The Liao Kingdom's unusual movements still caused some pressure on Nanqi.
Although Nanqi's treasury was abundant and it was not afraid of war, war was ultimately a waste of money and manpower.
What’s more important is that Ning Chen has never been involved in a war. Even when he was a prince, the late emperor was good at fighting, but he always took the eldest son Ning Ze out with him. His youngest son was never taken into consideration.
Fortunately, the late emperor was famous, and Nanqi had no shortage of good generals, so even if a fight broke out, they would not be at a disadvantage.
In the tense atmosphere, April finally arrived.
The third prince's first birthday was a happy event and eased the atmosphere a little.
Yao's belly was already eight months old, and it was almost nine months, which meant she could give birth at any time.
The same thing happened to Ye Jun, only half a month later than her due date.
Ning Chen was busy with the affairs of the previous dynasty, but at the same time he was worried about the harem and often ran back and forth.
Tired people have lost a lot of weight.
The Queen Mother sent someone to Jiuchen Palace to deliver soup, and found that her son had lost a lot of weight.
"The emperor is so busy in the front court that he doesn't even have time to eat. The concubines behind him are too ignorant. They are still seducing people. She is just pregnant. Who hasn't given birth to a child? She just thinks she has a golden nugget!"
The person who said this was naturally Ye Jun.
In the past half month, Ning Chen came to the harem six times. Although he did not stay overnight, he went to Zhaochunxuan four times, saw the Queen once, and saw Concubine Fang once.
"Empress Dowager, I think the emperor is also worried. There are unusual movements on the border now, and Ming Xiuyuan's brother, Marquis Zhongyong, is guarding Lingzhou." Nanny Fu said.
Her brother holds military power and she is about to give birth. She is already favored by the emperor, so how could he not take special care of her
But when the Queen Mother heard this, it made her think of something else.
Thinking about my niece again, I feel so disappointed in her.
The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I felt.
He snorted and said, "Go to Zhao Chunxuan and tell her that a pregnant concubine cannot serve the emperor. Now that the emperor is busy with government affairs, she must not be spoiled and willful, which will make the emperor restless and unable to concentrate on government affairs."
"Empress Dowager, this..."
"Why, my words are no longer effective now?" The Queen Mother glared at him coldly, "Fuzhi, I see that you are getting old and have your own ideas. You have tried to dissuade me in every way, but I am not confused. What's more, this matter is also for the sake of state affairs and the emperor's health."
Nanny Fu didn't expect the Queen Mother to say this. For a moment she was terrified and a little chilled.
He had no choice but to kneel down and apologize.
"Please calm down, Queen Mother. I was the one who said too much. I will pass on the message now."
After she left, the Queen Mother felt uncomfortable and had a headache.
She said to the little palace maid beside her, "Go and call Qiu Gui to give me a massage."
The little palace maid responded and hurried away.
Soon, a woman in her thirties walked into the inner hall with a smile.
He walked skillfully to the Queen Mother's side, greeted her and began to massage her.
"Your technique is more effective than the medicine from the Imperial Hospital. I feel comfortable after a while of massage. Although Fuzhi has learned it, he is not as good as you." The Queen Mother said with her eyes closed.
"It is my blessing to serve the Empress Dowager. Madam Fu takes care of her daily life. There are so many things to do that I cannot take care of everything. If the Empress Dowager feels uncomfortable, please send someone to ask me to massage her."
The woman was very sweet-spoken and had some skills, which pleased the empress dowager very much.
This Qiu Gui’s surname is Yang, and he has been serving in the palace all the time.
She used to be a wet nurse, but as she got older, her milk supply was poor and she could no longer take care of the baby.
However, Yang was smart and capable, so she was kept in the palace to work. Now at the age of thirty-six or thirty-seven, she was assigned to be the housekeeper nanny to the eldest prince.
Occasionally, he brought the eldest prince to accompany the empress dowager for dinner. When he heard that the empress dowager had a headache, he volunteered to give her a massage.
It is really effective.
From then on, the Queen Mother often asked her to serve her.
This Yang is not only good at massage, but also good at combing hair.
Although the empress dowager does not need to dress up to win favor, there is no woman who does not love beauty.
So for a while, Yang Qiugui became a celebrity in the Cining Palace.
On the other side, Nanny Fu just arrived at Zhaochunxuan.
Upon hearing that someone from the empress dowager's entourage had arrived, Ye Jun was also very surprised, but he still stood up to greet them.
"I pay my respects to Ming Xiuyuan." Nanny Fu bowed.
Ye Jun waved her hands hurriedly, "Madam, please stand up quickly. How dare I accept your gift?"
Huiyue, who was standing by, immediately stepped forward and helped the person up.
"I wonder what business it is that brings you here, Madam?" Ye Jun said.
Madam Fu considered it for a moment before she smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. It's just that the Empress Dowager is worried about Xiuyuan, so she asked me to pass on a message and ask how she is."
Having said that, Ye Jun was very keenly aware that the other party seemed to be hesitant to speak.
There is no doubt that this is not a good thing.
Sure enough, Nanny Fu paused before speaking again, "The government affairs are tight now, and the emperor is very busy, but he always thinks of you, Xiuyuan, and he always comes to the harem to visit you. He has lost a lot of weight these days. The empress dowager knows that you, Xiuyuan, are the most sensible and considerate of the emperor. It is difficult for others to persuade you, so please ask Xiuyuan to talk to the emperor more and focus on government affairs. There is no need to worry about the harem at this time."
As she spoke, Aunt Fu's face became embarrassed, but at least she got her point across.
After hearing this, Ye Jun's eyes turned a little colder, but since this was the Queen Mother's intention, she naturally couldn't refute it.
She smiled faintly, "The Queen Mother feels sorry for the Emperor, so I naturally feel sorry for her too. Please go back and greet the Queen Mother for me, and also tell the Empress that I understand."
"Well, I won't bother Xiuyuan any more. I'll go back and report." Nanny Fu pursed her lips.
He bowed and left in a hurry.
When Ye Jun returned to the room, his face darkened.
Even a fool could see that the Empress Dowager's original words were definitely not like this. Nanny Fu must have embellished them a little.
A queen dowager warned a pregnant concubine not to have an affair with the emperor. What kind of train of thought is this
Who can Ye Jun hook up with with a big belly
Whenever the emperor came to her, he always came by himself.
Moreover, she is about to give birth. As the father of the child in her belly, how can I not be worried about her
The Queen Mother's words are so infuriating that they make people laugh.
The servants beside her didn't dare to make a sound. They couldn't blame the empress dowager, and they didn't know how to comfort her, so they could only keep their heads down.
At this moment, Nanny Liang brought in donkey-hide gelatin. As soon as she entered the room, she found that the atmosphere was not right and felt very strange.
Seeing Nanny Liang, Ye Jun took a deep breath and said.
"Madam, you are an old lady in the palace. I have a question that I have always been very curious about. I will ask you today. Was the Empress Dowager favored when she was a concubine?"
This question also stunned Nanny Liang.
But after thinking about it, he put the bowl down and replied.