Chapter 168 Qi Mei gives birth to a child
When it was getting dark, the virtuous concubine and the emperor were preparing to have dinner when they heard someone come to report.
"Your Majesty, Lady Qi has launched an attack."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Xian threw away the chopsticks in her hand.
"Isn't it still premature? How come it started early?"
The young eunuch who came to deliver the message said in panic, "It is said that Lady Qi was hit and had a miscarriage."
After hearing this, Concubine Xian stood up, straightened her clothes, took two steps forward and asked:
"Who bumped into you?"
"Concubine Guo and... Concubine Xiang..."
The virtuous concubine frowned as she listened.
"Your Majesty, I'll go take a look first."
The emperor also put down his chopsticks and said, "Oh, you go first."
The virtuous concubine took two steps, came back, and took the emperor away.
The emperor was bewildered. Concubine Xian walked and whispered:
"You have to put on a full show. Go see what's going on first. If you don't want to stay there, just say you have a headache and leave."
The emperor listened without saying anything.
The virtuous concubine continued, "My aunt sent someone to say that the situation at the Ministry of Rites is complicated and it's not appropriate to alert the enemy now."
The emperor had no choice but to go with the virtuous concubine.
In Lady Qi's Yilan Palace, the Queen, Concubine De, Zhaoyi Guo, Concubine Xiang, and others were already there.
They are having a verbal fight right now.
"This good person went out and got scared when she met you guys. How dare you say that there is nothing wrong with you?" Defei said.
The Queen has been so worried about the Xie family's affairs these days that she has not been able to eat or sleep well and has no intention of caring about the current affairs.
So only Concubine De was left in the room shouting and yelling.
Xiangpin gave birth to the second and fourth princesses. She was an elder in the palace and usually kept a low profile.
But Guo Zhaoyi had a hot temper.
"How could Her Majesty, Concubine De, see that I had offended Lady Qi?"
"If it's not you, then who is it?"
"yes……"
Before Guo Zhaoyi could speak, Xiangpin beside her spoke:
"We had eaten too much, so we went out for a walk. We saw a dark figure ahead, and I wondered if it was Lady Qi.
Just called out "Who?"
Then we heard Lady Qi's voice. When we approached, she started yelling that her stomach hurt and that she was about to give birth.
After finishing speaking, Xiangpin looked at the Queen calmly and said:
"Your Majesty, this is the truth. I hope you will make a wise decision."
Guo Zhaoyi was obviously interrupted by Xiangpin. She couldn't say a word and felt uncomfortable because the feeling was stuck in her heart, and she was in a state of confusion.
Suddenly, a voice was heard outside: "Your Majesty has arrived, and the virtuous concubine has arrived."
Everyone in the room stood up and saluted the emperor.
As soon as the emperor came in, he felt a little dizzy because of the mixed fragrance in the room.
The one sitting at the top held his head and asked, "How is Lady Qi?"
The queen replied: "She is still giving birth in the delivery room?"
"What does the imperial physician say?" asked the emperor.
"It's been over nine months, so it's considered a normal delivery, no major problems."
The emperor nodded after hearing this.
Then he looked at Concubine Guo Zhaoyi and Concubine Xiang who were standing in the middle and asked, "What's going on between you two?"
Concubine De said, "Your Majesty, someone came to report that these two people had offended Concubine Qi."
After hearing this, the emperor looked at Concubine Xiang and Concubine Guo. Concubine Guo obviously had something to say.
But Xiangpin just lowered her eyes and looked at the carpet.
The emperor said, "You two should sit down and talk."
Concubine Xiang walked to her seat and sat down in an orderly manner.
But Guo Zhaoyi refused and just stood there and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, today, on a whim, Concubine Xiang and I decided to go take a look at the flower garden.
Halfway through the journey, I suddenly heard a sound ahead.
I asked, "Who?"
Then I saw a dark shadow rushing into the bushes on the side.
Immediately afterwards, a scream came from the front. We walked forward and saw Lady Qi coming towards us.
As soon as we approached, Lady Qi said she had a stomachache and was about to give birth.
