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Translator's note: Finally there are advance chapters availaible on Kofi
Chapter 98
The birthday gift Zhou Měirén prepared for Gu Han was a pair of jade bracelets. Even at a glance, Gu Han could tell this pair of jade bracelets was priceless, naturally formed and exquisitely smooth. Carrying the brocade box back to the palace, Zhou Měirén's words still seemed to linger in her ears:
"This was a gift from my aunt, but the first time I saw you, I felt this pair of jade bracelets would suit you very well."
Gu Han lowered her eyes to look at the brocade box. Jiu Nian said softly beside her: "Zhou Měirén was very thoughtful."
Who could say otherwise?
Gu Han took the jade bracelets from the brocade box. The mutton-fat white jade bracelets on her delicate wrists, it was hard to say who complemented whom, each enhancing the other's beauty. Jiu Nian glanced at them several times. When Gu Han became somewhat drowsy, she said:
"This servant will remove the bracelets for my lady first."
Gu Han agreed: "Put them away safely. Tomorrow at morning greetings, I'll wear them."
Seeing her like this, Jiu Nian found it somewhat amusing:
"Speaking of which, His Majesty has also given my lady many jade bracelets, but you've never valued them this much."
Wind chimes made of pearls hung in the inner hall, tinkling in the breeze. Hearing this, Gu Han was silent for a long while before saying softly:
"This is different."
But how it was different, Gu Han couldn't say.
On the first day back at the palace, exhausted from the journey, Gu Han slept until evening before rising. A message came from the imperial presence, she was to attend the Emperor's bedchamber at Changchun Hall tonight. She was completely stunned, asking in confusion:
"Did I hear wrong?"
Palace servants at Changchun Hall were busy cleaning the palace. Jiu Nian said with a mixture of tears and laughter: "This servant doesn't know either. Eunuch Liu personally came to deliver the edict, there couldn't be a mistake."
Gu Han glanced outside. The sunset's afterglow had only a trace of red remaining. The sky was gradually darkening. Lotus lanterns had already been lit at the four corners of Changchun Hall. She sat stupefied on the bed for a long time before gradually coming to her senses.
Her abdomen was heavy. It wasn't easy for Gu Han to even get down from bed. She was thoroughly puzzled about why the Emperor would come to Changchun Hall, but she didn't show it at all on the surface, ordering someone to bring food from the kitchen.
Just after washing up, she heard Jiu Si say that shortly after she fell asleep, Ding Cáirén's palace had again summoned a physician.
Gu Han lowered her eyes while drying her hands. On the day Rong Bǎolín miscarried, no one knew when she had become pregnant, nor how long that medicine could last. If Ding Cáirén's pregnancy was truly the result of that medicine, the time for it to take effect would be within these few days.
When a woman was four months pregnant, her abdomen would begin to show slightly. Since it was fake, there was no way to make it real.
Ding Cáirén clearly didn't think her pregnancy was false, which was very strange. What was Rong Bǎolín's purpose in scheming against Ding Cáirén? Or rather, who did she want to scheme against using Ding Cáirén?
Gu Han wasn't clear, and precisely because of this, she had chosen to avoid Ding Cáirén at the Vacation Palace.
She always felt Ding Cáirén would be trouble.
About the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the imperial entourage arrived at Changchun Hall. Gu Han was rarely awake and led Jiu Nian and others out of the hall to greet him. Lu Yu raised his eyebrows teasingly:
"How rare indeed."
Perhaps because of the commotion with Ding Cáirén summoning the physician, when Gu Han saw the Emperor looking at her lower abdomen, he frowned and asked: "Has he been troubling you?"
Gu Han obediently shook her head:
"After returning, I slept until now. I haven't been uncomfortable."
Upon entering the inner hall, Lu Yu saw a brocade box on the vanity table. At a glance, he knew it wasn't something he had bestowed. Lu Yu withdrew his gaze and asked as if casually:
"I notice Han'er doesn't usually have any particularly favorite objects."
Gu Han was startled by the question. Since childhood, everything she ate and used had been the finest. Having seen too many precious things, she indeed had no particular preferences.
She looked at Lu Yu hesitantly and asked with uncertainty:
"Why does Your Majesty suddenly ask me this question?"
Lu Yu adjusted his sitting posture and said as if nothing was amiss: "Jiangnan sent a batch of brocades with many patterns. Whatever kind you like, I'll have Liu An send them to you."
Lu Yu often bestowed such silks and satins on her. Gu Han had long grown accustomed to it and answered without thinking:
"I'm not particular about these things."
Born with good looks, whatever pattern she wore, it was merely the person complementing the clothes.
After speaking, Gu Han also felt this answer was rather perfunctory. After thinking for a moment, she said: "If I had to choose, I would like orchids—elegant and understated."
