After recovering from her illness, Liu Shushu resumed her daily morning and evening greetings in the palace.
On this day, the imperial concubines came to pay their respects, and even Qingying rarely showed her face.
Liu Shushu had been ill for a long time, and today she looked rather haggard, but her smile remained gentle and kind as she sat upright on the phoenix chair.
She first asked Qingying, "Is my sister feeling any better these days?"
"It's a bit better, it's just an old ailment, sister, don't worry about it."
Qingying was sitting to her left, dressed in a light blue palace gown. Her face was slightly made up, but her illness was still faintly visible. Yet, she was still breathtakingly beautiful.
He was truly like the reincarnation of the sickly beauty Xi Shi.
Consort Li said, "I haven't asked why Her Majesty the Empress suddenly fell ill and wouldn't let us visit her. It worried me for many days. Fortunately, she has recovered now."
Liu Shushu smiled and said, "I caught a cold last night and was afraid of passing on my illness to my sisters, so I didn't allow them to visit me. But after resting for so many days, I'm finally fully recovered."
"Your Majesty is so considerate of us. We all hope you will recover and continue to manage the inner palace." As she said this, she deliberately glanced at Xie Shiyu.
She thought to herself, "Now that the Empress has returned, Consort Wan should finally relinquish her power to assist in managing the inner palace."
They were both granted titles at the same time, and her background was not much worse than hers. She was also much more beautiful than her, yet she was given power. How could she not be angry?
Xie Shiyu seemed oblivious to her gaze, calmly offering her congratulations to the Empress without mentioning the matter of returning power to the harem.
She was just waiting for the Empress to bring it up herself.
However, to everyone's surprise, Liu Shushu did not mention it once until the event ended.
After leaving Fengqi Palace, Xie Shiyu followed Qingying back to Baoyi Palace.
"His Majesty intends to betroth Sister Ying to Prince Yu's heir."
Qingying's hand, holding the teacup, trembled slightly. "What did you say?"
“The Prince Yu’s son has made great contributions to flood control. Earlier, the Emperor made a decree in the palace to bestow a marriage upon him. There are not many noble ladies in the capital who meet the requirements.”
There are very few noble ladies in the capital who meet the criteria of being worthy of the noble status of Prince Yu's heir and not escaping the emperor's control.
The Xie family's rapid rise to power after the new emperor's ascension was naturally due to their loyalty to the emperor. Furthermore, Xie Jiaoying was on good terms with her, and Wei Huaixu's actions were not only intended to sow discord between the sisters, but also to sever her ties with Wei Dongchen.
Qingying was almost laughing in anger. "What a petty and narrow-minded man!"
Xie Shiyu sighed, "In that case, I'm afraid your relationship with Sister Ying will be..."
"She won't hold these things against me."
It wasn't that she trusted Xie Jiaoying that much, but rather that she already knew she was about to die and wouldn't get in her way.
The dead always find the greatest solace.
Xie Shiyu looked at her, pursed her lips, and ultimately said nothing.
"I heard that the Emperor has been favoring Consort Jiang these past two days?" Qingying changed the subject.
"Yes," Xie Shiyu replied.
Why didn't she show up today?
"They said they twisted their ankle while getting up in the middle of the night and couldn't walk anymore."
Qingying frowned slightly and didn't ask any more questions.
Consort Jiang was Wei Yinqiu's person, but on the surface she belonged to the Empress's faction, and she had almost no contact with Qingying in the palace.
Thinking of this, she looked out the window, where a withered yellow leaf swayed gently in the wind and easily twirled down.
It's late autumn again.
"The year is almost up, and it's time for the princess to return."
"yes."
Xie Shiyu took a sip of tea and smiled faintly, "Someone has to stir up this mess in the capital."
...
Wei Yinqiu gave birth to a daughter smoothly at Yunshan Temple. The next day, she received an imperial edict to return to the capital. She was not in a hurry and waited until she had finished her postpartum confinement before packing her luggage and taking her child back to Yongning Residence in the capital.
The first thing she did upon returning to the capital was to hold a grand full-moon celebration for her daughter.
Discussions arose in the city.
"The grass on the Song family's grave must be a meter high by now. The princess has finally returned to the capital, and instead of keeping a low profile, she has to hold a full moon banquet at this time?"
"She thought she was still the glorious Princess Yongning she once was, but little did she know that the capital had already changed."
"Yes, her feast is destined to go cold."
...
Everyone was waiting to see her make a fool of herself, but on that day, she was slapped in the face!
The Emperor himself attended the full moon celebration at Yongning Residence and even wrote a name for the child – Wei Wenying.
The name signifies gentleness, elegance, and beauty, and the fact that it was bestowed with the imperial surname demonstrates its high regard.
In addition, Jin Heng not only came to offer his congratulations, but also brought eight cartloads of lavish gifts. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was coming to propose marriage.
Suddenly, the whole city was in turmoil again.
Meanwhile, things were not peaceful in the palace.
"Is the Empress pregnant?"
Upon hearing this news, Qingying was taken aback.
Tong Xia said, "It has been more than two months. Today, His Majesty went to Fengqi Palace as soon as he finished court."
Qingying rubbed her throbbing temples. "...He should naturally go and see him."
Perhaps because her life was nearing its end, she had come to terms with many things.
She no longer clings to trying to keep anyone, because she knows that those who want to leave can't be kept no matter what.
The news of Liu Shushu's pregnancy spread throughout the palace in less than half a day. Some people were happy, while others were not.
Du Jieyu, who had just lost her child, was consumed by jealousy.
"My child was gone without a sound. It probably won't be easy for her to give birth to this child safely in this cannibalistic palace." She murmured to herself, staring at the broken hair on the wooden comb in her hand.
Although the emperor bestowed many rewards upon her to appease her and even promoted her rank, she never had the opportunity to serve the emperor in bed again after becoming a Jieyu, and the emperor never visited her palace even once.
She has almost gone mad.
But she didn't expect that Liu Shushu in Fengqi Palace didn't intend to keep the child.
After seeing off Wei Huaixu, who had come to visit, she immediately dismissed everyone in the hall.
She calculated the time, and it was absolutely correct—this child was Liu Chengfeng's! Having studied medicine, she naturally understood the consequences of consanguineous marriage.
This child absolutely cannot be kept!
But she was reluctant to easily lose the child she had finally conceived. After a moment of contemplation, she felt that she should make good use of the situation and let the child die a worthy death.
Liu Shushu touched her lower abdomen and said softly, "Child, don't blame your mother for being heartless. It's just that you shouldn't have come at this time."
Upon hearing the news, Liu Chengfeng was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan and immediately ordered someone to send a letter to the palace.
He tentatively inquired whether the child was the result of that day.
After receiving an affirmative answer, I had mixed feelings.
He didn't know how to describe it. He knew that what he was doing with his own sister was incest, something that the world could not tolerate, but he couldn't control his heart from getting closer to her. At this moment, he even felt a little smug.
He admitted that he had become somewhat perverted, but what's done is done, and he knew there was no turning back.
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