Chapter 58 The Truth About Childlessness
Inside Zhaohua Palace, Imperial Physician Zhang had just finished taking Jiang Yingli's pulse.
"Doctor Zhang came here suddenly, but is there any problem with the young lady's last medical record?" Qiuxia asked with concern.
Today is not the day for the routine medical consultations for the ladies in the palace.
Doctor Zhang gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, Your Majesty is in good health. It's just that you've been staying up late lately, and I'm worried that you might be suffering from internal deficiency, so I came to prescribe some tonic medicine for you."
Jiang Yingli understood that she had indeed been sleeping lately.
"Thank you, Doctor Zhang." Jiang Yingli said.
Doctor Zhang was writing a prescription and telling Qiuxia how to decoct the medicine. Jiang Yingli looked at Doctor Zhang, thought about it again and again, and decided to ask.
"Doctor Zhang, I have some questions I want to ask you."
"Your Majesty, please feel free to speak up if you have any concerns. I will tell you everything I know."
Jiang Yingli bit her lip and said, "Is there anything about me that makes it difficult to get pregnant? If I want to have a child, do I need special treatment?"
Doctor Zhang paused slightly.
The Emperor had warned him not to tell Empress Chongyi about the matter of the heir. Doctor Zhang said calmly:
"Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. Your Majesty is in good health and there will be no problem with your offspring."
Jiang Yingli frowned and lowered her voice a bit, "So, if we have normal sex, without any contact with the elements or taking contraceptives, is it really possible to avoid pregnancy?"
Doctor Zhang opened his mouth.
Although this went against medical common sense, he kept the emperor's instructions in mind and said firmly, "Yes, your majesty, this method can prevent pregnancy."
Jiang Yingli's frown relaxed slightly and she sighed softly.
After Doctor Zhang left, Qiuxia saw that Jiang Yingli still looked a little sad, so she stepped forward and massaged her shoulders.
"Your Majesty, are you worried about your offspring?"
Jiang Yingli shook her head calmly, "I'm not worried, I just find it strange."
Qiuxia asked suspiciously, "What's so strange about it?"
"The medical book I just flipped through doesn't describe the contraception methods used by Your Majesty and me. Sometimes even contraceptive soups may not be able to completely prevent pregnancy."
Even without any exposure to rain or dew, the chances of getting pregnant are still very high.
But for more than three years, her belly has not moved.
What's more, His Majesty did not try to avoid pregnancy for three or four months after the marriage was consummated.
Although Qiuxia was meticulous in her work, she was still a virgin and knew nothing about this matter. She was surprised for a moment and hesitated:
"Your Majesty, are you suspicious that you'll have trouble conceiving? But Doctor Zhang said you're in good health, and it's just a matter of fate."
The more Jiang Yingli thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong.
If she had known nothing before, she would have thought that His Majesty did not want children. But after reading the medical book, she noticed something.
"It's not that I don't trust Doctor Zhang, but maybe Doctor Zhang is trying to comfort me because he's afraid that I'm sad."
Seeing that Jiang Yingli was indeed worried about this matter, Qiuxia remembered something and said, "Well, Your Majesty, do you remember that before the Wanshou Palace, Consort Song asked about the young lady's child? I remember that Consort Song said that there are two maids in her palace who are very skilled in medicine. How about we go and visit one or two of them?"
After Qiuxia said this, Jiang Yingli indeed remembered this incident.
At that time, Song Zhaoyi asked her if she was not feeling well, but she just thought that His Majesty had been taking contraceptives, so she didn't take it seriously.
Since I have nothing to do, I might as well go and take a look.
I just don’t know whether Empress Zhaoyi will be willing to let her maid take her pulse this time since she refused her last time.
"Qiuxia, go get those gold and jade bracelets. I need to go to Roufu Palace."
Qiuxia responded and went to get it.
In Roufu Palace, Concubine Song was lying on a chaise longue with her shoes on, looking very uninhibited. Bishui and Biluo were feeding her grapes.
When Hanlu came in, she picked up the embroidered shoes that her mother had kicked on the ground and said:
"Your Majesty, Zhao Chongyi from Zhaohua Palace has arrived and wants to see you."
Song Zhaoyi waved her hand casually, "Come in if you're here."
Hanlu glanced at her and lowered his eyes in response.
Hanlu took two steps forward, and Song Zhaoyi jumped up from the chaise longue as if she had just woken up from a dream.
"Wait! Who's here?"
Biluo said, "Empress Zhao Chongyi is here."
