Chapter 103 The Empress Dowager: Letting Out a Breath of Relief
Consort Jiang intended to prepare a flower-viewing banquet, and the ladies of the palace were happy to accompany her upon hearing of this.
However, Zhou Zhaoyi caught a cold during the night, and her cough relapsed, so she needed to rest again and was unable to attend the banquet at Guangtang Palace.
Now that A-Zhu has a close relationship with Consort Zhang, he is also friendly to people in her faction. When he heard that Consort Zhou was unwell, he even sent someone to Zhongcui Palace.
Consort Zhou was also very polite to Qingliu, the head of the Guanju Palace.
"This is an old problem of mine."
"I was so captivated by the beautiful scenery at the end of spring that I couldn't help but linger and catch a chill... It's nothing serious."
Consort Zhou, leaning against the couch, looked sickly and coughed a few times.
"It is indeed troublesome for Your Highness to go to such lengths."
With a plain silver hairpin adorning her temples, Qingliu looked quite composed. She repeatedly comforted Consort Zhou, saying, "Your Majesty's health is of utmost importance. It is best for you to take good care of yourself now."
After exchanging a few more polite words, Qingliu bowed and took her leave. Mingchun saw Qingliu out, and when she returned, she heard Consort Zhou sigh softly.
"His Majesty personally decreed that the imperial concubine selection be postponed, but he still went to the trouble of holding an 'imperial concubine selection' in the palace to choose a consort for the Ninth Prince."
Hearing Consort Zhou cough a few more times, Mingchun quickly brought over some medicine, but there was only a small amount in the bowl: "Your Highness, please drink some first."
Because of her poor health, she had to take medicine and rest frequently, and sometimes she would take it for a long time. As a result, Consort Zhou's spleen and stomach were damaged, and she would often vomit after taking the medicine. The imperial physician had no choice but to instruct the palace servants of Zhongcui Palace to send Consort Zhou small doses of medicine frequently.
Despite feeling nauseous, Consort Zhou forced herself to drink some of the medicine. Then, a palace servant outside the hall came to report that Prince An was requesting an audience.
Consort Zhou quickly had Mingchun put away the medicine, and then helped her up to go to the outer hall.
"Mother."
Prince An entered the palace in a hurry. He didn't even bother to pay his respects. He just looked closely at Consort Zhou's face and said repeatedly, "I heard that you are not feeling well. Have you summoned the imperial physician to take a closer look?"
Consort Zhou said gently, "It's nothing serious, I just caught a chill and have a bit of a cough. I haven't been feeling well these past few days, so I thought I'd stay at Zhongcui Palace."
Prince An turned to look at Mingchun, who then said, "Your Majesty has just taken the medicine and feels a little better."
Hearing this, Prince An breathed a slight sigh of relief. Consort Zhou's health was already poor, and every time this old ailment recurred, she was in greater danger.
Seeing that Prince An was covered in sweat after he breathed a sigh of relief, Consort Zhou quickly had a palace servant bring him tea and asked him to sit down.
Unexpectedly, Prince An lifted his robe and knelt before Consort Zhou.
“Mother, Fourth Brother has gone to Shangluo and is now building a garden... Pingling, which is adjacent to it, has beautiful mountains and clear waters and a pleasant climate. If you could go there to recuperate, I think your cough would not be so recurring.”
In the Yuan Dynasty, the care for imperial concubines was very lenient, especially for those who had given birth to children. Unless the newly enthroned emperor had offended the emperor so badly that he was deliberately keeping the concubine in the palace, she could go to her fiefdom to live out her remaining years.
The other concubines who had no children were sent to the Jingtai Imperial Palace to spend their later years in peace.
Seeing that Consort Zhou remained silent for a moment, Prince An looked up at her with an almost pleading expression: "Mother, when the Crown Prince was still the heir apparent... because of the feud between Empress Wang and Consort Zhang, Fourth Brother had no choice but to step forward."
"Even so, Fourth Brother never said he could take his place."
"How does my son compare to the Crown Prince?"
Consort Zhou remained silent, but Prince An shook his head first.
"Mother, Mingchen is back."
"Even though the position of Crown Prince is vacant, anyone with eyes can see the Emperor's intentions right now."
Consort Zhou clenched her fists tightly. She had endured so much in the palace for so many years, and she was truly unwilling to accept it.
"Yu'er, your mother..."
"Mother, you used to take such good care of me."
Prince An's tears were faintly glistening.
"It is your unfilial and incompetent son who has caused your mother to worry and fret so much while she is ill, which has led to her poor health and recurring illness."
“Mother Consort…” Prince An, with tears in his eyes, smiled again. He said to Consort Zhou with some joy that he had one last thing to say: “My concubine is pregnant. In the future, this child will need your help to take care of him.”
Upon hearing this news, Consort Zhou felt slightly dizzy: "Really?!"
Prince An nodded repeatedly, looking at Consort Zhou: "It's true. The doctors in the manor took her pulse, and it is indeed a pregnancy pulse."
Both the late emperor and Emperor Xuanpei had many sons.
Starting with Crown Prince Yin Mingyun, the brothers had very few children, and even after being married for a long time, they had not heard any good news of having a son.
