Chapter 822 What's wrong with that wine jug?
"Hmm!"
A sudden, dull pain shot through Shang Ruyi's previously tight stomach, catching her off guard and causing her to lean back against the bed.
Tushe'er, who was standing next to her, was shocked and rushed forward to protect her. Su Qinglan, who had been sitting beside her chatting, was also startled and immediately jumped up: "Your Highness, what's wrong?"
Shang Ruyi didn't speak. She looked down at her stomach again. The feeling she had just experienced suddenly disappeared, but her swollen belly was no longer stable. She had felt a tightness in her abdomen since she woke up early in the morning. At this moment, she was experiencing wave after wave of pain, which was not intense but made her very nervous. Her forehead was immediately covered with cold sweat.
Su Qinglan was also sweating profusely with panic: "Your Highness, is she about to give birth?"
"I...I don't know either."
Shang Ruyi frowned and felt around again. The tremors in her stomach seemed to have subsided as soon as she spoke, but instead, she felt a strange tremor in her chest. Her heartbeat became rapid, and an uneasy gloom suddenly enveloped her.
Su Qinglan looked at her cautiously and said, "Your Highness, please allow me to take your pulse."
Without waiting for Shang Ruyi's reply, she reached out and grasped her wrist, carefully taking her pulse for a while. Tu She'er, standing beside her, widened her eyes in anxiety and whispered, "Imperial Physician Su, how is the Princess?"
After examining Su Qinglan for a while, her furrowed brows slowly relaxed, but the solemn expression on her face did not ease.
She looked at Shang Ruyi for a while and said softly, "If Your Highness feels unwell, you must tell me immediately. This pregnancy—at the latest, is tonight."
At the latest... tonight...?
Upon hearing these four words, Shang Ruyi did not look at her stomach again. Instead, she subconsciously looked up at the outside of the main hall. After autumn, it gets dark very quickly. Just as she looked up, the setting sun disappeared into the horizon. Although the sky did not immediately darken, the surroundings suddenly became darker. Dusk and night began to merge and replace each other in that instant.
In the dim light of the day, a familiar figure hurriedly walked in from outside.
Shang Ruyi suddenly opened her eyes wide. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was Pan Qing, the head palace maid beside Chu Ruoyan. She walked in with an anxious expression.
"Pan Qing? What brings you here?"
Shang Ruyi withdrew her wrist and straightened her sleeves. Su Qinglan also immediately stepped aside. Pan Qing immediately stepped forward, kowtowed, and said with trembling breath, "Your Highness, I have come here presumptuously. Please forgive me."
Shang Ruyi didn't speak immediately, only glancing at Chang Wan, who was following closely behind her. Because of Chu Ruoyan's self-inflicted punishment, the relationship between the two sides had eased considerably, and Shang Ruyi had been sending Chang Wan and the others to deliver things to Jin Yu Yuan from time to time. Judging by the time, Chu Ruoyan's confinement period was almost over, and she should have been more cautious during this period. The fact that she suddenly sent Pan Qing over clearly meant that she had something important to say, which was why Chang Wan let her in directly.
Looking at Pan Qing's flickering eyes and anxious expression, Shang Ruyi didn't say anything to her immediately. Instead, she turned to Su Qinglan and said, "Imperial Physician Su, you've worked hard just now. You've been with me all day, so you must be tired too. Go and have dinner first."
Su Qinglan was so perceptive that she naturally understood that she wanted Su Qinglan to avoid the situation.
Actually, at this point, Princess Qin shouldn't have spoken up; she should have left already. However, seeing that Shang Ruyi's complexion hadn't fully recovered, and recalling her pulse just now, Su Qinglan hesitated for a moment before softly saying, "Your Highness, I'll take my leave now. But Your Highness's pregnancy is precious and cannot be neglected. If there is any discomfort, please send someone to inform me immediately."
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "Of course I understand. You may leave."
Su Qinglan then bowed and turned to leave.
As soon as she left, Shang Ruyi immediately said to Pan Qing, "You came here so suddenly, is something wrong at Jin Yu Yuan?"
Pan Qing hurriedly shook her head: "No, Your Highness, nothing happened at Jin Yu Yuan. It's Cheng Qian Palace that might be in trouble."
"What?"
Upon hearing the words "Chengqian Palace," Shang Ruyi's expression immediately changed. She hurriedly tried to stand up, but due to her heavy body, she swayed slightly. Fortunately, Tu She'er, who was beside her, quickly reached out to support her. After standing up, Shang Ruyi walked a few steps to Pan Qing and stared intently at her: "What's going to happen? And how did you know?"
Pan Qing said, "It's like this. Today, when Wu Mama from Jin Yu Yuan went to the Imperial Kitchen to get dinner, she saw a palace maid beside His Highness Prince Qi carrying a wine pot in when she passed by Cheng Qing Gate."
"flagon?"
Shang Ruyi frowned. Today, the Crown Prince was hosting a banquet for his two brothers in Chengqian Hall, so sending a wine pot over was not unusual. However, as soon as she heard that it was sent by someone from Prince Qi's side, she immediately sensed something was wrong. She then looked at Pan Qing and asked, "Is there something wrong with that wine pot?"
