Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1759 The Mystery of the Child!

Taogang, post station

Inside the room stood an old man with a white beard, patiently taking Sun Ning'er's pulse. Sun Ning'er, lying on the bed, looked at the old man with anticipation.

After a cup of tea, under Sun Ning'er's watchful gaze, the white-bearded old man finished taking her pulse and made as if to leave the room. Seeing this, Sun Ning'er couldn't help but ask:

"Doctor! Please wait! Can you tell me if I'm pregnant or not?"

The white-bearded old man hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, but ultimately left the room without saying a word.

After the white-bearded old man left the room, he was immediately taken to another room in front of Ye Mingsheng.

Upon seeing him, Ye Mingsheng didn't engage in any probing; he went straight to the point and asked:

Is Sun Ning'er pregnant?

"Your Majesty, Miss Sun is two months pregnant!"

Upon hearing this, a look of surprise and doubt immediately appeared in Ye Mingsheng's eyes. Although he had heard the doctor's words clearly, he still couldn't help but ask for confirmation:

"you sure?"

"Yes! Miss Sun is two months pregnant!"

Seeing the old man's resolute expression, Ye Mingsheng gave up any hope and waved his hand.

Seeing this, Zhang Hu led the old man out of the room. Once outside, Zhang Hu took out a silver note and handed it to the doctor, saying:

"This is your consultation fee! But once you leave this room, forget about everything, or you'll face the consequences!"

Hearing Zhang Hu's warning, the white-bearded old man quickly nodded in response:

"I know, I know..."

Hearing this, Zhang Hu lightly slapped the old man's face with a silver note and said:

"what do you know?"

The old man was momentarily speechless upon hearing this, but after hesitating for a few seconds, he finally spoke:
"I know nothing, I know nothing!"

Seeing the old man's trembling and fearful expression, Zhang Hu nodded in satisfaction and said:
"That's good that you don't know! Go back! If you let even a whisper of it get out, someone will come after you!"

"Don't worry, don't worry, I don't know anything!"

After giving the white-bearded old man a good talking-to, Zhang Hu returned to Ye Mingsheng's side, where Ye Mingsheng was sitting on the sofa, deep in thought with his eyes closed.

Seeing this, Zhang Hu stood silently to the side, waiting for Ye Mingsheng's orders.

After pondering for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Ye Mingsheng finally spoke slowly and asked:
"Has Sun Ning'er been under your protection all this time?"

Upon hearing Ye Mingsheng ask this, Zhang Hu understood what Ye Mingsheng really wanted to know and immediately replied:
"Your Majesty, Miss Sun has always been under our protection. She is always attended to by nannies and maids, who are always by her side!"

Ye Mingsheng didn't speak upon hearing this, but instead fell into deep thought once again.

The old man with the white beard was the second doctor to examine his granddaughter's pulse. Both doctors confirmed that Sun Ning'er was two months pregnant. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng was still somewhat surprised, but he also knew that Sun Ning'er's pregnancy was probably a fait accompli...

To be honest, Sun Ning'er was quite honest with me in this regard. She had told me before that she wanted to use the child to keep me as a long-term meal ticket.

Ye Mingsheng was somewhat indifferent to this because he felt that the quality of his bullets had decreased and they would not hit the bullseye. He was unwilling to shatter Sun Ning'er's beautiful idea and went along with her crazy antics a few times.

But Ye Mingsheng really didn't expect that Sun Ning'er was actually pregnant!

When Ye Mingsheng, who was inspecting outside at the time, heard the news, his first reaction was whether it was true or false, and his second reaction was whether the child was his. Driven by these thoughts, Ye Mingsheng immediately returned to the post station and found a doctor to examine and confirm Sun Ning'er.

Now that it's confirmed that the child is indeed pregnant, Ye Mingsheng is now considering whether the child is his.

Ye Mingsheng's youngest child, Ye Jingyan, was conceived by Murong Qingwu before Ye Mingsheng's southern tour, which was three or four years ago.

