Tianliangyuan

Chapter 433 Raising someone else's son?

Xu Zhaozhao was granted the title of Princess and her fiefdom was expanded, which was a great boon for both the Xu and Xie families.

Xu Zhaozhao had expected His Majesty to reward her, but she didn't expect it to be so big.

A princess cannot be conferred a title so easily.

However, since His Majesty has issued the decree, it proves that there has been no opposition from senior officials.

In other words, her behavior that day confirmed the rumors that she was a lucky star. In any case, whether others believed it or not, everyone present probably believed it.

Especially His Majesty.

He knows his own body best.

What the ministers see is only an external change, but what Your Majesty truly feels is the change within your body.

In particular, that special ability helped His Majesty cleanse his liver, lungs, and other internal organs. Now His Majesty should have sharp hearing and eyesight, and his physical strength and energy would make him feel as if he had returned to twenty years ago.

This is what Xu Zhaozhao wants, and it is also what His Majesty wants most.

In addition to these rewards, Emperor Yong'an also ordered the Commandant of the Zhechong Prefecture of Lantian County to allocate one hundred soldiers to her Yunqi Manor, who would all be under Xu Zhaozhao's command from now on.

This is a right granted by His Majesty.

Xu Zhaozhao received the reward, but immediately ordered the gates of Jinxiu Garden to be closed, saying that she had noticed that her pregnancy was unstable and that she needed to rest.

Everyone knows that Xu Zhaozhao is pregnant with twins, so when she says she needs to rest, who would be so tactless as to come and bother her?

Only Wang Ruolan came to visit her, and after confirming that she was alright, she left a large amount of tonics before leaving.

Empress Qu suffered a double loss this time. She gave away the one and only peacock cloak in the world, but it backfired.

Fortunately, no one knew the inside story, otherwise they would have laughed at her for being foolish.

"Your Majesty, Consort Xu requests an audience."

Empress Qu was taken aback: "Isn't she supposed to be resting during her pregnancy? The due date is quite far along, why is she out for a stroll?"

"This servant does not know, but Consort Xu looks quite well, and the maid behind her is carrying something."

"Let her in."

"Yes."

Consort Xu was the one who had previously rivaled Consort Jiang.

However, she made a small mistake at a banquet and was confined to her quarters for three months by His Majesty. During these three months, Consort Xu behaved herself. Later, she was diagnosed with pregnancy, and His Majesty was overjoyed and lifted the confinement.

Actually, at that time, Consort Xu had been imprisoned for more than two months.

When Consort Xu was informed of her pregnancy, she was already more than three months along. The pregnancy was stable, and some people were hesitant to make a move.

Consort Xu was a clever woman. She knew that she might not be able to protect the child in her womb on her own, so she took the initiative to curry favor with Empress Qu.

Empress Qu didn't actually care whether there was another prince in the harem.

After all, she already had three sons, and Prince An had already left the palace to establish his own residence, with a young prince under his wing. She was not lacking in sons at all, so she naturally wouldn't care whether His Majesty had another prince.

Moreover, Consort Xu is young and enjoys the Emperor's favor.

Over the years, Consort Xu is the first person who has been able to hold her own against Consort Jiang.

Therefore, Empress Qu accepted Consort Xu's surrender and protected her so that she could give birth to a child. As for the future, Empress Qu naturally still wanted her to fight against Consort Jiang.

As long as Consort Jiang lives, Empress Qu will never be able to quell her hatred!

Consort Xu's belly is now quite large, and according to the midwife's calculations, she and her child will be able to meet in about two months.

"Why aren't you taking good care of yourself during your pregnancy? Why are you out and about?"

"I thank Your Majesty for your consideration, but Your Majesty is kind and benevolent, and I cannot break the rules because of this. I should have come to pay my respects to Your Majesty the day before yesterday, but I was unwell and had to wait two days. Now that I am feeling much better, I have come to congratulate Your Majesty."

Empress Qu understood her intention.

The fact that the young prince is in good health is truly a joyous occasion.

Empress Qu almost overlooked the matter because of Xu Zhaozhao. It seems that she should still celebrate properly in the palace.

"You're so kind. But you're feeling unwell right now, you can just have someone bring it over, why bother coming all the way yourself?"

"It is only right. I am blessed by Your Majesty and have nothing to offer, so I made a set of clothes for Your Highness. I don't know if it will fit."

"Yes, the stitches are fine and dense, which shows that a lot of thought was put into it."

"My maid's red is barely acceptable, but I've heard that Consort Zhang is most skilled at sewing. A few days ago, when my maid went to the Imperial Workshop to collect silk thread, she heard that Consort Zhang has been sewing clothes for the past few months. I know that Consort Zhang dotes on the Seventh Prince, but is it really necessary to prepare so much?"

He does not mean that.

Moreover, who knows if Consort Xu deliberately revealed such information!

After exchanging a few more perfunctory words, Consort Xu took her leave.

"Someone, give the order that a celebration will be held three days from now to mark the young prince's recovery. Except for Consort Xu, all ladies of the fifth rank and above must attend."

"Yes, ma'am."

Half an hour later, a palace maid returned to report.

"Last month, Consort Zhang was summoned by Consort Jiang for a reprimand. I heard that when she came out, she could barely walk and had to be helped back by palace servants. Moreover, on the way back, Consort Zhang kept shedding tears and saying things like 'my precious daughter.'"

Empress Qu's eyes narrowed. So, Consort Jiang couldn't have a son herself, so she wanted to forcibly raise someone else's son?

Although Zhang Jieyu's family background was not prominent, as the head of the twenty-seven ladies-in-waiting, she held a rank of third grade, which was not low.

Even someone like Consort Zhang didn't dare to confront Consort Jiang head-on on the issue of raising her son, which reflects just how powerful Consort Jiang was in the palace!

Outrageous!

Empress Qu was furious and slammed her hand on the table, but remained silent for a long time.

After a while, a female official came over and helped rub his hands and offered words of comfort.

Empress Qu squinted and took several deep breaths before she felt less angry.

"The Seventh Prince is still young, but Consort Jiang has certainly made a good plan. I wonder if the Jiang family knows about this. Although Consort Zhang's family background is not as good, she is not an unknown commoner."

Empress Qu grew angrier as she spoke; this Consort Jiang clearly didn't take her seriously at all!

"Your Majesty, please calm down. In my opinion, it is a very important matter for a concubine to adopt a prince. Even if His Majesty agrees, it may not be possible."

Empress Qu nodded slightly, agreeing with her statement.

"Someone, go and invite Lord Qu to see me. Tell him I got some rare trinkets for my young nephews and asked him to take them back with him on his way."

"Yes, ma'am."

Qu Shiji was somewhat surprised when he first heard this news.

After all these years, Consort Jiang has never had the idea of ​​raising someone else's son. What's going on now?

"Your Majesty, please calm down. This matter is not urgent. Please be patient and let me consider it carefully when I return. I will certainly give Your Majesty a satisfactory answer."