Chapter 89 Summer.
After leaving Renshou Palace, Daiyu went to Yongkang Palace to see her, where she ran into Chu Heng, who was about to leave.
Yongkang laughed and said, "What a coincidence! Fifth Brother, you go ahead and do your work. I'll stay with Fifth Sister-in-law."
Chu Heng didn't even look at her: "I don't need you to accompany me." He smiled gently at Daiyu, "When did you enter the palace?"
"I just paid my respects to the Empress Dowager. The Empress and Consort Wu were both there, so I didn't stay any longer." Daiyu helped Zijuan across the threshold and gestured to Chuheng with her eyes to withdraw his hand.
Chu Heng said helplessly, "There's no one else here."
Yongkang hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, I am someone else! Fifth Brother, didn't you say you had something to do? Hurry up and go. Do you think everything will be alright once you see your sister-in-law?"
Her words were clearly a joke at Chu Heng and Daiyu, and Daiyu smiled and changed the subject: "How are your wedding preparations going?"
"You'll have to ask Fifth Brother." Yongkang clicked his tongue twice. "If you two are of one mind, I'm definitely going to suffer."
Chu Heng laughed and said, "This girl can't say anything nice. Yu'er, let's ignore her. I'll take you home."
Yongkang took Daiyu's hand, saying, "No, no, I still have something to say to Sister Lin!" Only after saying that did she realize, "Fifth Brother, are you scolding me?"
Chu Heng burst out laughing: "You reacted really quickly."
Seeing that the siblings were about to bicker again, Daiyu quickly said, "Go and do your thing. I don't need you to keep me company. I'll have lunch here in Yongkang before I go home."
Yongkang immediately perked up: "Fifth Brother, did you hear what Sister Lin said?"
Chu Heng rolled his eyes at her, snorted, and said gently to Daiyu, "Be careful, I'm leaving now."
Daiyu nodded and watched Chu Heng leave before she and Yongkang went inside together.
Yongkang shook his head: "Fifth Brother is worrying for nothing. What is there to be worried about? The Empress Dowager doesn't have the energy to cause us any trouble."
Daiyu said seriously, "That's true, but we still can't let our guard down. There are undercurrents in the palace now, and trouble is about to break out again."
Just now at Renshou Palace, Daiyu had a good feel for the turbulent power struggle between the Empress and Consort Wu.
Yongkang chuckled softly, “It’s not just undercurrents, Sister Lin, they’ve brought it all out in the open. Today she’s planting her own people here, tomorrow she’s planting her own people there. While the Empress Dowager is ill and can’t attend to these matters for the time being, they are intensifying their efforts to seize more power.”
Daiyu, with some concern, cautioned, "You must be very careful."
Yongkang waved his hand dismissively: "In their eyes, I'm useless. They don't try to win me over, nor do they guard against me. I'm just watching the show."
Daiyu patted her hand: "There's nothing wrong with that."
Yongkang smiled and nodded: "That's what I think too."
Daiyu then asked, "You said you had something to tell me, is there something it is?"
"No, I was just joking with Fifth Brother..." At this point, Yongkang realized something was wrong and changed the subject, "No, I wanted to talk to you, Sister Lin, but it's nothing important."
Daiyu then smiled and said, "It's best if nothing's wrong. Let's just chat."
Yongkang nodded and smiled, "Yes!"
...
That night, after dinner, Daiyu ordered someone to fetch the account books from the mansion's treasury.
Chu Heng was fanning Daiyu with a round fan when he heard this and asked, "What are you looking for?"
Daiyu took the round fan into her own hands: "I only remembered today when I went to Yongkang's place that I should also prepare to add some makeup for her."
“No rush, there are still a few months.” Chu Heng turned around and picked up a folding fan. “Next month, the Ming family will end their mourning period, and the betrothal ceremony will be held at the end of the month. There are a lot of things to do before and after that. Yongkang doesn’t need to worry about it, but I’ll be very busy.”
Daiyu smiled and said, "Wasn't it the same when you got married? Is there anything you need to worry about?"
Chu Heng immediately replied, "Yes, of course there are many. From the beginning of the betrothal ceremony, I have reviewed all the preparations at the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs. I have a lot to worry about."
Daiyu was genuinely surprised. She only knew that Chu Heng had personally gone to arrange the betrothal and the wedding procession, but she did not know that he had also personally overseen all the preparations beforehand.
“So that’s how it was…” Daiyu was deeply moved. “You were so good to me back then, I never knew.”
Chu Heng leaned down and kissed her forehead: "This is my good fortune."
Daiyu grasped his hand: "It is clearly my good fortune."
Chu Heng kissed her finger again: "It is my good fortune to be able to marry you."
Daiyu lowered her head and chuckled softly.
Chu Heng poked her cheek and laughed, "Are you happy to marry me?"
Daiyu knew what he wanted to hear, but she deliberately teased him, so she tilted her head and said, "Whether you're happy or not, I'm already married to you."
Chu Heng's lips curled down: "Are you unhappy?"
Daiyu raised her hand and lifted the corner of his mouth, asking with a smile, "What do you think? Do I look unhappy when you look at me?"
Chu Heng looked at her with bright eyes: "But I want to hear you say it."
Daiyu smiled mischievously: "But I don't want to talk about it now."
Chu Heng looked at her and smiled: "How can you possibly tell me?"
“Hmm…” Daiyu thought for a moment, “If you chill that plate of loquats and then peel them for me, I might be willing to talk about it.”
Upon hearing this, Chu Heng sighed: "No, we've just had dinner. If you want to eat loquat, I can peel it, but you can't eat it cold."
Daiyu turned away: "Then I won't eat."
