wear it lord god

When Xining learned of the first and second pieces of good news, the sun was already high in the sky.

She "caught a cold," and since she was sick, she naturally needed to take good care of herself.

It's the dead of winter now, so cold outside. Even if you're waiting for news in a nearby hut, you should make sure you have a hand warmer, foot warmer, and charcoal brazier ready, let alone waiting outside.

We have to wait from midnight until dawn, not to mention that the beautiful woman will not start until early morning. Even if the production speed is fast, it will still take at least two hours.

"Understood. Tell them to prepare some ginseng soup and send it to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager." She yawned, shifted lazily, and continued reading the storybook in her hand.

With the birth of three princes in succession, the court was filled with joy, and everyone offered their congratulations to Liu Cheng. The more princes there were, the less there was to worry about the lack of a successor for the empire.

Liu Cheng smiled, thinking that he should postpone his maternity leave as much as possible. After returning home yesterday at noon, he slept soundly until he had to get up for the morning court session this morning.

The Empress Dowager is said to still be in bed, and seems to have caught a cold. She has already summoned the imperial physician to examine her pulse.

There are still seventeen or eighteen left, all pregnant, which will surely kill the Empress Dowager. Even if he is young, he cannot withstand such an ordeal.

Fortunately, the remaining months are still early; the earliest it will be time is after spring.

Once the Empress is well, let her prepare for childbirth.

Soon it was time for the New Year. On New Year's Eve, the Empress would organize a ceremony to worship the gods, and on New Year's Day, the Emperor would worship his ancestors. After the Emperor finished worshipping his ancestors, he and the Empress would invite some highly respected or high-ranking officials and their families to a palace banquet.

This time, the sacrificial ceremony was held in Chuxiu Palace. Before the altar was even set up, Qiushi and a group of nannies went around informing the pregnant concubines.

Qiu Shi, accompanied by two palace maids, spoke with dignified bearing and respect: "By Her Majesty the Empress's decree, all of you ladies are unwell and should not gather. Please remain in your rooms and do not go out. If you wish to attend the ceremony, please apply within one hour, and Her Majesty the Empress will arrange seating. Latecomers will not be accommodated!"

What kind of situation is this? The concubines, whether they had ulterior motives or not, were all stunned.

Once the altar was set up and the sacrificial offerings were placed, the Empress Dowager and Liu Cheng were both present. Xining then asked Liu Cheng to have Zhang Shanzhong and the imperial physician go up to examine the offerings.

Inspect the sacrificial items to see if they are poisonous, if the food is incompatible, or if they have any witchcraft or sorcery effects.

Even the incense to be offered was checked to see if it contained any safflower or musk.

Liu Cheng and the Empress Dowager almost rolled their eyes; this was far too cautious.

Looking to the side, I saw six or seven pregnant concubines sitting in the back corridor; they had applied to come and observe the ceremony. Each of them was more than ten meters away from the altar, so even if musk were lit, it would have been almost completely faint by the time it reached them.

These pregnant concubines not only sat far apart, but there was also a large gap between them. Two palace maids and nannies stood in front of, behind, left and right of each chair, and midwives and female doctors were also on standby.

Pregnant women often experience frequent urination in late pregnancy. If a pregnant woman says she needs to use the restroom, two people will immediately go up and support her on either side of her arm to lead her to a small latrine not far away.

He also instructed, "You can't move around freely during the worship later. If you feel uncomfortable, you can stay inside and watch from there."

With such strict security measures in place, if anything were to happen, the Empress would certainly not be the mastermind.

Liu Cheng glanced at his empress, who seemed to be becoming increasingly cautious.

As the sacrificial ceremony was about to begin, all the concubines who had not applied to attend were inside the room. Some of them were thinking of going out, but as soon as the door opened, two matrons stood at the doorway and bowed slightly to them.

“My lady, going out now might disturb His Majesty’s presence. Please be mindful of your conduct.”

Looking out, even those who had applied to attend the ceremony were sitting far away; if he rushed out, he certainly wouldn't be able to reach the Empress.

In a fit of anger and anxiety, the concubine clutched her stomach and collapsed to the ground in pain: "My stomach hurts so much, my imperial heir..." Two nannies and two palace maids carried her into the room and hurried to fetch the imperial physician.