Then the eunuch on her side said that we had bumped into her.
It's really baffling. We were also frightened. We even said that Lady Qi bumped into us?"
After Guo Zhaoyi finished speaking, she looked at Defei indignantly again.
"After Empress Defei arrived, she said we were wrong without giving us any time to reason.
In this palace, there is no need for evidence to convict people nowadays. Whoever is weaker is right.
If I were lying there now, I could also say that Lady Qi had offended me."
Guo Zhaoyi said angrily.
When Concubine Xian heard this, she wondered if there was a dark shadow involved?
His eyes swept across the faces of everyone in the hall and finally stopped on Concubine Xiang.
Xiangpin was seen clutching the hem of her skirt with both hands, her eyes lowered and her brows furrowed.
Concubine Xian immediately judged that there was something wrong with Concubine Xiang.
After hearing what Guo Zhaoyi said, the emperor raised his hand and said soothingly:
"I understand. Please sit down first."
Seeing this, Concubine Xian said, "Let's first check on Concubine Qi's pregnancy and see if she can give birth smoothly.
Wait until she wakes up and ask her in detail.
It was dark and neither side could see clearly, so how could we punish two high-ranking concubines just because of a few words from a eunuch?
After hearing this, Guo Zhaoyi said loudly, "What the virtuous concubine said is true. Maybe we were all frightened by that black shadow."
The emperor sat for a while, sneezed a few times because of the fragrance, and then looked at the virtuous concubine.
The virtuous concubine continued, "Your Majesty caught a cold yesterday, and the dew is even heavier now. You should go back and rest early."
After hearing this, the emperor stood up slowly and walked out of the hall.
When the emperor left, the queen naturally followed him.
The virtuous concubine couldn't leave, so she had to stay and continue to endure.
Just after midnight, Concubine Qi gave birth to a son.
The virtuous concubine was extremely tired and hurried back to the palace to rest.
The next day, Concubine Xian reported the matter to the Emperor and shared her own observations.
"Xiangpin has some questions about what happened yesterday."
"What's the problem?" asked the emperor.
“If what Concubine Guo said is true, then Concubine Xiang is either deliberately targeting Concubine Qi.
Or maybe she saw that dark shadow, which is why she's feeling uneasy."
The emperor hesitated for a moment and said, "Come here, summon Concubine Xiang."
Soon Xiangpin arrived.
After entering the hall, he bowed respectfully to the emperor and his concubine.
"No need to be polite, just sit down." The emperor said kindly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After Xiangpin stood up, she sat on the stool behind her, looking at her nose with her eyes and her heart with her nose.
"I saw that you looked nervous yesterday, but did you discover anything about what happened yesterday?" asked the emperor.
After hearing the emperor's question, Xiangpin looked up at him with a timid look in her eyes.
When the virtuous concubine saw this, she said, "Just tell me what you have to say."
Xiangpin looked at Xianfei again, opened her mouth, looked at the emperor again, and said nothing.
Xian Fei sighed and said, "Did you see who that dark figure was?"
Xiangpin was startled when she heard this and looked up at Xianfei.
"It is true." Concubine Xian understood.
Xiangpin saw that Xianfei had guessed it, so she stammered, "I saw it, I saw it, that person and Qi Meiren...
And the beautiful lady Qi..."
The virtuous concubine coldly replied, "Are the two of them having an affair?"
Xiangpin quickly shook her head after hearing this: "No, no. They were holding hands...
Zhaoyi's sister shouted and asked who it was, and the man suddenly ran away into the nearby flowers.
"Who is that man?" the emperor said with a gloomy face.
"It looks like... like... a man, so... that's why I didn't dare to say it."
After Xiangpin finished speaking, she looked up and glanced at the emperor carefully.
Now the emperor could be sure that Concubine Qi's child was not his.
"Did you see the face clearly?" asked the virtuous concubine.
Xiangpin shook her head: "But the clothes that person is wearing look like a guard."
After hearing this, Concubine Xian said to Fu Shou behind her, "Go and investigate the place where the incident happened yesterday."
Fu Shou nodded in agreement and turned to leave.
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