Chapter 24 Chapter 24 Palace Maid on the 24th Day
Before New Year's Eve, on the first day of the twelfth lunar month, the weather was clear and there was little snow on the roads, so the Queen Mother returned to the palace.
The Emperor, Empress and other concubines came to greet them. The Imperial Guards escorted the Empress Dowager's carriage to the palace gate. A woman in dark purple clothes got off the carriage. She was about thirty years old, gentle and charming, without a single wrinkle on her face. She looked somewhat similar to the Emperor, and it was obvious that they were mother and son.
Shen Qingqing only took one look at the Queen Mother and she realized that the Queen's temperament was somewhat similar to that of the Queen Mother, both were gentle and amiable.
Could it be that the Emperor made Her Majesty the Empress for another reason, that she was the Empress Dowager?
The emperor stepped forward and held the empress dowager's arm. The emperor, who was usually taciturn, seemed to talk more in front of the empress dowager. He asked her if she was comfortable with the food and accommodation outside, her progress in Buddhism, and even talked a few words about Buddhist scriptures with her.
The empress dowager answered briefly and her eyes fell on the queen. The queen nervously greeted her mother, and the empress dowager praised her a few words. Then she pointed to Yan Xiuyi from the concubines and asked her to stay by her side.
Because the Emperor and the Empress stood on the left and right of the Empress Dowager, and Concubine De firmly occupied the position next to the Emperor, Yan Xiuyi could only stand next to the Empress.
When the Empress Dowager, the Queen, and Yan Xiuyi stood together, Shen Qingqing felt even more surprised. Compared with Yan Xiuyi, the Queen looked more like the Empress Dowager's niece.
Probably thinking this scene was amusing, the emperor Ji Chen actually had a smile on his face.
Ji Chen ascended the throne before he reached adulthood, probably because he felt that his age was not enough to convince the people, so he rarely smiled. His eyes were serious and seemed to be able to see through people's hearts. Even at the wedding of the emperor and empress, he did not laugh heartily, but smiled lightly to suit the atmosphere at that time.
As for his daily interactions with the Empress in Kunning Palace, he had let go of some of the responsibilities of an emperor and felt much more relaxed and at ease, but he was not yet accommodating to the point of smiling.
At this moment, Ji Chen's casual smile added a lot of color to him.
Shen Qingqing always knew that the emperor was good-looking, otherwise he would not have been able to charm the queen, but she was still amazed for a moment, so she quickly shifted her gaze to the other concubines.
Regardless of what they thought, the Empress and Yan Xiuyi got along very well in front of the Empress Dowager, just like a pair of sisters. As for Defei, who finally left Yongshou Palace, she was neither hot nor cold, and could not be said to be close to the Empress Dowager. After all, with Yan Xiuyi, her niece, in the palace, no matter how much she tried to please her, she could not compare to Yan Xiuyi's position in the Empress Dowager's heart, and she was already a concubine, and had already established herself in the palace, so she did not need the Empress Dowager to promote her at all.
Defei didn't think she could become a noble concubine in a short period of time. The empress would not allow it, and the emperor would not allow it either.
In this case, there is no need to cause trouble for yourself.
Concubine Hui had a sincere smile on her face, and seemed very happy for Yan Xiuyi. The Queen Mother was back, and as long as the Emperor was going to the harem, the number of times Yan Xiuyi would be picked would definitely increase.
The emperor is a well-known filial son.
As for the other concubines of lower rank, even if they wanted to please the empress dowager, they couldn't do so under such circumstances, and they looked at Yan Xiuyi with envy.
Look at their backgrounds. They were both selected as concubines in the same election, but Yan Xiuyi became Xiuyi very early without any experience, while they could only rely on the emperor's favor to slowly rise in rank. Unfortunately, the emperor was very stingy with rank, and the only one he was generous with was given to Du Shi...
Well, there is no concubine in the palace who would take the initiative to mention Du. At most, they would treat her as a lesson.
The Queen Mother looked at the Emperor's concubines and her eyes fixed on them. "The Emperor's harem is still lacking in people. In the last election, only Concubine Gao was favored by the Emperor. Where is Concubine Yu? Let me take a look."
There was a hint of complacency on Lady Gao's face, while the other two talented people from Baolin who were also from the general election looked ashamed, but Yan Xiuyi's expression remained unchanged.
