Chapter 24

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

Taiji Hall

"Your Majesty, Hehuan Palace just sent word that Imperial Concubine Xi felt unwell upon waking this morning and is now in labor."

Wei Zhu stood with bowed body, always treating matters of Hehuan Palace as top priority.

He had barely finished speaking when Xiao Yanchen, who had been working behind the desk, instantly looked up. "Given birth?"

Wei Zhu hurriedly explained, "Imperial Concubine Xi has not given birth, she is just" in labor.

"Quick, mount the carriage to Hehuan Palace."

Xiao Yanchen didn't wait for Wei Zhu to finish on that side; with a decisive face he threw down the brush and ink in his hand, stood up, and walked toward the door.

Seeing this, how could Wei Zhu rest? He directly followed in small steps to clear the way for Xiao Yanchen, while clearing the way and reporting the latest situation at Hehuan Palace.

Xiao Yanchen frowned, his handsome face showing impatience. "Alright, matters can wait until we reach Hehuan Palace." Right now, his heart was entirely on the little woman in labor; how could he have time to listen to Wei Zhu's fussy dawdling there.

Wei Zhu:...

Wei Zhu tactfully closed his mouth, and was not angry at all, smiling as he urged the little eunuch carrying the sedan chair to hurry.

The Emperor is the master; whatever the master says, a slave like him has no right to be angry.

Besides, nowadays the more the master values Hehuan Palace, the more benefit it brings to him.

The reason is simple: Wei Zhu's relationship with Hehuan Palace has recently been advancing by leaps and bounds.

Especially Shen Yao, who in winning over connections is not only highly skilled but also understanding and sensible, making Wei Zhu both gain silver and feel at ease in his heart.

With such a person, how could Wei Zhu not want to continue cooperating?

"Wei Zhu, urge them to be faster."

Xiao Yanchen sat in the sedan chair, urging them on incessantly; he was truly anxious in his heart.

Leaving aside that Shen Yao is a woman he cares about, speaking only of the twins in Shen Yao's belly, if safely delivered, it would be a good omen.

Nowadays, Xiao Yanchen's children, in both quality and quantity, do not hold an advantage.

After finally waiting for Shen Yao to have a child that is normal in every way, Xiao Yanchen would surely treat him as the apple of his eye.

Xiao Yanchen had already decided in his heart that once Shen Yao safely delivers this child, he would directly promote Shen Yao's rank.

If they are two daughters, promoting to Second Rank Consort would be somewhat difficult, but as long as there is one son, he would fight for this consort rank for Shen Yao no matter what, even if it means not hesitating to break the promotion rules of the consorts and concubines in the Great Jing Dynasty's harem.

Various rogue thoughts arose in Xiao Yanchen's heart, and thus he overlooked the matter of encountering the Empress and others on the road.

Empress Wei Jingyi:...

Looking at the Taiji Hall sedan chair hurrying ahead, Wei Jingyi pursed her lips, and at the same time felt that her previous various indifference seemed to have been wrong.

This unknown Imperial Concubine Xi, whom she had always not taken seriously, might really become the second Noble Consort Zhou.

At this moment Wei Jingyi did not understand that the future Shen Yao would be more threatening than Zhou Ningyan, and would even eventually make her lose the position she valued consecutively.

However, those are matters for later; the Shen Yao before her eyes is merely Imperial Concubine Xi carrying twins and about to give birth, and compared to Empress Wei Jingyi, the mother of a country, she is not worth mentioning.

"Your Majesty"

The maid serving the Empress, Qing Suo, softly called out once to the master sitting in a daze in the sedan chair; after all, according to rules, when the Empress's and Emperor's sedan chairs meet, the Empress needs to avoid and yield.

The Emperor has already left by now; the Empress should also hurry over to handle affairs early.

Wei Jingyi made an "en" sound, her expression somewhat lost. "Let's go; the Emperor has arrived. As Empress, this palace cannot arrive too late."

