Chapter 37 Chapter 37 Palace Maid Thirty-Seven Days
Ji Chen drank a few glasses of wine at the banquet. He had a good alcohol tolerance and was not drunk. As he was impatient with the concubines' rhetoric of vying for favor at the banquet, he brought Qian Ji and a pot of wine in a golden cup inlaid with rubies out to relax.
Qian Ji said this place was quiet and sparsely populated, so he walked over there.
Not long after they walked there, they saw Shen Qing walking slowly towards them holding a palace lantern. Because he had good night vision, he didn't ask anyone to turn on the lantern. Qian Ji was the only one with him, and in the contrast between light and darkness, the little palace maid naturally didn't notice him.
According to Ji Chen's usual behavior, he would have asked Qian Ji to chase the man away, but perhaps because he was drunk, he just put his hands on the stone of the rockery slowly and did not say a word.
Looking at the beauty under the lamp, even though he didn't like beauties as delicate as Shen Qing, he still felt some surprise at her.
Just like although Concubine Yan was charming and attractive, she was not his favorite. However, due to her stunning beauty, he did not feel any aversion to her. Instead, he felt a sense of freshness and doted on her.
The same was true for Shen Qing. Although she did not wear any expensive jewelry and was dressed in the style of a palace maid, nothing on her body could highlight her temperament and bring out her graceful charm to the extreme, but she was still beautiful.
However, because Shen Qing was a palace maid and Yan Jieyu was his concubine, Ji Chen had completely different attitudes towards the two.
He didn't want to take in palace maids, or to make clear distinctions between superiors and inferiors.
Ji Chen was good at playing the roles of the emperor and his subjects, and he was able to gather the imperial power. Now that he was the emperor, he naturally acted in a domineering manner.
The Queen Mother was his mother and could not be mentioned, but in his heart, the Queen was not even worthy of standing with him, the concubines and court officials were inferior to him, not to mention the palace maids.
This idea manifested itself in his majestic aura and indifferent personality. To put it simply, he did not take anyone seriously. However, he looked like a decent man, which made people feel that the emperor deserved to be so unfaithful and cold-hearted.
Ji Chen didn't say anything, so Qian Ji naturally remained silent.
At this time, Ji Chen was still wondering if Shen Qing had come here to meet him by chance. He remembered that Shen Qing had clearly left the banquet with another senior palace maid, but now she came back here alone. It was hard for him not to have some thoughts.
However, he quickly denied this idea because Wang Jigui appeared.
Wang Jigui had a faint smile on his face, which was very different from when he was on duty in the Qianqing Palace. His clothes were new, and the hidden embroidery on them showed his careful attention.
Ji Chen frowned. Wang Jigui knew Shen Qing?
At this time, he was still wondering whether Shen Qing was a chess piece planted by Wang Jigui in the harem.
However, he was wrong again soon, as if he had failed everywhere regarding Shen Qing. Wang Jigui's gaze was so gentle and intoxicated, even more intoxicated than him who was drunk.
Ji Chen understood that Wang Jigui liked this little palace maid.
So they specially found some free time today to meet here in private, but they were both reserved at the beginning, which showed that they hadn't made it clear to each other yet. Shen Qing's eyes were also still full of ignorance, like a young girl who hadn't yet come to her senses.
Even when she received the jade hairpin polished by Wang Jigui himself, the love in her eyes was all for the hairpin, as if Wang Jigui was the only one who loved her.
She then spun around to show off her beauty, which reflected her confidence in her looks. As the saying goes, a good jade goes with a beautiful woman, and the perfect little pride on her lips made people laugh.
But Ji Chen couldn't laugh. If it were any other time, he would definitely appreciate it.
Instead, at this moment, the body seemed to be divided into three parts: an extremely calm brain, a shy expression, and a pounding heart.
He was still analyzing the current situation calmly, but he couldn't control the shame from head to toe, and his heart beat wildly when Shen Qing tilted his head and asked Wang Jigui if the two overlapping sounds looked good.
Just a jade hairpin, is it worth her speaking coquettishly in a soft voice?
Pretending to be pitiful!
At this time, Ji Chen should have gone over and caught the two of them, or taken Qian Ji away, but his feet seemed to have taken root, and he chose to continue peeping.
The entire palace belonged to him, so could what the emperor did be called peeping? This was clearly above board.
