In the middle of the night, Qu Qing Ju suddenly woke up from her dreams. The cramping in her ankle was unbearable. It was as though something had twisted the tendons in her leg into a knot and kept swaying.
"Qing Ju, what is it?" Half-asleep, He Heng suddenly woke up. He saw the forehead of the person beside him was covered in cold sweat. Using the light of a candle in the corner, he saw that even the colour of her lips had changed. His face instantly paled and he hurriedly called for someone to come in.
After a flurry of activity, the cramping in Qu Qing Ju's ankle had disappeared under the massage of the pregnancy mama. She rubbed her forehead tiredly. She felt that she was very sleepy but couldn't sleep.
"Emperor, don't worry. After a woman is pregnant, her hands and feet will sometimes cramp. It will be fine after a period of time." The pregnancy mama saw that the Emperor's expression wasn't very good and cautiously said, "If someone gives niangniang a massage, it can ease the pain." He Heng's expression eased slightly.
He Heng's expression relaxed slightly. Seeing Qu Qing Ju's listless state, he said: "Zhen will let the doctors of the Imperial Hospital do this. You can all leave." He didn't understand medicine, but he knew that there were many acupuncture points. If they were pressed in the wrong place, it would be harmful to the pregnant woman and the fetus.
The pregnancy mama, Mu Jin and the others carefully retreated. When they left the door, they finally released a breath. The Emperor's expression just now had been too ugly. They didn't even dare to breathe.
Qian Chang Xin beckoned at Mu Jin. After the two walked to a corner, he asked in a small voice: "Is there anyone in the palace that doesn't have eyes these days?"
Mu Jin slightly stilled and then understood that Qian Chang Xin was worried that now that the Empress didn't care about the hougong, someone would be blind enough to offend niangniang. She replied: "Qian gonggong, thank you for asking. Everything is fine."
"Mu Jin guniang is too polite. It's not that the Emperor is worried about niangniang. I was just asking for nothing," Qian Chang Xin was very polite to Mu Jin, "But if there's anyone that doesn't have eyes, just throw them to the torture room. There's no need to be lenient. This is what the Emperor wants."
Mu Jin nodded: "Many thanks gonggong, I will remember."
Qian Chang Xin chuckled, "If Master is good, it's good for us. You'll have to put in more effort these days."
Mu Jin also smiled, but she also felt reassured. Since the Emperor was so protective of Her Ladyship, then there was nothing for her to worry about.
"Can't sleep?" He Heng patted Qu Qing Ju's back intermittently. After a while, he didn't see her fall asleep and asked, "Still uncomfortable?"
Qu Qing Ju shook her head and changed her sleeping position. "I can't sleep."
"What happened?" He Heng pulled the blanket up, covering the two more securely, "Since I don't have to go to court tomorrow, I'll accompany you for a chat." Even though he was going to stop court tomorrow, He Heng still had a pile of things to do. But in order to comfort the person next to him, he naturally wouldn't tell her these things.
Qu Qing Ju felt that she didn't want to talk at all, but seeing the other's enthusiasm, she could only ask: "Talk about what?"
"Anything is fine," He Heng tried to close his mouth that wanted to yawn, "Like what happened when you were young, or what you like."
Qu Qing Ju stilled for a beat. She sighed, replying: "When I was young, I don't remember many things. In the past, I rarely had the chance to leave the yard. When I grew older, only jiumu would take me to see guests. But I couldn't always live with jiumu. The Tian Family and the Qu Family had a bad relationship so from childhood, it was just like that. There's nothing to talk about. As to what I like … … "She furrowed her brow," Fine clothes, good food and sleeping, do they count as things I like? "
"Liang shi is so hateful. If it had been me who had made the decree, I would have taken her life. As to women liking fine clothes and good food, isn't that a very normal thing? " He Heng felt that he liked to give beautiful things to the women he liked. This would make his mood very good. It was as though he could only be at ease if he gave these things to her.
He lovingly caressed the hair that had fallen behind Qu Qing Ju's back, "Xiandi didn't do much for me. In this life, there were only two things that he did well. One was you, and the other was the Edict of succession."
"How can I compare to the Edict of succession. There is only one Edict in the world, but there are thousands of women in the world," Qu Qing Ju arched and changed her sleeping position. She rested her head on He Heng's neck, "Liang shi is hateful, but my father is the main culprit. My mother died mysteriously and my father was in a rush to marry a new wife. If it wasn't for jiujiu's family, I'm afraid even my dowry would have been very poor. If I had married so poor, then what face would I have left in the Imperial Family? "
"The Duke of Zhong Yi's family is very good," He Heng heard this and said after a beat, "There are men like your father in the world, but there are also married couples that never part."
