With the Dowager Princess presiding over the prince’s residence, a new atmosphere emerged.
Although Li Mama had previously handled matters related to pregnancy and childbirth, the Dowager Princess, upon her arrival, inquired about every detail once again.
As Prince Huaiyang was highly favored, he received numerous gifts. After Empress Shi completed her postpartum confinement, she visited the prince’s residence to show her closeness to Princess Huaiyang.
Dowager Princess Chu observed Empress Shi and Miantang conversing intimately. It seemed their relationship extended beyond that of ruler and subject, appearing quite cordial. This observation eased her mind.
Miantang’s situation in the capital didn’t seem as dire as the rumors circulating in Zhenzhou’s countryside suggested.
However, in private, Dowager Princess Chu questioned Cui Xingzhou about Liu Miantang’s past as a bandit.
Prince Huaiyang answered frankly, “She was indeed a bandit.”
Dowager Princess Chu gasped, but before she could catch her breath, Prince Huaiyang continued, “An ordinary woman might not be able to manage the affairs of our household. She’s brave and resourceful, quite capable of sharing my burdens. Mother, you’re truly blessed to have such a competent daughter-in-law!”
Dowager Princess Chu pointed at Cui Xingzhou, saying, “I must have committed great sins in my past life to have such an infuriating, rebellious son! How could you keep such a significant matter from me? Has she… truly reformed?”
Cui Xingzhou raised an eyebrow and replied, “She was young and misled. Now that she’s with me, she’ll naturally learn to be good. Mother, please don’t mention this matter in her presence.”
With both her son and daughter-in-law being so capable, what could the gentle-natured Dowager Princess Chu do? Moreover, when the prince’s household faced disaster, if not for Liu Miantang’s quick thinking and efficient management, they would have suffered a catastrophic fate. Though Dowager Princess Chu was irritated by Liu Miantang’s background, she couldn’t say much against her.
However, a comment her sister Lian Chu once made surfaced in her mind: “Since she was a bandit, it’s possible that the disaster that befell the Huaiyang household was her scheme. She might have just pretended to be the hero rescuing the family to win your favor…”
Dowager Princess Chu opened and closed her mouth several times, but ultimately held her tongue. Regardless, Liu Miantang was carrying the Cui family’s flesh and blood. At this juncture, she couldn’t voice her inner doubts.
Privately, however, she did grumble about it to her daughter, Cui Fu.
Cui Fu irritably asked her mother if she had heard these strange ideas from Aunt Lian.
“Mother, do you think she was so desperate to marry into our family that she’d orchestrate such an elaborate plan to win your favor? You should know that to marry her, your brother chased her from the Northwest to Xizhou. He nearly had to kidnap her, and she was still reluctant!”
Cui Fu, who had been attending poetry societies lately, had frequent encounters with Li Daren. During tea sessions at these gatherings, Li Daren had shared amusing anecdotes about the Prince’s pursuit of the Princess.
It was the first time Dowager Princess Chu had heard this, and she was left speechless, her mouth half-open in disbelief that her usually cold and proud son had ever stooped so low.
At this point, Cui Fu sighed and said, “Sometimes, I envy her. When she was dissatisfied with the marriage arranged by her father, she ran away to Yangshan. Although she became a bandit, at least she didn’t compromise herself…”
Cui Fu trailed off. Her life had been the complete opposite of her sister-in-law’s, always following the rules. In her youth, she too had experienced feelings of love. Under the apricot blossoms, a young scholar had exchanged poems with her, their fingertips touching in moments of sweet, budding romance.
But she knew his family status was too low, and they could never be together. Once she realized this, she deliberately avoided seeing him again, accepting her father’s arrangement to marry into the Qing Guogong family. She began a life of propriety, silently enduring its joys and sorrows.
Now, in her midnight reflections, Cui Fu often wondered: if she had Liu Miantang’s temperament, would she have endured so long in the Guo family? Would she have missed out on such a devoted love?
Thinking this way, she envied Liu Miantang’s boldness and free spirit. At the very least, Liu Miantang had never compromised her heart…
Remembering how he had secretly asked her in the garden if she would marry him and grow old together, Cui Fu hated herself for her indecision.
But some loves, once missed, are missed forever. She thought he might just be reminiscing about their youthful beauty, deciding to marry her on a whim. Later, when their relationship cooled or people gossiped, he might regret it.
Moreover, she now had Jinr. If Jinr didn’t want her to remarry, how could she disregard her daughter’s feelings?
For a moment, Cui Fu thought about her circumstances and sighed deeply…
Miantang also knew that her mother-in-law’s visit would inevitably lead to questions about the rumors surrounding her. One day, while privately discussing names for their unborn child with Cui Xingzhou, she asked what his mother had said.
Cui Xingzhou replied, “What could she say? She’s just worried that your belly is too big for an easy delivery.”
Miantang rubbed her belly and sighed, “I wonder when I’ll give birth. These past few days, I’ve been feeling so compressed I can hardly breathe. Li Mama says if the baby stays in there for a few more days, I might grow even bigger…”
Cui Xingzhou grasped her hand firmly and said, word by word, “Don’t let your imagination run wild. Both of you will be safe and sound…”
Just as he gripped her hand, Miantang’s expression suddenly changed, and she cried out, “It hurts…”
Cui Xingzhou thought he had squeezed too hard and quickly let go, but Liu Miantang still looked pained. She could barely speak through the contractions. When she caught her breath, she urgently said, “Quick… I think I’m about to give birth!”
Cui Xingzhou was stunned for a moment before hurriedly calling for the maids and midwives.
