There were many concubines in the palace who had miscarriages, including the Empress, Xu Zhaorong, Ye Shurong, and some concubines of lower status. Zhao Chongyi was not the first, nor would she be the last.
The Empress never took any concubine's miscarriage seriously, but this time Zhao Chongyi's miscarriage was not an accident but man-made. Moreover, the Emperor doted on her and had feelings for the child in her belly, so this time he would not let her go as easily as he did Xu Zhaorong and Ye Shurong.
While the queen was thinking, the emperor threw the teacup on the tea table to the ground and said sullenly, "How could she have a miscarriage? Queen, you have always been in charge of the state banquet. Didn't you notice that someone was tampering? Or do you wish Zhao Chongyi's child would die?!"
"Your Majesty, I am innocent," the empress saw that she was involved in this matter, and hurriedly stood up and knelt in front of the emperor, "I didn't realize that someone was plotting against Zhao Chongyi. It was my fault, and I dare not shirk responsibility. But why would I think that Zhao Chongyi would not have a child? After all, when the child is born, he will call me mother, and it is also my child."
"Then tell me, why did Zhao Chongyi have a miscarriage?" Feng Jian did not let the empress stand up, and allowed the other concubines in the room to watch the empress kneeling on the ground.
"Your Majesty, I have asked people to check the food and tableware used by Zhao Chongyi. There is no problem with the food used by Zhao Chongyi, but some of the bowls and dishes she used were contaminated with the medicine juice made from herbs such as angelica sinensis, peach kernel, elm bark, tongcao, moutan bark, and aconite. The tables and chairs were also soaked in the medicine. I have arrested the servants who arranged the tables and chairs and prepared and served the meals. I wonder if the emperor will send someone to hold them accountable." The queen sneered in her heart. Even if she did not take action, there were many people who wanted to make Zhao Chongyi have a miscarriage. Who knew who took action this time and took advantage of the loophole of the state banquet.
"What a scheming person! My harem is really peaceful!" Feng Jin glanced coldly at the other concubines present. The concubines were frightened by the emperor's gaze and lowered their heads unconsciously, not daring to look at him.
"Forget it, Queen, please stand up." The emperor retracted his gaze and snorted coldly, "I'll leave this matter to you to investigate. I hope you can give me an explanation. The harem is in such chaos because of your incompetence. If you can't figure it out clearly, let others take care of the affairs of the harem." After that, he waved his sleeves and walked towards the inner room.
The queen turned pale. What kind of queen is she without real power? Even so, the queen still steadied herself and followed the emperor into the inner room.
The remaining concubines looked at each other, and no one dared to show any gloating over the misfortune.
Gao Dezhong glanced at the empress's back with sympathy. The emperor finally couldn't tolerate the Zhao family anymore. Now he used an excuse to embarrass the empress. I'm afraid that the empress's days in the harem will not be as glorious as before.
After entering the inner room, Feng Jin paused for a moment when he heard suppressed cries, and then he walked to the bed. The woman who used to be lively and beautiful had a pale face, and the pillowcase under her face was already wet. Seeing this, he was slightly stunned. In his memory, Zhao Chongyi seemed to have never cried. Every time she saw him, she would always show a happy and shy smile, which made him feel at ease. Now that Zhao Chongyi has lost her smile and vitality, he finally felt a little pity in his heart.
"Your Majesty, the child is gone. I failed to take good care of our child." The woman on the bed grabbed his hand. Her white and tender palms kept trembling. Warm tears dripped onto the back of his hand, burning her and making her feel a little uneasy.
"We have lost our child. I did not give birth to a child for you. I am useless, useless." The voice was suppressed and hoarse, but it made people feel more sad than wailing.
Feng Jin stretched out his other hand and held her in his arms, gently patting her back: "My beloved, you will have children again. We will definitely have children again."
The empress who came in just happened to hear these words and her body swayed slightly. Fortunately, He Yu supported her steadily so that no one noticed anything unusual. When she had a miscarriage that year, did the emperor say such words to comfort her? Did he not say it or did he forget it herself?
Being held in the emperor's arms, Zhuang Yuyan cried heartbreakingly, as if the world was collapsing. However, the queen found this scene extremely glaring and could not feel Zhuang Yuyan's sadness at all, so she could not say a word of comfort and could only stand aside quietly, watching the emperor hug another woman.
The concubines Shugui and Xian, who came in later, also stood aside quietly when they saw that the empress did not say anything. Hearing Zhuang Yuyan's crying, they could not help but feel a little sad. If Zhao Chongyi's child could not be saved today, then when they have a child, will they be able to keep it?
There are no simple women in the harem. The simple ones have lost favor or died. The remaining women are destined to fight all their lives until the final winner is decided.
"Doctor, Zhao Chongyi is injured. You must take good care of her. I hope to see a healthy Zhao Chongyi soon." Feng Jin stroked Zhuang Yuyan's hair, as if to soothe her sadness. "It's getting late. You all should leave."
