radicalducati Chapter 327 Li Yuanke, my stomach hurts!
Chapter 327 Li Yuanke, my stomach hurts!
Que Chongyi did not attend the annual banquet today.
She had been tormented by the Empress Dowager to the point of being unrecognizable, and her mental state was also very unstable. Li Yuanke was too lazy to even care about his own sons and daughters, let alone her.
Shen Shixi didn't bother to care.
It is true that she specifically mentioned Li Yuanyin's advice when she sent the imperial decree. She did have some ulterior motives. Whether Consort Que was scheming against the Xie family or against Li Yuanyin, she didn't care.
But Consort Que shouldn't have schemed against her. If it weren't for this incident, and the Empress Dowager really wanted to deal with Consort Que, she would have protected Consort Que to avoid losing face.
After all, at that time, the imperial court and the harem were both in her hands.
As a result, the person even openly threatened her and tried to negotiate with her.
Will Shen Shixi still care?
People should take responsibility for their choices.
Shen Shixi did not inform her to attend the New Year's Eve palace banquet, and the people in her palace did not remind her either. As a result, she slept until evening and then hurriedly ran to Daqing Palace.
Her palace staff realized what was happening and gave chase, but she was a madwoman and ran incredibly fast.
Upon reaching the koi pond, she happened to run into Li Yuanyin, who was taking a walk to sober up. She immediately turned and ran as if she had seen a demon, shouting, "Help! Someone come quick! Prince Chang Le and Consort Zhen are having an affair! Someone come quick! Prince Chang Le and Consort Zhen are having an affair!"
Li Yuanyin sobered up instantly and immediately rushed after Que Chongyi.
Consort Que was terrified. "Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer! I'm the Emperor's concubine! You can't touch me! You can't touch me! Ahhhh! Help! Prince Chang Le is committing adultery in the harem! Help!"
Li Yuanyin rushed forward and covered her mouth. In her struggle, Que Chongyi managed to pull both of them into the water.
In the dead of winter, the koi pond should have been frozen over, but in order for the ladies to be able to see the koi, the ice was broken. When the two fell in, there was a loud splash.
The guards nearby struggled to pull the two out of the water. After being chilled like that, Li Yuanyin was still alive, but Que Chongyi died instantly.
After hearing the whole story, Shen Shixi rubbed his temples. "Go and inform Consort Shu to handle this matter without alerting anyone. Consort Que will be posthumously granted the title of Consort Que and buried with the rites befitting a second-rank consort, in the Consort's Mausoleum!"
"yes!"
Shen Shixi went in and briefly explained the matter to Li Yuanke, who had nothing to say.
After a while, someone came to report to the Empress Dowager, who hurriedly went out. Shen Shixi guessed that Li Yuanyin was not doing well, but he really couldn't feel any sympathy for him.
Instead of reflecting on his own son's mistakes, he vented his anger on Consort Que. A minor punishment would have been enough, but he drove her to madness. She is, after all, the birth mother of the Third and Fourth Princesses.
But this matter has nothing to do with Shen Shixi, and she can't be bothered to care.
After the banquet ended, Li Yuanke decided not to stay up all night with his ministers this year, as he was worried that the Empress might give birth at any moment and wanted to stay with her.
Despite the presence of palace lanterns along the way in the dead of night, the two did not ride in a palanquin, but instead held hands as they returned from Daqing Palace to Zhaoyang Palace.
Chao Yu reported that Consort Shu was already handling the funeral arrangements for Consort Que, and that Li Yuanyin had developed a high fever and was kept in the palace by the Empress Dowager, with the imperial physicians currently tending to him.
Neither of them paid any attention.
Shen Shixi was sleepy, so the two of them didn't stay up to welcome the New Year and went straight to sleep.
Shen Shixi woke up in the middle of the night, and Li Yuange helped her sit up. When they arrived at the bathroom, Bai Ping helped her in, while Li Yuange stood guard outside.
She came out feeling a little hungry.
