Ch76 - Married Woman

“Your, Your Majesty…” Hearing this, the empress was stunned. She didn’t know how to respond on the spot. Had she understood his intentions wrongly? Then why did the emperor sigh when he saw the report on Jing Shao’s success before? She still had some sense at least, and knew that this was something she could never ask aloud. 

Emperor Hong Zheng glanced at her. The last time the Ministry of Revenue embezzled funds from the military, she had been implicated. Although the investigation wasn’t carried out to the end, all the evidence vaguely pointed to the Fourth Prince. After the emperor punished those officials, the empress and Jing Yu seemed more anxious than ever. In the past, when Jing Shao was mentioned, it would be all praise or admonishment, but now, the slander was more and more obvious.

The empress snapped out of her thoughts and stole a look at the emperor’s expression, and her heart couldn’t help but thump. “It is this consort who was confused.” She then knelt on the floor to kowtow.

Emperor Hong Zheng ignored it and sat on the bed.

The empress quickly got up and went over to him. The palace servants had already retreated since the quarrel. She half-knelt and personally helped the emperor take off his shoes. In a voice choking with emotion, she said, “Chenqie is just a woman. I only think about Your Majesty and the children every day. Jing Yu is young and doesn’t even have a son or daughter. My only hope is that his three brothers can help him as members of the imperial family to spread his influence; I never expected this to affect the court.” 

Emperor Hong Zheng didn’t speak; who knew if he had heard or not.

“My muddle-headed brother heard from someone that the Cheng Wang Fei had a dispute with Chenqie previously, and also didn’t know that the emperor had allowed the Wang Fei to go with the army, which is why he said that. Your Majesty, please do not bother with him.” Then the empress took out her handkerchief and sobbed into it.

“Get up.” Emperor Hong Zheng’s voice remained unchanged; one couldn’t hear if it held joy or anger. “This is the end of the matter. Don’t throw out such terrible ideas in front of Jing Yu in the future.” After all, this was the empress; he still had to take into consideration the dignity demanded by her status.

The empress quickly agreed in a soft voice. When she got up, she was already covered all over in cold sweat.

The next day, Jing Shao waited until the afternoon before he personally took the carriage to pick up Consort Qiu at the North Marquis’s residence.

“Jun Qing drank too much last night. This morning, his throat was hoarse and he refused to take medicine. He only said that he wanted to have the pear jam made by his mother,” Jing Shao said helplessly, but his voice was suffused with doting. “He’s not feeling well, so Benwang decided to personally pick up Secondary Furen to come over.”

For pear jam to soothe the throat, it had to be eaten while it was hot. It wouldn’t help if it was made and then brought over, and Consort Qiu was now already a secondary wife and could go out on excursions herself.

Put like that, the North Marquis naturally wouldn’t stop them, but his perception of the extent to which Mu Hanzhang was favored rose to a new level. 

Using the explanation supplied by his Wang Fei, Jing Shao successfully picked up Consort Qiu.

It was the first time that Consort Qiu Shi had met Jing Shao. Because of all kinds of rumors, she thought he was a coarse man, but he was actually so handsome and noble.

“Xgffalcu Tbeg Llutcfrr Jtfcu Qjcu!” Jbcrbga Hle kfca obgkjgv ab wjxf tfg rjieajalbcr. Dfobgf rtf mbeiv xcffi, rtf kjr tfiqfv eq ys Alcu Vtjb.

Ktf mjggljuf kjr reggbecvfv ys qfbqif ogbw atf Rbgat Zjgdelr’r tberftbiv, rb Alcu Vtjb mbeivc’a rjs wemt. Lf pera rjlv klat j rwlif, “Qf’gf jii bcf ojwlis, atfgf lr cb cffv obg remt wbvfra mbegafrlfr. Zjvjw, qifjrf fcafg atf mjggljuf.” 

The North Marquis looked at the carriage rolling far away, his eyes profound. The Fourth Prince was threatened by the news that Mu Lingbao had become a cripple, and had asked him to stand in their camp. But his son was married to the Cheng Wang; how could the Fourth Prince’s faction really trust him? They just wanted to use him as a tool. In desperation, he could only stay home with the excuse of being ill. Now, news of the Cheng Wang Fei being conferred the title of marquis had spread all over the capital, the Fourth Prince had not gained any benefits, and Cheng Wang’s pampering of Mu Hanzhang had not reduced in the slightest.