"Hurry, hurry! Clean this up!"
Song Zhaoyi quickly got up, put on the two embroidered shoes that Hanlu had just placed in front of the couch, and instructed Bishui and Biluo to clean up the pile of grape peels on the small table in front of them. She also stood up, straightened her wrinkled skirt, and fiddled with the hairpin on her head.
Therefore, when Jiang Yingli entered the hall, she saw the gorgeous Concubine Zhaoyi sitting on a throne in a noble and elegant posture.
Opposite her was a simple stage made of two screens. A tall and thin eunuch stood behind the screens, singing songs to entertain Empress Zhaoyi.
In such an elegant and graceful atmosphere, Jiang Yingli straightened her back unconsciously.
She walked over and bowed politely.
"I pay my respects to Her Majesty Zhaoyi. I have come here without any hesitation. I hope Her Majesty will not mind."
Song Zhaoyi glanced at her casually and said, "Since you're here, what's the point of worrying about it?"
She raised her pointed chin and pointed to the chair on her left. "Sit down."
"Thank you, my lady."
Before Jiang Yingli sat down, she asked Qiuxia to hand the chosen gift to Biluo.
Biluo took it to Song Zhaoyi and opened it.
Seeing that it was a pair of bracelets, Song Zhaoyi's face froze obviously.
"What are you doing?"
Jiang Yingli's heart skipped a beat. It was just a routine gift given out among the palaces. Judging from Song Zhaoyi's expression, she seemed not to like it.
But a gold and jade bracelet should be a perfect gift, there is nothing wrong with it.
Jiang Yingli quickly said, "Your Majesty, you may not know that I came here today to borrow your maid who is skilled in medicine. Therefore, this small gift is not a token of respect."
Song Zhaoyi fiddled with her bracelet lacking interest and said nothing.
Seeing this, Hanlu immediately stepped forward, put away the box containing the bracelet, and said with a smile: "Empress Chongyi is too polite. Next time you come to Roufu Palace, you don't need to bring any gifts, just come directly."
Her queen is a person with a hard mouth but a soft heart. Although she is not bored in this deep palace as she listens to music and entertains herself every day, she is inevitably lonely after suddenly leaving her brothers and sisters. When she heard that Zhao Chongyi had arrived, she was very happy that someone of the same age came to talk to her.
As a result, Zhao Chongyi came up and gave a gift first. Although it was polite, it was still very distant.
Jiang Yingli nodded hesitantly, "Okay, I'll remember that."
Song Zhaoyi let out a long sigh and said calmly, "Didn't you need it last time? Why did you make a special trip this time?"
Jiang Yingli said awkwardly, "I rejected your Majesty's kindness last time. I was ungrateful. But I suspect that I am really unwell as you said, so I really want your maid to take a look."
Jiang Yingli knew that although Song Zhaoyi said that these two people were maids, they must be female doctors carefully trained by the Song family.
Being trained in a big family, he must have great medical skills.
Song Zhaoyi fanned herself twice, speaking with a noble and cold voice, "Since you have begged me so sincerely, I will mercifully help you. Hanlu, go get Dansha."
Jiang Yingli was overjoyed: "Thank you, Empress Zhaoyi!"
After a while, a maid with a thin figure and beautiful eyes and eyebrows came in behind Hanlu.
"Greetings to the Empress Zhaoyi, and greetings to the Empress Chongyi."
"You can ask her whatever you want to ask. Dansha, take her pulse first." Song Zhaoyi said.
Jiang Yingli nodded, and Dansha stepped forward to take Jiang Yingli's pulse.
Looking at Dansha's expression that sometimes relaxed and sometimes frowned, Jiang Yingli thought, since they are all women, there is no need to be shy about anything, so she said directly:
"Dansha, I'd like to ask, if I continue to use the method of not receiving rain and dew for contraception, what is the probability of being childless for three years?"
Hearing this, Song Zhaoyi was stunned and covered her face with a fan.
Jiang Yingli didn't notice anything unusual and just stared at Dansha.
Dansha shook her head seriously, "Your Majesty, this kind of contraception is equivalent to having no children. If you are in good health, it is basically impossible to be childless for three years."
Jiang Yingli was stunned for a moment, feeling that the answer was about to come out: "Unless..."
Dansha withdrew his fingertips from Jiang Yingli's wrist, his voice slightly hesitant: "Unless it's difficult to get pregnant, Your Majesty must have injured herself before and hasn't fully recovered yet, so it's difficult for her to get pregnant."
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