Ch 127 – Exposed
"Are you sure?" Sitting on the high chair in Shou Wang Manor, Dou Xiyin subconsciously bent her body forward because of excitement.
"One hundred percent."
Dou Xiyin's pupils dilated, then she leaned back on the chair, seemingly in deep thought. After a while, she suddenly became excited again. She stood up and said, "Someone come, prepare a carriage. This Wangfei is going to enter the palace."
"Imperial Physician Liu has done well and will be rewarded. Continue keeping your eye on Imperial Physician Zhao and report to This Wangfei anytime you find news. As long as you do your job well, This Wangfei will never treat you badly."
...
In the Cining Palace, Empress Dowager Yang sat up with the help of a Mama and slowly drank her medicine. Many people in the capital had fallen ill following the long rain this year, including the Empress Dowager. Empress Dowager Yang was old after all, and not even her position as the most honorable woman in the world could spare her from the passing of time.
Empress Dowager Yang had been ill for a long time. Imperial Physicians came to diagnose her pulse every day, and precious medicinal materials were spent without a second thought, but Empress Dowager Yang's illness still was not getting better.
When a palace servant came with a report, "Shou Wangfei is here," Empress Dowager Yang frowned subconsciously and said with disgust, "Why is she here?"
Since the incident during the Lantern Festival banquet at the beginning of the year, Empress Dowager Yang had a big quarrel with her brother Yang Fucheng and became disgusted with the Dou family's mother and daughter. Empress Dowager Yang was ruthless and cruel in her life. She had harmed so many people but had treated the Yang family the best she could. She had given Dou Xiyin fifteen years of honor and favor, but Dou Xiyin repaid her in this way. And Yang Yan, that white-eyed wolf, actually dared to blame her for being partial. She scolded her for favoring Empress Yang and disregarding her life and death.
Empress Dowager Yang was so angry that she no longer cared about the Second Prince. For so many years, she had worked so hard to nurture a political force for the sake of the Second Prince, yet no one appreciated her effort. Every single one of them blamed her for overreaching, hating her for stretching her hands too long. Since that was the case, then just let the Second Prince marry whomever he liked. From now on, she would never care about their Yang family's affairs again.
Despite deciding to be ruthless and stop taking care of the Yang family's affairs, Empress Dowager Yang couldn't help but feel hurt. Because she had been depressed for a long time, the long rain in the sixth month caused her already weakened body to fall ill.
When the patient was already emotionally fragile, diseases came like a mudslide. Empress Dowager Yang enjoyed the life of highest luxury, surrounded by priceless treasures and using only the finest things in life, but when she looked around the hall, what she found were only old palace maids and old mamas, and none of her family was by her side. Even on the sickbed, she had no sons, daughters-in-law, or grandchildren to take care of her.
Although people like Cheng Yujin indeed didn't stop coming to pay respect every day, they all left after a few polite words. Cheng Yujin was her granddaughter-in-law after all, and it was not her duty to serve by her grandmother-in-law's side, let alone that she was pregnant now. As for the son and daughter-in-law who were supposed to be by her sickbed, one was the Emperor in charge of the whole country, and the other was the Empress in charge of the inner palace. These two were naturally very busy, and it was already very filial for them to ask about her condition every day. It was impossible for them to stay by Empress Dowager Yang's side and nurse her personally. As for those imperial concubines — Empress Dowager Yang disliked them for being noisy and scheming, and thus she kept them out of her sight. With her current physical condition, she didn't have the energy to watch the younger generation making a fuss at every turn.
Empress Dowager Yang lay in bed to recuperate from her illness, surrounded by emptiness. She was confined in a dim bedroom all day, unable to see sunshine, as if waiting for death. Facing the desolateness, Empress Dowager Yang couldn't help reminiscing about her son who died young. This caused her to feel even more depressed, which in turn hindered her recovery.
When the palace servant announced that Dou Xiyin was here, Empress Dowager Yang was really surprised. Although Dou Xiyin was the wife of the Second Prince, a Wangfei was different from a Crown Princess. Both the Crown Prince and Crown Princess lived in the palace, but other princes and their wives were granted a separate manor and lived independently outside. This looked like freedom, but in fact, it distanced them from the power center in the palace.
Naturally, it was not easy for outsiders to enter the palace. The Second Prince attended the morning court, but Dou Xiyin, as a woman, had no reason to frequent the palace. Thus, despite her position as a daughter-in-law and grandaughter-in-law, Dou Xiyin was not required to pay respect to the Empress and Empress Dowager every day. Except for the compulsory visit with the rest of the inner palace's members on the first and fifteenth of every month, Dou Xiyin never went to Empress Dowager Yang's palace.
So Dou Xiyin's arrival at the Cining Palace today was totally unexpected.
