0p0 Chapter 204 The Legend of Zhen Huan, Consort Qi 17
Chapter 204 The Legend of Zhen Huan, Consort Qi 17
The next day, the orchids in the yard bloomed. Wen Yuan felt unwell early in the morning, her head was dizzy.
She called Jing'an over and pointed to the orchids that were blooming brightly in the main hall, saying, "Move these flowers outside; it makes me feel uneasy looking at them."
Jing'an quickly did as instructed, moving the orchids one by one into the yard.
Strangely enough, after Lan Hua moved away, Wen Yuan was at peace for more than ten days. But the good days didn't last long; that dizzy, headache-like feeling returned, and it was even worse than before. Wen Yuan's heart sank; she realized she was probably being plotted against. Without showing any emotion, she quietly instructed Jing An: "Search the main hall of Chuxiu Palace thoroughly, but don't alert anyone."
Jing An accepted the order and left, but after a thorough investigation, he found nothing unusual. Inside the main hall, Fang Lan, Jing An, and the others all wore solemn expressions; the atmosphere was so oppressive it was hard to breathe. Suddenly, Wen Yuan spoke up, asking, "Has anyone been making any moves in the main hall recently?"
Xiao Lengzi quickly stepped forward and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, we haven't discovered anyone playing tricks so far." Wen Yuan thought for a moment and then asked, "What has Xia Ju been doing lately?"
Xiao Lengzi pondered for a moment and said, "In March, Xia Ju went out at night and headed towards the Cold Palace. After she came back, I kept an eye on her but didn't see anything unusual about her. After that, she just did some chores like cleaning in the courtyard."
Wen Yuan remembered that Xiao Lengzi had indeed come to report that Xia Ju had gone out, and she had only told Xiao Lengzi to continue keeping an eye on things.
Jing An analyzed from the side, "Your Majesty, although this servant does not know what kind of medicine it is, the medicinal ingredient is definitely related to orchids. This servant has examined the orchids and found that the people in the flower room add eggshells and poultry bones to the soil. These are common things, so I speculate that it is the fragrance of the orchids that is causing the problem."
She paused, then said cautiously, "It must be the fragrance of orchids mixed with another medicine, but we don't know what that other medicine is yet."
Wen Yuan's pregnancy was fake. The baby incubator had raised the baby too well, and the premature birth was just right. She had also intended for Yi Xiu to take action, but she didn't expect it to backfire. The drug had made her dizzy and disoriented, and she guessed that she was allergic to something. She had taken a tube of allergy medicine last night.
This is a perfect opportunity to use a counter-plan, and it will also make her actions easier. It would be best if she could frame Yixiu.
Five or six days later, Wen Yuan felt the time was right. One night, she pretended to be about to give birth, and had Jing Fu inform the Emperor, Jing An inform the Empress, Fang Lan followed her into the delivery room, and Xiao Lengzi was responsible for keeping an eye on the others in Chuxiu Palace.
As soon as the midwife entered the delivery room, Wen Yuan secretly used the Illusionary Soul Pill. The midwife's eyes instantly became vacant, and she stood there occasionally muttering a few words, as if talking to herself. Fang Lan quietly stayed by Wen Yuan's side, her face tense, her eyes vacant as she watched everything.
Inside Jingren Palace, Jing'an trotted to the outside of the hall and gently knocked on the door. The young eunuch on night watch opened it a crack and asked impatiently, "What is it? Don't you know Her Majesty the Empress has already gone to bed?"
Jing An hurriedly said, "Eunuch, I am Jing An from Chuxiu Palace. Our Lady is going to give birth tonight."
Upon hearing this, the young eunuch's expression changed drastically. He quickly told Jing'an to wait while he ran off to report to the Empress.
Hearing the commotion, Jianqiu came over to inquire, and the young eunuch told her that Consort Jin was about to give birth. Jianqiu hurriedly went into the inner palace and said to Yixiu, "Your Majesty, Consort Jin has gone into labor." A hint of schadenfreude flashed in her eyes.
Upon hearing this, Yi Xiu's face lit up with a long-lost smile. "Hmph, then we'd better hurry up and go."
Over the past few months, seeing that Consort Wan and Consort Jin's pregnancies had been stable, she had suffered several bouts of headaches, and now she finally had a chance to vent her frustrations.
Yixiu quickly tidied herself up and hurried to Chuxiu Palace. The other concubines in the harem also received the news and rushed over one after another.
The first to arrive was Consort Jing of Xianfu Palace. She and Consort Jin were secret allies, so naturally she was most worried about Consort Jin's safety. She never expected that even though it was almost the Ghost Festival, Consort Jin would still fall victim to such a heinous act.
The Emperor was the last to arrive. As soon as he entered Chuxiu Palace, Yixiu led the concubines in paying their respects. Except for Consort Wan, everyone else was present.
"Rise." The Emperor, his expression grave, walked to the chair in the center and sat down, asking, "Empress, how is Consort Jin?"
With a hint of sadness on her face, Yixiu replied, "Your Majesty, Consort Jin went into labor at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM). Fanglan just reported that the cervix hasn't opened yet, and it's estimated that we'll have to wait quite a while longer." She was overjoyed, and the joy in her eyes was almost impossible to hide, but fortunately, it was dark and the Emperor didn't notice.
In the delivery room, Wen Yuan occasionally let out a few shouts. Watching the absent-minded midwife performing a nonsensical act, Wen Yuan almost couldn't help but laugh out loud. When she heard Yi Xiu's voice just now, she quickly told Fang Lan to go out and report.
An hour passed, and the concubines sat outside with worried expressions, but no one knew what they were really thinking.
The sounds from the delivery room grew louder and louder, and the Emperor could no longer sit still, pacing back and forth in the courtyard. He thought of how Wen Yuan had been found out six days ago that she had been assassinated and that her fetus was unstable, and his heart was filled with anger and worry. Even with her and his protection, the harem was still so unsafe.
It seems we need to thoroughly reorganize the Imperial Household Department and the people in the palace. A hint of seriousness flashed in the Emperor's eyes. If even he couldn't defend against it, what if he were the one who was assassinated? Wouldn't he have died quietly?
"Your Majesty, push harder, the cervix is dilated!" a midwife shouted.
Another midwife was secretly making small movements on the ground, as if she was sprinkling some kind of powder.
Wen Yuan sat on the chair next to her, watching her performance, and found it extremely funny. This midwife was indeed an expert. By taking advantage of the blind spot, even the midwife next to her did not notice her movements.
When it was almost time, Wen Yuan took the baby prince out of the incubator. Seeing the child sleeping soundly, her heart melted.
Outside the delivery room, amidst Wen Yuan's cries, the Emperor paced anxiously back and forth in the courtyard.
Seeing the Emperor's anxious expression, Yixiu's face darkened, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed in her eyes.
An Lingrong nervously twisted her handkerchief, worried about being exposed but secretly excited, thinking: "If only Consort Jin were dead."
Although Consort Duan looked unwell, she still came. Ever since Consort Jin became pregnant, she had considered having an abortion to keep the child, but unfortunately, the Emperor personally protected Consort Jin's safety, so she had to give up.
A few days ago, she heard that Consort Jin had been assassinated, and she had been hoping that Consort Jin would die so that she could adopt her child. So as soon as she received the news that Consort Jin had launched an attack, she rushed over immediately.
Just then, Su Peisheng walked in, breaking the silence of Chuxiu Palace.
"Your Majesty, the time is almost up." He said helplessly. It was almost time for the morning court session, and the emperor still had to go back to change into his court robes.