Over the course of those three or four years, Ye Mingsheng had sexual relations with about a dozen concubines, totaling a hundred times. However, none of them became pregnant.

Bae Ji-soo fought the most among them, but since she already had a son and a daughter and was over thirty, she didn't want to have any more children. So she took some protective measures during the battles.

Secondly, there's Empress An Miaoyi, but she damaged her body during the birth of Emperor Jingren and will never be able to conceive again.
However, the other concubines, such as Chen Rou'er and Murong Xinyun, were also not pregnant. This situation led Ye Mingsheng to a thought: his bullets were becoming less effective, making it harder for them to hit the bullseye...

To be honest, if this happened when he was young, Ye Mingsheng would be quite anxious, since for a feudal dynasty, offspring represent the future and are very important.

For a ruler to be childless is a very negative thing.

But things are different now. Ye Mingsheng has five sons and three daughters, eight children in total. Ye Mingsheng feels that this is enough from the perspective of reproduction and inheritance. There is no need to have too many children and make these princes and princesses a burden on the court and the people.

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng took a rather easy view of this matter, and he let it go without seeking out the imperial physician to treat his body.

But if that's the case, where did the child in Sun Ning'er's belly come from?
Ye Mingsheng remembered it very clearly. Sun Ning'er had come to his side about two months ago. When she first served him, Ye Mingsheng saw blood. Moreover, judging from Sun Ning'er's reaction, Ye Mingsheng was certain that Sun Ning'er was a virgin before he met her, which was an important reason why Ye Mingsheng kept her by his side.

Logically speaking, if there are no problems with her own health, then judging from the timeline, it is reasonable and logical for Sun Ning'er to be pregnant.

However, if he currently has health problems and cannot conceive, and the child in Sun Ning'er's womb is not his, then it means someone has cheated on him recently, or someone close to him has been having an affair with Sun Ning'er. But this possibility is extremely small...

First, Ye Mingsheng didn't believe Sun Ning'er had such audacity. Second, he didn't think any of his trusted confidants would betray him in this matter. Third, as Zhang Hu had just said, Sun Ning'er's maids and nannies were always by her side; if something were to happen, it wouldn't be kept secret. Having considered this, Ye Mingsheng made his decision, and Zhang Ji instructed Zhang Hu:
"Find me another doctor!"

"Yes!"

After a stick of incense had burned, a slender middle-aged man carrying a small medicine box arrived in front of Ye Mingsheng. Ye Mingsheng rolled up his sleeves, revealing his wrist, and said:
"Give me a medical checkup!"

Without any hesitation, the middle-aged man placed his hand on Ye Mingsheng's wrist. After taking the pulse on both hands, the middle-aged doctor seemed to have an idea, but still spoke up:
"Sir, please stick out your tongue so I can take a look!"

After Ye Mingsheng stuck out his tongue, the middle-aged doctor carefully examined the tongue coating, then gestured for Ye Mingsheng to stick his tongue back in before continuing to ask:

"Sir, have you been having nightmares and waking up in a fright lately?"

"I don't dream much, but I can't sleep for long. I usually only sleep for about two hours before waking up!"

The doctor nodded and continued to ask:

Do you experience dry eyes, redness, or excessive eye discharge?

"My eyes are dry, but not red, and the eye discharge isn't too bad!"

How are your bowel movements? Are they dry or sticky?

"My stool isn't dry, but it's sticky..."

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's account, the middle-aged doctor made his own judgment:
"Old man, you seem to have a bit of liver fire, but fortunately the situation isn't too serious. I'll prescribe you two doses of medicine to regulate your body, and you should also pay attention to a regular lifestyle and avoid getting angry easily!"

Ye Mingsheng wasn't surprised that he had liver fire, since Pei Zhixiu had mentioned having this problem before, so Ye Mingsheng was aware of it. What he wanted to know now was whether he had any other problems besides liver fire.

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng also asked:
"Doctor, besides having liver fire, do I have any other health problems?"

