Shoutout to Tachibanaswife for the commission!
Luli to one side was already beaming with joy, saying in great surprise: “Niang Niang is pregnant! Amitabha! Buddha bless!” She clasped her hands together, repeatedly bowing toward the sky, then turned her head and said, “Niang Niang, we must quickly report this good news to His Majesty!”
I had no mood to pay attention to her at the moment. I merely raised my hand to stop her chatter and then asked Imperial Physician Song, “You didn’t misdiagnose, did you? My monthly cycle has always been irregular.”
Imperial Physician Song trembled as he stroked his beard, then said in a quivering voice, “Yin beating and yang separating, the cun pulse is deep, the chi pulse is floating, the movement is smooth and slippery, yang appearing within yin, and there is also a sign of harmony and regulation, this is indeed the pulse of pregnancy. It’s just that Your Highness’s spleen and kidneys, qi and blood, are somewhat weak. To be safe, this old minister will prescribe some medicine to stabilize the pregnancy and nourish your condition.”
I didn’t understand the pulse patterns he was talking about, but I understood the meaning, that I was indeed pregnant. It just seemed that the fetal condition was somewhat unstable, so it needed to be preserved first.
Preserve my *ss! I haven’t even enjoyed any benefits yet and I’m already pregnant? D*mn it! What a rip-off!!
I kept a stern face and said nothing.
Imperial Physician Song cautiously glanced at my expression, then quickly took the excuse of going to write a prescription and withdrew.
Luli personally escorted him out of the hall, then came back. First she joyfully sent a young palace maid to deliver the news to Qi Sheng, then hurriedly urged everyone to help me into the inner chamber to rest. Afraid I might find it noisy, she dismissed everyone and stayed behind alone to attend me.
I had just been struck hard like by lightning, so I had been in a daze. Only now did I suddenly notice something off about Luli, and I couldn’t help narrowing my eyes to examine her.
The smile that had filled her face just now vanished instantly. She silently walked to me, knelt down, gently supported my knees with her hands, looked up, and called out in a sorrowful voice, “Miss.”
Having lived with Luli for over a year, I had more or less grasped her temperament. Usually, when she called me “Miss,” it meant I was being “disfavored” by Qi Sheng.
I looked at her calmly and simply asked, “What’s wrong?”
With reddened eyes, she hesitated several times but first pleaded, “There’s something you must endure when you hear it. Your body is your own, Miss, you must never do anything foolish again!”
Hearing this buildup, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. What was going on? Was it really that serious?
I saw her take a deep breath before saying, “Miss is not pregnant. That Imperial Physician Song has already been bribed by the family, that’s why he said so.”
I froze, and a surge of wild joy burst forth in my heart. It excited me so much that I sat upright at once, staring wide-eyed at Luli.
She gritted her teeth and continued fiercely, “Two days ago, Youlan Palace summoned an imperial physician again, and it was Imperial Physician Song who went. The family found it suspicious and secretly questioned him. Only then did they learn that that wretch Lady Jiang had actually been diagnosed as pregnant.”
Before the joy in my heart had settled, another wave came. Unable to control myself, I sprang up from the bedside!
“Miss…” Luli cried out in alarm, rushing over to hug my legs tightly, sobbing in a low voice, “Miss, Miss, you must endure it, even if your teeth are knocked out, you must swallow the blood and live on!”
I felt all the blood in my body rush to my head. I lowered my head, gripped her shoulders tightly, and asked tensely, “Is what you said true? The one who’s pregnant isn’t me, but Lady Jiang?”
She only choked with sobs, unable to speak.
I grew anxious, shook her hard, and demanded, “Speak! Who exactly is pregnant?”
She wiped the tears from her face forcefully, suppressed her sobs, and said harshly, “It’s that wretch Lady Jiang. Only two months along, and also preserving the pregnancy. The family has already sent people, trying to find ways to get rid of the b*stard in her womb. But they fear a possibility, if that b*stard is truly born, he will be the emperor’s eldest son. And His Majesty is bewitched by that wretch. If by then he places that child under Your Highness’s name, it will become the legitimate eldest son! Then establishing him as crown prince would be perfectly justified! So the family forced Imperial Physician Song to diagnose Niang Niang with a pregnancy as well. That way, if Lady Jiang’s fetus can be removed early, then Niang Niang’s situation doesn’t matter. If it can’t be removed, then we must give birth to a prince before her, so His Majesty has no excuse at all!”
D*mn, isn’t this another version of “the civet cat swapped for the crown prince”?
