Chapter 43

  The Lis, Songs and Nalan Mingyue were all in Wu Ruoxue's house, each with a different expression. Wu Ruoxue was lying on the bed when a maid came in and said: "Madam is back!" The three of them hurried out to greet her.

  "After exchanging greetings, Song Shi spoke up: '...was sweeping the yard when she suddenly fainted. Several maids hastily carried her into the house and have already gone to fetch a doctor..."

  As she spoke, the maid lifted the curtain and the crowd followed Quan Pei into the house. Wu Ruoxi was still lying on the bed, her face looking quite pale. Quan Pei walked closer and slightly furrowed her brow, listening to her breathing, she was indeed still unconscious.

  Nalan Mingyue muttered under her breath, "Just sweeping the yard and she's already fainting, I wonder who she's putting on a show for?"

  Ruan Pei sat on a chair beside, the eunuch led the imperial physician in from outside, the maid lowered the bed curtains, and the imperial physician carefully felt her pulse.

  The room was quiet, with almost no other sounds. Outside the window, some bird flew close and chirped twice before flying away. Nalan Mingyue stared at the green bed curtains, as if wanting to uncover Wu Ruoxi's conspiracy immediately. Li Shi and Song Shi thought more, according to Wu's cleverness, she shouldn't do such a stupid thing like pretending to be unconscious. If it was really unconscious, what could have caused it?

  After a good while, the imperial physician finally spoke in an unhurried tone, yet instantly drew everyone's full attention: "This princess should be pregnant, only her pulse is weak and she has been overthinking, so her qi and blood are not flourishing, which is why she fainted. I'll just prescribe a few doses of medicine to help her recover."

  It turned out that the reason why Wu Ruoxi fainted was something they least wanted to see.

  The one who least expected this outcome was Nalan Mingyue, her expression was stunned for a long time. Song and Li also recovered to normal in just a few breaths, smiling and opening their mouths: "I didn't expect it to be such a big happy event."

  Quan Pei got up and faintly instructed Yulan: "From now on, serve your master well. If you want to eat or use something, come find me."

  Yu Lan hastily responded with a "yes", but her tone couldn't hide the excitement, as Master's pregnancy would definitely cancel out the previous punishment. More importantly, if Master gave birth to a young master, all previous crimes might be written off, allowing her to make a beautiful comeback and become the top person among the several gege (a term of respect for high-ranking women in the imperial court).

  Yin Zan was still wearing his dragon robe, and his demeanor became even more majestic and awe-inspiring. Quan Pei was about to leave when the curtain was lifted, and she saw Yin Zan walking in: "There's no one in the front courtyard, why are you all gathered here?"

  Quan Pei smiled with a raised corner of her mouth: "Madam Wu is pregnant, the imperial physician just checked, and I'm here to congratulate you."

  Yuanyuan said, and then several others followed to congratulate him. Yongzheng's face indeed showed a few more joyful expressions: "How is Madame Wu?"

  "My body isn't feeling well, I just fainted."

  A faint explanation by Guan Yu, was immediately supplemented by Song Shi: "However, the imperial physician said it's nothing serious, ultimately it's because of overthinking."

  Quan Pei punished Wu Shi by making her do the sweeping and cleaning work, now Wu Shi has fainted and cannot say that it has nothing to do with Quan Pei's punishment. If she really miscarried because of this, Quan Pei will be blamed. Song Shi is actually kind-hearted, wanting to tell Yongzheng that Wu Ruoxue's fainting was also due to her own excessive thinking, and has little to do with Quan Pei.

  Yin Zan roughly understood the relationship between them, and after glancing at Wu Shi who was still lying down, he planned to go out with Quan Pei. The Song family members saw through it, in the end, the master didn't want to hurt Fu Jun's face or dignity for these unimportant matters. However, Wu Ruoxue happened to make a soft noise and slowly woke up.

  So he had no choice but to turn around and say a few more words to Wu Ruoxi.

  Wu Ruoxi was indeed still a bit weak, and she heard Quan Peisheng say to her: "You're pregnant now, so you must take good care of yourself from now on." Wu Ruoxi herself hadn't expected that she could get pregnant, and she was stunned for quite a while.

  The Song family, Li family and Nalan Mingyue all congratulated, in front of Yongzheng, no matter how unhappy they were, they all hid it in their hearts.

