Chapter 59: Four Months Pregnant
Sheng Qianheng propped himself up, scanning the layout of the hall. He was clearly still in Jingyang Palace.
He looked at the kneeling Imperial Physician Xu and asked again, “Zhen asks you, where is the Imperial Consort?”
Imperial Physician Xu’s head was bowed extremely low. “This humble subject does not know.”
Sheng Qianheng felt that something was wrong. Jingyang Palace was Chu Yi’s palace, but now the scent of Chu Yi’s xìnxiāng in this bedchamber seemed to have faded to the extreme.
He tried to get up but felt his steps were unsteady. Imperial Physician Xu quickly supported him and said, “Your Majesty, you have been unconscious for five days. Please take care of your dragon body!”
Sheng Qianheng’s eyes widened. He demanded, “Five days? Then has the King of Qianlin already returned to Qianlin?”
Liu Deshan hurried forward to report, “Five days ago, the King of Qianlin had already taken the princess from the marriage alliance back to Qianlin.”
Sheng Qianheng raised a hand to his forehead, a guess forming in his mind. “Liu Deshan, where has the Imperial Consort been these five days?”
Liu Deshan had already failed to find Chu Yi’s figure when he had rushed into the room five days ago. He knew the situation at this moment and said, “Your Majesty, Her Ladyship is missing…”
Sheng Qianheng gasped for air and roared, “Go and find him! Search the entire imperial palace! Turn it upside down!”
Liu Deshan immediately stood up, intending to order people to search for Chu Yi.
But in a moment, Sheng Qianheng stopped him and said, “Come back! You go and search each palace one by one. Don’t let anyone else notice this matter.”
Liu Deshan: “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Sheng Qianheng reached out and grabbed Imperial Physician Xu’s collar. “Why was I unconscious?”
Imperial Physician Xu felt cold sweat dripping down his forehead and whispered with a trembling voice, “To answer Your Majesty, this subject is dull and could not diagnose the reason…”
Sheng Qianheng shoved Imperial Physician Xu away. His head was splitting, as if a thousand-pound weight were pressing on it. He roared, “All of you, scram! Get out!”
He was weak all over, on the verge of collapse. After resting for a while, he dragged his unsteady body and searched all over Jingyang Palace but still couldn’t find a single trace of Chu Yi.
Why had he been unconscious for five days? And where on earth had Chu Yi gone?
He finally collapsed onto the bed in despair, closed his eyes, and focused, trying his best to accept this most unbearable situation…
Chu Yi must have already left the palace with Chu Rui!
He sat alone in Jingyang Palace for a long time, until his whole body was numb. When he tried to get up, a numbness suddenly spread from the soles of his feet. Sheng Qianheng immediately reached out to support himself on the bed to avoid falling.
The stinging pain from his fingertips brought him back to his senses. He looked at the hard object.
Sheng Qianheng lifted a corner of the soft pillow, reached out, and picked up the envelope that had been stained red by the blood from his fingertips.
He immediately tore open the envelope and took out the letter.
A-Heng, seeing these words is like seeing my face.
I know you must be puzzled and even resent my sudden departure, but I hope you can read this letter patiently. As I write, though I have a thousand words, I don’t know where to begin.
Sheng Qianheng, I am not the Chu Yi you know. Do you know that? Even if you don’t believe in ghosts, though this body still bears the name of an old friend, the soul is no longer the same. In words you can understand, it is the word ‘possession’.
Chu Yi is just a coincidence, sharing the same name as the person you know. The first time we met was on the day of the assassination. At that time, I was just trying to survive, so I played the role of the “Chu Yi” you thought I was. I tried to escape several times, all because I was afraid you would find out I was an impostor, but I failed every time.
However, at some point, Chu Yi seemed to have become intoxicated by all your sweet words. In our day-to-day life together, I could no longer tell if I was playing the role of loving you or if I had already given you my heart. Looking back on that day, when Chu Yi was forced to enter the palace as a consort, I actually deceived myself into believing that I didn’t care about the title of consort, nor did I mind if you would take other consorts.
But step by step, every consort who was forced to enter the palace was like a sharp dagger stabbing my heart, making it difficult for Chu Yi to breathe. Although Chu Yi knows A-Heng’s helplessness and understands the pros and cons, I still find it difficult to accept the fact that there are more and more consorts. I’m afraid that over time, I will become a vicious person who only knows how to be resentful and jealous.
The matter of enfeoffing the Empress was the fuse that made me realize that perhaps we two need to be separated for a while to see some things clearly.
