Qi Sheng was apparently serious about keeping this child. Not only did he sent over Physician Song over to take my pulse daily, he also sent two senior maids to look after my diet. Essentially, it was a prison in all but name in my own palace.
Honestly, I very much detested those two senior maids whose grim faces were typical of those elder women entering menopause. Besides, the mere sight of them remained the suffering I was to go through when I gave birth in the near future. I ordered Lv Li to send those two maids packing and back to Qi Sheng. I didn"t expect that Lv Li and Xie Yi would kneel before me, each holding onto one of my legs and pleaded, "Your Majesty, have mercy on us. Stop acting up like this. We couldn"t just turn away the maids sent by the Emperor!"
Unable to move with two of my legs restrained by their hands, I was getting more and more vexed. Giving birth to a child was by no means a walk in the park. It took tremendous efforts and gravitation to pull a child out of a woman"s body. The mere thought of the scene gave me such shudder.
I spent each pa.s.sing day feeing fidgeted and the next thing I knew, it was the Dragon Boat Festival. There was a visible bulge in my belly, and it was only then did Qi Sheng loosen his watch on me. As a result of this, I was able to see the Bathroom Lord once more on the annual ball game, though from a distance and in a public area where I couldn"t exchange information with him.
This year, Qi Sheng was to host the game. Without his meddling, Zhao w.a.n.g was finally able to get rid of his usual green outfit and changed into something golden.
This year, Jiang shi spent her time feeling sorry for her fate in the Youlan Hall. In her absence, the game went well without a single incident of man falling off the horse.
This year, I didn"t have to disguise what a lousy rider I was and simply sat myself atop the Baojin Tower to admire all the beauties. However, this year the Baojin Tower wasn"t nearly as lively as it had been last year.
All the beauties in Baojin Tower were new faces. Except for a few pregnant ones, the rest of the concubines of the late Emperor was nowhere to be found. Coupled with the fact that Qi Sheng hadn"t taken in many concubines, the tower seemed rather empty in comparison to its former glory.
The Empress Dowager was apparently not oblivious to this change and she said to me with a solemn tone, "I know you are pregnant and tired, but you still have to look after the Emperor"s well beings. It"s the nation"s blessing that it should have a diligent, dedicated Emperor, but the Emperor needs more sons!"
Her words had struck a deep chord in my heart. I hurriedly nodded, "Indeed, mother. I have been planning to bring in more virtuous women into the royal palace. But I am afraid that the Emperor might be rather shy in this regard and I was about to bring this matter up with you and ask for your opinion on this."
After hearing those words, a smile crept up on the mouth of the Empress Dowager.
But who would have thought that the Grand Empress Dowager would raise her objection before the Empress Dowager could say anything, "The young Emperor has just ascended to the throne and the Empress is still pregnant? There is no rush for selecting new girls for the Emperor. It can wait for a few more years."
Upon hearing those words, I noticed that the look on the Empress Dowager"s face had turned sour.
I thought for a while and replied with a smile on my face, "You are right, grandma."
The Empress Dowager gritted her teeth.
I then added, "But there are only a few people around the Emperor, and they are his old servants back when he was the crown prince. The way I see it, since we aren"t going to throw a formal selection, we should at least choose some good ones with excellent temperaments."
This time the Empress Dowager had learn from her mistake and immediately replied, "Brilliant, such a good idea! I think this would work!"
I also didn"t give the Grand Empress Dowager a chance to reject and immediately instructed Lv Li, "Get a list of all the pretty and virtuous maids and have it delivered to the Xing Sheng Palace. I will select some good ones for the Emperor!"
Afterwards, I turned around and said, "Grandma, mother. I don"t want you to think I am being nosy, but if there are good candidates over at your places, I wouldn"t hesitate to ask for them!"
The Empress Dowager smiled and replied, "That"s very considerate of you."
The Grand Empress Dowager simply gave a gentle smile and remain silent.
Over there at the field, the game had already come to an end. Qi Sheng trotted around the field on top of his high horse and then galloped to the Baojin Tower. He jumped off the horse and rushed up stairs. He then addressed both the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager before sitting down next to me.
I puckered up my lips and stole a glance at the Bathroom Lord who was coming in our direction. Deep down, I thought if I could get down there, I might be able to have a few words with him.
With this thought, I stood up. Qi Sheng was surprised by my sudden movement and held up my hands to help me. He gently asked, "What"s wrong?"
