Chapter 185 The mantis stalks the cicada
"My lady, the Imperial Garden is quite beautiful, why don't you go for a stroll?"
"But……"
Faced with Cui Jinxi's suggestion, Zhen Huan hesitated.
"My lady, there will always be a day when you have to go out into the world. The sooner the better," Cui Jinxi advised softly, her words carrying a profound meaning.
Having understood her meaning, Zhen Huan met Cui Jinxi's encouraging gaze, pondered for a moment, and finally put aside her concerns, nodding: "You're right, now I have nothing to fear."
To survive well in the harem, she couldn't be timid. Now that she was free and her health had recovered, she was ready to step back into the public eye.
So, Zhen Huan led Liu Zhu and Cui Jinxi towards the Imperial Garden. Feeling the abundance of autumn and basking in the gentle sunlight, Zhen Huan let out a long sigh and smiled.
"Sure enough, going out for a walk has improved my mood a lot."
“Yes, the Imperial Garden is truly beautiful.” Liu Zhu echoed from the side, happy to see her mistress so pleased.
The three were chatting and laughing when they ran into Yuan Yuxiu, who was heavily pregnant.
"Congratulations, Zhen."
"I have met Consort Yuan."
Caught off guard by the unexpected encounter with others, Zhen Huan felt a little awkward, but Yuan Yuxiu seemed perfectly at ease. She glanced at Zhen Huan's expression and greeted her with a light laugh, "It's been a long time since I've seen you, Sister Zhen. How have you been?"
"Thank you for your concern, Sister Yuan. I'm doing well." Zhen Huan pursed her lips, and seeing Yuan Yuxiu's sincere attitude, she breathed a slight sigh of relief. She glanced at Yuan Yuxiu's prominently swollen belly and asked with feigned concern, "Sister, are you nine months pregnant?"
"Yes, she's about to give birth and will be bedridden for a month. So she's taking advantage of this time to get out and about." Yuan Yuxiu touched her belly, revealing a gentle and loving smile, which made Zhen Huan feel envious. She wished she had a child too.
"Alright, I won't chat with my sister any longer, I'm going back now."
"Be careful on the road, sister."
"Thanks... sigh!"
"careful!"
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. As Yuan Yuxiu passed by Zhen Huan, she slipped on something and fell to the side. Fortunately, Zhen Huan reached out in time and caught her steadily, preventing an accident from happening.
"Phew... Thank you, sister. If it weren't for you, I don't know what would have happened to me today."
Having caught her breath, Yuan Yuxiu held Zhen Huan's arm, her eyes filled with gratitude.
"Sister, you don't need to be so polite. It was just a small favor. Sister, you should go back quickly and see the imperial physician." Zhen Huan couldn't help but offer a few more words of advice, genuinely afraid that Yuan Yuxiu might get into trouble in front of her, and afraid that she would cause trouble again so soon after being released from confinement.
“My sister is right. I’ll head back now and thank her later.”
"You're too kind, sister."
After finally seeing Yuan Yuxiu off, Zhen Huan breathed a sigh of relief: "Alright, let's go back."
"Your Highness is right." Cui Jinxi didn't say anything else. They had just come out and encountered Yuan Changzai, who almost fell. They should go back first. The Imperial Garden was still too risky.
The three, master and servant, were of one mind and hurriedly returned to Suiyu Pavilion.
At Yanxi Palace, Yuan Yuxiu returned to her residence with her entourage and then sent a palace maid to summon the imperial physician. Hearing the commotion, Consort Shu, Song Wan'er, rushed over: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
It's no wonder Song Wan'er was nervous. As the principal consort, she naturally had the responsibility to supervise and care for the concubines who were about to give birth. In addition, with the recent incidents involving Consort Hui and Noble Lady Cao, it was hard for her not to worry.
"It's nothing, I just accidentally twisted my ankle..."
Yuan Yuxiu looked at Song Wan'er, who had been smiling, but suddenly frowned, clutched her stomach, and cried out in pain, "My stomach, my stomach hurts so much..."
"Imperial Physician! Quickly summon the Imperial Physician!" Song Wan'er's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly shouted outside.