A-Heng, may I ask, have you never considered that I am not the one who taught you to read and write as a child? The love you gave me was never for me, Chu Yi. This is not what I want.
I have become more and more confused, sinking deeper and deeper. All of this is not what I want.
I am Chu Yi, the Chu Yi who has only been by your side for a few months. What I want has never changed: to love only one person in my lifetime.
I hope you will not look for me. When Chu Yi has figured out the relationship between us, there will be a day when we meet again.
Love is separated by mountains and seas, but mountains and seas cannot be leveled.
The sea has boats to cross, and the mountains have roads to travel.
Mountains and seas can all be leveled; what is difficult to level is your heart.
The still wet blood from the fingertips of the Chu Yi who had known you for a few months stained a corner of the letter. Sheng Qianheng’s vision gradually blurred as he looked at the last few words of the signature.
Chu Yi had always been the Chu Yi he knew, never changed. However, since he had become emperor, Chu Yi’s every move, his decisiveness in killing, had made him feel distant.
It wasn’t until after the assassination at the sacrificial ceremony that Chu Yi seemed to have undergone a drastic change.
He would never mistake the person he loved! The person who had been hidden deep in his heart since he was a child!
But why would Chu Yi have such thoughts?
Sheng Qianheng only felt a sting in his eyes and a splitting headache. Where on earth had Chu Yi gone?
Sheng Qianheng immediately ordered the news to be sealed. Therefore, only a few people knew about Chu Yi’s escape.
He skipped court for several days and locked himself in Jingyang Palace, until the scent of Chu Yi’s xìnxiāng in the room had completely disappeared.
The imperial edict to enfeoff the Empress, which he had been unable to write with Chu Yi’s name, Sheng Qianheng found it extremely ridiculous when he picked up the brush again.
He raised a hand to touch the clear characters for “Chu Yi.” He, who had never believed in ghosts and gods, had no choice but to believe a little now.
In the second year of Jinghe, the tenth month.
Consort Hui of Jingyang Palace was first enfeoffed as the Empress, and the whole nation celebrated.
On the fifth of the tenth month, Chu Yi and his party had already returned to the Qianlin royal palace.
Chu Rui had wanted to publicize the return of his royal younger brother and hold a grand banquet, but he was refused by Chu Yi on the grounds that he liked peace and quiet.
Chu Rui had no choice but to give up.
He ordered people to tidy up the palace and personally took Chu Yi on a tour of the Qianlin royal palace.
Although Chu Yi had no memory of this, he seemed to vaguely see an image of a child running past him.
He shook his head slightly, simply attributing it to the mental daze caused by the fatigue of the journey these past few days.
Seeing that his younger brother had been in low spirits ever since leaving Da Mo, Chu Rui could only pretend that he still had state affairs to attend to and let him be alone to think things through. “Yi’er, you can stay here for now. If there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, Gu will have someone add it.”
Chu Yi nodded. “Thank you, older brother.”
After Lianfang had helped Chu Yi sit down in the hall, she poured him tea and then asked, “Your Highness, are you missing…”
Chu Yi immediately interrupted Lianfang, then stood up and pretended to be busy. “Lianfang, you should tidy up all these clothes we brought.”
Lianfang stood up and said slowly, “Your Highness, now that we’ve returned to Qianlin, you probably won’t be wearing these Da Mo clothes anymore.”
Chu Yi was not yet used to the address “Your Highness” for a moment. He sighed. “Then just pile them in a corner of the wardrobe.”
Lianfang: “Yes.”
Chu Yi walked to the window and gazed at the hall outside. It was a vast expanse of white, and he couldn’t help but feel a little emotional. This place, Qianlin, was already deep in winter, and the fox fur he was wearing was something Chu Rui had prepared in his luggage when they had just entered Qianlin.
He looked up and saw that the eaves were all covered in white snow. In an instant, he felt a sense of daze. He couldn’t help but think to himself that Da Mo was only just entering autumn now.
Just as Lianfang finished tidying up the clothes, she saw Chu Yi standing by the window, blowing in the cold wind.
She immediately lit the floor brazier in the room and then reminded him, “Your Highness, you’d better not blow in the wind. Be careful of catching a cold.”
Chu Yi immediately closed the window and sat back at the table. “My body is not that weak yet.”
However, the next day, Chu Yi developed a fever.
Chu Rui sat by Chu Yi’s bed, his brows tightly furrowed. He pressed the physician, “How is he? How did he get such a high fever overnight?”