Qu Qing Ju curled her lips. He Heng was telling her that he wasn't like the Duke of Chang De?
"There are women in the world that like to listen to sweet words, but there are also women that only look at the truth," She put a hand on his chest, "I belong to the latter group. I don't like to listen to what people say, I like to see what people do."
"Words are better than action?" The smile on He Heng's face became even brighter, "I am very comforted that Qing Ju is so intelligent."
He was afraid that she didn't like to hear him say it, but also didn't like to see him do it.
A short while later, he found that the person beside him had already fallen into a deep sleep. He couldn't help but laugh. Wasn't she unable to sleep, why did she sleep faster than he did?
The twenty-ninth of the twelfth month, the court had already closed. Other than those who had to stay on duty at the various departments, the rest had already returned home for the New Year. But even so, these officials weren't truly idle. They were actively trying to find out which family had received something from the Emperor and which family could attend the Imperial Family's annual banquet.
This was the first year of the new Emperor's ascension to the throne. To be able to receive a gift from the Emperor, it meant that these people had at least entered the Emperor's eyes. It would be strange if the people of Jing City could sit still.
So in the two days between the twenty-ninth and thirtieth of the twelfth month, there were gifts that came out of the palace. For example, Cheng Wang, the Duke of Zhong Yi and the others, other than the good fortune couplets personally bestowed by the Emperor, there were also gifts from the Empress Dowager and the Empress of the two palaces. Other people like the Right Minister of Wei, Ning Wang, Rui Wang, and Minister Luo also received a lot of gifts.
As for the other families, some received the good fortune from the Emperor, some received the gifts from the Empress, but they didn't have the face to receive a gift from the four great heads together. But no matter what, this year's end made all the officials in Jing understand a truth. That was, only by following the Emperor would they have meat to eat.
On the year banquet on the thirtieth day of the year, other than the members of the Imperial Family, those who had received first-rank nobility were fortunate enough to enter the palace to enjoy the banquet, such as the Duke of Zhong Yi and the heads of the two Empress Dowager's paternal families.
Qu Qing Ju and He Heng sat at the front. Because she was pregnant, she didn't drink wine. In front of her was a cup of Phoenix Nest Soup. In reality, it was just a chicken stuffed in the stomach of a pig and stewed in an old pot. But the taste was pretty good and it was perfect to drink in the winter.
The people below all knew that the Empress was pregnant and no one was stupid enough to randomly toast her. So halfway through the year banquet, she was very relaxed.
"The Empress' fetus is round and compact. Chen fu thinks that this child will definitely be a boy." Qin Bai Lu raised her wine cup and stood to say to Qu Qing Ju, "Chen fu toasts niangniang, and wishes niangniang to have a son soon and to be forever young."
The Empress was already pregnant. Wasn't it a bit inappropriate to wish her to have a son soon? Luo Wen Yao furrowed her brows. She stood as well and raised her wine cup, "Chen fu also wishes Empress good health and good luck."
Qu Qing Ju picked up a wine cup from the side. Mu Jin poured her a cup of plain water. She raised her cup to the two: "Many thanks, dimei. Right now, I can't drink so I will use water in place of wine to thank you."
He Heng picked up a piece of duck tongue and put it into Qu Qing Ju's bowl. He smiled and said: "Everyone here isn't an outsider. Zhen isn't afraid that everyone will laugh. Zhen and Empress are both young now and feel that both sexes are good."
Everyone present agreed and praised the Emperor and Empress along the way. The gist was that no matter if it was an imperial son or a princess, they would definitely inherit the good genes of the Emperor and Empress. In the future, they would definitely become a charmer that would topple the world.
Qin Bai Lu didn't believe that the Emperor would so openly protect Qu Qing Ju, and even say in front of so many people that he didn't care if it was male or female. Didn't the Emperor want someone to carry on the family line?
"Zhen and Empress will have many children in the future. At that time, to guess the gender of each child, wouldn't zhen and Empress be looking for trouble," He Heng laughed and teased himself, "Zhen doesn't want to look for trouble."
Everyone naturally laughed along, but inside, they were frightened. The meaning behind the Emperor's words seemed to be that he would only have children with the Empress.
They must have heard wrong!
Tian Jin Ke and Tian Luo shi exchanged a look. After being husband and wife for so many years, the two naturally found the shock and joy in each other's eyes.