When Dou Xiyin entered the Cining Palace, she was choked by the strong smell of medicine. Empress Dowager Yang was an elderly person who lived alone and was still ill on top of that. The air in her palace naturally would not smell good. It was the mix of medicinal smell and dampness which made people feel heavy, as if the whole palace was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere of decay.
Dou Xiyin held back from exposing her displeasure and tried her best to show a smile as she greeted Empress Dowager Yang, "Empress Dowager, are you feeling better today?"
Empress Dowager Yang glanced at Dou Xiyin with a sneer, "It seems I have disappointed you. Unfortunately, I'm not dead yet."
Being attacked so suddenly, Dou Xiyin let out an awkward laugh, "It seems you have gotten better. This granddaughter-in-law is relieved to see it."
Empress Dowager Yang smiled coldly, showing a clear alienation. Dou Xiyin reminded herself of her intention to come today, so she resisted the discomfit atmosphere and leaned forward to gently massage Empress Dowager Yang's legs, "Your Majesty, this grandaughter-in-law recently learned about something by accident and was deeply troubled by this matter. I don't know if it is appropriate for me to expose it or not."
Hearing this, Empress Dowager Yang's interest was piqued, and she finally gave Dou Xiyin a second look: "What is it?"
Dou Xiyin laughed inside. Deliberately putting on the aura of mysteriousness, she leaned closer and whispered: "This grandaughter-in-law accidentally got the news that the Crown Princess seems to be pregnant with twins."
Empress Dowager Yang's rigid face finally fluctuated, "Twins?"
"That's right." Dou Xiyin was very satisfied with herself, "The Imperial Physician Zhao has always been in charge of checking the Crown Princess' pulse, and even her pregnancy was diagnosed by him. Today, Imperial Physician Liu accidentally saw the prescription that Imperial Physician Zhao had dropped by mistake. Among the prescribed medicines, he found a few supposed to be given to women pregnant with twins. The Crown Prince cares so much about the Crown Princess, so how could Imperial Physician Zhao dare to prescribe medicines to the Crown Princess with no basis? Your Majesty, you see..."
Empress Dowager Yang understood. Regardless of the method Imperial Physician Liu used to take a peek at Imperial Physician Zhao's prescription, the fact that Cheng Yujin was pregnant was twins was basically certain. At the same time, she also had a realization. No wonder Li Chengjing covered up the news about Cheng Yujin's pregnancy so tightly, and no wonder the Eastern Palace still didn't announce the good news even after the most critical three months period had passed.
At first, Empress Dowager Yang thought it was strange, but if the fetus Cheng Yujin was carrying was twins, everything could be explained. Seeing Empress Dowager Yang's thoughtful look, Dou Xiyin continued: "Empress Dowager, you see, since the beginning of the fifth month, it has been raining heavily, causing a plague in Jiangnan. You also fell ill suddenly. I heard that even the Emperor was not feeling well a few days ago. Everything coincides with the timing of Crown Princess' pregnancy, no?"
Empress Dowager Yang's gloomy eyes suddenly became sharp like a falcon, losing the frailty of an elderly. Started by such a gaze, Dou Xiyin was startled, and felt her whole body was tensed in cold fright.
Empress Dowager Yang stared at her grandniece for a while and slowly receded the pressure. After turning into a lethargic and sickly Empress Dowager again, she gave Dou Xiyin a stern warning, "Shou Wangfei, you are no longer a child. Pay attention to your words and deeds."
Only then could Dou Xiyin find her breath again. She took a deep breath, only to realize that her back was wet with cold sweat. Dou Xiyin hurriedly smiled and said, "Your Majesty is right. This granddaughter-in-law has been taught by you since childhood and has learned a lot."
Empress Dowager Yang glanced at Dou Xiyin coldly, then she closed her eyes and said nothing.
...
Cheng Yujin stayed in Ciqing Palace all the time, focusing on taking care of her pregnancy. Since Li Chengjing left, Cheng Yujin seemed to lose interest in everything. She was not in the mood to draw designs on clothes, and she didn't even bother to busy herself with embroidery or cooking. Except for going out in the morning to pay respect to the Empress and Empress Dowager, she would take a walk around the courtyard before returning to spend the rest of the time reading books in a daze.
Today, Cheng Yujin felt her heartbeat fluttering inexplicably faster. She tried to calm her mind by copying a book, but after one copybook was finished, the uneasiness was still unabated. Cheng Yujin put down the brush and stopped writing. This inexplicable feeling made her unable to focus.
Cheng Yujin's mind was busy wondering when a palace servant suddenly came to report, "Crown Princess, Imperial Physician Zhao is asking for an audience."
"Imperial Physician Zhao?" Cheng Yujin frowned, and the foreboding in her heart instantly became stronger. It was not yet the scheduled time for checking the pulse. Li Chengjing was not in a palace at the moment, so why did Imperial Physician Zhao, an adult male, suddenly come to see her?
Cheng Yujin's expression immediately tensed, "Let him in."
