Chapter 3: Crossing
Early spring, in the Great Zhou Dynasty, in Changchun Palace——
It was past the hour of Mao and the sky was already bright. The concubines had been sitting there for nearly an hour. The tea in front of them had been changed three times and was now completely cold. However, the Queen still refused to let them go. What was going on?
[hour of Mao = 5 to 7 A.M.]
The young concubine suppressed her resentment and looked at the first chair under the queen. Needless to say, that naturally belonged to the imperial concubine.
And today, the imperial concubine still waited for a long time and still had no arrival. No wonder the queen looked so unhappy, and she simply did not call them back.
Before she became pregnant, although the imperial concubine was arrogant and domineering, she was still unable to skip the morning and evening visits due to palace rules.
Now that the imperial concubine is pregnant and in the late stage of pregnancy, the prince is about to be born. She is becoming more and more confident. Recently, she has even rarely come on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, using the excuse of being unwell. Even if she wants to come, she will wait until they are about to leave.
They hurriedly paid their respects to the Queen, thinking it was a greeting. It was really arrogant. If they were the Queen, they would definitely not tolerate it.
Of course, what is most infuriating is that the imperial concubine behaved so arrogantly, but the emperor just acted as if he didn’t see anything and just indulged her. How could people not be jealous?
Putting all the above aside for now, what the young concubine regretted most at the moment was that she should not have drunk so much tea.It’s a chilly spring day today. She is sitting here with cold hands and feet. She thought of drinking some tea to warm herself up, but who would have thought it would turn out like this.
She wanted to walk but couldn’t, she wanted to go to the toilet but so many people were watching her, and it would be impolite to say it out loud, so she could only endure it in secret, and soon she was sweating all over.
As for some older concubines, especially those in higher positions, they were the best at observing people’s words and expressions, and when they noticed something was wrong, they did not dare to eat or drink too much. Now, it seems that they are really grateful.
The queen is the queen after all, no one dares to blame her, everyone just thinks that it was the imperial concubine who went too far.
Just when everyone was complaining in their hearts, finally! A familiar noise was heard outside Changchun Palace, followed by the voices of greetings from palace maids and eunuchs.
“Imperial Concubine Rong is here——”
“Good luck to the Imperial Concubine Rong.”
“My dear sisters, I am really sorry. I am not feeling well today and I got up late. Please don’t mind.”
The thick door curtain was lifted and then lowered, and a cold wind blew past.
Along with this gust of wind, a woman in her twenties, with a bright and beautiful face and gorgeous clothes, was seen walking slowly into the house, supported by her personal palace maid.
The woman’s belly was bulging, and the palace dress she was wearing was embroidered with twin lotus flowers. I don’t know if it was to keep out the cold, but the material of the clothes on the woman’s belly was specially thickened. Against the backdrop of the white rabbit fur edging, she actually looked round and cute.
Of course, only the woman herself found it cute. The other concubines, especially the queen who sat in the front and had no children to this day, found it particularly eye-catching and annoying.
Perhaps due to the late stage of pregnancy, the woman’s waist is no longer slender, but she doesn’t seem to care much. In addition, due to her natural physique, her hands, face and neck are still as slender as before, without any swelling.
Even though they were filled with jealousy, the concubines had to admit that the Imperial Concubine was truly extremely beautiful. No one in the entire palace, even the newly selected beauties this year, could compare to her in beauty and grace.
It’s this kind of personality that is really hard to praise.
Although Concubine Rong said words of apology, judging from her expression, she did not really feel guilty.
The Queen endured it for a while and said, “Noble Concubine Rong, today is the nth time this month that you have been late? Have you ever taken the rules set by our ancestors seriously?”
“I understand that it is not easy for you to be pregnant. Please do not forget your duties as a concubine.”
Compared to the queen, even the imperial concubine is ultimately just…a concubine.
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To this day, Concubine Rong still feels that after the death of the Emperor and Empress Yuan, the position of Empress should have been hers, but it was the current Empress who did some trickery and this position fell on her.
Moreover, in the imperial court, the queen’s father repeatedly made things difficult for her father and brothers. The two families did not get along well, and in the harem, the queen made things difficult for her everywhere…
With new and old grudges added together, there is really no point in maintaining superficial harmony.
Concubine Rong was a person who could not stand being wronged, so she immediately argued, “According to our ancestors’ rules, having children is the most important thing. If I remember correctly, when Empress Deming was alive, she only required concubines to pay respects to the emperor at Wei yang Palace on the first and fifteenth day of each month, and concubines who were pregnant for seven months or more were exempted from this requirement if possible.”