The fight for the throne was already quickly coming to center stage. It was just wishful thinking that he could just look after his own safety. His eldest son was crippled and his grandsons were still young. If he wanted to preserve the family of the North Marquis, he would have to rely on this second son.

Mu Jin sighed; he would have to take a firm position in the future.

“Hanzhang, I heard you’re not well?” When Consort Qiu got out of the carriage, she saw her son standing at the gates. She couldn’t help but frown and urge him to go back into the house. 

“Mother, I’m fine. The purpose today is to examine you.” Mu Hanzhang smiled and helped his mother inside.

“Me?” Consort Qiu frowned and turned to look at Cheng Wang on the side.

“Mother, don’t worry. Wang Ye arranged it all.” Mu Hanzhang knew what she was worried about, so he quickly reassured her.

“Yes, Mother.” Jing Shao followed suit. 

Consort Qiu: “…”

Mu Hanzhang: “…”

Jing Shao was an imperial prince, not to mention Consort Qiu was only a secondary wife. Even if she was the wife of the North Marquis, he didn’t need to call her “mother.”

“Your Highness, that’s too much!” Consort Qiu was quickly about to bow, but suddenly felt dizzy. 

“Mother!” Mu Hanzhang was startled and quickly rushed to catch his mother, who had collapsed.

“Give her to me.” Jing Shao picked up his mother-in-law, quickly walked into the room, and put her on the bed. He turned around and had someone call Imperial Physician Jiang.

Separated from the other side by a screen, Imperial Physician Jiang pondered for a moment before he said, “Madam is less than three months pregnant. She’s older in age, and if she feels uncomfortable, she’ll get dizzy easily. It’s better to rest more.”

Consort Qiu had been very nervous when the Wang Ye himself picked her up today. Although her son always said that the Wang Ye treated him very well when he came to visit, she wasn’t able to believe him wholeheartedly. The matter of the North Marchioness and the heir was still on her mind, and she was afraid that she would cause trouble for her son. 

Jing Shao took the prescription for prenatal supplements and sent Yun Song to fetch the medicine. He then informed Imperial Physician Jiang that he couldn’t tell anyone about this matter, before he turned to go back.

“That’s just what he’s like. He’ll do and say whatever he plans to do and say.” Mu Hanzhang’s warm and pleasant voice came out of the room. Jing Shao quieted his footsteps, wanting to secretly listen to what his Wang Fei would say about him.

“Since he called ‘Mother,’ he really respects you. Don’t think too much.”

“But they are people of the imperial family, after all. Even if it is your own palace, you should be careful of what you say.” 

Jing Shao smiled. These words sounded really familiar; Jun Qing also often reminded him like this.

“You forget what Mother told you before. No matter how good Wang Ye is to you, you can’t rely on his favor and become arrogant. You mustn’t forget the rules!” Consort Qiu’s words were still full of worries. They were both still young and had been married for less than a year; Jing Shao would naturally dote on him, but no flower bloomed for a hundred days. Once his favor was lost, one’s previous mistakes and faults would be brought up to be used as a weapon.

Jing Shao couldn’t listen anymore. He stepped in and hugged his Wang Fei in front of his mother-in-law. “Mother, don’t worry. Jing Shao won’t take another concubine in this life! He will be the only one in my life! You are Jun Qing’s mother, so naturally, you deserve for me to call you as such!”

His words resonated and Consort Qiu stared at Jing Shao in shock. She hadn’t expect the Cheng Wang to say these kinds of words. 

Mu Hanzhang broke away from his embrace, his ears flushed red. It was embarrassing to be so intimate in front of his mother, but he wasn’t able to get rid of the hand holding onto him.

Consort Qiu stared for a while, then slowly revealed a smile which had the unique and gentle sweet-temperedness characteristic of Jiangnan women. It was like a delicate and exquisite apricot blossom, and very moving, but those beautiful eyes similar to Mu Hanzhang’s were slightly moist.

