Chapter Ninety
The look on Imperial Physician Liu’s face aroused Grand Empress Dowager Chen’s suspicions. She began to wonder whether Cui Lanyin’s headaches had triggered some other illness.
“I know you people all too well. The slightest ailment, and you make it sound like a catastrophe. We can discuss anything else later. For now, treat Second Miss’s immediate discomfort.”
It was clearly a hint that Imperial Physician Cao and Imperial Physician Liu were to discuss her medical report with her privately afterward.
Cui Lanyin had not thought much of it at first, but Grand Empress Dowager Chen’s words made her suspicious as well. She was not the sort to avoid unpleasant matters. Even if she truly had a serious illness, she wanted to know the truth.
“Imperial Physician Cao, Imperial Physician Liu, whatever the situation is, I ask that you tell me honestly.”
Imperial Physician Liu glanced at Imperial Physician Cao, but Cao did not return his look.
Ever since Cui Lanyin had stood up for him when Xing Kun was about to have him beaten to death—and had promised that she would step in whenever he encountered trouble—Imperial Physician Cao had made up his mind. Even if the emperor and Cui Lanyin ever disagreed, he would stand on Cui Lanyin’s side.
Cao knew perfectly well that Cui Lanyin had never suspected anything of the sort, and he had no idea how she would react if she found out. If he told her now, he feared she would be placed at a disadvantage.
He had intended to tell her privately later, so for now he answered vaguely, “There’s nothing seriously wrong. Second Miss is probably simply exhausted. Rest quietly for a few days, and I’ll come back to examine you again.”
Watching Imperial Physician Cao blatantly lie through his teeth, Imperial Physician Liu kept shrinking backward.
Cui Lanyin felt even more certain that something was wrong. She fixed her gaze on Imperial Physician Liu. “Imperial Physician Liu, you needn’t hide it from me.”
Seeing that he could not escape, Imperial Physician Liu’s thoughts raced.
Everyone in Yingcheng knew that Second Miss Cui kept a lover, yet neither the emperor nor Grand Empress Dowager Chen had ever said a word about it. Second Miss Cui was still the apple of both their eyes, striding arrogantly through the palace and beyond.
If she was already keeping a lover, then this sort of thing wasn’t exactly surprising, was it?
Imperial Physician Liu gradually calmed down. Even if he said nothing now, the truth would eventually come out. If Second Miss Cui did not want to keep the child, but they had missed the opportunity to tell her, then Imperial Physician Cao and he would never be able to take responsibility for it.
Director He was already worried about finding something to use against them. If he pursued them and demanded an accounting, the Imperial Medical Bureau might no longer have a place for either of them.
They might as well tell the truth now. Whether the child was to be announced or kept secret, Grand Empress Dowager Chen would decide. As long as they kept their mouths shut, neither Grand Empress Dowager Chen nor Second Miss Cui was cruel. They should be able to withdraw safely.
Having weighed the pros and cons, Imperial Physician Liu finally said, “Second Miss is not ill. I… I felt what seems to be a pregnancy pulse.”
The room fell silent in an instant.
Grand Empress Dowager Chen pressed a hand to her ear, thinking she had misheard. “What kind of pulse?”
When he saw the knowing looks exchanged by Consort Dowager Shu and Dowager Concubine Wan, Imperial Physician Cao knew there was no point in hiding it. To women who had given birth, it was easy to see what was going on.
What Imperial Physician Liu could think of, Imperial Physician Cao could naturally think of as well. With Grand Empress Dowager Chen there to speak for them, and Empress Dowager Xu and the other two relying on her to get by, this matter would not be spread outside.
Imperial Physician Cao smoothly asked, “Second Miss, do you remember when you last had your monthly period?”
Cui Lanyin looked up in a daze. “Sometime toward the end of the ninth month, I think. I can’t remember the exact day.”
Her periods had always been irregular. Coming early or late was nothing unusual, but she had never gone more than two months without one. She had somehow overlooked it entirely.
Imperial Physician Cao nodded. “The pulse feels very steady. You should be about two months along.”
Cui Lanyin’s throat went dry. “Wasn’t I supposed to have trouble bearing children?”
Imperial Physician Cao chose his words carefully. “Second Miss, you do have a constitution that makes conception difficult. But if you happen to encounter someone with exceptionally vigorous vitality…”
So the emperor was particularly good at getting women pregnant?
Cui Lanyin nodded woodenly. She did not know whether to blame herself for taking things for granted or the emperor for cultivating such formidable skills.