Empress Deming is the Emperor’s first wife, which implies that the current empress is unkind.
Even the empress do not have so many troubles, why do you, a concubine, have so many rules?
Concubine Rong has always been unwilling to suffer losses. The Queen has just stepped on her sore spot, and she has to step back.
The two of them were fighting back and forth, and the concubines next to them couldn’t help but sweat.
This person is really brave.
If Concubine Rong did not have a prominent family background, how could she have stayed in the palace for so long given her personality?
“Queen, I feel a little tired. Since I have already paid my respects today, I will take my leave now.” Since the day she became pregnant, Concubine Rong has been feeling very uncomfortable. Although she did not show it on her face, her reaction behind the scenes was very strong.
As a result, Concubine Rong had extremely complicated feelings towards the child in her belly, love and hate at the same time, and when she was feeling sad, the hatred was greater than the love.
Every time this thought came to her mind, Concubine Rong felt terrified.
Because the world seems to have tacitly accepted that mothers should naturally love their children and be good to their children, even Concubine Rong, who grew up in a spoiled state, felt that her mentality was truly unorthodox.
Concubine Rong had never felt so ugly.
She even began to doubt her own character, wondering if it was as bad as others said.
Under such daily torture, Concubine Rong’s temper naturally became more and more irritable. Coupled with the Queen’s occasional difficulties and accountability, it would be strange for Concubine Rong to be in a good mood.
After saying this, without waiting for the Queen’s reaction, Concubine Rong bowed perfunctorily and left leisurely without waiting for the Queen’s permission. She really came and went like the wind.
In an instant, the entire Changchun Palace fell into deathly silence.
On the other side, the East Palace——
As the new prince was about to be born in the palace, the crown prince fell into inexplicable anxiety.
The prince is fifteen years old this year and is already a sensitive person. In addition, the Empress died early, and he has no mother to help him. Even if he feels sad, he has nowhere to vent.
Although my father treats him very well, he is the emperor after all, and it is impossible for him to take care of everything.
This was not the first time that the prince welcomed the birth of a younger brother. Before Concubine Rong, he already had five younger brothers, and he didn’t think it was a big deal before.
Being in the royal family, having many children can ensure the stability of the country and orderly succession.
However, this time, the prince knew clearly that this time was different.
Not to mention that Concubine Rong is deeply loved by the emperor. Just looking at the power of Concubine Rong’s mother’s family, Duke Zhen – Wei Guang, who holds a large number of troops, is Concubine Rong’s father and also the grandfather of the unborn prince. How can the prince not be afraid?
When the Crown Prince learned from the Imperial Medical Bureau that Concubine Rong was pregnant with a boy, his heart sank.
Upon seeing this, the Prince’s tutor beside him couldn’t help but put down the book in his hand, and for the first time ever, he did not scold the Prince for not concentrating on his studies.
The old master was silent for a while, then said softly, “Your Highness, it’s time to take action.”
Given his status, he shouldn’t have been concerned about the affairs of the inner palace. It was truly shameful.
But at the same time, the old tutor also understood that some things had to be done, even if it would tarnish his reputation.
“…No!” The prince blurted out, knowing what the teacher was referring to.
The prince is still young and has not yet married. In addition, he has been loved and cared for by the emperor since he was young, so he is still natural and innocent.
At the age of fifteen, he really couldn’t get over that hurdle in his heart.
After struggling violently, the prince closed his eyes in some pain: “Teacher… Teacher, I really… can’t do it…”
What crime has this child committed?
Even though the eldest prince and the second prince were so aggressive, the crown prince never thought of taking their lives, let alone an unborn baby.
When the Taifu saw this, he felt both relieved and sad.
[Taifu = High authority Teacher.]
If Empress Deming were still alive, why would this be necessary?
There is nothing we can do about this despicable act.
The Master sighed and said nothing more.
After a long while, the prince managed to cheer himself up and advised: “Teacher, don’t worry. The Duke of Zhen… may not always be so prosperous.”
Wei Guang alone would be fine, but Concubine Rong’s six brothers are all outstanding people, and none of them are mediocre.
If there is only one such general, it will be a blessing for the Great Zhou. If there are two, we will applaud them. But if there are three, four, five or even more, it will be a disaster.
What’s more, the Duke of Zhen and others do not know how to restrain themselves in their actions, which is the way to death.
It all depends on how long my father can tolerate them.
Since ancient times, most of those who have become so powerful that they threaten their rulers have not had a good ending.
Thinking of this, the prince felt a little relieved.
