Chapter 103 Chapter 103
[Chapter 103]
When Ruan Yun walked into the Chaoxi Palace, the ground dragon inside was burning brightly. It was not like what the Queen Mother said. The Second Prince was also here. Only the occasional whisper of people could be heard.
Ying Ning frowned and helped Ruan Yun into the palace, but when they stepped into the inner hall, they were stopped by Aunt Jing Qiao, "The Queen Mother wants to talk to Ying Chongrong alone."
Yingning looked at Ruan Jun worriedly and wanted to say something, but Ruan Jun patted the back of her hand gently. Yingning agreed to Aunt Jingqiao's words and let go of her hand.
Ruan Yun placed her hands on her belly and lowered her eyes and said, "Aunt, is this feasible?"
It seemed that Aunt Jingqiao was given dignity and honor, but in fact, the words had already pointed out Aunt Jingqiao's overstepping of authority.
Aunt Jingqiao said quickly, "Of course you can. Please come in, Madam."
Ruan Yun walked slowly, and it would be a lie to say that she had no reaction.
No matter what, the Empress Dowager is the Emperor's biological mother. She almost took the throne of Empress. Now she is raised by the people of the world, so she should be respected.
Walking around the screen in her double-color satin peacock-beaded hibiscus soft-soled shoes, the first thing Ruan Yun saw was Concubine Xian, who was lying on the bed with a pale and sullen look on her face.
Sitting on the beauty's back was the Empress Dowager.
Not forgetting the rules, Ruan Jun stared at him and bit her lower lip as she saluted:
"I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Queen Mother and Her Majesty the Consort."
I bent my legs, but there was no response for a long time.
The Queen Mother's eyes were indifferent, and the only sound that could be heard in the palace was the Queen Mother's continuous turning of the beads. After Ruan Yun became pregnant, her body was not like before. After squatting for a long time, her whole body felt sore, and even her feet began to swell.
When Concubine Xian saw Ruan Yun's expression, she flashed with pride. When she looked at the Queen Mother again, she instantly turned into a weak expression, "Queen Mother, please let Sister Ying get up. She is still pregnant."
The Queen Mother shook her head, sighed softly, and her eyes softened, "You are so kind-hearted."
Concubine Xian lowered her eyes timidly, and held the hand warmer much tighter. Her frail appearance made the empress dowager feel distressed.
When she turned around and saw Ruan Yun, the Queen Mother's tone became much colder, "Get up."
"Yes." Ruan Jun's voice was sobbing, "Thank you, Queen Mother."
Aunt Jingqiao personally brought a stool and placed it next to Ruan Yun. After Ruan Yun sat down, she spoke first:
"I heard that Concubine Xian was ill yesterday. Is she feeling better today?"
Concubine Xian pursed her lips and smiled faintly, but the sickness on her face could not be concealed. "I'm sorry to have worried you, but I'm much better now."
Ruan Jun replied, "That's good."
There was no sound in the inner hall for a while. Ruan Jun sat there, with a strand of her black hair falling on her shoulder, rubbing against her cheek from time to time.
The Queen Mother looked at Ruan Yun thoughtfully. Her tranquil appearance was so stunningly charming in the man's eyes, but it reminded her of an old friend for no reason.
"How is your baby doing lately?" The Queen Mother suddenly asked, her eyes directed straight at Ruan Yun.
Ruan Yun bit her lip lightly, her face still calm as she said, "Thank you Queen Mother for your concern. Both I and the dragon in my belly are fine."
The Queen Mother turned away her gaze, picked up the teacup and said, "I know that the Emperor loves you, and all the concubines in the harem hope to have a prince. You should know this better than I do."
Ruan Jun stood up in panic, her almond-shaped eyes frightened like a deer running around.
When the Queen Mother saw this, she felt even more disgusted, and Concubine Xian almost laughed out loud when she saw this.
This is how Concubine Tao acted back then. When she entered the palace to accompany the Empress Dowager, or occasionally went to the Yu Garden, one could hear Concubine Tao's laughter like a silver bell. Her sweet voice and charming manner made the late emperor's favorite for three months, and she was so charming that the late emperor almost promised the throne to the child in Concubine Tao's belly.
However, Concubine Tao was unlucky. The late emperor was seriously ill and the emperor was in charge of the country, so Concubine Tao got nothing and even lost the baby in her belly.
The way Concubine Xian was watching the show on the sidelines did not attract anyone's attention. The Queen Mother and Ruan Yun were both paying attention to each other.
Ruan Yun stood and did not dare to sit down. She spoke in a calm tone, even more timidly, "I understand."
