Chapter 418 Surrogate Childbirth
The Empress Dowager was proud and arrogant throughout her life, and she never wanted to be inferior to anyone.
However, things didn't go as planned. In her youth, her only child developed mental illness, which caused her to be ridiculed and her bright and beautiful appearance was instantly dimmed.
In her later years, she finally benefited from her children's influence and became a dignified and respected empress dowager.
Unfortunately, her daughter-in-law only gave birth to one daughter in five years. It wasn't that she didn't like her granddaughter, but rather that her son and daughter-in-law's status meant they had to have more children, especially grandchildren, who were absolutely indispensable.
Putting that aside, she was indeed very satisfied with Meng Lingge, and the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had been extremely harmonious over the years.
But the issue of offspring is the most important thing for any mother-in-law, and it is something she can never let go of.
Originally, the Empress Dowager could have held on for a few more years, but at the end of last year, Wen Kehao's birth mother, the former Consort Chen, suddenly went crazy and followed her example, no longer serving Prince Anshun, and came to the capital to enjoy her son's retirement.
Wen Kehao's wife, Su Leyan, is a fertile woman. She gave birth to a big, healthy boy in the second year of their marriage. The boy is only two years old now, but he already weighs more than three-year-old Woyu.
Consort Chen was extremely pleased with herself and would often find excuses to bring her chubby grandson to the palace to see her, showing off her grandson in every conversation.
“My sister and I both came back to Beijing specifically to help our son take care of his child. Now my sister is taking care of her granddaughter and I am taking care of my grandson. We can say that we have both achieved our goals.”
“This boy is so naughty. You don’t know, I can’t even carry him anymore. He runs so fast. He won’t be able to keep an eye on him for long.”
"The Empress really cares about her sister. This daughter is so easy to raise, unlike my wife, who only gave birth to a good-for-nothing son."
Such examples are countless.
The Empress Dowager maintained her dignity and appeared calm on the surface, but she was actually furious inside.
Although Consort Chen's words were harsh, every single one of them was the truth.
She couldn't punish Consort Chen for these few truthful words; that would only make her a laughingstock. Nor could she bring herself to harm a son born of a concubine.
But this anger is bottled up inside, and it makes me feel terrible whenever I think about it.
If it weren't for the fact that her eldest grandson was murdered, he would be three years old now. How could Consort Chen have anything to boast about?
If Huaiqian were still alive, and his son had become the crown prince, he wouldn't have been constantly nagged and pressured by those old ministers.
The key issue is that Huaiqian is gone, and her daughter-in-law's belly has not shown any signs of pregnancy since then. When she was young, she was overshadowed by Consort Chen because of her son's affairs. Now that she is old, she really doesn't want to be overshadowed by Consort Chen again in the matter of her grandson.
But this matter cannot be discussed with her son. Wen Zhiming is too devoted to Meng Lingge, and he will not only disagree but also distance himself from her.
She was also a little hesitant to speak to Meng Lingge.
She had known about Meng Lingge's situation for the past few years and had not used any contraception. The imperial physician's examination showed that her body was normal, but she just couldn't get pregnant.
Perhaps the pressure was too great, and the result was counterproductive.
The daughter-in-law was already overly anxious about this matter, and for the mother-in-law to put even more pressure on her was rather inhumane.
So she kept it to herself, but a few days ago, when Consort Chen entered the palace, she was told that the Princess Consort of Zhongqin was pregnant again.
The Empress Dowager could no longer bear it. The thought of Consort Chen bringing her two grandsons to visit her a year later made her heart ache. After forcing herself to send Consort Chen away, she had been depressed for the past few days.
Today, Wen Woyu happened to be in danger, and she felt this was a good opportunity to speak up. So she made the difficult decision to call her over, preparing for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to have a heart-to-heart talk and resolve their current predicament.
Now that these hurtful words have come out of her mouth, although she feels somewhat sorry for Meng Lingge, she feels more of a sense of pleasure at having her long-hidden emotions released.
Over the past few years, Meng Lingge has spent every day with the Empress Dowager and has become even closer to her than to her own mother.
She was aware of the Empress Dowager's thoughts, but she thought the Empress Dowager was different from ordinary women, more open-minded about having children, and would have enough patience to wait a few more years.
Ultimately, she underestimated people's obsession with offspring; even the Empress Dowager was not immune to this.
A faint bitterness welled up in Meng Lingge's heart, and she felt quite helpless.
She never expected that a casual remark she made to Wen Zhiming would actually come true; the more her body wanted to get pregnant, the less she could conceive.
The Empress Dowager's request was only natural, but she was powerless to fulfill it.
Meng Lingge's gaze fell on the pile of pomegranate seeds on the table, and she revealed a very inappropriate smile.
"Since Mother says so, it seems you already have a plan. I wonder what Mother hopes Lingge will do?"
The pomegranates were usually peeled by palace maids, who would then put the seeds in a white porcelain bowl for the nobles to scoop out with a spoon.
Where can you just break it open and eat it raw?
The Empress Dowager went to great lengths to find topics that directly addressed her purpose.
"This is what I think: you are too anxious about the matter of the imperial heir, which makes it difficult to achieve your goal. I cannot bear to see you so anxious."
The Empress Dowager's face was full of concern for Meng Lingge, and then she let out a long sigh.
"I had no choice but to come up with this idea. The ministers in the court, the foreign countries, and the people of Jin Yue are all concerned about the imperial heir of Jin Yue. If the harem does not produce an heir, there will inevitably be great chaos. The fact that Wo Yu has been in danger again is a harbinger of this."
Meng Lingge frowned slightly, not wanting to hear the Empress Dowager drag her daughter into this.
"Just tell me what you want me to do, Mother."
The Empress Dowager's gaze fell on the pomegranate, her eyes filled with anticipation.
"His Majesty is devoted to the Empress and strongly opposes the selection of concubines. It is impossible for me to make other women pregnant with his child unless the Empress is willing to help."
Seeing that Meng Lingge's expression did not change much, she continued.
"The reason Mo'er doesn't accept other girls is because he is a man of deep affection and loyalty. He can't bear to see you hurt and doesn't want to let you down. You are the only person Mo'er won't be wary of. With a little effort, it wouldn't be difficult for you to get him drunk or drug him."
"When the time comes, I will find a girl with a clean family background and have her consummate the marriage with Mo'er in your place. When that girl becomes pregnant, you should also pretend to be pregnant and make arrangements with the imperial physician in advance. This will naturally deceive everyone. After that girl gives birth, I will send the child to your palace to become the legitimate offspring of the Empress."
"Now that I have a grandson of the Emperor, and the court has an heir, you no longer need to worry about having children. You can have children whenever you want. If you have your own legitimate son in the future, Mo'er and I will make him the Crown Prince. I will also handle that girl properly. In this way, everyone will be happy. Lingge, what do you think?"
This was a method that the Empress Dowager had thought about for several days; simply put, it was surrogacy.
She believed this was the best course of action at the moment, as it would neither damage the relationship between her son and daughter-in-law nor compromise the issue of imperial succession.
Even if Wen Zhiming finds out afterward, given his feelings for Meng Lingge, he won't blame her; instead, he'll feel even more sorry for her.
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