"Your Majesty, I...I think I'm going into labor..."
Noticing the blood-tinged amniotic fluid dripping from Yuan Yuxiu's body, Song Wan'er's face was filled with panic and anxiety: "Where's the midwife? Quickly call the midwife, Yuxiu is about to give birth!"
The palace servants in the hall were in a panic, but fortunately Song Wan'er was able to hold on. She quickly composed herself and calmly directed everyone to set up the delivery room, had the midwife take charge of the delivery, sent a palace maid to inform the Empress, and waited outside for the imperial physician.
"What exactly happened? It's not her due date yet, how could Consort Yuan be about to give birth?" Song Wan'er stood outside, her face pale, fearing that Consort Yuan had been tricked. Standing beside her was An Lingrong, who also lived in Yanxi Palace. She knew nothing about it and could only wait with Song Wan'er at the door.
"Your Majesty, Consort Yuan has no strength left..."
The delivery room door was opened, and a midwife rushed out with a grim expression.
"You have no strength? Why would you have no strength at the very beginning of labor?"
Song Wan'er questioned her sharply, and An Lingrong, who was standing to the side, also sensed that something was wrong and that a storm was brewing.
"This servant...this servant doesn't know either!"
"I don't know. You're a midwife, you don't know anything, what use are you..."
"Your Majesty, the imperial physician has arrived."
The imperial physician's appearance was like a timely rain. Song Wan'er quickly turned to the imperial physician and said, "Imperial physician, please go in and take a look. Consort Yuan is too weak."
The old imperial physician, who had rushed over, changed his expression drastically. He immediately forgot to bow and followed the midwife inside. Song Wan'er and her entourage waited anxiously outside.
"How could Consort Yuan have given birth already? Isn't her due date yet?"
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress."
Just as she was getting anxious, she suddenly heard the Empress's voice. Song Wan'er bowed and bowed, and was relieved to see the Empress's question.
"Get up, Consort Shu, what happened?"
"Your Majesty..."
Before Song Wan'er could answer, the delivery room door was pushed open again, and the old imperial physician walked out with a solemn expression. When he saw the Empress, he was stunned for a moment, but he didn't care about anything else and immediately reported, "Your Majesty, Consort Yuan smelled some stimulating drugs, which caused the fetal movement to occur prematurely. Her weakness is also due to the drugs. She needs to take a decoction for treatment as soon as possible."
"Drug effects?" Yi Xiu frowned. Now was not the time to delve into this matter. "Imperial Physician Wang, prescribe the medicine as soon as possible. You will personally oversee the process. I do not want any other drugs to be mixed in."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Watching the imperial physician rush off to prepare the medicine, Yixiu looked at Song Wan'er: "Consort Shu, are you aware of this matter?"
"It was my fault. When Consort Yuan returned, she only said that she had sprained her ankle, but she suddenly cried out in pain and began to give birth. I thought she must have picked up some drugs outside Yanxi Palace."
Song Wan'er quickly apologized and looked at the palace maid who brought the imperial physician out: "Siqi, you are a palace maid by Consort Yuan's side. Do you know who Consort Yuan met or what happened today?"
Siqi was terrified, clearly encountering something like this for the first time. Kneeling on the ground, she suddenly looked up at the Empress and Consort Shu, and hurriedly cried out her innocence: "Your Majesty, Consort Shu, it was Consort Zhen! I met Consort Zhen in the Imperial Garden!"
Upon hearing Siqi's words, An Lingrong couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, secretly rejoicing that Sister Mei had the foresight to sever ties with Zhen Huan.
"Consort Zhen? What's her relationship with her? Explain in detail!"
“Your Highness has been taking walks in the Imperial Garden these past few days, and today was no different, except for the encounter with Consort Zhen. And even though I was supporting you, Your Highness inexplicably stumbled as you brushed past Consort Zhen, and Consort Zhen caught you. It must have been Consort Zhen; she took this opportunity to slip the drug onto Your Highness! Yes, I also remember, when we got close, I smelled a strange fragrance…”
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