Chapter 378

Chapter 378 A foolish person would obediently listen to the imperial physician's advice and heed the warnings of the governesses, rather than spending every day being clever and thinking someone is out to harm her, taking all well-meant words as attacks. A clever person would not use her pregnancy as an excuse to complain of discomfort here one day and pain there the next, driving everyone out of her palace with such clumsy pretexts. The Emperor listened to Xie Run's words, fell silent for a long moment, then suddenly laughed. The frustration that Consort Hua had stirred up in him dissipated in an instant. "You..." He searched for words to describe Xie Run but gave up, simply taking her hand and smiling. "It's been a while since I've spent time with you. I might as well take the day to be lazy." As the Emperor left Fanghua Palace, the thought of not having to see Hua Yu for a while lifted his spirits considerably. "A new batch of trinkets just arrived in the treasury today. Would you like to return to the palace to keep Taotao company, or go to the treasury to pick out some things?" Xie Run promptly replied, "This consort will accompany Your Majesty to the treasury!" "Your Majesty finds Consort Hua troublesome, and this consort finds Taotao too noisy as well." "Lately Taotao has become more talkative than ever. His mouth never closes from morning to night—even the cats and dogs are sick of him." "He'll ask 'Have the peach blossoms bloomed yet?' a dozen times over, nearly making the person answering bite their own tongue. This consort has been looking for a place to escape the noise!" The Emperor had been harassed by Taotao before too. When a bird flew away, Taotao had cornered the Emperor with over a dozen questions, leaving him completely bewildered. Remembering that incident, the Emperor immediately said, "Then let's go to the treasury!" "I recall a few new cloaks that came in—nice patterns and designs. They'd look lovely on you." "There are also some fine ink and brushes. I know you've been learning to paint lately, so I've already had some set aside for you. That way, if your paintings don't turn out well, you can't complain to me that it's the fault of the brush and ink." Xie Run smiled warmly, letting the Emperor lead her to the treasury. This treasury was the Emperor's private storehouse. Regular rewards never came from here—it was only opened when the Emperor wished to bestow a special gift on someone. It was considered a great honor. "Those were words this consort spoke when she first entered the Prince's mansion with Your Majesty. In the blink of an eye, Taotao is already two years old..." Xie Run rarely sighed over such things, but she couldn't help remarking on how quickly time passed. The Emperor smiled and glanced at her sideways. "It's only been three years. Why are you already getting sentimental?" Xie Run said, "Your Majesty is right. We're still young—it's only been three years." The Emperor smiled without speaking. The Emperor's private treasury had not been opened in a long time. When it was suddenly thrown open, a wave of stale air rushed out. Xie Run's chest churned, and she immediately felt nauseous. The Emperor was happily telling Xie Run about the fine new items in the treasury when he noticed her pallor and asked with concern, "What's wrong?" "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?" Xie Run covered her nose. "It's just that the smell in the treasury feels a bit stale..." The Emperor was puzzled. "What smell?" He hadn't noticed anything at all. The next second, Xie Run's stomach lurched, and she ran to the threshold to retch. The Emperor raised his hand. "Quickly, summon the imperial physician!" After Xie Run finished dry heaving, she looked up and met the Emperor's eyes. The Emperor pondered for a moment. "You... I—Suisui, could you be pregnant?" Xie Run's mind also went blank. She thought back carefully to her menstrual cycle... it did seem to be a few days late. Xie Run stammered, "This consort... doesn't know." After stopping her medication, Xie Run had once hoped for pregnancy. But as half a year passed with no news, and Xie Run became busy handling matters of the harem, she had stopped paying attention to it. Xie Run was still afraid of making a fuss over nothing, so she added, "This consort cannot be certain. We'll have to wait for the imperial physician to take my pulse before we can say." There were already many princes in the palace, and Consort Hua and Noble Lady Xichong were both currently pregnant. The Emperor should have been used to such news by now. But the thought that Xie Run might be pregnant filled the Emperor with joy as well. Among all the children he had in the Prince's mansion, only Taotao, born of Xie Run, had survived safely, and only afterward did healthy heirs gradually come. For that alone, the Emperor had always remembered Xie Run's contribution. He even felt that Xie Run carried good fortune that blessed his offspring. Now that Xie Run, as Noble Consort, was pregnant once more, it was a momentous occasion for joy throughout the Six Palaces. The Emperor carefully helped Xie Run to a side hall to sit down, and had tea and pastries brought in. The imperial physician arrived quickly. The moment he felt Xie Run's pulse, he knew. The events at Fanghua Palace had already spread to the Imperial Medical Institute. The physicians there were all eagerly awaiting good news, afraid the Emperor might take out his anger on them. Now that there was good news, they couldn't wait to announce it. "Congratulations to Your Majesty, congratulations!" "Noble