Chapter 745 The Princess is Pregnant 2
The princess is pregnant!
The news spread like wildfire. When they returned to Qianqiu Palace, Yuwen Ye hadn't even recovered from his elation when he saw Eunuch Yu come to congratulate him and announce, "His Majesty has summoned you from Liangyi Palace."
So the two of them quickly got up, tidied their clothes, and headed to the Liangyi Hall.
As soon as they entered the palace, they saw Yuwen Yuan sitting directly in front of them, smiling broadly. There was a stack of documents beside him, indicating that he had heard the news while reviewing memorials and immediately put down what he was doing to have Eunuch Yu summon them.
The two entered the main hall, only to see another familiar figure standing beside them.
It turned out to be Yuwen Qian.
He may have come to report something, and he must have just arrived at the Liangyi Hall, so he was still standing. However, he naturally possessed a refined and otherworldly air, and standing alone by the empty hall at this moment gave people an even stronger sense of loneliness, as if he were far removed from the mortal world.
Shang Ruyi glanced at him, and her heart skipped a beat.
But there was no time to think about it at that moment. She immediately kowtowed to Yuwen Yuan along with Yuwen Ye and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Yuwen Yuan's smiling voice rang out: "Get up, get up quickly. Don't tire yourself out."
As he spoke, he personally stepped down, reached out and helped Shang Ruyi up. His dark, imposing face was now full of kindness, and his eyes were brimming with joy, almost overflowing. He said repeatedly, "From now on, there's no need for so much formality when we meet. Ruyi, you're pregnant now, you can't overexert yourself."
Shang Ruyi said in a panic, "How could I dare? Propriety cannot be disregarded."
Yuwen Yuan laughed and patted the back of her hand repeatedly, saying, "What are you talking about? My words are law!"
After saying that, she personally had someone set her up with a seat. Once she was seated, she didn't pay attention to her two sons and just pointed haphazardly to the side, saying, "You two can sit down."
Yuwen Ye didn't say much. He walked over and sat down next to Shang Ruyi, even asking softly if she was comfortable and if she wanted a cushion. Shang Ruyi's face immediately turned red. How could she be uncomfortable when the Emperor personally arranged for her to sit down? Besides, even if she was uncomfortable, it was a favor from Heaven. How could he ask her so many questions in front of her? So she gently tugged at his sleeve, and Yuwen Ye finally shut up.
Looking up again, Yuwen Qian opposite him had also sat down. However, his movements seemed much slower than usual; they had already exchanged two sentences before he had just settled down.
Yuwen Yuan chuckled and went back to sit down, asking about Shang Ruyi's health, how she discovered her pregnancy, and if there were any problems. Yuwen Ye answered for her, but when he heard that she was already three months pregnant and had only discovered it today, Yuwen Yuan couldn't help but frown. Recalling that Shang Ruyi had traveled all the way from Taiyuan back to Chang'an while pregnant, he broke out in a cold sweat.
He let out a long sigh and said, "Fortunately, our ancestors protected us."
After saying that, she glared at Yuwen Ye and said, "How can you be so careless?"
Yuwen Ye immediately said, "Your subject knows his crime."
Shang Ruyi hurriedly said, "Father, please don't blame Feng Chen. It was my own carelessness that I didn't even realize I was pregnant. But thanks to your divine grace, Imperial Physician Su examined my pulse and said that I am healthy and my pulse is stable, and there is nothing wrong with me."
"That's good."
Yuwen Yuan nodded and said, "The one who diagnosed your pregnancy was Su Qinglan from the Imperial Medical Bureau, right?"
Shang Ruyi said, "That's right. If it weren't for her quick wit, I would still be confused."
Yuwen Yuan smiled and said, "I remember her. It was because of her that the illness in Chang Le Fang was brought under control. Although she is a woman, she is resolute and has excellent medical skills."
After saying that, he ordered, "Very well, issue an imperial decree that the Imperial Physician Su Qinglan will no longer be responsible for other affairs of the Imperial Hospital, but will only be responsible for taking care of Princess Qin's pregnancy and medication. Afterwards, I will reward her handsomely."
Upon receiving the order, Eunuch Yu immediately sent someone to the Imperial Medical Bureau to deliver the message.
Shang Ruyi and Yuwen Ye exchanged a glance, a hint of joy appearing in their eyes. In fact, even if the Imperial Hospital didn't send anyone over, Yuwen Ye had wanted to request an imperial physician to come and take care of Princess Qin, who was pregnant. Su Qinglan was highly skilled in medicine, had a steady temperament, and had a past friendship with Shang Ruyi during the epidemic, making her the most suitable candidate.
So the two of them thanked Yuwen Yuan together.
Yuwen Yuan, however, still felt it wasn't quite right, and after thinking for a moment, asked again, "Do you have enough people serving in your Qianqiu Palace? If not—"
Just as he finished speaking and was about to turn his head, Aunt Hui, the head lady-in-waiting who had been serving him, came up. She had a smile on her face, but there was no smile in her eyes. She said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, there are three maids serving Princess Qin in the Qianqiu Palace, three maids for minor duties, and two eunuchs. This number exceeds the standard for a prince."