Considering the emperor’s uncanny intelligence—he could predict the outcome of a matter from the faintest hint—how could he possibly have failed to anticipate this?
Therefore, no matter how one looked at it, the emperor was entirely to blame!
At that moment, Cui Lanyin had already passed judgment on him.
Grand Empress Dowager Chen finally absorbed the fact that Cui Lanyin was pregnant. Joy and anticipation rose uncontrollably in her eyes.
She lovingly stroked Cui Lanyin’s palm. “With your constitution, this child must have been heaven’s gift to you. We have to keep it. If you don’t want the trouble of raising it, there are plenty of us here. We’ll make sure the child is well cared for.”
Consort Dowager Shu and Dowager Concubine Wan were utterly astonished. Grand Empress Dowager Chen was actually urging her to give birth—and even offering to help raise the child?
Empress Dowager Xu, however, understood Grand Empress Dowager Chen perfectly. Both women had been unable to bear children, and the greatest regret of their lives was that. If a child born to someone close could be raised at their side, what a wonderful thing that would be.
Even she would have laughed to the heavens in delight.
So she joined in the persuasion. “The Grand Empress Dowager is right. Children are a blessing one can only encounter by chance. We’ll all help you raise the baby. Set your mind at ease and give birth to it.”
Cui Lanyin could not help placing a hand over her flat stomach.
She had always believed that she would never be able to bear a child. That was why, when the Yao family had offered such favorable terms for a marriage alliance, she had still felt that something was not quite right, no matter how she considered it.
Empress Dowager Chen had poured her heart into the arrangement, while Emperor Xuanning had been more ungrateful than anyone.
The nephew the Yao family had promised to adopt already had his own birth parents living right beside him. How could they possibly raise him into a child truly attached to her? She did not want to labor for someone else’s benefit.
Perhaps because she had always been unable to obtain one, she had treasured Little Hongji to the bone after his birth. Even a few days apart left her aching with longing.
But the child had parents of his own. No matter how much she loved him, she had to restrain herself and avoid overstepping her sister and brother-in-law.
Now she was carrying a child of her own, flesh and blood connected to her by birth. She could lavish love on it without worrying about anyone else. How could she possibly bear to give it up?
Even if Grand Empress Dowager Chen objected, even if everyone objected, she would still give birth to this child.
Hearing that Grand Empress Dowager Chen supported keeping the baby, Cui Lanyin quickly recovered from her bewilderment and said firmly, “No matter what happens, I’m going to give birth to this child.”
As for what the emperor thought—she would deal with him if and when she had to!
The emperor had agreed that she could leave after a year, and he had never shown any intention of asking her to stay. He might not even acknowledge the child. That would be fine. She could raise it by herself.
Dowager Concubine Shu was the most practical of them all. “A child of our family must have every advantage. We can’t let anyone say he’s illegitimate. In my opinion, Yin should marry that man first. Once the child is born, she can find some pretext to divorce him.”
“That makes perfect sense.” Grand Empress Dowager Chen was entirely in agreement. She turned to Cui Lanyin. “Tell me his name, and I’ll write an imperial decree arranging your marriage right now.”
Cui Lanyin had no way to provide one. She could only evade the question. “There’s no need to hurry, is there?”
Dowager Concubine Wan said, “You’re already two months along. We can’t delay. Even if it’s only a marriage of convenience, a family like ours cannot be too careless about the arrangements. It will take at least a month to prepare everything. If we wait a few more days, you’ll be four months along and showing.”
Empress Dowager Xu advised, “If we’re going to hold the wedding, we should do it promptly. We mustn’t give anyone an opportunity to gossip.”
“I was thinking, since you never go anywhere else and have no chance of meeting any other men, he must be someone from the former imperial residence, right?” Princess Yongjia ventured. “A guard from the former residence, perhaps? That wouldn’t matter either. We could ask His Majesty to grant him an official position, then spruce him up a bit so he’d at least be presentable. Once the wedding was over, we’d have him stay quietly at the residence. After the child was born, we could send him off to some distant post. You could continue living with the child just as you do now.”
Only then did Grand Empress Dowager Chen understand her concern. She hurriedly said, “Yongjia’s right. With so many of us keeping watch, we won’t let him embarrass you.”
Aunt Xia took up paper and brush. “The Second Miss only needs to write his name down, and I’ll draft the decree at once.”
Cui Lanyin did not take them. “I can’t write it.”
Everyone sensed that something was wrong. Grand Empress Dowager Chen could not help asking, “Is he truly so impossible to present?”
Grayfeather, who had been sitting by the window eating melon seeds, suddenly flapped into the air. After circling the room once, it called out, “Cousin-Uncle! His Majesty!”