Consort Zhao is with child—one month along!" The Emperor exclaimed excitedly, "Rewards!" He held Xie Run's hand and smiled. "I once said that when you became pregnant, I would promote you to Noble Consort, but there was never any news." "Now, after waiting over half a year, I've promoted you, and the child has finally come. It seems this child knows how to enjoy good fortune—I won't bear to slight it in the slightest!" Xie Run raised her hand to gently touch her not-yet-visible belly and said softly, "Your Majesty is right. This child truly does know how to enjoy good fortune." At this time, there were no scheming people in the palace—everyone kept to themselves and tended to their own affairs. There was still some time before the imperial beauty selection brought in new women. During this period, Xie Run could rest easy and nurture her pregnancy without the fear and constant vigilance she'd had when carrying Taotao. Xie Run added, "Consort Hua and Noble Lady Xichong are also with child in the palace. Your Majesty, the child in my belly is barely a month old—please don't be too partial." "Also, I'd like to ask one more thing of Your Majesty." The Emperor was in high spirits at the moment; even if Xie Run asked for a hundred things rather than just one, he might have agreed in a fit of enthusiasm. Xie Run said, "I beg Your Majesty not to spread word of this yet!" "They say the pregnancy spirit is easily startled. I've already received Your Majesty's favor and care—I don't wish to compete for fleeting glory." The Emperor made the decision on the spot. "I'll listen to you on this. We'll announce it once the pregnancy is secure. Then I'll bestow gifts upon all Six Palaces!" Xie Run smiled. "Then whenever Your Majesty wishes to give rewards, I'll gladly accept them all." The Emperor patted Xie Run's hand and ordered a palanquin to bring them both to Zhaohua Palace. The Emperor said, "We can keep your pregnancy from everyone else, but it will be hard to hide it from the Empress." "Managing the Six Palaces is hard work, and now that you're with child, it's truly inconvenient." Xie Run thought to herself, So you do know it's hard work—you just never bother with it. You know full well what's going on. "I was thinking the same thing." They would just need to find a good excuse to avoid arousing suspicion. That evening, the Emperor stayed the night at Zhaohua Palace. Hua Yu was timid by nature—one lesson was enough to keep her quiet for a while. With her out of the way, the harem settled down considerably. The next day, when Xie Run opened her eyes, the Emperor had already gone to morning court. Dantao and Xiaoshu attended to her toilette. "Milady, there's such wonderful news in our palace—we're so overjoyed we don't know what to say." Dantao pressed her palms together and whispered, "Amitabha. Last winter, I secretly made a vow to the Bodhisattva, praying only that she'd bless Milady with another child. Now that the wish has come true, I should go offer thanks." Hearing her two maids speak, Xie Run realized they too had been quietly anxious on her behalf, having done plenty of praying and worshiping in private. She smiled helplessly and took both their hands. "I know the devotion you have for me." "At this point, offering you rewards would be empty gestures... I've already asked my sister to look around for suitable matches for you outside. If there's a good family, I'll petition the Empress for a special favor and release you from the palace early, so you can have someone to rely on for the rest of your lives." Xie Run never entertained unrealistic notions. Being trapped in the palace as a maid for a lifetime was a miserable existence. In this era, their best fate was to marry a dependable man, become the mistress of a household, raise a few children, and have support in their old age. The moment they heard her words, both girls' faces changed. "We won't leave! We want to serve Milady for our whole lives!" Xie Run shook her head with a smile. "You've seen the elderly maids in the palace—you know how difficult their lives are. I don't want you to spend your lives reading other people's moods." "That's too exhausting." Xiaoshu protested, "If I stay by Milady's side my whole life, how could I end up like those old maids?" Xie Run patted Xiaoshu's head and said something she herself had once scorned: "Nonsense—how can you not marry?" She didn't want to say anything inauspicious. But who could guarantee a lifetime of glory? While she was still favored, she could find them good families. With her backing, they could enter those households as mistresses, bear children for security, and live better than eighty percent of women in this era. She herself was not yet twenty. Favor was fleeting—there would come a day when it faded. Dragging them down for a lifetime then wouldn't be worth it. They were her personal attendants. If she fell out of favor, others would kick her while she was down, and her maids would fare even worse than ordinary old servants. Xiaoshu and Dantao were no fools. They heard the concern beneath Xie Run's words and felt a pang of sorrow. Their mistress suddenly bringing up marriage—she must be worried that if she lost favor in the future, she wouldn't be able to protect them. What should have been a joyful occasion was tinged with melancholy. Xie Run disliked such an atmosphere, so she smiled and changed the subject. "Xiaoshu, what happened at the imperial kitchen yesterday?" "I told you to arrange things—how did it suddenly become Consort Wen's order?" Xiaoshu grew serious as well. "I