The Grand Tutor also thought of this, and recalled that the Emperor had been making frequent moves in the court recently. It was possible that the Duke of Zhen was in great trouble…
At the same time, in Chengming Palace——
Because of the solemn atmosphere in the hall, the eunuchs and servants dared not breathe, but only bent their waists even lower, not daring to look at the man sitting in front of the jade table.
Emperor Jingwen is now thirty-three years old, in the prime of his life, with a tall and majestic stature, and a majestic aura without even being angry. The black dragon robe he wears makes him look so noble that people cannot look directly at him.
At this moment, Emperor Jingwen frowned, as if he had encountered some difficulties.
He could never have imagined that he had clearly instructed the Imperial Hospital to add some contraceptive medicine into Concubine Rong’s health-preserving soup to prevent Concubine Rong from getting pregnant.
As a result…that group of imperial doctors actually dared to fool him like this!
The emperor’s mood was extremely bad at this moment.
Seeing that the eighth month had passed and the baby in Concubine Rong’s belly was about to be born, Emperor Jingwen didn’t know what to do for a moment.
If he wanted to kill him… after all, he was his own son, so how could Emperor Jingwen not love him?
But if the fetus were to stay, and Concubine Rong had given birth to a prince, it would certainly boost the arrogance of the Duke of Zhen’s Mansion. Under the impetus of power, the Duke of Zhen would definitely have the idea of seizing the throne, and by then I’m afraid there would be chaos again.
It’s such a headache.
…Never mind, there are still two months left.
But it depends on the child’s own luck.
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On the other hand, modern society——
Not long after seeing off old Mr. Gu, Gu Shao calmly accepted the reality that he would not live long. He was even somewhat fortunate that it took more than half a year for old Mr. Gu to be found out, otherwise his father would have been worried to death.
Gu Shao finally understood that whether this disease could be cured ultimately depended on fate.
Some people are cured of their illnesses inexplicably without doing anything, while others cannot escape death despite trying their best.
Sure enough, the end of science is metaphysics.
It’s a pity that he and his father worked so hard for so many years, but in the end it was all in vain.
In the final moments, seeing that there was really no hope, Gu Shao went completely crazy and did everything he wanted to do as soon as possible.
In the end, he was in so much pain that he couldn’t move. Lying on the hospital bed, Gu Shao quickly signed the will.
Even if he died, he would not give the money away cheaply to others.
Gu Shao’s life was not in vain. The entire ward was almost full of people who came to see him off. Even though he didn’t have a wife or children, there was still a lot of excitement when he left. In the end, even the doctors and nurses from the hospital came.
But even so, they still can’t keep him.
On his deathbed, Gu Shao only had one thought left –
Damn, it turns out that fame, wealth and status are all external things, which you cannot bring with you when you are born, and you cannot take with you when you die.
If he could be given another chance to choose again, he would definitely… be even more ruthless and powerful than he has ever been in this life!
Really, I haven’t lived enough…
Since the beginning of Mr. Gu’s tenure, the secretary has been following him. After Mr. Gu fell ill, he continued to follow Mr. Gu.
It’s been almost twenty years now.
Both the father and the son had always been very good to him. Now that they were both gone, the secretary couldn’t help but feel sad about losing a loved one.
The secretary was originally thinking about what to do if those shareholders came to seize power again, but it was not until the arrival of the lawyer that he realized that Mr. Gu had already arranged everything.
This time, the secretary finally saw Mr. Gu’s true face, and he was completely dumbfounded.
In addition to inheriting the company of the old Mr. Gu, the shares and equity under the name of the young Mr. Gu are dazzling. There are also some well-known awards and articles, and his name is written on them.
What’s more, he is also involved in some laboratories abroad.
If converted into money, this number is simply incalculable.
And such a genius died at such a young age.
Even lawyers felt sad and regretful when they first heard about it.
Mr. Gu had no children, no wife nor lover. He had no ties during his lifetime and no worries after his death. After he had distributed to the people close to him, he donated all his money and research results.
“Secretary Xun, this is your share.”
The secretary never thought that he actually had them all.
Mr. Gu…I’m afraid he has thought about everyone around him.
In addition to a sum of money, each person also left a few words of last words.
For some reason, the secretary suddenly felt a tremor in his heart.
Opening the paper in front of me, it clearly reads:
[Thank you for your care. We will say goodbye today. I hope you will take care of yourself in the future.]
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At the same time, in the late stage of pregnancy, Concubine Rong, who was nine months pregnant, suddenly felt a pain in her abdomen.