Chapter 37

Have you ever loved someone?

If you do, you'll understand that kind of deep, heartfelt care.

Yuan Liuniang stood by the river at the edge of the village, a place both strange and familiar, waiting with a mixture of trepidation and sweetness. Only when the handsome scholar approached her, each step seemingly radiant, did her face reveal the joy and happiness of being deeply in love.

When you fall in love with someone, you care about their every word, every action, their anger and laughter, their ambitions and ideals, even more than you care about yourself.

On their wedding night, he wore a long red robe and bowed deeply.

He said: "Ah Luo, I, Zhao Shixian, promise that I will never betray you in this life. When I am officially appointed, I will personally present you with the phoenix coronet and embroidered robe."

Okay, she smiled, her eyes only on him.

In truth, she didn't care about those illusory things; her only wish was to win someone's heart and grow old together with them.

But she knew what he wanted. Her husband had ambition in his eyes. So, a year after their marriage, she let go, letting him go to take the imperial examinations and pursue his dreams.

As a result, once they let go, they could never get it back...

**

Yuan Liu Niang was awakened by the call of the old woman from the brothel. The still charming old woman looked at her with a complicated expression: "Miss, why are you crying?"

"Did you cry?" Yuan Liuniang wiped her eyes blankly, then forced a smile, her peach blossom eyes glistening with tears: "Perhaps that nightmare was too terrible..."

The sadness from her dream still lingered in her chest. She grasped the old woman's wrist, feeling a sense of familiarity.

"Granny, do you think that for a man, is power and status more important, or his wife and children?"

She didn't understand why she was asking such a question, but she just wanted to know an answer, an answer that seemed to have fooled her all her life.

"In this brothel, I've seen far too many unfaithful men, and also many devoted ones. But if forced to choose between power and a wife and children, most men would choose power..."

The old woman patted the back of her hand and comforted her kindly, "I don't know what you've been through, but for us women, we're like duckweed, adrift and helpless. We must never give our hearts away to others so easily, otherwise, we'll only suffer."

"Um."

The scenes in my dream were already blurry when I woke up.

Yuan Liu Niang got up from the couch, her every move slightly different from usual, carrying a hint of languid charm.

"In this world, if a woman cannot protect her body and her destiny, all she can protect is her heart, which is riddled with holes."

These words seemed to have been spoken by her, yet also seemed to have been spoken by someone else through her. After speaking, Yuan Liu Niang was somewhat stunned. Why did I say such a thing?!

My body, my destiny, everything I own—of course I can protect it!

Anyone who dares to lay a finger on me, just try it! I'll smash their head in!

Thinking of this, that bit of inexplicable sentimentality vanished instantly.

Like duckweed adrift? Floating aimlessly? No, I'm a stubborn, hard rock, the kind that can leave a dent wherever I fall!

She turned around, looked at the old woman who was watching her, narrowed her eyes slightly, and began to think about how to escape...

**

Half a month is neither a long nor a short time. But it's enough for a conspiracy to be brewed.

On this day, Yuan Qiong, who had just finished her afternoon nap and was washing up, suddenly received a report from a palace maid.

"Your Majesty, Consort Yuan of Cuiyuan Palace is pregnant!"

"What?!"

These words startled Xiao Jin, who was styling her hair, and Yuan Qiong herself. She immediately ordered, "Prepare the carriage immediately, I am going to Cuiyuan Palace."

"promise."

Lin Qiang, standing outside the hall, watched her leave in a hurry, a smile playing on his lips.

Sweetheart, I hope you like this gift I'm giving you.

In Lin Qiang's opinion, Yuwen Ting, as a minor supporting character, is no match for Yuwen Zhe in terms of intelligence. Whether in the book or now, he has done very few important things, but plenty of stupid ones. Tsk tsk, it's truly a pity that his largest fiefdom among the princes, and his reputation as the first to rebel, all served as stepping stones for the protagonist Yuwen Zhe to rise to power.

On the phoenix palanquin, Yuan Qiong traveled with suspicion the entire way. Yuwen Jing was so weak, how could Yuan Zhen have become pregnant so quickly? This news came too suddenly, making one unable to help but be suspicious.

"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"

When Yuan Qiong arrived, the emperor was already there. Upon seeing Yuan Qiong, Yuwen Jing walked over with great joy, took her hand, and exclaimed, "Sister Qiong, I'm going to have a prince!"

People used to make fun of his weak health every day, and this time he felt he had finally gotten his revenge.

Yuan Qiong calmly withdrew her hand from his grasp, and bowed with a slight smile: "Your Majesty, I congratulate you."

Then he got up and went inside, glanced at Yuanzhen on the bed, and turned to the physician to ask, "How long has Consort Zhao been pregnant? Is the pulse accurate?"

