Chapter 92: No Way Back
A sedan chair with a dragon and a phoenix was carried side by side.
Seeing Xiao Heng's helpless expression, the Queen tried to persuade him, "Concubine Bai has already passed the first three months of pregnancy, and the dragon fetus is stable. I believe that the heir in her belly will be safe and sound."
Xiao Heng half-closed his eyes and hummed in a deep voice.
"I believe that what happened today was no accident. Perhaps someone deliberately released Jiang. Her target was the heir in Concubine Bai's womb."
Xiao Heng stroked his forehead and said, "I have already asked He Yunzheng to investigate."
The Queen lowered her eyelids slightly, and said with some guilt, "It was my fault that I failed in my duty. Not only did I hurt the heir in Concubine Bai's belly, but I also nearly caused the Emperor to get hurt."
Xiao Heng waved his hand: "I did not expect this either. Queen, there is no need to blame yourself."
"As Empress Dowager, I am responsible for managing the harem properly. What happened today was caused by my poor management. Fortunately, the Emperor is safe and sound, otherwise I would never forgive myself."
Xiao Heng looked at the queen's guilty and uneasy face and said gently, "I have seen the queen's efforts over the years. The palace is full of open and covert struggles, conspiracies and intrigues, and the queen can't guard against them."
Although the Queen was not his favorite candidate, he could put himself in her shoes and felt that she had done a very good job over the years.
He is both virtuous and talented, tolerant and generous, and never jealous.
The most important point is that the queen is very much in line with her wishes.
The Queen felt relieved. After a moment, she heard Xiao Heng say, "Xi Jieyi sacrificed her life to save me today. I don't know what reward to give her. After much thought, I think I'd like to give her a promotion. What do you think, Queen?"
The queen was shocked: "One more promotion, and it will be the rank of concubine..."
"If she wasn't the head of a palace, I wouldn't have advised the emperor. But Concubine Xi has been in the palace for only a year, and she's been promoted from an eighth-rank imperial concubine to a third-rank concubine. Isn't that a bit too fast?"
This was also what Xiao Heng thought in his heart. In the past few dynasties, there has been no precedent of upgrading five levels in one year.
So he couldn't make up his mind and asked the queen.
The Queen continued, "To receive all the favor is to receive all the resentment. I know that the Emperor favors Concubine Xi, but if you favor her too much, the six concubines will inevitably become jealous and do unforgivable things."
Xiao Heng frowned: "Then let's talk about it later."
The Queen breathed a sigh of relief.
She actually hoped that Concubine Xi would be promoted step by step, and it would be best if she was favored more than Concubine Zhao and Concubine Yu.
However, Concubine Xi's position was indeed promoted too quickly. If resentment arose in the six palaces, there would be chaos, and it would be her dereliction of duty as the queen.
The Queen Mother has always disliked concubines who lack propriety and are overly favored. If she is not stopped this time, she will certainly be severely criticized when she returns to the palace.
In Mingsexuan, Xiao Heng smelled a strong smell of blood as soon as he stepped into the inner hall.
The uneasiness in his heart drove him to speed up his pace.
On the bed, Bai Jieyu's hair was disheveled, her pale face was twisted in pain, and a trace of blood had seeped out of her tightly bitten lips.
"Doctor Xiao, how is Concubine Bai's unborn baby?"
When Concubine Bai heard Xiao Heng's voice, she slowly opened her red eyes and called out in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty..."
Doctor Xiao bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am currently giving acupuncture to the Concubine, but she is bleeding profusely. I…I cannot guarantee that the heir will be safe."
Xiao Heng's face was ashen and stern, "Make sure the dragon fetus is safe."
Doctor Xiao wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, frowning and saying in a trembling voice, "I will do my best."
Concubine Bai raised her hand and grabbed Xiao Heng's sleeve, tears of fear flashing in her eyes.
"Your Majesty...will our child...be okay?"
Xiao Heng held her hand and soothed her gently, "Don't be afraid, the child will be safe."
"Cooperate with the imperial physician's acupuncture. I will be outside the palace."
Bai Jieyu nodded slightly.
In order not to hinder the imperial physician's treatment, Xiao Heng and the queen waited outside.
Doctor Xiao picked up the silver needle and accurately placed it on the acupuncture point to preserve the fetus and stop the bleeding.
Then burn the mugwort leaves and fumigate the hands and feet to protect the fetus and strengthen the body.
After half an hour, Doctor Xiao finally came out with the incense of mugwort.
His brows relaxed, and he bowed with a hint of joy: "Your Majesty, the bleeding has stopped, and the pregnancy is gradually stabilizing. As long as the Concubine takes the medicine on time and rests for a month, I believe there will be no serious problems."
Xiao Heng's tense expression relaxed as he heard these words: "That's good!"
"From now on, you will come and check Concubine Bai's pulse every day until the royal heir is born safely."
"Yes, I obey your command."
In Yaohua Palace.
After returning to the palace, Concubine Zhao sat on the imperial concubine couch for a long time, without moving.
Madam Kong brought up some red dates and bird's nest and said softly, "Your Majesty, you don't need dinner, so have a couple of bites of bird's nest."
After wandering for a while, Concubine Zhao slowly lowered her gaze to the blood-red bird's nest.
After a long time, her dry lips moved slightly: "Isn't the emperor here?"
Madam Kong lowered her head and shook her head slightly.
Concubine Zhao pursed her lips and lowered her eyes to hide the disappointment and sadness in them.
"Until now, am I not as good as a concubine who has been in the palace for a year and an unborn child?"
If it were in the past, the emperor would definitely come to comfort her if she was angry.
It seems... it seems that since some time ago, he no longer has the patience he once had for himself.
Madam Kong advised, "Your Majesty, the Emperor must be busy, otherwise why wouldn't he come to visit you?"
Concubine Zhao's eyes reddened, and she said bitterly, "Madam, the Emperor and I can no longer go back to the way we were before."
Madam Kong's eyes also became wet. She squatted in front of Concubine Zhao and said distressedly, "Your Majesty, how did you finally understand this?"
"From the day the Emperor took the throne, you were destined to never go back to the way things were before!"
Crystal clear tears filled her eyes, and as soon as they fell, Concubine Zhao raised her hand to wipe them away.
There is a bit of determination and indomitable spirit in the action.
"But Mammy, I won't accept this! I won't accept this! I'm clearly her legal wife, and he's clearly mine alone!"
"Do you expect me to be like Concubine Yu and Concubine Xi, fawning over him and trying to please him?"
"I despise their behavior! I won't do it!"
She knew very well that those people only loved the emperor a little bit, but they wanted to show it to the fullest.
Their so-called deep love is all acted.
All for the power and favor in the hands of the emperor.
But she is Shen Qingtang, the emperor's childhood sweetheart.
She won at the starting line and became the emperor's favorite woman.
She had stood high from the beginning, how could she lower herself and imitate those people to please the emperor!
She was different from those people.
Seeing Concubine Zhao like this, Madam Kong's heart was broken. She held her hand tightly and said, "Your Majesty, he is the emperor. From the day he became the emperor, he has been admired and obeyed by all people."
"You've neglected the Emperor for several years, and now there's Consort Yu, and now Consort Xi. If you don't wake up, I'm afraid the Emperor will really fall in love with someone else..."
Concubine Zhao threw herself into the arms of the nanny and couldn't help bursting into tears.
"Why...why does he insist on being the emperor?"
Madam Kong touched Concubine Zhao's head and said softly, "Cry... cry... it will be fine once you figure it out."
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