"Your Majesty, there's news from the Cining Palace that the Empress Dowager is unwell and wants you to attend to her..."
During the third month of her pregnancy, Liu Ruyue was busy doing business with the concubines in the harem. When she heard the palace maid come to report, she didn't even raise her head and said impatiently:
"If you feel unwell, go find the imperial physician. I don't know any medical skills, so why are you coming to me?"
Really, can't you see that she is busy integrating the resources in the harem, preparing to expand the Liu family's business across the country, making it stronger and bigger, and making her own wallet fatter?
The person who came to help Empress Dowager Shen pass on the message was an old friend from the Cining Palace. Perhaps because he had received a lot of benefits, he clearly saw that Liu Ruyue was getting impatient, but he still finished what the Empress Dowager had told him to say:
"Empress, the Queen Mother has a stomachache..."
The palace maid who delivered the message didn't know why the Empress Dowager Cixi said this out of the blue: Stomachache means you have eaten something bad, can't you just call the imperial physician to see it?
Why bother the Queen?
However, she took a lot of things from Empress Dowager Shen, so she could only help to convey the message.
The Kunning Palace where the Empress lived was protected by the Emperor with such force that not even a mosquito could get in.
If the Empress had not happened to be talking to the concubines in the Imperial Garden today, she might not even have been able to see the Empress.
Liu Ruyue didn't want to pay attention to Shen at first, but when she heard her mention her belly, she was very curious about what she would do.
She looked at the concubines with an apologetic look on her face and said, "Sisters, please stay together for now. I'm going to go see the Empress Dowager..."
Since Liu Ruyue said so, the concubines didn't dare to ask to go along, so they could only watch Liu Ruyue lead the palace maids away.
Arriving at the Cining Palace, Liu Ruyue walked straight in.
Seeing Empress Dowager Shen sitting there drinking tea, she didn't show any surprise at all.
Empress Dowager Shen was just testing the waters, but when she saw that the Queen showed no surprise, she felt that she must know that she was pregnant.
So, he looked at Luo Sheng and Luo Shu with disdain, and said to Liu Ruyue, "Tell them to leave. I have something to tell you."
Liu Ruyue was curious about what shameless words Shen could say, so she gave an order to Luo Sheng and Luo Shu.
Her well-behaved appearance made Shen feel that she had Liu Ruyue firmly under her control, and she felt very proud.
"Your Majesty..."
After experiencing what happened last time, Luo Sheng and Luo Shu were worried that the Empress Dowager would go crazy again after they left.
However, the master Liu Ruyue had a serious face and ordered the two to leave.
Seeing that the Queen even scolded her personal maid because of her words, Empress Dowager Shen's eyes became even more arrogant.
However, as soon as Liu Ruyue turned her head, she pointed at Jie Ling, who was standing behind the Empress Dowager Cixi, and said, "Empress Dowager Cixi, since all the maids in this palace have retired, why are you still keeping this lowly servant?"
When the Empress Dowager heard Liu Ruyue pointing at Jie Ling and calling her a slave girl, she was furious and immediately shouted, "Shut up! He's your majesty's uncle!"
"uncle?"
"Your Majesty's uncle?"
Liu Ruyue's face was filled with shock. She stared at Jie Ling, who was dressed as a maid, and her voice trembled. "How could there be men in the harem? Isn't this a promiscuous harem?"
"Shut up!"
The Empress Dowager Cixi didn't expect Liu Ruyue to react so strongly. She shouted, "If it weren't for your Majesty's uncle, how could I have conceived a child? How could your Majesty have an heir?"
"W-what?"
Liu Ruyue took several steps back like a frightened weak woman. Finally, she managed to stand firmly by holding on to the table in the room.
Pointing at Jie Ling and then at the Empress Dowager, his eyes widened as he asked in shock, "Pregnant? You're pregnant? The late emperor has been gone for almost ten years, and you're still pregnant?"
Seeing Liu Ruyue's reaction, even the dumbest Empress Dowager could tell something was wrong.
Frowning, he turned to Liu Ruyue and asked, "Didn't His Majesty tell you that I'm pregnant?"
Liu Ruyue still had her eyes wide open, and she shook her head in a daze, looking a little overly frightened.
Seeing Liu Ruyue shaking her head, Empress Dowager Shen couldn't help but feel a little flustered: "Then who did Your Majesty find to bear your child?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Liu Ruyue's already round eyes widened even wider.
Empress Dowager Shen was a little anxious, worried that Liu Ruyue didn't understand, so she asked directly, "Your Majesty is unable to have children. Whose child are you planning to adopt as the future Crown Prince?"
"Since, I am pregnant..."
Liu Ruyue seemed to be frightened and her speech was stuttering.
However, Empress Dowager Shen was instantly relieved after hearing this answer. As long as she didn't hold someone else's child, it was good.
She chuckled and said to Liu Ruyue, "Get pregnant on your own? Haha! Even the emperor can't make anyone pregnant, so what are you getting pregnant with?"
Empress Dowager Shen, with a smug look on her face, walked up to Liu Ruyue and sneered, "Liu, it's not that I look down on you, but by marrying the emperor, you're destined to be a hen that can't lay eggs for the rest of your life..."
"If you behave well and persuade the emperor to take the child in my womb and raise him as the future crown prince, I'll still have something to rely on in this life. Otherwise..."
After all, she was an old woman who had been working in the harem for decades. A glance from Empress Dowager Shen was enough to frighten Liu Ruyue so much that she trembled with fear.
Seeing this, Empress Dowager Shen was even more satisfied: "Liu, you are also lucky to marry the emperor of Beigan.
But, this person's fate is already determined. You can marry in, but you are destined not to have children.
Haha, this is fate!
Just like me, I was just a little palace maid in the Forbidden City, but I was favored by the late emperor and even gave birth to a child.
I never took care of the child for a single day after he was born, but luckily, the child became the emperor, and I became the empress dowager.
Haha, it’s fate!
Ms. Liu, I have something to advise you. If you want to be close to the fetus in my belly and if you want to live a good life in the future, you should come to serve me every day.
As a daughter-in-law, how can I not serve my mother-in-law..."
"Shut up!!"
Just as Empress Dowager Shen was speaking excitedly, a loud shout was heard, and then Xuanyuan Yunche was seen striding towards them.
Seeing his daughter sitting on the ground and retching, he immediately went up to her nervously and asked, "Yue'er, are you suffering from morning sickness?"
Liu Ruyue looked at Empress Dowager Shen with her eyes blurred by tears from retching, and finally said, "No, I'm just disgusted!"
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Yunche understood instantly and immediately glared at Empress Dowager Shen.
Empress Dowager Shen was bewildered by Xuanyuan Yunche's words. "Your Majesty, you're concerned about the wrong person. Even if there's morning sickness, it should be me. How could a hen that doesn't lay eggs suffer from morning sickness?"
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