She had unexpectedly run into the Empress’s crisis just as she entered the Palace.
If Zhao Shen’s memory was not mistaken, then some unforeseen change must have occurred, causing those hiding in the shadows to move their plans forward.
The changes caused by her presence were twofold: first, Zhao Heng wanting to marry Wei Yuanmin, and second, her entering the Palace to visit the Empress Dowager.
She wondered if it was related to these two events.
Ji Yunshu pondered secretly.
The Empress’s footsteps faltered. When she turned to look at Ji Yunshu, her expression was somewhat forced. “Does Cousin Ji have any other business?”
The pain radiating from her abdomen made her lips tremble as she spoke.
Ji Yunshu took a deep breath and stepped forward to support her. “Your Majesty, the child in your womb is what matters most.”
“But…”
The Empress remained hesitant. The Taiyi had said it would be a few more days before the child was born, and she was certain that nothing had been amiss before she came to the Empress Dowager’s palace.
Yet, after staying in the hall for a short while, her stomach had begun to ache.
The Empress Dowager had been dissatisfied with her for a long time. Even if she had truly done something, what could the Emperor do to his own biological mother?
She had been married to the Emperor for seven or eight years before finally conceiving this child. How could she dare to gamble?
Ji Yunshu said urgently, “Your Majesty, believe me. The Empress Dowager wants this child to be well more than anyone else.”
Seeing a layer of fine sweat break out on the Empress’s forehead from the pain, Ji Yunshu could no longer care about anything else. She turned to the Empress’s attendants and said, “Quickly, go and fetch a Taiyi.”
By then, the Empress Dowager had also come to her senses. Looking at the Empress’s face, which was as pale as paper, she ultimately bit back her words of reproach.
She immediately commanded the people around her, “Go fetch a Taiyi.”
Then she ordered others to help the Empress to the inner chamber to rest.
Seeing that the Empress still seemed uneasy, she had no choice but to add another sentence: “Have someone go and fetch the Emperor.”
With the Emperor coming in person, surely she would no longer suspect that the Empress Dowager intended her harm.
Hearing this, the Empress indeed breathed a sigh of relief.
As Ji Yunshu supported the Empress toward the inner chamber, she did not forget to remind the Empress Dowager, “Aunt, have someone check the things Her Majesty touched just now.”
The Empress’s sudden onset of pain, coupled with her extreme distrust of the Empress Dowager—to the point where she was willing to risk the child’s safety by leaving Ningshou Gong while in agony—surely happened for a reason.
In the original plot of the book, the Empress suffered a difficult labor after leaving Ningshou Gong; the child did not survive, the Empress’s body was permanently damaged, and she lost all possibility of conceiving again.
Ji Yunshu had a faint inkling that she knew exactly what was happening.
Someone was deliberately trying to drive a wedge between the Empress Dowager and the Empress, and perhaps even the Emperor.
If this scheme succeeded, the Emperor’s maternal family and the Empress’s family would become enemies.
It would greatly weaken the Emperor’s influence.
Furthermore, it would cause the Emperor to lose trust in his mother and even the Ji family.
Ji Yunshu felt a cold shiver in her heart. So the conspiracy against the Ji family had begun this early.
No wonder Zhao Heng was later able to replace his father and elder brother so easily.
The Empress Dowager had lived in the Palace for many years, after all. Upon hearing Ji Yunshu’s words, she immediately knew what she was implying.
Her gaze landed instantly on the cup of tea the Empress had just sipped.
Although people in the Harem preferred subtle methods, the Empress had reacted too quickly; something must have been ingested.
Mama Wen picked up the teacup and brought it to her nose to sniff. She said to the Empress Dowager, “It seems to be something chilling and harmful.”
She was not a physician, after all, and the substance inside was not a common item.
Once the Empress Dowager connected the dots of the situation, her face instantly turned ashen. “Immediately seal off Ningshou Gong. No one is permitted to leave without my permission. Conduct a thorough investigation for me. I want to see who dares to reach their hand into Ningshou Gong.”
Mama Wen took the order and left.
Ji Yunshu helped the Empress lie down on the bed in the inner chamber.
