After enjoying the breeze in the courtyard, everyone returned to the flower hall to talk. The Dowager said, "Please make yourselves at home. I'm getting old, so I'll go back and change my clothes first."
No one said anything, but the group was clearly not as cheerful as when they went to the garden.
Upon arriving at the flower hall, a matron served them tea and snacks. Song Yaozhu didn't eat a single bite; she felt she shouldn't have come today.
The Dowager Princess stormed into the room and slammed her Buddhist prayer beads on the table.
"This Song Yaozhu, by praising her, I've inadvertently created a hidden danger for myself!"
The old woman patted her back to help her catch her breath.
"Your Highness, please calm down. She's just a good-for-nothing. If she understood your good intentions, how could she be so ungrateful!"
The Dowager Consort took a few deep breaths and said, "Go..."
After hearing this, the nanny went to make the arrangements as instructed.
At the midday banquet, the Dowager Consort appeared with her grandson, Yuwen Chengfeng. This young boy, raised by the Dowager Consort, was plump and adorable.
"Greetings, ladies." His voice was crisp and clear, and his manners were impeccable. Although he was young, he possessed none of the composure one would expect.
The ladies all praised him.
"It's been a while since I've seen the little prince, and he's become even more endearing!"
What books are you reading now?
"Which tutor did you invite?"
Little Wangsun answered one by one: "Thank you for your praise, Auntie. I am currently studying the Spring and Autumn Annals, and my teacher is Mr. Wang from the Hanlin Academy..."
Seeing that the child was articulate and answered fluently, Song Yaozhu couldn't help but feel a little fondness for him. Now that she was a mother herself, seeing the child inevitably reminded her of her own.
"Alright, Feng-ge'er, go sit over there." The Dowager Consort smiled and gestured for the child to sit down. To Yuwen Chengfeng's left were the Gai family's mother and daughter-in-law.
Song Yaozhu thought that the fact that the Empress Dowager and this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were so close meant that the Prince of Yan and the Gai family had reached some kind of consensus.
But building a building is a cabinet minister's job. Isn't he afraid that Yuwen Wuji will find out if he does it so blatantly?
As she pondered, the Empress Dowager had already sent someone to bring wine, and they raised their cups to drink together.
Having been chilled by the cold wind outside, it was incredibly refreshing to have a cup of hot wine. All the ladies drank it down in one gulp, except for Song Yaozhu, who didn't touch it.
"What's wrong, Your Highness? Does this wine not suit your taste?" All eyes at the table turned to Song Yaozhu again.
"No, that's not it," Song Yaozhu explained with a smile. "It's just that I recently had a miscarriage, and I rode a horse before I was fully recovered. I'm taking medication now, so I really can't drink alcohol."
Her reasoning was perfectly valid, but she had first refused to serve the Dowager Consort tea, and now she was refusing to drink the Dowager Consort's wine. She was being extremely ungrateful.
The Dowager Consort looked worried. "Then you must take good care of yourself. You are still young, and you will have children in the future."
Song Yaozhu nodded, "The Empress Dowager is right."
Since it was autumn, hairy crabs were naturally a must on the table. Today's crabs were especially plump, sweet, and tender, which the ladies thoroughly enjoyed.
The lady beside Song Yaozhu shamelessly said, "Your Highness, you probably can't eat such cooling foods, can you?"
Song Yaozhu nodded and gave her crab to the other person.
After finishing his meal, the other person smacked his lips as if he wanted more. This gesture amused everyone.
"Madam Liu, although this crab is rare, it's something we eat every year. Why are you so greedy!"
Madam Liu wasn't angry at being gossiped about. She laughed and said, "We only eat crabs once a year. The crabs I buy aren't as plump as the ones from the Imperial Concubine's place. I'm only able to enjoy this delicacy because of the Imperial Concubine!"
The Dowager smiled but remained silent, saying, "I noticed Yaozhu hasn't touched her chopsticks much, is it because there's nothing you like to eat?"
