The Child Emperor

Whether the emperor keeps the prince, the situation will be very different for Empress Dowager Cining: without the prince, she must choose a well-controlled puppet from the clan as soon as possible, which means compromising with the minister in order to obtain Support; with the prince, the successor will be undisputed, and her future position will be stable, so there is no need to rush to please the minister.

She understands this truth, Jing Yao also understands this truth, and Han Chou understands this truth even more.

Han Chou did not fully believe in Jing Yao, and he had already prepared for it. If he was accused, he would have his own way to deal with it successfully, so that all Jing Yao's attacks would be nullified, and he might even be charged with defaming the minister, but he did not As expected, Jing Yao bypassed him and gave a blow in the back.

If you can't participate in the establishment of the reserve, why should you win the trust of the Queen Mother? Why establish merit? Han Chou winked at Shen Mingzhi. The two of them were in the same situation, and the prime minister had a higher status. In this case, he should be the one to question.

Shen Mingzhi had a thoughtful look on his face, as if he was thinking about an extremely important issue, but he didn't see Han Chou's gesture.

Empress Dowager Cining sat down slowly and said, Who is pregnant?

I don't know for the time being, the old slave also got the news by accident, but the pregnant woman must be one of the concubines. The queen mother asks, or asks the imperial doctor to check one by one, and she has the answer.

Empress Dowager Ci Ning sneered, It's really strange. Pregnancy is a good thing. Why should this person hide it? How did the news reach your ears?

Jing Yao kowtowed, Old slave risking death to Chen Yan, if the queen mother doesn't believe it, she will kill the old slave with a stick. If you believe half of it, please make arrangements quickly. Since this concubine is hiding the news, there must be a reason. There was an accident.

Empress Dowager Cining looked at Han Chou, Do you know about this?

Han Chou was embarrassed, Jing Yao was brought in by him, he couldn't say he didn't know, and he couldn't say he knew, so he had to reply: Jing Yao claimed to have something important to report, I thought he was an old man in the palace, so he brought it to the Queen Mother. …”

Empress Dowager Ci Ning waved her hand, I have two adults to enter the palace to discuss matters. Today's discussion is a secret matter in the palace. Please don't spread it out. Her eyes turned to Jing Yao, Since Duke Jing is back, there is no need to leave in a hurry. Let's stay in the palace for a few days first.

Jing Yao kowtowed and thanked Shen Mingzhi. Han Chou gave Shen Mingzhi a wink, but he didn't get a response, so he had to leave together. When he left, he gave Jing Yao a stern look.

After leaving the palace, Shen Mingzhi got into the sedan chair, Han Chou chased after him, waved his entourage and others away, probed into the sedan chair, and said with a smile, The Prime Minister has really hurt me.

Shen Mingzhi looked serious, Han Zongzheng almost killed both of us. Why did you change your face just now in front of Empress Dowager Cining?

It's obvious... Lord Prime Minister, don't say you're not worried about it at all.

Why were the two of us summoned to the palace?

The Empress Dowager Cining wants to discuss the establishment of the reserve with us, and...

Shen Mingzhi interrupted him, Empress Dowager Cining herself is eager to establish a reserve, trusting the two of us, will call you and me into the palace, we are just obeying the will. Now the Empress Dowager Cining's mind has changed. I am the prime minister, so I can't say anything. You are an important official of the clan. If you don't congratulate you on a happy event in the palace, it's fine, but you still look embarrassed. Empress Dowager Cining thinks about it later, how much trust does she still have in you? Once trust is lost, and slanderous words come in, what can you do to protect yourself?

Han Chou's face changed drastically, he raised his hand and slapped his face lightly, I was really confused for a while, what the Prime Minister said is, how can I remedy it?

Shen Mingzhi coughed, You were able to please the Queen Mother when you were far away in Luoyang, and do you still need my advice when you arrive in the capital? Han Zongzheng should work hard on his own.

Shen Mingzhi stomped his feet, and Han Chou had to step back. Seeing the prime minister leave, he knew that Lao Shuitou wanted to stay out of the way and let himself fight alone.

Different identities naturally have different ideas. When Shen Mingzhi was still the censor of the right patrol, he participated in successive adventure plans in order to compete for the position of prime minister, but now he just wants everything to be safe: Han Chou is in power, he is willing to provide some help, once the situation becomes unclear , he's going to step back and watch.

Standing in the cold wind, Han Chou murmured, It may not be true that someone is pregnant, and even if they are pregnant, it may not be a prince. I still have a chance, there is still a chance...

In the palace, Empress Dowager Cining had the same doubts, but she was most concerned about another thing, Gong Jing, there are no outsiders at this moment, you can say anything, tell me, is there really a concubine pregnant?

Old slave dare not hide it, this is just a rumor in the palace, three points are credible, but the old slave thinks that even if there is only one possibility, he should inform the queen mother in time.

Empress Dowager Cining nodded, You did the right thing, I will remember your credit. Should I summon the imperial physician to the palace?

It's not too late.

Empress Dowager Cining asked one of the eunuchs who was accompanying her to summon the imperial doctor, Jing Yao reminded: A few more people.

Yes, a few more. Empress Dowager Ci Ning sent the eunuch away, and found herself a little excited. She remained silent for a moment to stabilize her mind, and said, I still don't understand, why should the pregnant woman hide it? Could it be threatened?

Finding out this concubine, of course everything is clear. Jing Yao waited for a while, then said: Rong Laonu risked his death to say one more thing, no matter who the pregnant concubine is, her safety is the most important thing in the palace.