  Wu Ruoxi and others reacted with extreme joy, bursting into tears and sobbing uncontrollably.

  "Grandpa is talking with Madame Wu, I'll leave first."

  Quan Pei said with a bow, Yin Zhen slightly paused, seeing Wu Shi's pale face and unable to stop crying, had to nod slightly: "Alright."

  Wei Ni led a few gege out of the house, leaving only Yongzheng and Wu Ruoxi inside. Faintly, one could still hear Yongzheng's rare gentle tone, everyone felt complicated emotions, children were indeed a woman's protective charm, Wu Ruoxi who was previously trampled on and couldn't turn over had suddenly become the new favorite, if she gave birth to another little prince, it was unknown what would happen...

  A group of women passed by the front gate, and it seemed that the third-day banquet at Da Furen's place had already ended. Nalan Mingyue saw her sister Nalan Dejiang stop in her tracks, and she stole a glance at Quan Pei's expression, which seemed to be okay. After Quan Pei entered the main house, she quickly left the courtyard.

  Li stood at the door and took a look outside, Nalan Mingyue was going to vent her grievances or find help, Chun Guo Wang's concubine was not a simple role, don't know how many gege were her model...

  Sisters hadn't seen each other for a good few days, Nalan Shi looked at Nalan Mingyue for a long time, but before she could even open her mouth, Nalan Mingyue had already fallen into tears with a look of grievance: "......That Wu Ruoxi is pregnant now, and who knows how much more trouble she'll cause me after she gives birth?"

  "Why cry? Isn't there still sister?"

  "Although sister cares about me, but throughout the year, we can only meet a few times, how can sister help me?"

  Nalan Clan's substitute, Nalan Mingyue, wiped away her tears and lowered her voice: "With so many people in the courtyard, can't they all wait for Wu Ruoxue to safely deliver the child? What's the hurry? Just be your usual foolish princess!"

  It seems that Nalan Mingyue has become somewhat more resentful: "Sister doesn't know that our courtyard is different from others, with Fu Jun in it, no one dares to act rashly, what sister said is of no use, and in the end, I'm also implicated, it's not worth it!"

  The sun had gradually shifted to the west, and the women who came to congratulate her were also dwindling in number, leaving only a few scattered ones. Nalan knew she couldn't stay for long, so she made it brief: "I heard that you'll be moving out of the palace in a few days, and when that happens, who knows what will happen amidst the chaos? Let's just say that once you're out of the palace and living outside, we sisters will have more opportunities to meet. Be patient, sister, I'll give you some advice!"

  Nalan Mingyue bid farewell to Nalan, with a mix of reluctance and longing. She stood still for a long time after he left, until Zi'er reminded her. She then turned around and slowly walked back to the courtyard, just as Yongzheng was coming out from behind the building. She stopped again, waiting for him to enter the main house. Only after he did so did Nalan Mingyue wipe away her tears and return to her own room.

  I didn't expect Grandpa to stay in Wu Ruoxue's house for so long...

  As the sound of Yongzheng's footsteps faded away, Wu Ruoxue slowly wiped away the tears on her face. She knew that crying was bad for her body, and she was already weak to begin with, unable to withstand any more turmoil. But she also wanted to know what position the child in her belly held in Yongzheng's heart.

  When had she ever heard Yongzheng speak in such a gentle tone? It could also be seen that Yongzheng still attached great importance to the child in her belly. She stroked her still flat abdomen, and a smile slowly appeared at the corner of her mouth. As long as Yongzheng valued someone, he would think twice before taking action...

  Quan Pei changed into a light green casual dress, sat on the kang and lowered her head to do needlework. The golden sunset poured in through the open window, casting a golden edge on the flowers on the windowsill and Quan Pei's profile. The bright red small clothes in Quan Pei's hand were particularly eye-catching and warm. Yin Zhen sat down beside Quan Pei: "Making more clothes for Bao Ge?"

  "Uh-huh."

  Yongzheng grasped Quanpei's hand, forcing the activity in Quanpei's hand to stop and look up at Yongzheng.

  Yongzheng smiled and said: "Let's have a brother or sister for Bao Ge."

