Chapter 208

Yu Ying had only heard a few things about the court from Fu Wei and didn't know too much about it, but she could feel that the imperial city was very peaceful now and was heading towards prosperity and peace. She didn't feel nervous at all.

There wasn't even a sense of the calm before the storm, as if the people were living and working in peace and there would be no more unrest.

It was as if her and Fu Wei's worries were all groundless.

But in these peaceful days, when autumn had already entered, news suddenly came from the palace that the queen had died of a sudden acute illness.

The Queen's death was so sudden.

Although the queen had long lost the emperor's favor and was confined to Kunning Palace, her title of queen remained, and she was still the mother of a country.

Even though peace was gradually returning, the people of the imperial city had suffered greatly from the ravages of war and riots. The slightest unrest would threaten the imperial power, and all the shops immediately took down their red signs and hung up white ones.

It was late autumn, the weather was cold, and it happened to rain. The chilly wind and drizzle were so cold that it was biting.

On the dim streets, pedestrians all had gloomy faces and walked hurriedly. They dared not make any noise or talk too much, and were extremely cautious.

When Yu Ying returned from the clinic, she lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw this quiet and deserted street.

His expression was very solemn.

On returning to the mansion from the medical school, he happened to encounter a eunuch from the palace who had delivered a message: "The Empress has passed away. Funeral ceremonies will be held in the Dahe Hall at noon three days from now. All wives of officials of the fourth rank and above are to come to the palace to pay their respects, burn incense, and pray."

Yu Ying wrote down the time and date, and after sending the palace eunuchs away, she immediately called the steward of the mansion.

He was asked to prepare plain clothes and distribute them to the servants in the mansion, and then hang white cloth outside the mansion.

Luo had just come out of bed to see the family tidying up and hanging red silk. She sighed and said to her second daughter-in-law, "He was fine, how could he be gone?"

The last time Luo saw the empress was when she had just moved to the imperial city. At that time, the empress had a rosy complexion and did not show any discomfort.

However, just one year later, he became insane, and just a few months later, he passed away due to an acute illness.

Yu Ying looked at the white cloth hung by the servants in the corridor and said, "Yes, he was fine, why did he pass away?"

Emperor Zhou would imprison the queen, but he would never take her life.

So, it's really an emergency?

Because the queen passed away suddenly, shops were closed and even private schools were closed.

It's rare for everyone to be together at home, but the situation doesn't allow it, so we all had dinner in a depressed mood.

Fu Wei and Fu Zhen went to the study to talk, while Wen Xing took Yu Ying to the house and talked about her recent health. At the end, she was a little embarrassed: "I think I am pregnant, but I'm not sure. Can you take a look for me?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Ying was stunned for a moment.

I calculated that it has been more than four years since my sister-in-law left the quarry. Probably because of the hard work in the quarry, her health was severely weakened, so it took her a long time to recover.

He was so skinny when he first came back, but now he is plump. His body was severely deficient before, so no matter how much he takes care of himself, it is still not as good as that of an ordinary person.

If you want to conceive, it will have some impact.

But in the past few years, her elder brother and his wife have been apart more often than she and Fu Wei. Now that they have settled in the imperial city for so long, and her elder sister-in-law is not yet thirty years old, it seems normal for her to be pregnant.

Yu Ying felt her sister-in-law's pulse and nodded: "It is indeed a pregnancy pulse, but the month is still relatively early."

When Wen Xing heard this, she was immediately delighted.

Yu Ying reminded: "But now is a sensitive time during the national mourning period, so don't say it out loud yet."

Wen Xing's smile faded and she nodded: "I saved it."

After a moment's silence, Wen Xing looked at her, wanting to speak but stopping herself. After a moment's hesitation, she spoke hesitantly, "Sister-in-law, I've been married to my second brother for five years, but...it's because of my second brother that I'm not pregnant."

Yu Ying choked. Luo Shi had suspected the same thing before. It was probably because Fu Wei had injured his leg before, which gave others this misconception.

Fu Wei was quite wronged.

This kind of injustice is not acceptable.

Yu Ying shook her head and replied, just as she had said to Luo Shi before, "The world was unstable before, so I didn't plan to have children."

Wen Xing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "Do you have any plans after this period of time?"

Yu Ying smiled and said, "Let it be."

When she came out of the house, Fu Zhen had already come out of the study and was waiting in the main hall. When he saw her come out, he asked, "How is Xing Niang?"

Although Fu Zhen was also busy, he also noticed that his wife was not feeling well recently. His wife just said that she was not feeling well recently and asked her sister-in-law to take a look.

Yu Ying smiled faintly and replied, "You have to take good care of yourself in the future."

Fu Zhen was stunned for a moment: "What happened to Xing Niang?"

Yu Ying smiled and peeked inside, then said, "Brother, why don't you ask your sister-in-law yourself?"

Fu Zhen breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the relaxed look on her face, then went into the house.

Yu Ying returned to the house.

Fu Wei also came back and sat beside the couch reading a book.

Yu Ying closed the door, sat down next to him, and said casually, "Sister-in-law is pregnant."

When Fu Wei heard this, his expression paused slightly. He raised his eyes from the book and looked at her beside him.

Yu Ying propped up her cheek and said with a hint of confusion, "Logically, I have no symptoms, and you are also healthy, so why am I not feeling anything?"

After returning from Pengcheng, Fu Wei stopped taking the medicine and no longer used the casings made by Yu Ying. Because Fu Wei was busy, they had sex not frequently, but at least once every three days.

