Chapter 102 The Queen is so nice
During the Chinese New Year, another child died in the palace.
To be precise, a fetus died because the child had not yet been born.
The reason I say "again" is because there haven't been many children born in the palace in the past two years. Or, if they are born, they die soon after.
There are various reasons, some are because of falling while walking, some are because of depression, and some are because of physical weakness...
The most recent person to lose a child was Concubine Yuan of Lingyu Palace.
I heard that she was pregnant without knowing it. She ate something bad and had a stomachache and bleeding from her lower body. Only then did she realize that the baby was gone.
Emperor Murong Yu was very angry about this and felt that Concubine Yuan was really careless.
How come she didn’t even know she was pregnant with a dragon heir?
The previous emperor had few children during his reign, and Murong Yu didn't want to see the same thing happen to himself.
Concubine Yuan almost fainted from crying in Lingyu Palace.
She had not yet finished her postpartum confinement and was not feeling well enough to serve the emperor. She also looked very haggard.
Emperor Murong Yu came to see him once, told him to have a good rest, and then left.
After all, in addition to Concubine Yuan, there are many young, slim and childless women in the harem waiting for the emperor's favor on a whim.
The branches in Lingyu Palace were bent by the heavy snow.
Concubine Yuan was lying on the bed sobbing, her body curled up, her back bent like a branch weighed down by snow.
"Don't be sad, Your Majesty. You are still young and there will be opportunities in the future." The palace maid whispered to comfort her beside the bed.
But Yuan Jieyu buried her head in the quilt, her shoulders and back still trembling slightly.
She is still very young. She entered the palace at the age of sixteen and has been there for two years. She is only eighteen now.
But it was not easy to endure the lonely two years before. Recently, she finally received the emperor's favor and became pregnant again. She thought that she would have someone to rely on in the palace for the rest of her life.
She had a hunch that she was pregnant before her period even started.
But she didn't dare say it.
Because she had been in the palace for two years, she had never seen a child leave safely and survive.
There were undercurrents in the palace. She didn't know what was happening, but she always had a sense of crisis.
Concubine Yuan planned to find a way to keep it a secret for the first three months, and even when the imperial physician came to take her pulse, she managed to refuse.
But she couldn't even keep the baby for the first three months, and the baby died without her knowing why.
She clearly used the silver hairpin to test every bite of food before taking it, but something still went wrong.
Everyone comforted her and told her that there would be opportunities in the future and she was still young.
But what Yuan Jieyu was crying for was not just the fetus that turned into blood and water, but she was crying because if she got pregnant again, every baby after that would have the same fate.
Because she was not smart enough and had no power in the palace, she could not defeat the person who did it. She didn't even know who that person was or how he did it.
"The Queen has arrived—"
The eunuch Gao Liang's report outside the hall startled some of the snow off the branches.
The palace maid helped Concubine Yuan, whose eyes were red, to sit up and walked to the palace gate to welcome the queen.
Everyone knows that the Queen is kind and fair.
No matter who in the harem suffered injustice or hardship, the Empress would visit them in person and remind the palace servants not to flatter the powerful and look down on the weak, and not to make things difficult for the masters who were in trouble.
"Your servant greets the Empress." Concubine Yuan bowed.
Before he could lower his body completely, the queen reached out and stopped him.
The Queen looked worried, her eyes filled with concern. "Don't be so polite, Concubine Yuan. You haven't fully recovered yet, so why are you wearing such thin clothes?"
"The charcoal fires in the hall must be lit. It would be bad if you get cold."
The Empress Dowager was not at all arrogant at this time. She spoke to him gently and caringly like the eldest sister in the family. She also ordered people to go to Yifeng Palace to get extra gold-thread charcoal to Lingyu Palace.
Upon hearing this, Concubine Yuan shed tears and said, "Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your concern. I was useless and failed to save the child."
The Queen held Concubine Yuan's hand and patted it soothingly:
"Don't be silly. Getting pregnant is a good thing. It's just that your destiny with this child hasn't arrived yet. Don't overthink it right now. Taking care of yourself is the most important thing. You have to take care of yourself first before you can think about the next step."
The charcoal fire made the room warm, and the queen also put a gold-plated and beaded hand warmer into Concubine Yuan's hand.
Yuan Jieyu felt warmth in her hands and heart. She wiped her tears and looked at the Queen:
"The Queen is so kind."
…
Myeonghye Palace.
Today, Eunuch Wang came to this long-deserted courtyard with an imperial edict.
As soon as he entered the yard, he shivered all over and felt that the yard was extremely cold.