"Yes," the queen looked at the emperor's profile with a pale face, and held He Yu's hand and walked out of Xihe Palace. Looking at the fluttering snowflakes, she stopped on the sedan chair and said, "He Yu, why do I feel that it is particularly cold today?"
He Yu opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
"Forget it, let's go." The queen sat on the sedan chair, looked back at the plaque of Xihe Palace, and slowly closed her eyes.
"Farewell, Her Majesty." After several people saw the Queen off, Concubine Shugui glanced at Concubine Xian calmly and said, "Concubine Xian is thoughtful. I think you should go and help the Queen find out which servants are so bold as to plot against the royal heirs."
"This is my duty. I heard that someone from Concubine Shugui's mother's family works in the Palace Province. I can definitely help to inquire a few things and help the Empress share her worries." Concubine Xian looked at Concubine Shugui with a smile.
Concubine Shugui sneered, "We are incompetent. The Empress is in charge of the harem. Why would she need the little skills of my mother's family? It's cold, and I should go back to the palace. I'll leave first."
"I respectfully bid farewell to Concubine Shu Gui," Concubine Xian bowed gracefully, watched Concubine Shu Gui leave with her procession, and turned to look at the others, "It's time for me to return to the palace, sisters, please do as you please."
"The second prince is alone in the palace right now, and it's time for me to go back," the usually taciturn Concubine Ning smiled, got on her sedan chair and left. In the end, only Concubine Rou and Xu Zhaorong were left.
"Everyone has left, and it's time for me to leave too," Concubine Rou looked at Xu Zhaorong with a smile: "The snow scenery is nice tonight. Xu Zhaorong is an elegant person, and it's nice for her to appreciate the snow scenery." After saying that, she staggered onto the sedan chair.
After Concubine Rou left, Xu Zhaorong snorted coldly and returned to her palace without looking back.
Everyone else had left, and the room gradually became quiet. Feng Jin asked Zhuang Luoyan to lie down, and then twisted the quilt for her, "I know you are in pain, and I will definitely investigate the matter carefully and give you... a child." justice."
"Your Majesty, is it because I had too many extravagant hopes that I couldn't keep the child?" Zhuang Yuyan looked at the emperor sadly, "When I first entered the palace, I made a wish to the Bodhisattva that if I could win the favor of the emperor, I would be willing to exchange everything I have for it. If I hadn't made such a wish, would the child have been saved?"
"I am too greedy and unsatisfied," she covered her eyes with her hands to prevent the emperor from seeing the pain in her eyes. "This child will definitely hate me. My selfishness has harmed him."
"I don't believe in heaven or earth, nor do I believe in gods," Feng Jin took her hand and looked straight into Zhuang Yuyan's eyes, "For me, I love you because of yourself, not because of the gods' blessing. If there really were gods in this world, there wouldn't be so much suffering in the world. I promise that you will have children, our children."
Zhuang Yuyan stared at the emperor, then suddenly swallowed the emperor's medicine and cried out in pain. It was no longer the suppressed cry from before, but a loud cry, as if she wanted to cry away all her sorrow and pain, and as if a desperate person had found his or her salvation and could finally cry as much as he or she wanted.
That night, many people in the harem couldn't sleep.
That night, everyone knew that the emperor comforted Zhao Chongyi until late at night.
Some people hated the emperor's favor for Zhao Chongyi, some people were glad that Zhao Chongyi had lost her child, but no matter what, they were careful not to be dragged into the water.
Xihe Palace has been unusually quiet in recent days, even though the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the Queen have all given it many gifts.
Zhuang Yuyan sat on the bed, playing with a jade ruyi. Seeing Yunxi coming in with a bowl of medicine, she raised her eyebrows and asked, "Has anything happened in the palace in the past two days?"
"My Lord, the masters in the palace have been extra cautious in the past two days. The Queen has arrested many servants for interrogation. I heard that two suspicious servants were arrested. Unfortunately, the mastermind behind the scenes has not been found yet."
Zhuang Yuyan smiled and said, "This time the Queen really put her heart into it."
"How can I not be attentive?" Yun Xi poured the medicine into the flower pot beside her. "The Emperor was very angry with her and said that if the Empress couldn't find out, she wouldn't have to care about the harem."
Zhuang Yuyan raised her eyebrows slightly. Was the emperor using this incident to provoke the empress? She knew that the emperor would provoke the Zhao family and the empress sooner or later, but she didn't expect it would be because of this incident.
She knew that the emperor was not that simple. On the surface, he pretended to value this child, but in fact he was taking this opportunity to vent his anger on the queen.
The emperor must have expected that she would not be able to keep the child, so he did this. So she used this incident to gain the emperor's favor and guilt, and the emperor also used this incident to plot against the empress.
It’s a pity that those who wanted to plot against the baby in her belly and the emperor did not expect that there was no baby in her belly at all.
Who is the biggest winner in this drama?