Chapter 284 Extra Pregnancy
Not long after the morning court bell rang, a faint low pressure began to rise in the hall.
Emperor Zhaoning leaned against the dragon throne, one hand supporting his forehead, and he looked a little unhappy.
The ministers below the steps were reading a memorial with saliva flying all over their bodies. The content was about the repair of provincial schools in various places.
During the reign of Emperor Zhaowen, most of the money used to repair provincial schools ended up in the pockets of corrupt officials, and now many county and prefecture schools are leaking.
After Pei Jing ascended the throne, he ordered rectification in all places, but the money for the repairs had to be allocated from the national treasury and the emperor had to decide.
"How much do you need?"
The minister said, "A total of 176,000 taels."
Pei Jing nodded: "I'll ask the Queen later."
Minister: "..."
Although this answer was inappropriate, no minister dared to step forward to refute it.
It’s not that I’m submitting to the emperor’s majesty, but the main reason is that the emperor had said before that the money would be managed by the queen.
The Queen Mother is a well-known money-grubber, and no matter how much money she handles, it is never too much.
Although the Queen Mother could not read or write, she was very good at arithmetic.
He once calculated the exact amount of grain deficit three years ago in his mind in front of all the officials without using an abacus in a short moment, which shocked the Minister of Agriculture so much that his beard fell off on the spot.
From then on, no one dared to question the queen's ability to manage finances.
There's no way around it. We modern people are good at math, and the system with a calculator is very useful. Jiang Fei now knows the law of true fragrance.
But then again, the Queen hasn't come to the back palace for quite some time.
A while ago, the Empress Dowager was always accompanying the Emperor at the back of the palace. After the Emperor dismissed his court, he could see her just by turning around. She smiled more often and was easier to talk to.
But these past few days, the back hall has been so empty that it looks dusty, and the emperor looks so listless. Could it be that the couple is having a quarrel?
Just as he was thinking about it, a very light retching sound suddenly came from the dragon throne.
Censor Wang's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the memorial. He paused, pretending not to hear, and continued, "...I believe that the priority should be repairing the prefectural schools in the three Jiangnan prefectures..."
However, Emperor Zhaoning, who was sitting on the dragon throne, had a pale face and his knuckles were trembling slightly as he gripped the armrests of the throne. It was obvious that he was trying hard to suppress his discomfort.
Lu An hurriedly handed him some warm tea, but he pushed it away.
Then the sound of retching was heard again in the hall, clearer than before, and it came from Pei Jing who was sitting on the dragon throne.
The hall was silent for a moment. Several old ministers exchanged glances and saw the worry in each other's eyes.
Pei Jing took a while to relax and finally felt a little better. He raised his hand and asked the minister to continue reporting.
As a result, just as the minister opened his mouth, the third sound of retching suddenly hit everyone's ears, and the vomiting became uncontrollable.
Lu An hurriedly held the golden bowl to catch it, but Pei Jing didn't spit out anything, just a few mouthfuls of sour water.
Pei Jing regained his breath, his eyes still reddening from the physiological effects, but his voice remained steady: "It's okay, continue."
The ministers below dared not report it.
"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself!" The old censor knelt down hurriedly. "Your Majesty's health is the foundation of the country. We must not neglect it. Let the imperial physician take a look."
When he knelt, other ministers followed suit and echoed, "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself."
Pei Jing frowned and waved his hand, his voice a little hoarse from having just retched: "No need, the imperial physician already checked it yesterday."
Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, he added, "The imperial physician said there's no cure."
The old censor at the front couldn't stand steadily and knelt down on the ground, his gray beard shaking.
He grabbed the hem of the minister next to him and burst into tears, "Your Majesty! What can I do? Heaven does not bless our Great Zhao! If anything happens to you, what will happen to our country?"
As he started to cry, the eyes of several soft-hearted old ministers also turned red, and the hall was suddenly filled with wailing.
Pei Jing was given a headache by the crying. He rubbed his brows and said unhappily, "Why are you crying?"
