Chapter 112
No matter how anxious Shen Jin was, there was only so much he could do. After Princess Ruyang left, An Yi's expression became more serious and she said, "In another month, I'm afraid I won't be able to hide my stomach anymore."
Shen Jin also knew this. She reached out and gently touched her belly. She felt that the temperature on her belly seemed to be higher than that on her body. When the month was a little older, she would be able to feel the presence of the child. She didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl this time, but she would always have to endure some grievances.
"Go and send a message to Concubine Lan." Shen Jin lowered his eyes slightly. Originally, Shen Jin did not want to use these lines in the palace, but now he could not care so much. Moreover, Concubine Lan had been favored in the harem of Emperor Cheng for so long, she would not be stupid enough to expose herself for such a small matter. "Tell Concubine Lan to encourage the Queen Mother to leave Beijing as soon as possible."
An Ning responded respectfully. An Yi sat aside and took the clothes to be altered. Her needlework was quite good. After An Ning left, An Yi said, "Madam, do you want to meet An Lan?"
An Lan usually stayed in her own room, so even when she was working, she didn't need to serve Shen Jin. Shen Jin guessed that she had another mission, but when An Yi suddenly mentioned An Lan, Shen Jin was stunned for a moment and said, "Okay."
An Yi then put down her clothes and went to call An Lan over. In addition to An Lan, An Yuan also came with her. Shen Jin looked at them strangely. After several people saluted Shen Jin, An Yuan took the tools and started to apply it on An Lan's face. Shen Jin had some guesses in his mind, but found it incredible. An Tao brought some snacks. Shen Jin knew that she was pregnant and it was good for her to eat more walnuts, but she didn't know why she couldn't eat some of them. An Tao directly made these into food.
Shen Jin quite liked walnut cakes or walnut paste. In fact, these things had fixed quotas in the palace, but the empress dowager had no such requirement. Since the empress dowager said that Shen Jin could ask her for anything he needed, Shen Jin was not polite. If he wanted to eat something and his quota was not available or not enough, he would just ask someone to tell the nanny beside the empress dowager, and they would naturally send it to Shen Jin. Even so, it was not as comfortable as in the border town, after all, he had to hide something sometimes.
When An Yuan finished drawing An Lan, Shen Jin opened her eyes wide in surprise. If she was not sure, she would probably suspect that her mother had given birth to another sister. It's not that An Lan and Shen Jin are exactly the same. Judging from their appearance, they are at most 70% similar. However, An Lan has been trying to understand Shen Jin's words and deeds for so long. Even if they are just similar in appearance, they are more similar at first glance. If An Lan changes into Shen Jin's clothes again, people who are not familiar with them in a short period of time will not be able to tell them apart.
Shen Jin also understood An Lan and An Yuan's real mission. In fact, Shen Jin was also puzzled at the beginning. Why did they specially assign someone who was good at dressing up for her? Looking at An Lan's appearance, Shen Jin bit her lip. Unlike An Yi and the others who were worried, Shen Jin did not say anything bad. She just said, "Have you arranged the retreat?"
Upon hearing this, An Yi said, "It has been arranged. When the time comes, An Ning and I will wait for the madam to leave, and An Tao, An Lan, and An Yuan will stay behind to deal with those people." There was a reason for such an arrangement. An Ning knew martial arts, and An Yi had given birth to a child and knew some medical skills. She also successfully escaped to the border town while pregnant, so she had some experience.
Shen Jin pursed her lips and said, "Well, let Yue Wen arrange people to pick us up when the time comes." Although Yue Wen and his men stayed around the capital, not all of them stayed. If they did, they would be too conspicuous and easy to be discovered. So in the end, only four or five people were left, including Yue Wen. Shen Jin asked Yue Wen to arrange people to pick us up, and at least half of them should be left behind.
An Lan and the others were moved by what they heard and said, "Madam, there is no need to be like this. We are just maids and will not attract attention."
"The world outside is in chaos." Shen Jin said, "An Yi should send a message outside and ask Yue Wen to find a place around the capital, a remote one at that." If she disappeared, Emperor Cheng would definitely send people to chase in the direction of the border town. Even if the Prince of Ying got the news, he would do the same. Shen Jin was pregnant, so it would not be good for her own safety or for the sake of the baby in her belly. Moreover, even if they escaped, they might not be able to escape Emperor Cheng's pursuit. It would be better for them to choose a place to hide and send a message to Chu Xiuming when they had a chance.
An Yi immediately understood what Shen Jin meant and said, "I understand."
Shen Jin nodded and said nothing more. An Yi and the others would naturally prepare the necessary things, and they would also have to find a way to get some pregnancy-protecting pills and things like ginseng. After all, these were hard to get outside. Thinking of this, An Yi's heart sank. However, Shen Jin looked at An Lan standing beside her, pursed his lips and said nothing more.
After the few people settled the matter, they stopped disturbing Shen Jin. They all saw that Shen Jin was in a bad mood. An Lan had already washed her face. Shen Jin didn't care at first, but now it seems that she has discovered that An Lan is somewhat similar to her, but An Lan is used to keeping his head down and not speaking, which makes it easy for people to ignore him.
Shen Jin pursed her lips and placed her hand gently on her belly.
Although An Ning found a way to send the message to Concubine Lan, no one expected Concubine Lan to act so quickly. Moreover, it was not Concubine Lan who acted. No one knew where the news came from. Emperor Cheng attached great importance to the baby in Concubine Lu's belly. The imperial physician also said that the child should be a boy. Emperor Cheng even secretly revealed to Concubine Lu that he wanted to make the baby in Concubine Lu's belly the crown prince.
