Emperor Cheng'an's expression was sinister, and he spoke with great emphasis. Although he said that the Princess Consort and the child must not suffer any mishap before the Prince of Qin returned, he probably wished he could abort the child in the Princess Consort's womb right now.
Empress Zhou knew what he was thinking, so she curtsied and said, "Your Majesty, I understand. I will certainly take good care of Princess Qin."
Seeing that she understood, Emperor Cheng'an turned and left.
After everyone left, Empress Zhou returned to her palace and lazily sat down, supporting her aching back. Her personal maidservant, sensing her presence, knelt beside her and gently massaged her waist and legs. Empress Zhou had a maid bring a bronze mirror, carefully examining herself for a while before chuckling, "In just this short time, I feel my complexion is much better than before; I look younger. Women are like flowers; they need constant watering to thrive. Otherwise, even the most beautiful flower will wither."
The ladies-in-waiting in the room knew what she meant, and none of them dared to respond, only serving her with utmost care.
Empress Zhou put down the bronze mirror and said, "Summon someone over again tonight."
The lady-in-waiting cautiously agreed and went out to deliver the message. Empress Zhou, however, clearly did not take the emperor's instructions to heart. She lazily took a nap, and in the evening, she had a passionate encounter with the guard who had come to deliver the message. It wasn't until she woke up the next day at noon that she remembered to arrange the matter that Emperor Cheng'an had entrusted to her.
The palace is full of nannies who are skilled at acupoints and vital points on a woman's body. They don't need to use any special methods; just a few presses and rubs on the body can make a pregnant woman suffer greatly.
However, Empress Zhou now has other plans and is not of one mind with Emperor Cheng'an, so she is naturally not in a hurry to deal with Princess Qin.
After all, with the King of Qin fighting against Emperor Cheng'an ahead of her, she could reap the benefits later.
She looked at the four nannies one by one and said, "Princess Qin is delicate. When you go to the Prince Qin's residence, you must take good care of her and make sure nothing goes wrong."
The four matrons were used to doing this, and it wasn't the first time Empress Zhou had ordered them around, so she replied very cautiously, "Your Majesty, please rest assured."
Empress Zhou nodded and ordered the four people to be sent to the Prince of Qin's residence.
*
Danzhu was the one who came to greet them from the Qin Prince's residence.
Upon seeing the four palace maids, she was very polite: "You've come at an inopportune time. The Princess Consort has just retired for the night. I will inform her after she wakes up. Please come with me to settle in."
The four old women exchanged glances, not believing Danzhu's explanation. They suspected the other party knew the visitor meant no good and was deliberately pressuring them.
Furthermore, seeing that Danzhu was just a young maid who spoke softly and had no intimidating presence, they all tacitly stood still, adopting the stern demeanor of palace maids, and said with stiff faces, "We are here to serve Princess Qin on behalf of the Emperor and the Empress, so naturally we must pay our respects to the Princess first. Since the Princess has not yet woken up, please lead us outside to wait."
Danzhu smiled and said, "Since our Princess Consort became pregnant, she has been unable to eat or sleep well, and she is very restless. The Prince feels sorry for her and has given an order that no one should disturb her when she is resting. Now, the maids serving in Tingmei Pavilion cannot move or breathe loudly, and they can only wait until the Princess Consort wakes up. It is fine if the nanny is willing to wait, but I am afraid of disturbing the Princess Consort's good sleep."
The head of the four matrons said, "We have served all the pregnant ladies in the palace, and we have never seen one more delicate than Princess Qin. Miss, just take us to wait."
Upon hearing this, Danzhu's face darkened: "Our Princess is carrying twins, and these are the Prince's first children. The Prince is willing to pamper her, so naturally she's spoiled. We servants obey our mistress's orders and serve her with utmost care, daring not to make the slightest mistake. But from what you're saying, it sounds like you're unwilling to serve her. If you're unwilling, I'll speak to Chief Secretary Wang and ask him to go to the palace to plead with the Emperor and His Highness for mercy. We can't serve our Princess unwillingly and only make her uncomfortable."
Unexpectedly, despite her seemingly gentle and easy-going nature, she turned out to be someone who could easily shut people up with her words.
The four matrons naturally couldn't respond to her words, so they softened their tone and said, "Miss, what are you saying? His Majesty and the Empress sent us to serve the Princess, so we will naturally do our best and serve her with utmost devotion."
Danzhu snorted and said, "Since that's the case, the four nannies can wait on their own. Then come with me. Remember, you must not move around or breathe loudly. The princess is a light sleeper and easily awakened. To ensure she can sleep well, we've even caught all the birds in the courtyard."
The group didn't think much of it, but when they arrived at Tingmei Pavilion, they found the courtyard indeed quiet and still. The maids they saw were all sitting in their places without moving. There wasn't a sound, not even the chirping of insects or birds.
Danzhu glanced at them, then remained silent. Instead, she walked quietly to the front of the house and spoke in a very low voice to the maidservant.
After that, she sat down with the other two and quietly guarded the house, truly not uttering a single word.
The four matrons, having been trained in the palace, weren't afraid of this kind of display. But Danzhu and the others were sitting, and they were indeed waiting in the room. If it were just a nap of an hour or two, that would be fine, but the Princess Consort of Qin slept for two or three hours. With the sun about to set and still no movement from inside, the four matrons began to have some doubts.
They wanted to ask Danzhu, but as soon as they started to think, three pairs of eyes were fixed on them.
The four nannies, mindful of Danzhu's previous warning, dared not make a move.
After another half hour of this torment, the bell rang in the room, signaling that Princess Qin had finally woken up and someone else was to go in to serve her.
Danzhu stood up, said to the four women, "Please wait a moment, I will go in and inform them," and then turned and went into the room.
She stayed inside for a while before coming out. First, she instructed the maid to serve the meal, and then she said to the four women, "The princess said she knows, but she doesn't want to see anyone today. You can go and make arrangements. She will come again tomorrow."
The four waited there for half a day, only to receive a perfunctory dismissal. Before they could say anything more, Danzhu said with a stern face, "I know what you old ladies want to say, but since you are here to serve the Princess, you should prioritize her preferences. It is common for the Princess to feel unwell and have unpredictable moods while pregnant, and you old ladies, being experienced, should know this."
After she finished speaking, she clapped her hands, and two old women appeared out of nowhere. Their orange-peel-like faces and their two dark eyes stared at them: "Please follow this old servant, ladies."
The head old woman didn't want to move, but the two old women simply held her arms, and she was immediately unable to move.
The disparity in strength was too great. Although they had come under orders, if they openly angered Princess Qin, they would likely suffer the consequences. Therefore, they could only swallow their anger and go with their two wives to settle down first.
After the four people left, Danzhu went into the house.
Fu Cuizhen, dressed in the attire of a princess, sat in the room. Upon seeing her enter, she asked, "Have you been sent away?"
Danzhu nodded: "The four old geezers are still relatively easy to fool."
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