Chapter 84

Jiang Mo woke up to find the carriage swaying gently as it traveled back to the capital.

The carriage was spacious and comfortable, with curling incense mixed with the scent of tea. A small table stood before her. She slowly sat up, holding onto the table's edge, and immediately saw the Empress Dowager.

"Awake? Hungry? We'll spend the night in the county ahead. Get some good sleep, and we'll continue tomorrow."

"My father and brother?"

"Don't worry, they're in the carriage behind." The Empress Dowager pushed a plate of pastries toward her. "Eat something to tide you over. We'll have a proper meal once we reach the inn."

Jiang Mo was indeed hungry and took a piece to eat.

Watching her eat, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but smile. "I think this child of yours is a little prince—round and chubby, must be very cute."

Jiang Mo ate while replying, "I think it's a little princess—soft and pink, much cuter."

"Both are good, both are good." The Empress Dowager beamed with anticipation. "We'll have both a little prince and a little princess."

Jiang Mo put down the pastry, touched her belly, and lowered her head.

From now on, Chen Yingchou would have many princes and princesses, while she would never see her own child again.

Seeing her like this, the Empress Dowager didn't understand what was wrong. "You're not still thinking about seeing Chou'er, are you?"

Tears welled up in Jiang Mo's eyes. "Of course I want to see him, but I know I can't. If I had known this, I would have gone with him that day."

The Empress Dowager quickly said, "Don't cry, don't cry. Pregnant women shouldn't cry; it affects the baby."

Seeing how much the Empress Dowager cared about her unborn child, Jiang Mo felt aggrieved. "Has Your Majesty never loved anyone? Never had a child of your own? You not only prevent me from seeing the one I love for the rest of my life but also force mother and child to part. Doing such a cruel thing—do you expect me to accept it with a smile?"

The Empress Dowager was stunned. She hadn't thought about it that way. She had only considered the court, the royal family's dignity, and the necessity of keeping the imperial heir from being raised outside. She had never considered whether Jiang Mo would be sad.

In her life, she had never truly loved any man or borne a child of her own. But she did have people she cared about—Chen Yingchou and the Su family, for example. If she were forced to give them up, she would rather die.

"I'll compensate you. I'll ensure you live a comfortable life for the rest of your days."

Jiang Mo said nothing, just kept crying and stuffing pastries into her mouth.

The Empress Dowager felt a pang of pity and pushed a cup of tea toward her. "Stop crying. Eat slowly."

She sighed inwardly: She truly is a pitiable and endearing woman.

After more than ten days of travel, by the time they reached Kunning Palace, Jiang Mo was exhausted. She fell onto the bed and slept soundly.

When the Empress Dowager saw that she hadn't woken up for a long time, she couldn't bear to wake her. She immediately summoned a trusted imperial physician to take her pulse. The physician was startled to see Jiang Mo but quickly confirmed she was not the same person as the Noble Consort. This woman was pregnant, and there was no faking it.

"Your Majesty, the pregnancy is a bit unstable—perhaps due to excessive emotional fluctuation and fatigue. Rest for two days, and she will recover."

The Empress Dowager breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Prepare the pregnancy-stabilizing medicine yourself. I'll send someone to collect it. Remember, you must hide this from His Majesty."

The physician looked troubled. "But, Your Majesty, she is already eight months pregnant. When a child suddenly shows up, how can we hide it from His Majesty?"

The Empress Dowager was not afraid of Chen Yingchou finding out about Jiang Mo's pregnancy—she assumed the guards had already reported it. She simply didn't want Chen Yingchou to find Jiang Mo.

Feelings between people are fragile. If they don't meet, they gradually fade. As long as they get through the withdrawal period, everything will return to normal.

Even if they bury their longing in their hearts for a lifetime, it doesn't matter—just like the Late Emperor. After Consort Rong passed away, no matter how grief-stricken he was, as the sovereign, he still had to pull himself together and attend to state affairs.

