chapter 7

Chapter 7

The Noble Consort was pregnant. There were already few consorts in the palace, and even fewer who were favored.

So what the Noble Consort was carrying was the Emperor’s eldest son.

Jing Rong and I were both delighted.

A faint smile also lingered on the Noble Consort’s face.

Before long, Consort Shu arrived as well.

She looked at the Noble Consort’s belly and clicked her tongue in admiration.

“Your belly is really something.”

The Noble Consort once told me that Consort Shu was a good person, but her mouth was sharp-she would never let things go if she had the upper hand, and even if she didn’t, she could still argue her way through.

Many consorts came to offer congratulations today, but I didn’t expect the Empress to come as well.

Trailing behind her was Noble Lady Zhao; it seemed the two had met on the way.

I thought the Empress had come to pick a fight.

Unexpectedly, she merely gave a cold glance, then let her gaze fall on the Noble Consort’s belly.

She gave a reminder.

“Since you are with child, take good care of yourself. If you lack anything, let me know.”

The Empress even excused the Noble Consort from paying her respects.

There was such a privilege for being pregnant?!

After the Empress left, I kept staring at my own belly, wishing I could be pregnant right away too.

The Noble Consort, seeing my thoughts, smiled and tapped my forehead.

“What on earth goes on in that head of yours all day?”

“I hope Your Ladyship can give birth to a little prince soon, so I can have him call me Auntie.”

We were all looking forward to this child.

The Emperor was as well.

He visited the Noble Consort’s palace much more frequently.

Each time, he was as excited and awkward as a young lad.

He would talk to the Noble Consort’s belly, asking it to call him Father Emperor.

In the blink of an eye, the Noble Consort was eight months pregnant.

Her belly was large, and she radiated maternal warmth; even her features had softened.

These days, the Empress often came to see her.

There was a look of wonder in her eyes.

Until one day, the Noble Consort took the Empress’s hand and gently placed it on her own belly.

The Empress’s eyes suddenly lit up.

She truly looked like someone who had never seen such a thing before.

I touched the Noble Consort’s belly every day, sometimes even pressing my ear to it to listen to the baby’s heartbeat.

It was truly amazing-a life was growing inside there.

This time, the Empress brought a food box.

Inside were delicate, beautiful pastries.

“I made these myself. Try them.”

Memories of how terribly they tasted flashed through my mind.

I hurried forward to stand between the Empress and the Noble Consort, like a mother hen protecting her chick.

The Noble Consort laughed and pushed me aside.

“What are you doing? Could it be poisoned?”

At these words, everyone in the room changed their expression.

I eyed the box warily, then solemnly told the Noble Consort,

“Noble Consort, it’s awful.”

“Really awful.”

“Extremely, terribly, awfully awful!”

Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief at that.

Even the Empress smiled and patted my head.

“Little girl, you really hold a grudge.”

Only then did I learn that before the Empress was married, her pastries were famous throughout the capital.

The Noble Consort teased with a smile,

“So many people begged our Empress to make pastries, but she never agreed. You, on the other hand, have eaten so many for free. You’re truly lucky.”

I’d rather not have such luck.

So the Empress had deliberately made them taste bad to get back at me before.

So petty, truly too petty!

Seeing my still suspicious look,

The Empress helplessly picked up a piece and held it to my lips.

“Try it.”

The enticing aroma of the pastry was laced with a hint of sweetness.

I took a big bite, even biting the Empress’s finger along with it.

She cried out and pulled her finger away, looking at me with some disgust.

“You really are a little rascal.”

Everyone laughed again.

Seeing my satisfied expression,

Consort Shu curiously came over and picked up a piece of cake.

“What’s all the fuss? I thought it was poisoned.”

Unexpectedly, her words turned out to be prophetic.

Suddenly, I vomited a mouthful of blood.

My vision went black, and I lost consciousness.

Now, everyone panicked.

I only felt the world spinning around me, people moving about, and constant noise in my ears.

“So noisy…”

“She’s awake… awake!”

I opened my eyes to see the Noble Consort, eyes red, sitting by my bed, tightly clutching my hands.

Seeing me awake, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone thought the pastries were poisoned.

But after the imperial physician examined them, there was no poison-only a large amount of Musk!

For ordinary people, this was harmless, even a good medicine.

But for pregnant women, it was a deadly poison.

Who the real target of the pastries was was now obvious.

The Noble Consort listened to the physician’s report and asked coldly,

“If there’s no poison, then why did Consort Rong vomit blood?”

The physician bowed and replied, “Consort Rong… is allergic to Musk…”

Oh right, I suppose that’s true.

At that moment, I suddenly felt a cold gaze that made my scalp tingle.

But when I looked over, I saw only Noble Lady Zhao, looking at me with concern.

This incident made the Emperor furious.

But he was not a muddle-headed ruler; he did not immediately declare the Empress the culprit.

Yet all the evidence pointed to the Empress.

Moreover, after the incident, the Empress’s trusted palace maid committed suicide.

Originally, the case should have been closed at this point.

But the Emperor refused to let it go.

These past two days, the palace has been in turmoil, with a storm brewing.

The Department of Strict Punishment took away one palace maid and eunuch after another for questioning.

Under harsh interrogation, they actually found the real culprit.