress-how dare you rebel…”

“Shut up!” The Empress Dowager did not want to hear her screaming anymore. “Force it down.” No matter how the Empress resisted, with several senior maids and palace maids working together, they poured half a bowl of medicine down her.

Of course, that still was not enough. A palace maid who had prepared in advance brought in another bowl. Two bowls were forced down, and at least a full bowl’s worth ended up in her stomach. Only then did the Empress Dowager let her go.

Her Majesty the Empress looked utterly miserable-shocked, furious, hateful. She glared at the Empress Dowager and roared with all her strength, “Why? Tell me why!”

“Why?” The Empress Dowager was furious too. She strode forward and slapped her hard across the face without the slightest mercy. Smack.

Her Majesty the Empress was slapped into a daze. The Empress Dowager spoke with sharp, furious force. “Look at what you’ve become. Do you look like an empress of the realm?

And that thing in your belly-” She pointed at the belly bulging high and said angrily, “That ghost thing is not a fetus at all. If you don’t get rid of it now, are you planning to be stretched to death by it?”