Xie Zhaozhao brought Yuanyuan and Lu Feiyan into the palace together.
A two-horse carriage, four guards, and two maids.
The street was quiet, and the February weather was still cold. Xie Zhaozhao was wearing a fox fur coat, holding a hand warmer in her hands, and wearing specially made warm suede boots.
Upon arriving at Xingning Palace, Consort Xi was so excited that her eyes reddened. She grasped Consort Xi's hand and looked her up and down, saying, "I was worried, but seeing you puts my mind at ease. Your face is rosy, which shows that you are living a comfortable life."
Xie Zhaozhao hurriedly bowed and said, "It is my fault for causing Your Majesty worry."
"We are aunt and niece, why be so polite?" Consort Xi said, holding her hand. "You seem to have gained some weight."
He looked at her stomach and her face with suspicion.
Xie Zhaozhao's belly wasn't swollen, and she didn't have any dark spots or anything like that on her face.
"Winter is here, and I've been staying home all day eating and eating, so naturally I've gained weight. I need to lose weight; I even have a double chin when I looked in the mirror yesterday."
"It's good to be a little chubby. Aren't you known as having a Guanyin face? Have you ever seen a Guanyin with a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks? Aren't they all plump and radiant, and blessed with good fortune!"
The aunt and niece burst into laughter.
Consort Xi looked at Lu Feiyan, whose eyes were round and bright, and noticed that she was quite young. She said, "Is this your newly recruited maid? She's so young, does she know how to serve people?"
“She had no elders in her family and was all alone, so I kept her in the mansion. She was very well-behaved and diligent.”
Consort Xi didn't linger too long on Lu Feiyan, after all, Lu Feiyan looked too young and didn't seem like someone with a scheming mind.
"His Majesty said he believed that Gu Laosan would not do anything foolish. Hearing that someone was targeting Qingpuyuan and that you had been wronged, he bestowed upon you the tribute of red pine from Goryeo as a sign of comfort."
Consort Xi said, "The eunuch will deliver it to your residence."
"I will go to His Majesty's study to kowtow and express my gratitude later."
The two talked for a long time when another palace maid, Caihua, came in to report: "Your Highness, Consort Xie has arrived."
Consort Xi smiled and said, "Wasn't the Crown Prince's residence reopened? Why are you so late?"
Caihua replied, "The concubine went to the Empress's palace to visit her first."
He first visited the Empress, and then visited Consort Xi.
"Quickly, call her in." Consort Xi patted Xie Zhaozhao's hand, and the aunt and niece clearly separated themselves from each other, maintaining a proper distinction between ruler and subject.
Xie Tingting went into the inner room.
Caiwei and Cailan took off her coat and carried it. Xie Tingting was heavy and had some difficulty walking.
After exchanging greetings with Consort Xi, Consort Xi instructed Caihua to quickly bring over a brocade stool.
"Is your eldest sister here too?" Xie Tingting asked with a smile.
"Yes. Your Highness is quite heavy, so please be careful." Xie Zhaozhao dared not reach out to help her, nor did she dare ask Yuanyuan or Lu Feiyan to help her.
Pregnant women in the royal family are not to be trifled with; if possible, it's best to stay as far away as possible.
"Are you about to give birth?" Consort Xi looked at her belly and frowned. "Why is it so big? Is it twins?"
Xie Tingting shook her head: "The imperial physician said it's a singleton pregnancy, and the child is likely to be a boy."
"Won't it be difficult to give birth at such a big age?"
"The imperial physician said this child will grow up to be easy to raise." Xie Tingting was purely ignorant and fearless. "Women all go through this, being a mother isn't that easy."
Xie Zhaozhao frowned and said, "Didn't the imperial physicians and female physicians in your household tell you that it's too big and childbirth would be very dangerous?"
Xie Tingting said calmly, "The child is alright, it's always good to be healthy."
Princess Yu Rong told her that as long as her child was healthy, she would support him being made the Crown Prince/Imperial Grandson.
Wei Chuchu's child was too young and disabled to succeed her.
Her child must be healthy; all her wealth and glory in this life depend on her child.
Seeing that Xie Tingting wouldn't listen, Consort Xi stopped trying to persuade her and said with a smile, "Since you've both rarely been to the palace today, let Imperial Physician Wen take your pulses!"
Xie Tingting said with a smile, "Just now, when I was with the Empress Dowager, she also said that she wanted to ask Physician Wen to take her pulse, but unfortunately Physician Wen is not here today."
Consort Xi then ordered Liuli to invite another renowned gynecologist, Physician Zhang.
When Physician Zhang entered, Consort Xi pointed at Xie Tingting and said, "Take a look at Consort Xie, and also at the Grand Secretary's wife."
Physician Zhang first took Xie Tingting's pulse and respectfully replied, "Consort Xie is in good health, and the fetus is strong and healthy."
Xie Tingting and Consort Xi were both very happy.
Then Physician Zhang took Xie Zhaozhao's pulse, and Lu Feiyan stepped forward to help Xie Zhaozhao place the handkerchief in her hand on her wrist.
Physician Zhang took the pulse for a while, then switched to the other hand and felt around for a bit more. He frowned slightly, puzzled!
He couldn't keep holding the woman's wrist indefinitely. Looking at Xie Zhaozhao's rosy face, Physician Zhang smiled and said, "The Grand Secretary's wife is in good health and unharmed."
Physician Zhang took Consort Xi's pulse again. He could feel it clearly under his hand. He wondered why he couldn't feel the Grand Secretary's pulse before.
He left a prescription for Consort Xi and then took his leave.
Consort Xi said, "You've worked hard."
Xie Tingting said with a smile, "My eldest sister is eighteen years old this year, it's time for her to have a child."
Xie Zhaozhao said nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter. When the time is right, the child will come."
Consort Xi didn't say anything in front of Xie Tingting, but she still said meaningfully, "Children are a woman's lifelong support. If you can have children, have more."
Xie Tingting and Xie Zhaozhao thought of the children she had lost and wanted to comfort her, but they didn't know where to begin.
"Liuli, take the thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum from the Nanzhao Kingdom and the thousand-year-old ginseng from the Liao Kingdom to Consort Xie."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Xie Tingting thanked Xie Zhaozhao and left together.
Consort Xi held her teacup and drank silently for a while. Then she picked up her embroidery hoop and stared blankly at the few exquisite orchids embroidered on it.
Liuli said with concern, "Your Highness, why don't you rest?"
Consort Xi took the embroidery cloth off the embroidery frame and threw it into the brazier. The embroidery cloth burst into flames as soon as it saw the fire.
Liuli rushed to grab it, but failed.
"Your Highness, you've worked so hard on this embroidery for days, why did you burn it?"
Consort Xi watched as the embroidery was consumed by the fire and said indifferently, "She has become estranged from me... after all, she wasn't born from my womb."
"Your Majesty, you are overthinking it. This servant saw that the Grand Secretary's wife was extremely respectful to you." Liuli's eyes reddened.
Your Highness is pitiful. If your princes and princesses had survived, they would be as old as the Grand Secretary's wife by now.
"Why have you changed your mind about Consort Xie again?"
The plan was to drug Consort Xie, but for some reason, the Imperial Concubine changed her mind at the last minute.
The person Her Majesty hates the most is Wei Shi. Why did Consort Xie have to marry someone else? She had to hurt Her Majesty's feelings like this.
"No need, someone has already made their move."
Physician Zhang just left a prescription for Consort Xi, with the following line: "The fetus is unwell, and the large size of the fetus makes childbirth difficult, which may result in the death of both mother and child."
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