Imperial Physician Zhao hurriedly entered the hall, keeping his head down all the time. Immediately after, he bent down and knelt before Cheng Yujin, "This subject greets the Crown Princess."
"Imperial Physician Zhao, please get up." Cheng Yujin quickly gestured to Du Ruo to help him up. "You have done great merit to This Palace. Why so formal?"
Imperial Physician Zhao still knelt on the floor. His head was down, and he didn't dare to get up. "This subject has made a great mistake and is now here to plead guilty to the Crown Princess."
Cheng Yujin and Du Ruo exchanged a glance. Cheng Yujin then straightened her back and said solemnly, "Imperial Physician Zhao, since you have something to say, you might as well stand up before talking. What exactly is going on?"
Imperial Physician Zhao stood up and truthfully reported the matter of finding that someone had tampered with his medical box. "This subject is a practitioner of medicine and thus is very careful about cleanliness. Therefore, after someone secretly touched my medical box, this subject noticed the slight traces they left behind. This subject has some concerns about the medicines I prescribed for the Crown Princess and was planning to take the prescription home to look through the books again. Who knows that someone would... this subject is truly guilty."
Imperial Physician Zhao's blunder was not small. Any physician with a similar medical level would be able to understand each other's prescriptions to some extent just by looking at the ingredients. The Crown Prince had issued a strict order of confidentiality from the very beginning and made it clear who he would hold accountable for the leak of news. Imperial Physician Zhao naturally understood the danger, so he was very careful in his actions. Unexpectedly, despite having been guarding against all odds, someone in the imperial physician building actually dared to search his medical box.
Cheng Yujin waved her hand and said, "Since the mistake has been made, what's the use of holding you accountable? Solving the problem is what matters now. Do you know who touched your medical box? How many people have been in and out of the imperial physician building during this time?"
Apparently, Imperial Physician Zhao came prepared, "After finding out that the medical box has been touched, this subject immediately went to question the apprentice in charge of keeping the door at the time. The apprentice said that just minutes ago, Imperial Physician Liu went out of the palace for a patient visit."
Cheng Yujin's eyebrows quivered as she quickly guessed where this Imperial Physician Liu actually went to. The next second, the eunuch by the door raised his voice and announced: "The messenger from Empress Dowager is here."
Imperial Physician Zhao frowned, not expecting things to develop so quickly. He looked at Cheng Yujin with trepidation: "Crown Princess..."
"Don't panic." Cheng Yujin stood up slowly, looking perfectly calm. "What should come is coming, that's all. Since this is the summon from the Empress Dowager, I have no reason to reject."
As expected, the Mama dispatched by Empress Dowager Yang was here to call Cheng Yujin to the Cining Palace. All the way, they tightly guarded Cheng Yujin's every step, obviously to prevent her from informing others. Cheng Yujin's reaction was very calm. Without saying a word, she departed with Empress Dowager's people.
When Cheng Yujin arrived at Cining Palace, she immediately found the atmosphere was not right. Feigning ignorance, Cheng Yujin bowed at Empress Dowager Yang with her usual attitude, "This daughter-in-law greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. Is Your Majesty's cough better today?"
Empress Dowager Yang looked at Cheng Yujin with a cold gaze. Yet, she couldn't help sighing inwardly. Look, it was obviously the same greeting, but Dou Xiyin could only say, "Are you feeling better today?" while Cheng Yujin accurately expressed specific concern about her cough.
If Dou Xiyin was as talented as Cheng Yujin, how could Empress Dowager Yang disagree with the Second Prince marrying her? Just a pity. Since Cheng Yujin could not be used, she was fated to be destroyed.
Empress Dowager Yang nodded in response. Her voice was hoarse. "It's better now. This Dowager heard that the Crown Princess has been staying in the Eastern Palace to take care of your pregnancy for these past few days and has not stepped out of the palace gate once. This is not good. Although pregnancy requires enough rest, basic exercise should not be lacking. Otherwise, there is a danger of difficult labor."
Seeing Empress Dowager Yang openly express care about her pregnancy, Cheng Yujin immediately knew that today's hurdle would not be easy, so she became even calmer and nodded with a smile, "Many thanks for Empress Dowager's teaching. This granddaughter-in-law remembers."
Empress Dowager Yang tilted her head, coughed softly, and said again: "This Dowager has not been well both physically and mentally and thus has neglected the affairs of the younger generations for quite some time. Truth be told, it is unfortunate that This Dowager was the last to know about the major matter happening in the family despite being the great-grandmother. The fetus in your womb is already six months old, but This Dowager has never seen him well. Sit down. This Dowager will let two Mamas experienced in pregnancy check your condition."