I gave him an embarra.s.sed look and told him that it was the "nature"s call."
Qi Sheng was first surprised and immediately his surprise look was replaced with a smile
I slightly nodded my head and brought Lv Li with me to go downstairs in composure. As luck would have it, I find the Bathroom Lord at the corner next to the stairs.
The Bathroom Lord looked at me with a gentle smile on his face and stepped aside, "Your Majesty."
I looked at him, suddenly not knowing what to say to him. There was simply no easy way to explain it, and somehow, I felt rather guilty. As I pa.s.sed through him, I whispered, "I didn"t see this coming. This is not what I want."
The look on the Bathroom Lord"s face froze for a bit and he then gently replied, "I trust you."
Upon hearing this, I halted my steps, my admiration for him growing even stronger.
What an excellent actor he was. These three words alone were enough to sweep a girl off her feet.
After I took a few more steps downstairs, I heard a flurry of food steps going up and the man didn"t stop until ran into me. He looked up and saw me. The sight of me brought a scare look on his face and he turned tail immediately.
I growled, "Yang Yan, stop!"
Yang Yan reluctantly turned around and cast a surprised look at me as if he just saw me. He exclaimed, "Oh, Your Majesty. It"s been a while since I saw you last time. How have you been lately?"
Indeed. Ever since I pushed him off the boat in the Wan river, I had never seen him again. I slowly nodded my head and made my descent down the last few stairs with my hands supported by Lv Li. I then circled around Yang Yan and smiled, "Haven"t seen you in ages. Have you been staying in Taixing?"
There were visible beads of sweats on Yang Yan"s forehead. He hurriedly replied, "Yes, that"s right."
I leaned over to him and softy asked, "Are you still learning how to swim in the w.a.n.g river? Any improvement?"
Yang Yan raised his sleeve to wipe off the sweat and obediently replied, "Yes, I have."
Revenge is a dish best served cold. I then smiled and left him. Sure enough, Yang Yan lunged forward and caught up with me. He asked with surprise written all over his face, "That"s it?"
I smiled, "No."
Yang Yan twitched his eyebrows in bewilderment and waited silently for what I had to say next.
But I simply puckered up my lips and went out with Lv Li to another room. However, I didn"t feel like peeing and so I came back shortly after. I didn"t want to go upstairs to join Qi Sheng and so I simply sent a message to him and took Lv Li with me back to the palace.
Night fell, and out of blue, Qi Sheng surprisingly came to Xing Sheng Palace in staggering steps. He had obvious been drinking wines.
I was not surprised, and Lv Li was also jubilant as she served tea for Qi Sheng.
Qi Sheng waved his hands, telling Lv Li and the rest of the maids to leave. After that, he said, "He Bingze asked me to grand him a marriage."
I was struck dumb, "With Zhang Er?"
Though being affected by the alcohol, his otherwise watery eyes were as bright as ever. He smiled, "Yeah, he said that he wants to do the right thing and marry her."
I was shocked. I only planned to get Zhang Er to seduce He Bingze and brought the He clan and the Zhang clan together. Who would have thought that he would ask Qi Sheng for permission to marry her.
I didn"t see this coming.
Qi Sheng squinted at me and asked, "Well, any thought?"
I nodded in agreement, "Bravo, I didn"t expect he was a responsible type."
Qi Sheng raised up the corner of his lips in despise and asked, "And?"
I thought for a while and replied, "Miss Zhang Er is really smart!"
Qi Sheng sneered and leaned towards me over the desk. He stared at me and said, "Still want to play dumb with me? Isn"t this what you have been looking for?"
I was wondering if he was triggered by He Bingcheng, so I knowingly shut my mouth and reminded myself that silence was as valuable as gold.
I was surprised that Qi Sheng didn"t give up. Instead, he reached out to touch my face while murmuring in a lonely voice, "Are all the women in your family so conniving like you?"
Hearing his words, I felt so uncomfortable. I tried to control myself, but in vain. Consequently, I dragged his hand and asked, "Is that a compliment for me or Zhang Pengpeng? I want to get a few things straight. Firstly, I"m not technically a member of Zhang clan, neither is Jiang shi; secondly, I wasn"t conniving. If I had been as scheming as Jiang shi, I would not have ended up like this.
Qi Sheng was dumbfounded and gradually withdrew his hand.
I was shocked by what a nagging woman I had become. Was it because of the pregnancy? What I just said was tantamount to a slap in Qi Sheng"s face.