Standing beside Liu Cheng, Xining successfully completed the sacrificial ceremony to the gods and was about to go eat the New Year's Eve dinner when someone came to report that a pregnant concubine had lost her child and was shouting that someone was plotting to harm her imperial heir. She begged His Majesty and the Empress Dowager to make a decision.

Ha, here it comes as expected. Otherwise, why not let the Empress decide, instead of letting the Emperor and Empress Dowager decide?

Xi Ning said calmly, "Then please let Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, and I go and take a look together."

So everyone went to visit him.

Even with incense burning, there was still a bloody smell in the room.

The Empress Dowager lightly covered her nose with her sleeve and frowned slightly.

Liu Cheng was also quite unhappy. It was the New Year, and they were about to have their New Year's Eve dinner, but instead they had to come here and get tainted by bloodshed.

After losing her child, Cai Nu's face and lips turned as pale as paper, as white as a ghost.

Upon seeing the emperor arrive, she struggled to roll over and fell off the bed, wearing only a white undergarment with blood seeping from the bottom.

Ignoring her own health, she prostrated herself before the emperor, weeping pitifully: "Your Majesty, I was framed and failed to protect the imperial heir. I am guilty!"

Xi Ning tried her best not to roll her eyes. The show was about to begin, but please hurry up, don't keep me from having dinner.

If it weren't for the three princes who had just been born, Liu Cheng would be a little more worried. Now, there are still more than a dozen concubines waiting to give birth in Chuxiu Palace, and if a mere young lady-in-waiting is lost, that's it.

Liu Cheng planned to finish quickly, as he still had to watch the song and dance performances while having New Year's Eve dinner, stay up late to welcome the new year, and then go to pay respects to his ancestors after midnight. His schedule was packed.

"I've heard someone is plotting to harm the imperial heir. Tell me now, what happened?"

"My child is gone, sob sob sob, my child, it was already six months old..." Cai Nu suddenly cried out in a shrill voice, a desperate accusation, like a vengeful ghost, her hand suddenly pointing at someone.

"Your Majesty, I accuse you of mistreating me, withholding my rations, and poisoning my food and medicine, causing my unborn child to die in the womb! Your Majesty, how wicked you are!!!"

The finger was pointing directly at the Queen.

For a moment, the room was quiet, until the red-hot silver charcoal in the charcoal brazier crackled with a crisp sound.

Xi Ning just watched quietly. Impressive! Her body language and speech were spot-on. Even seasoned veterans in the entertainment industry might not have this kind of charisma.

After a long pause, she asked leisurely, "Then tell me, how did I embezzle your money and provisions? Consort Lü is currently in confinement and it's inconvenient for her, but since Cui Zhaorong is here, let her hear what grievances you've suffered."

Cui Zhaorong was already furious. She had participated in the sacrificial ceremony, which even the concubines who were not pregnant were required to attend. She would rather not have such a favor, and now she was completely enraged.

Consumed by rage, she unleashed all her fury: "All affairs of Chuxiu Palace have been handled by me and Consort Lü; Her Majesty the Empress has never interfered. When funds were insufficient, I even instructed my father to prioritize Chuxiu Palace from the Ministry of Revenue. The food, clothing, shelter, firewood, and oil were all of the highest quality. As long as people were in the room, the charcoal fire had to be kept burning. Look at the charcoal brazier—it's all top-grade silver-boned charcoal! I've mobilized my maternal clan, poured my heart and soul into caring for you, yet I'm accused of withholding money and provisions. Tell me, have I lacked your food or your clothing?"

Then she turned to Consort Xiao and sneered, "Sister Xiao, you really have a discerning eye for people, letting such an ungrateful wretch into the palace."

The host of the talent show, Consort Hsiao, was so angry she almost fainted, but in this situation, arguing would not do any good, so she had to hold back for now.

Liu Cheng's brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly: "The Empress is unwell, and the Chuxiu Palace is being managed by Cui Zhaorong, with Consort Lü assisting. The Empress Dowager also sends people to check on things frequently. There shouldn't be any misappropriation." (End of Chapter)