Chapter 437: Chapter 437

By the time the Grand Princess arrived, the area outside the warm pavilion was already crowded with a group of imperial physicians, all looking tense. Walking further into the inner chamber, behind a screen, she saw her normally lively and energetic daughter-in-law lying pale on the bed. Her son, his eyes rimmed red, was clutching his wife's hand, seemingly saying something.

From within the bed curtains came the occasional sound of the woman's soft, comforting voice.

"Don't worry, husband. Didn't the imperial physician just say? As long as I rest and recuperate properly, there's still a chance to keep the child. As for me, I'll be even less likely to have any issues..."

"But A-Ning, I'm scared..."

As he spoke, Xie Huai's eyes grew even redder. He stared unblinkingly at the person on the bed, his beautiful eyes glistening with unshed tears. That look of his...

The Grand Princess: "..."

It seems the rumor that sons resemble their fathers is not false.

For a moment, she didn't know whether to be worried or exasperated.

"What are you crying for? Nothing has happened yet!"

"A-Ning, are you still feeling unwell anywhere?"

With a pale, pitiful little face, An Ning gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head, her voice extremely faint.

"It's nothing serious. I've just been feeling a bit dizzy and tired lately."

Despite her words, the symptoms and her complexion didn't look mild at all. Glancing at her son, whose expression grew even more despondent, and after carefully giving a few more instructions, the Grand Princess finally left with her entourage, looking deeply preoccupied.

Not long after, apart from countless varieties of tonics, a large group of white-bearded old doctors were brought trembling into the Linxuan Pavilion, only to leave in an even more aged and helpless state.

Unfortunately, regardless of the medical skill or external reputation of the doctors or imperial physicians who came, the result they all reached without exception was the same: she could only rest in bed for now and should not move about much.

In short, not a single one of these people dared to prescribe any medicine. At most, they offered some dietary supplement recipes.

However, contrary to expectations, just as everyone thought this pregnancy was ninety-nine percent unlikely to be saved, and had even prepared themselves to bear the wrath of the Grand Princess's Residence, as the pregnancy progressed, the fetal condition of the child in An Ning's womb actually slowly began to improve.

Even An Ning herself, the expectant mother, showed a slight tendency for her originally pale complexion to improve.

After struggling through three difficult months, everyone in the Grand Princess's Residence, including the group of imperial physicians, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Apart from Xie Huai, who finally got a good night's sleep, even the Grand Princess, during a break from handling official duties, couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

"This child, you can tell just by looking, has a tenacious nature." How wonderful, just like her!

As the atmosphere in the Grand Princess's Residence shifted from gloomy to bright, if there was anyone who was dissatisfied, even worried, it was the imperial palace.

"You're saying the child is temporarily considered saved?"

In the Imperial Study, casually setting down a half-reviewed memorial, Shangguan Hong, seated before the desk, spoke with an inscrutable tone.

"I never imagined that after A-Huai's health was ruined to such an extent back then, he would still be fortunate enough to have a child now."

That's right. Regarding his late Imperial Father's methods, as the beneficiary, the current emperor naturally knew about them. He also understood that when an emperor made a move, there was never any room for leniency.

It was precisely because of this that, even though he had repeatedly been wary of his Imperial Elder Sister's influence over the years, apart from some superficial, minor maneuvers, the emperor had not rashly taken any real action.

As if thinking of something, Shangguan Hong's gaze from his seat above suddenly turned cold and heavy.

Below, Chief He abruptly lowered his head, not daring to look up.

"Your... Your Majesty, logically speaking, given Lord Jing Guo's physical condition, the cold poison has long been like maggots in the bones. It's basically impossible for him to have offspring. But... but on a previous occasion when this humble official was checking the Duchess's pulse, I discovered that... the Duchess's pulse condition... it's simply not just ordinarily good."

"It is truly unparalleled in this humble official's entire life."

"Perhaps... perhaps that is why this child was unexpectedly preserved." Moreover, as the time spent in the mother's body increased, the pulse condition had actually improved further.

As he spoke, Chief He bowed his head even lower.

Little did he know that the moment his words fell, Shangguan Hong's expression above grew even more unpleasant, especially when he thought about how he was now over forty, yet the number of offspring in his harem could still be counted on one hand.

Moreover, it had been a full three years since the mourning period ended, and so far, only Concubine Yu was pregnant. In fact, if it weren't for Concubine Yu's pregnancy, the rumors and gossip in the court would likely have been even more rampant.

