The Empress Arrives: Rebirth of Concubine Hua

Chapter 199 Seeds of Doubt

At two o'clock in the morning, Songzhi came to Nian Shilan's bed, took a quick look, and saw that Nian Shilan was indeed awake.

"What's the matter?"

Song Zhi said.

"As the master expected, something big will happen tonight. I just heard from Xiao Linzi that there was a commotion outside. Xiao Linzi remembered your instructions and did not open the door, but he quietly leaned over the wall and looked around. He vaguely heard the eunuch running by say that something happened in Yanqing Palace."

Nian Shilan turned over and sat up with a smile on her lips.

"Did you hear it clearly? What happened in Yanqing Palace?"

If Song Zhi didn't understand anything at this moment, she would be a fool. She also laughed.

"Master, don't worry. I have asked Xiao Linzi to go out and check quietly. I think we will know soon."

As soon as Songzhi finished speaking, Xiao Linzi outside said.

"My lord, Eunuch Su is outside asking to see you."

Nian Shilan motioned Songzhi to go out, and Songzhi stood in the corridor and said.

"Go and tell Eunuch Su that the queen is drunk and can't wake up. I'm going to make some sobering soup."

When Su Peisheng heard this, he had no choice but to go back to Yanqing Palace.

There were already a room full of imperial doctors standing in the Yanqing Palace. Yinzhen sat on a couch in the outer room with his head down, not saying a word.

Su Peisheng stepped forward with gritted teeth.

"Your Majesty, I thought that the Empress was pregnant and should not work hard, so I went to Yikun Palace to invite Concubine Hua. But Concubine Hua was probably in a good mood tonight and drank too much. She is still drunk and Songzhi couldn't wake her up. What do you think we should do?"

Yinzhen raised his head, his eyes were bloodshot.

"It won't work without female relatives here. The Queen is pregnant and can't work hard, Concubine Hua is drunk and can't get up, and Concubine Jing has to take care of Princess Kangle and can't come either. You can go to Suiyuxuan and ask Concubine Wan to come. I think she still needs some help."

Su Peisheng hurried to Suiyuxuan to invite Lady Wan.

When Lady Wan arrived, she realized that he had been woken up from his dream and got up in a hurry.

"I pay my respects to His Majesty. I wonder why His Majesty summoned me to Yanqing Palace in the middle of the night?"

Yinzhen was completely sober. When he looked up at Concubine Wan, she was startled.

"What happened to the Emperor? His eyes are bloodshot!"

Yinzhen's voice sounded very tired.

"Don't worry about me for now. Go in and see how Concubine Duan is doing. I'm confused. I drank a little and became emotional and lost control. I'm afraid I've hurt Concubine Duan."

Of course, Lady Wan understood what was going on. She hid her hand in her sleeve and squeezed the small packet of medicine rolled up in her handkerchief.

"Your Majesty, please don't worry. I will go in and see Sister Duan right away. Sister Duan and I have known each other for so long, and I will do my best to take care of her for Your Majesty."

Concubine Wan hurried into Concubine Duan's bedroom. Imperial Physician Fu, who was in charge of Concubine Duan's daily pregnancy care, wiped the sweat off his forehead and was putting away the acupuncture instruments at hand.

"Your humble servant has met Lady Wan. Concubine Duan has had bleeding, and I have used all my knowledge to stop the bleeding for her. My colleagues in the Imperial Hospital have jointly developed a prescription for preserving the pregnancy, and have given it to the palace maids to boil. I will feed it to Concubine Duan in a while to see how it works."

Concubine Wan walked to Concubine Duan's bed and saw that she was pale and her eyes were closed. She must be in too much pain and had no strength left. The wide brocade quilt covered the bed tightly.

"Since the imperial physician has already performed the acupuncture and prescribed medicine, why don't you ask the imperial physician to rest outside for a while? I'm afraid the servants will have to tidy up here. It will be inconvenient for the imperial physician to stay here."

Doctor Fu hurriedly bowed and said.

"As I should. As I should. I will take my leave."

Concubine Wan looked at the inner room and saw that besides her and her servant, there were only the unconscious Concubine Duan and her two personal maids. She sighed and shed a few tears.

"Sister Duan Fei is so pitiful. She is unconscious and has bleeding. I need you to change her quilt and blanket for her."

When Jixiang saw Concubine Wan crying, she was also moved and the tears she had been holding back for a long time fell.

"Thank you, Lady Wan, for your consideration for our Majesty. We will change right away."

A maidservant brought in a bowl of pregnancy-preserving medicine. Luo Yu took the medicine and exclaimed in a low voice.

"You brought this medicine even though it's so hot. Aren't you afraid of scalding Her Majesty?" The servant hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed.