"What are you afraid of? His Majesty probably already knows Jiang Mo is pregnant. He's just hiding it from me. I'm telling you to keep His Majesty from finding her. That's all. Dismissed. Come for a daily health check from now on and prepare the medicine."

After the physician left, the Empress Dowager held Jiang Mo's hand, looking at the sleeping woman, and murmured, "Child, you must safely deliver my little imperial grandson..."

When Chen Yingchou returned to the capital, he found that the team he had sent to protect Jiang Mo had already returned.

He Ji was shocked. He had been dispatching people to search elsewhere.

The leader, former Guard Captain of Prince Yu's residence, knelt before Chen Yingchou. "Your Majesty, we received an imperial decree ordering us to return to the capital that very night."

*

He Ji said, "Your Majesty, the Guard Captain is loyal and wouldn't lie."

Chen Yingchou knew that. He thought for a moment and laughed bitterly. "I thought it was An Zeyou, but it turned out it was Mother."

The only person in Great Qi who could forge an imperial decree and dare to do so was the Empress Dowager.

Without changing his robes, he rushed straight to Kunning Palace.

When the Empress Dowager saw him come in, tired and dusty, she didn't even look at him directly. She continued playing with the thrush in its cage. "You've only just ascended the throne, yet you've missed several morning courts and snuck out of the capital. Do you want all the officials to think you're lazy and neglectful?"

"How did you know Jiang Mo was in Xiling County?"

The Empress Dowager put down the bird stick, walked to the soft couch, and looked at Chen Yingchou. "Before the late emperor passed away, you left the capital with such a big procession. Did you think it would be hard to find out?"

Chen Yingchou clenched his fists, hating his own carelessness. That day, after Lanqiu told him the truth, he couldn't wait another moment.

"I understand. You couldn't wait." The Empress Dowager sat down and pointed to the seat across the table on the soft couch. "Chou'er, sit down. Let's talk slowly."

Clearly, he had guessed right. It was indeed the Empress Dowager who had taken Jiang Mo. Since he knew she was safe, he relaxed a little.

He spread his robe and sat on the soft couch. "I need to see her."

The Empress Dowager dismissed the attendants and poured him a cup of tea. "Now is not the time for you to meet."

"Where is she? Is she well?"

The Empress Dowager relaxed her expression. "I've placed her in a secure place outside the palace. She's doing well, and the baby is fine."

Thinking of Jiang Mo's pregnancy, Chen Yingchou grew anxious. He stood up abruptly. "Mother, I must see her." He felt his heart would leap out of his chest, wishing he could fly to her side.

The Empress Dowager took a leisurely sip of tea. "If you see her, what then? Can you bring her into the palace or install her as a consort? Don't forget, there's still a Noble Consort in the imperial harem. They look exactly alike. What will you say to Jiang Mo? Will you make empty promises, making her give birth while waiting, and then raise the child while still waiting?" She looked up at Chen Yingchou. "Let me be the villain."

First, I'll appease her. After the birth, I'll have the final say.

"Now that you know what the Duke Qingguo did and have some evidence, what are you waiting for? Why don't you take care of the Wei family quickly? Once Wei Yalan is out of the way, and Jiang Mo has earned merit by giving birth, it will be easier to give her a title when the time comes."

He already had evidence of the Duke Qingguo's embezzlement and collusion with cronies in illegal salt and iron trading, and could move against them at any time. But he needed to wait until he uncovered evidence of treason so he could expose all accomplices and catch everyone with rebellious intentions in one clean sweep.

What the Empress Dowager said was right. He had to eliminate the Wei family first and revoke Wei Yalan of her title before he could bring Jiang Mo into the palace.

Seeing that Chen Yingchou seemed convinced, she continued, "Even without Wei Yalan, making the daughter of a sixth-rank secretary a consort is impossible. At most, she could be a Pin (a low-ranking imperial concubine). Jiang Bingzhong has been unknown in the Ministry of Works without achievements. Promotion can't happen overnight. But of course, his official rank can rise slowly, and her consort rank can also be increased gradually."

