Chapter 115

Chapter 115 Whether Prince Jing believed her or not, as long as he came to Embroidery Moon Pavilion once, Wan Linlang would find a way to make him believe. But Prince Jing simply wouldn't come! Prophecy—this was Wan Linlang's last resort! She had no cards left to play, and she had been framed by Fang Yuan'er, unjustly placed under House Arrest. Three months from now, who knew what the situation outside would look like after such turbulent changes? Wan Linlang had reached the end of her rope, which was why she wanted to use her prophetic ability to earn Prince Jing's trust, and from there, his favor. But she never expected that Prince Jing wouldn't even give her that chance! In that instant, Wan Linlang felt a sense of utter despair. Of lowly birth, without favor, and entangled in so many harmful schemes... her position in the household was now roughly on par with Concubine Lu's. Was she truly going to waste away her years in the rear courtyard with no hope, until she grew old and died?! Thinking of the glory when she was conferred as Consort De in her previous life, the pride of giving birth to the Fourth Prince... she refused to accept this! Wan Linlang never dreamed that Fang Yuan'er would beat her to the punch! If Fang Yuan'er hadn't brought up the matter of dreams first, Prince Jing would surely have come to Embroidery Moon Pavilion. He might not have believed her words ten percent, but at least three. If her prophecy came true, that trust would gradually transform into favor, paving a golden path to the heavens for her. Unfortunately, Fang Yuan'er had "dreamed" it first. If she then "dreamed" it too, it would seem highly suspicious. Prince Jing wasn't a fool who believed whatever anyone told him. Moreover, in Prince Jing's eyes, she had never been clean. At midnight, a maidservant knocked on the gate of Green Pine Courtyard. Lizi, from Concubine An's courtyard, was drenched in sweat: "Please, Nanny, go quickly and inform the Princess Consort—our mistress's labor has begun!" The nanny in charge of the gate jolted awake and immediately said, "This old servant will go report at once." In the blink of an eye, news of Concubine An's labor spread throughout the rear courtyard. The Princess Consort had gone the entire night without sleep the night before, and had only just rested when her dreams were disturbed. Her face was pale when she rose. Nanny Li's heart ached for her mistress. "Mistress, Concubine An has only just gone into labor. They say first births take a long time. Why not sleep a while longer, and go over when she's truly about to give birth?" "No matter how important the matter, nothing is more important than your own health." The Princess Consort raised a hand to press her temple. "Enough." "Since I'm awake, I won't be able to fall back asleep anyway." "Prepare my clothes." Nanny Li had no choice but to attend to the Princess Consort as she rose. The Princess Consort said calmly, "There are four women with child in the household right now. The sooner they give birth, the sooner I can have peace." "Oh, and have someone send word to Concubine Xie and Consort Li—given their conditions, they needn't trouble themselves to come." When the Princess Consort arrived at Concubine An's courtyard, she found it in complete disarray, with only Ping'an coming and going, directing things around the birthing chamber. The Princess Consort frowned, and Nanny Li immediately stepped forward to scold, "What are you all running around like headless chickens for?!" "Didn't your mistress tell you what to do?!" Several maidservants lowered their heads, looking confused and frightened as they curtsied. Only one with a bit more courage spoke up: "We've always taken orders from Sister Ping'an, but today our mistress was startled and suddenly went into labor." "We... we don't know what to do either!" Nanny Li was also annoyed, thinking to herself that Concubine An was incompetent, unable to even manage the people in her own courtyard. When Consort Fang had suddenly gone into premature labor last night, the maidservants in her courtyard had been anxious too, but each had performed their duties without the slightest chaos. Truly, it was only in critical moments that one's capabilities showed. She raised a hand and pointed. "You two—boil water!" "You two—one of you wait outside the birthing chamber for instructions, and the other prepare tea for the mistresses!" "Yes!" Came the chorus of replies. Only then did the Princess Consort finally get to sip some hot tea. Ping'an hurried over to pay her respects to the Princess Consort and report