The physician took Chu Yi’s pulse and his pupils widened unconsciously. This king had just brought back his royal younger brother who had been a hostage in Da Mo for many years. How could he be more than three months pregnant?
Had His Highness been bullied in Da Mo?
The physician didn’t dare to speak rashly for a moment. “King, His Highness should be unaccustomed to the new environment after just returning to our Qianlin. This subordinate will prescribe some medicine…”
Chu Rui gestured for him to hurry and get the medicine and reminded him, “Don’t say what you shouldn’t. Be careful with the medicine. Don’t harm His Highness. Do you know what Gu is saying?”
The physician was sweating. He must be warning him not to harm the child in His Highness’s belly with the medicine. “Yes, King. This subordinate would never dare to speak rashly.”
Chu Yi’s high fever lasted for several days and never completely subsided. He only felt as if he had had a very long dream. The events in the dream seemed to be the past events of the Chu Yi recorded in the book, appearing before his eyes one by one, illusory and real, making it difficult to distinguish between true and false.
Three days later, he finally woke up. He looked at the carved beams and painted rafters of the dome above and was stunned for a long time. For a moment, he didn’t know where he was and only felt full of confusion and daze.
He had only moved a little when Lianfang, who had been guarding by the bed, noticed it. She called for the physician to take Chu Yi’s pulse again.
The physician: “His Highness’s fever has already subsided, but he still needs to take the medicine for a few more days.”
Lianfang: “Thank you for your trouble, physician.”
When Chu Yi sat up, Lianfang quickly draped a thick outer robe over him and said, “Your Highness, don’t blow in the cold wind these few days!”
Chu Yi naturally didn’t know what had happened and asked, “What’s wrong with me?”
Lianfang explained what had happened these past few days in detail.
Chu Yi held the freshly brewed medicinal soup and laughed at himself, “My body is really getting more and more useless.”
He raised a hand to cover his lower abdomen. In just a few days, it seemed to have rounded out a bit. He said in a low voice, “It must have been uncomfortable soaking in hot soup for a few days.”
In order to recuperate, Chu Yi had stayed in the hall for nearly ten days without going out.
Unbeknownst to him, he had already been pregnant for four months.
He would always think of Sheng Qianheng in his free time, wondering what he was doing…
Chu Yi didn’t like this Qianlin royal palace. He always felt that he had just moved out of one confining palace wall and into another.
Perhaps he was really unaccustomed to the new environment. Chu Yi couldn’t stand the cold of Qianlin.
He could only pace in this small bedchamber, occasionally chatting with the child in his belly about some irrelevant things.
Chu Rui would come to his hall every day and sit for a few days.
Chu Yi couldn’t help but tease him, “Older brother, you come to my hall more often than you go to your sister-in-law’s, right?”
Chu Rui’s body instantly stiffened. He gave an awkward smile. “Your sister-in-law passed away last year… leaving only two children.”
Chu Yi immediately raised a hand to cover his lips, at a loss. How could his mouth bring this up?
He immediately drank a mouthful of tea and asked, “Then… older brother… you…”
Chu Rui smiled faintly and comforted Chu Yi, “It’s fine. You were also familiar with your sister-in-law. It’s just that you were still young at that time and probably don’t remember clearly. She was already frail. In order to obey our father’s words and to give birth to a royal son for me, her body was depleted. The child left me after only a few months…”
Chu Yi felt his eyes sting and asked, “Then what about the child?”
Chu Rui: “The wet nurse is taking care of him.”
Chu Yi took Chu Rui’s hand and choked, “Can I see him?”
“When your body is better, I’ll have the wet nurse bring him for you to see.” Chu Rui slowly reached out and cupped his younger brother’s head, rubbing it gently.
Although Chu Yi didn’t resist, his body was still a little stiff. In the end, he was not the original “Chu Yi.”
Ever since Chu Rui had mentioned his two children, Chu Yi couldn’t hold it in anymore.
His body had already recovered, so he had Lianfang take him to have a look.
The two of them happened to run into a minister who was leaving the palace.
Minister A: “Have you heard? The emperor of Da Mo actually made a man the Empress.”
Minister B: “That’s right. I heard that the enfeoffment ceremony was quite grand!”
Minister A: “But with a man as the Empress, is Da Mo really not worried about the issue of heirs?”
Minister B: “I heard that that male Empress is already pregnant, and he was the first consort that Da Mo emperor had taken.”
Minister A had a shocked expression. “There’s such a rumor.”
Hearing the two of them talking, Chu Yi almost tripped over his own feet…
