Chapter 90: I couldn't cry before everyone reacted...
Before anyone could react, the woman continued to explain, "The Crown Princess is more than two months pregnant. Apart from malnutrition, she has no other illnesses. She will need to supplement her nutrition more so that both mother and child can grow better."
"What? You...you mean Ah Qing...Ah Qing, he..."
"Yes, Auntie, Aqing is pregnant!"
Chen Yuetao was so excited that she couldn't speak clearly, but Lin Jing reacted quickly and finished the sentence.
"Ah Qing, are you... are you feeling unwell? Are you hungry? Mother will go and make you something delicious, just wait here." Chen Yuetao was so overwhelmed by the surprise that she didn't even think about the fact that Lin Qing'an couldn't eat. She just kept talking and turned to run towards the kitchen.
Seeing that Lin Qing'an was stunned and unresponsive, Yang Ruo helped the woman who was still kneeling on the ground up, and the two stood aside waiting for Lin Qing'an to come back to his senses.
Lin Qing'an stood there, motionless, not even blinking. Lin Jing panicked a little. She stepped forward and gently shook Lin Qing'an, whispering, "Qing'an, are you alright?"
Lin Jing shook Lin Qing'an a few more times before he finally came to his senses from the shock.
His gaze was still somewhat unfocused, and he asked, his lips trembling, "I...I..."
He stammered and said several things, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it; it was as if those words were stuck in my throat and I just couldn't say them.
He paused for a moment, and finally changed the word "pregnant" to "having".
He asked, "Am I really pregnant?"
Despite trying to remain calm, her voice still trembled slightly.
His expression was complex, his eyes were vacant, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or not.
Lin Jing was still hesitating about how to tell Lin Qing'an about this, but the female doctor who had been waiting beside her spoke first.
She said, "Your Highness, you are indeed pregnant. The baby is over two months along. Your drowsiness and loss of appetite during this time are also signs of pregnancy."
Lin Qingan then realized and murmured, "So that's how it is."
Then, remembering the lower abdominal pain he had felt when he was intimate with Nian Ge, his dull eyes suddenly tensed up. He quickly asked the female doctor, "I was intimate with Nian Ge a month ago, and I felt some pain in my lower abdomen. Will this affect the baby?"
After Lin Qing'an finished speaking, he quickly put his hand on the table again and asked the female doctor to take his pulse again.
Lin Jing and Yang Ruo were surprised that he would reveal what happened in the bedroom. Both of them were young and unmarried, and they blushed as they listened.
The female doctor, being experienced and knowledgeable, naturally didn't think anything of it. She looked at Lin Qing'an's hand, smiled, and shook her head, saying, "Princess Consort, there's no need to worry. The child is very healthy, just a little malnourished. With more supplements, the child will grow out of it."
After saying that, he took out a bottle of pills from the box on his back and handed it to Lin Qing'an, instructing him: "These are pills to stimulate appetite and stop nausea. Take one a day and you will have an appetite in two days, and your discomfort will also be relieved. However, it won't help with your drowsiness."
"The first five months are fine, and it's good to stay in bed more, but later you need to move around more, which will help with childbirth."
Lin Qing'an carefully memorized the female doctor's words, and immediately opened the porcelain bottle, took out a pill, and swallowed it. Before Lin Jing could even pour him some water, Lin Qing'an had already swallowed it.
After swallowing the pill, Lin Qing'an belatedly smiled, raised his hand to gently cover his lower abdomen, and then his smile grew wider and wider, even chuckling out loud.
Seeing him like that, the corners of the mouths of the others couldn't help but turn up.
Lin Jing breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Although Lin Qing'an never explained his strange behavior in detail, she vaguely felt that this Lin Qing'an was not the same person as the Lin Qing'an before, which is why she paid special attention to his emotions just now.
However, it now seems that her worries were unnecessary, which is good, and everyone is happy.
Lin Qing'an's pregnancy became known to everyone, and they treated him like a treasure, protecting and loving him. Just as the female doctor had said, his appetite increased significantly on the third day after taking the pills. Chen Yuetao and the others prepared various delicious meals for him, and in less than half a month, Lin Qing'an had regained his lost weight.
Apart from Lin Qing'an's incident, nothing else happened in the mountains. They knew nothing about the outside world. When Chen Gengnian left, he told them not to leave the mountains easily until he returned. Moreover, no one wanted to give up the peaceful and prosperous life in the mountains where there was plenty of food and drink.
As for Chen Gengnian, Jiang Qu only told them the truth after they left the mountain.
It turns out that Jiang Qu's urgency was not because he was in a hurry to take Chen Gengnian and A Bao to the capital, but because in order to win the hearts of the people and bring peace to the country, they had to go to the front line to fight alongside General Lin Mo and defeat the foreign enemy. Only by returning in triumph with General Lin Mo could they convince the people and silence the doubts of the public and the court officials.
Chen Gengnian was caught in a dilemma, but he only hesitated for two seconds before agreeing.
Whether he admits it or not, his status is what it is, and there are some things he has to do. Only by doing so can there be less controversy when A Bao takes that position.
Chen Gengnian suggested that Abao not go, but Jiang Qu shook his head.
To Chen Gengnian's surprise, A Bao actually stepped forward and said he wanted to go.
He said, "Since I can't get rid of this identity, I have no choice but to give it my all. If I win, I will win the hearts of the people. If I die, I will die for the country and the people. Everyone is going to die eventually, so dying in a worthy way is a kind of fulfillment."
His words greatly boosted everyone's morale, and they were all impressed by his and Chen Gengnian's righteousness and magnanimity.
Entrusting the throne to someone like this is definitely the right thing to do.
