Chapter 88 An Lingrong 29
"What kind of sour plum soup is so delicious that it makes our Concubine Hui unable to leave it for a moment?" Concubine Xin was most interested in these new things. As soon as An Lingrong mentioned it, she also opened her mouth to ask for a bowl.
Meizhuang hurriedly called Caiyue to pour another bowl for Xinchang.
"It's really sweet and sour, and it makes my mouth water. After drinking this bowl, my appetite has been opened." Xin Chang drank it all in one go, and he really liked this sour plum soup.
Mei Zhuang was about to call for someone to pour more for Xin Changzai when her face suddenly turned pale. Cold sweat immediately fell on her forehead. She covered her lower abdomen and cried out in pain: "My stomach, my stomach——!"
Everyone was in a panic. The usually alert Zhen Huan threw herself beside Shen Meizhuang as if she had been frightened. "Sister Mei, Sister Mei, what's wrong with you? Don't scare Huan'er..."
"Oh, blood! She, she had her period!" Concubine Qi exclaimed in surprise when she saw a pool of blood seeping out from under Chen Meizhuang's bean green cheongsam.
Ling Rong stepped forward quickly and said, "Caiyue, Biqing, go get some eunuchs to carry me in." Then she said to the bewildered Zhen Huan, "Sister, quickly send Miss Liuzhu to the Imperial Hospital to get a doctor!"
She turned around and bowed to everyone, her face full of apology: "Now that something like this has happened in my palace, Lingrong is really scared. I hope you sisters will sit with me for a while, and we will make a decision after the emperor and empress arrive."
Then he ordered the servants to stay in one place and keep an eye on each other, not to move around freely. He also sent someone to collect the leftover dishes from the banquet, waiting for the imperial physician to come and examine them.
Now that Concubine Hui was like that, it was obvious that something was wrong with the Dragon Heir. They were all suspects present, but Pian Lingrong spoke politely, saying only that she was young and afraid, saving face for them.
Concubine Cao was the only one who had something to hide, but she couldn't be the first to speak out in such a situation, so Lingrong persuaded her to stop. Even Concubine Qi only grumbled a few words before finally following An Lingrong into the room.
"Ah... Huan'er, my stomach hurts so much... Ah!"
In the side room, Mei Zhuang's screams became increasingly shrill, piercing through the doors and windows and into the hearts of everyone present.
"Has the imperial physician not arrived yet?" The first person to speak was Concubine Fucha. A thin layer of sweat had already appeared on her neck, and she was feeling uneasy in the room.
But her character has always been like this, fierce on the outside but weak on the inside. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so scared by the ghost before.
It was a pity that they were the only outsiders here. Ling Rong and Zhen Huan were both with Mei Zhuang, and only servants were waiting in the hall.
"The imperial physician is here!" Liu Zhu pulled an old imperial physician and ran to the side hall, panting.
Soon the emperor, empress and Hua Fei also arrived.
"How is Mei'er's pregnancy?" The emperor asked Concubine Qi, who had the highest status in the hall, as soon as he came in. His tense tone showed his bad mood at the moment.
Concubine Qi was most afraid of the emperor's displeasure, and seeing this, she was so frightened that she stammered and could not answer for a long time. However, Concubine Jing, who had always remained silent, stepped forward calmly and helped Concubine Qi out of the predicament.
"I and others have been waiting here the entire time, and I don't know the situation. However, the imperial physician has already gone in, and I believe there will be a result soon."
The emperor, sitting at the head of the table, simply nodded after hearing this, his eyes constantly glancing towards the side hall.
"My child—!"
Suddenly, a shrill scream was heard in the side hall. Everyone looked at each other, and they had already guessed something in their hearts.
The emperor could no longer bear it, so he stood up and walked towards the side hall, and the others naturally followed him immediately.
Entering the side hall, everyone could smell the faint scent of blood. The imperial physician stood aside with a solemn expression. On the bed, Meizhuang lay lifeless, like a corpse. Lingrong and Zhen Huan, sitting beside the bed, both had red eyes. Just by looking at their expressions, everyone knew what had happened.
"How is the child?" The emperor was reluctant to speak, so the queen asked.
"Your Majesty and Empress, Concubine Hui...had a miscarriage." The imperial physician said this without getting up and continued kneeling in the same place.
Yinzhen felt dizzy and his head was spinning. He was already worried about the war on the front line, and now there was such an accident. It was really...
"Wasn't Consort Hui's pregnancy a good one? How could she have suddenly miscarried?" The Queen pointed out the problem directly, staring at the imperial physician with a stern gaze: "What exactly happened? Tell me now!"
"...Yes, Concubine Hui must have mistakenly taken herbs that invigorated blood circulation and dissipated blood stasis, which damaged the fetal Qi, affected the Chong and Ren meridians, and caused the fetus to lose nourishment, resulting in the termination of the pregnancy and the miscarriage of the unborn baby."
Doctor Hu felt incredibly unlucky. With so many people in the Imperial Hospital, how could they have caught him? He knew something was not right the moment he felt Concubine Hui's pulse. After hearing what Concubine An and Concubine Wan said, he almost wanted to die.
It was obvious that this involved the secret affairs of the harem, and at his age he really didn't want to get involved in this.
"Good, that's really good. I'm busy with state affairs in the front, and there's no peace in the harem either." The emperor sat there with no emotion in his deep tone, but everyone bowed down and asked the emperor to calm down.
Empress Yixiu was filled with guilt: "It is all due to my poor management that such a thing happened in the harem. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
Yinzhen was indeed somewhat disappointed with the Queen, but thinking of her sister, he pulled her up and said, "The Queen can manage the affairs of the harem, but how can she manage the hearts of the people?"
After saying that, he walked to the bed and sat down. Ling Rong and Zhen Huan on the other side hurriedly left space for them.
"Mei'er, I'm here." The man grabbed Mei Zhuang's hands and felt surprisingly cold.
"Your Majesty..." Mei Zhuang, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling, finally turned around. Seeing him close his eyes, tears immediately rolled down her cheeks. When she spoke again, it was full of bitterness: "Our child, our child is gone..."
"I know, I know everything." He gently hugged Mei Zhuang who fell into his arms.
"He was murdered, Your Majesty, he was murdered." Mei Zhuang's usually dignified face showed such an inappropriate expression for the first time.
"Don't worry, I will give our child an explanation."
After comforting Mei Zhuang, they returned to the main hall. The emperor sat there, a headache, quickly going through the possible murderers in his mind. Almost immediately, he realized that the most likely one was sitting to his right, idly playing with the beads on his wrist.
"Where are the two palace maids who served Concubine Hui?"
Since the emperor did not speak, the queen had to handle it.
Seeing that her words were not opposed by the Emperor, Yixiu immediately realized that the Emperor might give her full authority to investigate this matter. She immediately summoned Caiyue and Caixing, who were by Meizhuang's side.
"Is there anything wrong with your master's diet today?"
Caiyue and Caixing knelt on the ground and replied tremblingly, "My lady had a poor appetite this morning and only drank a mouthful of porridge. It wasn't until she attended the banquet hosted by Lady An that her appetite returned. She ate a lot of lunch and snacks... and also drank a bowl of sour plum soup."
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