Chapter 55 (No further information)
Jiang Ling quickly moved away, picked up his teacup, took a few sips, and barely managed to suppress the churning in his stomach.
Emperor Yuanming asked anxiously, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Your Majesty, I have been disrespectful in front of you. Please forgive me." Jiang Ling exhaled and habitually apologized, but in her heart she thought, "Your Majesty's words are truly disgusting. To start eating first is considered a favor!"
When Emperor Yuanming saw Jiang Ling start gossiping about him again, he snorted slightly in annoyance, ignored her, and picked up his chopsticks to eat.
Jiang Ling, unsuspecting, put down his teacup and moved closer to the food table. The fishy smell of the duck soup filled his nostrils, and a wave of nausea surged in his chest.
"Ugh!" Jiang Ling covered her mouth, hurriedly got up, ran out of the house, and leaned over in the corridor, retching.
The eunuchs and palace maids outside didn't react for a moment. Zhang Shan caught sight of Emperor Yuanming rushing out of the room in a panic. He hurriedly stepped forward to support Jiang Ling, saying, "Quickly, go and get a hot water towel!"
Emperor Yuanming stepped forward, shoved Zhang Shan aside, and personally supported Jiang Ling's arm, roaring, "Fool! Go and fetch the imperial physician!"
Zhang Shan quickly ran outside, and just as he reached the gate, he ran into Huang Liang, who was returning from an errand. Huang Liang grabbed him and asked, "What happened?"
“When Consort Jiang was having her meal, she suddenly started vomiting uncontrollably, and His Majesty ordered me to fetch the imperial physician!” Zhang Shan replied.
Huang Liang paused for a moment, then his eyes darted around and he said, "Imperial Physician Zheng and Imperial Physician Wu have both gone to Cuiwei Pavilion. The Emperor's decree is important, so you should go and invite them here immediately."
Zhang Shan's eyes darted around a few times, his face beaming with a smile. "Don't worry, Master, I'll go right away."
Huang Liang kicked him lightly and cursed, "You brat, who do you think I am? How could I trust you! Consort Jiang's health is the most important thing; this is the Emperor's decree!"
Zhang Shan chuckled and ran off in a flash. When he arrived at Cuiwei Pavilion, Zheng Ze and Wu Shishan had just arrived. Wu Shishan, who was skilled in gynecology, was about to take Duan Cairen's pulse when Zhang Shan entered the room. He stepped forward, bowed, and said, "The Emperor has decreed that Physician Zheng and Physician Wu be summoned to Chuigong Hall immediately."
Wu Shishan was stunned. He usually only treated the imperial concubines and concubines in the inner palace. Emperor Yuanming's poor health was handled by Zheng Ze and other imperial physicians.
Upon hearing the name "Chuigong Hall," Zheng Ze immediately stood up. Consort Duan asked anxiously, "Is His Majesty ill?"
Zhang Shan replied respectfully and without any hesitation, "Lady Duan, this servant dares not inquire about matters concerning the Emperor."
Upon hearing this, Duan Cairen's face turned pale, and the hand on the pulse pillow gradually tightened.
What a wicked eunuch who abuses his master's power!
Wu Shishan bowed apologetically and reached for the pulse pillow, saying, "Consort Duan, I shall take my leave now."
Duan Cairen raised her hand, Wu Shishan took the pulse pillow, and followed Zheng Ze and Zhang Shan hurriedly outside.
"We need to hurry, the Emperor is very anxious, Consort Jiang is waiting in Qionghua Pavilion," Zhang Shan urged as he stepped out the door.
His voice was neither loud nor soft, and when it reached Duan Cairen's ears, her expression instantly turned ugly.
Emperor Yuanming bestowed upon her the beeswax used in the imperial court and ordered Zheng Ze and Wu Shishan to bring her dried mint to take her pulse.
The Emperor's grace was boundless, and for a time, the Cuiwei Pavilion was filled with great splendor.
Although Consort Duan did not make things difficult for Jiang Ling, she was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief because of Emperor Yuanming's high regard for her.
Who would have thought that this glory would vanish in an instant?
It was the time when Emperor Yuanming was having his meal. He not only invited Jiang Ling to stay for lunch, but he also ignored the fact that she was pregnant with his child!
Duan Cairen grew angrier the more she thought about it, and finally couldn't hold back any longer, so she buried her face in her hands and burst into tears.