Jiang Qu gathered all the troops and the troops sent by the Prince of Lin, and the nearly three thousand troops traveled at full speed for half a month before finally arriving at Lin Mo's camp.
When they arrived, Lin Mo was fighting with the enemy for the most important city. Chen Gengnian and Jiang Qu led their troops to attack from the other side, and together with Lin Mo, they launched a pincer attack on the enemy. After fighting for half a day, the enemy was completely routed and fled.
Chen Gengnian recognized Lin Mo the moment he saw him.
It turned out that the old man he had saved in the mountains that day was actually this famous general.
Thinking back to that day, the other party wasn't seriously injured, but was extremely weak.
Lin Mo returned his smile, and Chen Gengnian finally understood.
He was just testing him at that time.
Lin Mo shouted that he would give half the credit to Chen Gengnian and A Bao, and took the lead in kneeling down to support the two.
From then on, A Bao and Chen Gengnian became famous.
Although Chen Gengnian and Abao knew they hadn't helped at all, they also understood that this was a scheme set up by someone else, and they had no choice but to accept it.
On the day of their triumphant return, the King, along with his civil and military officials and all the people of the city, welcomed Lin Mo, Chen Gengnian, and A Bao at the city gate.
The moment Chen Gengnian saw Prince Lin, he recognized him as the man from the thatched hut, even though the man was no longer as young as he had been that day.
Chen Gengnian suddenly realized that, just as Jiang Qu had said, only they themselves had been unaware of their own identities all these years, and they would not be in this situation for many more years.
Amidst the cheers and adoration of the people, Chen Gengnian and Abao were led into the palace by Prince Lin, and immediately taken to the emperor's bedroom.
The first thing I saw upon entering was a person lying on the dragon bed. The person was wearing a dazzling bright yellow dragon robe, lying stiffly and straight, with his eyes closed and a brown bead in his mouth, motionless.
“His Majesty has long since passed away.” Prince Lin looked at Chen Gengnian and A Bao and said heavily, “Jiang Qu has probably already explained things to you, so I will not say anything more today. No matter what happens later, neither of you should speak.”
Lin Wang paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to A Bao and said, "If you can cry, then cry; if you can't, just pretend to be sad."
Ah Bao carefully examined the lifeless man on the dragon bed. The man's cheeks were sunken and he was as thin as a rake. No matter how he looked at him, he couldn't see any resemblance to himself in the man's face. For a moment, he wondered if they had mistaken him for someone else.
Seeing that A Bao hadn't responded to Lin Wang's words for a long time, Chen Gengnian looked at him. Seeing that A Bao was staring intently at the deceased emperor, Chen Gengnian thought he was sad and was about to say a few words of comfort when he heard A Bao turn his gaze back and say, "I can't cry, but I will try my best to pretend to be sad."
After hearing what he said, Chen Gengnian asked again, "Are you really alright?"
Ah Bao nodded again, "Brother-in-law, I'm fine."
It wasn't that he was heartless; he genuinely felt no grief whatsoever. He tried his best to find some emotion, but there was absolutely no sadness in him.
Chen Gengnian observed him carefully for a moment and, seeing that he did not have any significant emotional changes, did not ask any more questions.
"Your Highness, the time has come."
Suddenly, an old voice rang out. Chen Gengnian and A Bao then realized that they were not the only ones in the room. Looking in the direction of the voice, several old men walked out from behind the screen. Although Chen Gengnian did not understand, he knew that these people were not simple, just by looking at the fact that they were all dressed in official robes and bowed to the Prince of Weilin.
They walked over, but their eyes never left Chen Gengnian and Abao.
Only when they were right in front of him did Prince Lin speak up: "Gentlemen, now that you have seen the Crown Prince and the Heir Apparent, do you have anything to say?"
The group quickly averted their gazes, and one of the elders exclaimed, "So alike! The Crown Prince and the late Emperor are practically identical, they look so alike!"
As the man spoke, he looked at Chen Gengnian again, tears welling up in his eyes. His voice choked with emotion as he said, "The young master looks exactly like the prince from back then. If he weren't so young, this old minister would have thought the prince had returned..."
Upon hearing this, the others nodded in agreement, and their previous suspicions and hostility towards Prince Lin vanished at that moment.
Only now did they believe that the Prince of Lin truly had no ambition, and that he had never lied about anything he had said all along.
Everything was confirmed; several senior officials intended to support Chen Gengnian as the new emperor, but before they could speak, Prince Lin cut them off.
"Don't think about anything else. I promised the Crown Prince before he even arrived that the new throne can only be held by the young Crown Prince."
Ah Bao, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but retort, "What if I don't take the position?"
Although he was not old, his expression revealed the awe-inspiring presence befitting an emperor, and the Prince and several important ministers immediately became solemn.
Ah Bao's gaze was firm, and even Chen Gengnian thought he was about to back out when he slowly spoke again, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Prince Lin, fearing he might change his mind, beckoned the old eunuch. With just a glance, the old eunuch nodded and backed away, calling out, "His Majesty has passed away—"
Outside the palace, Lin Mo and his ministers waited. At the old eunuch's call, everyone knelt down in unison. Then the national bell rang, and the whole world knew that the late emperor had passed away.
Outside the palace, some ministers had doubts, but they were so frightened by the secret guards who had surrounded them that they dared not utter a word.
Inside the hall, all the ministers knelt on the ground, but Chen Gengnian and A Bao did not. They watched as Prince Lin walked to the dragon bed and slowly took the brown bead from the emperor's mouth. The moment the bead was taken away, the emperor's flesh was instantly covered with lividity.
They could even faintly smell the stench of corpses.
Someone stepped forward and covered the emperor's head, and no one knew the truth anymore.
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