70 Pregnancy
◎Erlang, please speak up◎
"It was Lord Xue who did it. That's the Shouhuang Palace!" Rong Pan was a little panicked. She knew Xue Ji was crazy and didn't want him to be so crazy.
The late emperor had just been buried, the new emperor had ascended the throne and the empress had just been decided, yet they dared to cause such a big incident.
Rong Qianyu nodded in response, "It's indeed a bit too much. I'll talk to him next time."
"Princess..." Rong Pan was deeply worried about the current situation. She knelt on the ground, a look of sorrow on her face. "I've said something I shouldn't have said. We've grown up together for over a decade. I would protect you even if it cost me my life. I don't want you to end up in any danger. Lord Xue is someone you can rely on, and I'm glad you've found someone you love, but you still have to be cautious. Your Majesty is above me, and it would be easy for you to deal with him."
Rong Qianyu understood exactly what she said. Although they had a good relationship, stronger than gold, one of them had indeed gone a little too far.
Xue Ji didn't care about these etiquettes, but Rong Qianyu had to care. Rong Pan was moved to tears when she heard this. She didn't want to see the glory that her master had worked so hard to obtain being easily implicated by others.
She had always followed Rong Qianyu's lead since she was little. Even though she knew about the affair between Rong Qianyu and Xue Ji, she did not report it. However, she was extremely sensitive about the matter.
Rong Qianyu was naturally deeply moved by her words. She knelt down and helped Rong Pan to his feet. "I understand. You've worked so hard, thinking about me day and night. Don't worry, I know what's going on."
She had never thought of hiding it from Rong Pan from the beginning. They had been through so many things together and had long been each other's most solid allies. Rather than friends or master and servant, they were more like family, each other's only family in the Great Zhou.
That night, the fire in Shouhuang Palace had not yet been extinguished, and Fu Hua had been at the scene since he was informed of the fire and had never left.
He didn't like Rong Qianyu, and he was happy to have the chance to get rid of him, but he had to deal with something like this. He had just ascended the throne and the world was not stable yet. If someone spread rumors that he was unworthy of the position, then the throne he had finally regained would fall into the hands of others.
For many days, there has been no apparent movement, but the ministers have already started discussing it behind the scenes, but they are all discussing it in private.
After the morning court was over, two green-robed civil servants whispered to each other, "Do you know why there was a fire last night?"
The other one, who was obviously still unaware of the situation, answered honestly, "I heard it was an accident because the palace had fallen into disrepair."
Nagasu Fumioka, who spoke first, said, "Do you know what day it was yesterday?"
"Fifteen."
He continued his analysis vividly, "The fifteenth! That was the first day the Emperor and Empress slept together. The Shouhuang Palace caught fire, which was meant to warn Your Majesty that the Empress is a nuisance. How could the fire start after she was conferred the title of Empress? It must be her fault!"
"It's too mysterious, isn't it? You can't talk about supernatural things, you can't talk about them!" The adult didn't want to participate in this conversation. He frowned and tried to change the subject, but the other party was in the middle of talking and he couldn't be persuaded.
Lord Changxu didn't catch the hidden meaning in the other person's words and clearly didn't want to meddle in other people's affairs. He kept talking about Rong Qianyu's past. "How could that be? Think about it, His Majesty's successful ascension to the throne was due to the support of the Empress's motherland. And Lord Wen is the Empress's childhood sweetheart. They didn't necessarily have any agreement. I'm afraid they don't have good intentions, otherwise why would they agree to send troops?"
"What you said does make some sense."
Xue Ji knew that he had gone too far this time, and it must have had a negative impact on Rong Qianyu. He had been lying in wait on the road leading out of the palace after court, and whenever he saw someone talking about the Empress, he would go up to see who was gossiping.
As for what to do next, I'll just keep a record of it first and deal with it later. I was about to return empty-handed today, but I happened to see these two.
He stepped forward to unpack his luggage and asked, "Have the two lords retired from court?"
The two gentlemen bowed to him in return. Actually, there was no need to perform formalities for eunuchs and ministers, but he was the head of the Imperial Household Department after all. No matter how much they disliked him, they had to save face.
"I heard you two adults talking about the fire a few days ago. I wonder what you think?" He was extremely humble, without any domineering look, as if he really came here to have some fun.
The other adult was more alert and pulled the adult who kept talking nonsense towards the palace gate. "We were just talking nonsense, what could it be? It's nothing more than some rumors."
Xue Ji wanted to get to the bottom of this matter for once. Seeing the gentleman's tough attitude, he turned around and asked the fearless man, "Sir, what are the rumors?"
"It's about the Empress and that Lord Wen. You said that the Shouhuang Palace caught fire the first time the Emperor and Empress slept together. I'm afraid there was some kind of warning."
He blurted out everything in one go, and Xue Ji listened with great interest.
He used to have no taboos, but now he can't help but feel nervous when he hears Wen Xiaqing's name. Although he is married now, who knows whether he is still thinking about Rong Qianyu in his heart.
Thinking of this, he looked a little unhappy, tightly grasping the corner of his robe without saying a word.
The long-bearded minister continued, "The Empress was not well-received in her home country since she was young, and the same thing happened even after she married into the Great Zhou. She is not favored by her husband and has not given birth to a child in two years. If you say she is not the Empress, then it is not unreasonable."
He calmed down and smiled, trying to get more information from this fool. "Do many people in the court think the same way?"
Fortunately, another minister was smart enough to pull the suicidal man aside and quickly say goodbye. "Master Xue, you're overthinking it. We're just following the crowd. It's unfounded. My grandson should wake up soon. I'll excuse you for now."