Pan Qing glanced to the left and right to make sure that only Shang Ruyi and her trusted confidantes were in the hall. Even so, she lowered her voice to a whisper, so low that Shang Ruyi had to get closer to hear her: "Mother Wu said that the wine pot is carved with a yin-yang pattern, and judging from its shape, it was something that had been stored away in the palace for a long time without being used."
Shang Ruyi frowned even more: "What exactly is the use of that wine pot?"
Pan Qing took another deep breath, as if she had made up her mind, and said, "Mother Wu is an old woman in the palace. She has seen many people and many things. She said that the wine pot can pour out fine wine, but it can also pour out other kinds of wine."
"Other wines?"
Shang Ruyi was already restless from the waves of unease in her stomach, and these three words were not enough to bring her back to her senses immediately. But when she thought of the first half of Pan Qing's sentence, some rumors she had heard in her youth, whether true or false, suddenly surfaced in her somewhat confused mind.
Rumor has it that the cause of death of the previous crown prince of Chu Yang is a mystery.
I heard that he suddenly died after sharing a pot of wine with someone. Strangely, the other person was unharmed.
The person drinking with him was his own brother, Chu Yang, who had already usurped the position of crown prince!
Could it be that—
Shang Ruyi asked in a hoarse voice, "Are you saying that the King of Qi sent someone to find a wine pot that can pour out different kinds of wine and brought it to Chengqian Palace?"
Pan Qing said, "Yes!"
"..."
“When Madam Wu saw the wine pot, she came back and told the lady. The lady heard that His Highness the Crown Prince was hosting a banquet for the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Qi in Chengqian Hall today, and she felt something was wrong, so she sent me here to inform the Princess. She asked the Princess to be careful and not to fall into anyone’s trap.”
Shang Ruyi gasped sharply.
She thought for a moment and immediately said, "Go back first, and don't let anyone know that you came today. Also tell Madam Chu to rest assured that I will handle this matter myself."
"yes."
Pan Qing nodded and quickly got up to leave.
As soon as she left, Tushe'er hurriedly stood in front of Shang Ruyi: "Your Highness, what should we do?"
Although she wasn't particularly shrewd in interpersonal matters, she was quick to grasp these ingenious ideas. Upon hearing Pan Qing's words, she immediately understood the key point. Furthermore, the conflict between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qin was no secret, and Shang Ruyi was deeply worried about attending the banquet today. With just a moment's thought, she understood the significance and purpose of the wine pot appearing at this time.
Seeing that Shang Ruyi's breathing was becoming increasingly erratic, Tu She'er asked again, "Should I go and invite His Highness back?"
"No,"
Shang Ruyi shook her head, then looked outside again. In just a moment, the sky had darkened considerably. She took a deep breath, a cold glint flashing in her eyes like a sudden bolt of lightning in the gloomy sky: "I'll go myself."
Upon hearing this, Tushe'er and Changwan were both startled and immediately stepped forward, saying, "No, Your Highness!"
Tushe'er grabbed her arm, as if trying to dissuade her, and said urgently, "I understood what Physician Su said. Your Highness, you are about to give birth today. Just now, you were clearly feeling very uncomfortable. Are you about to give birth? How can you go to Chengqian Palace at this time?"
Changwan nodded hurriedly and echoed, "Your Highness, your pregnancy is no small matter and cannot be taken lightly. If anything were to happen—we would be held responsible to the death."
Tushe'er added, "Even His Highness the Prince of Qin wouldn't allow the Princess to do that."
Hearing them rush towards her one after another like a tidal wave, Shang Ruyi couldn't help but frown. Of course, she wasn't annoyed by the two girls' concern for her, and even though Tu She'er had gone too far, she wasn't so ungrateful. It was just that, just as they had feared, from her earlier unease to her restlessness, her stomach was now starting to feel a faint pain.
Even though she had never experienced childbirth, she understood that this was probably a sign that she was about to give birth.
At this point, we should indeed stay in the Thousand Autumns Palace.
However, Yuwen Ye was still in Chengqian Palace!
She didn't doubt Yuwen Ye's ability to protect himself, nor did she distrust his capabilities. However, he was not facing the open and honest enemies he had encountered on every battlefield in the past, but his own brother, the Crown Prince Yuwen Qian, who had been completely lifeless in the mourning hall of the Duke of Shenwu, looking as if he had fallen into hell, or as if he were a demon or ghost that had walked out of hell.
Few attain Buddhahood, but many recite the Buddha's name; yet, over the years, this practice can turn one into a demon.
At this moment, these words were etched into Shang Ruyi's mind more clearly than ever before. She even suddenly understood what Jiang Yu had whispered in his voice—
An excessive Buddhist heart can also become a demon in one's heart.
He and Yuwen Cheng will not let Yuwen Ye off so easily!
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi raised her head and, without much force, firmly pushed away Tushe'er's hand: "Come with me!"
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