Over there, after Jiang Ling finished vomiting, she took the water handed to her by a palace maid and rinsed her mouth. She exhaled and glanced at Emperor Yuanming, who was standing nervously to the side, and couldn't help but feel annoyed and disgusted.
"Look at him, if you didn't know better, you'd think he wasn't feeling well."
Jiang Ling secretly complained, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am not feeling well and I am afraid of disturbing Your Majesty, so I will take my leave now."
"Stop right there!" Emperor Yuanming grabbed Jiang Ling, then quickly released his grip, realizing he had tightened it a bit. "I won't blame you for not feeling well. The imperial physician will be here soon. Go inside and rest properly."
Jiang Ling could only follow Emperor Yuanming back to his room. Huang Liang was directing the palace maids and eunuchs to clean up the food table, preparing to serve fresh food again. When she saw the duck soup, she subconsciously vomited.
Emperor Yuanming scrutinized Jiang Ling carefully, then looked at the duck soup and said sternly, "Wait! Put all the food out, and no one is allowed to touch it!"
Huang Liang hurriedly dismissed the palace maids and eunuchs, saying, "Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant will personally oversee the situation."
Emperor Yuanming grunted, then called Jiang Ling to the next room, pulled her to sit down beside him, and said with concern, "She was fine before, why did she suddenly vomit?"
Jiang Ling had never liked duck meat before, finding it to have an indescribable fishy smell. However, the imperial chefs in the imperial kitchen were highly skilled, and their duck soup was almost completely free of any fishy smell, so she would eat a piece or two.
Emperor Yuanming's entourage seemed to suggest that the food was poisoned, but she didn't think so, since she hadn't even touched her chopsticks yet.
Having eaten two roasted oranges earlier, Jiang Ling suspected it was acid reflux. She nodded and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I'm fine..."
At this point, Jiang Ling froze, remembering what Wen Juan had said a few days ago: her period was late again this month.
When Jiang Ling was menstruating, she could not serve the Emperor and had to report to him. Her periods were usually irregular, often delayed by several days. When Wen Juan mentioned this, she was full of anticipation, hoping Jiang Ling would become pregnant.
Jiang Ling once made fun of Wen Juan, but she never mentioned it again, probably because she was afraid that her joy would be in vain.
Emperor Yuanming scrutinized Jiang Ling and noticed that her expression was off. Just as he was about to ask her something, Zhang Shan arrived with Zheng Ze and Wu Shishan.
The two entered the room to pay their respects, but Emperor Yuanming waved his hand and said, "Quickly treat Consort Jiang!"
Zheng Ze hurriedly stepped forward and performed a series of examinations, including observation, listening, questioning, and palpation. He hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside so that Wu Shishan could also take his pulse.
After a few cautious words of discussion, Zheng Ze replied, "Your Majesty, Consort Jiang, I believe she is pregnant. However, it is still early, and her pulse is not yet very clear."
Jiang Ling remained calm, but Emperor Yuanming was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear and saying, "Good, good, good, reward them all!"
"Your Majesty, it's not certain yet," Jiang Ling said, offering a lukewarm response to Emperor Yuanming.
Even modern pregnancy test strips have a certain chance of being wrong, and blood tests and ultrasound scans must be used to confirm the result with 100% certainty.
Moreover, it's about taking a pulse.
Emperor Yuanming's smile froze. Zheng Ze, observing his expression, felt a cold sweat break out on his back and hurriedly said cautiously, "Your Majesty, Consort Jiang is right. It will take some more time to confirm."
Jiang Ling didn't want to make things difficult for the two of them, so he said, "Your Majesty, it's getting late, let's have our meal first."
Emperor Yuanming snorted and said to Zheng Ze and Wu Shishan, "Go and see if there is anything wrong with the food that was served earlier."
Zheng Ze secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glanced gratefully at Jiang Ling, and went with Wu Shishan to check the lunch.
Emperor Yuanming ordered another meal, instructing, "Do not serve duck soup again!"
The imperial kitchen quickly served fresh food, and Jiang Ling did not vomit this time, finally finishing his meal peacefully.
After Zheng Ze and Wu Shishan finished their investigation, they returned to report that there was nothing unusual about the food, and Emperor Yuanming was finally relieved.
After this ordeal, it was almost time for Emperor Yuanming to get up. Having experienced worry, joy, and disappointment, he was now wide awake and pulled Jiang Ling to lie down on the couch for a short rest.
Jiang Ling vomited, and although the nausea was gone, she felt very weak. She felt a little better after eating, and as soon as she lay down, she felt drowsy.
