When Tang Shishi woke up, she opened her eyes and felt that she was in a familiar room, and she also felt the brocade quilt under her was familiar. Tang Shishi's tense breath slowly loosened, she's back home.
The bed net was hanging low, and faint voices could be heard from outside. Tang Shishi moved her fingers, and when the people outside heard the movement, their voices suddenly stopped.
Soon, the bed net was opened, and Zhao Chengjun sat on the side of the bed, reaching out to touch Tang Shishi's forehead: "How do you feel? Is it still uncomfortable?"
Tang Shishi shook her head slightly. Zhao Chengjun couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw that although her face was pale, she could function normally.
Tang Shishi just woke up and her voice was hoarse: "What time is it now?"
Zhao Chengjun motioned the maid to pour water. He helped Tang Shishi to sit up, tested the temperature with his hands, and carefully let her drink: "It's been about an hour."
Tang Shishi thought that she had slept for a long time, but it turned out that she only slept for an hour. Tang Shishi took a sip of water, drank half of the cup, and didn't want to drink anymore.
Zhao Chengjun put the tea cup on the maid's tray. After the maid left, he suddenly straightened his face and said to Tang Shishi, "Shishi, I have something to tell you."
Tang Shishi saw Zhao Chengjun was serious, she was startled, and her fingers clenched unconsciously, "What?"
"You must be calm and don't get excited." Zhao Chengjun said in a serious tone after laying the groundwork again, "You have been pregnant for almost a month."
Tang Shishi blinked and slowly raised her eyebrows: "What else?"
"But you were too frightened in the Wang house and your fetus is not stable. You may have to stay in bed for a while."
Tang Shishi gave an "Oh" and said lightly: "I see."
Zhao Chengjun was nervous before Tang Shishi woke up, for fear that his words would be too blunt and will frighten her. Zhao Chengjun was mentally prepared, but Tang Shishi unexpectedly was so calm. Zhao Chengjun was surprised: "Aren't you surprised?"
"What's all the fuss about?" Tang Shishi said in a very indifferent tone, "I haven't had my period for a month. I already felt i was pregnant."
Zhao Chengjun was stunned for a while, so after tossing for a long time, he was the only one who made a fuss and was caught off guard?
But Tang Shishi accepted reality faster than he expected, which is a good thing. Zhao Chengjun breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's good that you accept it. I will work hard for you in the meantime."
Zhao Chengjun held Tang Shishi's hand, feeling quite sorry in his heart. Pregnancies in other people's homes are a happy event, but it is always not good for Tang Shishi. Every time she is pregnant, she gets disasters in return. When she was pregnant with Zhao Zigao, she was almost given an abortion drug and was almost killed. This time she was pregnant with her second child and was almost chased into a miscarriage.
Zhao Chengjun was indescribably distressed. Last time he was not with Tang Shishi, so it was excusable. This time he was guarding her, but she was still almost taken advantage off by others. Zhao Chengjun held Tang Shishi's hand and comforted softly: "Don't worry, I've already asked the doctors. They said that although the fetus is not stable, as long as you stay in bed and rest, consolidate your foundation, don't be overjoyed and furious, nothing will happen. If everything goes well, after a month, you can roam around again."
Tang Shishi nodded, feeling very calm, as if she was sure that nothing wrong will happen to her. It may be that she feels safe after returning to a familiar environment, but more likely it is because Zhao Chengjun is there.
It seemed that as long as he was there, everything will be okay.
Tang Shishi suddenly thought of something and asked, "Where is Qiesui and Du Juan?"
Zhao Chengjun replied: "They are safe, but they were drugged, and they are still still recuperating in their rooms. Tomorrow, they will be able to come and take care of you."
Tang Shishi let out a long sigh of relief. The target of those people was her, but they still drugged Du Juan and Qiesui, and then rushed to chase Tang Shishi. Later, Zhao Chengjun arrived in time and rescued Tang Shishi. Zhao Chengjun left with Tang Shishi, and the guards who were there in the aftermath found Du Juan and Qiesui, and took the two back to the mansion together.
They were treated with medicine, and they had small bruises in their bodies, but fortunately there was no other damage. This is really a blessing in misfortune.
Tang Shishi hesitated for a while, then asked softly, "What about the Wang Family?"
When it comes to the Wang family, Zhao Chengjun's expression sank. He thought of Tang Shishi's presence, concealed his expression, and said softly, "I left early, I don't know what happened with the Wang family. But I heard that the taifu's favored youngest son was drunk and fell asleep in the garden. As for the few people chasing you, I heard that the Wang family borrowed them from outside and are not servants from the Wang family. After they were caught, they all committed suicide."
