The Legend of Concubine Su

One day, Su Jingyue was enjoying her meal when she suddenly felt a churning in her stomach, a sharp discomfort. She frowned and instinctively covered her mouth, trying to suppress the discomfort, but ultimately, she gave in and began to retch. Xiaoru, who was serving her nearby, saw this and hurried forward, asking with concern, "Madam, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?" Su Jingyue gently waved her hand and forced a smile, as if to indicate she was fine. However, Xiaoru was not prepared to take it lightly and quickly ordered Su Jin to summon the imperial physician.

Not long after, Su Jin hurried to the palace with Imperial Physician Huang. He quickly approached Su Jingyue and carefully took her pulse. After a thorough examination, a look of surprise gradually crossed his face. He then stood, knelt respectfully, and excitedly declared, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! You're pregnant!" Su Jingyue's heart surged with joy at this unexpected news, and at the same time, her heart finally settled. However, she quickly regained her composure and calmly addressed Imperial Physician Huang, "I hope this will remain confidential for me. You must not spread the word. Furthermore, my unborn child will require your careful care." She then reached for a box of silver from a nearby chest, gently handed it to Imperial Physician Huang, and urged him to take good care of herself and the baby.

After Imperial Physician Huang left, Xiaoru looked at Su Jingyue with a puzzled expression and asked, "Your Majesty, since you're pregnant, why didn't you let the Empress Dowager know? That way, she could protect you." Su Jingyue sighed softly, then looked at Xiaoru deeply and said slowly, "Xiaoru, I understand that the only ones who can protect us and our child right now are the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. However, the people in the harem are treacherous. The Empress and Consort Shu are eyeing us covetously, and Consort De is determined to have her son ascend to the throne. They will definitely not miss any opportunity to attack me. If I tell the Empress Dowager about my pregnancy now, it will only arouse their greater vigilance and bring us more trouble. Therefore, we must wait until the right time to tell the Empress Dowager, so that we can be absolutely sure of the outcome."

Xiaoru frowned after hearing Su Jingyue's words and said worriedly, "But, Your Majesty, won't you have to face those people's schemes alone? What if they harm you?" Su Jingyue smiled and comforted her, "Don't worry, Xiaoru. As long as we are careful and cautious, we will be able to protect this child. Besides, I believe that the Emperor will stand by me and will never allow anyone to harm our child."

Xiaoru nodded, but her heart was still filled with anxiety. She knew Su Jingyue's difficult situation in the deep palace, and it was really not easy for her to give birth to this child safely. However, seeing Su Jingyue's determined eyes, Xiaoru could only pray silently, hoping that God would bless them to get through this period smoothly.

The next morning, the sun rose from the east, and the sunlight poured into the room through the window, illuminating the entire space. Su Jingyue got up early as usual, washed up, and went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress.

When she arrived at the palace, many people were already waiting. After paying her respects, Su Jingyue stood quietly by, listening to the Empress Dowager and the Empress discuss palace affairs. Suddenly, she felt dizzy, her vision blurred, and her body involuntarily fell forward. The palace maids nearby panicked and rushed forward to support her, shouting loudly. Upon hearing the sound, the Empress Dowager immediately turned around and saw Su Jingyue fainted on the ground. She quickly ordered the palace maids around her to fetch the imperial physician.

Soon after, the imperial physician hurried over and carefully examined Su Jingyue's pulse. After a thorough diagnosis, he stood up with a beaming face and announced to the Empress Dowager and the Queen, "Congratulations, Empress Dowager and Queen Mother! Imperial Concubine Su is two months pregnant!"

When the Empress Dowager heard the news, her face was immediately filled with joy. She said excitedly, "Great! Concubine Su finally has my little grandson. This is such a happy event!"

However, the Empress Dowager's joy didn't last long. Her expression suddenly grew serious. She turned to look at Su Jingyue and asked, "Noble Concubine Su, why didn't you tell me about your pregnancy for so long? Don't you know how important this matter is to the royal family?"

Su Jingyue lowered her head and said softly, "Empress Dowager, I know this matter is very important, but I don't want to cause you and the Emperor too much trouble, so I asked the imperial physician not to disclose this matter."

The Queen Mother frowned and said sternly, "What you did is totally inappropriate. If it weren't discovered today, we would still be kept in the dark!"

Su Jingyue raised her head nervously, her eyes filled with grievance and helplessness. She explained, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I just wanted to wait until the fetus is more stable before telling you, so as not to worry you."

The Empress Dowager sighed and gently stroked Su Jingyue's hand, expressing her understanding. She said, "Noble Concubine Su, I understand your good intentions, but this matter concerns the royal bloodline and cannot be taken lightly. If a similar situation arises again, you must inform me and His Majesty promptly."

Su Jingyue nodded and said with tears of gratitude: "Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty the Queen Mother. I will definitely remember your teachings."

Afterwards, the Empress Dowager ordered the palace maids to take good care of Su Jingyue and told her to pay attention to rest and diet. At the same time, she also sent someone to inform the emperor and tell him the good news.

As time went by, the atmosphere in the palace grew increasingly festive. People began preparing for celebrations, preparing to welcome the birth of a new life. Meanwhile, Su Jingyue, cared for by everyone, rested peacefully while nursing her pregnancy, anticipating the arrival of her baby.

The Empress Dowager looked at Su Jingyue distressedly, her tone full of concern: "You silly child, you always wronged yourself like this." Then, she turned to look at the Queen and solemnly ordered: "This is my first grandson. I hope the Queen will take good care of Concubine Su."

Su Jingyue was filled with gratitude and bowed to express her gratitude: "Thank you, Queen, and thank you, Queen Mother."

When the emperor learned of Su Jingyue's pregnancy, he was as excited as a child. Every day after court, he couldn't wait to come to her company. The emperor gently stroked Su Jingyue's belly and said expectantly, "My dear, if it's a princess, she must be as smart as you; if it's a prince..."

Su Jingyue smiled and interrupted the emperor: "Your Majesty, whether it is a princess or a prince, I will love them equally."

The next afternoon, the emperor came unexpectedly. Before Su Jingyue could even salute, he embraced her in his arms. He then lay on her belly, feeling the movements of the little one inside. After a while, the emperor said in surprise, "This child kicked me!"

Su Jingyue pretended to be angry and said, "Your Majesty is deceiving me again. The child is so young, how could he kick someone?"