The Empress was convulsing from the pain, one hand gripping Ji Yunshu’s tightly.
Just as Ji Yunshu was about to offer a few words of comfort, she heard a palace maid cry out in terror, “Blood! Her Majesty is bleeding!”
Ji Yunshu looked down and saw that the bedding beneath the Empress was indeed soaked through with blood.
She had never seen such a scene before and desperately told herself not to panic.
The Empress was drifting in and out of consciousness from the pain, murmuring, “My child… save the child.”
Ji Yunshu held her hand and whispered, “Your Majesty, the Taiyi is coming right away. The child will be fine, and you must be well too.”
This was the first time since arriving here that she felt truly powerless.
She was not like the transmigrated heroines in novels; she didn’t know medicine and couldn’t save people. Even though she knew the plot, she had still allowed the Empress to fall into such danger.
Fortunately, the agonizing wait didn’t last long before the Taiyi arrived.
Since the safety of the Empress and the unborn prince was at stake, the Imperial Medical Bureau dared not be negligent; three Taiyi arrived all at once.
As soon as they entered, the Empress Dowager had someone give the teacup to the Taiyi for inspection.
The three Taiyi gasped after identifying the contents of the cup. Without time to say more, they immediately set to work prescribing medicine and treating the Empress.
It wasn’t until the Taiyi announced that the Empress’s condition had stabilized that Ji Yunshu found a moment to go to the Empress Dowager’s side.
When she instinctively reached out to take the Empress Dowager’s hand, she found that her Aunt’s hand was even colder than her own.
She quickly comforted her, “Aunt, the Taiyi said the Empress’s condition has improved and she will be fine. Don’t worry.”
The Empress Dowager was indeed feeling some lingering fear. She could hardly imagine what would have happened if Ji Yunshu hadn’t noticed the Empress was unwell and had let her force herself to leave Ningshou Gong.
Even if she did not like the Empress, she had never thought of harming her, let alone when she was carrying her own grandson.
The Empress Dowager squeezed her hand and sighed. “It is thanks to you today. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to explain it to the Emperor. He has looked forward to this legitimate heir for many years.”
Having spent these years in the Palace, Ji Yunshu naturally knew how much the Emperor loved the Empress.
It was truly a case of wanting no other concubines in the Harem, favoring only one person.
It was precisely because of this that her Aunt disliked the Empress.
Women of this era were truly contradictory.
As a woman, one hopes for the husband’s exclusive affection, but once she becomes a mother-in-law, she does not want her son to favor only one woman.
Ji Yunshu tried to advise her, “Aunt, actually, it’s a good thing to have fewer women in the Harem. Life is more peaceful.”
The Empress Dowager shot her a sidelong glance. “Because of her, the Emperor has refused to favor other women in the Harem all these years. He’s at this age and doesn’t even have an heir yet. How is that a good thing?”
Though there truly was a throne to inherit, Ji Yunshu still felt some sympathy for the Empress. Seeing that the Empress Dowager wasn’t angry at her words, she added, “It’s not the Empress’s fault that she couldn’t conceive. She must be more anxious than anyone. You are a woman too…”
Why should women make life hard for other women?
Furthermore, although the Emperor doted on the Empress, under the pressure of producing an heir, many women had actually been brought into the Harem over the years.
With the Empress Dowager and the officials applying pressure, the Emperor hadn’t completely avoided favoring others.
But despite that, no one had gotten pregnant.
Ji Yunshu strongly suspected that the problem lay with her cousin, the Emperor.
But she didn’t dare say those words aloud.
If it weren’t for the fact that the Empress Dowager truly doted on her, she wouldn’t have said what she did earlier.
But she truly hoped the Empress Dowager could see things more clearly and stop interfering in the affairs of the Emperor and Empress.
The borders had been stable these years, and the Ji family’s father and sons held military power, which had already caused some grumbling in the court.
If the Empress Dowager continued to interfere in the Harem or even the court, it would not benefit the Ji family.
It would not only exhaust the mother-son affection between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor but also give others an opportunity to strike.
Just like this time—if the Empress had possessed even a shred of trust in the Empress Dowager, she wouldn’t have insisted on leaving while in such pain.