Her mouth corners were tightly pursed; no matter what Wei Jingyi thought in her heart, on the surface she still had to maintain the dignity befitting an Empress.

Qing Suo sighed, stretched out her hand to dismiss the stopped little eunuchs to continue hurrying on the road, while she herself thought for a while about how to advise her master after returning to the palace.

Sigh

The master is hard to serve, the servant is hard to be. The hundred aspects of the harem; each has their own bitterness.

The sedan chair stopped at Hehuan Palace; Wei Jingyi got out of the sedan, and a smile of just-right gentleness rose on her face.

No choice; the Empress also needs face; at least she cannot show anything in front of the Emperor.

Besides, Imperial Concubine Xi is giving birth; other high-ranking consorts will all come over; Wei Jingyi knows that many people are eyeing the position under her buttocks, waiting for her to make a mistake so they can pull her down from the Empress position and replace her; how could Wei Jingyi let them have their wish.

"Qing Suo, take the medicinal herbs this palace brought; later hand them over together to the people at Hehuan Palace."

Afraid there would be no time after entering, Wei Jingyi first took out the things to let Qing Suo be responsible.

Qing Suo nodded in agreement, feeling in her heart that her master would definitely be sulking for a while after returning; though nothing could be seen from the outside, the master's heart was actually not that broad; otherwise she wouldn't have made such an ugly scene with her natal family and still couldn't shake off the burden of the Guogong Fu.

Stretching out her hand to support her master's arm, Qing Suo had the palace attendants behind follow; a group of people entered Hehuan Palace in a grand and mighty manner.

At this moment outside Hehuan Palace, a whole circle of people had already gathered.

In the center of the circle was Xiao Yanchen with an impatient face; he frowned, looking at any moment like he would flare up; unfortunately, by his side were many consorts who didn't understand the situation, wearing red and green and not only that but also smeared with various fragrant powders and creams, making Xiao Yanchen have to cover his mouth and nose with his sleeve.

Wei Jingyi:... Absurd!

"The Empress arrives"

Wei Jingyi's arrival temporarily eased the trouble by Xiao Yanchen's side.

Handing the consorts over to Wei Jingyi to be responsible, Xiao Yanchen very shamelessly went to loiter at the door of the delivery room.

Seeing this, Wei Jingyi instantly couldn't catch her breath, her face turning red.

She thought to herself that when she gave birth to Heng'er, the Emperor hadn't been this nervous; what magic power does Imperial Concubine Xi, a little concubine who has been in the palace for less than a year, have to make the Emperor so improper?

Wei Jingyi, who had just felt the consorts were absurd and excessive, immediately became dissatisfied with Shen Yao.

She hasn't even given birth yet and is already like this; once the child is safely born, won't she rise to the heavens?

"Imperial Concubine Xi is giving birth; what do you all mean by wearing gold and silver like this."

Furthermore, the laboring woman and the imperial heir cannot tolerate the strong fragrance on your persons.

All of you, go wait in the Pian Dian, obediently; otherwise, do not blame this palace for not leaving you face.

Venting the nameless anger rising in her heart upon these concubines who did not understand the situation, Wei Jingyi snorted and turned to go to Xiao Yanchen's side.

Seeing the Empress come over and go alone to the Emperor's place, the other concubines immediately looked sullen.

"What the Empress said sounds nice, isn't it just that she wants to avoid us and monopolize imperial favor alone?"

"Exactly, exactly, saying we wear gold and silver, while the Empress is dressed in fine silks and satins, isn't she even more eye-catching?"

"The scented powders and creams on our persons are developed by the Imperial Household Department; they smell elegant and fresh when used. Haven't you heard the Imperial Physician say that laboring women and imperial heirs cannot smell them?"

"......"

Like a chatterbox, those gathered were the unfavored minor concubines of the harem; today they came hurrying over while Shen Yao was in labor to strive for favor. If they didn't dress themselves beautifully, how could they leave a good impression before the Emperor?

