Chapter 174 Pregnant

“What are you laughing at?” Guan Suyi frowned, “Who should you choose? Say it yourself now.”

“Choose Madam, naturally choose Madam.” Emperor Sheng Yuan smiled and took the stiff-face Madam into his arms, “Madam, you are getting more and more fierce.”

Guan Suyi’s expression was still very serious, “I can’t ruin the reputation of the Guan family, and I can’t let my grandfather and father be impeached and criticized because of me, so I will try my best to persuade the emperor not to favor Jiaofang Palace alone. If the emperor turns over my palace cards for one day, I will respect and love the emperor as a husband for one day. If the emperor is tired, dislike, and chooses someone else, I will also respect the emperor as the monarch. From then on, we will have a monarch-subject relationship, not a husband and wife. I will welcome you when you come, I will send you off when you gone, that’s all.”

At this time Emperor Sheng Yuan didn’t laugh anymore. He quickly blocked Madam’s lips and sucked gently for a while, until she was dizzy and her eyes were soaked in water.

“Don’t say this kind of heartless words, Madam. I will always choose you. I know that whenever you say ‘Please Your Majesty, spread the rain and dew’, you’re actually begging me to stay. I will not be angry because of this in the future, I understand your heart, and you should understand mine too. You are the most virtuous empress in the world, in order to continue the imperial bloodline, you’re almost break your heart, it is I who doesn’t work hard, always sticking to you. ”

The corners of Guan Suyi’s mouth twitched quickly, then she ordered, “Minglan, take another set of palace card and let the emperor choose it again.”

Minglan took the order and left, her face still pale, showing that she was frightened by the furious emperor. After a while, she came up tremblingly holding the tray, knelt down and said, “Please take a look, Your Majesty.”

Emperor Sheng Yuan felt both helpless and funny, directly took the sign of Jiaofang Palace, and flattered, “Are you satisfied, Madam?”

“Not satisfied.” Guan Suyi pointed to the gate of the palace, “Let Baifu take out these cards, burn it again in public, and ask all the concubines in the palace to come see it. Empress niangniang was also very earnest and tried very hard to persuade the emperor, which made the emperor very unhappy because of this, and almost wrongly implicated. The emperor is not good with women, what can the empress do?”

Emperor Sheng Yuan couldn’t bear it any longer, he pressed his fist to his lips and choking from laughter. Madam was really a tyrant and a rogue, how could he not see it in the beginning? But in this way, she was more cute and more lovely.

“Leave it alone.” He stopped Baifu, who had a weird expression, and shook his head with a smile. “I’ll take it out and burn it myself, so that others can see it clearly.” After hugging and kissing Madam a few times, he strode out, and when he reached the outside of the palace, his laughing expression turned gloomy in an instant. He ordered the guard to build a brazier, poured the palace cards into the fire, and stared at them as they burned to ashes before turning back inside the palace.

Each palace masters naturally wanted to understand why the emperor was furious, so they all sent some spy to investigate, and they were all greatly disappointed when they got the news. The emperor was so disgusted with flipping the cards, so for a while, other than the empress he definitely would not summon any concubines. Only hope that the empress would not be intimidated by the emperor because of this and dare not persuade him again.

In fact, it was not strange for the emperor to be ruthless. Who told every palace concubine to avoid him like a snake before, instead every day they ran to Changle Palace to please the Empress Dowager and the prince consorts, and also intended to stand with the little imperial grandsons. Now that the Empress Dowager had fallen, they wanted to change the course and withdraw, but it was too late to regret it.

From this day on, the empress sent an inner attendant to Weiyang Palace every day to deliver the sign. If the emperor was in a good mood, he would directly pick Jiaofang Palace, but if he was in a bad mood, he would burn all the signs, and then ran to the empress “furiously”. The empress was also really virtuous, even if she was scolded to tears, the next day she still done what she had to do, so every few days she would have disputes with the emperor, causing Zhong shi and the others to enter the palace several times to ask for an audience, advised her not be too straightforward, occasionally be soft and follow the emperor.

The courtiers also heard about the relationship between the emperor and the empress, they all sighed that the empress was virtuous and generous. However, the emperor was not good with women, and even disgusted with them, this matter had long been a well-known secret. So it was normal that he didn’t want to visit the palace concubines, and it was not something that can be solved in one or two days. Fortunately, the empress was very patient, and what the emperor needed most was the eldest son. It was not too late to persuade again after the empress was pregnant.

While persuading the emperor, the empress also released a large number of palace maids and inner attendants to reunite with their families, which won the praise of the courtiers and the common people. Afterwards, she practiced frugality and took the initiative to cut two-thirds of the Jiaofang Palace’s expenses, wore only plain clothes, put on only silver hairpins, and ate only simple meals. The rest of the concubines did not dare to surpass her, so they also reduced their expanses and manpower, saving a large amount of silver for the inner storehouse.

After two to three months, the empress’s virtuous name had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and could not be shaken.

—

Inside Shuangyun Palace, Shen Jieyu was wearing a coarse cloth and a peach wood hairpin, stood by the window looking into the distance. Dengxi hurriedly ran in and said in shock, “Niangniang, the sixth imperial grandson is dead! It’s really dead! The eldest prince consort has already fainted from crying at this moment.”

“What did you say?” Shen Jieyu accidentally snapped off one of her fingernails.

“The body of the sixth imperial grandson has been transported back to the palace. This servant went to the Empress Dowager to ask for the other half of the secret guard, and almost got killed by her. If the empress hadn’t gone to express her condolences, this servant would not be able come back alive today!” Dengxi said in horror, “The sixth imperial grandson is really gone, and I don’t know what went wrong.”