Thinking that the Emperor had arrived, everyone looked out the window, but there was not even a shadow of him.
Grand Empress Dowager Chen laughed and scolded, “You little rascal. You’ve even learned how to scare people now.”
Grayfeather refused to admit it. “I’m not scaring anyone. Cousin-Uncle! His Majesty!”
Cui Lanyin felt terribly guilty. Pretending to grab it, she said, “Do you want to be locked up?”
“I won’t say anything anymore!” Grayfeather pleaded, beating its wings twice to dodge her before flying straight out of the Hall of Daily Life and heading west.
Seeing that Cui Lanyin was determined not to tell them, Grand Empress Dowager Chen indulged her and suggested, “How about we find someone passable and promise him a few more benefits? He can marry you in name only.”
Cui Lanyin still shook her head.
Empress Dowager Xu, Consort Dowager Shu, Dowager Concubine Wan, and Princess Yongjia took turns trying, but none of them could persuade her.
Imperial Physician Liu was sweating profusely by now. Only Director Cao remained seated there as calm as an old monk, even finding the leisure to drink his tea.
Just as everyone was failing to convince Cui Lanyin, Qi An rushed in and pointed out the window. “His Majesty is here.”
Looking again, they saw Grayfeather leading the way. That clever little creature had actually gone to fetch the Emperor.
Grand Empress Dowager Chen tapped Cui Lanyin on the head. “Perfect. Let the Emperor talk some sense into you.”
At that moment, the person Cui Lanyin least wanted to see was the Emperor. She abruptly sat up and tried to climb off the heated brick bed so she could hide away in Tanyue Residence.
Dowager Concubine Wan was quick enough to press her down. “You mustn’t be so reckless. Be careful not to jostle the baby.”
By the time they had delayed her, the Emperor had already strode in. Consort Dowager Shu and Dowager Concubine Wan hurriedly made room for him.
Princess Yongjia went so far as to retreat against the wall.
No one had time to observe formal greetings. Grand Empress Dowager Chen complained to the Emperor, “Yin is pregnant. The physicians say she’s already two months along. We figured we can’t let the child be branded illegitimate, so we thought she should marry the man first and divorce him after the baby is born. But this girl refuses to say who he is. I can’t even write a betrothal decree without a name. Hurry and persuade her. No matter how unsuitable he is, we’re not afraid. We’ll make certain the wedding is held with full dignity.”
The Emperor only looked at Cui Lanyin. She lowered her head and refused to meet his gaze.
The Emperor’s voice sounded somewhat hoarse, and even his words lacked their usual force. “What do you think?”
“Your Majesty, you mustn’t indulge her at a time like this,” Grand Empress Dowager Chen said unhappily. Yet after saying that, she changed her tone. “If she really doesn’t want to say who he is, perhaps you could find someone for her. The child only needs to have a father in name.”
Grayfeather, which had flown back to perch by the window, butted in again. “He’s Cousin-Uncle’s. His Majesty’s.”
With the added “he’s,” the meaning suddenly became quite different. Grand Empress Dowager Chen snapped, “Grayfeather, stop talking nonsense—”
But then she caught sight of the Emperor staring fixedly at Cui Lanyin, while Cui Lanyin stubbornly kept her head bowed and ignored him. Something about the scene felt terribly wrong.
Consort Dowager Shu and Dowager Concubine Wan exchanged a glance before covering their mouths, afraid that a cry of astonishment might escape.
Only Empress Dowager Xu and Princess Yongjia had yet to understand.
The Emperor turned to Grand Empress Dowager Chen. “The child is mine.”
Facing the utterly stunned Grand Empress Dowager Chen, he emphasized once more, “The child is mine!”
Cui Lanyin’s lover was the Emperor!
Princess Yongjia felt that this was, without question, the most terrifying thing she had encountered in all her years. Recalling the things she had said before—“old and strange,” “impossible to present,” “a flower stuck in a pile of cow dung”—she flung her hands about and did not dare think any further. Her hand struck the wall, sending a stabbing pain through it, but she did not even dare make a sound.
Grand Empress Dowager Chen had always believed she had weathered every kind of storm and that nothing could surprise her anymore.
Only now did she realize that one should never speak too soon. Her thoughts were in complete disarray, and all she could manage to ask was, “You two… you two… when did this happen?”
Only then did Cui Lanyin give the Emperor a glance. He answered for her, “It’s been some time.”
Grand Empress Dowager Chen first asked the question that worried her most. “You didn’t do anything during the mourning period, did you…?”
