Chapter 143: Granted Residence in Changle
Of course, the queen didn't want Song Zhao to be promoted to concubine at this time.
Once she became a concubine, she could raise her children under her own knees.
Currently, the only pregnant women in the harem besides the Queen are Song Zhao and Concubine Xiao.
If the Queen gave birth to a son before Concubine Xiao, then her child would be both the eldest son and the noble son, with an exceptionally noble status.
If God had no mercy on the Queen and wanted Concubine Xiao to give birth to a princess, and insisted that Concubine Xiao give birth to a prince, then the Queen could also take Concubine Xiao's child as the legal mother and raise it by her side;
But if the Queen and Concubine Xiao both gave birth to princesses, Song Zhao would have given birth to a son instead.
By the time she became the head of a palace, the queen would no longer have the excuse to take the child and raise him in her own lap.
This is what the queen is worried about.
So even though she knew Xiao Jingheng might be unhappy, she still insisted on speaking up.
"But has the emperor ever thought about what would happen if..."
"Then congratulations to Sister Songpin."
Before the Queen could finish her words of advice, she was interrupted by the laughter of Concubine Chen.
Concubine Chen pushed through the crowd and came to Xiao Jingheng's side. She lowered her eyes and looked at Song Zhao who was crying like a tearful man. She comforted him softly:
"You must take good care of your pregnancy and don't let the emperor down. Do you understand?"
The Queen didn't expect that the Concubine Chen, who was always the most jealous, didn't show any jealousy this time, but instead smiled and congratulated Song Zhao?
But the Concubine Chen spoke before her.
If she continued to stop him, it would seem that she, as the Empress, was not as sensible as the Concubine Chen, so she had to shut up in disappointment.
Don't think that Concubine Chen said these words to Song Zhao with a smile.
But how could she be willing to do that?
From the moment she learned the good news about Song Zhao and rushed to Yaohua Palace,
She saw with her own eyes how Xiao Jingheng felt sorry for Song Zhao, how he hugged her tightly and sobbed to comfort her, how he gently wiped her tears, and how he affectionately called her "Zhao'er".
Just like in the past, Xiao Jingheng strolled with her under the magnolia trees, calling her only "Wan'er".
The concubine felt a pang of pain in her heart.
But she still had to pretend to be magnanimous.
It was because on the night when she regained her favor and slept with him, Xiao Jingheng said to her:
"To me, everything about you is good. You have been a concubine for a long time, and I really want to promote you. But you also know that you are straightforward and always offend the queen unintentionally when you speak, and you want other concubines to be afraid of you. If you can be gentler and more generous, I will only consider you as a concubine."
She remembered Xiao Jingheng's words.
I also believed what Xiao Jingheng said.
I foolishly thought that as long as I became a concubine,
Xiao Jingheng will love her more...
Later, the imperial physician said that Song Zhao was not in good health and needed to rest more.
Xiao Jingheng asked all the concubines to return to the palace, and he stayed alone to accompany Song Zhao.
Being promoted to concubine was a great joy, but seeing Song Zhao still looked so sad, it seemed that this joyous event was not significant enough for her.
Xiao Jingheng comforted her and said, "Zhao'er is no longer alone, and you will soon become a mother. You must always consider our child. If you continue to be sad like this, it will not be good for you and Huang'er."
Song Zhao had passed the hysterical stage.
Now, she just cried quietly in Jamel Xiao's arms.
The crying was sad, but also very beautiful.
"Your Majesty knows that this is not what I want..."
"I understand, but I want to give the best to the woman I love." Xiao Jingheng held Song Zhao's trembling shoulders, his tone extremely gentle.
"I will arrange a decent funeral for your father. I will order the historians not to add any more details about the mistakes he made in Yudi. This way, you can have a clean life experience, and your Song family will still be important ministers who have made many contributions to the Qi Dynasty."
Song Zhao then sobbed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Xiao Jingheng kissed away the crystal tears on her cheeks, leaned close to her ear and whispered with a smile:
"From now on, you should change your words and call yourself a concubine."
*
Two days later, Song Shicheng buried the Song family's ancestral tomb.
Even the rotten bodies of Jiang and Song Yue, who were criminals and had been thrown into a mass grave, were dug out again and thrown into the ancestral tomb along with the glory of the entire Huguo Mansion.
The funeral ceremony was handled by the Ministry of Rites. Although it was not extravagant, it was still held in a dignified and respectable manner.
Because Song Zhao was pregnant, she could not attend funerals, so she was kept in the palace for the past few days.
Xiao Jingheng allowed her to rest, so she did not go to pay her respects to the Queen, and refused to see anyone after the palace gates were closed.
On the day when Song Shicheng's funeral was over, Xiao Jingheng came to see her right after court.
Seeing that she looked better, he said:
"The enthronement ceremony is scheduled for February 16. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have brought the ceremonial robes to you for review? Are you satisfied?"
Song Zhao said calmly: "Everything is fine. But the wedding dress is a little too luxurious."
"It's okay. My Zhao'er deserves the best." Xiao Jingheng looked around and said, "This Yaohua Palace is good, but it's a bit far from my Chaoyang Palace. You are now the head of a palace, and you should have your own palace."
Song Zhao said, "I have lived with Lady Yao for a long time, and Lady Yao has always been very kind to me. Now that I am pregnant, it is inconvenient for me to move. Should we not mobilize a large force?"
Xiao Jingheng waved his hand and said, "It's not a big deal. Changle Palace has been cleaned up. After you are officially appointed as a concubine, let the palace servants move your things there. Changle Palace is a beautiful place, and it is close to the Imperial Garden. It is suitable for you to rest and take care of your pregnancy."
Song Zhao naturally knew what a good place Changle Palace was.
Among all the palaces, apart from Fengluan Palace where the Empress lived and Yonghe Palace where the Concubine Chen lived, Changle Palace was the closest to Chaoyang Palace.
Moreover, that place was the residence of the former Imperial Noble Consort Yi.
As everyone knows, the position of Imperial Noble Consort is as important as that of Vice Queen. Generally speaking, if the Queen is well, there will be no Imperial Noble Consort in the harem.
And this Imperial Noble Consort Yi was the only extraordinary woman since the founding of the Qi Dynasty who was granted the title of Imperial Noble Consort by the Emperor while the Empress was still in power.
If Song Zhao were to move to such a wonderful place where all the people gather,
Of course she had to pretend to be terrified.
"I know that the emperor dotes on me, but Changle Palace is too luxurious. I..."
"No need to say, this matter is settled." Xiao Jingheng knew that Song Zhao was not willing to show off, so he didn't listen to her refusal. He clapped his hands and settled the matter.
Later, he had lunch with Song Zhao and said that he had some state affairs to deal with in the afternoon and would come to see her another day.
Not long after he left, Yunshan and Xiao Fuzi led a group of unfamiliar palace servants to meet Song Zhao.
"Your servant greets Concubine Song, may your majesty live long and healthy!"
Song Zhao scanned these new faces one by one with his calm and gentle eyes, and said kindly: "Everyone, get up."
Xiao Fuzi said: "My queen, these are the new palace maids assigned to you by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This is..."
Seeing that he was about to start introducing them one by one, Song Zhaowei raised his hand and said with a smile:
"Since you have entered my palace, as long as you do your job well, I will not treat you unfairly. I am a little tired now, and I can't remember your names at the moment, so I won't introduce you one by one. There is a long time to come, and we will get to know each other."
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