Lu Yu seemed to have only asked casually. Having received an answer, he moved past the topic without further questions.
The evening meal was simple. Having slept so long, Gu Han was quite hungry, so Lu Yu rarely saw her eat more. This made him breathe an imperceptible sigh of relief.
At noon, he had dined with the Empress. Her pregnancy symptoms were much more severe than Gu Han's. One could say she vomited more than she ate. Lu Yu's noon meal had been perfunctory, but now seeing the woman with a good appetite, he also ate quite a bit.
After the meal, Lu Yu shook his head helplessly:
"Walk with me to aid digestion."
Gu Han agreed. Lu Yu didn't go far, only walking a few circles through the peach grove behind Yihe Palace. The peach blossoms were intensely fragrant and sweet. For some reason, after staying in the grove for a while, Gu Han felt somewhat uncomfortable.
She raised her hand to cover her nose and mouth. Not daring to ignore any situation, she tugged on Lu Yu's sleeve:
"Your Majesty, I don't feel well staying in this grove. Let's go back."
Lu Yu supported her, his brow furrowed tightly: "What's wrong?"
Gu Han covered her mouth and shook her head. Her cheeks were somewhat pale as she said weakly:
"Perhaps the peach grove's fragrance is too strong, making me feel uncomfortable."
Her abdomen was prominently swollen. Lu Yu didn't dare take her words lightly. After leaving the peach grove, Gu Han felt somewhat better, her cheeks gradually regaining color. Seeing this, Lu Yu breathed a sigh of relief and brought her back to Changchun Hall.
That night, the darkness was so thick it almost couldn't be dissolved. Lights in Changchun Hall had long been extinguished. No one knew how long the silence had lasted when suddenly a woman's suppressed painful moaning sounded in the hall.
The intermittent sounds rang in Lu Yu's ears. He raised his hand to embrace the woman beside him, but as soon as he touched her body, he felt a patch of cool dampness. He was suddenly alarmed and sat up straight.
He finally heard clearly—those moans weren't from a dream. In the darkness, Lu Yu couldn't see the woman's appearance clearly, only vaguely seeing the outline of her body curled up. In that instant, Lu Yu felt indescribably panicked and shouted angrily:
"Someone come!"
Bang…
The hall doors were pushed open. Liu An and others rushed in. When the candles were lit, everyone in the hall jumped in fright. Jiu Nian and Jiu Si rushed forward even more urgently: "My lady—!"
The bed curtains were pulled open. Lu Yu had thrown on an outer robe haphazardly and stood barefoot on the ground. On the bed, the woman was curled up, her forehead and body covered in cold sweat that soaked through her thin undergarment. Her fingers were white from gripping Lu Yu's sleeve, seemingly murmuring something continuously.
Lu Yu leaned closer to listen before making out what she was saying:
"...hurts...Your...Your Majesty...hurts..."
Lu Yu's heart stopped. He turned to Liu An and demanded furiously: "Where's the physician!"
Gu Han wore plain white undergarments. Jiu Nian stood by the bed, watching helplessly as the undergarment behind her seemed to be turning reddish. Her hands were trembling as she said in bewilderment:
"Blood...my lady is bleeding!"
Everyone followed her gaze and saw that trace of red behind Gu Han. Lu Yu's movements suddenly froze. He didn't even dare pull his sleeve free, afraid of disturbing the woman.
The physician arrived quickly. Along with the female physician, they straightened Gu Han's body. Seeing her body curled up abnormally, the female physician reached out to feel Gu Han's leg. The veins there were contracting violently. The female physician immediately said:
"Noble Lady Zhao has a leg cramp. This is also the cause of her pain."
The female physician didn't dare look at the dark red patch behind Noble Lady Zhao.
The physician quickly applied needles and checked Gu Han's pulse. After a bout of busyness, the physician wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said:
"Noble Lady Zhao has disturbed the fetal energy, and combined with pregnancy leg cramps, the pain caused her to lose consciousness in her sleep. Fortunately, medical attention was timely, the imperial heir in Noble Consort Zhao's womb is not in serious danger."
The woman was still covered in sweat from pain. Lu Yu grew irritated at the physician's words: "What about Noble Lady Zhao?"
The female physician kept kneeling as she massaged Gu Han's leg. Jiu Si had also gone down to prepare fetal-stabilizing medicine. Facing the Emperor's interrogation, the physician kept his head lowered and said:
"These cramps are all normal pregnancy reactions. The main reason Noble Lady Zhao is experiencing this is because the fetal energy was disturbed."
After a pause, the physician boldly said: "Although Noble Lady Zhao is now six months pregnant, it's best not to engage in intercourse during pregnancy."
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall wanted to bury their heads in their chests, not daring to breathe loudly.