Although her words were somewhat lukewarm, they were the truth.
Generally, princes and princesses in the palace could not have more than two maids serving them personally, two to three maids for minor duties, and two eunuchs. Shang Ruyi had three maids serving her personally, which was indeed more than that.
Yuwen Yuan said, "She is pregnant now, so naturally she needs more people to serve her."
Aunt Hui said, "In that case, this servant will choose again—"
Before she could finish speaking, Shang Ruyi immediately said, "Father, I already have enough people around me. There is really no need to add more people, so as to save Aunt Hui from having to worry."
Aunt Hui glanced at her.
Yuwen Yuan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure we don't need to add more people?"
Shang Ruyi said sincerely, "Really, there's no need."
"Well, so be it."
Aunt Hui smiled and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, if Qianqiu Palace really needs manpower, just give the Princess Consort a word, and this servant will immediately arrange for people to go there. It will not delay the Princess Consort's important matters."
Yuwen Yuan nodded and still smiled, "In short, this is Ruyi's first pregnancy, so she needs to be well cared for. If she needs anything, just tell me. Also, Yu Mingli and Han Yuhui, you two should keep a close eye on Qianqiu Palace and make sure that Princess Qin is not lacking anything, understand?"
Grandpa Yu and Aunt Hui immediately accepted the order.
Hearing this, Shang Ruyi felt a slight pang in her heart, and even Yuwen Ye, who was sitting next to her, felt a sudden heaviness in his breath—others might not know, but the two of them understood all too well that this was not Shang Ruyi's first child. Their first child had already been lost on the night the blood stained Jiangdu Palace.
But now...
Just as Shang Ruyi felt a pang of pain in her heart, a warm, large hand reached out and gently took her hand.
It is Yuwen Ye.
When she looked up at him again, she saw a trace of sadness in his eyes, but even more so, a determination that made Shang Ruyi's heartbeat gradually calm down—the past cannot be retrieved, what is in front of them is the most important.
So she nodded slightly to Yuwen Ye.
Just then, a very calm voice rang out in the now quiet hall—
"Congratulations, second brother, congratulations, sister-in-law."
The voice was so calm, devoid of any emotion or even warmth. Perhaps because it resonated in the suddenly quiet hall, it possessed a strange sense of remoteness, as if it came from thousands of miles away, seemingly indifferent to all the hustle and bustle of the mortal world. Shang Ruyi looked up and saw Yuwen Qian sitting opposite them, calmly watching them, a gentle smile on his face as always.
He was the one offering his congratulations.
His smile was sincere, and his words of congratulations were very well-crafted; even the most critical person couldn't find a single fault with them.
But Shang Ruyi inexplicably felt a chill from somewhere.
The chill came out of nowhere and penetrated to her bones in an instant, making her throat choke and unable to speak. Fortunately, Yuwen Ye spoke up immediately and calmly replied, "Thank you, brother."
Shang Ruyi also said softly, "Thank you, elder brother."
Yuwen Qian nodded slightly, then lowered his eyes. Yuwen Yuan, however, said, "By the way, didn't you come to report something? What is it?"
Yuwen Qian lowered his head and said, "It's nothing major. Since there's good news about my sister-in-law today, I'll take care of these small matters myself."
Yuwen Yuan smiled and said, "That's true."
After saying this, he asked Shang Ruyi many questions, basically telling her to take good care of herself and not to have any mishaps. Shang Ruyi agreed to everything. After chatting for a while, Yuwen Ye looked up at the sky and said, "If Father has no other instructions, I will take Ruyi back first. We've been out for most of the day, and Ruyi is a little tired."
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yuan hurriedly said, "In that case, go back and rest quickly, and don't come out again."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I take my leave."
After speaking, Yuwen Ye and Shang Ruyi stood up, bowed to both of them, and then turned to leave.
The two walked out of the Liangyi Hall, and Shang Ruyi subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. But before she could even step outside, she heard Yuwen Yuan's voice, filled with both joy and resentment, coming from the main hall behind her: "Look at you, your second brother is even younger than you, and he's already about to have an heir, yet you don't have a single person by your side. Those two concubines I chose for you last time, no matter what, you should take them—what are you looking at?"
"...I didn't see anything."
Shang Ruyi remained silent. The fingertips held in Yuwen Ye's palm grew colder and colder. Even after they had left the Liangyi Hall, she still inexplicably felt Yuwen Qian's calm, stagnant eyes watching her, causing a chill to seep into her heart.
It was only at this moment that she came to her senses—
What truly chilled her to the bone was that from the moment they entered the Liangyi Hall, sat down, began their conversation, and then left, Yuwen Qian never once glanced at her.
So how could he be watching me from behind?
Is it just an illusion?
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