In an instant, the entire inner court of the prince’s residence was bustling with activity, preparing for the princess’s delivery. Although Liu Miantang was feeling pain and her water had broken, it would still take time before she was ready to push.
The inner court was filled with people coming and going, extremely busy. Even those in the outer court were on standby, unable to rest.
Just as everything was prepared, suddenly there came the sound of someone pounding on the gate outside the residence. When the gatekeeper inquired, they discovered it was a messenger from the palace delivering an imperial edict from the Grand Empress Dowager.
An imperial edict couldn’t be ignored. Cui Xingzhou had to go to the front hall to receive it.
As they walked to the front hall, Mo Ru whispered, “My lord, there’s also a squad of imperial guards outside the mansion. It seems unusual…”
Cui Xingzhou strode into the front hall and knelt composedly. He heard the messenger say solemnly, “His Majesty consumed the tiger penis tonic presented by Prince Huaiyang and suddenly became very ill. The imperial physicians are currently treating him. Please come with me to clarify the situation.”
Just half an hour ago, His Majesty had consumed a tonic made from tiger penis. But shortly after drinking it, he felt intense abdominal pain, rolling on the ground in agony. When the imperial physicians came to examine him, they found signs of poisoning.
The Grand Empress Dowager was furious and ordered the arrest of all relevant personnel from the imperial kitchen and the Imperial Academy of Medicine. However, someone suggested that the medicinal ingredients themselves might be poisonous and that the investigation should start from the source.
Prince Huaiyang frowned slightly. The tiger penis the eunuch mentioned was from the tiger he had hunted when accompanying His Majesty on a hunting trip.
At that time, the tiger had been skinned and butchered, with parts distributed. If His Majesty had truly fallen ill from eating it, shouldn’t they be questioning the imperial physicians who prepared the medicine? What did it have to do with him?
But the messenger continued solemnly, “Not only must Your Highness come to the palace, but all the doctors in your household who know how to use medicines must also be brought for questioning!”
Hearing this, Cui Xingzhou stood up abruptly and said sternly, “My princess is in labor. We need the doctors now. You come to take away all our doctors for questioning. What are your intentions?”
The eunuch coldly replied, “His Majesty is now unconscious and in critical condition after consuming the tiger penis presented by Your Highness. Yet you only care about your wife and child. What kind of subject are you? Other women give birth without so many doctors… I suspect Your Highness has gathered so many skilled doctors in your residence to concoct some secret formulas.”
Relying on his position as the Grand Empress Dowager’s attendant, the messenger spoke rudely, immediately accusing Prince Huaiyang of privately preparing poison to harm the emperor.
Although Prince Huaiyang had his guards, they were stationed at the Western Camp, too far away to help in this urgent situation.
With imperial guards sealing off the mansion, if he resisted the palace messengers, it would not only confirm the accusation of intending to rebel but would also inevitably bring disaster to the inner court, endangering Miantang who was in labor.
The messenger, seeing Cui Xingzhou’s hesitation, sneered, “Prince Huaiyang, this is merely a routine investigation. Once Your Highness personally explains the situation and the truth is uncovered, you can naturally return to hold your newborn child… I hear the old Dowager Princess has also rushed here from Zhenzhou. The safety of your entire family rests on your decision!”
Cui Xingzhou stared intently into the eunuch’s eyes before finally saying in a deep voice, “Fine, I’ll go with you!”
The messenger smiled, “That’s more like it. Once things are cleared up, all will be well… Come, take all the doctors from the residence!”
Somehow, the eunuch had obtained a list of all the doctors in the prince’s residence, knowing not only their names but also their appearances in detail. It was impossible to try to substitute or keep any of them behind.
Cui Fu and Dowager Princess Chu watched from the side, extremely anxious — Miantang’s belly was so big, and if she couldn’t push hard enough later, the doctors would certainly need to use acupuncture. Now that they were all being taken away, wouldn’t the delivery become extremely dangerous?
However, Cui Xingzhou patted his mother’s arm and said, “Mother, I leave the affairs of the household to you. Please keep an eye on things…”
With that, he followed the messenger out of the mansion gate, was put into a carriage, and hurriedly taken away.
Unfortunately, Dowager Princess Chu was not someone who could make decisions. At a loss, she tearfully asked Cui Fu what to do.
Cui Fu, being somewhat more capable than the Dowager Princess, said, “We can’t do anything about the palace situation right now, but Miantang must have a safe delivery… Since there are no doctors left in the residence, we should quickly invite some from outside. We must have a few capable ones in the household…”
The Dowager Princess, hearing this, agreed it was the right approach and immediately ordered someone to go outside to invite doctors.
But as soon as the steward went out, he discovered that all the gates of the prince’s residence had been sealed off.
The imperial guards sealing the gates said they had received orders from the Ministry of Justice to strictly prevent anyone from the prince’s household from escaping or colluding. No outsiders were allowed to enter!
Just then, chaos erupted in the inner court. A midwife, her hands covered in blood, ran out crying, “It’s terrible! The princess is having a difficult labor. She can’t give birth no matter what. We need a doctor to use acupuncture to help her gather strength!”
Her voice was so loud that both the inner and outer courts heard the news of the princess’s difficult labor.
Recalling the long-circulating rumors that the prince didn’t truly accept the princess and that she would suffer a hemorrhage during childbirth, everyone looked at each other in silence.
But in their hearts, they all lamented: beautiful women have hard fates. It seemed that Princess Huaiyang wouldn’t survive tonight’s ordeal!