The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Xie Yu really didn't know what the emperor and the empress talked about that night. He only knew that in the following period of time, the two of them became as relaxed and close as before when they were together. The empress dowager, who was originally going to return to the palace, also sent a letter saying that the weather was cold and it was difficult for the old lady to move, and she could not return to the palace until after the New Year and the beginning of spring.

The emperor would naturally not urge his mother. Instead, he sent Lin, the youngest and most promising imperial physician in the Imperial Hospital, to the empress dowager.

In addition, there is another matter of minor importance.

It was a full month after Shen Nanliu's death that the news of her death was reported from the cold palace.

The official reason given was that he became depressed and died of worry.

The bed sheet with blood words written on it disappeared. It should have been put away by the emperor or the empress, because she died as a commoner, and the emperor did not restore her status after her death, and she could not be enshrined in the concubine's tomb. Wen Baolin had been sick during the month of house arrest, and when he was released from house arrest, he suddenly learned the news of Shen Nanliu's death and fainted again.

After waking up, he went to the Queen to ask for permission to return Shen Nanliu's body for burial, but the Queen refused. She only said that she had already found a burial place for Shen Nanliu and asked Wen Baolin to rest and recuperate.

Just like that, life in the palace suddenly became peaceful.

Another month passed, and it was the twelfth lunar month. The sky in the capital was already covered with white snow. The heavy snow like goose feathers covered the entire city in just one night.

After the snow, the emperor visited the harem less frequently.

The snow this year was really too heavy. Several old houses in the capital were crushed by the accumulated snow. News also came from various places outside the capital that there might be snow disasters. In the past few days, the emperor and his court officials have been very busy. While arranging how to ensure that the places hit by the heavy snow can safely spend the winter, they unexpectedly caught several corrupt officials who were secretly selling grain stored in the government warehouse.

It is not appropriate to kill people in the autumn and winter months, and near the end of the year, but the emperor was in a bad mood and didn't care about this.

All of them were captured by the Jinwu Guards, thrown into prison and their homes confiscated. The culprits were dragged to the execution ground in the heavy snow, and their heads were chopped off on the white snow. The hot blood that splashed out solidified on the snow in a short moment, turning into prickly ice chips.

After killing everyone and bringing the disaster under proper control, the emperor felt relieved both physically and mentally.

When he had some free time, the first thing he did when he entered the palace was to visit Concubine Song Shufei.

After Liu Yu-nu fell into the water, Concubine Song Shu went back to bed to recuperate and was unable to get up for several months. The colder the weather got, the more frightened the palace servants became about her illness.

It was like her life was hanging by a thread. Concubine Song fainted several times and was almost hanging on to her last breath. Even the old imperial physician Bai moved into Lefu Palace, ready to save her life at any time. The eldest prince and the third prince stopped attending classes and went to their mother's bedside every day to serve her medicine.

As the Chinese New Year approaches, the palace is decorated everywhere with red lanterns, ruyi knots, peach charms, window decorations and other festive and auspicious items. Even though Lefu Palace has also used these festive items according to the rules, it cannot cover up the increasingly dull and solemn atmosphere.

When the emperor stepped into Lefu Palace, he could see that the entire palace was burning heating day and night regardless of cost, but he still felt an inexplicable biting cold.

I couldn't help but become more worried.

Fortunately, when he came, Concubine Song was awake, and the two princes were also there to talk to their mother.

"Ahem...Why is Your Majesty here?" Concubine Song Shu, who was lying on the bed, had lost a lot of weight, and her originally beautiful face was becoming increasingly haggard. She subconsciously wanted to pull the bed curtain to hide her ugly face.

The emperor strode over and held her raised hand: "How come you have lost so much weight, but your servants are not serving you attentively?"

Concubine Song Shu forced a smile and said, "It's my own fault that I can't eat. I don't blame them."

"Lizi, you and Apeng have been tired after the whole morning. Go downstairs and take a nap first." Concubine Song Shu said to the two children.

Lizi is the nickname of the eldest prince, and the nickname of the third prince is Apeng. The former was given this nickname because Concubine Song Shu was diagnosed with pregnancy after dreaming of a big blue carp; the latter was given this nickname because he was weak and sickly since birth, and there was a long-lived person named Peng Zu in ancient times, so the emperor used the method of naming to pray that the third prince would live a long life.

The two princes were very well behaved and asked the female officials to escort them out.

The emperor watched the children all leave, then frowned and asked Concubine Song Shu: "Does Zhi Niang have anything to say to me?"

He was very clear about Concubine Song's physical condition, and he was vaguely worried that she had some ominous premonition and wanted to make arrangements for her funeral.

Concubine Song Shu smiled weakly: "I would like to ask Your Majesty to open Chonghua Palace. After the New Year, I will ask Li Zi to move in."

The royal heirs of Da Sheng, especially the princes, were raised by their mothers before they were ten years old. Only after they were ten years old would they move into Chonghua Palace.

The eldest prince is only eight years old even after the New Year, and only nine years old if his age is counted, so he is far from that age.

"Why did you suddenly think of this?" A deep mark appeared between the emperor's brows.

Concubine Song Shu raised her hand and gently stroked it away, "My body is useless. Even if I can survive this year... it won't last long. They will get used to it sooner or later. Ahem, instead of waiting until that time and forcing them to grow up overnight, it's better for me, as their mother, to do it myself now... ahem..."

"..." The emperor silently helped Concubine Song sit up and patted her back gently. After she stopped coughing, he took the cough medicine from the palace maid and fed it to her himself.

Concubine Song tried her best to swallow, and after three mouthfuls, she wanted to vomit again. The emperor then held her upper body without any disgust, and asked her to bend down slightly, lean out of the bed, and spit into the spittoon at her feet.

"There's no blood, you will definitely get better." The emperor adjusted the pillow behind Concubine Song Shu and helped her lie down. "I agree with what you said. Don't always think of those bad things to scare yourself. If you lose your spirit, you will be three points weaker even if you are not sick. You should rest and recuperate, and leave the rest to me."

Concubine Song Shu showed a somewhat relieved expression: "Thank you, Your Majesty. Your Majesty, I am really not in good shape during my illness. I am embarrassed to see people. In the future, Your Majesty should...go to other sisters' palaces more often. When I recover from my illness, I will dress myself up beautifully and then go to see Your Majesty. How about that?"

Her face was haggard and thin, but her smile reminded the emperor of how cute and gentle Concubine Song was when she was a girl.

Then she said with a hint of anger: "Your Majesty, please do not turn me away when the time comes."

"Okay, as long as you can get better, I will agree to everything you say." The emperor's eyes were full of tenderness and friendship. Concubine Song Shu was the first woman to serve him, and she was also a palace maid who served the emperor since she was young. The two had a friendship long ago, and she was promoted to a female official in charge of the emperor's bedroom when the emperor reached a certain age.

Due to her status, the Empress Dowager was unwilling to ask her to give birth to a child before the principal wife, so Concubine Song took contraceptive pills for many years. Who could have expected at that time that the emperor would later be "childless" for seven years?

Who could have expected that Concubine Song would eventually give birth to the emperor's eldest son?

Fate is full of twists and turns, and no one can tell what it will be like until the end.