The emperorâs first grandchild wasnât Pei Wen Cai.
Seventh princeâs official wife miscarried a child before Pei Wen Cai, the emperorâs first grandchild was a boy and he still grieved for his unborn grandson.
The emperor had thirteen children but only four sons were alive. The seventh prince shared a similar fate with the emperor, he had many wives but they had many miscarriages and only Pei Wen Cai was alive.
The citizens of the Dian kingdom were worried about the lack of future imperial heirs. That was why even though the emperor disapproved of Yan Shi Ting, he tolerated her for the sake of his unborn grandchild. So no one in the imperial family was surprised to see the emperorâs concern after seeing Yan Shi Ting bleed.
âEmperor, you donât need to summon an imperial physician,â the empress said. âItâll be bad luck if the imperial physician appears before the end of the wedding ceremony-â
âBad luck?â Consort Mu asked. âBig sister, the bride is bleeding. Her life is more important than superstitions.â
Consort Muâs words stabbed the empressâ heart. The empress saw the feigned concern on Consort Muâs face and she realised it was the demoness Consort Mu who interfered with her scheme. The empress didnât doubt that Consort Mu knew about Yan Shi Tingâs fake pregnancy long ago, Consort Mu waited until the wedding day to expose Yan Shi Ting and to appear innocent while opposing the empress.
The emperor ignored the empress and Consort Muâs battle of words.
âHurry and bring an imperial physician here!â the emperor ordered.
An imperial physician rushed into the ceremonial hall and Yan Shi Ting panicked.
âI donât need an imperial physician,â Yan Shi Ting said.
Yan Shi Ting recognised the imperial physician wasnât one of the empressâ allies and wouldnât know about her fake pregnancy. If she was exposed on her wedding day, it would also be the day of her funeral.
Yan Shi Ting knew no one could save her and she couldnât stop the imperial physician from examining her. She cried helplessly and she couldnât endure her stomach ache any longer... she farted and soiled her undergarments.
Everyone around Yan Shi Ting pinched their noses and stepped back from Yan Shi Tingâs unpleasant stench.
Yan Shi Ting was angry and embarrassed. She knelt on the floor, covered her face and cried loudly. Her wedding dress was ruined, her makeup disappeared and she looked like a pitiful bride jilted by the groom.
Pei Jin held Yan Shi Ningâs hand. He knew she wasnât cruel enough to feel happy seeing Yan Shi Ting shed fresh blood from their plan.
âImperial physician, what happened to Yan Shi Ting?â the emperor asked.
âIt was a beautiful wedding ceremony... why did it become like this?â Consort Mu asked. âImperial physician, stop stalling. Hurry and examine the crown princeâs wife!â
The imperial physician reluctantly stepped closer to Yan Shi Ting. He heard âthe crown princeâs wifeâ and knew the wedding ceremony wouldnât end happily. âLady Yan, let me examine you.â
The imperial physician knelt beside Yan Shi Ting but she refused to let him hold her wrist.
âI donât need to be examined!â Yan Shi Ting said.
âHurry and let the imperial physician examine you,â Consort Mu said. âYouâre bleeding. Canât you see the emperor is worried about you?â
Yan Shi Ting looked at the emperorâs concerned face. Then she looked pleadingly at the empress and the crown prince. âAunt! Big brother crown prince! The imperial physician doesnât need to examine me.â
The empress saw everyone was looking at her and her heart hardened. âShi Ting, let the imperial physician examine you.â
Yan Shi Tingâs body turned cold, the empress and the crown prince turned their backs on her.
The imperial physician examined Yan Shi Ting while she absently looked at the empress and the crown prince.
âStrange...â the imperial physician said.
Most of the wedding guests were worried something was wrong with Yan Shi Ting and the rest anticipated the imperial physicianâs explanation.
âImperial physician, hurry and report to the emperor,â Consort Mu said and feigned concern.
Consort Mu heard news about Yan Shi Tingâs fake pregnancy. But the empressâ calmness made Consort Mu uneasy that the news wasnât true. Whether Consort Mu could defeat the empress and the crown prince depended on the outcome of the imperial physicianâs explanation.
âStrange?â the emperor asked.
The imperial physician stood and kowtowed in front of the emperor. âYour majesty, Lady Yan is healthy. Your majesty, forgive me but I donât know why sheâs bleeding.â
âHealthy?â the emperor asked.
The emperor should have been relieved to hear Yan Shi Ting was healthy but he felt like the heavens struck him.
âYour majesty is right,â the imperial physician said. âLady Yan is healthy.â
The emperor stepped off the platform, grabbed the imperial physicianâs collar and spoke softly. âIs she pregnant?â
***
End of Chapter Thirty-Nine (Part 1)