strictlysupreme Chapter 235 Li's Ramblings
Chapter 235 Li's Ramblings
The next day, Jingxue took Runyue, Xiaoman and Ying Si to Lengyan Palace.
Although it wasn't the eighteenth day of the month, the guards at the gate showed no surprise when they saw Jingxue. Clearly, they had received the notification that Jingxue had met General Wei again.
General Wei came out and bowed to Jingxue, saying, "Princess Consort Zhan has arrived. The Emperor Emeritus and Physician Baili also brought Jingze here the other day!"
Jingxue smiled and said, "Really? I didn't know about this. These days, General Wei has taken good care of my family."
"Your Highness, you are too kind. This is all within my duty!" General Wei nodded and said.
Jingxue stepped forward, stuffed the five hundred taels of silver notes into General Wei's hand, and said softly, "It's New Year's, please have some tea with the brothers! My mother is about to give birth, please take good care of her, General! I will repay you handsomely in the future!"
General Wei only said one sentence: "Your Highness, rest assured!"
The guard opened the door for Jingxue, while Jing Zhiyuan remained standing in the courtyard.
“Father, it’s so cold, why don’t you go inside?” Jingxue said as she bowed, and the three people behind her followed suit.
"General Wei said this morning that you would be coming, so I waited here for a while. I thought you would arrive soon, so get up!"
“Let’s go in then!” Jingxue said, standing up.
Standing behind Jing Zhiyuan was Li Xia's father. Run Yue stepped forward and bowed, "Uncle, do you still recognize me?"
Li Xia's father was surprised to see his niece here again and said excitedly, "Last time, Li Xia brought your portrait. Your uncle recognizes you. Good child, you've grown so much!"
"Let's all go inside and talk!" Jing Zhiyuan said.
Jingxue said, "Leap Moon, why don't you go with your uncle and have a chat? Xiaoman, you go find your parents too!"
"Yes, miss!"
Jingxue followed Jingzhiyuan to the side hall, which was much warmer than before.
Li was walking slowly inside the house, with Li Xia's mother beside her.
“Mother!” Jingxue called out.
"Xue'er! You're here. Come in quickly. Are you cold?" Madam Li asked.
Jingxue went over and helped Li Shi up. "Mother, look how warm I am, I'm dressed like this. How are you?"
"Greetings to the young lady!" Li Xia's mother bowed to Jing Xue.
"I brought Leap Month here today, so please go and talk to her, Granny!"
"Yes, thank you, Miss!" Li Xia's mother went out.
Li's belly looked like it was about to burst her clothes, and Jingxue felt sorry for her.
“Mother is doing well! The day before yesterday, the Emperor Emeritus and the others came over, and Physician Baili even took my pulse and said that the baby is doing very well. A few days ago, the baby was pressing on my stomach and I couldn’t eat anything, but I’m much better these days!” As Li Shi spoke, she pulled Jing Xue down to sit with difficulty.
Looking at the shape of her belly, Jingxue realized that the baby should have already engaged in the pelvis and was about to give birth.
"How many days until the due date? Has His Majesty sent any imperial physicians?"
"There's still half a month left! Physician Ren comes every seven days, so it's alright. It's not like it's your first time giving birth, so don't worry too much!" Madam Li comforted Jingxue.
It's been half a month, and today is already the 24th of the twelfth lunar month. This child could be born at any time.
Seeing that Jingxue was taking her pulse without saying a word, Madam Li said again, "Xue'er, you were also born in the first month of the lunar calendar. This child's birthday should be a little older than yours. You were born on the twenty-fifth day of the first month, the first Dragon and Phoenix Day of the year."
Jingxue was surprised. She was also born on this day in modern times. What a coincidence...
Withdrawing her hand, Jingxue felt somewhat more at ease. Doctor Baili was right; the child was fine, and Li's health was also good.
"The little guy might be able to come out around the fifth day of the Lunar New Year!" Jingxue said with a smile.
