Chapter 35 Pregnancy
Before she could react, Lü Yingfeng got up to leave, not forgetting to call Shen Meizhuang to come with her.
Shen Meizhuang hesitated for a moment, put down her pen, looked inside and saw that Consort Hua did not stop her. She quickly bowed and dragged her sore legs to catch up with Consort Xin as they walked out of Yikun Palace.
Xianfu Palace and Yongshou Palace are not on the same road, so the two will have to go their separate ways after leaving.
"Thank you for your help, Consort Xin. Otherwise, I don't know how long I would have been writing." Shen Meizhuang gave Consort Xin a solemn curtsy.
Lu Yingfeng waved her hand dismissively, indicating to Caiyue to help her mistress up. "Consort Hua is an impatient person. The Emperor's intention for you to learn about the affairs of the six palaces doesn't require you to come in this weather. I thought that since you come from a prominent family, you must have been taught at home. Having a foundation will make it easier for you to get started. You can learn more and ask more questions in the future. It won't be a waste of my trip today."
Shen Meizhuang was a little embarrassed by the praise, and nodded at Lü Yingfeng with bright eyes and pursed lips.
——
On the quiet palace path, Xuexin, seeing that there were no outsiders around, asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, what does 'divide and conquer' mean? Are we going to deal with Consort Wan and Consort Shen?"
Lu Yingfeng walked slowly, her usual relaxed demeanor gone. "What does this have to do with us? We're just telling Consort Hua to tone it down. If we push her too far, those two can strangle someone if they team up."
Lü Yingfeng said, “If I don’t say this, believe it or not, Consort Shen will definitely run into trouble within a few days. According to her usual methods, she will either throw herself into a well or fall into a lake. I think she is a smart person and has a lot of pride, so I’m just saying a few words in her defense.”
"However..." She changed the subject, her usually sharp eyes filled with worry—"The Emperor has indeed been too biased. No matter where it is, a situation where one person has absolute power will not last long. Especially in the turbulent harem, that person is a young noble with no real power base. I think it won't be long before others make their move."
Lu Yingfeng never misspoke about her predictions regarding the situation in the harem.
After hearing her words, Nian Shilan quieted down for a while and stopped causing trouble for Shen Meizhuang. However, Consort Li was not one to stay idle.
According to Xuexin, Consort Li went to Shou Kang Palace and afterwards the Empress Dowager went to Yangxin Hall.
Everyone knew what the purpose was, and the effect was quite significant. The Emperor stopped visiting Suiyuxuan for eight consecutive days and went to Consort Qi's place instead.
However, she came out again after a short while. It seems that Consort Qi failed to keep the Emperor and came to Suiyu Pavilion on the way, following the mournful sound of Consort Xiang's zither.
This caused Consort Qi's face to remain stiff throughout her second visit to the Empress. She felt uneasy no matter whether the gazes of others were directed at her or not. Consort Qi was once just as favored as Consort Bi Wan, but now that she is old and her beauty has faded, she has to suffer such humiliation.
If it were just this one incident, it wouldn't be anything special; it's just that the tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease.
"Consort Guan".
Huanbi stood behind Zhen Huan and heard the Empress suddenly shout. She was about to help her up when she saw Zhen Huan sitting motionless in the chair.
She was shocked and wanted to reach out to remind her, but found that the young master's eyes had closed at some point, and he was only able to keep his head from slipping off the table by supporting himself with his hands.
"My lady, my lady!" Huanbi called out anxiously twice, trying to wake her up. At this moment, everyone's eyes in the room turned to Zhen Huan.
Zhen Huan was suddenly awakened by Huan Bi's push. She opened her eyes with difficulty and, after seeing the situation in the room, she hurriedly got up and apologized to the Empress: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was impolite and fell asleep due to exhaustion."
The Empress smiled indulgently at her, "It's alright. It's normal for you to be sleepy at such a young age. Now that spring has arrived and the weather is warm, it's normal to feel sleepy in spring and tired in autumn. Get up."
Consort Qi, however, spoke in a strange, high-pitched voice, “Noble Lady Wan is constantly favored. I thought she was about to have good news when she was sleepy, and I was about to offer my congratulations. I didn’t expect it was just spring drowsiness.”
These words struck a chord with Cao Qinmo, who quickly responded by leaning closer to Zhen Huan and saying earnestly, "When I was pregnant with Wenyi, I also often felt sleepy. Did you have any other symptoms, sister?"
Upon hearing this, Zhen Huan thought about it carefully and hesitated before saying, "There's nothing else, it's just that I often feel lazy and don't like to move around."
