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  Chapter 10

  After Madam Zhus birthday, it was soon the Lunar New Year.

  The Imperial Concubine ordered Xia Taijian to come out and give New Years gifts, and also had him pass on a private message, saying that the Emperor had already instructed the senior officials of the Imperial Hospital to examine her pulse, and if there was no mistake, she should be carrying a dragon son. Now that she is just over five months pregnant, the fetal image has stabilized, and Empress Pei is taking good care of herself, so please dont worry, parents and family members.

  Madam Hou was delighted when she received this news.

  It has been nine years since the emperor married at the age of seventeen, and there are more than twenty concubines in the palace, but only the noble consort was able to conceive a dragon heir. Now that the imperial physician has diagnosed a male pulse, as long as she can give birth safely, the child in her womb will be the crown prince. Although the emperors family ties may be thinner than those of ordinary people, the birth of the crown prince is extraordinary for him, and his birth can help the emperor stabilize the court and solidify his throne.

  The mother rises with her son, and the imperial concubines favor will also flourish because of this.

  But whether the eldest son of the emperor can be born safely is still an unknown number.

  Madam Hou carefully savored the words of Imperial Consort Wei, "Empress Pei took good care of it", and her eyebrows furrowed, growing tighter by the second. She thought for a moment, put down the New Years affairs she was handling, had someone bring over the New Years gift that Imperial Consort Wei had just bestowed upon her, and personally went to An Tai Temple.

  Madam Zhu is not in the main hall at this moment.

  The cold of the twelfth lunar month was severe, and the newly built hot kang in the west wings warm pavilion was more comfortable than the main hall. With two charcoal stoves burning in front of the kang, the damp chill inside the house was completely dispelled. Ming Xuan wanted to paint a picture of Guanyin with Dongping Taifei, but she found that the Jade Washing Pavilion was not warm enough, so she moved her writing utensils and paper to the warm pavilion of Antai Temple. Every day after visiting her mother at noon, she would linger and not leave. Lin Xuan also had a desire to learn this skill, so she followed Ming Xuan into the warm pavilion.

  Although Madam Zhu liked quietness, Ming Xuan and Lin Yue were the people closest to her heart. Not only did she not stop them, but every day after leaving the Buddhist hall, she would move to the warm pavilion to stay with them.

  Madam Hou came in and saw Linxue sitting on the kang, head down, embroidering a purse. Mingxuan had moved the desk to the side of the warm kang and was intently drawing lines and strokes on paper. Old Madam was half-reclining at the head of the kang, watching with interest as the two girls worked, occasionally speaking up to point out one or two things.

  She slightly raised an eyebrow, stood at the door for a moment, and after Hongtao went in to report, she smiled and greeted Old Lady Zhu, "Mother, the Imperial Consort sent Eunuch Xia to our mansion with New Years gifts. I have instructed people to send them to various courtyards. This is specially presented by the Imperial Consort to you, please take a look."

  Madam Zhu nodded slightly and Nanny Shen took over to open it for her.

  Inside the narrow and long purple sandalwood lacquer box with a phoenix pattern, a sheeps fat white jade pheasant head cane lies quietly, its entire body is lustrous and white, the jade quality is crystal clear and translucent, at first glance it is a rare good thing.

  As expected, Old Lady Zhus face showed a delighted expression. She stretched out her hand to take the cane and carefully stroked it, "This cane is of extremely good quality, its entire body is crystal clear without any cracks, it must have been carved from a whole piece of top-grade beautiful jade, you cant find such good ones outside."

  She raised her head and smiled, saying, "The imperial concubine has rewarded me generously!"

  Ming Xuan couldnt help but look up and saw that it was indeed more exquisite than the birthday gift Ming Ju had prepared earlier. In her heart, she thought to herself that previously, when Hou Furen had wronged Mo Kui and smashed the Longsheng Jade Ruyi, this Empress Dowager had used an even better one to make amends. It could be seen that although the Eldest Branch had long been the de facto master of the Hou Manor, they still showed great respect towards the old madam.

  Her long eyelashes drooped slightly, and Madame Hou was skilled at winning peoples hearts. In this regard, she was indeed much more clever than Second Aunt.

  Madam Hou heard Old Madams praise and knew that the New Years gift was well-received. She remained humble in her demeanor, but her tone carried a hint of pride: "Although it was Noble Consorts intention, I must say something improper - showing filial piety to ones mother is also something Noble Consort should do. However..."

  Ming Xuan immediately understood that Madame Hou had something to say to Old Lady Zhu.

  She exchanged a glance with Linxuan, then smiled and said, "Grandmother, I didnt bring all the colored blocks I need here. Ill go back to Xiyu Pavilion to get them. Linxuan will come with me."

  Madam Zhu waved her hand, "Its just right that the wet nurse beside Eldest Matron sent over the New Years gift to Imperial Consort Gui. Xuan and Yue can play for a while longer before coming over, anyway this painting will be left here and no one will dare to move it. Hurry up and go!"

  Li Dongqi and his sister had planned to spend the New Year in Yongning Hous mansion since they came from Longxi to Shengjing to celebrate Zhu Laofus birthday. As it was a long way back to Longxi, even if everything went smoothly, it would take over ten days, and with the cold weather, if there was a sudden snowstorm, they would have to stay for many more days, so they couldnt spend the New Year on the road.

  The Imperial Concubine naturally knew this, so she also included the Li siblings New Years gifts, with Dong Qi and Yuan Xian receiving similar ones, while Lin Yues gift was comparable to Ming Huans.

  Ming Xuan pulled Lin Yues hand and left. Only Old Madam and Madame Hou were left in the warm pavilion of the west wing.

