Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Zhen Huan Chronicles, An Ling Rong

“Alright, get up.” After venting the resentment in her heart, Her Majesty the Empress finally calmed down.

Jian Qiu stepped forward and helped her sit down. “Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Getting pregnant is nothing – giving birth is what takes skill. And even if she gives birth, so what?

Everyone knows children are frail by nature. One bout of wind-cold can take a newborn’s life. Your Majesty doesn’t need to get this worked up. This servant feels it isn’t worth Your Majesty getting angry at them.”

“You’re right.” Her Majesty the Empress let out a quiet breath.

A Buddha-like smile returned to her face. “This is a great joy for the whole palace. It is this Empress’s responsibility. Every one of you, keep your spirits up and take good care of the children of all the consorts.”

“Yes!” “This servant obeys! The children in this palace are fated to…” Yan Xi Palace.

“Don’t worry!” Li Si Qi supported the careful, cautious Noble Lady Fu Cha. “The imperial physician said your body is in good shape. You and the child are both fine.”

“Ling Rong, I… I feel like I’m dreaming.” Noble Lady Fu Cha still looked a little dazed. “I can’t believe I’m pregnant.”

“It’s not strange. You’ve been attending His Majesty for two months.” Li Si Qi smiled as she answered. “You got pregnant in the first month, and now it’s just the right time for it to be diagnosed.”

“Yes, the first time I attended His Majesty…” Noble Lady Fu Cha nodded with a bright laugh, then happened to glance at the person beside her. “Attendant Xia, what’s wrong with you?”

“Sister Fu Cha, why didn’t I get pregnant?” Xia Dong Chun truly could not feel happy. “So many people are pregnant, and I’m the only one who isn’t. Is it my problem?”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Noble Lady Fu Cha could not help laughing. “You haven’t been attending His Majesty for long. Even if you got pregnant now, it would still be too early. The imperial physician wouldn’t be able to feel a pulse yet.”

“Really?”

“Boiled.” Li Si Qi snapped back irritably. “You only just attended His Majesty. Even if you want to get pregnant, you have to give the child time to grow, alright? I really don’t know what you’re panicking about.”

Xia Dong Chun felt wronged and annoyed. “An Ling Rong, you’re being fierce again.”

“Who told you not to use your brain?” Li Si Qi kept hitting where it hurt. “I advise you to use your brain more. If you’re stupid, fine, but if you give birth to a little dumb one too, just wait – you’ll cry yourself to death.”

“An Ling Rong, you… you’re too much!” Xia Dong Chun stamped her feet in anger.

She lunged straight at Li Si Qi. “I’m going to tear your mouth to shreds…!”

“I think you’re truly crazy!” Li Si Qi hurriedly dodged, laughing as she cursed. “You’re stupid, and you won’t even let people tell the truth. If you don’t want people calling you stupid, then don’t say stupid things and don’t do stupid things…”

“Still talking, still talking…!” “Why can’t I talk? If you won’t let me, I’ll say it anyway…!”

… Bursts of cheerful laughter rang out from Yan Xi Palace’s courtyard. Noble Lady Fu Cha looked helpless, yet there was a smile in her eyes as she watched the two of them fool around. In that moment, she suddenly felt that having two not-very-clever people to keep her company might not be such a bad thing. Imperial Study.

After hearing the news, the emperor fell silent for a long while. Then he spoke and gave an order. “Su Pei Sheng, send rewards to the consorts who are with child.”

“Yes!” Su Pei Sheng bowed in response. He immediately withdrew from the Imperial Study to arrange the rewards for the various consorts. After the emperor sent out rewards, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager also sent people to reward the pregnant consorts.

No matter how unwilling Her Majesty the Empress was, as the mistress of the inner palace, she still had to follow suit and reward them as well. After the three big bosses gave their rewards, Consort Hua, the great moneybags of the inner palace, began her own money-splashing. Every palace mistress received rewards. Even the personal maids and eunuchs at their sides received silver as well.

The things rewarded to Xin Attendant were piled so high they filled Yan Xi Palace’s side hall.