Hearing this, Cheng Yujin was startled. Her gaze moved slightly, and from the corner of her eyes, she saw two Mamas standing beside Empress Dowager Yang. Both of them were somberly dressed in dark blue clothes, with totally expressionless faces and hair tied so tightly that their scalp seemed to be almost peeled away. The eyes of these two Mamas looking at Cheng Yujin were cold and dark, as if they were looking at a piece of commodity and not a human being.
Cheng Yujin didn't even need to guess the identities of these two people. Just looking at their hands, she felt chilled to the bone. The imperial palace was the place where unspeakable things happened regularly. Many palace maids or imperial concubines who became pregnant for no apparent reason or had offended high-ranking personages would be forcibly aborted by specialist Mamas. These people's methods were extremely effective and malicious. With just a bowl of medicine and some hand pressure on the waist and stomach, the fetus would be aborted cleanly, leaving the woman with no possibility of getting pregnant again.
Not even Empress Dowager had the power to order an abortion on the Crown Princess. Cheng Yujin knew this well. Empress Dowager Yang probably got the news today and wanted to use this opportunity to determine whether Cheng Yujin was really pregnant with twins. After all, Cheng Yujin came to the Cining Palace in an open manner, and thus Empress Dowager Yang wouldn't dare to do any harm to either Cheng Yujin or the fetus in her belly.
Cheng Yujin understood this reasoning, but she still didn't dare to take the risk. How dare she let these people touch her stomach? Even if Empress Dowager Yang said that it was just a check, who knew what kind of secret trick they hid behind?
Seeing Cheng Yujin didn't react for a long time, Empress Dowager Yang lost patience and said solemnly, "Crown Princess is young and inexperienced. Go and teach her."
The two mamas responded in a low voice and walked toward Cheng Yujin. At the same time, several sturdy mamas silently moved behind Cheng Yujin, blocking her escape.
Both Lian Qiao and Du Ruo were frightened and hurriedly stepped forward to protect Cheng Yujin. But here was the Cining Palace, and the two servant girls were quickly subdued by Empress Dowager Yang's servants. Empress Dowager Yang had been ruling over the inner palace for half of her life, and her subordinates had countless secret tricks in their hands. Lian Qiao and Du Ruo seemed to be just pulled a bit, but the pain was so bad that they couldn't even stand.
At first, Du Ruo was still trying to avoid the attacks, but after seeing that the two Mamas were approaching, she completely gave up on evading and threw herself between Cheng Yujin and the Mamas. Enduring the pain in her body, Du Ruo reminded, "Crown Princess, when we left the Ciqing Palace just now, Eunuch Liu asked if you wanted him to go with us, but you said that His Majesty's messenger would be coming today, so you let Eunuch Liu stay. This servant actually forgot to bring something and has only remembered just now. Eunuch Liu is probably on the way to deliver the thing at this moment."
When Li Chengjing departed, he left Liu Yi behind for Cheng Yujin. Cheng Yujin deliberately did not take Liu Yi with her to Cining Palace so that he could go to Qianqing Palace to report to the Emperor. Du Ruo's words just now we're actually a reminder for Empress Dowager Yang, warning her that the Emperor had been notified.
Empress Dowager Yang frowned, but she didn't care. Although Liu Yi was Li Chengjing's personal eunuch, the relationship between a servant and a master was not much different from the relationship between a subject and a monarch. When Liu Yi's master Li Chengjing was in the palace, his trusted eunuch indeed had to be feared. But now that Li Chengjing was absent, no matter how far Liu Yi's hands reached, it was impossible to break into the Emperor's presence just by himself.
As long as it was determined that Cheng Yujin was pregnant with twins, Empress Dowager Yang could immediately brand the Eastern Palace with the ominous label and use this as the reason to force Cheng Yujin's abortion. Even if the Emperor found out later, he would not be able to say a word.
Under Empress Dowager Yang's watch, Cheng Yujin was gradually cornered to the wall. When her back touched the ornamental shelf, she knew that she couldn't escape.
The two Mamas saw that Cheng Yujin couldn't run anymore, so they immediately walked to her without any hesitation. Right before the Mamas reached her, Cheng Yujin suddenly turned around, picked a priceless antique vase from the ornamental shelf, and smashed it hard.
The two Mamas didn't expect such a fierce attack from the weak-looking Crown Princess and quickly avoided it. The vase fell on the floor and smashed with a deafening sound. Taking advantage of this gap, Cheng Yujin randomly took a few more things from the shelf and threw them indiscriminately.
In an instant, many priceless items turned into a pile of broken pieces of porcelain, shocking everyone in the Cining Palace. Cheng Yujin picked up a sharp piece of porcelain and pointed it outward with determined eyes. "If you dare to touch my child, you better kill me off today. Otherwise, as long as I have this life, I will definitely find each one of you and make you pay several thousands folds."
Ch 128 – Crisis
Cheng Yujin spoke loudly and with full determination. From her words alone, it seemed that she had gone hysteric, but a look in her eyes told everyone present that she was perfectly calm.
