Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 417 Consort Chun is Pregnant

She turned her head to examine the painting closely. The painting depicted a scene in the Bilang Pavilion of the Imperial Palace. The person in the painting was leaning under a crabapple tree, her clothes fluttering, and her cheeks had the roundness of a young girl.

Mengzhu said, "It's true, Your Majesty is wearing apricot color today, which makes your face look even smaller. When Consort Qi was pregnant, her cheeks were quite round."

Meng Shu subconsciously touched her cheek. "How could it be so exaggerated? I've been sleeping soundly lately, and my appetite..."

She couldn't finish her sentence; in fact, she had been suffering from severe morning sickness for the past few days and had no appetite whatsoever.

Green Willow spent every day with Meng Shu and at first didn't notice anything amiss, but the more she looked, the more she felt something was wrong. She anxiously said, "This servant will go and fetch Physician Jian right away?"

Meng Shu waved her hand to stop him: "Today is a big day. Imperial Physician Jian went to the southern suburbs with the Emperor earlier. He can take a day off today. It's not too late to wait a couple of days."

"—Go and fetch Physician Sun. Physician Sun has been treating Princess Ling'an recently and should be at the Imperial Hospital now."

Upon hearing Consort Chun's words, Green Willow quickly left the study and went outside.

This alarmed Zhao Mama, who was guarding the outer room. The three mamas were all very nervous and were discussing going to Cining Palace when Consort Chun stopped them.

......

Physician Sun was nearly sixty years old. He had traveled all the way here and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath when Green Willow was already supporting his arm. The next moment, her hand was already on Meng Shu's wrist.

After examining her for about half a cup of tea's time, Physician Sun's gray eyebrows gradually relaxed, and he withdrew his hand, saying in surprise, "Consort Jin's pulse is steady and strong, and her fetal breathing is stable. There is nothing wrong."

Consort Chun was still uneasy and pressed on, "Then why did you lose weight after becoming pregnant?"

Imperial Physician Sun stroked his beard, and Gong Jin replied, "In response to Consort Chun's question, it is proper to take tonics regularly after three months of pregnancy, especially during the winter season. In addition, Consort Jin's morning sickness has not subsided, so it is normal for her to lose weight. However, the imperial fetus is indeed fine."

As he spoke, he took out pen and ink from his medicine box and wrote a prescription while instructing, "From now on, Your Majesty may eat smaller, more frequent meals. This old minister will also prescribe a medicinal diet formula... Your Majesty may show it to Imperial Physician Jian later, and compare the two..."

Meng Shu interrupted, "I naturally trust Imperial Physician Sun's skillful hands." Then, changing the subject casually, she said, "I just returned from Shujing Palace with Consort Chun. Has Princess Ling'an recovered?"

After carefully reviewing the prescription, Physician Sun, without any suspicion, pondered and said, "It's strange, but I was entrusted by Consort Song to treat the Second Princess. She was born with a weak constitution and was indeed in some danger a few days ago. But since the day before yesterday, she has inexplicably improved and is now relatively stable."

Consort Chun frowned slightly as she met Meng Shu's gaze; both of them wore solemn expressions.

After several confirmations, it became increasingly clear that there were some problems with Yi Xiuyuan's side.

into the night.

When it was Green Willow's turn to be on duty, she made up the bed, carefully helped Meng Shu sit down on the edge of the bed, and then took out a soft mattress from the cabinet next to her and put it on the footstool.

"It's only been a few days since Donggua went to the imperial palace, and I've already started to miss her a little."

Meng Shu smiled and said, "You two usually bicker the most, you'll get annoyed with her when she comes back."

Green Willow raised the corners of her lips, the candlelight making her face appear exceptionally gentle. "In this palace, besides Consort Chun, Donggua cares about you the most."

She squatted down to straighten the corner of the quilt, stubbornly saying, "This servant won't bother her. When she comes back, I won't refuse to let her taste the dishes again."

"Donggua has a likable personality. You shouldn't always have a stern face. Hongyu and the others are more afraid of you than they are of me."

Green Willow stuck out her tongue, quickly laid out her bedding, and sat down fully clothed.

"This is what Master Zheng and Granny Zhou taught me. They said that if the master is kind and generous, the servants below cannot always be soft-hearted and must establish rules. The servants are showing this to Hongyu and the others, which is also a kind of deterrent."

Looking at the intertwined floral patterns on the tent ceiling, Meng Shu felt a lump in her throat from the half-bowl of soup that Lvliu had coaxed her to drink at dinner. Instead of feeling sleepy, she couldn't sleep at all.

“Master Zheng is right, but he’s taught you to be too rigid.” She turned to the side, her shadow on the gauze curtain swaying with her. “Now that it’s just the two of us, why won’t you call me ‘Shu’er’ like you did back in Langya Courtyard?”

Meng Shu talked to her about feelings, while Lü Liu talked to her about rules.

She said in a serious tone, "Back in Langya Courtyard, Your Highness and I were the same kind of people. But now that we're in the palace, the rules of hierarchy must naturally be ingrained in our bones."

