CHAPTER 655: CHAPTER 642: THE DOOMED PRINCESS 9

Anning and Xue He were newly married and deeply in love, always sticking to each other day in and day out, even their visits to the palace to pay respect were done perfunctorily.

Every time Emperor Xiande saw Xue He, he was fuming.

After some time, Emperor Xiande realized that Xue He was no longer acting foolish; in fact, he’d become quite clever.

It was not just Emperor Xiande who noticed; the notable families in the Capital also saw that Xue He had recovered from his supposed foolishness.

Once Xue He began studying, Emperor Xiande—who had no sons and thus no tutors for Princes—treated Xue He as practically his own child, as Anning was Emperor Xiande’s daughter. Hence, when Xue He expressed the desire to study, Emperor Xiande found a great scholar to teach him personally.

After Xue He began his studies, the great scholar was overjoyed.

He discovered that Xue He truly had a talent for learning, exhibiting a photographic memory and the ability to reason by analogy, smarter than any other students he had ever taught.

He devoted all his energy to tutoring Xue He.

At this time, Liu Meiniang was already on her way to the Capital with her two children.

Zhao Hongwen also began to pay frequent visits to Prime Minister Liu’s home to expedite the marriage, eager to tie the knot as soon as possible.

Prime Minister Liu found his persistent entreaties unbearable, and with Emperor Xiande also beginning to take interest in Liu Ruolan’s marital affairs, he had no choice but to set a wedding date with Zhao Hongwen.

One month after Anning was married, she diagnosed herself with a pregnancy.

Once she realized she was pregnant, Anning immediately went to the palace to pay respect.

When she was at Consort Huang’s chamber, and it was just the two of them, Anning whispered to Consort Huang, "Queen Mother, I am pregnant, and you ought to start preparing as well."

Consort Huang was a bit troubled, "With so many Imperial Physicians in the palace, this matter is tricky, in case..."

Anning took out a medicinal pill and gave it to Consort Huang, "This is a secret medicine from the previous dynasty; after taking it, one will show signs of pregnancy, and even the best Imperial Physician’s diagnosis will confirm a joyful pulse."

Consort Huang took the pill and stored it away, "Then let me give it a try. You must not speak of this to anyone else, not even the Prince Consort."

Anning nodded, "I understand."

After Anning left, Consort Huang ingested the pill she had been given.

The following day, when Consort Huang woke up, she felt dizzy and nauseous, not wanting to eat anything.

The palace maids serving her quickly summoned an Imperial Physician. Seeing as Emperor Xiande still held Consort Huang in favor, her indisposition was met with several Imperial Physicians coming for a consultation. They took turns checking her pulse and then, beaming with joy, kept congratulating her, "Congratulations, Empress, joyous congratulations, Empress, you have a joyful pulse."

Upon hearing these words, Consort Huang was relieved.

It should be noted that the several Imperial Physicians in attendance were particularly skilled in medicine, and one of them specialized in gynecology. With their collective diagnosis confirming a joyful pulse, nobody else could possibly detect anything amiss.

Consort Huang had actually planned it all; after consuming the pill, she summoned the Imperial Physicians for a pulse check. If they all declared a joyful pulse, then she was set to proceed.

But if a single one of them disagreed, she would have to think of another plan.

After all, she hadn’t announced her pregnancy, let alone bribed any Imperial Physicians.

Now, all the Imperial Physicians unanimously congratulated her, and naturally, Consort Huang was delighted.

She could finally rest easy.

Even the servants attending to Consort Huang were all beaming with happiness upon hearing the news, and several clever young eunuchs scurried off to report the joy to Emperor Xiande.

Just returned from the court, Emperor Xiande heard from the eunuch serving him that Consort Huang felt unwell this morning and, upon having her pulse checked by Imperial Physicians, was found to have a joyful pulse.

On hearing this, Emperor Xiande went straight to Consort Huang without even changing out of his court attire.

When he arrived, Consort Huang was lying on her couch resting but hurriedly tried to get up upon seeing Emperor Xiande.

Emperor Xiande swiftly went over and pressed her down, "Lie still; your health is what matters most, don’t worry about these formalities."

Consort Huang smiled: "This consort is fine, just felt a bit nauseous and couldn’t eat anything when I got up early."

Emperor Xiande looked at Consort Huang’s belly and laughed heartily: "This means our Imperial son is a lively one. It’s only been a few days, and he’s already causing a fuss. He’ll surely be strong in the future."

Consort Huang also touched her belly: "Certainly, when I was pregnant with Anning, I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all, and Anning is a quiet one. This one is different, likely to be a Prince."

Anyhow, that’s what she said. Even if she gave birth to a girl later on, could Emperor Xiande really blame her for it?

Even if she really had a girl, there were only two Princesses in the palace. Emperor Xiande would surely cherish her too much to be heartless.

"Good, good, this time it must be a Prince."

Emperor Xiande was visibly delighted and ordered someone to pass a message to the Imperial Kitchen to prepare exquisite food for Consort Huang, make a variety of choices to see what Consort Huang could eat.

News travels fast in the palace.

Before long, all the Six Palaces knew about Consort Huang’s pregnancy.

Even including the Empress, every one of them was extremely jealous.

Consort Huang already had one Princess, and if she had another child this time, no matter a boy or a girl, her position in Emperor Xiande’s heart would become even more exceptional. Perhaps even the Empress would not dare to provoke her.

However, even though the other Concubines were jealous, none harbored thoughts of harming Consort Huang.

They all knew the score.

Especially the Empress, who was hoping that the Concubines in the palace would bear a Prince.

No matter which Concubine gave birth to a Prince, as the legitimate mother after the Prince ascended the throne, her nobility was assured.

But if there was no Prince, and a member of the Royal Family took the throne instead, then the Empress’s position would not be guaranteed.

The other Concubines also understood that if Emperor Xiande had his own son, it would be beneficial for all of them.

Once that sourness in their hearts subsided, the Empress included, all the Concubines gathered their gifts to congratulate Consort Huang.

Everyone wholeheartedly hoped that Consort Huang’s pregnancy would proceed smoothly and successfully.

Then, the news spread beyond the palace.

Upon learning of Consort Huang’s pregnancy, Zhou Jingxing went home and smashed quite a few things.

Liu Ruolan was also feeling uneasy.

Even Prime Minister Liu was frowning for several days.

Later, it was Zhou Jingxing and Prime Minister Liu who said, "We needn’t worry too much. The child has just been conceived, and we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet. It might turn out to be a Princess."

Prime Minister Liu was also hoping for Consort Huang to give birth to a Princess.

But who could say whether it would be a Princess or a Prince? It was a fifty-fifty chance.

A few days later, Anning once again entered the palace to pay respects and fainted at Consort Huang’s place. The Imperial Physician, who was always on standby there, came over to check Anning’s pulse and also diagnosed her as pregnant.

When Emperor Xiande heard this, he was even happier. A large amount of rewards flowed like water from inside the palace to the Princess Mansion.

During this joyous time within the palace, Zhao Hongwen and Liu Ruolan got married.

It was now early summer, and the weather was already getting hot.

With the fallen flowers cleared and the green leaves shading, the bright sun shone high in the sky. Liu Ruolan, seated in a big red bridal palanquin, entered the Zhao Mansion.

Meanwhile, Liu Meiniang also came to the Capital with her two children.

Upon arriving in the Capital, she went straight to Jiangning Inn to inquire about Zhao Hongwen’s news.

When she heard from the inn’s staff that Zhao Hongwen had become the top scorer and had been granted marriage to a Princess by Your Majesty, and that the wedding was taking place today, a deeper gloom filled her eyes.