Chapter 33 Prince's Birthday Banquet

Jun Zechen held Su Jingyao's hand and led her slowly into the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

At this time, the hall was already full of people, but His Majesty was unable to attend due to illness.

The Queen sat dignifiedly on one side of the first seat, while the Crown Princess sat quietly on the other side, though her position was slightly lower in comparison.

"Your son pays his respects to your mother," Jun Zechen bowed respectfully.

Su Jingyao was about to follow suit when she saw this, but the empress on the throne smiled and said kindly, "The concubine is in poor health, so there is no need to perform the salute."

Su Jingyao smiled gently and nodded slightly: "Thank you, Queen."

Then, Miaoyun carefully helped Su Jingyao to sit down below the Crown Princess.

During this banquet, the concubines from the East Palace sat below the Crown Princess, while the invited concubines from the Harem sat below the Empress.

In addition to the women, many princes were also invited.

Jun Zechen sat at the top with a majestic look, then raised his wine glass and officially announced the start of the birthday banquet.

"Today is my birthday, and I hope you will all share my joy at this family dinner."

As soon as the words fell, everyone raised their glasses respectfully and said in unison: "I wish His Royal Highness the Crown Prince great blessings and a happy birthday."

After that, everyone took a sip of wine.

Immediately afterwards, the singing and dancing carefully arranged by the Crown Princess rang out in the palace. The Empress sent Aunt Jinhua to assist the Crown Princess in organizing this banquet.

The melody is melodious and graceful, and the dance is magnificent, it can be said to be a masterpiece.

However, everyone present was used to watching court dances and did not show any particular interest in these songs and dances.

The Queen sometimes communicated in a low voice with the concubines, and sometimes asked about Su Jingyao's condition with concern, but she never even gave the Crown Princess a glance.

Ling Yue sat quietly beside the prince, with a look of loneliness in his expression.

She knew in her heart that her mother still disliked her.

The birthday banquet was halfway through when Qiaoshan, the maid beside Tang Suxi, frowned and looked worried, and she bent down.

He lowered his voice and asked, "Master, what's wrong with you?"

Shangguan Zhaoxun, who was sitting next to Tang Suxi, turned around and looked at Tang Suxi after hearing Qiaoshan's voice.

At this time, Tang Suxi's brows were tightly wrinkled, and her originally rosy face turned as pale as paper. Fine beads of sweat kept oozing out of her forehead, rolling down one by one.

Before Shangguan Yi could think more about what was going on, Tang Suxi suddenly closed her eyes and fainted.

Seeing this, Qiaoshan, who was standing by, reached out quickly and supported her body tightly as she was about to fall.

Although Shangguan Yi didn't want to get into any trouble, she saw Tang Suxi next to her in such a state.

He could only bite the bullet and stand up to reply: "Your Highness, Your Majesty, Tang Fengyi has fainted."

When the people in higher positions heard Shangguan Yi's words, they immediately shifted their gaze to Tang Fengyi.

Tang Suxi's position was very low, and the empress did not have any special impression of her, but it was indeed she who chose Tang Fengyi to enter the Eastern Palace.

She was a little impatient. These women had better not play tricks at her son's birthday party!

She casually gave a wink to the senior palace maid beside her, who understood what she meant and hurriedly, together with the other palace maids, carefully helped Tang Fengyi to a side hall of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and placed him there.

The prince frowned, "Call the imperial physician!"

There was confusion and worry in the Crown Princess's eyes. Why did she faint?

Doctor Li hurried over. As soon as he took Tang Suxi's pulse, he was shocked.

Tang Fengyi is actually pregnant!

But she is showing signs of miscarriage!

Who on earth is so bold as to let such a thing happen at the prince's birthday party!

The Queen's maid was also shocked to hear that Tang Fengyi was pregnant and showed signs of miscarriage. She hurried into the hall to report to the Queen.

With such an unexpected situation occurring, the empress could only hastily finish hosting the banquet, announce the end of the banquet, and then lead everyone into the side hall.

Before leaving, he specifically instructed Su Jingyao to arrange for her to ride in a sedan chair back to Xiyan Palace, after all, she was pregnant.