Lu Yu's face immediately darkened. He wasn't so desperate that he would have intercourse with a woman during this period!
Lu Yu said through gritted teeth: "I did not have intercourse with her."
The physician paused, his brow furrowed tightly. He turned around and checked Gu Han's pulse again. This time, he was exceptionally careful. Everyone waited for a result. After a long while, the physician released his hand and asked:
"What did Noble Lady Zhao consume today? Was there anything unusual?"
Noble Lady Zhao's pregnancy had been very stable all along. It couldn't have disturbed the fetal energy for no reason.
Jiu Nian answered: "My lady's food and daily items are the same as usual."
Thinking of something, Jiu Nian suddenly looked toward the vanity table. She frowned and said:
"Only one thing was different from usual, Zhou Měirén gave my lady a pair of jade bracelets. But Zhou Měirén would never harm my lady!"
Gu Han trusted Zhou Měirén, so Jiu Nian had never suspected her either.
Having heard the commotion and rushed over, Zhou Měirén had just stepped onto the covered walkway of Changchun Hall when she heard Jiu Nian's resolute statement. She paused, lifted the curtain, and entered. She bowed to Lu Yu and met his gaze calmly:
"This pair of jade bracelets was a gift from my aunt. I would never harm Noble Lady Zhao. If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, you may have the physician examine them."
Even if she didn't say so, Lu Yu would have had the physician check. But the result came quickly, there was nothing wrong with this pair of jade bracelets.
Only then did Zhou Měirén's tense body relax. She would never harm Noble lady Zhao, but she feared someone might use her hand to attack Noble lady Zhao.
Lu Yu's expression was exceptionally grim.
Jiu Si stamped her feet anxiously. Suddenly, she said hurriedly: "After the evening meal today, my lady accompanied His Majesty to the peach grove for a walk. While in the grove, my lady felt unwell, but after returning, she recovered. We servants forgot about this matter. Physician, could my lady's condition be related to this?"
Actually, the Emperor had been present at the time, but Jiu Si didn't dare push responsibility onto the Emperor, so she said they had forgotten about it.
The peach grove covered too large an area. Without investigating, the physician didn't dare make any guarantees.
Lu Yu's face was somber. Remembering how deathly pale the woman had looked in the peach grove, he felt regretful. He shouldn't have carelessly dismissed the matter just because the woman said she was fine. Lu Yu said sternly:
"Level the peach grove behind Changchun Hall to the ground!"
His cold, heavy gaze fell on the physician, making him feel an oppressive tension:
"No matter what, you must find out the cause of Noble Lady Zhao's disturbed fetal energy!"
The woman had had this incident right under his nose. Her remaining consciousness had been to grip him, as if clutching the only lifeline. Just thinking about this made Lu Yu's heart feel blocked, an indescribable feeling weighing heavily and making him extremely uncomfortable.
Author's Note:
Kunning Palace: Empress
Yi'an Palace: Consort Shu
Xianleng Palace: Imperial Consort De
Zhaoyang Palace → Main Hall: Xiuyi He
Zhaoyang Palace → Side Hall: Rong Baolin
Yihe Palace → Changchun Pavilion: Female Lead
Rongcui Hall: Beauty Miao
Cuizhu Pavilion: Beauty Lin
Changning Courtyard: Zhou Meiren
Hanleng Palace → (Main Hall transferred to Side Hall): Talented Lady Yuan
Also appearing: Noble Lady Lin, Liu Baolin
Here are the ranks of imperial consorts:
- Empress (皇后 Huánghoù) — Head of the Imperial Harem
- Imperial Noble Consort (皇贵妃 Huáng Guìfēi) — Rank 1
- Noble Consort, Pure Consort, Virtuous Consort, Worthy Consort (贵妃、淑妃、德妃、贤妃 Guìfēi, Shūfēi, Défēi, Xiánfēi)** — Senior Rank 1 (The Four Consorts, with Noble Consort as the highest)
- Consort (妃 Fēi) — Junior Rank 2
- Bright Deportment, Bright Countenance (昭仪、昭容 Zhāoyí, Zhāoróng) — Senior Rank 3
- Cultivated Deportment, Cultivated Countenance (修仪、修容 Xiūyí, Xiūróng) — Junior Rank 3
- Noble Lady (贵嫔 Guìpín) — Senior Rank 4
- Imperial Concubine (嫔 Pín) — Junior Rank 4
- Beauty (美人 Měirén) — Senior Rank 5
- Talented Lady (才人 Cáirén) — Junior Rank 5
- Precious Grove (宝林 Bǎolín) — Senior Rank 6
- Imperial Woman (御女 Yùnǚ) — Junior Rank 6
- Palace Maid (宫女子 Gōngnǚzǐ) — Senior Rank 7
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