Concubine Yu stepped out, performed the formal greetings, and greeted the Empress Dowager.
Concubine Yu is young and beautiful, a very standard beauty, just like a graceful camellia.
The Queen Mother nodded with satisfaction, took off the bracelet on her hand, and put it on Concubine Yu's delicate and beautiful wrist: "She has a dignified appearance and is a good child."
Feeling Concubine Gao's gaze on the bracelet, Concubine Yu smiled bitterly in her heart, thinking that the Queen Mother was making enemies for her.
Forget it. Even if she told Lady Gao that she had no intention of fighting with her, Lady Gao probably wouldn't believe it. Since they would fight sooner or later, what was there for her to be afraid of?
Concubine Yu was surprised and respectful in thanking the Empress Dowager for the reward, then she returned to the group of concubines.
The Queen Mother then took the Queen's hands and patted them, saying, "The Emperor has no children. The Queen must give birth to a legitimate son for the Emperor as soon as possible."
The Queen Mother gave a task, and as the daughter-in-law, what could the Queen do but to gently agree?
[Tsk]
For a moment, all eyes were focused on the queen's belly, as if they could see the future eldest son through there.
Shen Qingqing wanted to laugh. Even the queen felt a little impatient when it came to urging labor.
However, the emperor was already so old—nineteen years old, but he had no children. This was quite rare in this dynasty, especially since he was the emperor. Even none of the concubines in the harem had any news. Could it be that the emperor was infertile?
When everyone was looking at the queen, Shen Qingqing silently glanced at the emperor.
But seeing that Ji Chen doesn't look gloomy at all, he should be able to give birth...right?
A group of people went to the Cining Palace in a mighty manner. After all the trouble, the concubines were a little exhausted, so the emperor asked them to go back. After a while, he and the queen left again, and only Yan Xiuyi was left in the Cining Palace.
The dragon chariot and the phoenix chariot came out of the Cining Palace one after another, and then returned to the Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace respectively.
In Kunning Palace.
The queen leaned wearily on the soft couch carved with mahogany and inlaid with rubies. Qingyu combed her hair and Qinggu washed her face. She took off the heavy queen's uniform and simply put on a phoenix robe. The room was warm from the floor heating, which made her feel even more drowsy.
Shen Qing made tea and brought it to the queen. She was stunned when she saw the queen stroking her belly. Is she pregnant?
"Your Majesty, Queen..."
Normally Shen Qing would not be so tactless, but he was so shocked that he blurted out what he wanted to say, but at least he stopped himself from saying the second half of the sentence.
The Queen followed Shen Qing's gaze to her stomach. She paused and laughed, "Even though I'm taking the medicine, how can it be that fast?"
Because the previous emperor had few children, the empress naturally paid great attention to the royal heir to avoid accidents. On the first day of entering Kunning Palace, she asked someone to make a secret recipe for having a child. This was passed down to her by her mother. It is said that many women in Beijing relied on this recipe to have children. When she was young, she sneered at her mother drinking this medicine, but now that her status has changed, she has to rely on this medicine. The emperor needs a legitimate eldest son.
She also needed a prince who could help her secure her position as queen.
The fact that the emperor has not visited the harem for two months since his wedding is also giving her a chance.
Hearing that the queen was drinking medicine, Shen Qing asked, "Is this the prescription that the imperial physician gave to the queen? This servant is so careless that she didn't even notice that the queen was drinking medicine."
The queen waved to Shen Qing.
Shen Qing put down the tea and squatted beside the queen. The queen stroked her cheek and said, "No, it's a secret recipe my mother gave me. I heard that many women relied on this recipe to have children."
Shen Qing frowned, with clear disapproval in her eyes, and said anxiously: "My lady, all medicines are poisonous, let alone this kind of folk remedy. You should consult an imperial physician before taking it. And you are so young, it is only a matter of time before you get pregnant. I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it..."
The Queen was closest to Shen Qing and knew that she was sincere to her without any falsehood, so she stopped Qi He from trying to stop Shen Qing and said, "Speak."
"Before I entered the palace, I heard that some women took medicine recklessly and gave birth to children with disabilities. Although I don't know the probability, I don't want you to take even a one in ten thousand risk."