  Madam Hou first told Old Madam about the message from Imperial Consort, word for word. "Nowadays, Imperial Consorts body is being taken care of by Empress Pei. Although Empress Pei doesnt dare to openly do anything to our familys Imperial Consort, after all, its hard to guard against hidden arrows. The child in Imperial Consorts belly is the eldest son of the Emperor, occupying the position of the eldest, even if Empress Pei gives birth to a legitimate son in the future, she may not be able to surpass the eldest son. How can Pei Xiang, such a ruthless person, and the powerful Pei family, who dominate the court, allow the eldest son to be born so easily?"

  Since ancient times, the throne has been passed down either to the eldest or to the most legitimate heir. If a noble consort gives birth to the eldest son, she will have the confidence to compete with Empress Pei. The Pei family cannot just sit back and do nothing about it.

  Madam Zhus face was as calm as water, and after a moment of contemplation, she finally spoke up, "Just say what you have to say."

  Madam Hou hastily replied, "Empress Pei personally took care of the noble consort. If something happened to the imperial son, the emperor would naturally hold her responsible. However, the emperor would also think that if Empress Pei truly couldnt tolerate this child, why would she need to get involved in this hot potato? She didnt interfere with the noble consorts affairs and just watched from afar, so when something happened to the imperial son, it wouldnt be related to her."

  Her face was solemn, "The ugly rumors in the palace are not to be told to outsiders, the emperor cant really do anything about Empress Pei. In addition, there is Prime Minister Peis exclusive power in the court, and the emperor has scruples. Im afraid that in the end, only the noble consort will break her teeth and swallow blood and tears."

  This is the cleverness of Empress Pei.

  She had expected this outcome, which is why she dared to take on the task of caring for the noble consort and the dragon heir.

  The food and drink of the Honorable Concubine Gu were all in the hands of Empress Pei, which was equivalent to handing over her life to Empress Pei. Whenever she wanted to take the life of the young emperor, and by what means, it would be up to her whim, and there would be nothing that the Honorable Concubine Gu could do about it.

  Madam Zhu understood the crux of the matter as soon as she gave it a little thought.

  She furrowed her brow and asked in a low voice, "Then what should we do?"

  Madam Hou gritted her teeth and replied in a low voice, "If the Duke of Jianan is willing to lend a hand, both the lives of the Imperial Concubine and the Crown Prince can be saved."

  Jiananbo is in charge of guarding the Forbidden Palace, and if hes willing to take action, the safety of the Imperial Concubines palace will be more secure. The Imperial Concubine has always been cautious and careful, with clever and cunning ladies-in-waiting by her side. As long as the gates are tightly closed and there is a way to transmit messages, she can focus on eating and taking care of trivial matters, and its likely that this pregnancy will not be easily terminated.

  Empress Pei would never dare to do anything openly.

  Madam Zhus eyebrows furrowed even deeper, "Isnt Jianan Bos daughter-in-law?"

  He is already the great uncle of Yongning Houfu, cant he let Jianan Bo be more close before Mingruo dies? Not to mention this idea of remarriage, what Jianan Bo thinks is not certain, even if he really wants to, what can it change?

  Now unwilling, naturally will not be willing in the future.

  Madam Hous eyes turned red as she listened, "It wasnt supposed to be a worry for Mother, but Ruyus body is getting worse by the day. A few days ago, she coughed up a whole handkerchief of blood. We invited Dr. Fang from the Imperial Hospital, who specializes in treating coughs, and he said that Ruyu wont make it past next spring. Master Hou and Duke Jianan have already discussed it, and for the sake of Ruyus two sons, Duke Jianan is willing to choose another wife from the Gu family as his successor."

  She carefully raised her head and glanced at Old Lady Zhu, "The Earl of Jianan said that he already had someone in mind, its... our familys Xiang sister. It seems that on the day of your birthday banquet, after meeting her once, the Earl of Jianan took a liking to her. What do you think, Mother?"

  Madam Zhus heart skipped a beat, but her face didnt reveal anything. She shook her head and said, "In the past, Sister Ru was also personally asked to marry him, but now it has become like this... Eldest sister-in-law, isnt the noble consort in the palace the legitimate wife of Jianan Bos younger sister? If his own younger sister gets a good future, wouldnt that be an honor for him too? He doesnt want to help take care of the noble consort now, who knows what will happen later? In terms of looks and talent, Xiang sister is not even comparable to Sister Ru back then!"

  She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, "If Ruru knew that before she even closed her eyes, her parents and husband were already planning to remarry, I dont know how heartbroken she would be."

  Madam Hou saw Old Lady Zhu like this and understood that her mother-in-law was unwilling.

  She thought that in the past few days, people had been asking about Ming Xuan one after another when they went out, and even several families of uncles households had secretly sent matchmakers to leave letters of proposal. She intercepted all of them with a private heart. But as soon as the New Year was over, various households would invite her to dinner parties one after another, and once her mother-in-law went out, these things could not be hidden.

  Ke Jianan had already spoken out, he just wanted Ming Xuan...

  Madam Hou had no choice but to kneel down with a "thud" and said, "Mother, theres something Ive been afraid to mention to you until now, but I have to say it. You should know that only Xianger can save our Princess Consort now!"

  Her eyes were even redder than before, "On the seventeenth of the twelfth lunar month, I had a family banquet to welcome Shao Qi and Lin Yue back home. Who would have thought that after what happened with Cai Jie earlier, she still didnt learn her lesson and came up with another evil plan. That night, while all the men in the mansion were drunk, she bribed the gatekeeper at the corner door and several maids in the inner courtyard, got rid of the maid in charge of Mao Chun Garden, and actually... actually snuck into Shao Qis bed..."

  "What did you say?" Mrs. Zhu felt a sudden blackout in front of her eyes, her chest shook, and she began to breathe heavily.

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