"The Lady Consort Zhaoyi's pulse is indeed slippery, and judging from her pulse, she is more than a month pregnant."

Hearing the physician's words, Yuan Qiong felt a little more at ease. Although she didn't completely believe it, a genuine smile appeared on her face.

She lifted her skirt and sat down on the edge of the bed, speaking to Yuanzhen with unusual gentleness: "Take good care of your health and give birth to the prince safely. Rest assured, as long as you successfully give birth to the prince, His Majesty and I will reward you handsomely."

Yuanzhen, lying on the bed, didn't appreciate the gesture at all. In her heart, she cursed: I don't believe you're so kind! You're just crocodile tears!

"Don't worry, sister, I will take good care of myself and the prince in my belly."

"That's good. If you need anything or want anything, just tell me. I'll leave Xiao Jin here to take care of you for the next few days, and I'll also find you a few experienced nannies."

“Okay.” Yuan Zhen nodded obediently, but her gaze shifted to Xiao Jin beside her.

This makes the reason for the miscarriage even more convincing!

"Her Highness the Imperial Concubine and Her Excellency the Virtuous Consort have arrived!"

"Her Majesty the Consort De has arrived!"

"Lady Chun, Lady Qin, and Consort Huang have arrived—"

"Consort Li and Lady Zhao have arrived!"

Yuan Qiong got up from the couch, and the concubines who rushed over immediately bowed.

"Your Majesty, I have met you. Your ...

"Get up, everyone," Yuwen Jing said cheerfully.

"Thank you, Your Majesty—"

The arrival of this group of beautiful women made the entire Cuiyuan Palace feel crowded. Seeing that everyone had come, Yuan Qiong wanted them to take Yuan Zhen as an example, so she smiled and said, "Consort Yuan is more than a month pregnant. I promise that if Consort Yuan successfully gives birth to a prince this time, she will be promoted three ranks and directly made a concubine."

At this point, she looked at the emperor: "Your Majesty has no objections, does he?"

"No objection, this is what Consort Yuan deserves!"

As soon as Yuwen Jing said this, the concubines, who had just been shooting envious, jealous and hateful glances at Yuan Zhen, immediately turned their eyes to the emperor.

In the imperial harem, a mother's status always depended on her son. Without the emperor's favor and without children, what hope was there for life? The loneliness of the deep palace could drive a person mad!

It's rare to find an Empress who is so virtuous and generous, neither favoring the Emperor nor being jealous. Of course, I should seize the opportunity to have a baby with His Majesty!

So, that night, Yuwen Jing originally intended to go to Zhaoyang Palace with Yuan Qiong. However, the Imperial Concubine used the excuse that His Majesty was suffering from chest pain and wouldn't recover unless he went to forcibly take him away. Without saying a word, Yuan Qiong packed up the Emperor and sent him there.

The Empress made her stance clear through her actions and attitude: May all the sisters in the harem give birth to sons soon!

"Girl, are you happy?"

After her bath that evening, Lin Qiang appeared at Zhaoyang Palace as usual, picking up a towel to dry her wet hair. Yuan Qiong closed her eyes, enjoying his service, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Of course I'm happy."

"That cunning little girl, she never tells the truth."

He laughed and exposed her lie. He clearly saw through the charade and was extremely disappointed, yet he insisted on saying he was happy.

"Yuanzhen, this gift is for you. Do you like it?"

"you?"

She opened her eyes, glanced at him briefly, and then scoffed.

"So that's why Yuwen Ting has been acting so stupidly lately. Turns out it was you who was behind it all. Big Beard, getting involved in this kind of thing won't do you any good. Don't do it again. I can handle it myself."

After drying her hair to about 70-80% dry, Lin Qiang put the towel aside, sat down on the edge of the couch, placed her head on his lap, and gently massaged her scalp with his long, slender fingers running through her hair.

"Yes, yes, my daughter is the smartest. But I was thinking that if I could help you with more things, you could worry less and lose fewer hairs."

He lowered his head, pinched her cheek, and said affectionately, "Look at you, you've gotten so thin that there's hardly any flesh on your chin. I'm going to fatten them up."

She lay on his lap and blinked: "So you like chubby girls?"

"I like to fatten you up, so no one will compete with me for you."

Just imagining the little girl's chubby face, I have to say, she's actually quite cute...

Yuan Qiong scoffed and got off him: "Sweet talk."

Her tone turned cold after she finished speaking: "You may leave. I need to rest. Tomorrow I will dismiss you from your position as commander, and you may leave the capital."

Ai?

Things changed so fast, like a tornado...

Lin Qiang blinked, bewildered. How could this girl change her expression so suddenly?

"Why?"

“Because…” Yuan Qiong walked leisurely towards the back hall: “I have no intention of having an affair.”

"......."

But I'm planning to poach your employees, what do you suggest?