Li touched her belly and said, "Any day is fine! This child is also very strong. It has been through many ups and downs in my belly, but it hasn't caused me any trouble yet."
"Mother, is there anything you need here?" Jingxue asked.
Madam Li shook her head. "A few days ago, thanks to the fish you left behind, I couldn't eat anything, so the nanny made me fish soup. Although I vomited twice, I was fine. The Empress Dowager and the Empress also sent a lot of things for the children, and the Emperor Emeritus even brought a hundred-year-old ginseng."
Jingxue nodded; the old Emperor Emeritus had finally succumbed to his urges.
"Xiao Ze, I think it's all going well. The Emperor Emeritus is even helping us take care of the children. I can't believe it," Li Shi muttered to herself.
Jing Zhiyuan, who hadn't spoken until now, laughed and said, "You've said that several times already!"
Li was a little embarrassed. "I just feel... I dare not think about it, but I see that Xiaoze is quite close to the Emperor Emeritus."
Jing Zhiyuan, not wanting Li Shi to continue the conversation, changed the subject and asked, "You met those people from Canbei? What did you think of them?"
Jingxue turned her head and looked at Jing Zhiyuan sitting in the chair. "Father, the Grand Preceptor of Cangbei is not simple, and the Seventh Prince is also a man of ideas and abilities. It's just that Wanyan Junhao is a simpleton."
“Don’t underestimate Wanyan Junhao, that guy is incredibly brave on the battlefield!” Jing Zhiyuan said.
Jingxue gave a barely perceptible cold laugh.
"I heard from the Emperor Emeritus that you participated in the negotiations. Did the people from the Ministry of Revenue give you any trouble?"
“I didn’t want to get involved either. I’m just a woman and I can’t manage important matters of the court, but the emperor insisted that I go and then didn’t give me any benefits. I originally wanted to come on the 18th, but the retired emperor wouldn’t allow it.” Jingxue rolled her eyes as usual.
The original owner would never have had such an expression. Jing Zhiyuan and his wife exchanged a glance, both with a complex look in their eyes.
Jing Zhiyuan gave a wry smile. "We are all subjects, and we follow the Emperor's lead in everything. How smoothly are the negotiations going?"
"It should be soon, but Wanyan Junhao seems to hate you quite a bit. He mentioned you as soon as we met."
Jing Zhiyuan laughed. "It's normal for him to hate me. In the battle of Qingzhou, their 200,000-strong army was defeated by our 100,000 soldiers. He felt ashamed. Although Wanyan Junhao is brave but lacks strategy and is straightforward, he still has a lot of prestige in Cangbei."
Jingxue disagreed, saying, "Even with prestige, he can't become the new King of Cangbei."
"That's true! In any case, you must be careful in everything you do."
"Don't worry, father!"
"Xue'er, you and the War King have been married for so long, you..." Li asked.
Jingxue knew she was asking if she was pregnant, and smiled, saying, "Mother, these things should be left to nature. Don't worry about me, we're both doing fine!"
"That's good!"
After talking for a while, although General Wei did not urge them, Jing Zhiyuan still told Jingxue and the others to leave on time. There were still many days ahead, and they should not give anyone a handle to cause trouble for the guards.
Jingxue knew that Jingzhiyuan was a man of principle and did not want to argue with him, so she left with Runyue and the other two.
Of course, they still kept a lot of food and supplies needed for postpartum care.
When they returned to Yichun Palace, they ran into Wanyan Junhao, a big fool whose head and face were covered in white frost, making him look like the old rascal Zhou Botong.
"You've gone to see Jing Zhiyuan?"
Jingxue ignored him, but the guy followed her again on his balance bike. "Hey! What are you thinking, Princess Consort Zhan? Are you really willing to let your own father be imprisoned? You might as well kill him! If I were you, I would have taken the whole family and run away long ago..."