The prince sat quietly beside the bed, his eyes fixed on Tang Fengyi's pale face. A complex emotion flashed in his eyes, making it difficult to understand.

"Doctor Li, why is Tang Fengyi like this?"

Jun Zechen's voice was calm, but it revealed an unquestionable majesty.

"Your Highness, Tang Fengyi is already two months pregnant. Logically, the fetus should be stable, but she may have eaten something cold today." Doctor Li replied respectfully.

"Doctor Li, the master didn't eat anything tonight, just some cakes."

Qiaoshan walked forward and answered anxiously, her face full of worry and anxiety.

"What kind of cake is this? Please show it to me."

Qiaoshan brought a plate of cakes to Doctor Li. Doctor Li picked up a cake and took a light bite.

As soon as he took the first bite, his brows furrowed and his face looked solemn.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, this pastry is made of barley, and even has crab meat and turtle meat mixed in. These are foods that cannot be eaten during pregnancy."

"Crabs and turtles are cold in nature and can easily cause miscarriage. Job's tears are slippery in nature and can cause uterine contractions in women. Even though Tang Fengyi doesn't eat much, she is in great danger now." Doctor Li sounded worried.

"I will immediately ask someone to prepare pregnancy-preserving medicine." Doctor Li said, and turned around to make arrangements.

After hearing this, the Queen's face turned gloomy and she directed her anger at the Crown Princess.

He said in a sharp voice: "Crown Princess, you are the one who reviewed the food for the Crown Prince's birthday banquet. Why are there such cold pastries? Even if you don't know whether Tang Fengyi is pregnant, the concubine is pregnant. How can such food be served on the table?"

When the Crown Princess heard the Queen's question, her face turned pale and she knelt down quickly to admit her mistake.

"Mother, this is my negligence, but this cake was suggested to me by An Liangdi."

When An Jinyan heard the Crown Princess' words, her face immediately showed panic.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, I am truly wronged. I have been eating this kind of pastry every day for the past half month. When the Crown Princess prepared the banquet menu for Your Highness, I only mentioned it once."

"This pastry is precious and the workmanship is complicated. When His Highness came to my palace before, he also said that this pastry is delicious. And I didn't know that pregnant women can't eat this kind of pastry."

An Jinyan's eyes were filled with tears, and she looked at the prince and the queen with grievance.

An Jinyan naturally knew that this kind of pastry was extremely bad for pregnant women, so she deliberately mentioned it during a visit after the Crown Princess prepared the banquet menu.

He also specifically mentioned how precious this pastry was and how much the prince liked it.

Sure enough, the Crown Princess had been trying so hard to please the Crown Prince recently that she naturally included this pastry in the banquet menu.

Because he joined later, he was not reviewed by the Imperial Hospital.

After all, soft-shelled turtles and other foods are precious nourishing ingredients among the nobles. The Crown Princess has never been pregnant and is not a meticulous person, so naturally she doesn't think much about it.

Just as the Queen and the Crown Prince frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

An Jinyan pretended to be weak and continued, "Empress Dowager, Your Highness the Crown Prince, since I entered the Eastern Palace, I have not been close to Tang Fengyi, and I had no idea that Tang Fengyi was pregnant."

"But in the past two months, the Crown Princess has been very close to Tang Fengyi..."

An Jinyan stopped talking here, but the meaning of her words was obvious.

She didn't know that Tang Fengyi was pregnant, but the Crown Princess might not be unaware of it.

The Queen obviously also heard the hidden meaning in her words, and her eyes were fixed on the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess is in charge of the Eastern Palace's food supply. Could it be that she really doesn't know that Tang Fengyi is pregnant?

"Crown Princess, do you really not know whether Tang Fengyi is pregnant?" The Queen's voice was stern.

Ling Yue suddenly realized that this was all An Jinyan's plan!

Ling Yue knew that Tang Fengyi was pregnant and that she had a grudge against An Liangdi. When Tang Fengyi came to seek her protection, she asked her to help hide the pregnancy, and she naturally agreed.

An Liangdi has a grudge against her, and if it can be resolved without her taking any initiative, why not do it.