“Absolutely not. I gave His Majesty the ointment for his bruises on the day of his enthronement ceremony,” Director Cao explained, afraid the Emperor might find it difficult to say himself.
Everyone who understood the implication understood it. Princess Yongjia could not help glancing toward the Emperor, utterly unable to imagine how a man like him would have taken ointment from Cui Lanyin.
The Emperor was so expressionless, speaking in clipped, one-word-at-a-time sentences. How, exactly, had he managed to do that sort of thing with Cui Lanyin?
Her curiosity was so intense it made her itch. Princess Yongjia had even forgotten to be afraid as she huddled in the corner, ears pricked up to listen.
“Director Cao, you certainly know how to keep your mouth shut.” Grand Empress Dowager Chen shot him a glance.
Director Cao smiled obsequiously. “At the time, I wasn’t sure what the Second Miss intended.”
Grand Empress Dowager Chen was somewhat surprised. Her expression softened, and she let him off the hook.
Turning back to the Emperor, the more she thought about it, the more wrong it seemed. Her face darkened. “You do remember that she’s your niece, don’t you? You’re so much older than her…” Then an even more disturbing thought occurred to her, and she demanded sharply, “You didn’t force her, did you?”
The Emperor actually admitted it. “I was overcome by her beauty.”
Empress Dowager Xu and the others did not know whether to sit or stand. An Emperor like this was beyond anything they could ever have imagined.
Everything that had happened was too staggering. The Second Miss Cui was pregnant, and the child’s father was the Emperor. It was the sort of thing no one would dare dream of, yet it had happened in reality.
And when, exactly, had the Emperor become attracted to the Second Miss Cui? How had he managed to make her agree?
What were the two of them like when they were alone together? Judging by the way the Second Miss Cui still refused to raise her head, she was probably forced to act according to the Emperor’s mood.
No wonder the Second Miss Cui behaved so boldly in public. How had she described her lover again? Old, strange, and impossible to present. She certainly had nerve to say such things. It seemed she was so stifled by the Emperor that she had to vent her frustrations elsewhere.
Did the Emperor know? With the way he indulged her, perhaps it was less doting than compensation born of guilt. As they always said, when something defied all reason, there was bound to be a hidden explanation.
Seen in that light, the Second Miss Cui was rather pitiful. The Great Yong court would never tolerate a marriage that crossed generations. Even if the Emperor allowed the Second Miss Cui to give birth to the child, the baby would have to be raised under another identity.
Grand Empress Dowager Chen was genuinely furious. Slapping her thigh, she said, “I had just come to an understanding with her father that, during the next palace recess, I would invite the two of them to the palace so they could see for themselves that keeping Yin here was perfectly safe. And yet you went and did something like this, Your Majesty! How am I supposed to explain it to her parents?”
The emperor neither dodged nor evaded the matter. “I will pay a visit to the Cui residence.”
The emperor actually intended to go personally to the Cui family’s main household and explain himself? And he was even using such respectful language. No one had expected this.
Grand Empress Dowager Chen’s anger eased somewhat. “What exactly will you say when you get there?”
“He is not allowed to go!” Cui Lanyin grabbed the emperor by the sleeve and sat down on the edge of the heated brick platform to put on her shoes.
The emperor hurriedly fetched them for her. Just as he was about to put them on her feet, she snatched them away and put them on herself.
Then she turned to Grand Empress Dowager Chen with a smile. “I have something to discuss with Uncle. I’ll come back and keep you company later, Grand Empress Dowager.”
Grand Empress Dowager Chen could not make heads or tails of the situation, so she decided to wait and see. “Then you two go ahead.”
Cui Lanyin walked out first, passing straight by the emperor. He tried to steady her, but she slapped his hand away. The emperor, however, did not lose his temper in the slightest. He simply followed close behind her all the way to Danyue Residence.
“Why does it look as though everything’s been turned upside down?” Consort Dowager Shu murmured. “Yin has quite a temper, doesn’t she?”
“I think so too. His Majesty is even walking behind her. From the looks of it, is that how they usually are in private?” Dowager Concubine Wan was just as incredulous.
Princess Yongjia really wanted to follow them and see what was going on, but she did not have the courage. “What will happen next? Will they be able to come to some agreement?”
Just then, Qian He came rushing in and happened to hear her.
“Yin first made His Majesty promise that she could leave the palace a year from now. Only then did the two of them get together.”
So the emperor had not coerced or enticed her after all—but just now, he had admitted it himself!
We’re moving on to the wedding preparations! [Kiss kiss]