In fact, one knows that such news is false as soon as one hears it. After all, even if a baby boy is born, the child is weak and may not grow up. However, Emperor Cheng has not appointed a crown prince yet. Moreover, he is suspicious by nature. It is not impossible for Emperor Cheng to do such a thing as appointing a child instead of his grown-up son, because it takes time for a child to grow up.
Many people couldn't sit still when they thought about it. It was true that many things that Emperor Cheng did were not appropriate. Moreover, they thought about Emperor Cheng's attitude towards Concubine Lu. Concubine Lu was not good-looking, but Emperor Cheng doted on her and protected her. It was probably for the sake of the child. Concubine Lu had no family background, and the only one she could rely on was Emperor Cheng. So... the Empress was the first to get restless. Even Concubine Chang, who had two sons, felt uneasy. She came to Concubine Lan several times to inquire about the news. Unfortunately, Concubine Lan didn't know either. She just said, "Your Majesty... is indeed very special to Concubine Lu. At the beginning, because Concubine Lu was outspoken, the wife of the Marquis of Yongning took the opportunity to embarrass Your Majesty, but Your Majesty didn't get angry. You said that you punished Concubine Lu? Isn't that protection?"
Concubine Chang gritted her teeth and said, "I just found it strange that this is the case."
Concubine Lan sighed slowly and said, "Even if the Queen's legitimate son becomes the Crown Prince in the end, it is better than Concubine Lu's son becoming the Crown Prince. After all, the Queen's legitimate son is legitimate. By then, we will no longer be a threat, and at least we can save our lives. Not only the concubines, but also the other princes... If it is Concubine Lu's offspring... then the Queen's legitimate son will be the first to suffer, followed by these older princes..."
Concubine Chang's heart trembled, she looked at Concubine Lan and said, "It shouldn't be that serious."
Concubine Lan shook her head and said nothing more.
Concubine Chang bit her lip and said, "I am unwilling to accept this."
"Who would be willing to accept that?" Concubine Lan narrowed her eyes and said, "But the most threatening thing now is Concubine Lu and the baby in her belly. If she really gives birth to a son and is named the crown prince, it will be too late to take action."
Concubine Chang did not speak, and Concubine Lan said softly, "You don't need to think so much. The one who is most anxious now is not you or me, but the Queen."
"That's true." Even so, Concubine Chang said, "But if it can directly implicate the Queen..."
Concubine Lan smiled gently, "With the Queen Mother here, I'm afraid it's not very convenient."
"Doesn't the Queen Mother want to leave the capital to pray for blessings?" Concubine Chang asked back.
Concubine Lan nodded, and Concubine Chang narrowed her eyes and said, "Then let her leave as soon as possible."
"Yeah." Lan Fei didn't say anything else. Anyway, her goal had been achieved.
The Queen's palace was not peaceful either. After she scolded several people, she looked at her two daughters, Ruyang and Zhaoyang, and said, "Do you think this is true or false?"
"My daughter believes that there is no smoke without fire." Princess Zhaoyang said in a deep voice. Having a brother as the emperor can bring many benefits. Princess Zhaoyang is not in a hurry to choose a son-in-law yet. She just wants to wait. When her brother becomes the crown prince, her value will be higher.
Princess Ruyang frowned and said, "Father wouldn't be so..." Confused.
Princess Zhaoyang said, "It is better to believe it than not to believe it."
The queen thought about it and said, "Whether it is true or not, it is better to be prepared."
Princess Ruyang stopped talking. She was just a concubine who was born as a palace maid. She had nothing to do with her. Even the unborn child in her belly had little to do with her. She had many younger brothers, and they were not born from the same mother.
"However, the Queen Mother must be driven out of the palace first." The Queen said in a deep voice. Although the Queen Mother was a vegetarian and chanted Buddhist scriptures all day long, she attached great importance to Emperor Cheng's offspring, especially after Concubine Lan had a miscarriage. No one could harm Emperor Cheng's offspring. So if they wanted to deal with Concubine Lu and the baby in her belly, they had to get the Queen Mother out of the palace first to avoid any more trouble.
Princess Ruyang said, "Isn't it just so happens that the Queen Mother is about to leave the palace? Then let her leave the palace earlier."
The Queen nodded and said nothing more. Princess Zhaoyang looked at Princess Ruyang and said, "Sister, is it okay for you to be away from your brother-in-law for so long?"
When Princess Zhaoyang mentioned her husband, Princess Ruyang's heart trembled, her eyes flickered and she said, "It's okay, your brother-in-law knows his limits."
Princess Zhaoyang just asked this, and when she heard Princess Ruyang's words, she nodded and said nothing more. However, Princess Ruyang was a little absent-minded. If something really happened to Shen Jin, she opened her mouth but said nothing. Compared with her brother's position as the crown prince, the prince consort and other things were not very important.
Because of a rumor, everyone in the harem started to make efforts at the same time. In less than ten days, the Queen Mother's departure from the palace was already on the agenda. The Queen Mother even prepared a lot of things for the Queen Mother and arranged everything properly. The Queen Mother naturally heard those rumors, but now she had given up on Emperor Cheng and would no longer work hard for Emperor Cheng's offspring. She pretended not to know what the Queen Mother and others were thinking. Leaving the palace one day earlier would have obvious benefits.
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