Chapter 162 - 141: Beginning Prenatal Education (Part 2)
Jiang Xian said she wanted to study the Four Books and Five Classics as prenatal education.
Hearing this, Noble Consort Rong’s expression was odd. "He’s only two months along, and you’re already thinking about studying the Four Books and Five Classics? The little thing can’t even recognize words yet. It’s true that pregnant women shouldn’t overexert their minds. Aren’t you afraid you’ll lose the baby?"
The Noble Consort’s words were harsh, but she had a point.
For the average expectant mother, it was best to maintain a relaxed and carefree mood, get a moderate amount of exercise, and take good care of both body and mind.
But Jiang Xian was no ordinary expectant mother. "I feel like he should have learned all his words by now. I’ve already read the Thousand Character Classic and the Three Character Classic to him so many times."
If not for the fact that the fetus’s vocal cords hadn’t developed yet, she would have absolutely made her little one recite a passage for the Noble Consort.
"Once you set your mind to something, not even ten bulls could pull you back. Among everyone in the harem, Princess Consort Zhang is the most learned, so seeking her out is a wise move. It’s just that I, too, had a governess back in my maiden days."
Jiang Xian said, "Sister-in-law."
"Hm?"
"Just knowing how to read doesn’t mean you’re a scholar."
Fifteen minutes later, Gu Wanyi was thrown out of Zhaoyang Palace by the furious and embarrassed Noble Consort, not even managing to scrounge a free dinner. She returned to Bihua Palace and waited for Chen Changzai, who came back leaning against the wall for support. Jiang Xian gestured for her to sit. "I’ve received the Lady Noble Consort’s pardon, so I can continue going to Changchun Palace tomorrow."
But Chen Changzai frantically waved her hands. "I’m not sitting down, and I’m not going back! You go by yourself. Going to Changchun Palace makes my butt hurt."
Jiang Xian asked if she had been beaten with a plank at Changchun Palace.
Since entering the palace, she had never heard of Princess Consort Zhang using corporal punishment on any of the concubines.
"I stayed behind to scrounge a free meal. I wanted to get a sneak peek at how delicious the food rations for a concubine of fei rank were. Instead, they brought out a bubbling, bright red pot. The moment the steam hit my face, my eyes started watering. Lady Xianfei said that since I was one of Gu Wanyi’s people, I must be able to handle spicy food. I thought, ’I can’t bring shame to your name!’ so I just bit the bullet and ate it."
He Xiang added, "Less than fifteen minutes after finishing her meal, my lady spent a full half-hour in the latrine at Changchun Palace."
"I really can’t go back to Changchun Palace. While I was in the latrine, I saw my grandmother, who passed away many years ago, waving to me from the other side of a bridge."
’So she’d gotten the runs!’
Seeing her in such distress, Jiang Xian feigned being unwell and summoned an Imperial Physician. Ostensibly, it was for a routine pulse check for herself, but it was actually to get some stomach-soothing medicine for Chen Changzai and to ask about any dietary restrictions for the next couple of days.
Chen Changzai lay sprawled on the couch, her bottom in the air:
"Dearest sister, the Imperial Physician said that to fix my stomach, I need to eat squirrel-shaped mandarin fish."
From behind a screen, Doctor Sun interjected, "I said no such thing."
Chen Changzai said, "Think about it again."
Doctor Sun thought for a moment more, then wrote out a list for a medicinal diet that was completely free of any meat or greasy foods.
※
The concubines who assumed Gu Wanyi would obediently stay in Bihua Palace after becoming pregnant were sorely mistaken.
Not only did Gu Wanyi forge a connection with Princess Consort Zhang, but she also frequently sent soups and refreshments to Qiankun Palace to maintain her visibility.
And often enough, while she was there, the Emperor would summon her inside to keep him company.
Most critically, she didn’t reduce her visits to Qingliu Hall in the slightest!
The Empress Dowager had tried to advise him. "No matter how much you dote on Gu Wanyi, Emperor, you must consider her physical condition. Who on earth lets a woman run around when her pregnancy is still unstable? It’s fortunate that Qingliu Hall is just a place for you to listen to poetry and read, so it’s not too taxing, but it is ultimately inappropriate. Don’t think me a nag for saying so."
This time, the Empress Dowager genuinely felt her son was in the wrong.
From her perspective as a victor of past harem struggles, pregnancy was a critical time to be on guard against threats from all sides, not a time for running about. It must be the Emperor who insisted on keeping the girl by his side, forcing Gu Wanyi to serve him even with a child in her womb.
Xie Che, getting lectured like a scumbag by his own mother, felt deeply wronged.
He had privately advised Xian’er to rest well, only to be shot down with, "Starting my maternity leave in the first two months? I dare not even imagine how I’d get through the next eight."
It was Xie Che’s first time becoming a father. Having no experience, he naturally believed whatever the expectant mother herself said.
Xian’er said she couldn’t bear to be idle, so he had no choice but to grant his permission.
Thus, when facing the Empress Dowager, he could only bite the bullet and take the blame. "Your son cannot be without Gu Wanyi lately. Serving the Emperor is a concubine’s duty. It is only right that she endures a little hardship. Mother Empress need not plead for her. I can just reward her with some tonics. There’s no need to be so coddled."
This series of scumbag remarks left the Empress Dowager seething.
"You are without issue! How can you be so reckless with the safety of your own heir?"
But in the end, they were mother and son. When Xie Che was determined to do something, the Empress Dowager was powerless to stop him. All she could do was send over more health tonics and personally instruct Song Yuanzheng and Doctor Sun to take the utmost care of Gu Wanyi and her pregnancy. She even made a rare exception and permitted the Empress to lead the concubines to pay their respects, as a warning to the masses. Through all this, the Empress Dowager, who originally believed the Emperor to be madly in love with Gu Wanyi, suddenly became uncertain. ’If he truly cherished her in his heart, how could he torment her like this? He’s probably just treating her as a beautiful plaything!’
The Empress Dowager instantly felt a surge of pity for Jiang Xian.
※
Inside Qingliu Hall, the officials who had come to discuss matters were also aware that Lady Wan Yi was with child.
For the past several days, whenever she entered Qingliu Hall, she would redeem Prenatal Education Pills.
This was basically an Ivy League prenatal program!
Jiang Xian had offered them a slightly more refined explanation. "I am hoping that through osmosis, the fetus will absorb some scholarly temperament."
The officials understood. One of them piped up, "In that case, I’ll sit farther back from now on. Let Mr. Ni and Lord Bi sit up front."
Ni Yan asked why.
The man replied, "I only managed to place in the third tier of the imperial examinations. The two top-ranked scholars should sit closer. If the baby is going to absorb anything, it should absorb the best."
Ni Yan was speechless. "We don’t even know if the baby is a boy or a girl yet. What if it’s a Princess? How can we be so mercenary here in Qingliu Hall?"
The third-place scholar was traditionally the one with the best looks.
"No matter,"
Jiang Xian said, "Being a little mercenary isn’t a bad thing. The fetus has reached the age where it ought to understand the wickedness of the world."
Hearing this, the baby in her womb really wanted to give its mother’s belly a good kick.
Unfortunately, it hadn’t grown legs yet, so it could only give up in a huff.