"Cough," Tian Jin Ke felt that his emotions had been exposed. He raised a wine cup to take a sip but choked, his face flushing red from the coughing.
Tian Luo shi smiled helplessly. Everything about her master was good, except that he liked to pretend to be calm.
Qu Qing Ju raised an eyebrow to look at He Heng. Seeing that he was smiling as he listened to the flattery of the servants, she lowered her head to continue drinking the soup.
Wei Qing E and He Qi sat together. She looked dazedly at Qu Qing Ju dressed in a purple wide-sleeved gown of a hundred birds bowing to the phoenix. She didn't dare to believe her eyes and ears. The Emperor was really willing to only favor one woman, and even planned to only let her have children?
She thought about the tong fang that other officials had sent to the wang fu after they returned to court. Even though she and wang ye had gone through thick and thin together, and wang ye had become much closer to her, but hadn't the women that the servants had sent still been taken by wang ye as tong fang?
Was there really such a devoted man in the world, and this man was the Emperor?
Wei Qing E slowly took back her gaze. For some reason, her gaze landed on Qin Bai Lu. Qin Bai Lu's expression wasn't good. Rui Wang beside her didn't seem to want to acknowledge her. The two sat at the same table for two, but the atmosphere was worse than that of strangers.
No wonder Qin Bai Lu was so jealous of Qu Qing Ju. As a woman, she seemed to understand the other's thoughts because even she was jealous of the Empress. She had the status, she was about to have a child, she even had the devotion of a husband. And the woman who had all this didn't need to be kind and generous, didn't need to have a noble birth, and lived better than them.
"What are you looking at?" He Qi gently pulled at his sleeve under the table, saying in a small voice, "Don't be stupid like lao san. I heard that the Emperor doesn't like that one very much. He has already bestowed several beauties to Rui Wang Fu."
Wei Qing E's heart jumped. Her brows furrowed as she asked: "Didn't they say that the Emperor didn't keep a candidate?"
"He didn't keep one, but that doesn't mean he can't bestow it to others," He Qi swirled the wine cup in his hand, glancing in the direction of He Yuan, "Lao san is arrogant in his conduct. That one in his family is also a troublemaker. I heard that she had done many things to embarrass the Empress. Based on how much the Emperor treasures the Empress, would he spare that one from lao san's family?"
"The Emperor wouldn't … …" Wei Qing E clicked her tongue. The Emperor wouldn't care about such matters.
"Don't look at his appearance, he's vicious when he does things," He Qi lowered his voice, so low that only the two of them could hear, "How did that Qu ce fei of lao san's family disappear? There's a lot of things in there. "
Wei Qing E gripped the wine cup tightly. A woman that could hold this kind of man in the palm of her hand, how terrifying would her methods be?
In this instant, the gaze that Wei Qing E used to look at Qu Qing Ju was like she was looking at a devastatingly beautiful demoness.
Qu Qing Ju didn't know that she had leveled up to become a demoness. She gave a yawn as she ate the petal-like fruit. Occasionally, she would say a few words to the noblewomen. The year banquet gradually came to an end.
Just as the midnight had passed, the fireworks outside the hall suddenly exploded, dyeing half the hall red.
Qu Qing Ju looked outside the hall and coincidentally saw a firework explode, unbelievably beautiful.
"You like it?" He Heng reached out a hand towards her, "I'll go with you to see."
Qu Qing Ju put her hand into his palm. The two walked out of the hall hand in hand. Standing on the high platform outside the hall, they watched as the beautiful flowers bloomed and withered, so beautiful it was like a dream.
Behind the two, the people that came to attend the banquet followed. Everyone saw the Emperor and Empress holding hands. Under the fireworks, the figures of the two were as beautiful as a painting.
Wei Qing E stood beside He Qi. Her gaze had always been on the hands of the Emperor and Empress that hadn't let go from beginning to end. She seemed to see the scene of New Year's Eve a year ago, when Qu Qing Ju, dressed in red, walked down this flight of stairs step by step. The Emperor, who had been a wang ye at the time, couldn't resist going forward to support Qu Qing Ju.
So she hadn't forgotten that scene, it was deeply engraved in her heart.
The fireworks at that time, it seemed as beautiful as today, but what she could remember was the hand the Emperor had uncontrollably reached out at that time.
Maybe some things, were already fated.
Just like her and He Qi, Qu Qing Ju and the Emperor, Qin Bai Lu and Rui Wang.
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