...
When Jing Yan returned to the East Palace, he happened to run into Shang Yu, who was being invited back to Yichun Palace by Qing Fei. Because Yue Jiang was invited to the inner palace and was not there, he left empty-handed.
Jing Yan thought about how Yue Jiang had been behaving herself for many days and nights, which was really unlike her personality. When he saw Shang Yu, he couldn't help but worry that Yue Jiang might have fallen ill.
He stopped Shang Yu and Qing Fei, who was seeing Shang Yu off, and questioned, "Is the Crown Princess ill?"
Qingfei was nervous; she couldn't decide whether to reveal the information or not, so she lowered her head tremblingly.
Shang Yu wasn't afraid of Jing Yan at all. When she saw Granny Ye earlier, she heard her speak with a cheerful expression, leading her to speculate that the Crown Princess must be pregnant after so much time had passed.
He said mysteriously, "Your Highness, you'll know once you find the Crown Princess."
...
It was already afternoon. In addition to admiring various varieties of chrysanthemums, the Longevity Hall also prepared chrysanthemum cakes and chrysanthemum tea for people to taste.
To show that she was enjoying chrysanthemum appreciation today, Empress Dowager Zheng had prepared pastries, which involved complicated procedures, in advance, but the tea was made individually by palace attendants in front of each person.
Guests can watch firsthand how a cup of tea is made.
A bowl of chrysanthemum tea was being served to Yue Jiang. The chrysanthemum aroma was strong, and after being crushed, it had a slightly bitter taste that lingered in Yue Jiang's nose for a long time.
Before long, she felt nauseous, her head throbbed, and she felt like vomiting.
"I won't drink it for now, so please don't make it."
Suppressing her inner turmoil, Yue Jiang waved her hand to stop the palace maid who was making tea beside her.
Zheng Yutong, who was opposite Yue Jiang, noticed what was happening on Yue Jiang's side. She lowered her eyes and continued to stare at the tea in front of her, making it together with the little palace maid who was making the tea.
After everyone's tea drinks were prepared and they had started to enjoy them, Yuejiang picked up some pastries that didn't have a strong flavor and ate them.
During the meal, Zheng Yutong brought the freshly made tea to Empress Dowager Zheng. The two exchanged words, and Empress Dowager Zheng frequently glanced at Yue Jiang.
Then, she murmured in doubt, "So fast?"
Feeling uneasy, Empress Dowager Zheng was distracted throughout the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet she had prepared for herself, and everyone gradually went outside the palace to admire the flowers.
Zheng Yutong helped Zheng Taihou to the pavilion, where it was quiet.
Zheng Yutong noticed that Empress Dowager Zheng was clearly preoccupied. She blinked lightly and continued the initial topic, her words filled with countless disappointments.
"If that's true, then Yutong is hopeless."
Empress Dowager Zheng snapped back to reality and turned around to scold, "Don't talk nonsense. The matter of offspring is all about luck. I got to where I am today by luck. Now that man is staying at home, I'm still sitting here."
"That girl from the Cheng family was expelled from the palace, yet you still attended my chrysanthemum banquet in good spirits. How can you so easily lose your composure?"
Zheng Yutong admitted her mistake: "My great-aunt's advice was right."
"However," Empress Dowager Zheng said, glancing at Consort Zheng, who was leading Jingning to admire the flowers, and Empress Ye, who was leading Jingyi to admire the flowers, before returning to her own words.
“Look at your aunt, your worries are justified. I was lucky to have shared the hardships with the late emperor. Even though she was his first wife, he didn’t have much affection for her, and they didn’t even have any children.”
"Yet she occupies a position unnecessarily and is annoying. If she hadn't been bothering me for so long and even tried to steal my son, how could I have..."
Bang!
Empress Dowager Zheng seemed to recall some past events, and she slammed her hand on the table, startling even Zheng Yutong, who quickly patted the back of Empress Dowager Zheng's hand to comfort her.
"Great-aunt, what's wrong?"
Realizing she had overreacted, Empress Dowager Zheng quickly regained her composure and shook her head, saying, "I'm fine, I was just thinking about something unlucky."
After speaking, she turned her gaze back to Yue Jiang, who was standing on the other side of Empress Ye, and began to plot.
"Yue Jiang is a princess of Yue Kingdom, and her position as crown princess should not be easily shaken. However, if a princess of a country has difficulty conceiving, Yue Kingdom has no reason not to allow the child of our Jing Kingdom's crown prince to be born from another woman's womb."
"In the future, a mother's status will depend on the children she gives birth to."
Empress Dowager Zheng touched Zheng Yutong's palm, giving a meaningful hint.
“Grandmother, you’re speaking too soon. What if the Crown Princess has already…” Zheng Yutong lowered her head shyly, her voice filled with bitterness.
Empress Dowager Zheng said confidently, "What's there to be afraid of? She has never given birth before, and it's difficult to detect when she's first pregnant. Even I didn't know I was pregnant with His Majesty until more than two months into the pregnancy."
"Babies with shallow gestation are the most dangerous. A small accident could not only kill the baby, but also leave them with a chronic illness."
"Right now, nobody knows if she's pregnant or not. If something happens, who can be blamed?"
Empress Dowager Zheng made up her mind and muttered to herself.
"I said I'd send the Crown Princess a pot of flowers, but I've forgotten which kind she likes. Could you ask her for me?"
"There are many people today, and it's easy to slip and fall while walking around. The pool in my palace is also very large, and it would be bad if you fell in."
Zheng Yutong listened attentively to her great-aunt's words, then turned to look outside the pavilion. Because there were many guests today, the number of palace maids serving them had doubled.
Every so often, a group of palace maids would carry water and food back and forth. If there was any trouble, it was inevitable that someone would fall into the pond and be frightened.
Zheng Yutong immediately understood her great-aunt's words. Her eyes flashed with a strange light, and she also looked at Yue Jiang before replying.
"My great-aunt's little cat was pampered and raised, and it had never seen so many people before. It was inevitable that it would be startled and jump on people when it came out. The Crown Princess just had an accident."
Immediately, Zheng Yutong got up and walked towards Yue Jiang. Yue Jiang and Empress Ye were enjoying the flowers when someone called out from behind. Yue Jiang turned around in response.
"Cousin Yutong, is something the Empress Dowager Zheng has to do?"
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