Chapter 169 Concubine Duan's Position

After the Empress Dowager gave the order, the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent in a number of palace maids and eunuchs according to the rank of concubine early in the morning.

Yanqing Palace is no longer as deserted as before, and Jixiang no longer needs to do all kinds of rough work and can concentrate on serving Concubine Duan.

When the emperor arrived, Imperial Physician Chen had just finished taking Concubine Duan's pulse.

With the words "His Majesty has arrived", Concubine Duan wanted to stand up and salute, but the emperor quickly raised his hand.

"Sit, sit, sit."

The Buddhist beads collided, making a rustling sound.

"You are not feeling well, just lie down."

The emperor probably knew about Concubine Duan's situation, so he didn't ask Doctor Chen much, but just asked him to serve her attentively.

Doctor Chen left and Jixiang served tea.

The emperor sat on the edge of the bed and casually picked up an embroidery string from the needle and thread basket beside him.

"You have always been in poor health. How come you are doing needlework?"

Concubine Duan's eyelids were obviously dilated, but the curtains half covered it so it was difficult to notice.

She said calmly, "I have been taking medicine all year round. I feel better now, so I want to do some needlework to kill time and earn some money to support myself."

It was extremely soft satin, a top-quality product that was hard to come by in her palace.

The cloth was not large and had not yet been cut. The emperor did not know how to sew, so he could not tell whether it would be made into a bellyband or a pillow.

The pattern is simple, a slanting pomegranate branch.

Green leaves and red fruits.

One of them was ripe, opened its mouth and fell from the branch, and a few pomegranate seeds flew out.

It means many children and good fortune.

She loves children, so it's normal for her to embroider this.

The emperor said casually, "There were so many pomegranates on the tree, but this one just fell down."

"What did the Emperor say?"

Concubine Duan heard it and understood it clearly, but the words were so confusing that it was difficult to understand.

The emperor looked up and asked, "Will it be bad if a pomegranate falls to the ground?"

Was it the pomegranate that didn't land well, or was it the child that didn't land well?

Concubine Duan coughed instead of answering to hide her shock.

The emperor had doubts in his heart and needed an answer, so he continued to ask: "This pomegranate fell and the red seeds scattered everywhere. Whoever picked up the seeds would own them."

Whoever holds the child has the bargaining chip.

He cares about the phrase "Jiangshan's surname is Nian".

"Your Majesty, where are you talking about this?"

Concubine Duan pretended not to understand, "The pomegranate seeds are under the pomegranate tree. The roots are there. No matter who picks them, they are the fruit of that tree."

No matter where the seeds come from, they are from the tree.

No matter who the child is born to, he is of royal blood.

Concubine Duan spoke slowly and with a sickly vain tone, as if she were chatting about her daily life. "If the person who picked up the pomegranate finds it sweet and wants to get more, he will definitely cultivate it carefully..."

This brings us to the issue that the emperor is most concerned about. Now that Nian Shilan has a child, Nian Gengyao's ambitions have grown.

Because it is not explained clearly, it seems to be done unintentionally.

Every word Concubine Duan says now may determine the life or death of a group of people.

Even the one that is not yet born.

"But no matter how carefully you cultivate it, it is still a pomegranate tree. It can never become a peach, plum, melon or bean."

The child born to the Imperial Concubine is the emperor's child. Even if Nian Gengyao supports her, the country will still belong to the emperor and will never belong to the Nian family.

“This is probably God’s will.”

"God willing?"

The emperor looked at Concubine Duan, and her eyes fell on the pomegranate that had fallen from the embroidery.

"Yes, there were so many red pomegranates, some bigger than her, some smaller than her, but she was the only one who fell due to ripeness. If it wasn't God's will, then what else could it be? Ahem..."

Concubine Duan sighed, as if she was exhausted. "I just embroidered it casually. If Your Majesty thinks it is unlucky, I will embroider it again another day by copying the pattern."

"Re-draw the pattern?" The emperor put down the embroidery. "After spending so much time on it, why don't you consider taking it apart and re-embroidering it?"