on Concubine An's condition. The Princess Consort's expression remained calm. "I just heard from the maidservant that Concubine An went into premature labor after being startled. What happened?" Ping'an was at a loss, momentarily unsure how to answer. But facing the Princess Consort, she couldn't very well lie, so she steeled herself and said, "To report to the Princess Consort, since the birthday banquet for Princess Ruyi last time, our mistress hasn't been sleeping well." "She's been having nightmares these past few days. Tonight she was frightened awake by a nightmare, and that's when her labor began." Ping'an had tried her best to save face for Concubine An. But everyone present understood. Concubine An was too timid—she had frightened herself! For a moment, the Princess Consort's expression wasn't too pleasant either. Still, it was fortunate that with twins carried to eight months and some weeks, it could be considered a full-term birth. Her composure intact, the Princess Consort waved her hand. "Go in and attend to your mistress. Let her give birth with peace of mind. With me here, she won't be in any danger." Having learned from Fang Yuan'er's experience, the Princess Consort had this time brought two nannies who had given birth before, sending them directly into the birthing chamber to assist. As for the harm done to Fang Yuan'er, the Princess Consort only needed a moment's thought to guess that it was the work of someone from the palace. The palace's hand reaching into Prince Jing's household—that in itself was a failure on her part as Princess Consort. With one incident after another in the household, the Princess Consort had no choice but to be more cautious. The commotion in the rear courtyard didn't reach the front courtyard. A young eunuch delivered a message to Eunuch Shian, "Mistress An has gone into labor." Eunuch Shian glanced at the sky, "The Prince stayed up all night and endured a day of frustration at court. He's finally resting." "Childbirth isn't something that happens in a moment. Don't disturb the Prince for now—report it tomorrow morning!" The young eunuch naturally dared not say anything. Early the next morning, before the sky had fully brightened, Prince Jing woke up. Shian attended to his washing, "Prince, last night Concubine An went into labor." "I've had people watching her the whole time, but she hasn't given birth yet." The Prince paused in his movements, and without asking Shian why he hadn't reported it sooner, he unhurriedly wiped his face and tossed the cloth back to Shian. "Let's go take a look." Just as the Prince led his attendants to the entrance of Concubine An's courtyard, he heard someone announcing good news. "She's given birth! She's given birth!" "Auspicious twins! A pair of dragon and phoenix twins!" "The elder is a girl, the younger is a boy!" A smile spread across the Prince's face as he walked straight toward the main hall. The Princess Consort and others, seeing the Prince arrive, all bowed, "Greetings, Prince." The Prince waved his hand casually, "Rise. Where are the children?" A matron stepped forward holding a child, "Reporting to the Prince, this is the Second Miss." The matron said with a beaming smile, "The imperial physician has already examined her. Though she was born early, she is very healthy. As long as she's well cared for, she'll grow up healthy and beautiful." The household ranked sons and daughters separately—Princess Ruyi was the Eldest Miss, and the child born to Concubine An was the Second Miss. The Prince looked and saw the child was indeed perfectly fine, his eyes and brows softening with a smile, "Excellent!" The matron holding the boy beside her wore a rather troubled expression. The Prince's gaze swept over her, and she was startled, but had no choice but to step forward with the child. "Reporting to the Prince, this is the Fourth Young Master." The Prince noticed some bruising around the child's neck and frowned involuntarily. He reached out and lifted the swaddling cloth, only to discover several more patches of purple bruising on the body. Seen together, they were quite conspicuous. The smile on his face vanished instantly, and he said in a deep voice, "What is the meaning of this?!" The matron holding the child trembled with fear, "Reporting to the Prince, the imperial physician said it was because Concubine An was frightened several times during her pregnancy, which left these bruises." "As long as he's well cared for in the future, there won't be any major problems!" The Prince, now furious, naturally summoned the household physician to be questioned.