Song Yaozhu shook her head. "The chefs at the Dowager's residence are all very skilled, but I have to be very careful about what I eat while taking medicine. The Dowager doesn't need to worry about me. This isn't my first time being a guest here, and I certainly won't let myself be mistreated."
After saying that, she steered the conversation toward Madam Gai.
"I noticed that Madam Gai isn't eating much, and she hasn't touched this crab much either. Could it be that good news is on the horizon?"
Madam Gai was flustered by her words and looked at her mother-in-law with a flushed face.
She's only been married for a short time, less than a month! If news of her pregnancy were to spread now, wouldn't that imply she lost her virginity before marriage?
"No, I ate quite a lot," she whispered in defense.
Everyone thought that compared to this, this young mistress Gai was really not up to par. They wondered what the Dowager Consort was so sure of in favor of her!
As they were talking, suddenly, Madam Liu, who had asked Song Yaozhu for crabs, clutched her stomach and cried out in pain.
"My stomach hurts so much..." Her face turned pale, and fine beads of sweat instantly appeared on her forehead. Everyone was so frightened that they immediately stood up.
"Madam Liu, what's wrong with you!"
Madam Liu clutched her lower abdomen and said, "My stomach hurts..."
"Oh dear, I think it's because I ate too much crab that I have an upset stomach!"
"That crab is a cooling food, so it should be eaten with ginger and vinegar. I just saw that Madam Liu ate it without dipping it in anything, so it must be too cooling!"
As she spoke, Madam Liu curled up in pain, biting her lower lip, looking utterly pitiful. She gripped the tablecloth tightly, but soon lost her balance and fell backward with a thud.
Fortunately, the maid was quick-witted and prevented anything from falling to the ground. However, because Madam Liu was gripping the tablecloth tightly, she dragged down a large number of cups and saucers.
The cups and saucers crashed to the ground with a loud clatter, the sound of them shattering making the Empress Dowager's face turn extremely pale. Yuwen Chengfeng, who was beside her, had never seen anything like this before and immediately burst into tears.
"Granny, take the little prince back!"
The old woman immediately took Yuwen Chengfeng away and sent someone to summon the palace physician.
Song Yaozhu immediately gave Caijin a wink, and Caijin understood and immediately went out of the mansion to find a doctor.
There is usually a small pharmacy near the main mansion. Although wealthy families have their own doctors and pharmacies, only truly wealthy families can afford that.
And since the Prince of Yan's residence wasn't the only establishment on this street, there was naturally a small pharmacy on the street as well.
When the pharmacy staff heard that it was someone from the Prince of Yan's residence who had requested a doctor, they were puzzled for a moment, but since a life was at stake, they still grabbed their medicine boxes and rushed into the Prince of Yan's residence.
The gatekeepers of the Prince of Yan's residence had seen Caijin many times before, but they had no idea that the Dowager Consort and Song Yaozhu had fallen out. They assumed that Song Yaozhu was still a close friend of the Dowager Consort, so they dared not stop Caijin and let her in.
Upon entering, Madam Liu was already placed on the bed. Seeing her mistress's sickly appearance, Madam Liu's maidservant cried uncontrollably.
"Make way! The doctor is here! Make way!" Caijin called out from behind, thankfully she was a step ahead of the physician from the Prince of Yan's residence!
When the crowd heard that the doctor had arrived, they quickly made way for him.
Since Madam Liu was not a young unmarried woman, she only wore a handkerchief. After examining her, the doctor said, "Madam has eaten extremely cold food, causing damage to her uterus, which is why she is in so much pain. Logically speaking, just two crabs shouldn't be enough..."
The doctor muttered to himself, which startled everyone present.
"What? Uterine damage?"
"Can you still have children?"
The crowd bombarded the doctor with questions, giving him a headache.
“This cold uterus is irreversible. Now we can only treat it properly. Although it will be difficult to have children in the future, but…” He glanced at his wife lying on the bed and thought that at this age, there was no need to try for a son.
"Doctor, please take a look at me! I ate crab too!" one of the ladies screamed, and the other young ladies erupted in a commotion.
If they can no longer have children, what will they rely on to establish themselves in the family in the future?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com