Emperor Yuanming sighed softly, gently placing his hand on Jiang Ling's lower abdomen, and said, "My offspring are few, so your belly must be more vigorous and give me more sons to extend the Great Yin dynasty."
Jiang Ling was half asleep when Emperor Yuanming woke her up. She frowned in annoyance, closed her eyes and pretended not to hear, inwardly grumbling.
"So few offspring! There are so many concubines in the harem, yet so few are pregnant. How stupid must you be to not reflect on whose fault it is! You have the nerve to say that your womb is productive? Why don't you make your second son more productive! Give birth to more sons to continue the dynasty, hahaha, so many sons, are you going to fight to the death for the throne? Aren't you afraid of breaking your old bones to pieces!"
Emperor Yuanming's eyes gradually turned cold, and his face became extremely ugly.
The late emperor had five sons. His third son, Prince Wei, was born with a leg ailment that made walking difficult. Since the late emperor had no legitimate sons, he initially intended for his eldest son to succeed him.
The other sons were all dissatisfied and fought each other openly and secretly. In the end, two died and one was injured, and the throne fell to the youngest son.
After Jiang Ling finished cursing, he couldn't fall asleep, which was unusual for him.
If she is indeed pregnant, without prenatal checkups, having a healthy child depends entirely on luck.
"What if you give birth to a mentally challenged child, or someone with a congenital disease? Oh dear, that's definitely not going to happen! Don't think such nonsense... It would be best if they looked like me, whether it's a son or a daughter, they must inherit my beauty, and definitely not look like cow dung! Their character must be like mine, and definitely not like cow dung, that's too awful!"
Emperor Yuanming's breathing rose and fell in sync with Jiang Ling's thoughts.
Initially, he also worried that his children might be born with the same congenital illness as the Prince of Wei. However, he was handsome, receptive to advice, and courteous to scholars. The Great Yin Dynasty was at peace, and he was a rare and wise ruler. Yet she accused him of being immoral!
"So what if I'm a little ugly? If I have a difficult birth and suffer a massive hemorrhage, oh dear, I'll die!"
Jiang Ling couldn't sleep the more she thought about it. Emperor Yuanming closed his eyes, and the image of her lying in a pool of blood appeared before him. His heart ached, and his breathing became difficult.
"Get up." Emperor Yuanming, fearing that listening any longer would shorten his lifespan, got up, lifted the covers, and got out of bed.
Jiang Ling was eager to return to Fanying Pavilion to lie down, so she nimbly turned over and sat up. Emperor Yuanming was terrified when he saw this and said, "You must be careful. If you are really pregnant, be careful not to frighten yourself!"
“It’s not that fragile.” Jiang Ling was speechless, and rarely did she retort.
Emperor Yuanming said angrily, "It's always a good thing to be careful."
"Your Majesty is right, I know I was wrong." Jiang Ling didn't want to say more to him and skillfully apologized.
Emperor Yuanming remained uneasy and held Jiang Ling captive for a long time before letting her leave.
Although Jiang Ling disliked Emperor Yuanming for being long-winded and making a mountain out of a molehill, he couldn't help but become more cautious.
She used to spend almost all her time lying on the tatami mat, but now she tries to move around more and is more picky about her food. She resolutely avoids maltose and honey to ensure a balanced diet.
For the second and third consecutive day, Jiang Ling felt nauseous and wanted to vomit from time to time, but her period still didn't come.
By this point, Jiang Ling was pretty sure that she was really pregnant!
After Consort Li's funeral, the Li family's property was confiscated. The guards stationed at Fuqing Palace withdrew silently, Consort Zhao was unharmed, and the matter of poisoning was never mentioned again.
The Minister of Works was demoted, and Jiang Wenxiu and Jiang Chengwang were assigned to work in the imperial gardens.
Jiang Ling was worried about them, so he hurriedly sent someone to summon Xue and Tao to the palace. The next day, when it was time for them to enter the palace, Jiang Ling couldn't help but feel uneasy, and kept peeking out of the house.
Aruo reassured her, "My lady, don't worry. Sister Wenjuan will be waiting for you at the palace gate. You should arrive soon."
At this moment, Huang Liang, carrying a yellow scroll, led the eunuch around the screen wall.
"What is it now?" Jiang Ling was taken aback and got up to go out to greet him.
Huang Liang's face was full of smiles as he bowed to Jiang Ling from afar, saying, "By imperial decree, Consort Jiang, please obey."
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