The Crown Princess Is Jealous Again - Chapter 116

After much discussion, the villagers decided to remain in the capital, primarily to ensure a bright future for the next generation.

Xiao Beitang settled them on Fu’an Street, allowing them to choose the trades they preferred while providing the necessary funds and manpower to get them started. In truth, the amount Xiao Beitang gave was not excessive; granting some silver to a hundred villagers was a minor expense for the crown.

However, Xiao Beitang knew they were hardworking people and did not want their relationship to be soured by pure charity. Thus, she took great pains to plan their livelihoods, ensuring they could establish themselves in the capital and have something to rely on for generations to come.

A month later, when everything was settled and the villagers had gradually moved in, Auntie Wu opened her tofu shop. Song Qingqian even attended the grand opening in person to show her support.

Xiao Beitang felt that life could not possibly be better than this.

That night in Kunning Palace, Xiao Beitang returned a bit later than usual. She raised a hand slightly, signaling the attendants to withdraw.

Song Qingqian was reading a book, though she seemed somewhat distracted. Xiao Beitang sat beside her and asked, “What are you reading?”

“Just a miscellaneous collection. Was the court busy today?”

“A little,” Xiao Beitang said with a slight pout. “I wasn’t even able to join you for dinner. Qianqian, I missed you.” Nowadays, Xiao Beitang’s romantic endearments slipped out at every possible moment.

“Xiao Beitang,” Song Qingqian suddenly addressed her by her full name.

Xiao Beitang looked at her, puzzled. “What is it?”

After a moment of hesitation, Song Qingqian said, “My monthly cycle, it is two weeks late.”

“Your cycle? That means.” Xiao Beitang paused, her gaze slowly shifting to Song Qingqian’s abdomen.

“Have you summoned the imperial physician?” she asked, her brow furrowing, she didn’t look happy at all.

“What’s wrong? You look so tense.” Song Qingqian reached up to smooth the Emperor’s brow. “I only suspect it; I haven’t called the physician yet.”

Xiao Beitang stood up abruptly, looking as if she were facing a formidable enemy. She pressed her lips thin and stared intensely at Song Qingqian’s stomach. “Liu Zi! Summon the physician!”

Liu Zi hurried off.

The imperial physician arrived quickly and knelt to take Song Qingqian’s pulse. He deliberated for a long time, terrified of making a mistake.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty! Felicitations! The Empress is with child.”

A buzzing sound filled Xiao Beitang’s head; her mind was a chaotic mess.

Song Qingqian stroked her belly, her eyes brimming with a smile. But when she looked up, she saw Xiao Beitang standing there like a statue, staring blankly with an expressionless face.

“Your Majesty?” Song Qingqian took her hand.

Xiao Beitang snapped out of it, seeking confirmation one more time: “Are you certain there is no mistake?”

“This servant would not dare speak falsely. I have confirmed it repeatedly; it is indeed a pregnancy pulse.” The physician was bewildered, why did the Emperor look more troubled than joyful?

“Physician Li, you may withdraw for now,” Song Qingqian said, sensing Xiao Beitang’s odd state.

Once the physician had left, Song Qingqian asked, “Are you not happy?”

Xiao Beitang muttered under her breath, “That’s impossible. I took the medicine every time.”

She had forgotten that she only began taking the contraceptive medicine after learning how agonizingly difficult it had been for Song Qingqian to give birth to Xiao Yi.

“Medicine? You didn’t want a child?” Song Qingqian hadn’t expected this reaction; it was worlds apart from what she had imagined.

Xiao Beitang looked at her nervously. “Qianqian, let the physician prepare a decoction to end the pregnancy. We have Yi’er; that is enough. We don’t need another child.”

Song Qingqian pulled her hand away, looking at her in shock. “Xiao Beitang, what are you saying?”

Xiao Beitang grew desperate, grabbing her arms. “Qianqian, I don’t want you to suffer! It was so painful when you had Yi’er. I don’t want you to go through that again.”

“You were worried about that?” Song Qingqian’s heart finally eased; she had truly thought Xiao Beitang didn’t want the baby. She smiled gently. “Don’t worry. The conditions in the palace are much better than in the village; nothing will go wrong. Besides, for a Kunze, the first birth is always the hardest. I’ve heard it is much easier after that.”

“Really?” Xiao Beitang suspected she was just being comforted.

“If you don’t believe me, ask the physician.”

“Liu Zi! Bring Physician Li back here!” Xiao Beitang didn’t hesitate for a second.

Liu Zi, though utterly confused, had to run back to intercept the physician.

The physician was hauled back halfway, terrified that he had said something wrong. He looked warily between the two women.

“Physician Li, I ask you,” Xiao Beitang said, her brow arched in a stern line. “When a Kunze gives birth, is it only the first time that is perilous?”

This wasn’t a question; it felt like an interrogation. Physician Li chose his words carefully. “Replying to Your Majesty, if a Kunze is properly prepared, the danger can be greatly reduced. Subsequent births are indeed less treacherous than the first, and the pain can be significantly lessened.”

Xiao Beitang’s brow finally smoothed over. She let out a long sigh of relief and asked, “And how is the Empress’s condition?”

“The Empress’s pulse is stable and strong; her health is excellent,” the physician answered hastily.

“I see. You go and prepare some tonics for the pregnancy first.” Xiao Beitang was still not entirely at ease.

