Chapter 213.1

As the months went by, Yaoniang’s belly grew bigger and bigger.

Unlike when she was carrying Xiaobao and Erbao, this time her belly was much larger, and people couldn’t help but worry when they looked at her.

In fact, Yaoniang’s belly wasn’t much bigger than when she was carrying Erbao. It’s just that she had lost a lot of weight, which made her belly appear larger. Ever since it was diagnosed as a twin pregnancy, the esteemed Mammy Mu came out of retirement to personally oversee Yaoniang’s care. She brought along several experienced palace nannies to take care of Yaoniang’s well-being.

Twin pregnancies were no ordinary matter. Giving birth for women was already difficult, and if a twin pregnancy was handled improperly, it could lead to difficult childbirth or even death. His Majesty highly valued the empress, so if something were to happen, there would definitely be a bloodbath. It was a matter that had to be taken seriously.

Yaoniang’s food intake was restricted, even though pregnant women were supposed to eat. But Mammy Mu wouldn’t let her eat things like rich meats and foods that were supposed to nourish her body and fetus. Yaoniang lived in a state of great discomfort every day.

Moreover, she developed a special craving for meat during this pregnancy, especially for various kinds of tender and stewed meats. Twice she had been driven to tears due to her cravings. With the added pressure on her mind, Mammy Mu’s careful attention, and her tendency to have wild thoughts lately, she would often wake up from dreams in the middle of the night, causing Emperor Jin’an’s energy to be seriously affected as well.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

He never considered sleeping in a separate room from Yaoniang. She had suggested it a few times, telling him to rest in Yangxin Hall at night, but he stubbornly refused to do so.

Lately, the atmosphere in the court was tense, and the court officials were all well-behaved, knowing that His Majesty’s mood wasn’t great. Some time ago, someone thoughtlessly brought up the suggestion of expanding the harem during morning court, and Emperor Jin’an, who used to ignore such suggestions, had taken an unusual step and punished the individual severely.

The most important thing was, once punished, one couldn’t say anything. Since the empress wasn’t well, bringing up this matter at such a time would inevitably be courting disaster. Some ministers had initially considered appealing to the Emperor Emeritus, but even before they could enter the palace, the Emperor Emeritus issued a statement, saying the punishment was well-deserved.

If he said it was well-deserved, then it must be so.

At night, Yaoniang restrained herself from moving, since Emperor Jin’an was already asleep. She didn’t want to disturb him.

She knew he was worried about her, and she didn’t want him to worry, but she couldn’t help it.

For some reason, during this period, she couldn’t help but think about her past life, about how by this time in her previous life, she was already dead. Her current happiness and stability, as well as him, were all stolen.

Yaoniang didn’t know why she was having these thoughts, but she couldn’t control them. During the day, she could hold back her tears no matter how hungry or tired she was, but when the night was quiet, she couldn’t help but cry.

She was genuinely scared. She knew how difficult it was to give birth to twins. There was a family in her hometown that had a daughter-in-law pregnant with twins, but she was unable to give birth. It ended tragically for both the mother and the babies.

She was young at the time and didn’t understand much, but she went to watch the commotion. Little did she know that the family wouldn’t give up. After the mother died in childbirth, they cut her open to see if the babies were still alive. In truth, the babies had died inside her, small figures the size of a palm, purplish-blue, hardly resembling humans, covered in blood…

After she returned home from that incident, Yaoniang had a fever for three days straight. She had thought she had forgotten about it, but it turned out that memory had been buried deep in her mind.

If she were to die too, she wouldn’t see Emperor Jin’an or Xiaobao and Erbao again. Emperor Jin’an would surely take a new empress. Ever since she was appointed as the empress, there had been numerous disturbances in the court. He didn’t want her to know about it, so she would pretend to be ignorant, living like a naive fool, despite being well aware.

Whenever she thought about Emperor Jin’an getting close to other women in the future, doing the most intimate things with them as he did with her, she felt unbearable pain, as if her heart was being squeezed. And Xiaobao and Erbao…

Yaoniang buried herself in the blankets, crying as if she had forgotten everything around her, unaware that the person beside her had long since woken up.

“Why are you crying? Did you have a nightmare again?”

Her face was turned inward, hiding her tears. “No, I didn’t cry.”

If he couldn’t tell whether she was crying or not, Emperor Jin’an wouldn’t be the emperor anymore. He leaned closer, resting his chin on her head, wrapping his arms around her from behind, his hand gently caressing her belly. “It’s just a dream. With me by your side, what is there to be afraid of? Zhen is the supreme ruler, impervious to all evil, and Zhen will naturally protect you.”

“Your Majesty, do you think I will die?”

Suddenly, the air around Yaoniang turned cold, and the body behind her became as hard as stone. She realized what she had just said.

“Are these the kind of thoughts you’ve been having recently, thinking about such wild things?” Emperor Jin’an’s voice was chilly.

She was struggling, gradually turning around to face him, her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. “I’m scared. I don’t want to give birth. Just the thought of dying and never seeing you again, I…”

Seeing her like this, Emperor Jin’an’s anger dissipated. His tone softened, “Mammy Mu and Doctor Liu both said your condition is good. Don’t think too much.”

“But…”

“Go to sleep quickly, don’t think about it anymore!”

After that, Yaoniang did fall asleep, but Emperor Jin’an spent the night sleepless.