Chapter 1892 - 1830: Something’s Wrong with the Empress
Chapter 1892: Chapter 1830: Something’s Wrong with the Empress
Ah Jiu walked into the Warm Pavilion and saw Wufu playing with a peace charm, looking down as if lost in thought. Unable to resist, he stepped forward and took the peace charm from her hand.
"Peace charm? Who gave it?" He sat on the other side of the Arhat bed, casually taking her cup of tea and sipping from it.
"Second Miss of the He family gave it."
Ah Jiu frowned, "Why give this?"
Wufu hesitated for a moment and then recounted what He Mingya had said to him.
Upon hearing this, Ah Jiu’s face hardened, and he tightened his grip on the peace charm.
Seeing his mood change along with his breath, Wufu laughed, "Look at how tense you are. Though she’s young, and even if she’s studied the Dao for years, she’s far from being a master. Mistakes are bound to happen."
Ah Jiu shook his head, "Some people are deeply connected to Buddhism and the Dao; she might actually discern something. Better to trust it than to dismiss it."
Wufu acknowledged with a hum and deflected the topic with a smile.
Yi Er approached with some documents, which contained investigative information on Empress Song.
Speaking of Empress Song, she hails from the Shandong gentry, a noble lady since childhood, groomed by imperial concubine standards, and entered the palace at sixteen, becoming empress. Her father was then ennobled as Duke Chengen, but died suddenly from illness, succeeded by his son, Empress Song’s elder brother.
Empress Song has been in the palace for eighteen years, conceiving three times. The first two ended in miscarriages due to court intrigues, and only the third time did she give birth to Legitimate Son Jhin Mingqing, who died by drowning.
The Imperial Son drowned before reaching three years old; Empress Song was twenty-eight then, six years after the child’s passing, and has since had no further pregnancies, not even a princess. The Imperial Medical Bureau diagnosed her as unable to conceive due to past miscarriages and the emotional trauma of losing her child.
Thus, over the years, Empress Song has been nursing her health, but considering her age, another pregnancy remains uncertain.
Nonetheless, Empress Song dutifully plays the role of a virtuous empress, sharing the emperor’s favor fairly, allowing imperial consorts to bear imperial offspring, beyond reproach.
Empress Song’s background appears immaculate, near perfect, unquestionably a fitting Mother of the Nation.
But Wufu shook her head.
"Is there a problem?"
"A significant one," Wufu replied. "The Empress must indeed be virtuous and graceful, but she is also a woman. She may not love the emperor, merely acting as his suitable wife, managing the vast harem, but she is a mother."
"As a mother, the child is closest to her, part of her own flesh. She may not love the man, but the child? Does she not love them either? The Empress has been in the palace for eighteen years, suffering the loss of three sons. Have you seen her reaction?"
Ah Jiu furrowed his brows.
"To lose three sons, even as an empress, would cause pain and resentment. Yet she acts as if nothing happened. Is this normal?" Wufu laughed, "Being an empress, her child’s status as Legitimate Imperial Son is even more prestigious, yet losing three surely warrants some grievance."
Ah Jiu, listening, inevitably recalled the daily observations of Empress Song, indeed consistent with Wufu’s description, only dignified and virtuous, nothing else.
Does she truly not care?
Impossible!
Even a man would find it sorrowful and unfortunate, but Empress Song never betrays any emotions. Either she bravely swallows her sorrow, or perhaps more likely, she hides it very well.