The Crown Princess Is Jealous Again - Chapter 118

By the fourth month, Song Qingqian’s abdomen had begun to curve with a soft, rounded fullness. Xiao Beitang loved nothing more than to gently stroke the swell through her silken robes and speak softly to the child within.

One day, the imperial physicians arrived to perform the routine wellness check. Their brows furrowed as they took her pulse, checking it again and again. Physician Li finished, only to be replaced by Physician Zhang; in total, the pulse was examined by no fewer than six different experts.

“What is the matter?” Xiao Beitang asked, her voice tight with nerves.

“Replying to Your Majesty, the Empress is carrying twins.” The physician’s tone wavered, caught between joy and trepidation.

“Twins?” Xiao Beitang was ecstatic. “Twins? Two children?”

She crouched before Song Qingqian, touching her belly once more. She looked at her wife in disbelief. “Qianqian, did you hear that? The physician says there are two children in your womb.”

Song Qingqian, however, felt a complex tangle of emotions. In an ordinary family, twins were a cause for immense celebration. In the Imperial Household, they were anything but.

The physicians exchanged silent, wary glances. Only Xiao Beitang, lost in her excitement, remained oblivious to the tension.

Since the day of the Empress’s installation, the Emperor had not officially named an heir. Rumors swirled through the court: some said she doubted Xiao Yi’s parentage; others whispered she had no intention of letting the girl inherit.

Thus, the child in the Empress’s womb had become the focus of everyone’s hopes. But if there were twins, imperial tradition dictated a dark course of action: to prevent future civil war and confusion over the succession especially if the children looked identical, the weaker twin was often put to death at birth.

Xiao Beitang seemed not to realize this. She was simply marvelling at Song Qingqian, thinking her incredible for providing two children at once.

“Is the pregnancy stable?” Song Qingqian asked.

Xiao Beitang turned, waiting for the answer.

“Replying to Your Majesty, the pulse is steady. From what we can tell, both young Highnesses are exceptionally strong,” Physician Li answered respectfully.

“Then, may the Empress and I resume sharing a bed?” Xiao Beitang asked without the slightest hint of bashfulness.

Song Qingqian pinched her palm. Asking such scandalous things in front of so many people!

Physician Li’s aged face turned a shade of crimson. He cleared his throat. “Replying. Replying to Your Majesty, provided you are moderate, the Empress may now attend to you.”

He used the formal term for “attending to the Emperor,” unaware that for the two of them, the phrase now carried a far deeper, more intimate meaning.

Xiao Beitang coughed. “I understand. The Empress carries two children now; you must serve her with the utmost care. If there is even a single mishap, guard your heads well.”

The physicians bowed in unison. They wouldn’t dare be anything less than diligent. The Emperor was present for every pulse-taking, her eyes watching them so intently it made their hearts flutter with anxiety.

Xiao Beitang remained swept up in the joy of the news, the smile never leaving her face.

“Qianqian, you are amazing.” She pressed a kiss to her wife’s forehead.

Song Qingqian, however, looked troubled. “Are you not happy?” Xiao Beitang asked.

Song Qingqian stroked her belly, her voice tinged with sadness. “Your Majesty, in the Imperial family, when twins are born, usually only one is permitted to remain.”

Xiao Beitang was stunned. “What are you talking about?”

“It is the imperial custom.”

Xiao Beitang’s brow snapped down, her voice turning sharp. “There is no such custom. From my reign onward, such a thing shall never exist.”

“If they look exactly alike, and one eventually becomes Emperor, the court will be easily destabilized,” Song Qingqian explained.

“Qianqian, do not listen to such nonsense. These are our children. I will never let anything happen to them.” Xiao Beitang took her hand, gazing deeply into her eyes. “Besides, do you have the heart to let them go?”

Song Qingqian touched her belly, her lips pressed thin. “This matter rests with you, not me.” No mother could ever bear to lose her child.

“Then be happy for me. I promise you, I will never let the thing you fear happen. Do not think of it anymore; they will both be fine. They will grow up healthy, one with the surname Song, and one with the surname Xiao.”

Perhaps because a Kunze is more prone to melancholy during pregnancy, Song Qingqian still found it difficult to match the Emperor’s unbridled joy.

“Mama!” Xiao Yi came bouncing into the hall.