At the same time, the Countess of Yongchang, who had been fuming at home for two days, finally couldn’t stand it anymore and went to the imperial palace.

“Your Majesty, no matter what the situation is, my husband is your brother. Your Majesty had your brother rush to lead everything. If the emperor blames us, the whole Yongchang household will pay for it.” The Countess of Yongchang began to cry as soon as she saw the empress. 

The empress had been scared and on edge all of last night, so her complexion already wasn’t great. Hearing this interminable wailing, she just felt an oncoming headache. “Jing Yu didn’t want to make his uncle make the first move. What happens in court, however, is unpredictable. Our hands are tied; how can we do anything big right now to change the situation?”

“Your Majesty clearly knew that the emperor gave his assent for the Cheng Wang Fei to join the army. Why have your brother take the risk?” When the Countess of  Yongchang heard this, she was even more angry. However, the person in front of her wasn’t just her sister-in-law, but also the empress. She could only suppress the anger and continue to complain tearfully.

“Things have already happened, what’s the use of crying to me now?” The empress became more and more agitated at these words, and fiercely slammed the teacup in her hand onto the table.

“Your Majesty.” The Countess of Yongchang pulled in her neck. She quickly looked around the area before she clutched her handkerchief and said, “Cheng Wang hit my husband. His whole eye is bruised, and the swelling won’t go down no matter what we apply. This is Your Majesty’s own little brother. If Cheng Wang hits him, isn’t it like hitting Your Majesty’s face?” 

As she spoke, she began to cry again. She spoke endlessly without getting to the point. Today, the Count of Yongchang had to go to court with swollen eyes. The Count of Yongchang was an elder but the Cheng Wang didn’t say a word of apology, and the emperor also didn’t even look at him. The title of a count was already quite low to begin with. If things went on like this, who among the nobles would respect the Count of Yongchang’s household? Nobody would take the Fourth Prince seriously either.

Being talked at like this, the empress also developed a belly full of anger, but the emperor wasn’t pleased with Jing Yu right now. What happened last night still left her with a lingering fear. It was better to be well-behaved for a while, but she really couldn’t swallow the tone with which the countess was speaking to her. After a moment of silence, she suddenly snapped, “What’s the use of you crying to me? If you have the ability, go and cry to the empress dowager, or go to Fengxian Hall and cry to the ancestors of Dachen dynasty!”

The Countess of Yongchang was stunned. “What Your Majesty means is…”

“Bengong is busy enough managing the inner court, I can’t manage these things!” The empress raised her eyebrows and waved her hand for the servants to see off the guest. 

The empress dowager was the paternal aunt of a cousin of the Countess of Yongchang. She wasn’t the empress of the former emperor or the emperor’s mother. However, when Emperor Hong Zheng ascended the throne, he needed an empress dowager, so he chose the one with relatively high birth from the living members of the previous harem. Because of this situation, the empress dowager had always been in charge of nothing, but had the status. If the Countess of Yongchang went to her to lament, it would surely reach the emperor’s ears. If she didn’t succeed once, then she would just go there and cry every day. The emperor would have to at least save her face, right?

Thinking this, the Countess of Yongchang made up her mind and went straight to the empress dowager’s palace.

The empress sat quietly for a moment before she raised her hand and threw down the cup in her hand. It was hateful that a majority of Jing Yu’s accumulated connections in the Ministry of Revenue had been destroyed by the corruption scandal. Many years of preparation had been destroyed in this one instance. How could she not be anxious? But the situation was now like this, so she had to remain calm!

The atmosphere in Fengyi Palace was gloomy, but in Cheng Wang’s residence, it was very happy. 

“If it’s a boy, I promise to make him the heir of the North Marquis title.” Jing Shao smiled and handed the medicine to his Wang Fei.

Mu Hanzhang took the medicinal brew and blew on it. He tested the temperature before giving it to his mother.

Consort Qiu shook his head. “I don’t ask for any title; I just ask for the child to be born safely.”

Husband and husband looked at each other. Now that Mu Lingbao was like this, if the North Marchioness knew that Consort Qiu was pregnant, she might do something crazy. 

Mu Hanzhang frowned. “I’ll send Mother back in a little bit and talk to my father.”