The doctor pondered for a moment upon hearing this and said:

"Sir, which aspect are you referring to?"

"Have a baby!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say this, the doctor seemed a little surprised, but he did not rush to give an answer. Instead, he asked Ye Mingsheng to extend his hand again so he could take his pulse again.

After a cup of tea, the doctor cautiously probed:

"Sir, are you having some trouble having children?"

"Yes!"

The doctor frowned upon hearing this, and seeing this, Ye Mingsheng continued to ask:

"Doctor, is there something wrong?"

"Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case. You should have no problem conceiving!"

Upon hearing this answer and seeing the doctor's puzzled expression, Ye Mingsheng had an idea. He then had Zhang Hu pay the consultation fee and sent the doctor away.

Then Ye Mingsheng asked Zhang Hu to find another doctor to examine him. The results were basically the same as the previous doctor's, saying that Ye Mingsheng's liver fire was a bit too strong and needed to be regulated, but it would not affect his fertility. After learning this result, Ye Mingsheng's feelings were mixed.

With two doctors confirming that he had no fertility issues, Ye Mingsheng could basically confirm that the child in Sun Ning'er's womb was his...

Although he was certain that Sun Ning'er was loyal to him and hadn't cheated on him, Ye Mingsheng was not happy at all when he learned about it.

Ye Mingsheng believed that the decline in the quality of his bullets, making it difficult to hit the bullseye, was due to his advancing age and the fact that none of his concubines had conceived after numerous encounters. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng formed this preconceived notion and did not seek a doctor for diagnosis.

Firstly, because Pei Zhixiu was around, Ye Mingsheng usually trusted her more, so he rarely sought out the imperial physicians from the medical school to treat him.

Secondly, although Ye Mingsheng himself was easygoing and didn't care much, the decline in bullet quality was not something to boast about. Moreover, if word got out, it would have a negative impact on Ye Mingsheng's glorious image as emperor. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng wanted to handle it discreetly at the time.

But now it seems that the concubines' inability to conceive was not their own problem. So what exactly happened?
Of course, each individual needs to be analyzed individually!
Bae Jisoo already has two children and is too old to have any more, so she told herself she would use contraception.

Ye Mingsheng had initially thought that Pei Zhixiu, who often examined his pulse, knew that the quality of his bullets had declined, but would take protective measures during each battle to save face. Now it seemed that he had been overthinking things.

There's no need to talk about An Miaoyi; her health is poor, and she can't have children even if she wanted to...

Shen Yutong, Bai Yuanyuan, and Murong Qingwu were not touched by him many times. Jinyu herself had health problems, and he did not succeed with her when he was young. There were also some concubines of lower rank, and he did not touch them many times, so it is normal that he did not succeed with them.

However, it was Murong Xinyun and Chen Rou'er who puzzled Ye Mingsheng. These two could be considered his loyal comrades-in-arms. He had fought alongside them many times. If everyone was healthy, there should have been some activity by now!

Chen Rou'er, in particular, was the one who most wanted to be blessed. She had consulted countless doctors, taken countless medicines, and suffered countless hardships in order to achieve this. In addition to pinning her hopes on medicine, she also placed her hopes on gods and Buddhas, spending countless amounts of money on burning incense and praying to Buddhas.

But so far, there has been no movement at all!
Ye Mingsheng had always thought it was his fault, so he felt a little sorry for Chen Rou'er. But now it seems that the problem may not be with him at all!

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng had a doubt in his heart and immediately wanted the medical school to arrange for a doctor to examine Chen Rou'er again.

However, just as Ye Mingsheng was about to write down the order, he stopped what he was doing and, after careful consideration, gave up the idea.

The most important thing for him now is how to deal with Sun Ning'er.

Although Sun Ning'er was a virgin when she followed him, it still didn't sound good. If he really took her back, the Censorate would definitely impeach him, which would be a blow to his image.

Instead of bringing her back to the palace, why not buy her a house in Yijing and keep her as a mistress...?