You must know that ordinarily, they had no opportunity to see the Emperor.

Hmph!

The Empress is like a full man who does not know a hungry man's hunger; she herself sees the Emperor two fixed days every month, and thinks these people can too? Hmph, putting on an air of superiority to scold them is truly disgusting.

Chirp chirp, chirp chirp

The wedding guests spoke one after another, relying on the Emperor's presence so the Empress dared not show them displeasure, speaking in a very cheerful and self-satisfied manner.

When Wei Jingyi returned to Xiao Yanchen's side after holding in a bellyful of anger, she wanted to scold people even more in her heart.

"Your Majesty, we are still in Hehuan Palace; you will need to preside over the situation shortly. There is no need to lower yourself to these people."

Qing Suo hurriedly steadied her own mistress, fearing that Wei Jingyi might, through carelessness, damage her image before the Emperor.

Wei Jingyi panted again and again, deeply breathing in and out, finally nodding with difficulty.

"Rest assured, this palace knows what to do."

This small matter is not worth getting angry over; it was just that the Emperor's behavior just now left her momentarily unresponsive, causing her to be somewhat flustered and anxious.

Grasping Qing Suo's sleeve with a backhand, Wei Jingyi spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear, "The Emperor intends to elevate Imperial Concubine Xi to Noble Consort Xi."

Qing Suo: Huh?!!!

"Your Majesty, Imperial Concubine Xi is merely an Imperial Concubine. Even if she bore two Princes, according to ancestral law, she would be no more than a Fourth Rank Pinyu."

Of course, if the Emperor greatly favors Imperial Concubine Xi, he could also take this opportunity to maneuver, using the pretext of twins to rise to Third Rank Guipin.

But Guipin is already enough; you must know that Li Shi, who bore the Crown Prince, was only a Guipin.

The Emperor is truly arbitrary and willful, not placing ancestral regulations in his eyes at all. No wonder the mistress returned looking as if she had been angered. If this happened to anyone else, Qing Suo believes they would react just like the mistress.

Because this is not merely a promotion in rank, but also a provocation of the rules and a sign of the Emperor's regard for Imperial Concubine Xi.

Imperial Concubine Xi is young; if she nurses her body for two years and then bears another child, would she not become a Noble Consort?

After that, when promotion is no longer possible, will this impact the mistress's Empress Position?

Qing Suo, like Wei Jingyi, felt a strong sense of crisis in her heart.

"Rest assured, the two Empress Dowagers will not agree to this matter," Wei Jingyi reacted first, thinking that there were still two great Buddhas weighing on her head.

That's right; she herself could not step forward in this matter, but she could send news to the East and West Palaces respectively.

"Find someone to notify the Dong Palace and Xigong, and simply report the situation regarding Imperial Concubine Xi truthfully."

Wei Jingyi glanced at Xiao Yanchen pacing back and forth at the doorway of the Delivery Room, and the uncomfortable feeling in her heart became even more obvious.

Why? A variable that had never existed before was now about to be broken by a newcomer.

Wei Jingyi felt a sense of absurdity, as if an inexplicable worry had arisen, not knowing whether in the future Imperial Concubine Xi would once again cause the Emperor to make an exception.

"I bore three children for the Emperor in succession; shouldn't he make an exception?"

Inside the Delivery Room, Shen Yao gave birth 'with difficulty' under the Midwife's guidance, while remotely controlling the system through the screen before her eyes to watch this big show outside.

This time, Shen Yao expended twice as much energy as before, with audio and video double protection, ensuring she would not miss any news.

The Empress had someone notify the two Empress Dowagers of the East and West Palaces; before she finished speaking, Shen Yao already knew.

Shen Yao smiled disdainfully; even with the two Empress Dowagers, before absolute facts, no one dared to refute the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, the Little Prince's head has emerged; please exert a little more strength..."

The Midwife was still encouraging her, but Shen Yao felt not the slightest nervousness.

She could feel that the three children in her belly were eager to come into this world.