There are now two voices in the court. One is that Your Majesty is unworthy of the position and has angered the ancestors, and the other is that the Queen is a disaster and is not good for the country. This has made those who used to support Cui Rumei as the queen even more rampant, and some people have even planned to depose the queen.
However, it is impossible to depose the queen. Fu Hua does not have the courage to burn his bridges at this time. If Rong Qianyu really dares to hang herself, he, the emperor, will really have to write an edict of repentance.
After this incident, Xue Ji didn't have the face to look for Rong Qianyu.
She had nothing to do on weekdays, so she helped Tan Lu take care of Shu'er. At the age of three, the child could already run and jump, and was like a little pink ball.
Tan Lu is a good teacher. You can tell a person's future by looking at a child at the age of three. From the way Shu'er looks now, which is generous and well-behaved, we know that she will become a graceful and virtuous woman in the future.
Now that she can recite some simple poems, Rong Qianyu knows that she is destined to be out of favor, so she plays the role of a good wife and mother every day. However, she does like children, so Shu'er and Yu'er both like this queen mother very much.
After listening to Rong Qianyu's retelling, Tan Lu was also quite shocked, because she didn't have much contact with Xue Ji and didn't expect him to be so bold. "Did he come up with this idea?" She asked in a low voice, covering her face with her hands.
"Yes..." Rong Qianyu nodded helplessly.
"It's a bit unlike him to do something like that."
Rong Qianyu felt helpless. When this man was in a good mood, he could pick the stars from the sky, and even take his life. But when he went crazy, he didn't care about anyone.
Last time, he'd been mad with jealousy, foiling her plans to please Fu Hua. And the time before that, he'd been so pent up that he'd persuaded Wen Xiaqing to break her appointment and show up alone, all dressed up, just to see her frozen into an ice sculpture. And the time before that, he'd promised to help her, only to have her cause such a disaster as Cui Rumei. Now, he'd set the house on fire, and the court would be abuzz with talk again.
Tan Lu comforted him, "When you're desperate, you'll try anything. Blaming him won't help."
"I blame him because I feel like it's useless," Rong Qianyu felt uneasy about being implicated. "This person shouldn't be provoked."
"What does His Majesty say?" Tan Lu asked again.
"Thanks to him," Rong Qianyu said unhappily, "I haven't seen His Majesty for nearly half a month. I guess he's in love with Cui Rumei."
Her understanding of Fu Hua was quite accurate. When there were troubles in the court, they would naturally look for a beautiful woman to entertain themselves.
There was a heater lit in Cui Rumei's room. She was only wearing a light and thin flowered dress, with her soft black hair loose and her shoulders half exposed as she nestled in Fu Hua's arms.
"Then Your Majesty, do you think it's the Empress' fault?"
"It has little to do with her." Fu Hua said calmly.
The person in his arms said coquettishly, and a white hand slowly stroked Fu Hua's shoulder. "Your Majesty has made her the queen, when will you make me the imperial concubine? I'm still a beauty after all this time." She would act coquettishly in a weak voice from time to time. Fu Hua felt helpless and doting. "Erlang, are you saying something?"
Fu Hua placed a kiss on her cheek, hugged her tightly and comforted her, "Wait a little longer. From beauty to imperial concubine, this is too much of a leap. The ministers and the Queen Mother will definitely not agree."
"Then what should we do?" Cui Rumei's eyes were charming. The warm stove and the incense made the room extremely fragrant.
"During my grandfather's reign, there was a Consort Lin. She was promoted from Consort Jieyu to Consort Guifei after she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl."
"She needs to have a baby. Even if the Queen isn't pregnant, she still becomes the Queen. Erlang is just partial, taking everything into consideration and restricting her own actions!"
Fu Hua couldn't stand Cui Rumei's coquettish behavior. Although he was ruthless and ungrateful to Rong Qianyu, and had no good temper towards other people in the palace, he was always patient with Cui Rumei. No matter how she acted coquettishly or made trouble, he would do whatever he could to satisfy her.
"Alright, alright, I promise you, you don't have to give birth to the baby. If you can get pregnant, I will immediately make you my concubine. After you give birth to the baby, regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl, I will make you my imperial concubine, okay?"
"Are you serious?" Cui Rumei's eyes lit up instantly.
She used to be from an aristocratic family, but unfortunately her family fell into poverty. If she could become a royal concubine, her success would benefit everyone else, and she would finally not have to be criticized by others.
"Of course. When have I ever lied to you?" Fu Hua asked again with concern. "It's almost the end of the month. Your period is coming soon, right? Eat less raw or cold food when the weather gets cold, okay?"
"It's been a month since I had my period." Cui Rumei muttered to herself.
"That won't do. We need to find a doctor right away."
"Erlang, why do you think I didn't come?" Then she placed his hand on her belly, "I'm pregnant. It's been over a month."
The warm palm fell on her smooth belly, and Fu Hua was a little bit unbelievable.
"real?"
"The imperial physician has come to see us, seriously," the subordinate said, as if he could sense a small life growing wildly. "In a few months, we will have our own child."
"That's great, that's great!" Fu Hua came to his senses and sat up directly from the bed. He held her face and kissed her several times. He still couldn't believe it. They had known each other for so many years and were finally going to have a child of their own.
The feeling at this moment was something he had never felt before. This was not his first time being a father, and he was truly happy from the bottom of his heart.
"Your Majesty, as you promised, the Emperor cannot go back on his word. When will you appoint me as your Imperial Consort?"
Cui Rumei brought up this incident again, and Fu Hua's tone was noticeably weaker than before, a bit unsure. "That's for sure. Wait a moment, I'll finish dealing with the Shouhuang Palace matter, for sure."
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