Empress Dowager Cining suddenly realized that even an emperor could be assassinated, let alone a pregnant concubine? He smiled and said: The news brought by Jinggong is too surprising, and I was a little flustered. Well... Later, when the imperial doctor arrives, Lao Jinggong will accompany him all the way, and we must ensure that everything goes smoothly.

This is a kind of trust. Jing Yao realized the first step of his plan, kowtowed and thanked him. He didn’t say much more, not to mention Han Chou. He understood that the trust he received was conditional. If he couldn’t find a pregnant concubine , If the princess instead of the prince is finally born, this trust will be lost immediately, and it will even become a sin.

Jing Yao returned to the palace. Although he did not return to his old position, he had already taken the most important step. The Empress Dowager Ci Ning assigned him five eunuchs for dispatch.

Except for the queen, the twelve concubines were all gathered in one room. They had heard the rumors. They were as excited and confused as the queen mother. They didn't understand such a great thing.

Jing Yao saluted all the concubines, and then said, This old slave understands that the Empress Youxi can't be quite sure of herself, so she has been hiding her words, and now she doesn't need to say anything, just let the imperial doctor make a judgment.

The imperial hospital sent ten imperial physicians, and five were allowed to enter the palace. Jing Yao recognized these people, and selected three of them to take turns to diagnose the pulse of the concubines.

The concubines sat behind the brocade tent, only showing their palms. Except for Jing Yao, no one knew who was behind the tent. The imperial doctor could only judge whether she was pregnant or not.

It is not easy to determine the radiant pulse. The three imperial physicians are all famous all over the world, but the final opinions are inconsistent. One has not detected anything, and the other two have diagnosed the radiant pulse, but they are not in the same person.

Looking, hearing, asking, if you can ask the minister to wait for a few questions, you will be more confident. A royal doctor asked.

The concubine who guessed that he was pregnant must have signs, and it was helpful to say it, but Jing Yao refused strictly. Passing news secretly is a big taboo for the people in the palace.

The other two imperial physicians were called in, and they each diagnosed a happy pulse, not on the same person. One of them had the same judgment as a colleague before, so the four imperial physicians judged that the three concubines were happy.

There were three more imperial doctors who were guarding outside the palace, and they all diagnosed the happy pulse. One of the concubines received the most recognition, reaching three times, another concubine received twice, and two of them each. once.

Jing Yao felt that it was almost done, so he sent someone to send the imperial doctor away, and then asked all the concubines to go back to their residences. He brought all the documents to see Empress Dowager Ci Ning, all of which were signed by the imperial doctor.

After everything was done, it was almost dusk. Jing Yao had not eaten for a day, and his stomach was rumbling with hunger, but he felt very energetic. After obtaining the permission of the Queen Mother Ci Ning, he personally took people to invite the four concubines who were diagnosed with the xi pulse. When the concubine came to see the empress dowager, she did not come in one piece, but one after another.

The first two concubines had only been diagnosed once, and it was hard for him to believe that something good would come, but he was still very excited and reported the expected time of the next menstrual period to the queen mother.

The third is Concubine Shu Deng Yun, who received two diagnoses. She was more confident and touched her belly with both hands, I've been dreaming these days that something fell from the sky, which shocked me. Thinking about it carefully, that thing looks very similar. It's a dragon. I'm definitely pregnant, three days...at most ten days.

Deng Yun left happily, forgetting that the emperor was still in a coma, she should show grief.

The last one, who received the most diagnoses, knelt down to the queen mother as soon as she came in, and her body trembled slightly. No one knew whether she was pregnant or not.

Empress Dowager Cining sighed slightly and asked, Why don't you talk about such a big thing?

Tong Qing'e didn't have the joy and excitement of other concubines, I-I'm not sure yet.

How long has it been?

About twenty days.

Empress Dowager Cining showed a long-lost smile, Silly child, you haven't had your period for 20 days overdue, you are still not sure? Even if you are not sure, you should tell the person in charge of the palace and ask the imperial doctor to show you.

Tong Qing'e was still nervous, I, I don't know...

You don't need to say it, I understand. If it was another concubine, the Empress Dowager Cining would be puzzled, as soon as she saw Concubine Tong's name, she understood at the time, You don't think you should give birth to the first prince. ,right?

Tong Qing'e kowtowed, The Queen Mother Mingjian.

Also born as a maid, the Queen Mother Cining of course understands Tong Qing'e's hesitation and fear, she can't help but feel a sense of sympathy, and her affection for Concubine Tong is greatly increased, From today, you stay with me, relax, and take good care of your body, Not to mention the palace, even in the whole world, no one dares to touch you in the slightest.

Jing Yao's trust was so solid, he walked sideways to Empress Dowager Cining and whispered a few words, Empress Dowager Cining nodded immediately and changed his mind, Jing Gong is right, you go back to your bedroom to rest first, don't move. Tire air.

Tong Qing'e kowtowed to thank her, and the Queen Mother Ci Ning asked the female official beside her to help Concubine Tong up, and the palace maid sent her back to her residence.

What Jing Yao said to the Queen Mother just now was not about protecting the fetus. When Concubine Tong left, the Queen Mother Ci Ning said, Gong Jing thinks that someone will want to harm the fetus in his womb?

It must be guarded.

What Jinggong said is very true. You must be careful. Your Majesty has not yet escaped danger, so be careful. Alas, there are too few people who can be trusted today.

Jing Yao was silent, he was not at the point where he could talk casually.

Empress Dowager Cining no longer doubted the eunuch, and stared at him for a while, You will meet the emperor later.

Yes, Queen Mother.

Empress Dowager Ci Ning hesitated for a while, Your Majesty is awake and can't speak yet, he may need you.