“My lady, th-this is too much, isn’t it?” He Xiang felt a little stunned. These rewards were worth tens of thousands. Even if you added up everything the emperor gave, it still would not be as much as Consort Hua’s gifts.

“No wonder she’s Consort Hua – rich and flashy.” When Li Si Qi saw all those things, she almost went soft and didn’t want to scam her anymore. Then she instructed He Xiang, “Record it and put it into the storeroom.”

“Yes.” He Xiang immediately called Jin He and Su He in to help handle everything.

Watching them bustle around, Li Si Qi could not help mocking herself. “All that shameless acting stupid in front of the consorts wasn’t for nothing. With all this stuffed into my storeroom, I can live without worries now.”

“My lady, you’re joking.” Lü He smiled as she brought over a bowl of milk tea. “We have a shop outside the palace. It only sells women’s things, but the business is pretty good. When we have enough people, we’ll definitely expand and earn lots of silver for my lady and the little masters. We won’t let my lady and the little masters worry over silver.”

“It’s still early.” Li Si Qi smiled. “There’s no rush to expand. Find talent first. As long as you have talent, any business is easy to do.”

“My lady, rest assured. Uncle Yang goes to the servant broker every few days to pick people. I heard he’s already bought several capable talents who know how to do business…” Kang Shou Palace.

The emperor sat to one side. Her Majesty the Empress sat opposite him. On the seat of honor, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager sat with a dark face and said nothing.

“Giving Noble Lady Bo Er Ji Ji Te a child is no problem.” Her Majesty the Empress Dowager finally spoke slowly. “The Mongol banners all hope the palace will have an imperial prince or imperial princess who belongs to them. If she doesn’t get pregnant, so be it. But if she does and you won’t let her give birth, the Mongol banners will surely grow cold-hearted. The late emperor’s harem truly had no Mongol imperial prince or imperial princess. Still, the imperial princes’ consorts included Mongol women, and the imperial princesses also married over there. Add to that their fear of the late emperor’s authority, and naturally they didn’t dare make trouble. But if, in the current emperor’s harem, they also see no hope at all, the Mongol banners will not behave. Emperor, you must think this through.”

“Imperial Mother is right.” The emperor turned a strand of jadeite Buddhist prayer beads in his hand. “On the Mongol side, it looks stable, but there are quite a few small moves as well. Noble Lady Bo Er Ji Ji Te entered the palace in the first place to soothe them. I didn’t expect that after one night attending me, she would become pregnant. My meaning is to wait a few months. If Noble Lady Bo Er Ji Ji Te is carrying an imperial princess, then letting her give birth would be no problem.”

An imperial princess could be born, but if it was an imperial prince… Her Majesty the Empress lowered her head, staring at her snow-white hands. Just then, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager’s voice sounded again. “Since you’re giving Noble Lady Bo Er Ji Ji Te hope, then… what about Consort Hua?” Her Majesty the Empress jerked her head up.

Her gaze followed the Empress Dowager’s line of sight. She saw the emperor frown slightly, the jadeite Buddhist prayer beads turning even faster in his hand. “Consort Hua’s situation… has also surprised me.” The emperor took a deep breath and continued.

“I already asked the imperial physicians. Yi Kun Palace still burns Huan Yi Incense every day, and yet we don’t know how she ended up pregnant.”

“It truly is strange.” Her Majesty the Empress Dowager was just as puzzled. “Could it be that Consort Hua took some strange prescription?”

“Whether that’s the case or not still needs to be investigated before we can know for sure,” the emperor replied in a low voice. “Consort Hua’s body must still have quite a bit of musk. Even if she is pregnant, a child that absorbs so much musk will likely have difficulty surviving. Better to let nature take its course. No matter what happens to that child, it’s all because Consort Hua forced it herself. Let her be.”

“Then we’ll follow the emperor’s meaning.” Her Majesty the Empress Dowager did not argue. After all, this mother and son knew Consort Hua’s situation better than anyone. The emperor said a few more lines.

With a single sentence about needing to handle state affairs, he left Kang Shou Palace first. “Empress!” Her Majesty the Empress Dowager looked at the niece before her and said slowly, “Do you understand what this Dowager and the emperor mean?”