Xiao Beitang smiled and took her hand, leading her to Song Qingqian. She placed the child’s small hand on the Empress’s belly. “Yi’er, your Mama is incredible! She has two little sisters in her tummy.”

“Really?” Xiao Yi’er’s eyes went wide.

“Of course. Ask your Mama if you don’t believe me,” Xiao Beitang said proudly.

“Mama, is what Mother said true?” Xiao Yi looked at her with pure anticipation.

Song Qingqian smiled and nodded.

“Woohoo! Yi’er is going to have two sisters!” The girl twirled in circles, cheering with delight. The infectious joy finally reached Song Qingqian, who began to laugh as well.

“I must write to the retired Emperor and Empress and tell them this wonderful news,” Xiao Beitang said, unable to contain her need to share the happiness with the world.

As Song Qingqian approached her due date, Emperor Jing and the “Empress Dowager” finally returned. Xiao Beitang took Xiao Yi to the palace gates to meet them personally.

“Tang’er!” the Empress Dowager called out from a distance.

Xiao Beitang smiled and pointed for Xiao Yi. “Yi’er, do you see? That is your Imperial Grandmother.”

“Imperial Mother, Mother Empress.”

“Tang’er, I missed you so much.” The Empress Dowager hugged her tightly, her eyes shimmering with tears.

“Well, Mother, if you truly missed me, you wouldn’t have stayed away so long without a single visit,” Xiao Beitang teased.

“Blame your mother. The further we went, the less she wanted to turn back,” the Empress Dowager said, shooting a playful look at Emperor Jing.

Emperor Jing laughed from behind. “Yes, yes, it’s all my fault.”

Xiao Beitang beckoned the child. “Yi’er, come here. Pay your respects to your Grandmothers.”

Xiao Yi stepped forward and performed a formal kowtow. The Empress Dowager’s heart melted instantly. She helped the girl up. “My sweet granddaughter, let me look at you.”

“Yi’er looks as if she were carved from the same mold as Qianqian,” Emperor Jing remarked in wonder.

“She does, doesn’t she?” Xiao Beitang was immensely proud.

“I’m sure she is much better behaved than you were,” Emperor Jing teased.

Xiao Beitang agreed. “That she is. Yi’er is very good. I only hope the children in Qianqian’s womb are like her.”

They entered Kunning Palace, where Song Qingqian stood at the door, one hand supporting her back and the other cradling her belly, slowly pacing as she waited.

“Qianqian!” The Empress Dowager let go of Xiao Yi’er’s hand and opened her arms.

Song Qingqian, her body heavy with the pregnancy, attempted a bow. “Imperial Mother, Mother Empress.”

“You are so far along; forget the formalities!” The Empress Dowager held her arms, examining her belly. “A twin pregnancy is indeed much larger than a single one. It must be so exhausting.”

“I am faring well,” Song Qingqian smiled.

“Let us go inside so Qianqian can sit. Standing must be a burden,” Emperor Jing said softly.

Xiao Beitang hurried to help her inside. Once seated, Song Qingqian let out a long breath.

“A Kunze pregnancy is truly a hardship,” the Empress Dowager sighed sympathetically. “When I carried Tang’er, I couldn’t eat or sleep, and toward the end, I could barely even lie down.”

“One only knows the kindness of parents after raising a child of one’s own. You suffered much for me, Mother.”

Emperor Jing reminisced, “You have no idea. Your mother had such terrible morning sickness; she threw up everything she ate. It pained me so much I used to scold you through her belly every day.”

Xiao Beitang touched Song Qingqian’s belly, her eyes full of guilt. “Watching her belly grow bit by bit, I only feel I owe her so much. I wasn’t even there when she carried Yi’er. After this birth, no more children.”

The Empress Dowager comforted her softly. “It is a struggle, yes. But looking at Yi’er, are you not happy? Having these three children around you in the future, that is true happiness.”

“It is,” Emperor Jing added. “When you were born, you were so tiny and wrinkled not exactly a beauty. But blood is a strange thing; I thought you were the most beautiful child in the world. I could watch you for an entire day without ever feeling bored.”

The Empress Dowager sighed softly. “If it were possible, I would have wished for you to have had siblings of your own.”

“Let us not dwell on that,” Emperor Jing said, patting her back to comfort her.