Qiu Yan could clearly feel that her life had improved a lot recently.
She was a palace maid who was pushed out by Consort Tong to gain favor. She was of low status and served the emperor without any official title until she became pregnant, at which point she barely received the title of Gege (a lower-ranking concubine).
Consort Tong was neither particularly kind nor unkind to her, and her days in Chengqian Palace were alright.
But recently, she could clearly feel that the servants around her were more attentive, her food was more refined, and the fabric of her clothes was much better than before.
Most importantly, Consort Tong has been summoning him more often lately, and she often says ambiguous things in her conversations.
Although Qiu Yan wasn't particularly clever, she could still guess what Tong Fujin meant. Could it be that she was going to...?
This suspicion in her heart was not a good thing for Qiu Yan. Because of it, she had trouble sleeping for several nights, and the thought often flashed through her mind.
Two months passed in this anxious state. When Qiu Yan was five months pregnant, Tong Yu Rou summoned an imperial physician to examine her pulse, but the result was not optimistic.
Qiu Yan was also pregnant with a daughter, which was not good news for Tong Yurou. Daughters were not valuable in the palace and would inevitably be married off to Mongolia in the future.
Risking the crime of deceiving the emperor, she tried to secretly switch the baby with the real one, only to find out it was just her daughter. Tong Yurou felt only disappointment.
Qiu Yan was relieved. She was afraid that Tong Fujin might do something for the sake of the child, but after the imperial physician examined her pulse today, Tong Fujin's attitude returned to what it was before.
This made Qiu Yan breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that Tong Fujin had given up some of her ideas, so she was safe.
That night, when her hopes were dashed, Tong Yurou tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Tong Yurou kept stroking her belly, sighing repeatedly, wondering why she wasn't carrying a son.
Only those who give birth to princes have a chance to inherit the throne. What use are princesses? After they marry into Mongolia, it's difficult to even see them. Raising one is almost the same as not raising one at all.
Knowing through Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's people that Tong Yurou had summoned the imperial physician, Yunyi knew that the time she had been waiting for had come.
After waking up from a nap, Tong Yurou regained her energy.
She is an extremely strong-willed person; if one plan fails, she stops dwelling on it.
Fortunately, she was still young. Even if she couldn't have a son this time, there was still a chance next time. This was the only way Tong Yurou could comfort herself and calm her disappointment.
In the evening, I took my usual walk in my yard. Although it wasn't my son, these prenatal tasks were necessary to ensure a smooth delivery.
Walking around more during pregnancy will make childbirth smoother, according to what Tong Yurou heard from her nanny.
For her own health and to be able to get pregnant as soon as possible after giving birth, Tong Yurou naturally needs to take good care of herself this time.
After their walk, they returned to their room, where Qiulan brought them a bowl of medicine to help with pregnancy and some pastries that she had just brought from the imperial kitchen.
Ancient Chinese medicine soups didn't taste good, so every time Tong Yurou drank the medicine to prevent miscarriage, she would eat a few pieces of pastry to cover up the bitterness in her mouth.
After swallowing the pregnancy-stabilizing medicine in one gulp with a death-defying attitude, Qiulan handed over some pastries. Tong Yurou stuffed several pieces into her mouth to barely cover up the strange taste.
After eating the pastries, Tong Yurou suddenly realized that something was wrong.
After she ate a few pieces of the pastry, a note appeared underneath them.
Her heart tightened. For no apparent reason, someone had suddenly passed her a note. Tong Yurou knew this was probably something big.
Fortunately, there weren't many people serving inside the hall, and they were quite far away, so only Tong Yurou and Qiulan saw the note.
The master and servant exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes, and sharing the same thought.
It seems that the person who passed the note is very powerful, even in a place like the imperial kitchen, and she went to great lengths to do this, so her ambitions must be very large.
Using the excuse of needing to rest, Tong Yurou dismissed all the servants serving in the palace, and Qiulan also tactfully withdrew.
Clever palace maids know to do more and observe less; knowing too much is not good for them.
After everyone had left, Tong Yurou checked the note with a strange feeling.
As Tong Yurou skimmed through the text, she became increasingly alarmed.
Before reading the note, she had been wondering for a long time who this person was.
Tong Yurou had guessed all the concubines in the palace, and even the late emperor's concubines, but she never expected that this person would be her!
In Tong Yurou's mind, this person had always been an arrogant and brainless idiot. She never expected that after half a year of silence, she would appear in front of her in this way.
Her impression of that person completely changed. Tong Yurou held the small note and looked at it repeatedly, her mind filled with those words.
She had to admit that she was tempted. These were exactly the words that were troubling her at the moment, and it would be wonderful if they could resolve the issue.
But Tong Yurou was also afraid, afraid that this was a bombshell, and she couldn't bear any possibility that would lead to the disappointment of her wishes.
Tong Yurou was torn between her inner thoughts and her own, and after thinking for a long time with her head down, she finally made up her mind.
Perhaps she is bold at heart, unlike her delicate appearance.
However, it's understandable. The fact that she dared to deceive everyone and switch the children proves that she is not a coward.
Tong Yurou tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep. With her worries weighing on her mind, she finally drifted off to sleep in the middle of the night.
Having not slept well for two consecutive nights, Tong Yurou had dark circles under her eyes, which surprised Qiulan when she was dressing her mistress in the morning.
This is a huge matter! Look at the master, it seems like he hasn't slept all night.
Although she was curious and doubtful, Qiulan was able to calmly suppress these emotions, which was the instinct of a palace maid in the deep palace who wanted to survive.
After applying some rouge to cover the dark circles under her eyes, Qiulan combed her mistress's hair into a small bun, then changed her into loose clothes, thus completing her morning grooming routine.
Today, since she didn't have to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, Tong Yurou had plenty of free time. After leisurely having breakfast, she took only two or three palace maids with her and went out, supported by Qiulan.
While seemingly wandering aimlessly, Tong Yurou actually had a destination in mind. She strolled along, then leisurely made her way towards the Frost Moon Palace where Yun Yi was.
As they approached their destination, Tong Yurou gave Qiulan a subtle wink, which Qiulan immediately understood.
It was the end of the year, the coldest season of the year. When she went out, Tong Yurou specifically instructed Qiulan not to let her bring a cloak. Now she could use this as an excuse to get rid of the palace maids who were serving her.
When only Qiulan was left by her side, Tong Yurou told her to stay there and watch the wind, while she walked into the bamboo forest.
Next to Frost Moon Palace, where Yunyi lives, there is a bamboo forest that existed since the previous dynasty, but because of its remote location, few people know about it.
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