Tang Shishi rolled her eyes. She was led to the garden to be killed. By coincidence, Wang Zhengtang's favorite son also fell asleep in the garden. If Tang Shishi did not escape halfway, where would she be taken?
Tang Shishi knew that Empress Dowager Yao was not a good person, but she did not expect that she still greatly underestimated Empress Dowager Yao. Tang Shishi understands that Empress Dowager Yao hated her, and can assassinate and poison her, but the Empress Dowager actually wants to frame her instead.
She is a young princess and the mother of a one-year-old child. If she is convicted of infidelity, not only will she lose her life, but also Zhao Zigao and the Tang family will be implicated. What is even more frightening is that once the news about Princess Jing and Wang Zhengtang's youngest son spreads out, it will sweep Jinling in no time. When the time comes, those spoiled noblewomen will pass this on to everyone which will also ruin Wang Zhengtang and Zhao Chengjun's relationship.
Empress Dowager Yao made this move very well, and Tang Shishi has to admit that her approach is very clever, which can be described as killing three birds with one stone.
However, all these benefits are based on success. Tang Shishi is afraid that Empress Dowager Yao did not expect that she would fail.
Zhao Chengjun and Wang Zhengtang are not fools, how can they not understand who is responsible for all this today, and what they want to do. Wang's house is surely not peaceful now. Wang Zhengtang is a wise man, and he is already so old, yet he was still being calculated like this. Surely he would be angry.
The dignified empress dowager listens to politics with a curtain down, and the officials respect her a lot, but now now she attempts to frame a man as respectable as Wang Zhengtang? How many hearts were chilled by this incident? Tang Shishi originally worried that the Wang family will refuse to help Zhao Chengjun. Unexpectedly, in a blink of an eye, it was Empress Dowager Yao who made sure that the Wang family will help Zhao Chengjun.
Tang Shishi blinked, approached Zhao Chengjun quietly, and asked in a low voice: "Today is the Taifu's birthday, but I caused trouble. What did the Taifu say? Did he blame me?"
Tang Shishi tentatively asked about the Wang family. Wang Zhengtang is highly respected in the Yan dynasty and his former students include royalty and officials. If Zhao Chengjun gets the support of Wang Zhengtang, the help will be immeasurable. Zhao Chengjun does have military power in his hand, but to seize the throne and to rule the dynasty is more than just having a strong force.
As long as you have military power, popular support and the courtiers support your reign will be stable.
Zhao Chengjun did not answer. He held Tang Shishi by her shoulders, carefully put her back on the soft pillow, and said, "You don't have to worry about these things. Don't worry, I'll arrange it. You just need to take care of yourself. You have to eat a lot so you can be fat."
Tang Shishi chuckled, she glanced at Zhao Chengjun, and said, "Who is going to be fat?"
Zhao Chengjun smiled, pulled the quilt to cover her, and said softly: "Get a good rest, I'll be back in a bit."
Tang Shishi didn't think much, Zhao Chengjun was always busy with affairs and often had to leave for a period of time. She just thought it was the same as usual, and she didn't think anything about it and nodded happily: "Okay."
Zhao Chengjun touched Tang Shishi's head and left the bedroom with a smile. After he walked out of the main courtyard, his expression cooled minute by minute.
Liu Ji followed along and reported: "Wangye, Side Consort Zhou has been taken in custody, what do you think should be done?"
"Bring her to the front yard." Zhao Chengjun said coldly, "Don't dirty the princess's ears."
"Yes."
In the front yard, Zhou Shunhua was forced to kneel on the ground. Zhao Zixun stood not far away with an anxious and distressed expression: "Father, is there any misunderstanding in this?"
"Misunderstanding." Zhao Chengjun sat down and said unhurriedly, "She secretly met with Empress Dowager Yao's internal spies, and then deceived the princess to thinking she had a miscarriage. What else can I misunderstand?"
Zhou Shunhua knelt on the cold hard floor, it was the end of the first month, and Jinling was still very cold. The cold moisture penetrated her clothes, and she felt the cold seeping into her bones. Zhou Shunhua felt her stomach faintly uncomfortable. She warned herself to keep her breath and tried to be humble and said to Zhao Chengjun: "Wangye is mistaken. This concubine accidentally ate something cold at noon, and her abdomen suddenly cramped. This concubine mistakenly thought it was the child, and panicked. But this concubine was definitely not deliberately doing it. As for the maid who tried to murder the princess, this concubine doesn't know her. She came to deliver something to this concubine in the morning, and this concubine thought it was the palace's arrangement, so she and I exchanged a few words. I don't know anything about the rest."
