18,000 nutrient solutions bonus chapter: "Can this Qin... be deleted?"
A month later, the mysterious herbal pills of the Dian Kingdom were produced. After repeated and careful examinations by the imperial physicians, it was confirmed that the pills were indeed harmless to the human body. Ying Zheng ordered twenty men to wear the pill bracelets for a six-month trial, during which the imperial physicians would examine their pulses every seven days.
It just so happened that the Queen was pregnant, so he could not wear it, for fear that the scent of the medicine might cause her some harm.
The fetus passed through the first three months smoothly and the pregnancy was completely stable. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Having the experience of giving birth to a baby, they didn't feel anything unusual. They ate and drank as usual, just like normal people.
It felt pretty good to not have my period at all. Banban lay crookedly on the bed, and Congyun fed her a piece of candy and gently fanned her with a fan.
The buzzing of officials discussing state affairs outside was like bees buzzing in one's ear, making her drowsy. She subconsciously bit the candy in her mouth.
With the master asleep and the king busy, Cong Yun, aside from gently touching the queen's lower abdomen, had her thoughts drift back to the Ji family.
Geng'er's full name was Ji Chenghong. After his marriage, he became a proper man and had military merits in the conquest of Zhao. His rank also rose steadily. After having a son, very few people called him Geng'er in public.
Recently, a rare thing happened: Lady Pang wanted to have a great-grandson, and her family was urging her to have one. However, Ji Chenghong was making a fuss at home, saying that he wanted to follow the example of the King of Qin and wait until Li Menghua was over twenty years old before preparing to have a child.
One of the couple was away at war and rarely home, while the other learned bookmaking from the palace's printing workshop.
Pang fell ill with anger. In her view, the King of Qin was a monarch, and ordinary people could not interfere with his decisions. Back then, Banban had been unable to conceive for a long time, and even though she was anxious, she could not say anything.
What do you mean by getting pregnant too early and harming a woman's body? Haven't women all gone through this for thousands of years? Nobody used to say that. A woman's proper duty was to get married and carry on the family line.
She didn't know how many more years she had to live. Ji Xiuwen was neither good at literature nor martial arts, and although Ji Chenghong was old, he had not yet made any real achievements. Her only hope was to see him have a child and hold him in her arms. If she could do that, she would have no regrets.
These two juniors were disobedient, and she was so angry that she fell into bed. The Ji family was in a panic, and Ying Zheng also sent a physician to examine and treat her.
Concerned that this news would reach the palace and affect the Queen's pregnancy, Zhu ordered Congyun to keep it a secret.
That day, she shook her head and sighed, "The older people get, the more stubborn they become, especially mothers-in-law who are used to managing the household and it's hard to change their minds. There's nothing I can do. I almost had a difficult childbirth when I gave birth to the Queen, which shows that young women really shouldn't get pregnant easily. I've decided to let Liao Liao get pregnant two years later. You must keep this from the Queen; her health is the most important thing."
But the Queen is Congyun's master, and Congyun can clearly distinguish between what is important and what is not. Perhaps she is not as experienced as Yin in many matters, but when it comes to loyalty, no one can surpass her.
If something were to happen to Lady Pang, how could the Queen possibly be kept in the dark? Lady Pang was the stepmother who had doted on her since childhood. Even if Lady Pang wasn't perfect, her love for the Queen was genuine.
Queen Yunte did not reveal this until she was three months pregnant and the pregnancy was stable.
After resting for a while, Banban heard from Congyun about Pang's serious illness and was greatly alarmed. He immediately wanted to go back to the Ji family to check on her.
Ying Zheng was worried about his pregnant wife leaving the palace, so he went with her.
On the way back, Banban sadly wiped away her tears, and Ying Zheng comforted her gently, "Your maternal grandmother is in good health. Once you talk about your feelings, they will be fine. It's not difficult to cure, so don't be afraid."
Banban has vivid memories of her childhood; every frame is etched in her mind. Although Madam Pang wanted a grandson, she still doted on Banban just as much, and Banban was carefree and happy under her care.
"Does my cousin have no affection for my maternal grandmother?"
"They are family."
Ying Zheng gave a brief overview without describing the nature of her feelings. She wanted him to explain, so he sighed and told the truth, "When my mother was stranded in Handan, the Ji family opened their doors to welcome her. The Ji family had property but no power, so taking in my mother and me was extremely dangerous. At first, I was grateful, but as I grew older, I understood my maternal grandmother's intentions."
"Just as Lü Buwei did for my father, a merchant has the expectation of something that is 'rare and valuable,' and I am that 'rare and valuable.'"
"In that case, I gave back what I could: power, status, and money."
My cousin is simple-minded and her intentions in approaching him are pure, but the Ji family's indifference is actually for ulterior motives.
They wanted their cousin to follow in Ji Changyue's footsteps. Even if she couldn't become the wife of a prince or crown prince of Qin, it would still be profitable for her to stay by Ji Changyue's side and become the queen's niece. Why worry about her not being able to marry well in the future?
He has feelings for a girl, but he can choose not to expose her and pretend he doesn't notice.
Later, he discovered that while they genuinely hoped his cousin would marry into a wealthy family, their true feelings for her were also real. His cousin had made a contribution to papermaking, and neither Ji Xiu nor Pang Shi accepted the late king's reward or took away his cousin's credit.
After these trials, Ying Zheng could only say that he did not hate the Ji family, but he had no genuine feelings for them.
Banban was slightly bewildered for a moment. She hadn't expected that in her cousin's mind, this was just a transaction, a simple exchange of money and goods. Upon reflection, it seemed quite ordinary, as her cousin had always been this kind of person.