She didn't have a mental breakdown and said those words as an empty threat; she fully meant to do it.
The two Mamas had stained their hands with the blood of countless women. Among their victims, many tried desperately to resist but still lost their children, and ended up screaming and cursing at their assailants. The two Mamas were never unmoved by the vicious words of their victims, but at this moment, facing Cheng Yujin's calmness and cold gaze, they couldn't help but hesitate.
The two exchanged a glance, seeing hesitation in each other's eyes. Cheng Yujin's status was not the same as the women they had dealt with until now. She was the Crown Princess. Empress Dowager Yang was not the Emperor's biological mother, but the Crown Prince was the Emperor's biological son. If Cheng Yujin's temperament was easy to bully, they could still rely on Empress Dowager Yang to escape the disaster, but Cheng Yujin made it clear that she was very vengeful and determined to take revenge.
In this inner palace, such people were the most dangerous to cross with. Beauty faded away, but a person's nature did not. Cheng Yujin was the Crown Princess after all. If something went wrong with the child in her belly, Empress Yang might be fine, but they, the two ordinary court Mamas, were absolutely no match for the Crown Princess.
People who lived in the palace were the most ruthless, but they also cherished their lives the most. No one would be willing to use their own lives to pave the way for others, even if the person was Empress Dowager herself. Seeing Cheng Yujin's resoluteness, it was just natural for the Mamas to hesitate. Their hesitation gave an opening to Cheng Yujin, who once again smashed another vase with all her strength before taking the opportunity to escape from the encirclement.
Empress Dowager Yang frowned and slammed the couch in anger, "A bunch of trash. Now you even dare to disregard This Dowager?"
Empress Dowager Yang was recovering from illness these few days, which made her weak and lethargic. Now that she suddenly raised her voice, everyone was startled. Especially because her voice was old and hoarse, just like a rusty saw cutting through dead wood, its surliness was shocking.
The two Mamas were the first to react. They looked at each other in helplessness and could only continue to corner Cheng Yujin. It seemed their luck was terrible today. They knew that they would suffer after offending the Crown Princess, but if they didn't act, it was even more certain that they would suffer now. Since there was no way to avoid both sides, it was wiser to take the opportunity to thoroughly defeat an opponent who was presently much weaker.
Seeing these people getting closer, Du Ruo desperately pushed anything she could get on hand in an attempt to halt their approach. However, the servants of Cining Palace no longer tried to avoid the smashing ornaments. Seeing this situation, Cheng Yujin frowned. Hidden under her sleeve, she was quietly pinching the packet of powder she obtained from Imperial Physician Zhao. She could use this powder to sting the eyes of the people who surrounded her and take the opportunity to escape, but if she did that, she would be actively attacking Empress Dowager Yang's people, an act that undoubtedly would tarnish her name with the infamy of disrespect and unfilial. Cheng Yujin was still weighing the pros and cons when a shout suddenly came from outside. Several people were running and yelling, "There's fire!" in panic. At the same time, smoke drifted in from the slightly opened windows.
The people inside the hall were caught off guard. Naturally, they were all frightened, especially Empress Dowager Yang, who was already sick. The sudden loud noises outside startled the Empress Dowager, and the sight of smoke made her panic. Thinking that the Cining Palace was truly on fire, Empress Dowager Yang shouted in fright. Hearing her scream, all the servants in the hall turned around and hurried back to their mistress. As a result, they couldn't see their way clearly amidst the smoke and the panic, causing them to bump and stumble upon each other.
As soon as Cheng Yuji noticed the familiar smell, she knew what was going on. Taking advantage of the brief chaos in the hall, she immediately ran to the door without looking back. Although Cheng Yujin also inhaled the white smoke, she did not panic. This smoke was actually from wormwood. To prepare for Li Chengjing's departure a few days ago, she used a lot of wormwoods to smoke Li Chengjing's clothes and luggage, causing her to be very familiar with the smell. Unlike the panicked people of the Cining Palace, Cheng Yujin and her servant girls were able to move quickly and swiftly.
People around Empress Dowager Yang suddenly heard there was a fire and also saw the white smoke, causing them to be in panic. When someone realized that the smoke smelled of wormwood, Cheng Yujin was no longer in the hall.
Liu Yi waited for Cheng Yujin outside, so frightened that his calf trembled slightly. Seeing Cheng Yujin come out, he hurriedly came forward to help her into a step-carriage. "Crown Princess, are you alright? This servant has created a distraction per your order."
Cheng Yujin shook her head and, without further ado, immediately ordered, "Go to the Qianqing Palace."
Cheng Yujin had managed to get the report from Imperial Physician Zhao before Empress Dowager Yang's summon arrived, and thus had anticipated the opponent to make some kind of move today. Naturally, she also prepared a countermeasure. When she departed for Cining Palace, Cheng Yujin deliberately left Liu Yi behind for the plan, and now it seemed that this eunuch indeed didn't let her down. She only had time to instruct him to create some kind of commotion, but she didn't expect that Liu Yi would use wormwood to fake a fire, creating panic and plunging Cining Palace into chaos.
