Chapter 49: The Joyful Pulse Controversy

Chapter 49: The Joyful Pulse Controversy

Contrary to Dr. Zhao's delight, Song Zhao felt a vague sense of unease about the situation.

Yunsong, on the other hand, was overjoyed, "Congratulations to the young mistress! This is a great blessing!"

Dr. Zhao also smiled and added, "His Majesty has been upset over Consort Shu's miscarriage. This pregnancy of yours will surely bring him comfort."

Song Zhao remained silent for a moment before smiling, "All thanks to Dr. Zhao's good fortune."

Later, Dr. Zhao mentioned he needed to check the pulse at Consort Hui's palace and hurried off.

As soon as he left, Yun Consort returned to the side chamber,

"What did Dr. Zhao say?"

Yunsong joyfully replied, "To Her Highness Yun Consort, Dr. Zhao said our young mistress..."

"Indeed caught a cold," Song Zhao interjected quickly, cutting off Yunsong, "It's my own fault for being fond of the cool air, keeping the windows open even as autumn arrives."

Yun Consort's smile briefly faltered upon hearing this, but she quickly regained her composure.

"I don’t think so. Look at the joy on the face of your maid. If you were ill, wouldn’t she be worried for you?"

She leaned close to Song Zhao and whispered,

"Could it be that you are pregnant and want to delay this matter, to surprise His Majesty on his birthday?"

Song Zhao smiled, "Such a baseless matter, how dare I joke about the imperial heir?"

With that, Consort Yun had nothing more to say. After a brief chat, she let Song Zhao leave with the music score.

After sending Song Zhao off, Zhilan returned to attend to Consort Yun,

"Your Highness, do you think Song Changzai believed it?"

Consort Yun's eyes narrowed, her expression bold,

"She has no choice but to believe. Even if she has doubts and calls for a physician to verify, what can she do? Her status is just that of a Changzai, and she can only summon physicians like Hu and Xu from the Imperial Medical Bureau, who all speak the same language and will confirm her 'pregnancy'."

Smirking, she added, "As long as she believes she's pregnant and impatiently reveals it, once the falsehood of her seeking favor through a fake pregnancy is exposed, her favor will be completely ruined."

*

On the way back to her palace, Song Zhao was silent and sullen.

Yunsong privately thought that women in the palace were full of schemes. It was normal for Song Zhao not to disclose her pregnancy to Consort Yun, especially considering Consort Shu's example. Anyone would be extra cautious.

Even if she kept it secret from the other consorts, Xiao Jingheng should be informed.

Yunsong placed a goose feather cushion behind Song Zhao's lower back, "When do you plan to share this good news with His Majesty?"

Song Zhao shook her head thoughtfully, "Let's not rush. I find it strange that Dr. Zhao diagnosed me with a joyful pulse but didn't tell Yun Consort. And wasn't he supposed to check her pulse for well-being? Why did he leave in such a hurry after checking mine?"

Yunsong was startled, "Mistress, do you suspect this is a trap? But it doesn't make sense. If we reveal this and it's proven that you are not pregnant, Dr. Zhao, with his nonsense, won't escape responsibility. Is he willing to jeopardize his career?"

Song Zhao raised an eyebrow at Yunsong, "Who can prove that Dr. Zhao said those words to me? After all, when he declared my pregnancy, only you and I were present."

Yunsong gasped, "Then he is intentionally trying to harm you! Fortunately, you stopped me from sharing the news earlier. Otherwise, it would have been widely known, framing you for faking a pregnancy for favor, and we couldn't clear your name even if we tried. I'll go to the Imperial Medical Bureau and invite another physician to diagnose you."

Song Zhao calmly said, "Go ahead and invite them."

About half an hour later, Yunsong returned with Dr. Xu to Yao Hua Palace.

After examining Song Zhao, Dr. Xu too joyfully announced, "Congratulations, mistress, you are indeed over a month pregnant!"

Song Zhao, seemingly overwhelmed with happiness, said, "Such wonderful news! Then please, Dr. Xu, inform His Majesty of this."

Dr. Xu replied, "Such great news should come from you directly to please the Emperor even more. With His Majesty's birthday approaching, what could be a better gift than announcing this at the banquet?"

Song Zhao pondered for a moment and nodded, "You make a good point, Dr. Xu. I will wait until His Majesty's birthday banquet to personally tell him this good news. Please keep this matter confidential for now."

"Of course, of course."

After Dr. Xu left, Song Zhao, gently touching her flat belly, said with a cold smile,

"I am but a mere concubine, and in this palace, only Dr. Xu and Dr. Hu, who specifically serve us, could be manipulated against me. If they are being used to deceive me, I’m indeed at a disadvantage."

Leaning back languidly, her gaze on the rouge on her nails, she spoke leisurely to Yunsong,

"I asked you to invite the physician not to hear the truth from them, but to make those plotting against me believe I’ve fallen into their trap. Only then will they let their guard down and expose themselves."

Yunsong said, "No matter how they scheme, with your wisdom, mistress, their plots will never succeed! They can never guess that we have Xiaofuzi, a physician of exceptional skill, by our side."

Three days later, after completing his temple duties, Xiaofuzi returned to Yao Hua Palace and immediately checked Song Zhao's pulse.

As expected, the pulse reading showed that Song Zhao was not pregnant.

Song Zhao, puzzled, asked, "It’s expected that I am not pregnant, but my menstrual cycle still hasn't started. Do you know why?"

Xiaofuzi, frowning in thought, replied, "Your pulse shows a slight deficiency in qi and blood, leading to menstrual irregularities. It could be due to exposure to something unclean."

Yunsong quickly interjected, "That can't be. Ever since the arsenic incident, the mistress has been extremely cautious with her diet. The meals from the Imperial Kitchen are personally inspected by the food tasters appointed by the Emperor, leaving no room for error."

Song Zhao pondered and said, "The mistake isn't in our palace. But I eat the snacks given by the Empress during my daily visits for greetings, and I can’t refuse them. I recall these past days, the snacks from the Empress’s palace were all special products sent by Yun Consort. If she intended to arrange something, it wouldn’t be difficult."

Yunsong asked, "Should we inform the Emperor about this?"

Song Zhao raised an eyebrow, shaking her head with a composed smile,

"If Yun Consort intends to harm me, I'll retaliate with even harsher and more venomous tactics. Why should I trouble the Emperor with such matters when he already has a multitude to manage?"

(Ps: Off to play mahjong, another day of slacking off with just one update. Double updates tomorrow! If not, I'm a dog!!!)