It has been nearly half a year since we arrived at the Imperial City from Pengcheng, but there is still no movement.

Fu Weiying said: "I don't know either. Let's just let it take its course."

Fu Wei did not insist too much on the matter of the child.

Yu Ying was not in the mood to talk about this matter, so she had to let it go and then asked about the queen's death.

"How could the Queen die without any problems?"

Fu Wei put the book aside and said, "The news in the palace is strictly blocked, so I don't know much about it."

As he was speaking, a servant came to report that the Left Prime Minister had sent someone to invite Fu Wei to come to the mansion.

Yu Ying frowned slightly: "I am here to invite you to my house at this hour because of the Queen's death."

Fu Wei said, "The Queen's passing was sudden. I'm afraid someone might take this opportunity to secretly implicate Prince Jing, thereby provoking Prince Ying. The Left Prime Minister must be worried about this, so he invited me to his house for a discussion. I'd better go."

Yu Ying stood up and took his coat off the hanger.

"Autumn nights are cold and dewy, so put on your outer coat."

Fu Wei put on his wide sleeves and told her, "I don't know when I'll be back. If it's too late, you should rest first and don't stay up late."

Yu Ying smiled and said, "I know how to take care of my body better than you do."

Fu Wei sighed at her unhappily. She had worked herself to the point of exhaustion before, but she only said that she took better care of her health than him.

Seeing his helpless look, Yu Ying quickly responded, "I will. I will rest early."

During that period of time, no matter how busy he was, he would never tire of urging her to rest every day. Even if he was no longer busy, he would ask his mother-in-law or sister-in-law to urge her.

During that period, Yu Ying's ears were almost covered with calluses.

Fu Wei left after hearing her agreement.

*

In Zuocheng's mansion.

When Zuo Cheng saw Fu Wei coming, he spoke.

"The Queen's passing was sudden, and there's a possibility that someone might use it to pin the blame on Prince Jing. Therefore, I'm asking you two to come and discuss a solution to prevent future troubles."

Zuo Cheng's concerns were not unfounded. The King of Ying had previously been depressed for some time while in Yuzhang, and there was no guarantee that the Gu family and the ministers who supported the King of Ying would not use this to arouse the King of Ying's fighting spirit and allow him to play a game with King Jing.

It is easy to dodge a spear but difficult to guard against an arrow from the dark.

Fu Wei said: "The Gu family and the ministers are deliberately guiding the King of England. No matter how we distance ourselves from this, the King of England always trusts the Gu family."

After these three years, Fu Wei has come to understand the King of England's temperament.

He is neither arrogant nor cruel. If such a person becomes the emperor after several generations of the imperial city, he can be considered a benevolent ruler.

But his methods and temperament were not decisive enough, and he did not have the strong and decisive aura of Emperor Zhou.

At this time when the dynasty was just established, the princes were not yet at peace, and this kind of temperament was really not suitable. No wonder Emperor Zhou went to great lengths to distance the Gu family and the Queen from King Ying.

However, it is estimated that Emperor Zhou’s expectations will be dashed.

The King of England is of such a character, and he is just suffering from the pain of losing his mother. He was deliberately misled by the Gu family or the ministers. No matter how much the King of Jing tries to deny it, the King of England will still believe that he is not innocent.

Zuo Cheng's expression darkened after hearing Fu Wei's words. "No matter what, we can only respond to each situation as it arises. We can wait until the Queen's funeral and observe further."

The two discussed for half the night. When Fu Wei returned, the rain had gotten heavier and the autumn wind was colder.

After Fu Wei got on the carriage, he pondered secretly.

Queen Gu died suddenly of an acute illness. If it was just an acute illness, I wouldn't be worried, but I'm worried that it's not an emergency, but a man-made one.

But, who is it that is man-made?

Emperor Zhou imprisoned Empress Gu and would not take her life again.

After all, they have been married for decades, and Queen Gu has never made any serious mistakes, so why would he want to take her life?

If it was man-made, and it wasn't the Zhou Emperor, then who could it be?

No matter how you speculate, it seems like an accident.

Fu Wei returned to the mansion, feeling cold.

She opened the door quietly, but Yu Ying, who was lightly sleeping, still heard the sound. She supported herself on the bed, lifted the curtain, rubbed her eyes, and her voice was a little unclear.

Looking at Yu Ying with sleepy eyes and long hair hanging down, and her soft voice, Fu Wei's heart moved slightly and softened.

He took off his coat and said, "It's daybreak. You go back to sleep. I'll go wash up and come back."

Yu Ying yawned and nodded.

Fu Wei went to the side room to wash up and came out half a minute later. When he lay down, he still woke up Yu Ying who had just closed her eyes.

She murmured a few times, and Fu Wei held her in his arms. She was warm and soft, and holding her in his arms made people feel very comfortable.

She yawned and asked, "Did you come to any conclusion?"

Fu Wei gently rubbed the top of her hair and whispered, "If you have anything to say, we can talk about it tomorrow. Go to sleep."

The low and gentle voice slowly fell into her ears, making her feel at ease and allowing the half-asleep Yu Ying to gradually fall asleep again.

Fu Wei looked down at his wife sleeping peacefully in his arms, kissed her lightly on the forehead, and then chuckled.

He couldn't let go.

Since this is the case, I will no longer be so hesitant.

It’s time to put children’s affairs on the agenda.