“This makes perfect sense.” Consort Hua, unusually, chimed in, “When Consort Xin was pregnant with Hongjin and Hongzhao, she didn’t like to move around and stayed in her room for over a month.”
Lu Yingfeng looked at her in surprise, actually wanting to ask loudly, "Who is it that made me lie in bed for a month?"
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back down, and simply met Zhen Huan's gaze and nodded silently in agreement.
"Jianqiu, go and invite the imperial physician to examine Consort Wan. If she is indeed carrying the imperial heir, then I will be at ease." Amidst the clamor of discussion in the hall, the Empress made the final decision.
Lu Yingfeng sat comfortably with her arms crossed, watching the show. But judging from Consort Hua's expression, it was clear that the matter of Consort Wan's pregnancy was not simple; she was so smug that her lips were practically pointing to the sky.
Before long, the imperial physician rushed over, but it was not Zhang Mi, whom the Empress always used, but a completely unfamiliar face.
"Your humble servant Liu Ben greets Your Majesty the Empress."
Seeing the Empress's questioning gaze, Jianqiu explained from the side, "Your Majesty, someone from General Nian's mansion said that the Madam is ill and has asked all the imperial physicians on duty to leave. At present, only Physician Liu Ben is available in the palace."
The Empress glanced subtly at Nian Shilan beside her, and without saying anything, nodded to signal him to take Consort Wan's pulse.
There was a hint of expectation in Consort Wan's eyes as she nervously extended her wrist for the imperial physician to take her pulse.
As expected.
It's a pregnancy pulse.
"Your Majesty, this young lady is just over a month pregnant, and the pregnancy is not very stable. I will prescribe a medicine to help maintain the pregnancy. As long as she takes it on time every day, there should be no problem."
"Really!" Zhen Huan exclaimed in surprise. An excited pink blush rose on the girl's fair face. She gently stroked her lower abdomen, which showed no abnormalities at the time. At that moment, she suddenly felt a maternal aura.
A chorus of congratulations erupted from the crowd, but Lü Yingfeng, unusually, did not join in. Instead, she feigned that the Sixth Prince needed someone to take care of him, took her leave of the Empress, and turned to leave Jingren Palace.
Consort Wan's current situation is like being cooked in a blazing fire. Lü Yingfeng saw early on that today's rosy scene was all a mirage, and naturally did not want to become a piece of firewood in that bonfire herself.
She had never had any grudges against Consort Wan. If it weren't for Consort Wan's favor affecting her own You'er, she might have helped her. However, in the harem, if everyone wants to help, in the end, only she and her child will be trampled down.
It goes without saying how happy the Emperor was when he learned of this. Not only did the rewards flow into Suiyuxuan like water, but he also stayed by her side every day. Everyone thought that since Consort Wan was pregnant, she would be able to get a share of the Emperor's favor, but unexpectedly, the situation was no different from before.
In Lü Yingfeng's words, it's truly a case of some suffering from drought while others are drowning in floods.
——
"The people in the imperial kitchen have really gotten to their level; they even dare to embezzle the rations of the princes and princesses of Yongshou Palace!"
Looking at the almost entirely vegetarian meal in front of her, with hardly any meat in sight, Lü Yingfeng frowned and slammed her chopsticks down on the table.
Xuexin frowned as she looked at the table full of food that she couldn't bring herself to eat.
Hong Xihai bowed and approached, gently advising, "Your Majesty, please calm down. The Imperial Kitchen doesn't have the audacity to touch Yongshou Palace. It was... Consort Shen."
"Noble Lady Shen?" Lü Yingfeng was even more confused.
Hong Xihai continued, "It was Consort Shen who said we needed to cut back on palace expenses. From now on, lunch and dinner will basically be prepared according to this standard. The quantity and price of pastries will also be limited; more expensive ones, like crab roe pastries, will no longer be made. Also, Consort Shen suggested canceling the mung bean soup that every palace servant receives in the summer, saying it would be converted into silver and distributed accordingly, but..."
Hong Xihai didn't continue speaking, but Lü Yingfeng understood.
If it were mung beans, probably no one would bother to skimp on them. Even the lowest-ranking servant could have a bowl in the sweltering summer. But if it were converted into silver, who knows whose pocket it would end up in?
Could it be... that I guessed wrong?
Although Shen Meizhuang comes from a prominent family, she has never learned how to manage a household, keep accounts, or employ people.
She frowned and weighed the babbling Hongzhou in her arms. "We don't need to cut back on Yongshou Palace. We'll make up the difference with our own money. Luckily, we have a small kitchen. We can order meat dishes from there on weekdays."
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