  Wu Ruoxi was just pregnant, and Yin Zhen said such words. Quan Pei's eyes sparkled like the stars in the sky, and the faint smile at the corner of her mouth was like the fragrance of orchids, which moved people's hearts: "Isn't Wu's wife just pregnant?"

  Yu Yan seemed to be waiting for Quan Pei to say this sentence: "Your child is different from others."

  "What's the difference between us, after all we are of the same flesh and blood?"

  "Because you're different from others to me."

  In the deep, narrow and long eyes, a cluster of gorgeous fireworks seemed to be blooming, making Quan Pei feel inexplicably familiar. She smiled lightly and slightly lowered her eyes: "I understand your heart."

  Yongzheng's eyes gradually showed a smile: "You understand, that's good."

  Is it because you're afraid that she'll be heartbroken or sad for Wu Ruoxue's sake, so you're deliberately making your feelings clear? A small unknown insect on the windowsill was trapped in the midst of blooming flowers and couldn't find its way out. It frantically dashed about, looking comical to outsiders, but the insect itself couldn't help feeling lost in its predicament.

  At night, Yongzheng was exceptionally energetic, as if fulfilling what he said during the day. Quanpei's fingernails were deeply embedded in Yongzheng's sturdy back, and Yongzheng became more and more fiercely passionate, with rolling sweat beads, enchanting eyes, and entwined black hair, seemingly telling a story of complicated love...

  Nalan Mingyue's simple words made Nalan think for a whole night, not allowing the gege to stretch out their hands at will. What kind of mentality is this? She can't believe that this fourth fu jin would truly be good for the gege, women are all the same, pretending to be virtuous on the surface but actually jealous and resentful in their bones, wishing others would die early so they could have all the children in the back house to themselves.

  She had slept poorly at night and got up early with some swelling in her eyes. Just as she was rubbing the outer corner of her eye, a maid came in and said: "The master has left from Niu Gege's place."

  She's not simple, is she? She just slightly lost her train of thought and got the county king stuck with her. With a cold smile, she said: "I know, you go ask her, how are those clothes and socks she made for Furen doing? Our house only has one person who is good at needlework, besides her no one else can do it, tell her to hurry up and finish them quickly and send them to Furen, lest Furen gets unhappy."

  The concubine was having trouble with Nalan, so she ordered Nalan to do needlework. Nalan pushed it off saying her body wasn't feeling well and passed it on to Niu instead. Several hundred pieces of clothing and socks had to be finished within a month, let's see how much energy Niu has left to flirt with the Duke.

  Nalan raised her hand, and the maid behind her whispered: "In the presence of Duchess Rong, I saw that Princess Kejing seemed to have a good relationship with Fourth Madame."

  The pure county king wanted to call Kang Shizi an uncle, and the two families had always been on good terms. She was also very polite to Kang Shizi's wife, who had been ill for a long time. If she could get in touch with Si Furen through Kang Shizi's wife, it would be beneficial for herself and her sister in the future. With this thought, she ordered loudly: "Pack up the gifts, I'm going to visit Kang Shizi's wife!"

  On the sixth day of July, it was a good day to move. The three princes, Da A Ge, San A Ge, and Si A Ge, all moved houses at the same time, which was not a small matter. Early in the morning, everything had been packed onto horse-drawn carriages and taken away. Rong Bao and Yin Xiang went to bid farewell to Cining Palace, Qianqing Palace, and Yonghe Palace one after another. It wasn't until almost noon that they returned to their own courtyard. The horse-drawn carriages were already prepared, and several gege (a title for imperial princesses) and the servants who were going out of the palace with them were waiting in the courtyard. Wu Ruoxi, being pregnant, enjoyed special treatment, sitting on a chair and waiting, and when leaving the palace, she had her own horse-drawn carriage.

  Only after Quan Pei hugged Bao Ge'er and got on the carriage, did the rest of the people get on one by one. Adding to that, almost at the same time, two other families went out, it was truly a grand crowd.

  The prince stood high and looked into the distance, these few brothers all went their separate ways, from then on they openly had their own power and subordinates. Is it really as Songgotu said, that the emperor has begun to restrict him? Or is it because of the eldest brother's matter, did the emperor smell something fishy or did the eldest brother say something in front of the emperor? It wasn't like there hadn't been similar situations before, so why this time did the emperor take real action?