The queen was in deep thought, her hands trembling slightly. Her mother would never harm her, but Shen Qing's words frightened her even more.
She smiled bitterly and said, "Forget it, let's stop taking the medicine first. I'll make a decision after consulting the imperial physician."
Shen Qing's face showed joy at first, but then he became conflicted again.
Seeing how easy it was for her to understand, the Queen became interested and said, "Why don't you tell us everything?"
Shen Qing blushed and whispered, "In fact, I have a method to help you get pregnant easily. It depends on whether you are willing to try it."
The queen thought about it and asked the other palace servants in the room to leave first, leaving only her confidants behind.
Shen Qing then slowly began to explain, such as which days are more likely to result in conception (ovulation period), and whether to lie down for a while with a pillow after sex...
Since she probably doesn't understand these things, I won't tell her what positions they used for sex. She just said that these were told to her by her mother, and her mother's record can be verified.
Shen Qing said: "My mother's surname is Li. She gave birth to five children before I entered the palace. She often spoke without consideration. She probably thought I was young and didn't remember anything, so she didn't avoid me."
Li Yan was definitely not a gentle woman. Shen Qing's maternal grandfather was a butcher. He was able to marry into the wealthy Shen family only because his only daughter was so beautiful. After the marriage, the couple were in love for more than ten years.
Li Yan has no brothers or sisters, and his maternal family has never had many descendants. However, the Shen family is prosperous. But doesn't this prove that the Shen family is the one that deserves the skill of having children?
As the eldest daughter of the Shen family, it is understandable that Shen Qing knows something.
The queen was embarrassed at first, but when she saw Shen Qing so embarrassed, she started to tease him instead.
The tense atmosphere just now disappeared in an instant, and Qie He also smiled.
After patching up the loophole, Shen Qing instructed: "The people around the queen are all young, so it is better to find an experienced nanny to take care of her, which should save her a lot of detours."
There is an old nanny from the Shen family living by her mother's side. She is a bit annoying, but she knows a lot.
There was a gleam in the Queen's eyes.
[This is a good opportunity to show filial piety to the Queen Mother.]
Shen Qing raised his head, his face full of sincerity.
The Queen pondered and said, "I should go to pay my respects to my mother tomorrow morning and ask if she has any discomfort after returning to the palace."
Of course there was no discomfort. No one in the palace dared to neglect the empress dowager.
The next day, the queen came out of the Cining Palace, followed by a nanny who had followed the empress dowager for more than 20 years. Now, the concubines in the harem knew that the empress dowager was satisfied with the queen, otherwise she would not have given away the people around her.
For the entire month of December, the queen followed Shen Qing's method, feeling nervous and surprised. She kept the news secret in Kunning Palace and asked the imperial physician to check the secret recipe. Although she got the answer that it would not harm the body, she hesitated and decided not to use it.
Time quickly arrived at the New Year’s Eve family dinner, which is the most crowded one of the year.
At the New Year's Eve family dinner, Shen Qingqing met the other three princes of the previous emperor and silently judged them in her heart. The second prince had a pair of peach blossom eyes and a romantic appearance. Because he was still a teenager, he seemed impetuous and irresponsible. The third prince was a little fat and white, but he was handsome. The fourth prince's appearance was only decent.
No wonder the emperor can sit firmly on the position of heir. It seems that these three princes have no ability to threaten his position.
Shen Qing sighed in his heart at the emperor's good fortune and success.
As for the two princesses, since they lived in the imperial palace, Shen Qing had met them several times when doing things for the queen.
Princess Yongfu is dignified and graceful, and even at a young age one can see the royal majesty in her. The little princess, who is two years younger than her, is much cuter and seems to be ignorant of worldly affairs.
Unexpectedly, Princess Yongfu and Shen Qing made eye contact. Shen Qing wanted to pretend that nothing had happened, but she was caught. She couldn't help but sigh at the princess's sharpness and smiled at her.
Princess Yongfu's name was Ji Xian. She recognized Shen Qing, so she nodded to her with a stern face.
Only then did he look away.
Shen Qing turned his head and saw the emperor asking several princes about their homework. As an elder brother is like a father, his words were full of encouragement and motivation. In contrast, the princes seemed very childish and irresponsible.
Otherwise, he is the prince.
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