Chapter 324: Yun Chu Is Pregnant
Yun Chu pursed her lips.
In her previous life, after the Yun family was purged, the Eastern Tomb Kingdom invaded the Great Jin Dynasty. With the Pillar of the Nation Great General gone, there was no one to resist the enemy. The coastal cities in the east fell and became territory of the Eastern Tomb Kingdom, where they burned, killed, and looted, committing every evil imaginable. The common people of Great Jin suffered immensely...
At that time, she had desperately hoped the Emperor would consider the people's welfare, spare the Yun family, and let her father go to the front lines to drive out the Eastern Tomb Kingdom.
Yet, the Emperor would rather let the people suffer, would rather leave hundreds of thousands of soldiers without a commander, than give the Yun family a chance to redeem themselves through merit.
As for whether the Eastern Tomb Kingdom continued to annex Great Jin's territory after that, Yun Chu never found out, because she had already died from a cup of poisoned wine.
Yun Chu inquired carefully about the current situation of the Eastern Tomb Kingdom.
The present Eastern Tomb Kingdom wasn't as powerful as it would be over a decade later. Now was the best time to conquer it.
However, Chu Yi was merely a prince; such decisions weren't his to make.
The family stayed in Quan City for over half a month before boarding a large ship directly back to the capital. They arrived in the capital just as the first snow of winter began to fall.
They had left in early summer; now it was already winter.
Yun Chu realized that happy times always felt fleeting—these past few months had passed in the blink of an eye.
Their first order of business upon returning to the capital was naturally to pay respects at the palace.
After having Xie Xian escorted home, their carriage didn't even return to the manor but went straight to the palace gates. Yun Chu and Chu Yi, bringing their two children, alighted and walked through the first snow to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
The Emperor happened to be there as well.
Chu Hongyu pattered over and threw himself at them: "Grandfather Emperor, Grandmother Empress, I missed you so much!"
The Emperor's expression was cold.
He had only temporarily relieved the third prince of his duties in the Ministry of Works, yet this boy had outright abandoned his responsibilities.
He left just like that, gone for nearly half a year.
When other princes left the capital, it was to handle official matters.
But the third prince? He was merely sightseeing.
The Emperor sneered, "So you still remember to return!"
Chu Yi bowed, "Your son and his wife committed errors. Fearing we would further annoy Father Emperor in the capital, we journeyed south, hoping Father Emperor's anger has subsided."
He was referring to the incident half a year ago when Crown Prince's Side Princess Consort Fang had miscarried.
Then, the Empress spoke gently, "How can there be lasting grudges between father and son? The Emperor forgot about that matter long ago, isn't that right, Your Majesty?"
The Emperor twitched the corner of his mouth, "Return to your post in the Ministry of Works tomorrow."
Chu Yi lowered his head, "Your son has erred and still needs to reflect. I beg Father Emperor to rescind the order."
The Emperor's face turned icy.
By offering to let the third prince return to court, he was implicitly admitting that Side Princess Consort Fang's miscarriage actually had nothing to do with Yun Chu.
Yet the third prince refused to yield.
What, did he expect the Emperor himself to apologize to his daughter-in-law, Yun Chu?
"Fine, then continue your reflection!"
The Emperor rose coldly and left with a flick of his sleeve.
The Empress sighed, "Yi'er, these past few months, your father has long known he wronged Chu'er. The position in the Ministry of Works has been kept for you all along. There's no benefit in holding a grudge against the Emperor. Chu'er, you should advise him as well."
Yun Chu kept her head lowered, "This humble wife supports any decision the Prince makes."
The Empress shook her head. Yun Chu was, after all, the legitimate daughter of a general's household—how had she lost all dignity as a mistress of the manor after becoming Princess Consort?
To hold a grudge against the Emperor over such a trivial matter—where did that leave the honor and disgrace of the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor?
The Empress continued, "Yi'er, I hope you will return to court."Since she had schemed to have Chu Mo kill Lady Zhou and gained leverage over him, Chu Mo had immediately turned around and formed an alliance with Guogong Furen, Li Jingshu.
Under the schemes of Li Jingshu and Chu Mo, the Empress had endured a difficult six months, with half of her authority over the imperial harem falling into the hands of Chu Mo's mother, Consort Hui.