Shen Jieyu sat stupidly for a while, gritted her teeth and said, “This Palace will go over and see in person.” When she walked to the door, she stopped, “Let’s wait until the mourning period is over. Now everyone is avoiding Changle Palace like snakes and scorpions. If This Palace goes alone, it will look suspicious. Besides, right now the Empress Dowager is so angry, she won’t be able to talk properly with This Palace.”

For the first time she seemed at a loss, murmured, “Dengxi, how should we live our days?” Most of the nails she just got were released from the palace in a blink of an eye, and the rest were either taken by the empress’s majestic aura and didn’t dare to revolt, or demoted to an inconspicuous place and could not be used at all. Even the five secret guards, after the death of the sixth imperial grandson, would probably be taken back by the Empress Dowager.

If the Empress Dowager blame the death of the sixth imperial grandson on her head, not only she could not use those people, but if they stay by her side, they would become a threat.

Dengxi was also at a loss, “Niangniang, why don’t you lay low for a while? Nowadays, the personnel in the palace are reduced, and everyone can easily get familiar when seeing each other, whoever is quiet and who is cunning, the empress can see through it at a glance, so let’s not provoke her attention. Dress up and see if you can run into the emperor in the imperial garden.”

Shen Jieyu opened her trousseau and sneered, “Dress up? The rouge and the powder are all gone, and the jewelry can’t be worn outside. How should This Palace dress up?”

“Then wait for the emperor to remember one day, by some luck maybe your sign will get picked.” Dengxi’s voice gradually faded, revealing a sad tone. How could the emperor willing to flip the concubine’s sign, because of this he had quarrelled with the empress several times, and every time he got angry, he took it out by reducing the expense of each palace. Of course, Jiaofang Palace would only be cut more severely.

The other palace masters were already miserable, wiping their tears every day. But the empress seemed like it was nothing, dressing more and more plainly, eating more and more simple. A few days ago, she even let people carried a loom to Jiaofang Palace, preparing to weave her own clothes. How could she not get tormented?

Shen Jieyu also had to admit that the empress was a determined and resolute person, not someone that can be trifled with.

“Wait for the emperor to flip the card? Then you may as well inquire the emperor’s whereabouts.” Shen Jieyu gritted her teeth and said, “You bring in a loom as well, This Palace will personally weave a piece of cloth for His Majesty as a gift for his birthday.”

“Niangniang, do you know how?” Dengxi was very suspicious.

“Then learn first! Even if the weaving is not good, it still a piece of This Palace’s heart! Just go.” Shen Jieyu urged.

It was not easy for Dengxi to get a loom in, and the other palaces also followed suit. In the past, when walking around the palace, people could always hear the decadent music, but now it was the sound of weaving cloth.

—-

Guan Suyi arranged the funeral of the sixth imperial grandson, and ordered the imperial physician to guard the empress dowager, who was vomiting blood and went unconscious, before returning to Jiaofang Palace to continue weaving. She slowly straightened the thread, and was about to step on the pedal when she saw Hunnar striding in and asked with a smile, “Madam, when will the clothes you promised to make for me be ready?”

“I haven’t finished weaving the cloth, it’s still early. If you have nothing to do, why not spread the rain and dew, and go to another palace to sit?” Guan Suyi said habitually.

Emperor Sheng Yuan could no longer feel his previous anger and sadness, but regarded it as a kind of fun, hugged her and kissed her twice, and said with a bright smile, “Every time you say this, in your heart you actually crying and begging for me to stay, how can I go against your wishes and make you sad? I’ll change my clothes and go to the backyard to farm, and you will bring me a pot of herbal tea later.”

“Don’t go in the sun for too long so as not to get heatstroke.” Guan Suyi urged earnestly.

“Understood, the next time (maternal) grandfather enters the palace, you ask him to bring some grape seeds from the Western Regions, and I will build a grape trellis for you, so that you can enjoy the coolness in summer and eat grapes in autumn.” Emperor Sheng Yuan said while taking off his dragon robe, changed into a set of coarse cloth short. Ever since Old Master Zhong entered the capital, Emperor Sheng Yuan was astonished by his farming knowledge, and invited him for a long talk every day. The emperor then sent people to various places to instruct local officials on how to grow crops.

He also learned a few hands himself, and then opened up a few plots of farmland in the back garden of Jiaofang Palace to grow vegetables and fruits. This move won great praise from the courtiers, and was passed on to the people, adding another luster to his image as benevolent monarch. Now Jiaofang Palace was completely self-sufficient, and there was no need for the Department of Internal Affairs to allocate expense.

After Guan Suyi finished weaving a piece of cloth, she made some herbal tea to relieve the heat and sent it to the backyard. When she saw Hunnar, who was digging with a hoe with his trouser legs rolled up to his knees, she became distracted. It turned out that the promise he made at the beginning was true, even if they were the emperor and empress, even if they lived in the deep palace, they could still live the life of an ordinary married couple.

“Stop digging, come and rest for a while.” After returning to her senses, she smiled and waved at Hunnar. After taking two steps, she felt a darkness in front of her eyes and almost fainted, she then vomited while holding on to the pillar.

Emperor Sheng Yuan was startled, and immediately threw away his hoe and ran over to hug her, anxious like an ant on a hot pan. Jinzi who heard the noise ran to check the pulse, and then laughed, “Your Majesty, niangniang is pregnant!”

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TN: What is this magical pair of emperor and empress that weaved their own cloths and farmed their own food?!

PS: The main story will be finish in 3 more chapters. After the wedding the story does feel kinda rushed. But after the main story there’s an alternate story which is very interesting.