As her voice faded, the hall fell so utterly silent that one could hear a single strand of hair scraping against the dust and floor tiles if it dropped.
Still kneeling on the floor, Song Jinzhao bowed low, touching her forehead to the ground.
She spoke with utmost solemnity, "Your Majesty suffers from kidney deficiency and fatigue, and your vital essence is cold, which makes it difficult to produce heirs. The toll taken on your body over the years has been too severe. Coupled with advancing age, this is not something human effort can completely reverse."
Xiao Chengjing pursed his lips. His face darkened, and his voice carried a hint of simmering anger.
"You have greatly disappointed We, County Princess."
Song Jinzhao kept her forehead against the floor. Only upon hearing Xiao Chengjing speak did she slowly straighten her upper body, a trace of hesitation flickering in her eyes.
"Please forgive my inadequate medical skills, Your Majesty. However, if Your Majesty merely wishes for a few more heirs, I do have a method that might be worth a try."
Xiao Chengjing's tightly knitted brows relaxed slightly. "Speak."
Taking a deep breath, Song Jinzhao said, "I drafted a prescription last night that can grant Your Majesty immense vigor for a short period of time."
"However, this method only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. It essentially concentrates Your Majesty's remaining kidney vitality to be expended within a specific timeframe. Once it is exhausted, your body will revert to its original state, and it will be exceedingly difficult to ever achieve such vigor again."
Xiao Chengjing narrowed his eyes. Standing nearby, Eunuch Zhao did not even dare to breathe too loudly.
"How can you guarantee that the concubines I favor during this time will conceive?"
Meeting Xiao Chengjing's gaze, Song Jinzhao replied, "As long as Your Majesty follows my instructions, I am ninety percent certain."
Xiao Chengjing leaned back. "Explain it to me in detail."
Song Jinzhao began, "First, Your Majesty's body will require a month of conditioning, during which you must abstain from all intimate relations."
"Simultaneously, I will need to select several concubines from the inner palace between the ages of twenty-six and thirty-five, and condition their bodies to an optimal state for conception."
Xiao Chengjing questioned this, "Why between twenty-six and thirty-five? Shouldn't they be as young as possible?"
Song Jinzhao met Xiao Chengjing's gaze levelly, not shrinking back in the slightest, projecting an air of absolute confidence.
"Women between the ages of twenty-six and thirty-five have robust constitutions. They are well-suited for childbearing and are less prone to miscarriages."
Keep dreaming. There was no way she would let him ruin the younger girls.
Once his time was up, were they supposed to live as young widows for the rest of their lives?
Seeing Xiao Chengjing remain silent in apparent agreement, Song Jinzhao continued, "After a month, Your Majesty will begin taking the medication. I will track the selected concubines' monthly cycles to determine their most fertile days. If Your Majesty shares a bed with them on those specific days, it will drastically increase the chances of conception."
Hearing this, Xiao Chengjing began tapping his fingers rhythmically against his thigh.
Given the circumstances, having a chance was better than having none at all.
Thinking of the constant scheming and sheer incompetence of Prince Qi and Prince Ying in the royal court, he realized that if he could just produce other sons, everything would become much easier to manage.
After a long moment of consideration, Xiao Chengjing spoke in a deep voice, "We will do as you suggest. This matter must not be discovered by anyone."
Song Jinzhao curtsied gracefully. "I will strictly obey Your Majesty's command."
"Director Gu, you are to assist County Princess Linghui in selecting the concubines. This must be done with the utmost discretion; even the women themselves must not suspect a thing."
Gu Jupu knelt. "This subject obeys the decree."
With the arrangements settled, Xiao Chengjing straightened his posture and addressed Song Jinzhao, "Her Majesty the Empress is feeling unwell. County Princess Linghui, you are required to enter the palace every seven days to check on her pulse and ensure her well-being. Zhao Yande, you will make the necessary arrangements."
Standing to the side, Eunuch Zhao immediately bowed his head. "This servant obeys the decree."
After exiting the side hall, Song Jinzhao left the palace alongside Gu Jupu.
As soon as she stepped out of the palace gates, she spotted a familiar carriage parked in the distance.
The moment she saw Song Jinzhao appear, Song Shixue, who had arrived early and waited for an hour, quickly emerged from the carriage cabin.
