Chapter 199 Empress Cheng is really ill
When Empress Cheng came out of her palace, Granny Xi and Granny Wang rushed forward to greet her with concern, "Your Majesty, are you alright?"
She walked silently down the quiet corridor. Granny Xi quickly took a clean cloak and draped it over her shoulders, then went to help her. "Your Highness, please slow down. Be careful of the slippery path. Your dress is all wet. How are your legs? Let's take a carriage!"
Empress Cheng didn't know whether to be happy or sad. When Su Tingwan told her the news, she felt a sense of relief, as if she had gotten revenge. Every cell in her body was alive with excitement. Her son would become emperor, and she could finally hold her head high.
She had suffered injustice for over twenty years, but she had the last laugh. She didn't love the Emperor, and she didn't care whether he favored Su Qingqing or not. But just now, when she saw the Emperor's cold and piercing eyes, a pang of pain shot through her heart.
The emperor even personally told her that he wanted to make his son the crown prince.
Empress Cheng fell ill as soon as she returned to Kunning Palace. This time, she was truly ill, burning with fever that wouldn't go down. Granny Xi and Granny Wang stayed by her side all night, but the fever didn't subside. The imperial physician also stayed by her side, busy taking her pulse and preparing medicine, so busy that he was dizzy.
Jiang Fenghua only received the news of the Empress's illness the next morning. After returning from the Qianqing Palace, she didn't want to go out anymore because it was too cold, and she felt like her bones were frozen.
When Xu Mama saw that she had finished washing up and was about to go to Kunning Palace, she quickly stopped her, "Have breakfast first. The Empress is ill and you may have to take care of her again. How can the Princess Consort, who is heavily pregnant, endure all that trouble? Now is the most critical time, and she cannot go hungry."
"I'll have breakfast first before I go," Jiang Fenghua said, heeding the advice. Her stomach would feel uncomfortable if she didn't eat anything in the morning, and the two little ones needed more and more nutrition now, so she couldn't run around anymore. It was also because the Empress was ill that she, as the daughter-in-law, had to go.
Upon arriving at the entrance of Kunning Palace, Jiang Fenghua was stopped by Granny Wang, who said, "Your Highness, please go back and rest. We servants are here."
"What's wrong with Mother? Is she seriously ill?"
Granny Wang frowned. "She's quite ill. Her fever only subsided this morning, and Her Highness has woken up, but she won't speak. I was afraid that Her Highness's illness would spread to the Princess, so I took it upon myself to inform Her Highness. If the Princess stops you from going back to rest and recuperate..."
Granny Wang knew the Empress's temper, and fortunately she listened to advice and did not deliberately make things difficult for the Princess.
Jiang Fenghua remembered that last night she told the Empress and Granny Wang that the Emperor would not punish them, and then she returned to Chenxi Palace.
She thought: The Emperor is in a bad mood, so Empress Cheng shouldn't go looking for trouble.
She asked, "Did Your Majesty fall ill after returning last night?"
Granny Wang didn't hide anything from her, "After the Princess left, Her Highness was originally supposed to return to the palace, but she went to see the Emperor again. She came out not long after, and then she stopped talking. We don't know what the Emperor and Her Highness said to each other. Her Highness has never been like this before. After she came back, we servants helped her to bed. It was only when I went to clean Her Highness's wet clothes that I found that her body was very hot..."
Every time Empress Cheng went to see the Emperor, she was always in a great hurry, but she would come back furious and grumble on and on. She wouldn't stop until she felt better. This time was very strange; she didn't say a word.
Granny Wang recounted the events of the previous night in detail. "Your Highness is quick-witted. Could you please help us figure out what's wrong with Her Majesty the Empress?"
Jiang Fenghua didn't know either! She said, "Since she's sick, let Mother take good care of herself! Fortunately, things will be alright for now after the New Year."
Granny Wang added, "Thank you, Your Highness, for helping me out of that predicament in front of His Majesty yesterday. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would have lost my life last night."
“I know Granny Wang. You wouldn’t do something so foolish, and even if you did, you wouldn’t let anyone have a hold against you.” Jiang Fenghua wasn’t being insincere with her; anyone who could serve the Empress was no fool.
Granny Wang smiled and said softly, "Serving in the palace is like walking on thin ice, especially since the Empress and the Emperor don't get along. We have to be even more careful. Although Consort Su has the Su family's support, the Emperor still has the final say in this world."
Granny Wang was reminding her that if she wanted to fight against Consort Su, it wouldn't be enough to just win over the prince; she also needed the emperor's protection. The Su family wasn't omnipotent, otherwise the position of empress would have changed hands long ago.
The Emperor dislikes the Empress so much that he never lets her serve him in bed or come to Kunning Palace. The Cheng family has long been abandoned by the Emperor. If the Emperor has no feelings for the Empress, there is no reason not to depose her.
Granny Wang was also an observer with a clearer perspective.
Jiang Fenghua understood immediately, but she never expected that the Emperor would have feelings for the Empress.
Royal men are the most heartless and ungrateful. They hold high positions and power, and they change women as easily as they change clothes.
Xie Ling'er was not punished by the Emperor, and Cao Gonggong sent a new tutor to teach her manners. That was the end of the matter, and Xie Ling'er did not come to Kunning Palace to visit the Empress.
Even without her coming, nothing changed at Kunning Palace, and Empress Cheng wouldn't think of her anymore. It's just that she couldn't torment her under the pretext of teaching her etiquette.
Empress Cheng remained ill for several days and did not fully recover. Jiang Fenghua took advantage of her slightly better condition to chat with her.
She noticed that Empress Cheng had truly changed her temperament; she spoke less, her voice became softer, and she no longer mentioned taking a concubine for Xie Shang. She seemed to have become a woman in the deep palace who had no desires.
It's like they've lost all fighting spirit.
Jiang Fenghua was increasingly puzzled. The Empress didn't say anything, and even her trusted confidantes, Granny Xi and Granny Wang, didn't know. Naturally, she couldn't ask what had happened in her bedchamber in the Qianqing Palace that day.
She listened to what Granny Wang said, and she would do the same, so she went to the Imperial Study to pay her respects to the Emperor.
The Emperor was as busy with state affairs as ever, as if the events of New Year's Eve had never happened. It was as if Consort Wang had never existed in the palace. After all, she had been favored by the Emperor for a period of time, but now she seemed as insignificant as a piece of duckweed that had drifted away.
"News has come from the border that we have won a great victory. The chieftain of the Hu tribe's wish to avenge himself on Shang'er has been thwarted. Even after ten years of seclusion, he is no match for Shang'er." The Emperor couldn't hide his joy as he spoke of the victory. "A new year brings new beginnings, how wonderful!"
Jiang Fenghua tentatively asked, "I have also heard about the story of the prince killing the leader of the Hu tribe. The prince was only fifteen years old that year and made a great contribution, protecting the territory of our Great Zhou and safeguarding the well-being of the people of Great Zhou."
The Emperor's expression was cold and somber. "That year, he was not the commander-in-chief. He disregarded military regulations and disobeyed orders. A slight mistake could have led to a life of hardship and death. Without him, our Great Zhou would not have been defeated. He was too fond of showing off back then and was quite smug. He should be more composed and prudent now."
Jiang Fenghua's eyes were clear and calm as she said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Back then, even if I asked the Prince to be a coward, he wouldn't have agreed."
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