Chapter 231: The Death of the Daughter
Kunning Palace.
"All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows; like dew and lightning, they should be viewed in this way."
The queen knelt in front of the Buddhist shrine, muttering scriptures softly, and holding a string of shiny beeswax Buddhist beads in her hand.
'Squeak'
When she heard the door of the inner bedroom being pushed open, she stopped what she was doing and asked casually,
"Have you delivered the things to the Queen Mother?"
Shuang Ruo stood behind her, bowed and said, "The tranquilizing drink was given to the Queen Mother, and the amulet sewn by the Queen Mother was also given to the princess. The wet nurse said that the princess is fine, so the Queen Mother can rest assured. It's just that the Queen Mother has not allowed you to see the princess, otherwise the Queen Mother should..."
"Then forget it. Jinghe is being raised by the Queen Mother. No one will have any dirty thoughts towards her."
The queen slowly raised her eyes, raised her hand and helped Shuangruo up, then asked her:
"Have you found out what I asked you to find out?"
Shuang Ruo said, "I saw ephedra in the medicine residue used by the Queen Mother. The ephedra in the palace is tempered together with Tianchuangzi. Those who take it must not drink alcohol, and they cannot even smell the smell of alcohol. Otherwise, they will experience symptoms like the Queen Mother did today, with sudden dizziness and weakness in the limbs."
Shuangruo has served the Queen for many years and is also well versed in pharmacology.
When the queen heard her words, she had an idea in her mind.
She turned around and sat on the wind chair, her eyes were sinister, her thin lips were smiling,
"Yipin was so clever that she added realgar to the hot water bottles used by the empress and concubines. This allowed someone with ulterior motives to use the smell of realgar to cover up the smell of realgar wine. The empress dowager smelled it unconsciously and suffered from dizziness. She almost dropped her precious 'noble son' to death."
The Queen's tone was calm, but the smile on her lips grew thicker.
"During the time when I was recuperating, Concubine Yi was favored by everyone and even rivaled the Imperial Concubine. It seems that she offended many people because of this."
Shuang Ruo poured a cup of hot tea for the queen and asked in a low voice:
"Who do you think did this, Queen?"
"Who is she? What does it have to do with me? Didn't the emperor ask me to rest? So no matter how the turmoil in the harem gets stirred up, it has nothing to do with me. If they want to fight to the death, then go ahead. I would rather be at peace and worship Buddha than get involved in those dirty things and mess up my mind."
The queen lifted the lid of the teacup and slowly skimmed off the foam on the surface of the tea.
After a moment of silence, he instructed Shuang Ruo:
"Go to the Imperial Court and tell the Emperor that the weather has been cold recently and my health has been damaged and I need to rest. From now until the beginning of next spring, I will not be able to leave the palace to attend the New Year's Eve banquet."
The Queen was unwilling to be sidelined by Xiao Jingheng.
Finally, Xiao Jingheng tacitly allowed her to leave the palace.
She asked to be confined to her room at this time. This matter is definitely not as simple as it seems.
So Shuang Ruo asked, "What are you worried about, Madam?"
The queen sneered and said, "What we can guess, the Queen Mother and Concubine Yi may not be unable to guess. Today, when we were appreciating the plum blossoms in the Plum Garden, I was standing next to the Queen Mother. It is inevitable that someone would suspect that I was the one who did it. Those who wanted to do this also wanted to throw dirty water on me..."
Shuang Ruo immediately said, "So, Your Majesty wants to temporarily avoid the spotlight? First, it can avoid suspicion and avoid being retaliated by Concubine Yi; second, it can also give the person who really took action more opportunities to harm Concubine Yi and her son. Or... plotting against the Imperial Concubine?"
"Amitabha." The queen piously chanted a Buddhist mantra to interrupt Shuang Ruo's words, and then said sternly:
"I am just feeling unwell. How can I be as treacherous as you say? Chengyu is the emperor's flesh and blood, and the noble concubine and Yipin are the emperor's favorite concubines. I am the queen who rules the country, so naturally I hope everything is fine for them."
Shuang Ruo smirked and patted her cheek, and said hurriedly:
"Your Majesty, I am kindhearted. I have spoken out of turn."