"Your Majesty has also said that it took so much effort. I am weak and it is not easy to embroider one. It was all done by my own hands. Why should I tear it down?"

Concubine Duan took the embroidery in her hand and said, "It has been embroidered with thousands of stitches. If you take it down now, it will be full of holes and it will be difficult to put it back together."

The emperor thought she understood, but if she did, shouldn't she want to open the pomegranate?

"Are you one of them?" he asked.

Concubine Duan raised her eyebrows slightly, and was obviously stunned for a moment, "What did the emperor say?"

"Nothing."

Jixiang saw a shadow at the door, walked over and took the medicine from the maid, "My queen, it's time to take the medicine."

Concubine Duan coughed twice and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."

The emperor stood up and said, "Take good care of yourself. I will come to see you another day."

Concubine Duan wanted to stand up and see him off, but was held down by the emperor.

"Your Majesty has always wanted revenge, but are you going to give up now?"

Jixiang served his master medicine and waited for the voice of "Your Majesty, please get up!" to come from outside before asking.

She really didn't understand.

"Give up? Ahem..." Concubine Duan said with hatred, "How can it be that easy?"

"Then why is your Majesty..."

Before Jixiang finished speaking, Concubine Duan continued, "Why are you still speaking for her?"

"yes."

Jixiang had been standing nearby, so of course he could understand the conversation between his master and the emperor.

She knew very well that the emperor asked this question because he trusted her queen, and if her queen seized the opportunity today, she could easily influence the person in Yikun Palace and the child in her belly.

There is even the Nian family outside the palace.

"I owe her that."

Jixiang was surprised and asked, "What is the queen talking about?"

"If it weren't for him, how could there be that pot of safflower soup? How could I become what I am now?"

Speaking of "this look", Concubine Duan's hatred grew stronger, and she couldn't help coughing again.

“Ahem…”

Jixiang thought that the "he" the queen was talking about was Nian Shilan, so he tried to please her and agreed:

"Yes."

"She's right. I was stupid! I knew the truth all these years, but I was still a fool in the face of the truth."

Concubine Duan caught a glimpse of the embroidery, picked it up again, and touched the pomegranate that had fallen to the ground with its mouth open.

Good things come in pairs.

The little bellyband has not been finished yet, there is another pomegranate next to the one with its mouth open.

They are those two children, and also the two people who once stood shoulder to shoulder.

"I was so self-righteous..."

Concubine Duan thought of the hairpin that the Empress wore in her bun at the palace banquet yesterday. Although it was hidden in the golden hair accessories, one could still tell the style was different if one looked closely. It was so exquisite and luxurious, which was not the Empress' usual style.

It should be a gift from Se-ran, right?

There is also the bracelet on the Queen's wrist, which is made of nanmu inlaid with gold. Coincidentally, the Royal Concubine also has one on her wrist, which is made of ivory inlaid with gold.

One mysterious and one white.

It should have been given by Se-ran, right?

She has always been like this. She looks down on others and won't even glance at them. But if she sets her eyes on someone, she will be willing to give her heart and soul to him/her and spend all her money on him/her.

"She used to treat me like this, but I..."

Relying on her trust, he harmed her child.

For a person of her personality, it must have been very difficult for her to endure the pain of losing her child and face the betrayal of her best friend at the same time.

How can I have the face to hate her when I know it was the mother and son who did it?

It's a pity that she actually colluded with others to plot and take her life. After she was reborn, she didn't immediately come to Yanqing Palace to take her own life. How could this not be kindness on her part?

Concubine Duan lay on the bed, tears flowing from the corners of her eyes and being absorbed by the pillow, leaving only a trace of water.

Jixiang was a little anxious. She totally couldn't understand what her own mother was saying.

"My lady, what's wrong with you?"

Concubine Duan held the embroidery in her arms and said, "She was right to scold me. I was lucky enough to have it. I shouldn't have given it to her. I am sorry for her."

“My queen…”

Concubine Duan stretched out one hand and held Jixiang's, telling her not to worry about her health.

"Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt has its creditor, I will see him go to hell!"

As for the rest…