Chapter 219

Chapter 219 Xie Run dared to make such a judgment because the Princess Consort's pregnancy was not a normal one—it was an ectopic pregnancy! She had guessed this thanks to the deductions made from Xie Jiang's script. In Xie Jiang's Female Lead Script, there was a segment where she went to the neighboring Xia Dynasty to practice medicine. According to the timeline, it should have been the fourth year after the Princess Consort's death. Xie Jiang, as an envoy of the Great Yu Dynasty, visited the Xia Dynasty and happened to encounter a pregnant princess at a palace banquet. The princess's pregnancy was unstable, and she showed signs of a miscarriage right at the banquet. The moment Xie Jiang took her pulse, she determined it was an ectopic pregnancy—the child could not possibly be carried to term. If they forcibly tried to preserve the pregnancy, it would inevitably end in the death of both mother and child. That princess was quite favored by the Emperor, and having just divorced her consort, coupled with how difficult this pregnancy had been, she agreed without a second thought to have the child removed. During the surgery, Xie Jiang discovered that the princess was born with only one fallopian tube, and the other was blocked. That she had managed to conceive at all was nothing short of a miracle. At the same time, through a series of investigations, she found that many princesses of the Xia Dynasty had died in childbirth due to difficult labor. In the end, she determined that the Xia Dynasty princesses likely had a genetic defect—most were born missing one fallopian tube, which greatly increased the probability of ectopic pregnancies. Among the several cases of data she had collected at the time was the Princess Consort of Jing, who had died in childbirth four years prior. Combining these two plot points, Xie Run felt that the probability of the Princess Consort having an ectopic pregnancy had reached ninety-nine percent. But even if she knew, she couldn't possibly persuade the Princess Consort to abort the child. The child in the Princess Consort's belly might very well be Prince Jing's legitimate son. She had come to form a marriage alliance on behalf of the Xia Dynasty, married Prince Jing for eight years without bearing a child, and had suffered endless grievances over her lack of an heir... The Princess Consort would never agree to give up this child no matter what. Xie Run sat in place thinking for a long time, then asked Dantao for brush, ink, and paper, and swiftly wrote a letter. "Dantao, find a way to have this letter delivered to my eldest sister." "Remember, it must go only to my eldest sister—not a word of this may leak out!" Dantao asked, "Does mistress mean that the Princess Consort must not know about our sending this letter either?" All correspondence in and out of the residence had to pass through the Princess Consort's threshold. Xie Run slowly nodded. Matters succeed in secrecy and fail through loose talk. For Xie Run, the Princess Consort alive would certainly bring greater benefits than her dead. If Xie Jiang truly had the skill to save the Princess Consort, that would naturally be a good thing. But if she couldn't save her... it would also drag her into a great deal of trouble. Xie Run didn't dare to lightly reveal any intention of getting involved in this matter. After all, there were many people hoping the Princess Consort would fall so they could rise in her place. By protecting the Princess Consort, she was also placing herself in opposition to all those people. ... At the Green Pine Courtyard, Tinghe had just seen Xie Run off when she heard the sound of the Princess Consort vomiting from inside the room. She hurried inside to attend to her. Once the Princess Consort had stopped vomiting, Tinghe said with a worried expression, "Just now mistress vomited in front of Consort Xie. She's someone who has given birth before—she's sure to have noticed something." The Princess Consort ate a sour fruit to settle her stomach, her face pale as she leaned weakly against her pillow. "I never intended to hide it from them anyway. I'm just afraid that when some people hear about my pregnancy, they'll grow restless and stir up all sorts of trouble." Nanny Li rarely agreed with her: "Consort Xie has always been a quiet and proper person. Even if she knows mistress is pregnant, she wouldn't dare harbor any other thoughts." "As for Side Consort Fang—she was only just released, and she's already sent a maid to our courtyard to snoop around. It seems His Highness's punishment wasn't severe enough to teach her a lesson." "She must have