In the endless sound of firecrackers, in the white snow and red lanterns, in the smoke of gunpowder and the smell of meat, Ming Dynasty ushered in the new year. It was the fourth year of Xuande's reign in the capital, and the thirty-first year of Jianwen's reign in Huguang. From the first year of Xuande to the present, from the time when the King of Han raised his troops to the Huguang uprising, the war has continued for four years. The four years were also the time when Emperor Jianwen sat on the Dragon Throne, and the same period when the Jingnan Campaign continued. time. But this time we don't know when it will end. People are looking forward to that day. Whoever the hell sits on the throne, just don't fight.
Zhang Ning is twenty-seven years old this year, and will be twenty-seven in the autumn. Recently, Tuesday's mother has been "unwell" and seems to be showing signs of pregnancy, which has become his biggest concern. Because he has long been looking forward to having a successor, so that he can follow his brothers who conquer the world. In front of Yao Ji, she was also very concerned and said in public that she would call the royal doctor from the palace to come in and take a look.
It happened that when Luo Yaoniang, the daughter of Yang Shoufu, came to pay homage to the imperial concubine, there were many people in Yao Ji's hall, and even Zhang Ning was called over. Tuesday's mother was a little embarrassed, and worried that if she wasn't pregnant, she would make a fool of herself in public.
Zhou Zhou¡¯s mother made an excuse and said: ¡°The doctors in the palace are all old men, and I don¡¯t want to see men. Let¡¯s talk about it in a few days.¡±
As a royal concubine, she is indeed very particular. Before giving birth, she almost never went out of the house. The rare times she left the palace or two were with Zhang Ning. In the past six months or so, she has not even returned to her parents' home. She has been in the Chu Palace all day, surrounded by the eyes and ears of the palace maids and the chamberlain.
Gu Chunhan on the side couldn't bear to see her being so pretentious, as if she was flaunting her innocence, because Gu Chunhan's background was a bit disgraceful. She didn't hesitate and immediately smiled and said: "The imperial doctor can't see her face through the curtain. That's right. What's wrong with stretching out your hand to feel your pulse? Besides, people eat grains, who doesn't want to see the doctor?"
¡°I just don¡¯t want to see you, so why would you want others to touch me?¡± Zhou Zhou¡¯s mother guessed what Gu Chunhan was thinking and deliberately made her angry.
At this moment, Luo Yaoniang suddenly said: "I have a sister with superb medical skills. We are always inseparable, and today we also came together, but I was only allowed in at the palace gate, and she was waiting outside the palace gate. Want to If you don't call me in to give the princess a gift, she is still a young lady, so the princess doesn't have to deal with those old men."
Yao Ji looked slightly sideways, and Qiuye Changshi on the side asked politely: "Is she a relative of Miss Luo?"
Luo Yaoniang pondered for a moment and then said: "She is a sister that my father met when he was still an official in the capital. Her name is Xiao Qing. Her father is an imperial physician in the court and she also had friends with my father. I heard that Imperial Doctor Xiao was imprisoned for a serious crime. Xiao Qing came She took refuge in my house. Don¡¯t worry, I have known her for many years, and she is a kind-hearted person."
At this time, Yao Ji said softly: "Since she is an old friend of the Yang family, there is no need to interrogate her. Qiuye, go and bring her in, just in time to feel the pulse of the princess. Treat her with courtesy."
Qiuye cupped his fists and said, "Yes."
A group of people chatted and laughed in the hall for a while, then Xiao Qing was brought in by Qiuye. When I walked in, I saw that she was wearing a chest-length underskirt, that she was well-dressed and well-behaved, and that she had a frail figure. She really didn't look like a villain. Chunmei, who was present, looked at her fingers calmly. Her fingers were slender and delicate, but she kept a smile on her face If she were an assassin from the imperial court, her face and behavior could be disguised, but her hands could not be disguised. It's impossible to make them as thin as your hands, and there won't be any gaps when they are put together.
Xiao Qing took a look and saw that the room was full of strangers, except Luo Yaoniang. She didn't panic, she knelt down and made a blessing, saying, "My little lady has met all of you nobles."
Luo Yaoniang pointed at Zhou Niang and said, "This is Princess Xiang. She has been feeling unwell recently. My sister should take a look first."
Xiao Qing walked over. Zhou Zui¡¯s mother looked at it for a few times and quickly asked the maid to bring a stool for her to sit on. Then he put his arm on the table, Xiao Qing took out a thick handkerchief from his sleeve, folded it neatly and gently and deftly, put it under Zhou Niang's wrist, and said softly: "Princess, please loosen your hand." After saying that, he held his sleeve with one hand and stretched out his onion-like fingers to gently press on Zhou Niang's pulse.
After a while, Xiao Qing raised his head and glanced at Zhou Niang. Zhou Niang was very sensitive and immediately asked: "What's wrong?"
Xiao Qing, however, remained calm and changed his hand. Let me confirm. After a while, she stood up and saluted: "Congratulations, Princess. It's not an illness. You are happy."
"Seriously?" Suddenly a baritone voice said.
Xiao Qing followed the sound and saw a handsome and somewhat oppressive man looking at him. She was stunned for a moment and then said calmly: "Let's put it this way, if a little girl can even detect that she is pregnant, how dare she say that she knows medical skills?"
Zhang Ning rubbed his hands and suddenly said: "My hard work every night is not in vain!" After saying this, he realized that he had made a mistake and suddenly felt a little embarrassed on his face.
The women immediately looked at each other, one of them finally laughed out loud, and the others who were holding back couldn't help but smile.
At this time, he took off a golden jeweled hair flower from his hair and said, "Come here. I don't give away things that I wear easily, but I should give them to magpies."
Xiao Qing hurriedly said: "The slave family doesn't dare."
"Don't refuse." Yao Ji said with a smile and looked at Zhou Zui's mother, "This is a joy, and it will be even more joyful if I can spread the fragrance after giving birth."
Seeing that all the eyes around her were focused on her, Zhou Zhou Niang felt happy and stressed at the same time. It would be bad if she gave birth to a girl. In fact, she herself wanted a daughter, but she couldn't withstand the pressure from the world. A daughter was indeed of no use in the royal family For a principal concubine. Only for those concubines, the birth of daughters was of great importance. As long as they had children, they did not need to be buried when their husbands died.
Zhou Zhou Niang looked at Luo Yaoniang with a red face and said, "Thank you very much."
Luo Yaoniang laughed and said, "Don't thank me, no matter who takes the pulse, the result will be the same." While she was joking with Zhou Niang, she looked at Zhang Ning out of the corner of her eye, feeling a little mixed in her heart. This man was originally hers. Not only did he become the husband of another woman, but he also had children. Moreover, he just said something about working hard every night in front of her. It was really shameless. He touched other people's breasts on the road and took advantage of them. Have you forgotten all the cheap things?
¡°But I saw Zhou Niang today and felt that this princess was not as bad as I thought. She looked pretty good, gentle, gentle and delicate. This may be considered a good thing%
Yao Ji said generously: "I will tell the dining room to prepare it soon. There will be a family banquet in the Beigong at noon tomorrow. All the people in the family will congratulate Er Niang."
"I don't dare to ask you to worry so much," said Zhou Zhou Niang.
Yao Ji shook her head slightly and said with a smile: "Whoever dares to make you suffer in the future, just tell me, even if it is the King of Xiang, I will restrain him!"