Having spent a long time in the inner palace, Qian Shengyan has been in the Qing Dynasty for over a decade and has now mastered many skills she didn't know before.
For example, Go, calligraphy, and hair styling—things Qian Shengyan didn't know before, but now she can do almost anything with ease.
At this moment, she was sitting under a big tree in what used to be Peach Blossom Village, fiddling with chess pieces, with another "she" sitting opposite her.
She said her surname was Qian, but she had no given name. She used to be called Da Ni at home. After arriving at the palace, the head maid saw that she was beautiful and gave her the name Mei'er.
Qian Shengyan looked at Mei'er intently. This face was similar to hers, but not exactly the same. It seemed more timid and uneasy, and also seemed older.
"Thank you for taking care of Hongli..." Mei'er was a little embarrassed to face Qian Shengyan's scrutiny. She turned her head slightly away and lowered her eyes.
Qian Shengyan smiled and said, "Hongli is a good child. You don't need to thank me. He was originally my child."
"Yes, yes." Mei'er seemed unsure of what to do with her hands. She glanced at Qian Shengyan discreetly, pursed her lips, and then said, "Originally, he... didn't like me."
Before Qian Shengyan could even process who "he" was, Mei'er blurted out, her voice tinged with grievance: "When I was in the Prince's residence, I was always a concubine. When I entered the palace and was made a consort... at first, I wasn't even as good as Consort Qi. Later, it was only because of Hongli's influence that he elevated me to the rank of Imperial Consort, but there was never any official document conferring the title, nor was there any formal investiture ceremony..."
She stole another glance at Qian Shengyan: "If only I were like you... The Emperor doesn't like entering the harem, and I... I only had one child, Hongli, in my entire life, and after that, I didn't even have the chance to get pregnant again..."
Qian Shengyan didn't know what to say. Had she stolen her life? But... she didn't want to either.
"Don't overthink it, I'm very grateful to you... Hongli grew up with you, and his personality is much better than when he was with me. I... I'm not very good at raising children..." Mei'er smiled shyly, "It's all thanks to Hongshi's disappointment..."
Qian Shengyan: ...
"Alright, I just happened to come and see you. They're looking for you, so I'm leaving." Mei'er glanced at her again, her eyes filled with undisguised envy. As if giving her last words, she spoke in one breath, "Fortunately, it's you now. The Emperor... he's actually suffering a lot. With you by his side, he'll be happier, right? And Hongli, my relationship with him isn't great, but Hongli is a filial son. You treat him so well now, he'll only treat you better in the future... Take care, goodbye."
Qian Shengyan had just said "Hey" when she couldn't stop the person opposite her. She could only watch helplessly as the person disappeared from the spot. She became anxious and struggled to run over and grab the person, but perhaps she used too much force, because she suddenly opened her eyes.
Suddenly, as she stepped into the dim, yellowish light in her eyes, she met a pair of cold, phoenix eyes.
Yinzhen was throwing a tantrum, and the elderly Imperial Physician Zhou was almost dragged out to be flogged. Just then, Qian Shengyan on the bed suddenly exclaimed "Hey!" He rushed over to check on her and found that she had woken up.
"..." Yinzhen and Qian Shengyan stared at each other in silence for a moment. He grabbed her hand and said in a hoarse voice, "The Imperial Concubine is awake, quick!"
He didn't even know what he was rushing to do. If he wanted the imperial physician to treat Qian Shengyan, then he should have made way for her.
But then, the Emperor sat down on the edge of the bed with an air of authority, holding the Consort's hand tightly in one hand and touching her face with the other, as if to confirm that this was not a dream: "You're finally awake!"
“Your Majesty…” Qian Shengyan stared at him blankly, then propped herself up to look at the sky outside, “What time is it?”
“You’ve slept all day!” Yinzhen sighed.
"Mother, waaaah, Mother!" Hearing the commotion, Folgochun carried Hongshan in, and the two of them burst into a duet of sobs. At this moment, they no longer cared about being afraid of Yinzhen and squeezed together to lean on Qian Shengyan. "Mother, you're finally awake!"
"Mother just woke up, don't press down on her!" Hongli lifted Hongshan, who was about to lie on top of Qian Shengyan, with one hand, and stopped Fuerguochun, who was about to pounce forward, with the other hand. "Let Mother calm down first!"
"I...what happened to me?" Qian Shengyan was still a little dazed. Yinzhen's voice was suppressed, and the hand holding hers was trembling slightly: "You slept for a whole day and night, and we couldn't wake you up no matter what we did..."
"Ah, did I sleep for so long?" Qian Shengyan was a little embarrassed when she saw his haggard face. "I think I had a dream."
"What dream? In the middle of the night, I only heard you cry out 'it hurts,' but you wouldn't say where it hurt." Yinzhen sighed, "Where exactly did it hurt?"
Qian Shengyan herself didn't know either, but looking at the imperial physicians kneeling on the ground and Fuerguochun with swollen eyes from crying, she said somewhat embarrassedly, "It doesn't hurt anymore, it's nothing. I guess I've been too tired lately..."
"Your Majesty is in good health, but perhaps a little overthinking. We hope Your Majesty will calm down and take better care of yourself!"
After being tormented for a day and a half, Judge Liu kowtowed and sighed.
Qian Shengyan nodded, and then had the chief physician and Imperial Physician Zhou take turns to check their pulses. After confirming that everything was fine, the imperial physicians left a prescription for treating summer heat before taking their leave.
Hongli also wanted to stay, but seeing that his father and mother still had a lot to say, he sighed and asked, "Mother, you've just woken up. Would you like some food?"
He shouldn't have mentioned it, because once he did, Qian Shengyan really felt hungry. She touched her flat stomach and glanced at Yinzhen again: "Your Majesty, I want to eat."
"Alright." Yinzhen replied, and asked Qingxue to serve dinner. Hongli took the opportunity to say, "Today, Father Emperor has been taking care of Mother Emperor and hasn't had any food. It's good that Mother Emperor has woken up, so your children will not disturb Father Emperor and Mother Emperor's meal."
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