In recent years, Emperor Xuanpei has selected many young ladies for imperial concubine selections, and most of the women chosen have been betrothed to princes who have few children.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
"Mother!"
Seeing that Consort Zhou was swaying slightly and leaning backward, Prince An and Mingchun quickly helped her up.
After stopping Prince An, who was repeatedly ordering the imperial physician, Consort Zhou, having recovered her strength, showed a hint of relief along with joy on her face.
It is said that twins are auspicious, and this saying is especially true for Yin Mingchen.
Born months premature, before even reaching one month old, he was caught in a fire in the dead of winter, and the floods of the two rivers shielded him from harm. Yet, amidst all this devastation, he remained unharmed...
"Enough, enough," Consort Zhou shook her head repeatedly. "It is the will of Heaven."
She gently patted Prince An's hand: "Even if you are to be enfeoffed, there is no rush. Let Madam Sun rest and recuperate. It will not be too late to wait until the child is born safely."
Prince An smiled and nodded: "Alright, I'll do whatever Mother Consort says."
......
Guanju Palace
In preparation for this "flower appreciation banquet," portraits of the invited female relatives from various households have been sent to A-Zhu, so that she can at least have an impression of them.
After spending several days and enduring countless hardships, the seventh princess, gritting her teeth and persevering in embroidering the pair of unusually plump, round orioles, chose to forgive herself.
He slipped into the hall and looked at the portraits with Azhu.
The girls who could be presented to Ah Zhu were all outstanding, each from an extraordinary family, with exceptional looks and refined character.
On the left is the daughter of the Minister's family, on the right is the granddaughter of the Grand Tutor, and there are also the Chen family of Yingyang, the Cui family of Liuyang... even the Wang family, which has suffered great losses, sent a portrait.
The Seventh Princess kept glancing at one person and finding them striking, then another with an extraordinary air about them, until her eyes were about to glaze over.
The mother and daughter rubbed their eyes together and finally put the portrait away.
Emperor Xuanpei said he wanted someone who caught his eye, but none of these men looked bad.
"Let your brother consider this matter himself."
Ah Zhu picked up her teacup, took a sip, and shook her head: "I can't pick any out."
The seventh princess nodded repeatedly.
A-Zhu put down her teacup, moved closer to the Seventh Princess, and whispered, "Jiahe, it's time for your elder brother to get engaged. Do you... do you have any thoughts on this?"
The seventh princess pointed blankly at herself, "Mother, are you referring to your son?"
A-Zhu nodded, looked at the Seventh Princess, and said seriously, "Jiahe, marriage is a lifelong commitment... If it is rushed, you will eventually feel uneasy."
"You don't need to worry about those court disputes when it comes to your marriage."
"If your brother still needs to rely on his own sister's marriage to win over the court officials, then we might as well pack up and get out of this capital city as soon as possible, so we can at least save our lives."
It is said that a young girl's heart is most fluttering when she is in love, but the Seventh Princess was indeed pampered and raised by A-Zhu and Emperor Xuanpei.
In this palace, she saw the Crown Prince, Prince Qi... people of outstanding talent who stood at the pinnacle of power, and even the Ninth Prince, with whom she had spent every day since childhood.
You're saying the Seventh Princess can fall for any random person she meets outside?
joke.
She even found it less interesting than horseback riding and archery.
"Mother." The Seventh Princess sighed like a little adult.
“I used to think that my father was the best person in the world. Later I thought that someone like my eldest brother was better. Now I still think that someone like the Grand Master of Ceremonies who travels the world is better.”
"Those arrogant and corrupt officials are really good at changing their tune, and they are the most good at switching faces."
When this was mentioned, the Seventh Princess's eyes suddenly lit up.
"One moment she was swaggering around with her pregnant belly, the next she was trembling and begging for mercy... Mother, I feel like I could watch this for a lifetime."
A-Zhu: ......
Startled by the Seventh Princess's bizarre hobby, A-Zhu took a long time to recover her voice.
"Jiahe, this matter, this matter, is not child's play..."
"Mother."
For some unknown reason, the Seventh Princess stared wide-eyed at Ah Zhu.
"Your subject may be playing games, but with a princess who roams the world and is always ready to stand up for the weak, they'll have to rein themselves in a bit..."
"No, no, no."
Startled by the Seventh Princess's words, A-Zhu shook her head repeatedly in denial: "Leaving aside the hardships of traveling outside, your 'childish' behavior is playing with your own life!"
"Your mother has seen greedy people in the palace. If you threaten them, they might even take desperate measures! Jiahe, what am I supposed to do then?!"
"Your father will not agree to this, your elder brother will not agree, and I certainly won't!"
"Mother..."
"No!" A-Zhu said firmly with a solemn expression, "I will agree with you on everything else, but don't even think about this. There's no room for discussion!"
No matter what the Seventh Princess said afterward, Ah Zhu only had two words: "No."
Emperor Xuanpei held a meeting with the Ninth Prince in the outer court, and even lunch was eaten in the Hanyuan Hall. When Azhu and the Seventh Princess were eating in the Guanju Palace, both of them looked sullen.
As dusk approached, the atmosphere at Guanju Palace had not yet calmed down when an urgent report rushed into the capital—the Empress Dowager, who had left the palace to cultivate herself and pray for the country at Futai Mountain, had passed away!
......
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