Zhao Zixun knew that Zhou Shunhua had a fetus in her stomach, and she was only two months pregnant now, which meant the fetus is still fragile. The ground is cold, if she kneels for a long time, there will be problems. Zhao Zixun hurriedly pleaded: "Yes, father, today's things are strange. Those people are clearly prepared. Please don't be deceived by their tricks."
Zhao Chengjun smiled, and said lightly: "Do you think you are the prince? Zhou Shunhua, since you said you were wronged, this prince will ask you, where did you go after you left us during the Shangyuan festival?"
Zhou Shunhua hesitated, and calmly said: "There were too many people that day, and this concubine was scattered by the crowd, and she accidentally got lost."
Zhao Chengjun looked at Zhou Shunhua quietly, even now she is still lying. Zhao Chengjun lost his patience and said: "Someone saw you quietly returning to the Forbidden Garden."
Zhou Shunhua became stiff, and Zhao Zixun's face tightened: "What?"
There was no emotion in Zhao Chengjun's voice and asked, "What did you say to the Empress Dowager?"
Zhou Shunhua lowered her eyes and tried desperately to think of countermeasures, but her mind seemed to be mixed with paste, and was completely blank. Zhao Zixun understood Zhou Shunhua's expression in his heart. That day, Zhou Shunhua was not lost, she went back to inform Empress Dowager Yao.
In fact, Zhao Zixun secretly wondered why Zhou Shunhua only walked this short distance after so long. Zhou Shunhua explained that after she found out that she was lost, she did not dare to walk around and stood there waiting for him. Although Zhao Zixun felt suspicious, he was unwilling to think deeply. Unexpectedly, everything is really what he least wants to see.
Zhou Shunhua betrayed the mansion and turned to Empress Dowager Yao.
Zhou Shunhua's mind was blank, and she watched as she missed the best time to defend herself. Zhou Shunhua closed her eyes bitterly, after this, even Zhao Zixun will not believe her.
In fact, what Zhou Shunhua did today was not what she wanted. She is not stupid. She pretended to have a stomach ache on the day when Empress Dowager Yao was upset. How could she not arouse Prince Jing's suspicion?
However, Zhou Shunhua had no choice at all. At about noon today, a maid came to give her food and quietly displayed Empress Dowager Yao's token in her sleeve. What can Zhou Shunhua do? She can only follow the instructions of the Empress Dowager, cooperate with the maid pretending to have a stomachache, and let the maid go out with a good reason.
The maid comforted Zhou Shunhua, saying that today Tang Shishi will not come back all, so others would never know about Zhou Shunhua's participation. When she was asked by the servants, Zhou Shunhua said that she had a stomachache, and the mansion panicked thinking there was something wrong with the fetus. Even if Tang Shishi questioned her in the future, Zhou Shunhua will say that she just said the wrong words.
Of course, Tang Shishi probably won't have the opportunity to question.
Zhou Shunhua waited for the good news with anticipation, but did not hear any from the spies. Instead, she heard that Prince Jing had returned with Tang Shishi. Zhou Shunhua had an extremely bad premonition instantly, but before she could react, she was arrested by Prince Jing's people.
Zhou Shunhua was being watched and there was no opportunities to pass a message to Zhao Zixun, so now Zhao Zixun doesn't know the truth, and even if he wants to defend Zhou Shunhua, he can't. But in any case, Zhou Shunhua is his woman after all. Zhao Zixun boldly said: "Father, Shunhua may be persecuted, so I have to do it as a last resort. Hope my father will consider that she is pregnant..."
When Zhao Zixin mentioned this, Zhao Chengjun thought of the old incident again. Zhao Chengjun's gaze swept across Zhou Shunhua coolly and said: "The fetus in Zhou Shunhua's belly should be six months old. You said two months ago that your belly is just small. Now your it still hasn't grown in six months. I'm afraid it's not a pregnancy at all. COLLUDING WITH OUTSIDERS, PLOTTING AGAINST THE PRINCESS, A LIAR, UNREPENTANT, YOU DESERVE TO BE KILLED IN THE MOST BRUTAL WAY. For the princess should not see blood, this prince will spare you. Liu Ji, have Side Consort Zhou receive thirty rods. Execute it immediately."