However, when it comes to children, although she has been serving them the most during this period, it has only been less than half a year, and it is not yet time to worry about having offspring.
When Shen Meizhuang suddenly heard the news that Sun Miaoqing was pregnant, she was happy for Sun Miaoqing, but she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
Big Fat Orange is unreliable; only her children are the ones she shares a blood connection with.
No matter when, she would think of him, protect him, and miss him, and she didn't have to worry about being abandoned by him.
"We are all so happy for you to know that you are pregnant."
As she spoke, Shen Meizhuang lowered her head shyly, "I wonder when we will be able to have the same good fortune as our granddaughter."
Even An Lingrong blushed with embarrassment. It was true that she hadn't served the emperor yet, but this day wouldn't be long before she did.
When it comes to children, no one in the palace is unmoved.
Sun Miaoqing said, "His Majesty's health is still good. As long as he goes to the Hall of Mental Cultivation a few more times, he will have a child sooner or later."
"If Sister Mei is still worried, she can have someone make more tonics for the Emperor to try."
"Have things like Cistanche deserticola, deer antler glue, Cordyceps sinensis, and Epimedium prepared in different ways every day, and then have them sent to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. They will surely have miraculous effects."
Shen Meizhuang said coquettishly, "In broad daylight, with all the servants here, why are you talking about this?"
Both she, who had been through it all, and An Lingrong, who had only seen it all, shyly turned their heads away.
Caiyue, Qiangwei, and the others covered their mouths to avoid laughing out loud and making them uncomfortable, but their shoulders were shaking, clearly indicating that they were struggling to hold it in.
What kind of suggestion is this, Your Highness? With so many things piled up, aren't you afraid the Emperor will be overloaded with supplements?
[Is Sister Mei so eager to have a child now? I wonder if she's found a way to get one from Jiang Cheng yet.]
The Jiang brothers, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Shen, though renowned gynecologists among the palace ladies and ostensibly not born of the same mother with a strained relationship, were actually putting on a facade for outsiders. In reality, they were both loyal to Consort Hua.
[By approaching him, Mei-jie was essentially handing Consort Hua leverage over him. If Consort Hua didn't seize this opportunity, she would be letting Mei-jie down after all her hard work.]
Two imperial physicians and a palace maid from the Yuanmingyuan Imperial Palace were enough to expose Mei Jie's faking pregnancy to gain favor. It was also because of this that she completely lost hope in Da Pang Ju.
[Big Fat Orange is such a pragmatic person. Apart from Qi Erha, probably everyone present knows that Sister Mei is innocent.]
The reason for my fury, and to use this as a pretext to severely punish Sister Mei, ultimately wasn't because of the fake pregnancy itself, but because she fell for it every time, and each time it was a different story.
[Being publicly framed for faking a pregnancy to gain favor, she was utterly powerless to counter it. This completely thwarted Da Pang Ju's plan to join forces with Jing Pin to restrain Hua Fei, causing Da Pang Ju to break down in anger and embarrassment.]
[It is clear that to be a concubine, one must not only be presentable in the grand hall and skilled in the kitchen, but also be able to outwit one's "sisters" and maintain order in the court!]
Sun Miaoqing cautioned, "These are my heartfelt words. Don't be like others, drinking bowl after bowl of fertility-enhancing medicine. Besides making things difficult for yourself, I've never seen anyone actually have many children and much happiness because of a prescription."
Shen Meizhuang's smile was very forced. When she was at her parents' home, her parents only told her to be dignified, obedient, and virtuous. No one had ever talked to her about these things.
Only now did she truly understand. Entering the palace was not marriage, and the emperor was not her husband. Her parents had never been to the inner palace and did not know its intricacies, so naturally they could not offer any good advice.
She thought the emperor just wanted to sleep with her, but she never expected that he wanted to use her more than what happened in bed!
No wonder Consort Jing, despite being neither favored by the emperor nor having any children, was still granted the title of Consort and entrusted with important responsibilities.
An Lingrong noticed that Shen Meizhuang's expression was strange. Connecting it with what she had just said, she thought that Shen Meizhuang really was taking fertility-enhancing drugs in secret, just as Sun Miaoqing had said.
These days, she has learned many things she didn't know before. For example, there is a saying that every medicine has some toxicity, and another saying that ginseng can kill without fault, while radish can save lives without merit.
Even the best things can be too much of a bad thing. I've heard that some empresses drank so many fertility-enhancing drugs that they could circle the palace twice.
But there's still no good news. I don't know if it's because I have trouble getting pregnant that I drank so much, or if I drank too much and that's why I have trouble getting pregnant.
An Lingrong asked cautiously, "Sister Mei, what Sister Sun said makes sense. You're not drinking these things too, are you?"
Shen Meizhuang realized what was happening and immediately said, "I didn't, I didn't!"
Seeing the doubt on the faces of An Lingrong and Sun Miaoqing, it was clear they didn't believe her.
Shen Meizhuang could only tell the truth, "I originally had this idea, but after hearing what Sister Sun said, I've given up on it."
"My sister Sun is right about something: why make things difficult for yourself?"
[Is Sister Mei really this obedient? I was just thinking about how to remind her.]
The more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make; doing nothing... you can't do nothing, it will affect your promotion and salary increase!
Promotion and salary increase? Does that mean a promotion in rank?
Shen Meizhuang took this view for now; she had already figured out how to plan her path to success.
However, she is alone and inevitably weak, so it would be better if she had someone to help her.
Shen Meizhuang turned her gaze to An Lingrong, and the more she looked, the more she felt that An Lingrong possessed a fragility that none of the other concubines had.
When she first entered the palace, she was perceived as sensitive and difficult to get along with. When she spoke, she never dared to make eye contact, always revealing a petty and narrow-minded attitude.
Unexpectedly, in just a few months, An Lingrong seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com