"Pan’er, co, your mother has been keeping watch and cooked sesa oil chicken eggs for you. Quickly get up and eat. Childbirth, it’s the sa for every woman, it’s like stepping one foot into the Gates of Hell. As long as we have the strength, these little devils can only obediently retreat, right? Here, let your mother feed you..."
Mrs. Su-Hua brought over a big bowl full of sesa oil chicken eggs, trying to feed her personally.
"Mother, I’ll do it myself."
Su Pan’er dodged and, struggling, propped herself up to sit, and upon seeing the eggs in the bowl was montarily stunned, "Mother, isn’t this too many eggs?"
"What do you an too many? You need to eat more."
Left with no choice, Su Pan’er began to eat from the bowl.
After she ate an egg, Mrs. Su-Hua whispered close to her ear, "About that matter I ntioned last ti, what do you think..."
Su Pan’er’s heart trembled slightly, but she maintained a composed facade.
"Mother, what are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about? What else could I be talking about?"
Mrs. Su-Hua looked around.
Su Pan’er caught on and simply kept her head down, devouring the food without saying a word.
Out of options, Mrs. Su-Hua had to use an excuse to send people away, "You, go fetch more fine cotton cloth. You, hurry up and have the kitchen boil more water. You two, co bring a bucket of hot water. And you two, kneel by the window and pray earnestly to the heavens for the Empress’s safe childbirth. And the rest of you, stand back a bit farther; in this sweltering heat, each of you is like a furnace, not afraid of heating the Empress..."
With random orders, she managed to clear the crowd that had gathered around Su Pan’er.
Su Pan’er nodded slightly to the crowd, who then began to go about their duties.
Only Jiu Lan and Qingwen remained constantly by her side, never leaving.
Mrs. Su-Hua glanced at the two, then at Nanny Xiao who was cleaning after Pan’er, and finally whispered, "Pan’er, things with Feng Xiyue are almost ready..."
Su Pan’er silently ate the sesa oil chicken eggs, not speaking.
"Pan’er."
Mrs. Su-Hua sat next to Su Pan’er, then looked outside the door again, "Although this pregnancy is twins, what if both children turn out to be princesses? Mother thinks, perhaps over there, you could make so arrangents, after all..." She whispered into Su Pan’er’s ear for a long ti.
By her side, Qingwen’s face turned pale, and her eyes clearly showed fright; while Jiu Lan rely lowered her eyelids, her face unchanged; Nanny Xiao, however, seed captivated, watching Su Pan’er with intense eyes.
But Su Pan’er continued to eat the eggs in her bowl, chewing chanically, her expression dull.
Seeing that Su Pan’er was slow to respond, Mrs. Su-Hua felt as if a cat was scratching at her heart.
"Oh dear, child, just say sothing, will you?"
She pushed Su Pan’er, clearly anxious, "This is the best opportunity! Missing such a heaven-sent chance, it will be too difficult to find another!"
"Mother, please stop, I don’t agree with this!"
Feeling pressured, Su Pan’er threw down her bowl and chopsticks and firmly made her decision.
"Mother, I know you are doing all this for my sake," said Pan’er. "But if we really proceed with this plan, it would be the grave cri of disrupting the Imperial Edicts and confusing the royal lineage! My conscience would be troubled for the rest of my life. So... Ah!"
Her words were cut off as she clutched her belly in pain once more.
Sweat beads the size of soybeans began to roll down her forehead.
Finally, when the pain subsided, Su Pan’er closed her eyes wearily.
"Oh! What do you an by ’disrupting the Imperial Edicts, confusing the royal lineage’? That refers to bringing a child in from outside."
Mrs. Su-Hua looked at her with an exasperated expression, then glanced around.
Of the few people remaining in the house, Jiu Lan smartly positioned herself near the edge of the Beaded Curtain. There, not only could she clearly see the surroundings, but she could also prevent outsiders from eavesdropping on the conversation inside.
Seeing Jiu Lan step aside, Qingwen silently stood up and went to the Private Room where the Imperial Physicians were. She inquired about the Empress’s condition.
Nanny Xiao, however, did not move and continued to look at her earnestly.
Mrs. Su-Hua said earnestly, "Mother’s intention is rely for you to prepare. If you give birth to a prince, all will be joyous. But if they are daughters, you might as well..." she leaned in and whispered, "just bring that boy to your side and raise him yourself, then simply claim they are triplets. So many gains in one move, how great!"
Mrs. Su-Hua had already run through this plan countless tis in her mind and felt it especially suitable.
Although the child Feng Xiyue was carrying was not yet nine months, there was no better solution at this point!
People say, ’If one does not act for oneself, heaven and earth will combine to destroy them!’
Just thinking about how many people were closely watching Pan’er’s belly. If Pan’er couldn’t give birth to a prince, those old ministers in court, the nacing feudal lords, and observers from all sides would likely take action. And the consequences...
She could completely imagine, Pan’er was about to face trendous pressure. With no sons under Empress’s knees, those who were originally spectators would start causing trouble again, and the previously calm Great Zhou Dynasty would once again plunge into dire straits.
That’s not all!
There were also the lives of Little Yanyan and several other princesses at stake, along with many others from the Su and Qin families, all directly linked to this child.
Thinking of all these, she couldn’t help but carefully consider the future.
Her thod was indeed devious, but compared to the lives of countless people from the Su and Qin families, sacrificing one person in exchange for nurous lives was absolutely worth it!
It’s said, ’No great mind ever existed without a touch of madness; no great man ever lived without a bit of nefariousness.’
For the sake of not condemning the Great Zhou to eternal chaos and maintaining peace for years to co, for the continuation of both the Su and Qin families, for the future of Pan’er and the children... she proposed this morally questionable act of seizing another’s offspring, yet she was unrepentant!
"Nonsense! Mother, do you think His Majesty wouldn’t know about this if we did it? What if it gets exposed in the future?"
Finally, as the pain subsided, Su Pan’er leaned tiredly against the pillow and closed her eyes.
Others might not know, but how could she not understand?
Her mother might be envisaging a perfect scenario, but she knew that the child in Feng Xiyue’s belly wasn’t Qin Yi’s at all. Taking her child to raise as her own, wasn’t that exactly the act of disrupting the Imperial Edicts?
What might happen in the future, whether it would be exposed or not, who could guess?
Rather than living every night and day with the pain of concealing the truth from one by her side, she’d prefer not to go through with it! If Qin Yi truly changed his heart and grew to despise her because she bore another daughter, then she might as well just take the children and live separately!
"Mother, do not ntion such morally reprehensible plans anymore, I will never agree! It seems my childbirth is not coming so soon, why don’t you rest over there for a while?"
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