*
On the other side,
At sunset that day, after Xiao Jingheng finished his state affairs, he rushed to Yonghe Palace to visit Concubine Chen.
He was very happy about Concubine Chen being pregnant with twins.
As soon as he entered the inner chamber, he saw Concubine Chen bowing to pay her respects. Xiao Jingheng hurriedly helped her up with one hand, and with the other hand he held her slightly plump waist, smiling brightly and saying:
"Why are you struggling when you have a healthy body? Sit down."
After taking Concubine Chen to sit side by side in the warm seat, Xiao Jingheng's eyes fell on her lower abdomen, and he couldn't help but sigh with joy,
"You are also a fool. How come you only found out about such a good thing five months later?"
He came here by sedan chair.
The imperial carriage was filled with warmth, but Concubine Chen felt his palms were very cold.
After the two of them sat down, she held Jamel Xiao's bony hands with both hands and covered them for him.
"When I first heard this, I was also unsure. The same goes for Doctor Qi. His medical skills are among the best in the palace, but he couldn't even diagnose the pulse of the twins?"
Xiao Jingheng said, "You're afraid you don't know. Last month, something happened to Doctor Qi's family and his son died. He had a son in his old age and he was the only child. It's normal for him to be confused and dazed after such a blow."
Concubine Chen was surprised and said, "Is this true? No wonder the Imperial Hospital said he had asked for leave... If that's the case, let him take care of his family affairs first and then return to the palace to serve."
Xiao Jingheng nodded lightly.
He stroked Concubine Chen's bulging belly, his eyes and eyebrows showing the joy of being a father.
"Wan'er, you are pregnant with twins. This is a blessing for you and me. I am very happy. It just so happens that your father will be returning to the capital in two days. I know you miss your family, so I want to arrange for your parents to come to the palace and meet you."
Hearing this, Concubine Chen's eyes flickered, and a sudden warmth turned into mist, flowing from the tip of her heart to the bottom of her eyes.
"Your Majesty, thank you for your grace!"
If a female member of the harem is pregnant and is favored by the emperor, she can be arranged to meet her maternal family members when she is eight months pregnant:
First, it is a comfort to relieve homesickness and help with childbirth;
Secondly...
Giving birth is always a very dangerous process for women, as the child is born and the mother is dying. I am also afraid that if something unexpected happens, I won't even be able to see my family for the last time, which is always a pity.
However, Concubine Chen is only five months pregnant, and Xiao Jingheng arranged for her family to come to the palace to meet her at this time, which shows how much Xiao Jingheng cares about her.
However, what moved Concubine Chen even more was not just this.
Instead, she heard the familiar name from Xiao Jingheng again.
——Wan'er.
Compared to the word "Royal Concubine" which symbolizes supreme glory,
Concubine Chen prefers to hear Xiao Jingheng call her Wan'er.
To her, the warmth implied by this name is more important than anything else.
That night, Xiao Jingheng stayed in Yonghe Palace to accompany Concubine Chen as expected.
The next day, when he went to pay his respects to the Queen Mother,
On the way, Jiang Deshun had already told him about the dangerous incident that happened in Meiyuan yesterday.
When they met the Queen Mother, she asked Qingzhu to repeat the details of the dangerous incident to Xiao Jingheng again.
After Qingzhu finished speaking, the Queen Mother dismissed the attendants and whispered to Xiao Jingheng:
"The imperial concubine was pregnant, but she still rushed out to protect Chengyu without caring about her own safety. It can be seen that she is not a bad person by nature. Now that she has twins, will the emperor consider fulfilling her wish to become a mother?"
Xiao Jingheng lowered his eyes, leaned forward slightly, and rested his arms on the yellow pear wood table.
The index finger of his right hand kept stroking the black jade ring on his thumb.
After thinking for a long time, he closed his eyes and said quietly:
"If it's a princess, it's not a bad idea to keep her with him. But if it's a prince, then how did Yu'er get lost that day..."
He slowed down.
Suddenly he raised his eyelids, his eyes were as sharp as a sword, and he said something without any emotion:
“Today, the same is true.”
[Chapter 149, Yu'er is the child of Concubine Chen who fell and died.]
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