There was always someone in the small kitchen, keeping the fire burning. They cooked her a bowl of steamed dumplings with egg drop soup. She ate a big bowl, and then her stomach started to feel a little off.
"Li Yuanke, my stomach hurts!" Shen Shixi grabbed Li Yuanke.
Li Yuanke was stunned on the spot, stammering, "W-what, what do we do? Xi'er, what do we do? You're going into labor, what do we do?"
For the first time, Shen Shixi felt that this man was no longer worth keeping; he was too useless.
"What can I do? Prepare to give birth!" she exclaimed angrily.
Li Yuanke was almost in tears, "But I wasn't prepared!"
Shen Shixi didn't want to talk to him anymore, and instructed Bai Ping, "Don't be nervous, hurry up and go call the midwife Fan and midwife Sun, and also call Jiang Lingyou and Imperial Physician Zhang. Don't call the other imperial physicians, lest Li Yuanyin dies and I get blamed."
"Oh dear, what time is it? Your Highness, please say something nice!" Bai Ping stamped her foot and hurried out, then turned to Bai Kui and instructed, "You help Her Highness wash up and get dressed!"
She almost tripped over the threshold and fell flat on her face, but luckily Li Fude caught her in time.
Li Fude was at a loss for what to do, but Bai Ping reminded him, "Father-in-law, I'm sorry to trouble you. Our Empress is about to give birth, and all the imperial physicians are at Cining Palace. The Empress said she wants to invite Imperial Physician Zhang and Imperial Physician Jiang to come over. Do you think you could..."
"I'll go, I'll go!"
Li Fude left without even touching the ground; this matter couldn't be delayed for even a moment.
Shen Shixi's labor pains only lasted a short while, and once she recovered, she was as good as ever. She arranged for Bai Kui and the others to help her wash her hair. If it were a postpartum period in later generations, she definitely wouldn't have such strict rules. She would just wash her hair and blow-dry it.
But in this new time and space, she dared not act recklessly; if she contracted any disease, she would probably lose her life.
"Your Highness, you're about to give birth, why are you washing your hair?"
"She's only just started laboring. First babies are always slow to give birth. Who knows when she'll be born? If you don't wash her now, she'll smell terrible in a month."
"But you just washed yourself the day before yesterday!"
Everyone advised her not to wash it, but Shen Shixi remembered that if she washed it, it wouldn't dry for a while.
She felt another sharp pain, and it was quite intense this time, so Shen Shixi quickly moved to the delivery room.
The midwives gathered around, feeling Shen Shixi's belly. The baby was in the right position, she was in good spirits, and the pain wasn't too bad. She had just eaten a big bowl of sweet egg drop soup with dumplings, so she just waited.
At Cining Palace, Li Yuanyin did indeed develop a high fever. The Empress Dowager summoned all the imperial physicians, both on and off duty, and they gathered around Li Yuanyin, discussing countermeasures one after another, but they couldn't come up with a solution for a long time.
"Where is the Emperor? Have you spoken to him about Prince Guo?" The Empress Dowager was now anxious and at a loss, thinking of relying on her eldest son.
Before Qingruo could speak, Li Fude announced that he was requesting an audience.
"Let him in quickly!"
As soon as the Empress Dowager saw Li Fude, she asked, "Where is the Emperor? Why didn't he come? Prince Guo is delirious with fever, and the Emperor didn't even bother to come and see him. What's the use of sending you here?"
Li Fude said, "How could this servant be qualified to serve Prince Guo? This servant has come by imperial decree to ask Imperial Physician Jiang and Imperial Physician Zhang to go to Zhaoyang Palace. Her Majesty the Empress has gone into labor and is about to give birth."
The Empress Dowager immediately became anxious upon hearing this, "The Empress can have a midwife during childbirth, what's the point of having imperial physicians? Prince Guo is still ill!"
Imperial Physician Zhang couldn't stand it any longer. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Physician Jiang and I are both skilled in gynecology. Your Majesty usually has us take your pulse and are familiar with the pregnancy. It would be more appropriate for you to stay at Zhaoyang Palace at this time."