The old censor was sobbing and gasping for breath: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is beyond treatment, how can this old minister not cry..."
"If there's no cure, then there's no cure." Pei Jing's tone was filled with helplessness. "This is morning sickness. Haven't you seen morning sickness before? What's there to cry about?"
With a "swish", the crying in the hall stopped abruptly.
The old censor opened his mouth, tears still on his face, and his whole body was as stiff as a stone statue. "Pregnancy, morning sickness?"
Taichang was still kneeling on the ground, his eyes almost popping out.
All the ministers in the hall looked at each other, all with the same thought in their minds.
The Emperor is a man! Could it be that he went crazy reviewing memorials these days and even forgot whether he is a man or a woman?
Pei Jing looked at everyone's shocked expressions, but he was in a very good mood.
He sat up straighter with the help of the armrest and said with a smile: "Yes, my queen is pregnant."
The ministers were confused. The queen was pregnant, and the emperor was suffering from morning sickness. This, this was not reasonable.
Taichang opened his mouth and said, "How could the Empress' morning sickness happen to the Emperor? Could it be that there's something wrong with the Imperial Physician's diagnosis?"
Pei Jing couldn't hide the smile on his face, and his tone was a bit boastful, "The imperial physician said that the Queen and I are in tune with each other. This is a rare fusion of qi and blood, which only happens once in a century. This is not a symptom, nor is it an abnormal phenomenon, yue——"
Pei Jing paused for a moment, then continued, "This is proof of a match made in heaven. Ancient medical texts say, 'Those deeply in love have harmonious energies and blood mingling, sharing joy and happiness.' Throughout history, Yue—there are only a handful of people who have experienced such a fate."
After he finished speaking, he didn't hear any congratulations, and he felt a little unhappy.
The main reason was that the ministers did not dare to be happy too soon. Although the emperor had not been ill for a long time, there was no guarantee that it was not hysteria.
Fortunately, Lu An was smart and said loudly: "The imperial physician said that the queen is two months pregnant."
Then this is not the emperor's hysteria.
The ministers finally woke up from their dream and quickly followed suit, shouting, "Your Majesty, we congratulate you! Your Majesty! The Emperor and Empress are of one mind, and auspicious signs have descended from heaven. This is a blessing for Dazhao and for all the people!"
At this time, Jiang Fei was sitting on the soft couch by the window, with a full food box next to her, containing fruits, snacks and all kinds of food.
Ever since the diagnosis of pregnancy, Pei Jing was afraid that she would be hungry. He wished that all the delicious food in the world would be brought to her, and the kitchen was on standby at all times.
She was shaking her feet to help digest her food when she saw Lu An carefully supporting Pei Jing as they walked in.
Pei Jing's face was pale, and even his usually straight back looked a little droopy. It was obvious that he had just vomited again and was in great pain.
"Ouch!" Jiang Fei quickly stood up from the couch, "Hurry, hurry, help him lie down."
As he spoke, he quickly moved the food box away to prevent Pei Jing from vomiting when he smelled it.
Lu An helped Pei Jing lie down. Jiang Fei hurried over and covered Pei Jing with a thin blanket. She held his hand and asked, "Are you feeling uncomfortable? Did you vomit again? Why are you so pale?"
Pei Jing met her concerned eyes, and his churning stomach seemed to ease a little. He shook his head dejectedly, "What about you?"
Jiang Fei is doing great. Being pregnant is amazing. She can eat and sleep well, and she hasn't had her period yet.
"I had a big bowl of porridge and half a plate of snacks this morning."
Pei Jing was happy and smiled, but his face was still a little pale, and he frowned and felt like vomiting again.
Jiang Fei: "Quick, bring the pickled plums."
Jiu Tao came in quickly, carrying a small plate with gold decorations. Jiang Fei picked up a piece and put it to his lips. "Look at you, I'm pregnant, why are you the one suffering?"
Pei Jing put it in his mouth and said weakly, "I'm glad I can feel bad for you."
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