She said so, but she didn't actually believe it. A carpenter? How far could a carpenter get in the officialdom? She couldn't let the court say the Emperor was blinded by lust.

She had to appease them first—convince Chen Yingchou that she was right and keep Jiang Mo calm so she could deliver the child safely.

Chen Yingchou had already made up his mind. Who said that making someone empress must rely on her family? He himself was Jiang Mo's greatest support.

"Mother, you need not say more. Knowing that Mo'er is safe and sound puts my mind at ease."

Chen Yingchou knew full well that he could not learn Jiang Mo's whereabouts from her, so why waste words? Since she was already in Shangjing, he would turn the place upside down if necessary to find her.

Leaving Kunning Palace, he immediately instructed He Ji to search for her discreetly, and ordered Qiao Yun to summon the Ministers of Personnel, Works, and War, the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censor-in-Chief to the Imperial Study.

The matter of Duke Qingguo could indeed no longer be delayed.

*

Jiang Mo slept well for once. She stretched lazily and lingered in bed, enjoying the soft brocade quilt, the pleasant coolness, and the delightful incense.

No wonder everyone craved power and wealth. In the height of summer, ice basins were placed in every corner of her room. After drinking the pregnancy-stabilizing tonic prescribed by the imperial physician, her body no longer felt fatigued, and her spirits had greatly improved.

She did not want to be hard on herself. Since she could not control her fate, she would enjoy the present, not think about Chen Yingchou, nor about what to do after leaving Great Qi.

Thus, all her negative emotions were soothed away.

"Miss, would you like to have breakfast?" The maid entered with a tray, set it on the table, and came to help her sit up.

"Ouch." Halfway up, Jiang Mo felt a kick.

The maid became anxious. "Miss, what's wrong?"

Jiang Mo smiled. "Nothing. The baby just kicked me."

As she entered her later months, she felt the tiny life inside her belly more and more distinctly. At first, she thought she was carrying a little princess. She craved sweets, liked looking at flowers and plants, and sometimes felt inexplicably aggrieved—truly like a pampered little princess.

These past few days, she felt she might be carrying a little prince—a mischievous boy who always kicked her belly right after she woke up or finished a meal. She had even lifted her clothes to look; there would be a bulge here and a bulge there, quite amusing.

The maid breathed a sigh of relief. "The Empress Dowager said that after breakfast today, Miss may take a stroll in the courtyard. Lord Jiang and Master Jiang will come to accompany Miss."

Jiang Mo only knew she was in Kunning Palace but not exactly where. She assumed it was a secluded place. She had been here for five or six days, staying in her room without stepping out even once. She had not seen her father or younger brother either, and had no idea how they were.

Breakfast was very sumptuous, even more so than when she was at Prince Yu's Mansion: black chicken soup, steamed sea bass, salted duck liver, seasonal vegetables, small buns, and thin pies.

The flavors of some dishes were even better than those cooked by the chef at Luoyun Tower.

Jiang Mo touched her belly. "Mommy is going to have breakfast now. So much food—what do you like to eat?"

The little one gave Jiang Mo several kicks in a row. Jiang Mo chuckled. "You like everything, huh? Then Mommy will have a little taste of each."

After breakfast, the maid helped her with her makeup. Seeing the wooden hairpin on the dressing case, the maid said, "Miss, the Empress Dowager bestowed many hair ornaments and gold hairpins on you a couple of days ago. How about not wearing this wooden hairpin today?"

Jiang Mo picked up the wooden hairpin and put it in her hair, saying casually, "This was carved by His Majesty himself."

Upon hearing this, the maid knelt in panic. "Miss, forgive me. I was ignorant." She had seen the Noble Consort and knew that His Majesty had once frantically tried to recover her memories. After Miss Jiang arrived, she realized His Majesty had been trying to recover not the Noble Consort's memories, but this very Miss Jiang before her.

This wooden hairpin didn't look very precious, and she had assumed Miss Jiang wore it out of habit from outside the palace. She never imagined it was personally carved by His Majesty.