Cheng Yujin was pregnant. She was naturally unable to walk with others at full speed and thus had ordered a step-carriage to be prepared in advance. Sure enough, the speed of chair-bearer eunuchs was much faster, and before the people from the Cining Palace could catch on to them, Cheng Yujin and her retinue had already reached the Qianqing Palace.
It was still work hours. At this time, the front Qianqing Palace was full of officials coming and going. The Qianqing Palace, as the main palace where the Emperor worked and lived, was not a place where women could walk in freely, and so Cheng Yujin's arrival attracted many curious gazes.
Cheng Yujin ignored them all. Under many pairs of surprised and curious eyes, she walked up to the main entrance of the Qianqing Palace step by step, then knelt down with her palms folded above her thighs, saying loudly, "This daughter-in-law begs an audience with His Majesty."
Disregarding the shape of her bulging stomach, Cheng Yujin proceeded to bow deeply on the ground. Her arrival caused a stir, and someone had already run in to inform the Emperor. After a while, a high-ranking eunuch came out and said, "The Crown Princess is pregnant, and His Majesty won't like you to do this kind of heavy greeting. Please get up."
Cheng Yujin selectively ignored the eunuch's words. Still kneeling on the ground, she once again said in a loud voice, "This daughter-in-law begs an audience with His Majesty."
With the Crown Princess kneeling in front of the Qianqing Palace in broad daylight, it was already enough to attract many eyes. Now that she even said such words, the effect was not trivial. The eunuch didn't dare to call the shots. Swallowing back his words, he turned around and quickly went to inform the Emperor.
There was no movement in the palace for a long time. Cheng Yujin kept kneeling upright. Although she was here to beg for help, her posture was straight, without the signs of humility and embarrassment. After a while, the Emperor finally came out. Seeing Cheng Yujin kneeling on the ground, his frown deepened: "What are you doing here?"
It was at this moment that the people of Cining Palace finally caught up with Cheng Yujin. A group of people rushed into the Qianqing Palace square and shouted loudly. Empress Dowager Yang was flushed with rage. She never imagined that someone would dare to smoke the Cining Palace's hall with dried wormwood and pretend there was a fire. This action was tantamount to stepping on her face. Empress Dowager Yang ordered her people to give a chase, furiously demanding the perpetrators be brought back.
Facing their mistress' wrath, the eunuchs didn't dare to slack off. On their way, they met a few people in the Eastern Palace's uniform, acting sneakily, one of whom was holding wormwood in his hand. Seeing this, the eunuchs of Cining Palace were overjoyed and immediately chased after these people with all their might. They originally thought the chase would be easy, especially when utilizing their sheer advantage in number, but the result was too far from expectation. The Eastern Palace's eunuchs were too elusive; as if playing hide-and-seek, they kept hiding only to show up intermittently in a taunt. The eunuchs of Cining Palace were exhausted, anxious, and angry. When they finally saw their opponents again, they immediately chased behind, but ended up accidentally running into the Qianqing Palace square.
The Cining Palace's head eunuch had sharp eyes, and at a glance, he saw a bright yellow figure standing on the palace steps. There was only one person in the world who could wear this color, and the one kneeling in front of this yellow figure was precisely the Crown Princess they had been looking for.
The head eunuch was dumbfounded and immediately realized that they had been tricked. He quickly looked at the eunuchs of Eastern Palace again; none of them had wormwood in their hands. The head eunuch's brain was in a mess, but he didn't dare to be disrespectful in front of the Emperor, so he and his men hurriedly fell to their knees.
The emperor stood on the steps, looking down at the two groups of eunuchs who crashed in suddenly. He then turned his eyes to the Crown Princess, who was kneeling on the ground and begging for 'help.' Furious, the Emperor scowled, "What's going on here?"
Cheng Yujin had never lost when it came to the battle of rhetoric. Hearing the Emperor's question, two lines of tears suddenly fell from her eyes. Ignoring her bulging belly, she gave the Emperor a deep kowtow: "Father, this daughter-in-law is guilty."
Hearing the word 'Father,' the Emperor was in a trance. He had multiple children, but no one had ever called him just 'Father' before. Even after Li Chengjing regained his identity, he always called him 'His Majesty' and never 'Father.'
Cheng Yujin's mastery of emotional drama was perfect, doing everything just in moderation. After shedding two lines of crystal tears, she said heartbrokenly but resolutely, "This daughter-in-law was staying in the Eastern Palace to take care of my fetus when Empress Dowager's summon suddenly came today, calling me to the Cining Palace. After this daughter-in-law arrived, I found that Empress Dowager believed some malicious rumor, saying that this daughter-in-law's pregnancy was unlucky, and ordered the palace Mama to forcefully abort the fetus. This daughter-in-law was frightened and didn't know what to do, so I could only risk everything to come and beg Father Emperor's help."