If this continued, she feared she would have no room left to retreat.
She urgently needed allies to change the current situation.
If Chu Yi returned to court, it would restore the tripartite balance, preventing her and the Crown Prince from remaining so passive.
"Guogong Furen has framed Yun Chu once, and there will be a second time," the Empress said calmly. "If we join forces to eliminate Guogong Furen and sever one of Chu Mo's arms, it will bring us nothing but benefits."
Her greatest concern was Li Jingshu.
As long as Li Jingshu could be removed, everything else could be negotiated.
Chu Yi pondered for a moment before cupping his hands and replying, "Your son has just returned to the capital after a long journey and is weary. Please allow me a few days to rest before giving my answer."
The Empress smiled warmly. "Very well, I shall await your good news, Yi'er."
The family of four then went to pay their respects to Yin Fei.
Yin Fei echoed the same sentiment, urging Chu Yi to return to court soon and not spend his days indulging in leisure and pleasure.
After leaving the palace, the family did not return to the prince's residence but went to the Yun family instead. Lin Shi had already written, insisting that their first meal upon returning to the capital be at the Yun residence.
"Grandmother, Uncle, Aunt!" Chu Hongyu rushed over excitedly. "I missed you all so much! I brought many little trinkets for you!"
"Oh my, Yu Ge'er has grown taller," Lin Shi said with a fond smile. "Changsheng has grown taller too."
Chu Changsheng tilted her head. "Brother and I are almost six years old now, of course we've grown taller."
Liu Qianqian, holding her child, smiled and said, "Changsheng's speech is becoming more and more fluent. How wonderful."
Chu Hongyu had the servants bring in a chest and eagerly distributed the little trinkets to everyone, filling the courtyard with lively chatter.
Lin Shi instructed the servants to serve the dishes promptly. A large table was laden with delicacies, all favorites of Yun Chu and the children. The family sat around the table, enjoying a harmonious and joyful meal.
Chu Yi and Yun Ze discussed matters of the court.
For instance, the Crown Prince had gradually begun overseeing state affairs, assisted by the Grand Preceptor and Grand Tutor, without major issues arising.
Gong Xi Prince had steadily established his footing in the Ministry of Revenue.
The Sixth Prince, after recovering from his illness, had become increasingly dissolute...
"Chu'er, this is braised pork trotter, made by Mother herself," Lin Shi said, placing a piece in Yun Chu's bowl. "I tweaked the recipe. See how it compares to before."
Yun Chu nodded and was about to take a bite when a wave of nausea suddenly overwhelmed her. She covered her mouth and turned away.
She retched a few times but brought nothing up.
Liu Qianqian quickly said, "Hurry, send for a physician!"
Yun Chu waved her hand. "I'm fine. Perhaps I caught a chill from the wind on the way here."
"Still, it's best to have a physician take a look," Chu Yi interjected. "A minor ailment left untreated can easily become serious."
Yun Chu had no choice but to agree.
Before long, the physician arrived and examined Yun Chu's pulse.
"Congratulations, Your Highness, congratulations, Princess Consort! This is a pregnancy pulse. You are with child, already over two months along!"
Yun Chu was utterly astonished.
She was pregnant?
Over two months?
She had been completely unaware.
Lin Shi was overjoyed. "Quickly, distribute rewards! Everyone gets a reward!"
Liu Qianqian instructed someone to give silver to the physician, who then wrote a prescription for stabilizing the pregnancy before taking his leave."Yun Chu, now that you're with child, you mustn't travel such long distances anymore," Lin Shi said with a beaming smile. "You need to rest well yourself so the baby can grow and be born smoothly... Tomorrow I'll go to the temple to get you a protective charm, to bless you and the child with a smooth journey..."
Yun Chu was still in a daze.
Chu Yi was completely stunned too.
Then, a moment later, he picked Yun Chu up: "Yun Chu, this is wonderful, truly wonderful..."
When Yu Ge'er and Changsheng were in Yun Chu's womb, he had known nothing about it. He owed Yun Chu far too much.
This time, he would make it up to her a thousandfold, a hundredfold.
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