Chapter 229: The Twin Son

Chapter 229

The concubines were in an uproar.

They saw Noble Consort Chen falling to the ground, tightly holding a bundle in her arms, covered in mud.

Fortunately, the snowy ground softened the impact, and she fell on her side, so it didn't seem too severe.

The other concubines rushed to help Noble Consort Chen up, while the wet nurse held Cheng Yu, who was crying uncontrollably, in her arms to comfort him.

Song Zhao quickly approached the wet nurse and saw that Cheng Yu had only a few specks of mud on his face, but no other injuries. His anxious heart finally eased a bit.

He immediately turned his attention to Noble Consort Chen and sincerely asked, "Are you alright, Noble Consort?"

Noble Consort Chen was also taken aback. She placed her right hand on her slightly swollen belly, her heart pounding. Thankfully, after being helped up by others, she didn't feel any discomfort in her abdomen.

However, when she landed earlier, she had a slight abrasion on her wrist because she was solely focused on protecting Cheng Yu.

The worried Empress Dowager hurriedly approached to check on her, asking, "How are you feeling? Do you sense any discomfort?"

Noble Consort Chen took a deep breath, calmed herself, and smiled warmly at the Empress Dowager, saying, "Please don't worry, Empress Dowager. I'm fine."

The Empress Dowager tightly held her hand, filled with remorse as she shook her head, "It's all because of me... If you hadn't risked yourself to save him, I'm afraid I would have made a grave mistake."

Then she glanced back at the crying Cheng Yu and asked the wet nurse, "Is the Crown Prince unharmed?"

The wet nurse stammered, "Noble Consort Chen protected him completely. The Crown Prince didn't suffer any harm, but he was just frightened."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager let out a sigh of relief and shifted her gaze back to Noble Consort Chen, saying, "You, too. You knew you were pregnant, so why did you rush out without even thinking?"

Noble Consort Chen was momentarily speechless because she didn't even know why she acted on instinct to save Song Zhao's child.

The dangerous situation happened in the blink of an eye, and she didn't have time to react. It was purely an unconscious action...

Amidst the crowd's concerned voices, the Empress also spoke, "Whether a pregnant woman falls can have varying degrees of impact. Regardless, we must have the imperial physician examine you to ensure there are no issues before we can rest assured."

The Empress Dowager hurriedly added, "Yes, we must summon the imperial physician to check on you. Cheng Yu has been crying like this; he must have been greatly frightened."

So, Noble Consort Chen was escorted to her palace by the crowd.

When the crowd dispersed, Song Zhao finally noticed that Rongyue, who had been in the midst of the crowd, was also covered in mud.

It seemed that when Cheng Yu was in danger, Rongyue also rushed out without hesitation to try and save him.

However, when she congratulated Noble Consort Chen, she caught a glimpse of the Empress Dowager's expression.

The Empress Dowager's brows furrowed briefly, but she quickly smiled kindly at Noble Consort Chen and said, "This is wonderful, truly a great joy!"

Kang Yubin hurriedly said, "I will go and inform the Emperor of this happy news."

Noble Consort Chen smiled and agreed. But when he was about to leave, she called him back.

"You just report the good news. Don't mention anything about the incident in the Plum Garden today. The Second Prince is uninjured, so let's not worry the Emperor. Besides, the Empress Dowager is already blaming herself, and if the Emperor were to find out, it would make the Empress Dowager even more uneasy."

Hearing this, the Empress Dowager's gaze towards Noble Consort Chen visibly softened.

But others couldn't see it.

In her gentle gaze, there was still a hint of imperceptible guilt.

The sound of joy echoed throughout the Palace of Eternal Harmony, and the newly entered consorts also began to flatter Noble Consort Chen.

Concubine Li said, "If I may speak, this pregnancy of Noble Consort Chen is undoubtedly a good omen, with both a dragon and a phoenix!"

Concubine He also said, "When the Emperor hears this news, he will surely be overjoyed!"

At this moment, the phrase "overjoyed" sounded somewhat jarring to Song Zhao.

Would Xiao Jingheng truly be overjoyed?

Noble Consort Chen just revealed that the physician Doctor Qi, who has been responsible for ensuring her pregnancy, did not inform her that she was carrying twins.

However, when Doctor Qi checked Noble Consort Chen's pulse last month, she was already over four months pregnant.

Doctor Qi is a renowned specialist in obstetrics and gynecology. Although it may be difficult to determine the gender of a four-month-old fetus, it seems unlikely that it would be impossible to distinguish between one or two babies in her womb.

Furthermore, when He Imperial Physician, who recently joined the palace, blurted out the "happy news" of Noble Consort Chen's twin pregnancy, the obvious stiffness on the Empress Dowager's face revealed something:

Both Xiao Jingheng and the Empress Dowager had known about Noble Consort Chen's twin pregnancy long ago, leaving only the person involved completely unaware.

Why did they choose to keep it a secret from Noble Consort Chen?

The reason is not hard to guess:

After all, it was already destined that the child could not be born.

Why bother letting the birth mother know whether she was carrying one or two babies?