Seeing that Meng Shu remained silent, Lü Liu changed the subject and reported to herself, "Aunt Mei returned in the afternoon and said that the letter had been delivered. When I came out of Huining Palace, I made a special detour to give Chun Tao and Cai Lian a reward. Now Chun Tao is gaining more and more favor with Consort Qi, and Cai Lian has also won Aunt Mei's favor. She will be able to help embroider the ladies' outer garments after the New Year."

Meng Shu said softly, "That's good. Take good care of them and make sure they're not bullied."

Green Willow hummed in agreement, then suddenly said, "Does Your Highness still remember a palace maid named Jixiang, who entered the palace in the same batch as me?"

I saw her once before when I was organizing a banquet. She has almond-shaped eyes and cherry lips... Now she is assigned to serve Consort Rong in the Ganlu Palace.

"Yes. I always felt that she was a restless person, so I kept an eye on her. Today, I happened to see her meet with Eunuch Chen from the Empress's palace."

"Um--?"

Meng Shu was surprised and doubtful, and her sleepiness vanished instantly.

Seeing Meng Shu's reaction, Green Willow immediately regretted her slip of the tongue, as Consort Chun had just instructed her not to disturb Meng Shu's pregnancy.

"...This servant only caught a glimpse of them exchanging a few words in the passageway near the Shanggong Bureau from afar. Perhaps it was unrelated, but this servant will continue to keep an eye on them..."

"You did the right thing."

Meng Shu spoke up: "Tomorrow, go and tell Wan'er about this, and tell her to keep an eye on Ganlu Palace, especially to remind Yun Baolin..."

......

Donggua returned from the imperial palace on the fifth day of the lunar new year. When he arrived at Lingcui Palace, he was followed by two young eunuchs carrying heavy chests. Empress Dowager Zhou bestowed many gifts upon him and also asked Donggua to bring a set of jewelry with Meng Shu.

Meng Shu opened the box and saw twelve gold ornaments neatly arranged inside, exquisitely crafted, including even a necklace for the baby.

“Aunt Rongxiu said that before the New Year, the Emperor sent someone to fetch the Empress Dowager back to Shou Kang Palace, but the Empress Dowager declined. When I returned this time, His Majesty personally went to the temporary palace to visit the Empress Dowager, and the Emperor even gave me a big purse.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a heavy purse from his bosom, poured out more than a dozen gold ingots, and said proudly, "These are specially made by the Shanggong Bureau, with the reign title printed on the bottom. Everyone who sees them gets a share."

Green Willow and Mengzhu, among others, gathered around with smiles, handing out the food one by one, and then curtsied in unison: "We, your servants, thank you for the meal reward from the steward."

Donggua laughed as they teased her, and then took out a few oil paper packets from the trunk: "These are special candied fruits made by the Marquis's mansion. The lady asked me to bring them to the young ladies to try."

Meng Shu and Consort Chun watched them laugh and joke, and the corners of their lips unconsciously turned up.

After the Lantern Festival, the first month of the lunar calendar passed smoothly, and before we knew it, it was already the end of February.

During these three spring months, several major events occurred in the palace. The first three events caused unrest in the six palaces, but the last one brought Meng Shu great joy.

The first thing was that war broke out in the northern border region.

The Khitan Khan personally led 100,000 cavalry south, while Han Guangbi, the Grand General of Liaodong, led 200,000 troops to meet them. Marquis Tang Xian of Lin'an and Minister of Revenue Yun Qian were ordered to oversee the supply of provisions, working day and night at the Ministry of Revenue. However, the valiant Marquis Jiang Wei of Zhenbei remained in the capital, attending court as usual.

(Previous context: Marquis Jiang Wei of Zhenbei is the Empress's father, and Grand General Han Guangbi of Liaodong is Jiang Wei's sworn brother, making him the Empress's uncle.)

The second issue was Princess Lingyi's illness.

Since the Lantern Festival, the child had been experiencing intermittent fevers, and after a sudden cold snap in mid-February, the high fever persisted. The Imperial Hospital staff took turns on duty, and the Dieqiong Pavilion was brightly lit day and night. Consort Qi stayed by the bedside without ever taking off her clothes.

Princess Ling'an, born to Yi Xiuyuan, has been recovering well since her illness before the Lunar New Year.

The third thing happened even more suddenly.

On the 23rd of February, when Consort Rong went to pay her respects at Renming Hall, she slipped and fell at a corner of the long street, and bled on the spot. What was most surprising was that no one in Ganlu Hall knew that she was pregnant.

When the Emperor arrived at the scene, he only saw basins of bloody water being carried out from the inner palace, and Consort Rong was crying so hard she nearly fainted. Upon investigation, even her close maid, Lian Qiao, said that Consort Rong's periods had always been irregular, and she hadn't noticed anything amiss.

The last piece of news brought Meng Shu and everyone in the Lin'an Marquis's mansion great joy.

—Consort Chun is finally pregnant.