forgotten that without mistress pleading on her behalf, she'd still be locked up in Songya Courtyard by His Highness!" "That woman truly doesn't know how to spell the word 'restraint'!" "Enough!" The Princess Consort stopped Nanny Li with a feeble voice. "Nanny, send someone to watch over Cloud Jasper Pavilion. Once Imperial Physician Chen has finished seeing Sixth Young Master, invite him to Songya Courtyard." The Princess Consort's hand rested on her lower abdomen, her tone light and faint. "I feel like this pregnancy is extremely difficult. It's only been a month, and I'm already this unwell... None of the other women in the residence who've been pregnant ever had reactions like mine." The Princess Consort knew her own body best. She had always been robust, but ever since conceiving this child, she tired at the slightest exertion and had even seen blood twice. She couldn't help but worry that this child... might not survive to birth. Nanny Li quickly comforted her: "Mistress, you mustn't let your mind wander!" "The fatigue you're feeling is all from attending to His Highness during his illness these past days! As long as you rest well, you'll surely give His Highness a healthy legitimate son in the future!" The Princess Consort smiled bitterly. "A legitimate son?" "I used to long for a son. Now... perhaps it's better not to hope." The political situation at court had already become clear, and Prince Jing now had some possibility of becoming the Heir Apparent. But if Prince Jing became the Heir Apparent, how could she, a foreign princess, ever become the Crown Consort? Even if Prince Jing were willing, the court ministers would absolutely oppose it with all their might. She could never become the Crown Consort, so talk of legitimate sons was meaningless—she would only become a target of everyone's wariness. And then the Xia Dynasty, seeing she had a chance at becoming Crown Consort, would inevitably send people to interfere. Just thinking about it, one could foresee the chaos that would follow. The Princess Consort had lived peacefully in Prince Jing's residence for years, but now she could already foresee the endless strife that would come if she gave birth to a son. It was all so exhausting... The Princess Consort propped her forehead with her hand, her eyelids slowly drooping, and her voice lowered as well. "Nanny, I'm a bit weary. I'd like to rest for a while." Nanny Li quickly lowered her voice: "Mistress, this servant will stay here and keep watch over the Green Pine Courtyard for you. Please rest well." After the Princess Consort rested, Nanny Li hurriedly sent someone to Cloud Emerald Pavilion to summon Imperial Physician Chen, instructing the young maid delivering the message to do whatever it took to bring him over. Everyone has their own private motives. Nanny Li's private motive was to maximize the Princess Consort's interests—even Sixth Young Master had to take a back seat. At noon, Xie Run finally received word that Sixth Young Master's discomfort was also due to an allergy to the fragrance of lilies. He had been crying and fussing without cease, nearly choking on his breath. Even Concubine Wan had no recourse, and could only seek help from the imperial physician. Xie Run took a sip of tea and said calmly, "That child truly shares his birth mother's constitution." An allergic constitution, in this rear courtyard, was tantamount to announcing to everyone: I have a fatal weakness. "Exactly so." Dantao sighed. "Concubine Wan's side sent word that fortunately the scent was faint—it came from the neighboring room—so Sixth Young Master was only mildly affected." "If someone had secretly placed lily pollen inside the room, with an infant so fragile, Sixth Young Master might have..." Xie Run pondered for a moment. "This way, Wan Linlang's leverage in raising Sixth Young Master has grown heavier still." After all, since she couldn't even stay at Cloud Emerald Pavilion now, wouldn't she have to move to another courtyard? "I can only hope this was an accident." After a pause, Xie Run asked again, "As for the matter of lily petals being placed in Concubine Lian's room, who is investigating it now?" "As I recall, the Princess Consort only assigned Side Consort Fang to handle Concubine Lian's funeral rites—she didn't let her meddle in anything else?" Dantao said softly, "It's the Prince's people investigating." "But with no master above to press them on, the investigation naturally moves a bit slowly..." Poor Concubine Lian—ignored in life, and ignored even in death. So much so that for such a small matter, a full day had passed with still no news.