Pei Shu came out from behind the thick locust tree trunk, her gray winter coat almost blending into the trunk.
Eunuch Wang's heart skipped a beat.
Pei Shu has lived in this remote courtyard for so many years, wearing such shabby clothes, but her face is still beautiful, as beautiful as a fairy who is not of this world.
Wang Nei Shi bowed and asked, "Pei Jieyu, I am here to convey the order of Your Majesty. I wonder if His Royal Highness the King of Yue is here?"
Pei Shu asked Dongyue to call Murong Di out of the hall.
Murong Di's clothes were a little wrinkled, and he looked a little groggy, as if he had just gotten up from the couch.
"Eunuch Wang, my father has given me... this king."
"That's right, this old servant is here to convey the emperor's will."
Eunuch Wang kept smiling as he unfolded the bright yellow silk in his hands and read aloud.
His voice was long and clear, and every word flowed through the cold wind into the ears of those present:
"...In the past few years, the Lingnan region has enjoyed favorable weather and abundant crops, which has brought me great joy.
I have specially dispatched the King of Yue to tour his fiefdom in Lingnan, to spread the emperor's grace, so that the people of Lingnan will know the emperor's benevolence and the officials will understand the monarch's majesty. On this trip, the King of Yue must thoroughly investigate the people's sentiments and assimilate their opinions, so as to reassure them and strengthen the foundation of the country...
So ordered! "
Before Murong Di had finished listening to the imperial edict, he sat down on the snow that had not yet melted and asked nervously:
"Eunuch Wang, my father wants me to go to Lingnan to inspect my fiefdom? Lingnan is so far away..."
Wang Nei Shi looked at Murong Di and shook his head inwardly, but still bent down and handed the imperial edict to Murong Di:
"The Emperor issued this decree because he values His Royal Highness the Prince of Yue, and you have the Imperial Guards protecting you on this trip, so there is no need for you to panic."
Murong Di tightly grasped the imperial edict, his lips turning pale from biting his teeth:
"Yes, yes."
Pei Shu also rushed to her son's side and asked in panic, "Why do you suddenly have to go so far away?"
Eunuch Wang did not stay any longer. After announcing the decree, he went back to report.
Dongyue escorted Wang Nei Shi and the others out of Minghui Palace. After watching them walk away, he turned around and whispered:
"Gone, gone, people are going far away!"
The mother and son who were huddled on the ground quickly got up, wiped away the tears from the corners of their eyes, and brushed off the snow on their bodies.
The two walked into the hall. Murong Di read the imperial edict again and again, as if in a dream:
"Mother, I can leave Chang'an now."
Although he was only sent on an inspection tour this time and had to return to Beijing to report, he was indeed able to go out!
My mother said before that she would find a way to get him to leave, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
Pei Shu smiled and said, "Qin Rong has always been quick and efficient in her work."
Murong Di was curious: "What benefits did my mother give to Concubine Shu?"
Pei Shu pointed to the corner of the yard and said, "I gave her a pot of aged locust flower wine."
Murong Di: "That's it?"
Pei Shu: "That's it."
Pei Shu said that Murong Di was still young and not suitable for drinking. Murong Di had not tasted the locust flower wine brewed by Pei Shu.
"Is the Sophora japonica wine brewed by Mother delicious?"
"Mm, it's delicious."
…
Yaohua Palace.
The plum blossoms are in full bloom, reaching into the windowsill, forming a painting in itself.
Concubine Shu took a pot of warm wine and poured cup after cup on the couch by the window.
The aroma of locust flowers blooms on the tip of the tongue and slowly enters the throat along with the wine.
After practicing his spear skills, Ning An returned to the hall, his nose red from the cold.
"What is mother drinking? It smells so good."
Concubine Shu's face was slightly flushed, and she beckoned her daughter over:
"Mom got some good wine, let me share it with you."
Ning An firmly refused: "Mother, the imperial physician said I'm still young and shouldn't drink."
Concubine Shu poured half a cup and handed it to her daughter:
"There's only one pot like this. If you miss it, it's gone."
Ning An immediately took the cup: "Oh, then let me try it."
I took a sip of the wine, and it didn't sting my throat at all, but warmed my whole body.
"What a good wine." Ning An held the cup and sipped it bit by bit, his eyes narrowed.
Like a lazy little cat who loves drinking.
Shu Fei looked at her daughter holding the cup and smiled even more happily, with tears in her eyes.
Of course it’s good wine.
Otherwise, why would my cousin be so stingy and hide it back then?
She had wanted to drink it more than ten years ago, and finally got to drink it today.
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