But if Qian Ji dared to make any sound and let the always cautious Wang Jigui find out that they were here, he would be dead!
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The palace lantern was placed between Shen Qing and Wang Jigui, and Shen Qing was waiting for Wang Jigui's answer.
Wang Jigui said softly, "It looks good."
Then he stretched out his hand and brushed the slightly messy hair on Shen Qing's forehead due to the wind: "Jade suits you very well."
Shen Qing smiled from ear to ear, her eyes curved into crescents. He said that the jade matched her, not that she matched the jade, which naturally put her in a better position than the jade.
But she also had to be modest: "It's not as good as you say."
If Shen Qing hadn't chuckled happily after saying this, she might have appeared shy and reserved.
Wang Jigui smiled helplessly.
Shen Qing reached out and quickly adjusted Wang Jigui's crooked jade hairpin, and asked very naturally: "I don't seem to have any gifts with me, how long can you stay here?"
She glanced around, searching for materials on the spot, hoping to make him a gift to show her appreciation.
Wang Jigui: "The banquet is over."
Shen Qing said that was good, and quickly plucked several long grasses from the ground, put the palace lantern on the ground, and squatted down: "What do you like? Cats or dogs, I prefer cats."
Wang Jigui saw what Shen Qing was up to. She knew how to weave straw, so after taking a deep look at Shen Qing's round and cute bun, he said, "Can you make a soft bunny?"
"Leave it to me!"
Halfway through, Shen Qing's skills became rusty, and he entangled his fingers again and again, and asked awkwardly: "Is fat rabbit okay?"
Wang Jigui smiled slightly and said, "Okay."
Shen Qing blushed and added sheepishly: "As compensation, I can weave another rabbit for you."
Wang Jigui also suggested: "The fat rabbit is great, can the other one be made into a cat?"
Shen Qing was particularly straightforward: "What I am best at is weaving cats. How can there be such a cute creature as a cat in the world!"
“I think rabbits are cute.”
"They're all... they're all cute!"
Unexpectedly, Eunuch Wang still had a girlish heart. Shen Qing felt that she and him had more topics to talk about.
Wang Jigui was not as cruel as she thought. On the contrary, he was a pretty good person.
Wang Ding should have lived a comfortable life under his command.
Shen Qing finished weaving the fat rabbit and put it in Wang Jigui's palm. Then he pulled some grass and started weaving the kitten carefully.
The fat rabbit is just for practice; the cute little cat is her real skill.
"This is for you." Shen Qing put the green kitten into Wang Jigui's outstretched hand. "It shouldn't fall apart easily. It should be fine to keep it for a year or two. Of course, you can throw it away after playing with it. It's just made of straw anyway."
The kitten still had some residual warmth on its body, and the warmth was noticeable in the palm of my hand.
Wang Jigui held his hands together lightly: "It's very cute, I won't throw it away."
He spoke the second half of the sentence very lightly.
Shen Qing clapped her hands, shook off the grass debris, and picked up the lantern. Just hearing that it was so cute was enough to make her smile happily.
She heard that the noise at the banquet was not as lively as before, so she guessed that the master had left, and the atmosphere calmed down.
"It's getting late. I have to leave first." Shen Qing bowed to Wang Jigui. Seeing that he had no intention of refusing, he waved his hand as usual and then turned to look for Qie He.
When the figure holding the lamp could no longer be seen, Wang Jigui withdrew his gaze and left.
Ji Chen in the dark had already calmed down, and with a light tap of his fingers, he returned to his indifferent look that made it impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.
After observing for such a long time, how could he not realize that this was completely Wang Jigui's wishful thinking and Shen Qing would not accept it at all.
Or maybe Wang Jigui didn't want to point it out and maintain this kind of contact.
After both of them left, Ji Chen felt that it was too boring, so he asked Qian Ji to keep silent about what happened today. He did not return to the banquet, but directly boarded the dragon chariot and returned to the Qianqing Palace.
In the following days, Qian Ji was sent by Ji Chen several times to keep an eye on what Wang Jigui was doing.
Qian Ji could only agree to his master's order, and because of what happened with the emperor that night, he understood what the emperor wanted to know.
So what was reported to the Emperor were nothing more than two things: Eunuch Wang was busy; Eunuch Wang was playing with straw rabbits and straw kittens.
