When Situ Rui heard that Consort Shu was not feeling well, he thought of his precious son and silently prayed that nothing bad could happen to him.
Soon, Zhang, an old acquaintance of Tang Baozhu, arrived. After taking her pulse, he knew what was going on. "Your Majesty, Consort Shu is pregnant. She is in good health, and the little prince in her womb is also healthy."
Tang Baozhu already knew, after all, the Pregnancy Pill wasn't something to be taken for nothing, so there was nothing to be surprised about.
Situ Rui was speechless, looking like a fool. Although he had always hoped that Consort Shu would give him another prince, he knew his own body condition. He never expected that God would still be on his side.
"Baozhu, did you hear that? You're pregnant! I'm going to have another little prince! Hahahaha, hahahaha!"
Seeing how excited he was, Tang Baozhu didn't know what to say for a moment, but she could understand. After giving birth to this child, she would take a good rest and then be able to focus on her career.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Consort Shu!"
The palace servants were quite perceptive; their mistress was pregnant again, and their lives would be even better from now on.
Situ Rui paced excitedly back and forth in the main hall. "Little Li, everyone in Changchun Palace will receive three months' worth of monthly allowances for their service to Consort Shu. I'm entrusting this pregnancy of Consort Shu to you, Physician Zhang. If anything goes wrong, I will inquire on your behalf. Of course, if Consort Shu gives birth safely, I will reward her handsomely."
"Your servant obeys the decree. Your servant will ensure that Consort Shu gives birth safely."
Physician Zhang feigned fear, but in reality, she wasn't worried at all. After all, she was someone who had been given special treatment and had plenty of good things to take care of, so she was sure she would have a safe and smooth delivery.
Seeing the Emperor's expression, Tang Baozhu wished she could bestow gifts upon everyone in the palace. She deliberately spoke in a coquettish tone, "Your Majesty, it is clearly I who am pregnant. Why do you only bestow gifts upon others and forget about me? I am not happy."
Situ Rui quickly sat down next to Baozhu, put his arm around her shoulder, and said, "Baozhu, don't worry, I won't forget you, no matter who else I forget. I'll go back later and personally pick out some nice jewelry and fabrics for you. Don't be unhappy, or the baby in your belly will get angry too."
"That's more like it. Then I thank Your Majesty."
Tang Baozhu leaned against the emperor's chest, letting him reach out and touch her belly. Since he couldn't see it anyway, she silently rolled her eyes in his arms.
With so many people watching, I really wanted to slap his hand away, but seeing how agitated he was, I decided against it.
"Baozhu, you should rest well. Go back now, there are still some important things to do. I'll come and keep you company after I finish them."
"Very well, then this concubine will respectfully see Your Majesty off."
After leaving Changchun Palace, Situ Rui kept thinking about what nice things to pick out for Baozhu. Others thought he seemed a little absent-minded. Of course, they understood that the Emperor was so happy because Consort Shu was pregnant again that he didn't know what to do.
After the emperor left, all the officials in Changchun Palace relaxed a bit, since they had been quite tense while the emperor was there.
"Your Majesty, your servants congratulate you on the birth of a prince."
Seeing their beaming faces, Tang Baozhu knew that everyone was sharing in the glory. "Alright, I'll go back and rest for a while. Yuxiang, give each of you ten taels of silver as a token of my appreciation."
"Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty."
Everyone, including the palace servants on the young prince's side, was grateful, after all, Consort Shu was the most generous of them all.
Seeing how happy they were, Tang Baozhu took the silver notes from the box and went back to her bedchamber.
Yu Xiang was supposed to come and serve, but she was sent away. Now she just wanted to browse the red envelope group and ask Physician Zhang for help.
Lying on the big bed, she closed her eyes and entered the red envelope group. As usual, it was bustling with activity, with many unfamiliar names chatting. Seeing that they were having a great time, she joined in.
I chatted with them for more than half an hour before I remembered that she had come to see Physician Zhang.
She almost missed her important business, so she quickly found Physician Zhang and asked him to help her exchange the silver notes for gold. After all, she would have a steady stream of income every month, and if it was all silver notes, she wouldn't be able to use it all. It would be better to exchange it for some gold so that she could use it in the future.
Seeing that he agreed, they gave him 100,000 taels of silver notes directly. As for the remaining 80,000 taels, they said to keep them aside in case they came in need someday.
Tang Baozhu believed that one should not put all their eggs in one basket. She decided to exchange half of the profits for gold and keep the other half out in the open.
After finishing this matter, I just lay down on the bed and didn't want to move. I don't know if it's because I'm pregnant, but I'm particularly sleepy and don't want to get up at all. I just fell asleep.
Upon returning to the Qianqing Palace, Situ Rui did not attend to official business. Instead, he took Eunuch Li directly to his private treasury to select some nice things for Baozhu, since she was considered a meritorious official of the Situ family.
"Little Li, bring out these batches of brightly colored silks, and these few bolts of pure cotton. They feel especially comfortable to the touch. They're perfect for making clothes for the little prince. Also, bring out these few bolts of simple and elegant silks."
Eunuch Li watched from behind, his heart aching terribly. A few bolts here, a few bolts there, adding up to twenty or thirty bolts of fabric—how could Consort Shu possibly wear them all?
Unfortunately, Situ Rui wasn't finished yet. Leaving the area where the fabrics were piled up, he came to the jewelry area. Thinking that his Consort Shu seemed to like jade jewelry, he kept picking and choosing. In the end, he filled two large boxes with jade jewelry, each piece being of the highest quality.
The more Eunuch Li looked at the emperor, the more he felt that the emperor was a spendthrift. Although the emperor's private treasury was full of good things, it was not right to squander them like this. Unfortunately, he could only feel the pain in his heart and dared not show it at all. After all, the emperor was in a good mood, and he dared not utter a word.
After selecting the jewelry, Situ Rui also picked out some vases, ornaments, and other fine items from the imperial kilns.
Looking at the items he had chosen, Situ Rui finally nodded in satisfaction, his excitement subsiding. Although he felt he had picked a bit too much, he didn't back out and immediately ordered Eunuch Li to have them sent to Changchun Palace.
With mixed feelings, Eunuch Li led a large group of people towards Changchun Palace. The whole procession was clearly seen by the people in the palace, and soon all the concubines knew about it.
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