Chapter 94: Madam, You Finally Figured It Out
That night, Bai Wutong dreamed of his father and mother for the first time.
They returned to the jungle and ran as fast as they could, weaving through the lush trees.
But soon, everything went dark before my eyes.
Bai Wutong suddenly opened his eyes and tears flowed down the corners of his eyes.
It was bright outside.
She calmed down and said, "Chan'er."
"I'm here, Madam, you're awake."
Bai Wutong returned to normal, with a hint of sadness on his face, but without any hatred.
Once emotions are exposed, they are likely to be noticed and exploited by people with ulterior motives.
She let loose yesterday, and that was enough. She will keep it a secret from now on, and no one will be able to get a glimpse of it.
"Please help me wash up. Today is the first day of the new year. Even if the emperor doesn't come, we should celebrate the festival well. I missed home yesterday and neglected you."
"Your Majesty, we servants only hope for your well-being. If you are well, we are happy from the bottom of our hearts." Chan'er felt relieved when she saw her smile, and she happily helped her to wash and dress.
After cleaning up, Bai Wutong called Yunxiang, "Go to the imperial kitchen to get some wheat flour and stuffing, and we'll make our own dim sum."
"Yes, I will go right away."
Half an hour later.
Everything is ready.
Bai Wutong washed his hands and asked everyone to make snacks together.
Chan'er is very skilled and the dumplings she makes look like big-bellied gold ingots. Yingchun also looks good, just like her, with a thick lower body and slender but beautiful breasts.
"Sister Yingchun, your dumplings are not good. They will definitely open after being put into the pot."
"No, if you don't believe me, just watch."
Listening to their chattering, Bai Wutong felt much better.
The dim sum was quickly wrapped and put into the pot.
Bai Wutong sat in the main seat, grabbed a handful of gold leaves from the plate, wrapped them with a fifty-liang silver note, and handed them to Chan'er, "This is lucky money for you. Take it, and this year will definitely be smoother."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Chan'er's eyes were red with emotion. Since she could remember, no one had ever been so kind to her.
Her parents only cared about her younger brother, so she was sent to the palace when she was only twelve or thirteen years old. She then worked as a third-class palace maid, doing manual labor.
If she hadn't met the Empress, she wouldn't have had such a good life, let alone so much reward money.
From now on, she will be loyal to the Empress and will never betray her!
"Put it away quickly."
Chan'er took it and knelt down to kowtow, "I wish your Majesty a prosperous new year, peace every year, a safe birth of the heir, and eternal wealth in the future."
Next came Yingchun, Yunxiang, and Xiao Ningzi.
Even the second-class palace maids who did menial tasks received rewards.
After what happened last time, Bai Wutong no longer allowed these palace maids to enter the palace, and even the reward money was given out by Chan'er.
I gave Jili some money and had some snacks.
Bai Wutong let them move freely.
In the afternoon, Yunxiang helped Xiao Ningzi carry in a box.
Bai Wutong sat on the porch, holding a hot water bottle in his hand, "What is this?"
"Your Majesty, this is the Xun family's New Year gift. I asked the imperial physician to check it and only sent it in after finding no problems."
Bai Wutong walked forward curiously. The box was filled with various ornaments, such as carvings of multi-seeded pomegranates.
The only difference is a small box inside.
After opening it, it turned out to be a plate of emerald green snacks.
A familiar aroma wafted out, it was made from the crispy fruit.
Yunxiang took out the snacks and opened the next layer, which contained an exquisitely carved jade Buddha.
"This is……"
Seeing Bai Wutong looking at her, Yunxiang nodded slightly.
It turned out that it was sent by Jin Zhi, and if it was mixed in with the Xun family's New Year gifts, it would not arouse suspicion.
"My lady, please try it, it's freshly made."
Bai Wutong ate a piece and it was sweet and sour and delicious.
Yunxiang comforted her, "My lady, don't worry too much. This jade Buddha will surely bless you. Your future will be smooth and all your wishes will come true."
…
After the seventh day of the New Year, the New Year is over.
Everything was normal in the previous dynasty.
The same goes for the harem.
The New Year atmosphere has faded, as if all the excitement before was just a dream.
The Queen Mother held Buddhist beads in her hand, knelt in front of the Buddha statue, and chanted scriptures.
After a long time, she opened her eyes, and the nanny immediately came forward to support her, "Madam, I have prepared snow plum tea."
"Well, has the imperial physician visited Lady Wen?"
"I checked it out, and they said... there was no movement."
"Useless thing." The queen mother held up the teacup, her expression gloomy, "As long as the pregnancy is half a month, Doctor Ji can see it. Concubine Wen has been favored for so many days, but she is still not pregnant. It's a pity that I pulled her out of the cold palace."
She put down the teacup heavily. "No, we can't let the emperor waste time on her. Tell Lady Duan to bring the emperor some stew today. She has recovered from her cold a long time ago and doesn't even want to serve the emperor. She is a useless thing. If the Duan family didn't have so many descendants, I wouldn't want to push such a thing up there."
"yes."
In a blink of an eye, the news reached Chun Xing's ears.
"Your Highness, you can't refuse this time. If you refuse again, the Queen Mother will be unhappy with you, and you may never have the chance to serve the Emperor again."
Duan Chunrou had long guessed that there would be another chance, so she refused last time to repay Bai Wutong's favor.
This time, she will go to accept the favor.
"Prepare the bath."
Chun Xing was overjoyed, "My Lady, you finally figured it out."
