The next day, the Fourth Prince went to his wife's place early in the morning, a conclusion he reached after not sleeping well for most of the previous night. He was going to deliver contraceptive soup to Lady Yehe; in short, his infatuation with her body was really a bit strange.
The Princess Consort hadn't seen the Fourth Prince come to the main courtyard at this time for a long time, so she didn't react for a moment. When she saw the Fourth Prince enter the main room, she immediately went up to him and said, "Has Your Highness had breakfast?"
The Fourth Prince stopped at a suitable distance from his wife, then walked around her and said, "I've eaten. I've come to discuss something with my wife."
Seeing the Fourth Prince's serious expression, the Princess Consort immediately dropped her "concern" and adopted the demeanor of a magnanimous and proper Princess Consort. She turned around and followed the Fourth Prince to the main couch, where she sat down across the couch from him.
"Madam, the next day, whenever the master goes to Lady Ye's place, you should personally supervise the delivery of the contraceptive soup. The master does not want Lady Yehe to be pregnant." The Fourth Prince cleared his throat and said this.
The wife was surprised that the Fourth Prince had come so early in the morning just to say such a thing. She also knew that the Fourth Prince had gone to see Yehe Shi as soon as he returned last night.
Seeing that his wife didn't seem to understand at first, the Fourth Prince asked, "Does your wife have any objections?"
The princess consort was momentarily confused about what the fourth prince meant, so she interjected, "Your Highness doesn't have many children to begin with, so why should Lady Yehe drink contraceptive soup? Please enlighten me, Your Highness!"
The Fourth Prince seemed to have anticipated what his wife would say, and said, "The Holy Ancestor said that women of the Yehe clan would never enter the harem. So in recent years, not a single woman of the Yehe clan has entered the harem. Most of the women of marriageable age who were kept were given to members of the imperial clan. Now, Yehe is still young, and I do not want her to get pregnant for the time being. Let's wait and see."
This reason is barely acceptable, but why did the Fourth Master come to me this morning to say such a thing after his crazy London affair with Yehe last night?
Seeing that the Fourth Prince was determined, the First Lady, although she herself did not want other women to have children with him, only expressed her duty as the primary wife on the surface and quickly agreed.
Fourth Master said a few more words about Hongshi's affairs, then left in a hurry, seemingly unwilling to stay even a moment longer.
Lingxiu watched as the Fujin sat blankly on the main couch, and carefully approached her, saying, "Fujin, why is the master treating Yehe Shi like this? Doesn't he dote on her?"
The Fujin seemed not to have heard Lingxiu's words, and just said blankly, "Look how fast he walks, as if he doesn't want to stay in the main courtyard for even a moment longer."
Lingxiu was stunned for a moment, but she didn't know how to comfort her, so she could only say, "Madam, let me go with you to get breakfast."
The princess consort came to her senses and said, "Go and prepare a contraceptive soup immediately and send it to Lady Yehe. Since the master doesn't want her to be pregnant, there's nothing I can do."
Seeing that the Fujin's expression was displeased, Lingxiu immediately agreed and turned to go out to prepare the contraceptive soup.
Yehe clansmen sent Yulu out to serve them early in the morning under some pretext, which caused Yulu to yell and curse at the door of the Peach Blossom and Lotus House before crying and returning to her own room.
Yuhen tried to comfort Yehe, but Yehe insisted on letting Taohua come into the house to serve her and refused to mention Yulu again.
When Lingxiu, accompanied by a maid, entered Yeheshi's room carrying a red-bottomed black lacquered tray and a bowl of contraceptive soup, Yeheshi was sitting on the couch reading a book.
"This servant greets Your Highness!" Lingxiu entered the room and stepped forward to greet you.
"It's Lingxiu. Why are you here so early in the morning? Did the Fujin give you some instructions?" Yehe glanced at the two of them and noticed that the little maid was carrying a bowl of soup, which made her feel a little uneasy.
"Yes, the Fujin instructed me to bring the contraceptive soup to the Princess and ask her to drink it immediately. This was what the Master told the Fujin personally when he came to the main courtyard this morning. From now on, the Princess must drink the contraceptive soup every time she finishes serving the Master," Lingxiu said, word by word.
These words struck like a bolt from the blue, instantly silencing the entire room. Yehe Shi sat there, speechless, seemingly still lost in the echoes of Lingxiu's words.
Yuhen and Taohua looked at Lingxiu with surprise.
"Please take the contraceptive soup immediately, Princess. I will return to report!" Lingxiu said again when she saw that Yehe remained silent.
Seeing that Yehe Shi did not move, Yuhen had no choice but to step forward and carefully persuade her, "Princess, perhaps the master is worried that you are too young to get pregnant. Why don't you take care of your health first, and ask the master for help when the time is right?"
Knowing she couldn't avoid it, Yehe Shi had no choice but to accept the bowl of dark, medicinal soup that the maid brought to her. As soon as she brought the soup to her lips, she smelled the bitterness of Chinese medicine, and a wave of nausea washed over her.
"Princess!" Yuhen called out.
Yehe suppressed her humiliation, held her breath, brought the bowl of medicine to her lips, and drank it down in one gulp.
Lingxiu watched as Yehe Shi drank the bowl of medicine with a fierce expression, and she couldn't help but feel a little admiration for Yehe Shi.
"This servant takes her leave; I must return to report to the Fujin!" Lingxiu said, bowing.
“Sister Lingxiu, wait a moment! May I ask why Master thought of giving our princess this contraceptive soup?” Peach Blossom asked boldly when she saw Yehe’s blank expression.
"This servant doesn't know. Perhaps when Consort Ye goes to pay her respects to the Princess Consort, she can ask her herself," Lingxiu said, then bowed and turned to leave.
Suddenly, Yehe Shi stood up, rushed into her room, crawled onto the bed, and began to weep. She had hoped that with the Fourth Prince's frequent visits, she could conceive soon and have someone to rely on in the future, but today the Fourth Prince wouldn't even give her that hope.
"How I hate it! How I hate it!" These were the only two words in Yehe's heart! Originally, the fact that the Fourth Prince had taken her so tenderly yesterday had already made Yehe feel uncomfortable. Now, this contraceptive soup tonight had shattered all of Yehe's expectations.
"Princess, please don't cry. Why don't you go and ask the Princess Consort what happened and why she gave you that drink?" Yuhen came in and comforted her.
“What’s the use of asking the Fujin? Didn’t you say it was the master’s idea?” Yehe said, sobbing.
“We still need to figure that out. There’s no use in the princess just crying,” Yuhen said.
“Yes, Gegemo is crying. Why don’t we go and pay our respects to the Fujin and ask her what happened?” Peach Blossom also advised from the side.
As Yehe Shi cried, she felt aggrieved, so she got up and said, "Alright, go and pay your respects to the Fujin."
She didn't even realize that she had used that shady thing on the Fourth Prince, and now he was giving her a contraceptive potion. It was all her own fault.
So, two maids helped Yehe Shi comb her hair and touch up her makeup, and then helped her to the main courtyard.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