Chu Heng leaned over and tapped her shoulder: "You wanted to eat something cold yesterday too. I didn't see you being this greedy for cold things last summer."
“It’s even hotter this year.” Daiyu wiped the thin layer of sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, then nudged Chuheng. “Stay away from me, it’s terribly hot.”
Chu Heng obediently sat a little further away, then sighed, "It's only the beginning of summer, and you're already complaining about me. How am I going to get through the rest of the summer?"
Daiyu covered her mouth and smiled, then suddenly said, "I am very lucky and happy to marry you."
Chu Heng was taken aback and was about to say something when Daiyu had already gone to the outer room to look at the account books that Zijuan had brought. He hurriedly followed her.
"There's no rush, we can look at it tomorrow." Chu Heng placed his hand on the ledger. "It's so late, don't strain your eyes."
Seeing his intense gaze fixed on her, Daiyu blushed and said, "I won't look at you. I'll go outside to cool off."
Chu Heng chuckled softly, "You're just teasing me on purpose."
Daiyu whispered, "I didn't. You're the one who started imagining things."
"Sigh." Chu Heng sighed sweetly, "Alright, I'll go with you to cool off."
...
As the weather gradually warmed up, the Prince Duan's mansion used more and more ice. At the end of May, when Daiyu was checking the accounts, Chu Heng happened to be on leave and took a look. What he saw surprised him greatly.
“We didn’t use this much ice last May, did we?” Chu Heng scratched his chin. “It’s not that much hotter this year than last year.”
Daiyu felt a little guilty, and she quickly flipped through two pages: "Really? I don't quite remember."
Chu Heng sensed something was wrong. He lifted Daiyu's chin and saw her guilty look. He found it both funny and helpless: "How much ice did you secretly use? Would I blame you? I was just afraid it was too cold and you couldn't handle it."
Daiyu felt a little aggrieved: "I feel hot. After you left, I added two more ice basins and ice chests. Before you came back, I had to ask someone to remove them. It was such a hassle."
Chu Heng couldn't help but burst out laughing: "My princess, you're doing something like stealing in your own home."
Daiyu slapped his hand unhappily: "You're the one who's being a thief! I'm just afraid that if you find out, you'll start talking about this or that."
Chu Heng felt wronged: "I was afraid you couldn't handle it..."
“Look,” Daiyu said, realizing she had caught someone red-handed. “I’m perfectly fine, and you still dare to say that.”
Chu Heng, now in the wrong, quickly begged for forgiveness, saying, "If you feel hot, use more ice, but be careful not to catch a cold."
Daiyu then smiled and said, "I'm not a child, of course I know what I'm doing."
As she spoke, Zijuan brought over two bowls of plum juice: "Your Highness, Your Highness, have a bowl of plum juice to cool down."
"Hmm." Daiyu added, "It's hot and I don't have much of an appetite. Tell the kitchen to make two refreshing and delicious side dishes."
Chu Heng took a sip of the plum juice, but frowned before he could swallow it. Seeing that Daiyu was about to drink it, he quickly swallowed and raised his hand to stop her, saying, "It's too sour, don't drink it yet."
"Sour?" Daiyu lowered her head and smelled it. "I think it's okay. I'll try it first."
Chu Heng had no choice but to remove his hand. He saw Daiyu take a small sip, then relax and say, "It's not sour."
"How could this be?" Chu Heng exclaimed in surprise. He took the bowl from Daiyu and tasted it, then immediately frowned.
Daiyu also drank from Chu Heng's bowl, and still didn't find it sour.
Chu Heng asked doubtfully, "Could there be something wrong with my tongue?"
The maids serving nearby seemed thoughtful. The prince was often away from home during the day, and the plum juice made in the kitchen was always made according to the princess's taste. In other words, the princess had recently developed a craving for sour foods.
Then Granny Zhou asked, "Your Highness, you seem to crave sour foods these past few days?"
Daiyu thought for a moment and said, "It's been like this for the past three to five days, it's probably because it's hot."
Before Granny Zhao could speak, Granny Zhou clapped her hands and laughed, "Oh dear, oh dear, I've overlooked such an important matter! Your Highness, please quickly send someone to summon the imperial physician!"
Chu Heng was startled: "What's wrong? What happened to the Princess?" Before anyone could answer, he said, "Eunuch, quickly take my invitation to the Imperial Hospital and summon the imperial physician!"
Zhao Qing hurriedly accepted the order and left.
Granny Zhou smiled and said, "It's good news, Your Highness. Don't worry, the Princess Consort likes sour food, which is not her usual taste. I think she's pregnant!"
Chu Heng was immediately stunned.
"Pregnant?" Daiyu hadn't quite processed it yet. "Eating sour things...makes me pregnant?"
Granny Zhao quickly smiled and said, "A pregnant woman's appetite may change. The princess's appetite has suddenly changed. Perhaps it's because she is pregnant, or it may be because of the hot weather. We can't say for sure. However, if it is because she is pregnant, our whole family will be happy. If not, it doesn't matter. We can just call the imperial physician to check the princess's pulse. What do you say, Your Highness?"
Chu Heng then realized what was happening and grasped Daiyu's hand, saying, "Yes, yes, Granny Zhao is right. Your good health is the greatest joy."
Only then did Granny Zhou realize that she had spoken rashly. After all, the imperial physician had not yet taken her pulse to confirm the pregnancy. If what she said turned out to be false, it would only cause the masters to be disappointed.
Fortunately, the prince and princess were too busy to pay attention to her at the moment. Chu Heng was holding Daiyu's hand and talking to her in a low voice. After realizing that she might be pregnant, Daiyu couldn't help but get nervous.
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