The Queen Mother knocked the teacup on the table and said in a stern voice: "Since you understand, you shouldn't keep the Emperor hostage every day. You are pregnant, so just take good care of the baby. Letting the Emperor go to your palace is not good!"
The hand suddenly fell down, and the muffled sound made Ruan Jun's heart tremble.
Without caring about anything else, Ruan Yun made up her mind, knelt in front of the Queen Mother, and said:
"Queen Mother, please calm down. I know I was wrong."
The Queen Mother was not fooled by Ruan Yun's behavior. Wasn't it the same with Concubine Tao at that time? The Emperor's three palaces and six courtyards became decorations. It was all Concubine Tao's world. There was absolutely no rules or regulations!
"You knew that Concubine Xian had a sudden illness last night, and the maids from Chaoxi Palace went to invite the emperor. Not only did you not advise her, but you even forced the emperor to stay, causing Concubine Xian to be sad for no reason. If something happened to the Second Prince last night, you... you are plotting to harm the heir to the throne!"
Ruan Yun immediately raised her eyes, and although her voice was a little choked with sobs, she was very firm, "The emperor just loves the child in my belly very much, and brought me here to see you. If the emperor doesn't want to leave, if I speak frankly, wouldn't it make the emperor angry?"
The Queen Mother sneered, "Are you blaming me for saying something wrong? Or are you blaming the Emperor, saying that he is already a grown man, but he still doesn't know his limits?"
Ruan Jun pinched her fingertips into her palms and said aggrievedly, "I dare not."
The Queen Mother leaned on the beauty's armchair and looked at Ruan Yun with a neutral expression, "Don't you dare? I think there is no concubine more daring than you. Do you want to be a seductive concubine who seduces the master?"
Ruan Yun's chest was heaving more violently, and her lower abdomen was slightly bloated and painful. She kept her soft hands on her abdomen, soothing the baby in her belly from time to time.
The last concubine to be called like this was the late emperor's Concubine Tao. She was well aware of how miserable Concubine Tao's end was.
After drinking a cup of poison, all the former favor, glory and wealth disappeared, leaving only the yellow earth and dry bones somewhere in the world. When future generations talk about it again, everyone will despise it.
For a moment, Ruan Yun seemed to be back to the time when she was still a palace maid. At that time, Meng Xianshi, who was still Shufei, pushed her into the water just because she admitted to stealing the palace's property. The dirty water splashed on her without hesitation, thinking that she was as lowly as an ant and could be trampled on at will.
Ruan Yun moved her knees forward a little, and the empress dowager's eyes saw her slightly bulging belly. Thinking of her being pregnant now, the empress dowager's heart softened a lot.
Concubine Xian coughed twice, and Aunt Jingqiao quickly picked up the teacup and handed it to Concubine Xian's lips. After Concubine Xian drank it, her throat was moistened. She looked at Ruan Yun in a soft voice with pity, "Empress Dowager, please don't let Sister Ying kneel. She is pregnant now. If she kneels badly, I'm afraid the emperor will be heartbroken."
The Queen Mother fiddled with the twisting beads in her hand again and said, "The Ai family is also doing it for her own good."
"You were sick last night, but you still cared about me. It's really rare."
Concubine Xian smiled shyly, "I am almost recovered from my illness. With the Queen Mother here, I feel I am getting better faster than before."
Ruan Yun listened to the conversation between the Queen Mother and Concubine Xian with an expressionless face, silently thinking about how to deal with the situation at this time.
Her hands kept moving, trying to comfort the baby in her belly, but the tiles were icy cold and she could not stand the cold. The coldness from her knees made the baby in her belly restless.
Seeing that the Queen Mother had no intention of letting her get up, Ruan Yun felt that this could not go on.
It is possible to just kneel and wait for the emperor to come, but if the dragon in her belly is really hurt, she doesn't know whether the emperor will be angry or not, but she will definitely regret it.
This child was not easy to come by, and as a mother, she should take good care of the child and raise him up.
Ruan Yun took another step forward, and the Queen Mother's eyes fell on Ruan Yun. Yan Shiyu strode into the inner hall, followed by a group of palace maids, but no one dared to step forward to stop him.
When Yan Shiyu saw Ruan Jun's appearance clearly, his dark eyes suddenly darkened and anger surged on his face. He walked to Ruan Jun's side and put his big hand in front of Ruan Jun's eyes. Ruan Jun, despite the Queen Mother's slight anger and Concubine Xian's piercing eyes, put her hand on him.
