The crabapple tree is fragrant in the tent, and the bright moon is in my arms

The news that the queen was pregnant with an heir to the throne was carried throughout the city by the wind in late autumn. The former court congratulated the concubines in the harem, saying that the queen was pregnant with his first child after he ascended the throne, and also his legitimate son.

Zhu Dingyuan was very happy and issued a general amnesty. All the criminals who were originally scheduled to be executed by lingchi were changed to exile. The palace maids were given an extra month's salary and they all expressed their gratitude to the empress.

But this blessed queen was lying on the phoenix-carved couch, stroking her belly, with no smile in her eyes. Xun Qiu asked, "My queen, what's wrong with you?"

She brought the pregnancy-preserving medicine and said, "Although Concubine Qi is crying, I have already comforted her. She has left the palace early in the morning. What are you still thinking about?"

The queen looked at the pregnancy-preserving medicine and said, "Your Majesty just told me that since I am pregnant, Prince Duan Ze's birthday should be held in the palace, which can be considered a double happiness."

"That's a good thing, Your Majesty. You can leave this matter to Concubine Gao. I'm sure she is worried about how to please His Majesty. But if she doesn't do it well..."

Xun Qiu smiled and said, "Your Majesty is the most blessed person. Look at these things. They were all sent by His Majesty through Steward Huang. I am dazzled by them. And those were sent by the mistresses in the harem. Now all the eyes of the six palaces are on Your Majesty."

The queen smiled faintly, dispelling the crazy words that Concubine Qi had said about His Majesty, and drank the pregnancy-preserving medicine: "Continue to do what I told you to do, and let Concubine Fang help with the birthday matters."

"Yes."

"By the way, how is Hua doing these days?" The queen picked up the string of red, agate and oriental pearls from the tray.

"Noble Concubine Gao has a bad temper. She is still the same as always, always torturing her."

The queen's eyes were deep, and her fingers were rubbing the beads: "If someone who has nothing gets ruthless, he can still bite off a piece of flesh. We must always be on guard."

Xun Qiu: "My queen, as long as Concubine Qi can really get pregnant, there is still a chance to gain favor again. Now that Concubine Zhao is in great favor, I think Concubine Ning is pretty good, and I seem to have some grievances with her, why don't you..."

"Which of these women is well-behaved?" The queen frowned. They think highly of themselves and will lose control of themselves and go beyond their duties if they are not careful.

What she wants is a stupid woman who is easy to control, can never make any waves, and has a big belly.

A voice outside shouted, "How do you do things in the flower room? The Empress is pregnant with the heir to the throne, so she asked you to send flowers to add to the joy. You can also get some blessings. You have been begging for blessings for eight lifetimes, but you are not careful? Look, the flowers are all wilted, and you dare to send them to Fengyi Palace!"

The queen frowned and took Xunqiu's hand: "Go out and take a look."

In the courtyard of Fengyi Palace, dozens of pots of fresh flowers were delivered from the flower room. Even in such cold weather, they were all gorgeous and beautiful, which showed how much thought they put into them.

Xun Qiu said, "Eunuch Shen, what are you yelling about? Aren't you afraid of disturbing the Empress?"

The chief eunuch Zhou Shen immediately knelt down in front of the queen and said, "Your Majesty, I didn't mean to do that. It's just that the people in the flower room were too careless in their work. I can't encourage this lazy and slacking culture!"

The queen looked at the first pot of flowers. It was the most beautiful one among them, and a precious peony variety. Unfortunately, all the branches were wilted, wasting such a beautiful variety.

"Who planted this?" she asked.

Xiao Shenzi quickly turned to the second palace maid kneeling on the ground and said, "Speak up, weren't you trying to quibble just now?"

The queen held it up and smiled: "You planted this flower. You took such good care of it. How could you let it wither? Is there any reason?"

The maid was wearing a pink padded palace gown. She lowered her head and trembled a little. Her figure was particularly petite than the others. She answered in a timid voice, "I am Rui Xin, a maid in the flower room. Yesterday, the head of the flower room said that he would pick the most beautiful flowers to send to Fengyi Palace. I have raised this flower for several months and taken good care of it, but this morning... I don't know why it became like this."

She looked even more pitiful as she cried.

The queen looked at her red earlobes and said nothing.

What other reason could it be? It was simply that someone in the greenhouse was jealous of the beautiful flowers she cultivated, and was afraid that she would gain a blessing by using these flowers, so they simply destroyed them first.

The queen glanced at Xun Qiu and understood: "Raise your head."

The little palace maid wiped her tears quickly and raised her face timidly. Her fair round face was reddened by the wind and she was crying again. Her eye sockets and nose were also red, making her round eyes look very cute.

The queen looked at her and found that she was indeed petite, with narrow shoulders, but with her innocent and honest face, she looked very much like a beautiful girl next door.

It does have some color. I have eaten a lot of delicacies from land and sea, and sometimes light porridge and side dishes are also delicious.

The queen smiled more gently: "I see that you are well-behaved, so I guess you didn't do it on purpose. I will punish you by sending you to my palace and letting you cultivate a more beautiful flower for me, okay?"

Rui Xin stared blankly at the queen who was radiating brilliance, and a warm feeling surged in her heart.

The Queen doesn't blame her, and yet, she lets her come to Fengyi Palace?

Xun Qiu: "Little girl, are you stupid? Why don't you thank the queen quickly?"

Rui Xin reacted and kowtowed heavily: "Your servant, your servant thanks the majesty for your grace. Your servant will definitely grow more beautiful flowers to present to the majesty!"

-

In the Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Zhu Dingyuan was not fully recovered yet, so he returned to the Yangxin Palace to rest after the court session. He lay on the bed, his warm cheeks still a little pale.

The ambergris in the hall was curling up and condensing into a light smoke in the air.

Zhu Dingyuan's relaxed brows suddenly frowned, as if he had dreamed of something bad, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

There was endless darkness in front of him and he couldn't tell where he was. Gusts of cold wind blew bitingly and the surroundings changed. He found himself standing barefoot in front of the dragon throne. There was nothing around him and everything was quiet.

He took a step forward, and the thick black fog quickly approached him. He screamed and was forced back onto the dragon throne.

It was cold, very cold. The dragon chair was so cold that he felt cold all over.

Countless hands stretched out from the thick fog, whispering like a devil: "Are you worthy? Are you worthy of sitting here... hehehe... Zhu Dingyuan... open your eyes and look at us..."

His eyes were shrouded in black fog and he could not see anything clearly. Zhu Dingyuan huddled on the dragon chair and struggled frantically, but those hands clung to his skin like snakes. He could not help but tremble with his teeth: "I have become the master of the world... You losers... What qualifications do you have to judge me... Don't touch me, don't touch me!"

Those hands suddenly retreated very quickly, and a pleasant scent of crabapple enveloped him, and his whole body quickly warmed up. He heard a soft voice: Your Majesty... Your Majesty, don't be afraid... I will accompany you...

Zhu Dingyuan took a deep breath and suddenly opened his eyes. His whole body was covered in cold sweat. His eyes were dark red and there was a lingering floral scent lingering at the tip of his nose. He looked at the table.

Huang Quan knelt down immediately and said, "Your Majesty, Xiao Xiazi is sorting out the things that the young ladies sent. Did he disturb you?"