Originally, Ling Yue knew that Tang Fengyi was planning to frame An Liangdi tonight, but tonight was the prince's birthday, and Ling Yue didn't want to ruin the prince's birthday banquet, so she asked Tang Fengyi to implement the plan after the banquet.

But unexpectedly, An Jinyan seemed to have known that Tang Fengyi was pregnant, and even set up the trap in advance, waiting for the two of them to fall into it.

At this point, I can only deny it.

Ling Yue knelt there, her eyes as firm as a rock. She gritted her teeth and said, "Mother, I really didn't know that Tang Fengyi was pregnant."

The Queen has been in charge of the harem for many years. If she really wanted to investigate these matters, she would naturally be able to find out clearly.

At this time, the maid beside the queen came in, with her head slightly lowered.

She said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I found these medicine residues in Tang Fengyi's Shuyuxuan."

When An Jinyan saw the drug residue, she felt secretly delighted, for she knew her plan had succeeded.

She lowered her head, a hint of pride flashed in her eyes, and she revealed a barely perceptible smile.

Ever since she suspected Tang Fengyi was pregnant, she would send people to secretly monitor Tang Fengyi every day. Sure enough, Tang Fengyi would take pregnancy-preserving medicine every few days.

He also buried the drug residue in the soil, thinking that no one would notice it. But how could An Jinyan miss this opportunity? Naturally, she would make good use of it.

Tang Fengyi, oh Tang Fengyi, you clearly knew that you were pregnant, but you concealed it. You can only endure the suffering you are going through today, and you are also disliked by His Highness. You can't blame me for this.

"Doctor Li, come and take a look. What is this medicine residue?"

The Queen's voice was cold and stern. She raised her head slightly and looked at Doctor Li with sharp eyes. At the same time, she waved her right hand lightly, signaling Doctor Li to come forward and check.

Doctor Li hurried forward, bent down, carefully observed the medicine residue, then leaned in to smell it, his brows slightly wrinkled.

After a while, he stood up and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, this is the residue of the pregnancy-preserving medicine."

The Queen's eyes became even sharper and colder, and her gaze pierced the Crown Princess like a sword.

"Crown Princess, do you have anything else to say?"

Ling Yue knelt there, her eyes a little flustered. She gritted her teeth and tried to argue, "Mother, I didn't know Tang Fengyi was drinking pregnancy-preserving medicine."

"Do you think I'm as stupid as you, Crown Princess? Tang Fengyi is of low status. If someone didn't get this pregnancy-preserving medicine for her, how could she hide it from everyone? Do you still want me to check the medicine files of the Imperial Hospital immediately?"

The queen's voice became colder and colder, and every word seemed to be frosty.

"You helped Tang Fengyi conceal her pregnancy, causing harm to the royal heir. You are not worthy of being the Crown Princess!"

The Queen's voice echoed throughout the palace, full of majesty and anger. This was the Prince's second child, and now there were signs of miscarriage.

Everyone was silent, holding their breath, not daring to make the slightest sound, for fear that the Queen's anger would affect them.

Ling Yue was at a loss for words, her eye sockets gradually turned red, tears welled up in her eyes, and the crystal clear tears seemed like they would fall at any moment.

She raised her head and looked at Jun Zechen with a hint of pleading and helplessness in her eyes.

Today's incident happened suddenly, and Jun Zechen didn't have time to find out the whole story.

But he has known Ling Yue for three years, and he believes in Ling Yue. Ling Yue would never murder his child, even though all the evidence now points to her.

Jun Zechen looked at Ling Yue kneeling there, and his helpless look made him feel sorry for her.

He knew that Ling Yue's character had always been pure and kind, and he could never beat the deep-thinking women in the East Palace.

No matter what, his heart is always biased and sad.

Jun Zechen frowned slightly and was about to say something for Ling Yue, but was interrupted by the young eunuch from Xiyan Palace.

I saw the young eunuch running in hurriedly, his face full of anxiety.

"Your Highness, Concubine Su has a stomachache. Please ask Doctor Li to come over and take a look!"

After the young eunuch finished his ceremony, his voice was urgent, and his words were full of tension and worry.