Wrapping Ruan Jun's hand with his big palm, Yan Shiyu lowered his eyes and said calmly: "Why are your hands so cold?"
Ruan Jun's eyelashes blinked violently, her red lips were tightly pursed, her almond-shaped eyes were filled with mist, and she had no choice but to lower her head.
Concubine Xian kept coughing and stood up to greet Yan Shiyu.
The Queen Mother saw the scene before her and said coldly, "Everyone get out."
The palace maids of Chaoxi Palace did not dare to delay and retreated silently.
There were only four people left in the inner hall. Ruan Yun was held down by the emperor and sat on a stool. She wanted to stand up in panic, but Yan Shiyu's big hand was still pressing on Ruan Yun's shoulder.
"Mother, if you want to take care of all the affairs of the harem, you should also inform your son and the queen."
The Queen Mother was furious, "Emperor, I am your mother!"
When Ruan Yun heard the conversation between the Queen Mother and the Emperor, she wished she could bury herself in her cloak and curl up into a ball.
All the words sounded particularly harsh to Concubine Xian's ears.
This happened in the Chaoxi Palace. The Emperor protected Ying Chongrong so much that he dared to confront the Empress Dowager in person, which showed that he was extremely dissatisfied with her.
Yan Shiyu ignored the Queen Mother's words, turned around and looked at Ruan Yun, holding the white jade ring in his hand:
"I'll have someone take you back to the palace."
His black eyes fell on Ruan Jun's somewhat pale little face. Yan Shiyu's deep eyes were sharp and he defied the empress dowager without hesitation.
The empress dowager took a deep breath, sat on the couch, and supported her forehead with her hands. She did not look at what the emperor did, nor did she stop Yan Shiyu's actions.
Ruan Jun's eyes first fell on the Queen Mother, and then looked at Yan Shiyu, her footsteps were not very obvious.
Yan Shiyu had already called someone in, and rubbed Ruan Yun's face with his fingertips, "Wait for me."
Ruan Yun nodded, wrapped her cloak around herself and walked out.
As soon as they left the inner hall, Ying Ning hurried forward to support Ruan Yun, and asked anxiously, "Is the queen okay?"
Knowing that this was not the time to show off, Ruan Yun held Yingning's hand and said, "Go find Doctor Sun."
She was extremely panicked at the moment, and the dull pain in her stomach made Ruan Yun even more scared.
Wei Maoyuan beside him did not dare to delay for even a moment, and waved his hand and said, "Quick! Bring the warm sedan chair over here."
Yan Shiyu lifted his dragon robe and sat on the stool where Ruan Yun had just sat. "My Queen Mother wants to see Ying Chongrong, why do you want to avoid your son?"
The Queen Mother began to feel dizzy when she heard what Yan Shiyu said, "Ying Chongrong has been arrogant since she became pregnant. Has she ever served me and the Queen?"
Yan Shiyu tapped his hands on the table intermittently, "My son has few children, and Ying Chongrong has my son's heir. The queen should be more considerate of her. The queen is the mother of the country and comes from a noble family. She knows what is right and what is wrong."
The Queen Mother did not want to argue with the Emperor on this matter, so she said, "Well, I have a question for you. Since you said that you have few children, and Ying Chongrong is pregnant, you should take good care of yourself. You should also spend more time with other concubines. Why do you stay in Linxuan Palace every day?"
Yan Shiyu chuckled, "Ying Chongrong is young, so what's wrong with my son spending more time with her?"
When the Queen Mother heard what Yan Shiyu said, she felt very uncomfortable:
"Do you still remember Concubine Tao? The late emperor favored Concubine Tao and even said that he wanted to make the child in Concubine Tao's belly the crown prince. Do you want the past to happen again?"
Yan Shiyu raised his eyelids slightly, "Why did mother put Ying Chongrong and Concubine Tao together? No one knows where Concubine Tao's body is now. Could it be that mother forgot?"
The Queen Mother rubbed her eyebrows and said, "It is precisely because I have not forgotten that I want to remind you."
"When selecting a crown prince, we first consider the legitimate and illegitimate sons, and then the eldest and the youngest. The queen has no sons, so if you want to discuss the succession, you should choose between the eldest and second princes."
"The Concubine Xian has a good personality and has been with me for many years. The Second Prince she raises will not be bad."
Yan Shiyu's tone was cold:
"My son is not the late emperor, and Ying Chongrong is not Consort Tao. The Empress loves her concubines and is kind to the six palaces. If you are fine, you don't have to worry about the affairs of the six palaces."
"It's time for you, mother, to take a good rest. I know all the resentment you've felt towards me since the death of the late emperor."
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