"I thought that the Madam was still in a coma and needed to take the medicine as soon as possible, so I hurriedly brought it here."

Lady Wan said softly.

"It's okay, you can go down first. I'll give it to Sister Duanfei when the medicine cools down."

After saying that, she left Luo Yu in the inner room to help the palace maids in Yanqing Palace change their bedding and clothes. Concubine Wan took the medicine and went to the outer room, and sprinkled the medicine powder hidden in her handkerchief into the medicine bowl.

Concubine Wan relayed the imperial physician's words verbatim to Yinzhen.

After the initial panic, Yinzhen had calmed down. He was still wondering about Concubine Duan's pregnancy yesterday, but this happened today. It must be God helping him.

"I understand. Today is my fault. If the child cannot be saved, I will compensate Concubine Duan."

Concubine Wan placed the medicine in front of Yinzhen and sighed.

"This medicine was prescribed by the imperial physician to preserve the pregnancy. Whether Sister Duan Fei can keep this pregnancy depends on God's will. Your Majesty, please don't blame yourself. How do you know it's not because of Sister Duan Fei's poor health? Otherwise, she wouldn't have lost the pregnancy so easily."

Yinzhen looked at the bowl of medicine, then at Concubine Wan, and said.

"No matter what the reason is, it has already happened. I just hope that Concubine Duan can survive this. Try the medicine and bring it in to feed her."

Wan Guiren stretched out her hand to test the temperature and smiled.

"The temperature of the medicine is just right. In my opinion, it would be better if Your Majesty feeds the medicine to Sister Duan himself and waits for Sister Duan to get better."

Yinzhen held the still unconscious Concubine Duan in his arms and fed her the medicine spoonful by spoonful. Concubine Wan was always by her side with a smile on her face.

When Nian Shilan woke up from her "hangover", she heard that Concubine Duan had a miscarriage. Xiao Linzi leaned close to Nian Shilan and whispered.

"I heard that the Emperor was drunk last night and insisted on having sex with Concubine Duan. Normally, Concubine Duan was only three months pregnant and should not have sex with her, but the Emperor insisted.

She had started to bleed, so the imperial doctors used acupuncture to stop the bleeding for Concubine Duan, and prescribed medicine to preserve the pregnancy, but Concubine Duan had been weak during her pregnancy, so she still failed to preserve the dragon fetus.

Nian Shilan looked at herself in the mirror expressionlessly and raised her hand to stop Xiaoman from applying rouge on her.

"I am in a hurry to see Concubine Duan, so that's all."

When Nian Shilan appeared in Yanqing Palace with a pale face, Ulanara had already arrived.

"I drank too much last night and came late. I just heard about what happened last night when I woke up this morning. I wonder how Concubine Duan is doing now?"

Jianqiu was just taking a goose feather cushion and placing it on the couch, inviting Ulanara to sit down. Yinzhen had no expression on his face. He saw that Nian Shilan really looked like someone who had just woken up from a hangover, with a pale little face, and said.

"Go in and take a look, and comfort Concubine Duan. You have a low alcohol tolerance, so don't drink too much in the future. The queen is pregnant, and the harem has many things to do. You will have to work hard these days, and getting drunk will delay things."

Nian Shilan rarely showed a guilty look on her face and said hurriedly.

"I will follow the emperor's instructions. I will go see Concubine Duan first."

Concubine Duan was lying on the bed, her eyes were hollow, red and swollen, and she could no longer cry.

Nian Shilan stood not far away from Concubine Duan's bed, watching Jixiang taking a wet towel to wipe Concubine Duan's hands.

"I heard about what happened last night and rushed here. I drank too much last night, and when I woke up I heard that the emperor asked Eunuch Su to go to Yikun Palace to find me. It's a pity that you were in pain last night, and I didn't help you in time."

Concubine Duan didn't want to talk and turned her face to the inside of the bed, but Nian Shilan didn't care at all.

"I know that you always dislike my domineering attitude and don't want to see me. Then I won't bother you any more. The Queen is pregnant and I have many things to do. I will come to see you in a few days. You should take good care of yourself. If you need anything, please send someone to see me."

Nian Shilan turned around and walked out, speaking to Songzhi in a neither loud nor soft voice.

"Tell me, what kind of thing is this? The Queen just got pregnant, but Concubine Duan's child is gone. How could such a coincidence happen in the world, and it happened in the palace. It's pitiful."

When Concubine Duan heard these words, it was like a heavy hammer hitting her heart.

Yes, what a coincidence.

It so happened that during the New Year's Eve banquet in the whole palace, it was diagnosed that the Queen was pregnant, and it so happened that the Emperor, who usually had a good alcohol tolerance, could not control himself last night.

Hua Fei's unintentional words planted a seed of doubt in Duan Fei's heart.