Xue Shen was overjoyed, even forgetting about Emperor Cheng'an, and chased after the imperial physician, asking, "Really? You didn't make a mistake?"
The imperial physician shook his head: "It is indeed a pregnancy pulse, and judging from the pulse, it should have been more than three months." He looked at Princess Qin inquiringly: "Hasn't Princess Qin noticed anything all this time?"
Shen Youying shook her head weakly: "I fell into the water and caught a cold when I was young. I have a cold-related illness, and my menstrual cycle has always been irregular, so I didn't take it seriously."
Upon hearing this, Xue Shen quickly chimed in, "Indeed, the Princess Consort is in poor health and has been relying on medicinal diets to maintain her health. Today, she stood for so long and was exposed to the cold wind; could this affect the fetus in her womb?"
Listening to the couple's back-and-forth, Emperor Cheng'an simply didn't believe they had just found out about the pregnancy; he suspected they had known all along and had been hiding it until the full three months had passed before revealing it. When he heard Xue Shen say something like "standing for so long, getting chilled by the cold wind," he immediately understood the couple's intentions.
But now that these two are in the right, and the incident happened right under his nose, he has to give them a few perfunctory replies even if he doesn't want to.
Emperor Cheng'an forced a look of delight on his face and said, "This is a good thing. Prince Qin is not young anymore, and it's time for him to have an heir. But why is he standing in the wind for so long? Doesn't Liuxian Palace have a chair for Princess Qin to sit on?"
After watching for a while, Yelü Nanxian realized that she had been tricked. She wanted to give Shen Youying a hard time, but she didn't expect that Shen Youying, who was so principled before, could also be flexible and take the opportunity to pretend to faint and pin the blame on her.
Especially now that she's pregnant, no matter how she tries to explain, she can't clear her name.
While cursing the cunning and treacherous nature of the Wei people, she apologized to Emperor Cheng'an, saying, "It was my fault. I was not familiar with the rules of the Wei. After the lady-in-waiting invited Princess Qin over, she came to help me with my makeup. I did not expect Princess Qin to be so obedient to the rules, standing there waiting for me to come out."
Emperor Cheng'an didn't think Yelü Nanxian would deliberately torment Shen Youying. Northern Rong women were straightforward, and although they were a bit spoiled, they weren't unpleasant. Therefore, although Emperor Cheng'an verbally reprimanded her a few times, he actually held a grudge against Xue Shen in his heart.
In short, it all comes down to the King of Qin's wolfish ambitions and ill intentions.
Emperor Cheng'an felt a tightness in his chest when he thought that the Crown Prince was still unwilling to get married, while the Prince of Qin already had a child. He could only give the person a reward to avoid further trouble and send him away.
But Xue Shen was still not satisfied and continued to argue unreasonably: "The matter I was discussing with His Majesty in the Imperial Study just now..."
Emperor Cheng'an was extremely troubled. He knew that if he didn't give Xue Shen an official position today, Xue Shen would probably hold onto the matter and not let it go easily. So he could only say, "There is a vacancy in the Ministry of Works. You can fill it. You haven't been to court for a long time, and you're probably unfamiliar with everything. Although the Ministry of Works is complicated, it's a good opportunity for you to familiarize yourself with it and hone your skills. Once you've made some achievements, I'll choose a better position for you."
Having achieved his goal, Xue Shen stopped pressing the matter. He exchanged a glance with Shen Youying, then had a sedan chair brought over. With the rewards bestowed by Emperor Cheng'an, the couple returned to their residence together.
Once they were in the Prince's carriage, Shen Youying leaned against him, laughing uncontrollably: "You didn't see Yelü Nanxian's expression just now. She probably has never seen anything like that in the Northern Rong, has she?"
Xue Shen, unaware of what had happened, frowned and asked with some concern, "Did you really stand there for half an hour? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
Shen Youying glanced at him with sparkling eyes, puffed out her cheeks, and said, "I'm not stupid. She probably wanted to intimidate me, so there wasn't a single person serving me in the hall. I saw that no one was there to greet me, so I sat down by myself. I only stood up when I heard her come out."
She held up one finger and shook it, saying with a smug and proud air, "At most, I've only been standing here for less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea."
Xue Shen was amused by her spirited appearance and pulled her into his arms for a moment of affection: "Zhao Zhao is indeed quick-witted. It seems I was overthinking things and was worried that you would suffer a loss."
*
The news of Shen Youying's pregnancy spread quickly, and Xue Shen's vacancy in the Ministry of Works was officially settled. To make things look good, Emperor Cheng'an gave him the position of Vice Minister of Works. However, in reality, the Ministry of Works already had one Minister and one Vice Minister, which was enough to handle the current affairs. If he went there, he would only get a nominal position with no real power and no access to any matters.
But Xue Shen was not in a hurry. He did not seem to be seriously interested in entering the court to compete with the Crown Prince. After obtaining the nominal position of Vice Minister of Works, he would go to the government office on time every day, whether he had something to do or not.
Especially when it was time to leave the office, he was always the first one to leave on time.
After spending about ten days together, the officials of the Ministry of Works had a general understanding of the Prince of Qin's temperament. When Xue Shen first arrived, everyone, including the Minister of Works, spoke and acted cautiously. However, after the Prince of Qin distributed the fruits and snacks sent by the Princess Consort throughout the Ministry of Works several times, the officials realized that the Prince of Qin's temper was not as violent and tyrannical as rumored.
Even when he is having a happy occasion, his temper becomes exceptionally mild.
Although his superiors dared not assign him tasks, his subordinates had many miscellaneous tasks on their hands. When they encountered problems that they couldn't handle or couldn't figure out, the King of Qin would occasionally lend a hand, and they were quite capable of solving the problems they encountered.
As a result, many officials gradually became acquainted with Xue Shen.
Seeing that he hurriedly finished his shift and returned home at the appointed time, an official joked, "What food did Your Highness bring back for the Princess today? I'll bring some home for myself too."
Sitting on his horse, Xue Shen thought for a moment and said, "Today, the Princess Consort wishes to eat Fanlou's Treasure Duck."
The young officials who were off duty with him chuckled good-naturedly, and the official who had asked the question waved his hand repeatedly: "The rare duck at Fanlou is really hard to get a reservation for. It's Your Highness who is so kind. I'll just let it go."
Xue Shen chuckled: "I had someone order two this morning when I went to the yamen. You can have one if you want."
The young official was somewhat incredulous and embarrassed to actually ask him to share the money, so he repeatedly refused, saying, "Your Highness is too kind. The Princess Consort is pregnant, how can I let Your Highness share the money?"
Xue Shen seemed unconcerned: "It's alright, it was an extra order anyway. I'll go get the bride later and have a servant deliver a copy to the government office."
Without further ado, he flicked his whip and headed towards Fanlou.
Officials from the Ministry of Works gathered at the main gate of the Ministry of Works office, watching his figure as he rode away on horseback. Someone whispered and sighed, "I think the Prince of Qin has a very approachable temperament. How did those rumors start?"
One of the well-informed people lowered his voice even further and said, "Haven't you seen the very popular movie 'Resurrection' lately? Go watch it and you'll understand."
An older official, who had once worked with the young crown prince, solemnly warned, "There's more to this than meets the eye. Keep your thoughts to yourselves and don't go around spreading rumors."
In other words, these young officials are inexperienced and cannot see the turmoil within.
But he observed that the capital city and the imperial court were already rife with undercurrents of intrigue.
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