As if overwhelmed by emotion, Cheng Yujin fell silent, and only tears kept falling silently from her eyes. At this time, Empress Yang, who heard the news, rushed to the Qianqing Palace, supported by Dou Xiyin. After listening to Cheng Yujin's teary plea, the Emperor turned his gaze toward the Empress, who seemed to be very well informed. Next, his cold gaze swept across the eunuchs of Cining Palace, who were still kneeling trepidly under the steps. The Emperor waved his sleeve furiously: "Ridiculous!"
Empress Yang came in a hurry. She was not informed of Empress Dowager Yang's plan today and was caught off guard when the commotion suddenly happened outside. It was not until Dou Xiyin hurriedly rushed into the Kunning Palace that Empress Yang finally knew what had happened. Anxious, Empress Yang quickly ran to the Qianqing palace, but she was still a step too late.
Seeing that the Emperor was really furious, Empress Yang quickly took two steps forward: "Your Majesty, there must be another story behind this matter. Please calm your anger..."
"Presumptuous!" The Emperor roared coldly, "When is it your turn to meddle when Zhen is dealing with matters?"
Empress Yang had never been treated like this by the Emperor. She had been pampered for more than twenty years, and no one had even spoken loudly to her. But the Emperor, in his fury, yelled at her in front of so many palace servants. Empress Yang took a step back in fright. If it weren't for Dou Xiyin's support, she would not be able to stand still.
"Your Majesty!" Empress Yang clutched her heart and was about to kneel. The Emperor didn't even give her a glance as he ordered a eunuch to help Cheng Yujin up, "Summon imperial physicians here. Let them check if the Crown Princess's fetus is alright."
He then glanced coldly at the eunuchs kneeling below and said again, "Lock up all these daring servants."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Cheng Yujin was helped by palace servants to stand up and went to the side hall of Qianqing Palace, waiting for imperial physicians to come and check her pulse. When Cheng Yujin was having her pulse checked inside, everyone else was waiting in the outer hall. The Emperor's face was dark with anger. Empress Yang bit her lips several times, but in the end, she decided to keep silent. Dou Xiyin stood next to Empress Yang, supporting the latter; her head was low, and her eyes secretly flickered.
The result of the pulse diagnosis was not available immediately. It was at this time Empress Dowager Yang arrived, supported by a senior Mama. As soon as Empress Dowager saw the Emperor, she asked with a solemn tone, "Emperor, This Dowager heard that you scolded Empress in anger today?"
The Emperor's mood was already bad, and seeing Empress Dowager Yang only worsened it. In the end, however, he kept his mood in check and greeted Empress Dowager Yang as usual, "Empress Dowager, why are you here?"
Empress Dowager Yang chuckled, but her voice was very cold: "If This Dowager didn't come personally, Emperor probably would have punished the Yang family in anger. On the way here, This Dowager heard that the Crown Princess kept claiming that I wanted to murder the imperial heir in her belly and force her to have an abortion?"
The Emperor didn't say a word, but the silence clearly expressed his stance. Empress Dowager Yang smiled coldly: "This is a baseless accusation, truly a great injustice. How can This Dowager do such an outrageous thing? This Dowager simply wanted an experienced Mama to check on her fetus."
In fact, Empress Dowager Yang was not lying. However, the Emperor had just seen with his own eyes the people of the Cining Palace chasing the people of the Eastern Palace, even daringly barging into his Qianqing Palace. Now that Empress Dowager Yang openly admitted that she wanted to let experienced palace Mamas check on Cheng Yujin's fetus, it was no different from an admission of guilt in the Emperor's ears. The Emperor had been on the throne for so many years. Naturally, he was aware of so many tricks and dark secrets buried deeply under the glittering inner palace. The so-called checking on the fetus was just the pretense these old women used to control palace maids and imperial concubines.
Once the Emperor was wary of the Yang family's power, so when Empress Yang and Empress Dowager Yang dealt with pregnant maids like this, he simply turned a blind eye and endured. But the Emperor never expected that even the Crown Princess, the legal consort of the Crown Prince that the imperial clan welcomed with full ceremony, a woman with high status whose name was recorded into the imperial family's jade genealogy, would also be treated like this by them.
This arrogance was equal to trampling on the imperial family's dignity.
Empress Dowager Yang did not expect her explanation, which she thought to express her clear conscience, to have completely opposite effects in the Emperor's ears. A preconceived prejudice could not be underestimated. Empress Dowager Yang was used to being domineering, which also built the Emperor's preconception about her. Even when Empress Dowager Yang was defending herself, the Emperor only thought that she was inverting right and wrong.
