Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 363 Madam Yun's Meaning

According to Meng Shu, she would not have chosen to announce her pregnancy through Physician He on Consort Chun's birthday.

After all, announcing the good news on such an occasion would not only diminish the favor that should have belonged to Consort Chun, but would also attract the attention of the entire palace and create unnecessary trouble.

But this was Madam Yun's idea.

Lady Yun's considerations were not without merit. Firstly, since today was Consort Chun's birthday, the Emperor should have stayed overnight at Huining Palace according to custom. However, if it were made public now, the Emperor, considering her early pregnancy, would most likely change his mind and stay at Lingcui Palace. This arrangement would satisfy Consort Chun's wishes.

Secondly, Lady Yun said, "Instead of hiding it, it's better to let the Emperor know sooner rather than later." This would save her the trouble of going to Renming Hall to pay her respects every day, and also give her the opportunity to openly receive the Emperor's protection so she could focus on her pregnancy.

There's another layer to it: if the Emperor changes his route and goes to Meng Shu's place tonight, he'll inevitably feel indebted to Consort Chun. This indebtedness might be compensated for with more favor in the future.

With Meng Shu's intelligence, how could she not guess Madam Yun's thoughts?

However, she also hoped that Consort Chun would soon conceive a child after her birthday. To this end, she specially arranged for Consort Chun to wear the long-unseen Kunfeng pendant to the banquet, and the Emperor was indeed slightly moved upon seeing it...

Closer to home.

Upon learning that Meng Shu was over a month pregnant, the Emperor was overjoyed, his face beaming with undisguised delight. "No wonder Shu'er has been so listless these days; it turns out she's pregnant!"

Physician He bowed and replied, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. I swear on my life that I have not made a mistake. Physician Jian is waiting outside the hall. Shall we summon him in for another examination?"

Meng Shu gently stroked her still flat stomach with her fingertips and said softly, "I naturally trust Physician He's medical skills."

The Emperor stepped forward and took Meng Shu's hand, his expression gentle: "Shu'er, rest here for now. I will personally escort you back to Lingcui Palace later."

Meng Shu smiled and nodded in agreement, her gaze seemingly catching a glimpse of the brocade box peeking out from Jing Ming's sleeve. She asked curiously, "What is that in Eunuch Jing's hand?"

Jingming had not seen the Emperor with such a joyful expression in a long time, and for a moment he forgot about it.

When asked about it, he immediately recounted the whole story of the medicine comb.

The Emperor's smile froze instantly. He slowly turned to look at Physician He and said in a deep voice, "Have you thoroughly examined this? What potential risks might there be if this medicated comb, used to relieve headaches, were used on an ordinary person?"

Upon hearing this, Physician He hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, herbs like Curcuma zedoaria and Ligusticum chuanxiong have the effect of promoting blood circulation and regulating qi. They are generally harmless for ordinary people. However, if a pregnant woman uses this herbal comb for a long time, she may... risk miscarriage within three months."

Furthermore, it's unknown what medicinal ingredients were used in this jade comb; it needs to be dissected to investigate.

The Emperor frowned slightly, unable to help but think that if Consort Chun happened to be pregnant, the consequences of using this medicated comb would be unimaginable.

He immediately instructed, "Physician He, please carefully examine Consort Chun's pulse later." He then ordered Jingming to summon Consort Chun to the inner palace.

Meng Shu seemed startled, her face turning even paler. She clenched her sleeves tightly, saying with a mixture of worry and lingering fear, "Your Majesty, Consort Chun has never suffered from headaches. Why did Consort Xie give Consort Chun a medicinal comb?"

The Emperor raised his hand and gently patted Meng Shu's hand, comforting her, "Shu'er, please rest assured. We will decide on the specifics after Physician He examines her again."

Having said that, he ordered Physician He to break open the jade comb on the spot to examine it.

Physician He accepted the order and instructed the eunuch following behind him to fetch water, wine, vinegar, and goat's milk to aid in the examination.

......

As soon as Consort Chun entered the palace, she smelled a sour and astringent odor. Then she saw the imperial physician steaming a jade comb with hot vinegar. (Note: Steaming with hot vinegar can evaporate the rose dew that masks the fragrance.)

Physician He was nearing retirement age, and this busy schedule had left him feeling exhausted. Jingming thoughtfully suggested, "Imperial Physician Jian and Imperial Physician Chen are both on duty outside the palace. Your Majesty, would you like to summon them?"