I stood there dumbfounded, unable to process it. Originally, Lady Jiang being pregnant was such a good thing. Her status couldn’t be made public, once she gave birth to a prince, Qi Sheng, unwilling to wrong the child, would surely first place him under my name, then after a few years let Lady Jiang reenter the palace under a new identity…
Those few years were exactly what I wanted to use. If managed properly, with the Zhang family and that Lord Toilet attacking together, they could crush Qi Sheng beyond recovery. At that point, he could only follow Lady Jiang to the King of H*ll and be together for life!
Unfortunately, all of this was shattered by my “pregnancy.” After being drunk, I was tragically made “pregnant” again… I had bitterness I couldn’t speak of. I really wanted to curse!
Seeing that I hadn’t reacted for a long time, Luli grew frightened. She shook my leg and called anxiously, “Niang Niang, Niang Niang!”
Only then did I come back to my senses and said angrily, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”
She flinched, instinctively leaning back, then threw herself forward again, crying as she explained, “The family knows Niang Niang has a fierce temper. They feared that telling you beforehand would only make you reveal a flaw, maybe you wouldn’t hold back and would even storm into Youlan Palace. Then it would play right into that wretch Lady Jiang’s hands and only make His Majesty dislike you!”
Looking at Luli crying like pear blossoms in rain, I felt helpless and could only slump onto the bed. News of the empress’s pregnancy would soon spread throughout the harem, then throughout the court… The originally stable triangle would suddenly gain another corner. No matter what, I had to give Lord Toilet an explanation.
I looked at Luli, thinking about how to make her understand that I was her real master. But seeing the girl crying like this, I couldn’t bring myself to be harsh. In the end, I could only say seriously, “Luli, from now on, you must inform me first before acting. You are now the empress’s maid, not the Zhang family’s maid. I feed you and clothe you, and in the future I’ll even find you a husband. I am your provider! If you do private work for others again, don’t blame me for cutting off your livelihood!”
Luli stood there stunned, blinking her big apricot eyes, not knowing whether she understood.
Helpless, I waved my hand, letting the matter pass, and instructed her, “Think of a way to send a message to Chu Wang. Tell him to come see me as soon as possible.”
She froze for a moment, then rushed forward again, lowering her voice to urgently persuade me, “Niang Niang! You must not do anything foolish! Imperial Physician Song will have a way to stop your monthly cycle. The family can also find a suitable infant. Besides, even if you summon Chu Wang now to help, first, the palace is full of eyes, if word leaks out, it means death. Second, your body hasn’t recovered, there’s no guarantee you’d conceive in one try. And even if you did, the timing wouldn’t match!”
At first I didn’t understand, but after thinking it over carefully, I finally got her meaning. Looking at her anxious little face, I even raised my hand, then forced myself to stop, silently chanting in my heart: I don’t hit women, I don’t hit women…
I took a deep breath and said, “Luli, stand up first.”
Perhaps my expression was very grim, she was frightened and quickly got up, standing timidly to the side.
I solemnly instructed her: “First, the child in Lady Jiang’s belly must be kept! Send word to the family, under no circumstances are they to have any other ideas! Second, Qi Sheng is not a fool. If you bring in a baby from outside the palace, he will definitely know. So tell the family to give up on that too and quickly find a way to legitimately get rid of the fake pregnancy in my belly! Third, tell the family that I very much miss Second Miss and want her to come to the palace to accompany me for a few days. Fourth, arrange for me to meet Chu Wang as soon as possible!”
Luli nodded.
I let out a breath of relief, my expression easing somewhat. Seeing that she still looked frightened, I softened a little and was about to comfort her when suddenly an attendant outside the hall loudly announced, “His Majesty has arrived!”
I quickly scolded Luli in a low voice, “Wipe your tears! Hurry and smile!”
She hurriedly lowered her head to rub her face. When she raised it again, her smile was as radiant as a flower.
I, on the other hand, was a bit dumbfounded. D*mn, this is what a real woman is, changing expressions faster than flipping a book. When will I ever master this skill?
In the blink of an eye, Qi Sheng’s figure appeared at the entrance of the inner chamber. He said nothing, just stood there, looking at me with an unreadable expression. Since that Lantern Festival night, he had not come to me again, it had been over a month. Back then he had left from my bed; now meeting again beside it, I felt conflicted, unsure whether I should appear “overjoyed” or “wronged and resentful.”
Luli reacted quickly. She came forward to support my arm and greeted him with a smile, saying, “Your Majesty has come at just the right time. Please comfort Her Highness, Imperial Physician Song diagnosed her with a pregnancy, and she’s been laughing and crying like a child.”
I jolted, thought for a moment, then quickly used my other hand to support my lower back.
This scene fell into Qi Sheng’s eyes. His previously still, water-like expression suddenly came alive, and even a trace of a smile appeared in his eyes.