This seemed to confirm what Ji Chen was thinking. He smiled faintly in his heart and thought that Wang Jigui's wishful thinking was nothing to worry about.
As for what is not worth worrying about, Ji Chen may not have thought about it deeply.
The talented lady He in the harem was pregnant. The sisters of the Li family were sitting together and talking in the Yongshou Palace, with only Shi Liu serving them.
Li Meiren didn't understand: "Sister, we are kind enough not to harm He Cairen, why should we help He Cairen to keep this baby?"
Concubine De said gently, "Because my sister feels that He Cairen and the fetus in her belly are still safe, our queen is worried."
Lady Li frowned, "The Queen will give birth in a few months. How can Concubine He give birth earlier than the Queen?"
"You are confused." Concubine De scolded mercilessly, "It is not confirmed whether the Queen is pregnant with a boy or a girl. How can she feel at ease before she gives birth to a prince? Moreover, although Concubine He is pregnant, the Queen did not use this achievement to ask the Emperor to raise the status of Concubine He. This gives us a glimpse of the situation."
"If we save He Cairen, we might be able to snatch the position of the eldest prince that the queen has always dreamed of. Why not do it?"
Concubine Li suddenly realized: "Sister, if the Queen gave birth to a princess, would the Queen take action against He Cairen?"
De Fei thought about it, but she couldn't give a definite answer: "Even I can't see through the current queen. She is even more pretentious than when she was a concubine. Maybe, maybe not."
Lady Li lowered her eyes, as if thinking about something.
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In Kunning Palace, serving the Queen gradually became a chore. In August, the Queen's belly was already quite big. Even though the midwife said that she would give birth in October, it looked like she would go into labor at any time.
Naturally, the queen's temper became unpredictable, and Qie He found it very difficult to deal with. Only Shen Qing still made the queen satisfied.
That day, the Queen was upset again: "Shen Qing, do you think this baby is a boy or a girl?"
Shen Qing answered sincerely: "The most experienced midwife said it was a prince, and the imperial physician also said it was probably a boy after taking the pulse. Although your majesty dreamed of a princess, as the saying goes, dreams are the opposite of reality, so I think it must be a prince."
The queen was anxious, and Shen Qing could only use all possible means to prove that she was pregnant with a prince to make the queen feel a little relieved. Otherwise, it would be a dead end, which would be extremely depressing.
The most important thing now is to give birth to the child safely, but the queen does not like to hear this. She only likes others to tell her with certainty that she is pregnant with a prince and that she will give birth to the emperor's eldest son.
As for if the baby is a princess, Shen Qing feels that she will just be punished by the queen.
However, by that time, the queen would have given birth and her emotions would have stabilized, and she would have been able to distinguish right from wrong. It was possible that she had escaped the disaster by then.
Shen Qing was distracted and thought that treacherous ministers and favored ministers were probably like her, only saying nice things and what the superiors liked to hear.
However, the treacherous minister is also the one who will cause harm for thousands of years, so her life should be long.
After hearing this, the queen's breathing became regular. She thought Shen Qing was right. If she gave birth to a prince successfully, she would reward Shen Qing with a lot of gold!
However, Shen Qing's consolation did not last long. In September, the queen fell while taking a walk to digest her food in Kunning Palace. Her amniotic fluid broke prematurely and she was quickly sent to the delivery room that had been prepared by the palace servants.
The midwife and the imperial physician were ready one after another.
The Emperor also put aside his government affairs after receiving the news in the afternoon and went to Kunning Palace to take charge. Later, the Empress Dowager and Concubine De arrived.
Next to the Queen Mother, a woman in plain clothes was supporting her. It was Concubine Xian.
The new concubine who arrived at Kunning Palace looked curiously and had some guesses about her identity.
Ji Chen looked away after just one glance. After the Queen gave birth, it was indeed time for the Virtuous Concubine to be released from her confinement.
If Concubine Xian had not taken action against the Queen, how could she have been punished so severely given their kinship?
The virtuous concubine is still too unruly.
However, when Ji Chen looked around, he seemed not to see the little palace maid.
Shen Qing was accompanying the queen at this time, watching the midwife's hand movements while comforting the queen and trying to keep her awake.
The queen called Shen Qing's name sadly.
Shen Qing calmly held the queen's hand and said, "I'm here."
The more it happens at this time, the more we cannot afford to make mistakes, and it takes several hours for a woman to give birth.
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