The Emperor waved his hand in acknowledgment, and Jingming immediately sent someone to invite him. Physician He cast a grateful glance at Jingming and took out a pulse pillow to take Consort Chun's pulse.

About fifteen minutes later.

Physician He put away the pulse pillow, stood up and reported: "Your Majesty, Consort Chun's pulse is in harmony and there is no major problem, only a slight sign of liver qi stagnation. I will devise a prescription to soothe the liver and relieve stagnation later, and she will recover after a period of recuperation."

Upon entering the inner palace, Consort Chun was immediately pulled aside to have her pulse checked, leaving her completely bewildered.

It must have been tough on her.

She knew nothing about the medicine comb, and she also had to act as if she had just learned that Meng Shu was pregnant, so she had to make an appropriate response on the spot.

Fortunately, while pretending to be "annoyed," Meng Shu quickly told her the whole story.

Consort Chun knew perfectly well that Consort Xie had ill intentions, but she reacted just as Meng Shu had, her voice carrying just the right amount of confusion: "I have never suffered from headaches. What is the meaning of Consort Xie giving me a medicinal comb at my birthday banquet?"

Jingming's whisk trembled slightly as he secretly clicked his tongue in amazement. Not only were the two ladies of the same mind, but their words were also exactly the same.

The Emperor's gaze lingered on Consort Chun's flat stomach for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly. If Consort Xie truly knew Consort Chun was pregnant and thus plotted this wicked scheme, it would be somewhat understandable. But now, the imperial physician's pulse diagnosis clearly showed no pregnancy, making this action seem rather suspicious.

At this moment, inside the main hall of Linde Hall.

Seeing that Consort Chun was suddenly summoned to the inner palace, the Empress and the other concubines looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what had happened.

Only Xie Meiren felt uneasy.

The day before, her spy planted in Lingcui Palace had secretly reported that Consort Chun was pregnant. After verifying the information from various sources, she took the opportunity of delivering the birthday gift to send the prepared medicine comb.

The comb was repeatedly scented with rosewater, so no one could detect anything amiss.

The jade comb was scented with rose dew, so no one could tell.

Thinking of this, Xie Meiren calmed herself down a little.

Little did she know that the Empress had already seen through her restless state. Xingyu had just told her what had happened in the side hall, and the Empress was speechless upon hearing it.

Using Dong'er's words was merely a test to gauge the situation; if someone took the bait, it would be a perfect opportunity to "use someone else's knife to kill." Originally, it was just an insignificant arrangement, but who would have thought that Xie Meiren would be so reckless and foolish, not only acting rashly but also leaving loose ends.

In her anger, the Empress quickly gave a wink to the old nanny Gui beside her.

Seeing this, Granny Gui quietly left Linde Hall and headed towards Lingcui Palace.

......

Inside the inner palace.

He Yizheng, together with Jian Zhi and Chen Taiyi, cut the jade comb into several pieces. Using the ancient method of soaking in water, they soaked the jade comb fragments in sheep's milk and wine respectively. They quickly discovered that the jade comb had also been fumigated and soaked with safflower for as long as half a year.

The emperor was furious, his face ashen.

Consort Chun exclaimed in surprise, "No wonder Consort Xie kept subtly inquiring about whether my health had improved. Could it be that seeing me ill for two days, she suspects I'm pregnant and is therefore plotting to harm me?"

"Wan'er, rest assured, fortunately the servants discovered it early. Since Consort Xie truly harbored malicious intentions, I will punish her severely to uphold palace discipline."

The Emperor spoke to comfort Consort Chun, his voice slow but already tinged with coldness.

Meng Shu frowned slightly and asked at the opportune moment, "Your Majesty, Consort Chun has only been ill for two days. How can Consort Xie be so certain that she is pregnant?"

The Emperor immediately understood and sternly ordered Jingming to have the Imperial Household Department conduct a thorough investigation!

The birthday banquet, which was supposed to be a joyous occasion, had to be cut short due to this unexpected turn of events.

Seeing Consort Xie being led away, the other concubines had various expressions.

Especially after learning that Consort Meng was pregnant, the Empress almost lost her composure. Consort Shen also suffered a miscarriage due to her emotional distress, causing the imperial physicians to be in a flurry of activity.

Night was falling.

The Emperor, who should have stayed overnight at Huining Palace according to custom, was now preoccupied with Meng Shu's pregnancy.

He gently comforted Consort Chun for a few moments, then escorted Meng Shu back to Lingcui Palace.