Chapter 254: Volume 1, Chapter 254: Going Into Labor

Rong Luoge dreamed of too many things, but she could not remember all of them, so she quickly jotted down the key points first.

There was also the general appearance of the loom; the dream was too short and she could not remember it all, and the brush in her hand was not as easy to control as a pencil, so the drawing came out especially abstract.

When Rong Luoge set down her brush and caught her breath slightly, then looked down at it again, she nearly sent herself to the grave.

She glanced at Han Xinglan's expression across from her, coughed lightly, picked up a different brush, and—while the memory was still fresh and warm—hurriedly redrew the abstract picture.

This time, once she finished drawing, Han Xinglan could tell what it was. When Rong Luoge finished, he spoke up and asked, "This looks like a loom."

"Be a bit more confident—it is one." Rong Luoge was in an excellent mood right now. "You wouldn't believe it, but today during the day I was talking with Lady Xu about the jacquard loom. I must have been too fixated on it, because I actually dreamed about it. I hurried to write it down while I still had some memory of it, but I don't remember much, so I don't know if it'll be of any use. Anyway, I'll draw it out first and we'll see."

Han Xinglan: ……

He understood every single word, but why did he not understand them when strung together?

Rong Luoge could not attend to Han Xinglan's mood right now. She reorganized and cross-checked against the blueprint and her notes, carefully reconstructing what she remembered from the dream, but whether because too much time had passed, the images from the dream suddenly seemed to blur.

The more she thought about it, the more pleased with herself she became. She looked at Han Xinglan and said proudly, "The moment I woke from the dream I hurried to record it. Tell me, isn't that clever? If I'd waited until daylight, I'm afraid I'd only remember having had a dream, and what was in it wouldn't be this clear anymore."

Han Xinglan: ……

It was truly wondrous—with her, anything could happen.

Dreaming of a loom, and one that looked quite like a loom at that, yet different from any he had seen—he didn't know whether this thing would actually work, but he absolutely could not dampen Luoge's enthusiasm, so he said at once, "You did the right thing. Truly brilliant. Give me the blueprint and I'll have someone try to build it."

Rong Luoge just loved this side of Han Xinglan, where whatever she said made perfect sense to him. Clearly the thing she'd drawn was a half-finished product, and it hadn't been carefully detailed either—no matter how you looked at it, it didn't resemble a proper object—yet he spoke as though it were the real deal.

Rong Luoge looked up at Han Xinglan and spoke in a very cheerful mood, "No rush. When I have time during the day I'll refine it a bit more for you. There are still many places that are blurry—let me see if I can fill them in. If I truly can't fill them in, then we'll just have to let the craftsmen build it looking at what we have."

"Alright." Han Xinglan agreed readily. It was just like the jacquard loom last time—some craftsmen were very clever; give them a hint and they could puzzle it out carefully and produce what you wanted. "It's getting late. Go rest quickly."

All that bustling about had indeed tired Rong Luoge out. She looked at Han Xinglan and said, with rare guilt, "You still have to attend morning court, and I've tired you out so you won't rest well."

"No matter. A short nap at noon for two quarters of an hour and I'll be fine." Han Xinglan took Rong Luoge's hand and walked her back. "But you need to take care. Remember the Imperial Physician's words—don't take them lightly."

Rong Luoge smilingly agreed. The two of them went back to sleep, and by the time she woke again, Han Xinglan's morning court had already adjourned. She rose late, had her breakfast, and only then went to the study, where she carefully compared the blueprint with her notes and made detailed corrections wherever things didn't match.

When weaving jacquard Luo silk, one must add harness threads to control the pattern, using plain Luo with two-warp and three-warp twists as the base weave… designing the jacquard mechanism according to the pattern's regularity to control the lifting of the warp threads for the pattern—in this way, various jacquard Luo fabrics could be woven.

Rong Luoge had a headache from writing. The logic seemed to hold up, but how it would actually work would only be known once the loom was built and given a try.

What Rong Luoge liked most was that bird. If not for this particular bird stirring up memories she had forgotten, how could she have dreamed of it at night? She would have someone carve a jade bird as an ornament!

Though it was an incomplete half-finished product, it was still better than having no clue at all. Rong Luoge had Yuan Bao deliver the blueprint to the front hall, and only then did she relax and go drink her pregnancy-nourishing tea.

"Your Ladyship, there is a palace custom of observing the Minor New Year. Shall we still hold the Minor New Year banquet this year?" Rong Xin lifted the curtain and came in to ask.

It was getting colder and colder. This morning had still been clear, but by the afternoon snowflakes began to drift, and even wearing thick winter clothes, one could barely withstand the bitter cold.

Rong Luoge thought for a moment and said, "Let's not hold it this year. After all, His Majesty has not yet properly finished his mourning period. However, have the Imperial Kitchen add a few dishes for each palace—that will count as observing the holiday."

"Yes, this servant will have someone pass the word to the Imperial Kitchen right away." Rong Xin turned and left.

Rong Luoge watched through the window as the snowflakes grew larger and larger. Que Cai had someone make the charcoal basins burn hotter. As the sky outside darkened, the light in the room grew dimmer, so Rong Luoge had the lamps lit.

The thick padded curtain at the door was let down, keeping out the howling cold wind. Xuan Hui carried a food box in, opened it, and brought out a bowl of bird's nest soup. "Your Ladyship, drink it while it's hot. If you drink it any later, you won't be able to eat much at dinner."

Rong Luoge looked at the several maids in the room and said with a smile, "The tea from just now hasn't even gone down yet, and now you bring bird's nest soup. At the rate you all are scheduling things so tightly, I really won't be able to eat much for dinner."

That said, Rong Luoge still picked up the bird's nest soup and ate it slowly. The Imperial Physician's dietary plan had been revised several times, and this was her first pregnancy so she had no experience. It never hurt to listen to an experienced doctor—at worst she'd just walk a few more laps in the evening.

"Your Ladyship, Dongming Palace has gone into labor."

Rong Luoge immediately set down the small bowl in her hand. "When did this happen?"

"Just half a quarter-hour ago. Consort Zhong had been taking a walk in the garden, but when it suddenly started snowing she headed back with her attendants. She was walking a bit too hastily on the way, unexpectedly took a fall, and went into labor early." Rong Xin had just received the news and hurried to report.

Rong Luoge said immediately, "Have the Imperial Physician go to Dongming Palace at once. Help me change—I'm going over to have a look."

With something like this happening, Rong Luoge, who managed the Hou Gong, could not stay away. If she had a good relationship with the Empress Dowager, it would be best for the Empress Dowager to step forward at a time like this, but the Empress Dowager's relationship with her was merely average and not very harmonious—she certainly wouldn't bail her out.

"Your Ladyship, you can't go out in this weather—it's too dangerous." Que Cai stopped her at once. What a joke—Consort Zhong giving birth was certainly important, but the Imperial Physician had already rushed over, and the Noble Consort herself was now seven or eight months pregnant. Giving birth wasn't something that happened in an instant, and sitting around waiting at Dongming Palace for half a day would be quite miserable.

Rong Luoge naturally did not want to go either, but there was no choice—someone had to be there to oversee things. In this palace, aside from the Empress Dowager, there was only her.