Empress Dowager Yang had no idea about the storm currently brewing in the Emperor's heart. Thinking that the Emperor had calmed down, she victoriously landed a second thunderstorm: "Actually, there is a reason why This Dowager suddenly wanted to let someone check on the Crown Princess' fetus. The Crown Princess is only six months pregnant, but her belly is as big as an eight-month-old pregnancy. Most likely, she is pregnant with twins."
Twins? The emperor frowned. It was extremely taboo for the first child of the imperial family to be born twins. In the case of daughters, it would be fine, but the birth of the twins eldest sons would bring confusion on the matter of succession. Therefore, in order to protect the country's interest, in case of the first child of an emperor or crown prince was suspected to be twins, they would usually be killed.
Even if the possibility was only fifty-fifty, directly terminating the pregnancy was the surest way.
Was Cheng Yujin really pregnant with twins?
The emperor thought about it for a while. In the end, he did not express his opinion, but said in a deep tone: "Zhen has sent the imperial physicians who are personally serving Zhen to diagnose the pulse of the Crown Princess. Whether she is truly with twins or not, we will know in a moment."
After a while, a group of imperial physicians came out of the inner hall. The first was about to bow to the dignitaries present, but immediately knelt down upon seeing the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. "This subject greets His Majesty the Emperor. Long live the Emperor. This subject also greets Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. Long live the Empress Dowager."
"Get up." The Emperor waved his hand and asked, "How's the Crown Princess?"
The lead physician stroke his gray bread and replied, "The Crown Princess' fetus is fine, and her pregnancy is currently very stable. However, she was frightened a lot today and will need a long rest."
The emperor nodded, "Then you can prescribe some tonics to nourish her body and calm her spirit. Starting today, you will go to the Eastern Palace to check the Crown Princess' pulse every ten days."
The physician bowed in reverence, "This subject obeys the decree."
The moment the Emperor ordered his personal physicians to check on Cheng Yujin's pulse, Dou Xiyin felt a chill in her heart. How high was the Crown Prince's position in the Emperor's heart?
Empress Dowager Yang listened to the Emperor's conversation with the imperial physician. However, he didn't ask the most important question and even ordered his most veteran physician to check Crown Princess' pulse as a matter of routine. Unable to bear it anymore, Empress Dowager Yang opened her mouth, "Imperial Physician, This Dowager has a question for you. Is the Crown Princess pregnant with twins?"
The imperial physician paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. After a while, he bowed and replied humbly: "This subject is ashamed. This subject's medical skills are so shallow that I didn't notice it. However, it is hard to diagnose twins at such an early stage, as this matter can only be confirmed not long before the labor. But Empress Dowager can rest assured; this subject will definitely pay more attention in the future."
Liu Yi, who was staying outside, was thoroughly relieved to hear this. Hearing the imperial physician say it was not twins, Empress Dowager Yang couldn't help but feel very suspicious: "Are you sure? Did you diagnose it wrong?"
The gray-bearded imperial physician immediately lifted his robe and knelt down. Bowing his head deeply, he said: "This subject is stupid and ignorant. Begging for Empress Dowager's forgiveness." The rest of the imperial physicians also knelt down and pleaded guilty together.
These imperial physicians were the elite group trusted by and personally tended to the Emperor. Seeing Empress Dowager Yang openly questioning their credibility and even making them kneel to plead guilty, the Emperor frowned in displeasure. Quickly suppressing his emotions, the Emperor said to Empress Dowager Yang, "Empress Dowager, that's enough for today. It's already dark outside. If you continue to make trouble, you will become a joke for others."
The Emperor's personal physicians testified for the Crown Princess in person, leaving Empress Dowager Yang with no choice. She could be rampant in the inner palace, but in front of the Emperor, she still had to give in. Empress Dowager Yang had no choice but to nod her head and take a step down, "This Dowager is tired too. So many troubles happened today. This Dowager will retire first."
The palace servants knelt down to send Empress Dowager Yang off. She had just turned around and was about to leave when a voice suddenly came from behind: "Empress Dowager, please stay."
The voice was particularly conspicuous in the silent hall. Empress Dowager Yang turned around and saw a pale woman standing behind the bright yellow curtain.
Cheng Yujin was supported by the servant girl and looked weak enough to even stand on her own. However, her back was straight, and when she spoke, her voice was calm and composed. "Empress Dowager is tired and wants to return to Cining Palace to take a rest. This granddaughter-in-law naturally didn't dare to disturb Empress Dowager's rest. However, there is still a matter left to take care of, no?"
"Empress Dowager is wise and always reasonable, yet you misunderstood this granddaughter-in-law today. Presumably, someone with a bad intention incited you to do so." Cheng Yujin's gaze slowly moved and finally landed on Dou Xiyin, "This person provoked the relationship between the Eastern Palace and the Cining Palace, scheming to murder an imperial heir. Such an evil mind deserves a just punishment. Shou Wangfei, what do you think?"