arrived too late. By the time I got there, Consort Wen had already given the order." "At the root of it all, it's those gossiping old women. They complained that Consort Hua's rewards were too meager, that they never got anything good no matter what they did, and so they talked openly and covertly—and plenty of people overheard." The kitchen maids at the imperial kitchen were the lowest of servants. The actual head cooks and helpers were all eunuchs, and they were the ones who split the rewards from above. The rewards from above were meager—after the head cooks and junior eunuchs divided them up, there was nothing left for the maids. Only when the higher-ups were generous did they get a few scraps. In the late stages of Hua Yu's pregnancy, she ate five meals a day, each accompanied by various delicacies and desserts. The servants had plenty of extra work without receiving any benefits in return, so of course they grumbled about it. Xie Run felt somewhat helpless. "Go find out which servants were gossiping, and forbid them from working in the Imperial Kitchen any longer." "Also, have someone take a hundred taels of silver to the head eunuch of the Imperial Kitchen, saying that Ben Gong appreciates their hard work in looking after Consort Hua during this time and is specially granting them this for tea." Xie Run added one more instruction: "Don't let them keep it all for themselves—at least make sure they share some with the lower-ranking staff." Xiaoshu asked, "Is Your Ladyship trying to quell the resentment in the Imperial Kitchen on Consort Hua's behalf?" Xie Run glanced at her. "Something like that." Xiaoshu was somewhat puzzled, but Dantao tugged at her sleeve. "Consort Hua ate without giving tips, which bred resentment, but our mistress gave generously. Whoever receives kindness from the Imperial Kitchen naturally owes their gratitude to that person. What should be remembered will be remembered." "The Imperial Kitchen is jointly managed by our mistress and Consort Wen. With this silver distributed, everyone's resentment will settle, and they'll have more faith in our mistress." The frustration in Xiaoshu's heart immediately eased. This time, Hua Yu had lost to Consort Wen's sincerity. Had it been anyone else, the Emperor might have suspected she was being set up. This truly was... one thing conquering another. With Hua Yu no longer causing trouble in the harem, days finally became calm and peaceful. In April, Noble Lady Xichong and Hua Yu gave birth one after another, each delivering a prince—the Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince respectively. Noble Lady Xichong had a smooth delivery and was promoted to Noble Lady Xi afterward. When Hua Yu gave birth, the baby was too large, and she suffered through two days and one night of difficult labor before delivering a prince weighing over nine jin. This ordeal damaged her body, and she would likely find it difficult to conceive again in the future. The imperial physician also ordered her to observe a double confinement period to fully recover her strength. Hua Yu suffered greatly during this childbirth and learned her lesson. The nursing matron seized the opportunity to pour out her heart, swearing oaths and pledging sincerity, and finally won Hua Yu's trust. From then on, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to caring for the Ninth Prince on Hua Yu's behalf, eventually becoming Hua Yu's most capable and trusted aide. Before long, mid-May arrived, and the imperial beauty selection was finally settled. At the same time, news of Xie Run's pregnancy spread throughout the Six Palaces. Few in the Six Palaces were surprised. After all, back in March, the Empress had suddenly relieved Xie Run of her duties in the Management of the Six Palaces. At the time, no news of Noble Consort Zhao committing any error had circulated, nor were there other pressing matters requiring her attention, so everyone had guessed that Xie Run might be pregnant. Three months had been enough time for the matter to ferment, and everyone was just waiting for Xie Run to make the announcement. With the news of Xie Run's pregnancy made public and the beauty selection approaching, the Empress found herself overwhelmed with work. After much deliberation, the Empress promoted Consort Jingshu to assist with the Management of the Six Palaces. Coincidentally, trouble arose in the Princes' Residence at this time. Beauty Wu often secretly went to visit the Seventh Prince and frequently expressed dissatisfaction with the attendants caring for him in the Princes' Residence. The attendants looking after the Seventh Prince secretly resented Beauty Wu as well. As servants caring for their master, they naturally sought a bond with him and prospects for the future. Had Beauty Wu not interfered, they would have served the Seventh Prince since childhood and secured decent futures for themselves. But Beauty Wu, despite her low rank, always liked to throw her weight around as the prince's birth mother, managing this and that, and even lodging complaints with the Empress. Back and forth, the two sides developed a grudge. The people in the Princes' Residence were no fools—they deliberately set a trap, making Beauty Wu believe they were mistreating the Seventh Prince. Beauty Wu flew into a rage and rushed to Fengyi Palace to lodge a complaint. The Empress endured her discomfort to investigate, only to find that Beauty Wu had simply misseen things, causing all the fuss for nothing. The Empress may have known the truth, but there was no way she would help Beauty Wu seek justice.