After the physician left, Xiao Beitang stared at Song Qingqian’s stomach and began pacing the hall, unable to sit still.

Song Qingqian asked with a laugh, “Still worried?”

“Why can’t Qianyuan bear children? If only I could do this for you, how wonderful it would be,” Xiao Beitang said, her anxiety palpable.

“Don’t be so nervous. This is our child; do you really have the heart to give her up?” Song Qingqian stood up.

Xiao Beitang’s gaze softened as she stared at the abdomen that was still flat, yet contained a new life. “Don’t stand up. Sit down.” She supported Song Qingqian as she sat back down; in her eyes, Song Qingqian was now a porcelain vase that might shatter at the slightest touch.

Xiao Beitang placed her hand over Song Qingqian’s belly and said softly, “I will take good care of you both.”

Song Qingqian placed her hand over Xiao Beitang’s, stroking it gently. After a long silence, Song Qingqian spoke with a hint of doubt: “Xiao Beitang.”

“Mhm?”

“Now that I am with child, I fear I will be unable to attend to you for quite some time. It is best, best if we do not share a bed either.” Song Qingqian looked at her, attempting to persuade her in a way she might most easily accept.

“We cannot share a bed? Not even if I don’t touch you? Why?” Xiao Beitang’s already restless heart grew even more agitated. She shot up from her seat once again.

Song Qingqian opened her lips to explain, but Xiao Beitang had already called out: “Liu Zi! Bring the physician back!”

Song Qingqian: “…”

“Physician Li, now that the Empress is pregnant, I cannot share a bed with her?”

“Replying to Your Majesty, the Empress has only just conceived, and her qi is not yet fully stable. Usually, it takes four months to reach stability. Only then may you resume sharing a bed.”

“You just said her condition was stable!” Xiao Beitang barked.

“Your Majesty, forgive me!” Physician Li felt truly wronged. There is ‘stable’ and then there is ‘stable for intimacy’ they are not the same thing!

Xiao Beitang knitted her brows. “So, I must sleep in a separate room for several months?”

“Resting alone may indeed be better. Of course, sharing a pillow is not impossible, provided the Empress is not required to perform her duties.”

Xiao Beitang grew even more annoyed, snapping impatiently, “Say everything you have to say at once. Do not make me ask you repeatedly!”

“This servant deserves death.”

She barked back again, “Stop talking about death!”

“This servant.” Physician Li felt his life was far too difficult.

Song Qingqian said in a low, firm voice, “Physician Li, you may go. Prepare the tonics. I shall explain the rest to Her Majesty myself.”

The physician left Kunning Palace looking like a frost-bitten eggplant. If word got out, he would be the laughingstock of the court, diagnosing a pregnancy and receiving a lecture instead of a reward.

“Your Majesty, you are too tense. Please, sit down,” Song Qingqian said helplessly.

Xiao Beitang nodded and sat.

“You heard what the physician said?”

“Mhm.”

“Then, before my condition stabilizes, would Your Majesty consider moving back to Yong’an Palace?”

Xiao Beitang was unwilling. “I can refrain from touching you.”

Song Qingqian lowered her eyes to her stomach, stroking it gently. After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Your Majesty, I cannot attend to you for a very long time. If you have needs, there are others in the harem who can receive your favor.”

Xiao Beitang: “?”

Xiao Beitang looked at her in utter disbelief.

“You need not wrong yourself for my sake, I.”

Before she could finish, Xiao Beitang rose in a huff and stormed out. Song Qingqian did not chase her; she decided to let her be.

The next day, Xiao Tao rushed into the hall, gasping for breath from running all the way.

“What is it? Why such a hurry?”

Xiao Tao said in a panic, “Her Majesty. Her Majesty has issued an edict to disband the harem. She declared she will never select concubines again!”

Song Qingqian turned back, stunned. “Say that again?”

Xiao Tao’s voice trembled. “It’s true. The Imperial Guard is already at every palace, waiting to escort the ladies out.”

“Where is Her Majesty now?” Ignoring her meal, Song Qingqian stood and hurried out.

“She is in the Imperial Study. She said she will see no one.” The entire palace was in an uproar.

“To the Imperial Study.” Song Qingqian walked with hurried strides, not wasting a single moment.

Arriving at the hall doors, Song Qingqian didn’t wait for an announcement. She said in a somber voice, “This consort requests an audience with Your Majesty.”

The door opened slowly, just a crack. Liu Zi emerged, bowing low. “Your Majesty the Empress, the Emperor has decreed that she will see no one today.”

“Let me in.” Song Qingqian acted as if she hadn’t heard him.

“Your Majesty.” Liu Zi glanced inside, his face pale with hesitation.

Song Qingqian shot him a cold look, and he dared not say another word. She brushed past him and entered the study directly.

Xiao Beitang was leaning back in her chair, staring at a trinket in her hand.

“This consort pays her respects to Your Majesty.”

Xiao Beitang’s hand jerked. She sat up straight and signaled the attendants to withdraw. She looked at Song Qingqian but said nothing.

“Why did you issue an edict to disband the harem?”

“They cannot please me. Why should they stay in the palace?” The words came to Xiao Beitang’s lips without a second thought.

It had been a long time since Song Qingqian had seen her act with such reckless disregard.

“Xiao Beitang!” Song Qingqian’s voice was cold, her brow furrowed in anger.