"Sister!" she called out, waving excitedly at Song Jinzhao.
Song Jinzhao smiled and turned to Gu Jupu. "Since my family is here, I won't be needing a ride back in Director Gu's carriage."
Gu Jupu respectfully cupped his hands toward Song Jinzhao. "This lower official bids the County Princess farewell."
Once seated inside the carriage, Song Shixue immediately asked Song Jinzhao what had happened in the palace the previous day.
She asked with a hint of uncertainty, "Sister, are the Empress's headaches really that severe? Were you able to cure her?"
Song Jinzhao shook her head. "The Empress's headaches are a chronic ailment. It will take some time to cure her; it cannot be rushed."
"From now on, I will have to enter the palace once every seven days. This treatment may need to continue for two or three months."
Song Jinzhao's tense shoulders relaxed. "As long as she can be cured, that's fine. I was just afraid that if she wasn't, the Empress would blame you."
"You didn't come home all night yesterday. If our brother hadn't gone to Lord Ye's residence to ask around and confirmed you were safe, I wouldn't have dared to close my eyes."
Song Jinzhao noticed the dark circles under her sister's eyes and gently ruffled Song Shixue's hair.
"What is there to be afraid of? Even if I couldn't cure her, the Emperor wouldn't kill me. At most, he would scold me a few times to vent his anger."
Upon returning to the County Princess's estate, Song Shixue instructed the servants to go to the Imperial College and inform Song Qiming, just so he wouldn't be distracted with worry during his classes.
Having barely slept the entire night, Song Jinzhao ate her breakfast, crawled into bed, and slept soundly until the sun went down.
On the official road ten miles outside the city, Fushun gripped the reins. He was bundled up so tightly from head to toe that only his eyes were visible, leading a convoy of five carriages behind him.
After two long months of travel, they were finally arriving at the capital.
Resting on a warm couch heated by a fire kang, Song Jinzhao was reviewing the profiles of the thirty-four concubines that Gu Jupu had handed over to her.
The oldest was thirty-five, and the youngest was thirty. When the youngest had been favored by the Emperor back in the day, she had only been thirteen years old—a completely innocent child who knew nothing of the world.
Gu Jupu had outlined the past medical histories of all thirty-four women.
The records clearly detailed what illnesses they had suffered from and how long their recoveries took. Most importantly, it included precise notes on their monthly cycles, which was the detail Song Jinzhao cared about the most.
Song Jinzhao's gaze swept over the documents, and she eventually selected the fourteen best candidates.
Since this was his very last chance, she might as well let Xiao Chengjing produce a few more heirs.
With a larger number of children, they could always pick out a capable one.
It was better than only having one or two; if they were to unfortunately pass away prematurely, he truly would have no chances left.
Xuetuan strolled in through the door with a wobbly gait, carrying Song Anhao on its back.
"Big Sister, Second Sister asked me to give this to you."
Song Anhao clung to Song Jinzhao's leg and held the object in his hands high up in the air.
Song Jinzhao closed the record book. When she saw clearly what it was, her gaze paused for a moment.
She reached out, taking the wooden object from Song Anhao's hands to examine it closely.
Eighteen square wooden pillars interlocked flawlessly to form an incredibly tight cube. It was indeed an Eighteen Arhats puzzle lock.
How did it end up here?
Walking in a few steps behind, Song Anhao saw Song Jinzhao staring at the Eighteen Arhats lock with great interest. A happy grin spread across her face as she said, "I knew Big Sister would like it."
Song Jinzhao looked up and asked, "Where did you get this?"
Song Shixue scooped up Song Anhao, and they both climbed onto the warm kang. "Young Master Cui gave it to me."
"Yesterday at noon, our brother and Young Master Dongfang returned from the Imperial College. They mentioned that Young Master Dongfang's friend, Cui Zhengyang, had caught a cold that simply wouldn't go away. With the metropolitan examination fast approaching, they wanted to invite you over to treat him. When they found out you weren't home, they asked me to go take a look instead."
"I spotted this puzzle lock on a shelf in his room. I thought it was quite novel and figured you would like it, so I took a few extra glances at it. Seeing that I was interested, Young Master Cui gave it to me as a gift."