At this thought, the emperor's expression grew even darker. The appearance and bearing of that niece-in-law involuntarily surfaced in his mind. Even by evening, the current emperor was still brooding over this matter.

"Empress, if I recall correctly, the Changping Earl's Manor had earlier expressed a desire to send a daughter into the palace, right?"

They even specifically taught their eldest daughter the ways of the imperial selection.

Fortunately, thanks to her good memory, after a moment of thought, Empress Wang quickly retrieved this matter from her memory and immediately smiled.

"Your Majesty truly has the forgetfulness of a noble person. It was you who said back then that Eldest Young Lady Zhou entering the palace seemed rather inappropriate."

No matter how much inner exasperation she felt, looking at her husband who couldn't hide his frustration, the Empress could only maintain her smile as she replied.

"The Changping Earl's Manor... truly a bunch of clueless fools!"

The emperor couldn't help but curse. They didn't even know how to send someone pleasing. It was evident they were useless to an extreme degree.

Here, the husband and wife pair were left speechless, staring at each other. Little did they know that within the palace, there was actually another person who was equally shocked and dismayed.

"System, she's actually pregnant? Logically speaking, whether in history or in the trajectory you provided, Lord Jing Guo shouldn't have had any children in this lifetime, right?" How could this be?

Most importantly, the variables were getting bigger and bigger.

For some reason, thinking of that scene at the banquet that day, Murong Qing couldn't help but feel a surge of unease in her heart.

And with a child, given the Grand Princess's power and capability, would she really not do anything?

"Is the emperor just watching this happen?"

Lightly stroking her noticeably swollen belly, inside her chamber, Murong Qing, who had been leisurely nurturing her pregnancy and admiring flowers, suddenly had her expression change drastically. The plain handkerchief in her hand had been discarded at some point.

Within her spiritual sea, the system was left speechless.

Watching... how could that be? Was it that the emperor didn't want to take action? It was simply that the Grand Princess's defenses were too tight.

Learning from one setback to gain wisdom, having a precedent to learn from, with the Grand Princess's capabilities, how could this pregnancy possibly give others another chance to strike? Who did they think they were looking down on!

However, before the system could explain, Murong Qing quickly figured this out herself, though she still couldn't help but curse under her breath.

On the soft couch, lightly nibbling on the pastries a palace servant had just brought, Concubine Yu couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

An emperor who turned out to be so useless, no wonder the children he produced were one more useless than the last.

Thinking of the only two surviving princes from before, one was stupid, and the other was both weak and stupid, a term like 'rotten wood' would be an insult to rotten wood. It was only later...

Hah! So that's it! So the root cause was here! Murong Qing couldn't help but inwardly mock, but in an instant, that mockery turned into deep apprehension.

It was precisely this weak and useless emperor, yet in the original historical trajectory, this Zhou woman could still become the final victor, giving birth to an emperor whose name would be recorded in history. And now, under these conditions, she could still successfully become pregnant. It was evident how incredibly strong this person's luck was.

Unfortunately, given her current identity, she had absolutely no channel or opportunity to get close to the other party.

"System, can't you just..."

As if knowing what she was about to say, the system within her spiritual sea hastily spoke up.

"Host, don't even think about it. If I could casually poison someone out of thin air like that, what would I need you, the host, to engage in palace intrigue for?"

Forget it. The most urgent matter right now was to give birth to this child in her belly. Only with this would she have the bargaining chip to pursue everything...

As for that person in the Grand Princess's Residence, thinking of the emperor who had clearly been in a bad mood lately and had been unwilling to enter the rear palace for many days, Murong Qing inwardly sneered again.

Anyway, the one most anxious right now wasn't her...

Having reasoned this through, Murong Qing's originally agitated mood gradually calmed down.

As the saying goes, one misstep leads to many. No matter how strong her luck was, without the grand platform of the imperial palace, this Miss Zhou was destined not to become the future Empress Dowager Zhou.

That's right. Thinking back to her earlier complaints, Murong Qing's expression quickly turned serious again. She once more lightly stroked her swollen belly.

"System, the child in my belly won't turn out like those two blocks of wood from before, right?"

Responding to her was the system's exceptionally confident tone within her spiritual sea.

"Rest assured, products of the system are guaranteed to be of the highest quality!"