Two hours later.
Duan Chunrou stood up from the petal bath and said, "Find an opportunity to go to Zhaochun Palace tomorrow and tell Sister Zhaopin that I will speak for her when I am with the emperor and try to get the emperor to visit her as soon as possible."
Chun Xing pouted, "Your Majesty, you sent me a New Year gift and refused to accept my favor. Now you want to help me speak up. Concubine Zhao may not remember your kindness in the future."
There are no real friends in this harem. At most, they are just using each other and may become enemies at any time.
"Just go if I tell you to go. Why are you talking so much nonsense?" Duan Chunrou understood that even if she did not get the fertility formula in the end, as long as Bai Wutong's child was the emperor's and could be born safely, he would have a place in the harem in the future. It would always be right for her to be on good terms with him.
Chun Xing had no choice but to agree. After she put on her makeup, the eunuchs came over to carry her away.
The snow stopped, leaving only gusts of cold wind.
When he arrived at the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, Zhang Chengyan was already ready to rest.
Duan Chunrou's eyes were full of charm, "Your Majesty."
He lifted the quilt and saw that he was fatter than Wen Chuyun, but... still well-proportioned and tolerable. There were doubts about the baby in Zhaopin's belly, so he had to have his own royal heir as soon as possible.
"Well, turn off the lights and take a rest."
When you turn off the lights, you can't see anything.
The hall is full of warmth.
Being overturned by the red waves.
Soon, small snowflakes began to fall outside again.
The snow fell for three whole days.
Duan Chunrou served in the emperor's bedchamber for three days.
Wen Chuyun tried several times to bring soup to the emperor, but was stopped by the Empress Dowager's people.
Her face became uglier and uglier. "What does the Queen Mother mean by this? Seeing that I'm not pregnant yet, you're thinking of looking for someone else? The Emperor has been childless for so many years, and he has only favored me for a month. You expect me to get pregnant? It's simply a daydream."
When the nanny came, her eyes were not eyes and her nose was not a nose. She said in words and deeds that she was a useless thing and her stomach was not doing well.
She had been suppressing her anger, but seeing Concubine Duan continue to be favored, she couldn't help feeling uneasy.
She was afraid that the grace she had finally obtained was just an illusion, as fleeting as a dream, and everything would be gone when she woke up.
Cuiwei said nothing and cleaned up silently.
"Cuiwei, why is it so cold?"
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Internal Affairs only sent one brazier this afternoon."
"One?" Wen Chuyun laughed in anger. "Okay, the emperor has only favored someone else for a few days, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs is already serving her a favor. You go right now and ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send the brazier to me. What belongs to me, nothing can be missing."
Cuiwei looked bitter, "Madam, I have asked, and this is all the Queen Mother's intention. When the last batch of concubines came in, each one was favored for a month, and if they didn't get pregnant, they would be replaced by the next one. After that... it will not be their turn anymore."
People like Ding Zhaoyi and Zhang Jieyushi were from the previous batch. They only served the emperor for a period of time, and there was no place for them after that.
Whenever the emperor entered the harem, he would almost always stay at Concubine Jin's place except on the first and fifteenth days of the month.
They were able to obtain their positions through hard work.
When the next batch of beauties arrive, those who have served the emperor will be promoted even if they are not pregnant.
Wen Chuyun's eyes were gloomy, "The Queen Mother is really cruel, Cuiwei, bring some wine."
"My lady, please stop drinking. It's bad for your health."
"Don't make me say it again, go get it."
Cuiwei had no choice but to go and warm up some wine.
Ever since the reunion night, Wen Chuyun has fallen in love with the feeling of being tipsy when drinking.
He has been drinking every day these days, and Cuiwei can't stop him from drinking.
But she could also understand that the queen had always adhered to the principle of not showing her emotions on her face. She kept everything in her heart and thought a lot on a daily basis, fearing that something would be missed. If she couldn't find a way to relieve herself, she would sooner or later become depressed.
The drinks were served, along with a few side dishes.
Wen Chuyun picked up the cup like a lady from a noble family, covered her face and drank it all in one gulp.
After a few drinks in a row, the feeling of being tipsy came over her again, making her intoxicated.
At this moment, she was finally no longer angry, irritated, or worried. She threw all the countless emotions behind her, and her whole body felt light, as if she was walking on clouds.
"Cuiwei, it's difficult for women to get pregnant. Who do you think is to blame?"
Cuiwei didn't dare to say it.
Wen Chuyun drank another cup, "I can't be without grace. I came to the palace to win favor and to sit in a higher position. Nothing and no one can stop me."
She waved her hand, called Cuiwei over, and whispered in her ear, "Go find someone..."
Cuiwei was so frightened that her legs went limp and she fell to the ground, "My queen, this... this is absolutely not allowed!"
Wen Chuyun had double images in front of her eyes, and her body seemed to be on the clouds. She stripped off her gentle and generous disguise, revealing her true nature. "Why not? I don't want to be Ding Zhaoyi, and I don't want to become Huifei or Defei, guarding an empty house all my life, occupying a concubine position but without any power or status. Once more and more pregnant women are born in the future, they will be squeezed out sooner or later."
"In the past seven years, only the Imperial Concubine and the Concubine Zhao have gotten pregnant. If I really wait for the Emperor to let me get pregnant, I don't know when it will happen. The Empress Dowager may not let me get close to the Emperor again. I don't want to live a stagnant life like that. I want to be a favorite concubine, I want to be the Queen!"
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