Chapter 38: Rain and Dew
The Queen Mother was furious, and Jiang Yingli couldn't say that it was His Majesty who was trying to avoid pregnancy, lest she give the Queen Mother another excuse to blame His Majesty.
But speaking of this special pet...
She didn't realize that the emperor had come to her palace four times in five days.
She was just happy every time His Majesty came, and she didn't keep track of the number of times.
Because this has become a habit, there is no need to turn over any cards in Prince Su's Mansion. As long as His Majesty is at home, he is always with her.
"Jia Jieyu, come forward." The Queen Mother said, suppressing her anger.
Jiang Yingli walked out from among the concubines and stood in front.
The Queen Mother stood up and walked over to Jiang Yingli. "I'm kindly giving you a piece of advice today. Please remember it."
Jiang Yingli nodded, "Yes."
"The harem is most afraid of having a favorite concubine. Firstly, it will hinder the birth of children. Secondly, it will easily lead to the emergence of evil concubines like the previous dynasty's Concubine Li, who took advantage of her exclusive favor to abuse her power and bring disaster to the government."
"You are now beginning to show the signs of being the exclusive favorite, but I will give you a chance. If you know your limits, you should persuade His Majesty to treat everyone equally and avoid the favor yourself. If you still want to be the exclusive favorite, I will have no choice but to deal with you for the sake of Daye's country and people!"
There was silence in the hall for a moment, and the concubines looked at the Queen Mother and Jiang Yingli.
The meaning of this punishment...isn't it a death sentence?
Jiang Yingli's face turned pale.
Seeing her fear, the Queen Mother sneered and continued:
"I suppose you know what happened to Concubine Li. Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you're favored by the Emperor? The previous dynasty's memorial to punish the evil concubine was released, and she ended up with a tragic death."
When all the concubines knew what happened to Concubine Li, they were all silent and dared not make a sound.
The Queen Mother walked around Jiang Yingli, her tone gentle but full of threats.
"Learn from the past. Don't assume His Majesty will protect you when the time comes. Even if His Majesty truly loves you, and the ministers are furious, if he insists on suppressing those complaints, he'll be abandoning the country. What will the consequences be..." The Queen Mother laughed. "For His Majesty's sake, don't make things difficult for him."
Jiang Yingli instantly raised her eyes and looked at the Queen Mother.
Report... The Empress Dowager means that if His Majesty continues to favor her, then the noble families will jointly report His Majesty for favoring her exclusively?
Your Majesty is just used to her company, just like before. Why does he bring up the country and the people?
You keep talking about the country and the people, but you fail to see that Your Majesty is diligent and good in governing the country, and you are only staring at Your Majesty's harem!
The Queen Mother's sharp gaze swept across Jiang Yingli's face.
"Jia Jieyu, reply to my words."
Jiang Yingli bit her lip and bowed.
"Yes, my concubine, I will remember the Queen Mother's teachings."
The Queen Mother smiled with satisfaction. "You are a smart person and know what to do. I will pay attention to you. Don't let me down. Madam Xia, go get the "Palace Rules and Virtues" and give it to Concubine Jia."
Nanny Xia brought the palace rules and handed them to Jiang Yingli.
The Queen Mother said, "For the next three days, carefully copy these palace rules a hundred times. If His Majesty comes to visit you, you won't have to receive him. There are so many newcomers in the palace. If you can give them some advice on where to go, it will be considered as taking care of the new sisters. This way, everyone will naturally respect you as a senior."
After coming out of Wanshou Palace, Jiang Yingli has been a little absent-minded.
Although the Queen Mother's words were a bit harsh, the issue of offspring was not without reason.
If she can't have children, someone else will have to.
The kingdom that Your Majesty has worked so hard to gain must have successors.
However, this offspring must not be from a noble family.
They even want to control His Majesty's affairs in bed, not to mention how much of a threat they will pose to His Majesty if they have children.
This child can only be from a family other than the seven.
Jiang Yingli's mind quickly flashed through the concubine's background.
Song Zhaoyi, Gu Guiren, Shen Meiren, Li Liangren, Liu Cairen...
These are not the seven surnames.
If she wants to persuade His Majesty to treat everyone equally, she can choose from here.
Jiang Yingli lowered her eyes and sighed.
In front of the Wanshou Palace, Zheng Baolin lagged far behind Jiang Yingli. She looked at Jiang Yingli's worried back, took two quick steps, then stopped, and hesitantly pinched the handkerchief in her hand.
She really wanted to go up and comfort her, but she didn't know if Jiang Yingli didn't want to talk to her.
While hesitating, Zheng Baolin saw Song Zhaoyi suddenly appear in his sight.
She was still as ostentatious as ever, walking towards Jiang Yingli with two palace maids on her left and right.
Jiang Yingli was lost in thought and didn't notice Song Zhaoyi approaching until she heard her voice.
"Your belly—"
Jiang Yingli came back to her senses and looked at her.
Song Zhaoyi held her head high, but her eyes were looking down at her belly, her expression and tone were very contemptuous.
But Jiang Yingli knew that Song Zhaoyi had no ill will towards her and was not here to mock her for being childless for many years.
Because Song Zhaoyi treats everyone like this.
Besides, given her status, there's no need to compete with her.
Jiang Yingli bowed and said, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty, for making fun of you. It is my fault that I am unlucky."
"Really?" Song Zhaoyi responded arrogantly.
After a long silence, she said, "...Is it because of a physical disorder?"
Jiang Yingli paused.
Since His Majesty always avoided her, it was natural that she couldn't get pregnant, so she didn't pay much attention to it. Moreover, every time he took her pulse, the doctor said she was in good health.
"Perhaps... it's just a coincidence that the doctor never mentioned the cold uterus."
"The physical discomfort is not just caused by uterine cold. It turns out that you haven't taken care of it carefully." Song Zhaoyi curled her lips in anger at her lack of fighting spirit.
"I see. Your Majesty is more knowledgeable. I am grateful for your guidance."
Jiang Yingli responded to Song Zhaoyi's words indifferently, because she didn't know why Song Zhaoyi suddenly spoke to her.
After another moment of silence, Song Zhaoyi cleared her throat and said, "I brought two maids from my family. One of them is good at taking care of your body. I can let them take a look at you."
Jiang Yingli raised her eyes in surprise, and Song Zhaoyi glanced at her quickly and looked away.
Song Zhaoyi actually wanted to take care of her body? Jiang Yingli was a little surprised.
Unfortunately, this kindness could not be accepted because His Majesty did not want her to have children and there was no need to adjust anything.
"Your Majesty's kindness should not be turned down, but you just heard that the Queen Mother asked me to persuade Your Majesty to be evenly distributed and not to recuperate for the time being."
Song Zhaoyi was stunned for a moment, then snorted and walked away angrily.
Qiuxia looked at Song Zhaoyi's back and said worriedly, "My lady, if we reject Song Zhaoyi's kindness, will she hold a grudge against us?"
"Don't worry, Song Zhaoyi is not the kind of person who holds grudges. She would take revenge on the spot if she had one. She didn't scold me for being ungrateful just now, so there should be no problem." Jiang Yingli said.
Qiuxia sighed softly.
"My lady, to be honest, we have only been punished to kneel together with Concubine Song, and we have no other relationship. Why would she help you?" Lian Qiao asked.
"Perhaps because she is from the Song family, they don't want a woman with the seventh surname to get pregnant with the emperor's eldest son."
Lian Qiao nodded thoughtfully.
"Alright, hurry back to the palace. I have to copy the palace rules a hundred times in three days. If I delay any longer, I won't be able to finish."
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