My cousin once said that the most important people in his heart were himself and his mother, Ji Changyue. Now that they had a son named Zhao'er, they would have another child in the future.
Ying Zheng changed the subject, saying, "These days, the imperial physician has been staying at the Ji family's residence, so my maternal grandmother will be fine."
Banban sighed, "I know, my mother is also this age, but I just didn't expect it would be caused by Geng'er's resistance."
They arrived at the Ji family residence shortly afterward. Madam Zhu and Ji Xiu went out to greet them. Madam Zhu glared fiercely at Cong Yun, who lowered her head and dared not meet her gaze.
As the group entered, Madam Zhu pinched Cong Yun's waist, making her wince, and scolded her in a low voice, "You really have a lot of ideas!"
Tears streamed down her face as she pleaded, "You know what kind of person the Queen is. If she knew I had lied to her..."
Zhu was soft-hearted after all. Hearing this, she glared at her but stopped arguing and said, "Go quickly."
Wiping away her tears, Cong Yun repeatedly praised the queen and jogged to catch up with her.
Ji Chenghong's troops were resting at Hangu Pass and he was not at home.
This was because the former crown prince Zhao Jia, who had led some of the Zhao royal family and officials, fled to the Dai region after the fall of the Zhao state.
The Dai Commandery in the Dai region was a major military stronghold in the north established by King Wuling of Zhao. It had a solid foundation and was heavily guarded.
Zhao Jia established a regime in Dai and declared himself king. Naturally, he needed to discuss how to eliminate the last remnants of the Zhao state.
Zhao Jia quickly formed an alliance with the Yan state, making it difficult for Qin troops to launch a direct attack in the short term.
Clearly, the next target of the Qin Dynasty was the State of Yan.
Ji Chenghong was unaware that Lady Pang was ill. Lady Pang forbade anyone from sending him letters, saying she did not want to delay his important matters.
Originally, it was thought that Madam Pang was just bedridden, but when Banban came closer, she found that her face had turned ashen. Perhaps the anger had brought out the lesions in her body, and they were out of control.
She knelt before Madam Pang's bedside, angrily pleading, "Grandmother, you're being foolish! Geng'er is still young; why worry about not being able to achieve great things? If this delays his career, won't he regret it for the rest of his life? Can you bear to do that?"
Ponzi kept shaking his head and sighing.
Li Menghua, who was attending to the ailing patient, also looked haggard and had lost a lot of weight.
Perhaps it was because of self-blame.
Banban found it increasingly absurd and immediately ordered someone to write to Ji Chenghong, instructing the medical clinic to use the best medicine and to ensure a thorough diagnosis and treatment.
After they came out, Zhu gave them a heads-up, saying that Pang's health had been poor since she was ambushed on her way to Qin. In recent years, she had been happy and seemed to be doing well, but this sudden illness had brought out all the root causes of her illness. The imperial physician had examined her many times and said that it was probably just around the corner.
"Don't be too sad. Your mother has never suffered much in her life. Her greatest pride is you and Geng'er. Now that you and Geng'er are both well, whether or not you have a great-grandchild is secondary." Madam Zhu held Banban's hand earnestly and gently stroked her belly with her palm.
"It's still flat, what could possibly happen?" Banban muttered, brushing her hand away. "I thought about it on the way here... but it's hard not to be sad to hear it with my own ears."
"Don't cry." Madam Zhu quickly wiped away her tears.
In the days that followed, with the best medicine to prolong her life, Madam Pang managed to stay alive. Seven days later, Ji Chenghong rushed back, his inner thighs bleeding from riding his horse. As soon as he entered the house, he knelt down in front of the bed, tears streaming down his face: "Grandmother!!"
After seeing her grandson one last time, Madam Pang was filled with mixed emotions and uttered a seemingly ambiguous statement: "Take good care of her... don't mistreat her..."
Lady Pang had previously been granted the title of Lady Chuyang, and her funeral was a grand affair.
Afterwards, Zhu said to her with a sense of loss, "It is harmful for a woman to get pregnant at a young age, but this was the tradition and the rule in the past. All of us women have gone through this. Countless women have died in childbirth, and no one thought anything was wrong. How could anyone think that the tradition and the rule are wrong?"
“With your example, Geng’er loves Liao Liao so much that he wants to follow suit. This is probably incomprehensible to your stepmother. It’s not that she doesn’t cherish Liao Liao,” Zhu Shi said vaguely, “...Your stepmother only has your father as her son in her life. Why didn’t she have any more children? I guess her health isn’t good.”
After hearing this, Banban fell silent after a brief moment of bewilderment.
After returning to the palace, she asked her cousin if the Qin law could be amended to remove the clauses that stipulated that women over seventeen who were unmarried and men over twenty who were unmarried were guilty of crimes, subject to fines, and even punishable by implicating their parents.
“I know this regulation is intended to increase the population of Qin, as we have been waging war for years and need many soldiers. What if we changed it to give rewards to anyone who remarries and has children?”
Ying Zheng still did not agree. "How much money can my cousin actually earn to support those commoners? Do you know how many children are born in the entire Qin state every day, every hour?" He was afraid she couldn't possibly support them all. "Your intentions are good, and this is a crucial policy at a critical time. I promise you that one day when we conquer the other states, this Qin law will be immediately deleted."
He had already conceded, so Banban had no choice but to agree.
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Author's Note: The extra chapter in the author's notes in the last chapter was all about writing! I was asking if anyone had any other ideas they'd like to see!
I'm late with today's extra update, so here's a red envelope for everyone, muah muah muah muah.
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