The Promotion Record of a Crown Princess

51-53: The Promise of Qi Sheng

Qi Sheng was apparently serious about keeping this child. Not only did he sent over Physician Song over to take my pulse daily, he also sent two senior maids to look after my diet. Essentially, it was a prison in all but name in my own palace.

Honestly, I very much detested those two senior maids whose grim faces were typical of those elder women entering menopause. Besides, the mere sight of them remained the suffering I was to go through when I gave birth in the near future. I ordered Lv Li to send those two maids packing and back to Qi Sheng. I didn't expect that Lv Li and Xie Yi would kneel before me, each holding onto one of my legs and pleaded, "Your Majesty, have mercy on us. Stop acting up like this. We couldn't just turn away the maids sent by the Emperor!"

Unable to move with two of my legs restrained by their hands, I was getting more and more vexed. Giving birth to a child was by no means a walk in the park. It took tremendous efforts and gravitation to pull a child out of a woman's body. The mere thought of the scene gave me such shudder.

I spent each passing day feeing fidgeted and the next thing I knew, it was the Dragon Boat Festival. There was a visible bulge in my belly, and it was only then did Qi Sheng loosen his watch on me. As a result of this, I was able to see the Bathroom Lord once more on the annual ball game, though from a distance and in a public area where I couldn't exchange information with him.

This year, Qi Sheng was to host the game. Without his meddling, Zhao wang was finally able to get rid of his usual green outfit and changed into something golden.

This year, Jiang shi spent her time feeling sorry for her fate in the Youlan Hall. In her absence, the game went well without a single incident of man falling off the horse.

This year, I didn't have to disguise what a lousy rider I was and simply sat myself atop the Baojin Tower to admire all the beauties. However, this year the Baojin Tower wasn't nearly as lively as it had been last year.

All the beauties in Baojin Tower were new faces. Except for a few pregnant ones, the rest of the concubines of the late Emperor was nowhere to be found. Coupled with the fact that Qi Sheng hadn't taken in many concubines, the tower seemed rather empty in comparison to its former glory.

The Empress Dowager was apparently not oblivious to this change and she said to me with a solemn tone, "I know you are pregnant and tired, but you still have to look after the Emperor's well beings. It's the nation's blessing that it should have a diligent, dedicated Emperor, but the Emperor needs more sons!"

Her words had struck a deep chord in my heart. I hurriedly nodded, "Indeed, mother. I have been planning to bring in more virtuous women into the royal palace. But I am afraid that the Emperor might be rather shy in this regard and I was about to bring this matter up with you and ask for your opinion on this."

After hearing those words, a smile crept up on the mouth of the Empress Dowager.

But who would have thought that the Grand Empress Dowager would raise her objection before the Empress Dowager could say anything, "The young Emperor has just ascended to the throne and the Empress is still pregnant? There is no rush for selecting new girls for the Emperor. It can wait for a few more years."

Upon hearing those words, I noticed that the look on the Empress Dowager's face had turned sour.

I thought for a while and replied with a smile on my face, "You are right, grandma."

The Empress Dowager gritted her teeth.

I then added, "But there are only a few people around the Emperor, and they are his old servants back when he was the crown prince. The way I see it, since we aren't going to throw a formal selection, we should at least choose some good ones with excellent temperaments."