Chapter 319 It's Only a Matter of Time Before She Conceives
Li Jinyan secretly gave Jiang Zhi a reassuring look before hurriedly leaving.
Summer had arrived, and Jiang Zhi and Li Jinyan had just been playing chess under a tree in the courtyard. They were kneeling there to welcome the Empress, and there was no shade to provide any shelter.
She was dressed lightly to keep cool, and the pebbles on the path hurt her knees.
But she was afraid the empress would use this as an excuse to rub it, so she dared not move it.
She was covered in a fine sweat, and the sunlight made her vision blur in waves.
The Empress sat under the shade of a tree, drinking the tea served by her servants, her face serene.
No one around dared to make a sound.
Jiang Zhi knew that the Empress was trying to intimidate her, so she gritted her teeth and persevered.
I don't know how much time has passed.
Just as she was thinking of pretending to faint, the Empress finally spoke.
"When I ordered your execution, did you harbor any resentment?" Her voice was cold and hard, like metal striking stone.
Ignoring the pain in her knees, Jiang Zhi immediately kowtowed, "Your Majesty, I am so grateful to Your Majesty for giving me the opportunity to leave the Eastern Palace. How could I dare to have the slightest complaint?"
Besides, it was he who deliberately provoked the Empress in the first place, so he can't entirely blame her.
"Oh? You don't want to be the Crown Princess?" the Empress asked.
Jiang Zhi smiled bitterly, "My reputation is now ruined, and I am already a wife. Unless I am willing to risk my life to withstand the public opinion, I dare not hope to become the Crown Princess."
"You do have some self-awareness," the Empress said with a cold smile, the smile not reaching her eyes.
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will leave the capital once the matter of the Prince of Xiang's heir is settled," Jiang Zhi said, making her intentions clear.
"Oh?" The Empress raised an eyebrow. "Lord Shen will agree?"
"Lord Shen promised to give me a divorce agreement and let me leave."
Divorce?
The Empress pondered.
Doesn't this mean that Jiang Zhi has regained her freedom?
The Crown Prince knows his own temperament best. If his status were no longer an obstacle, he would probably only become more persistent.
Thinking of this, her face grew even colder. "I am not here to make things difficult for you today. It's just that you are Shen Ci'an's legal wife, yet you are fooling around with the Crown Prince here. If you become pregnant without knowing the truth and confuse the royal bloodline, that is a capital offense, and even the Crown Prince cannot protect you."
These words were so blunt that they made Jiang Zhi's already pale face look even worse.
"Your Majesty, I did not have relations with the Crown Prince... and I was already unable to..."
"The Crown Prince also mentioned this to me," the Empress coldly interrupted her, "but just in case, I specially sent someone to Jiangnan to find the most skilled gynecologist and invite him to the palace. If you have a clear conscience, let him examine you again."
Normally, having a doctor take her pulse would be no problem, but in this situation, it only made Jiang Zhi feel embarrassed.
"What, you don't want to?" The Empress looked down at her and placed the teacup on the stone table. "Come in."
A young palace maid led in an elderly man with white hair and beard, whose eyes were covered with a cloth. They had clearly been waiting outside for a long time.
"You have no choice but to comply today. As long as the investigation shows no problems, I will believe you."
Jiang Zhi was quickly and roughly pulled up from the ground by two old women, forced to sit down on the stone bench, and had her arms placed on the stone table.
Her arm hit the edge of the table, sending a sharp pain through her, which she endured.
No, it would be too much of a loss to faint now.
We need to find the right time.
The old man bowed, then reached out his hand and carefully took her pulse through the handkerchief.
Jiang Zhi's fingertips were icy cold and trembling, her knees were throbbing with pain, and she didn't even have the strength to lift her hand.
The old man's face was cold and stern as he examined her pulse with exceptional care. However, the question he uttered left Jiang Zhi feeling ashamed and indignant.
"Does the lady experience any pain or discomfort during intercourse?"
Have you taken any contraceptive medication recently?
When did the Gui water (癸水) arrive? Was it on time?
Jiang Zhi suppressed her shame and remained silent.
The Empress replied coldly, "Answer whatever the doctor asks. You're already a married woman, so why are you being so coy?"
The old nanny beside her added, "If you dare to lie in front of Her Majesty the Empress, it is disrespectful to Her Majesty the Empress, and you can be punished for it."
"Yes." Jiang Zhi gritted her teeth and could only answer one by one.
The doctor hesitated for a moment, then asked her to switch to the other hand to continue taking her pulse.
He didn't withdraw his hand until a full cup of tea had passed.
"Your Majesty, this lady suffers from cold uterus and blood stasis, and is indeed extremely difficult to conceive. However, she is still young. If she can take good care of herself in the future and take the medicine prescribed by me for a year or two, she will surely be able to fulfill her wish."
"Does the doctor mean that there is still a possibility that she is pregnant?" The Empress's voice was unreadable.
The old man nodded. “Nothing in this world is absolute. Madam’s health has been damaged, making it difficult for her to conceive. However, judging from her pulse, she has been recovering well recently. It’s only a matter of time before she conceives again.”
Jiang Zhi was startled.
The Empress also joined in with a cold sneer, "As expected, my worries were not unfounded."
The claim of infertility is nothing but an excuse to deceive others.
The doctor was led away by a palace maid to write a prescription.
"Princess Qinghe, what else do you have to say?"
Jiang Zhi had no choice but to kneel down again, enduring the pain.
How could she know that this doctor's diagnosis differed from what others had said?
Could it be that the Empress deliberately invited him to deceive her?
But then I thought it might not be that bad.
"I was unaware of this. But I can assure the Empress that I have absolutely no connection with the Crown Prince."
“I will not believe such baseless accusations,” the Empress said, raising her chin. “If Princess Qinghe wants me to believe her, then drink this.”
The old woman brought over a bowl of dark brown medicinal liquid.
It was clearly prepared long ago.
"Don't worry, it's not poison," the Empress said. "It's just a medicine that will prevent you from conceiving for six months. Drink it, and I will let you stay in the East Palace. I will no longer interfere with what you do."
The Crown Princess had not yet given birth to any children, and was already being completely charmed by Jiang Zhi.
She would absolutely not allow Jiang Zhi to have even the slightest chance of conceiving the Crown Prince's illegitimate child and causing chaos in the palace.
Jiang Zhi looked at the medicine that the nanny handed to her.
It was still steaming lukewarmly, emitting a nauseatingly bitter and fishy smell.
Actually, it doesn't matter if I take this medicine, since I don't plan to get pregnant anyway.
But why should I make this sacrifice?
She was doing things for her son, but it always made it seem like she was trying to climb the social ladder and had some connection with the royal family.
This attitude is really uncomfortable.
Seeing that Jiang Zhi did not move, the old woman only said "I'm sorry" before forcibly prying open Jiang Zhi's mouth and pouring the medicine into her mouth despite her resistance.
The Empress watched coldly, caring only about the outcome and not whether Jiang Zhi was willing.
The medicine bowl was already at her lips when the old woman showed no mercy, pinching Jiang Zhi's cheeks until they were bright red.
But just then, a sharp shout came from the courtyard gate, "Stop right there, all of you!"
Jiang Zhi looked up and saw Xiao Xuanyou, dressed in a bright yellow prince's robe, walking towards her with a sullen and angry expression.
We've finally arrived.
She subtly curled her lips into a smile, then her face contorted with a tearful, aggrieved expression as she called out in a trembling voice, "Your Highness..."
Then his body swayed and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
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