Chapter 215 - 215 You have gotten heavier Part II
215 You have gotten heavier Part II
“Dear.”
“Hm?”
“Do you want a girl or a boy?”
“Mhmm.” Ouyang Feilong made a dragged-out noise as he thought.
Bai Yu glanced up at his face as she was laying her head on his chest. Her eyes were fixed on him, waiting for his answer.
“A boy.”
“Why?”
Today, she let him do as he pleased only because he used normal speech with her. His touch was gentle, as he had promised. Their naked bodies were intertwined in an embrace as they basked in the afterglow of their passion. Bai Yu was the first to begin the conversation, addressing him normally as ordinary spouses would.
“If it’s a girl, then I’m afraid she’d be a fool like her mother.”
.....
Bai Yu grimaced. “And I don’t want a boy. I’m afraid he’d be more beautiful than his mother, like how his father is!”
Ouyang Feilong laughed. “But you like it, don’t you? I still remember the first time you saw my face. Your eyes had a scary gleam.”
“I don’t like it anymore!” She said it entirely out of frustration.
“Should I grow a beard, then? That way, I might look more masculine.” Ouyang Feilong pretended to rub his chin to accompany his words.
“No!” Bai Yu hurriedly pulled her husband’s hand away, stopping him from touching his imaginary beard.
“Then what do you want, furen?”
“I want a child who won’t be confused as to who’s the father and who’s the mother.”
“In that case, should I cut my face to create an intimidating scar?”
“No!”
“Then I’ll wear a mask.”
“That’s even worse.”
“Covering my face with my hair?”
“Please be careful of your beautiful image, Your Majesty.”
“You’re so hard to please.” Ouyang Feilong faked a sigh.
“I’ve always been like this.”
“You’re right…” He pressed his nose into her hair, taking in its fragrance, before continuing. “…But there’s one thing that you’ve changed.”
“W… What is it?” Bai Yu’s heart raced… Did he know about it?
“You…”
“I?”
“You’ve gotten heavier.”
—————–
The next morning, Ouyang Feilong forbade anyone from bothering Bai Yu with the morning greeting. Despite his generosity, Bai Yu still did not forgive him for calling her fat by mentioning her weight instead of directly speaking about it, even though he himself was the cause!
Bai Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry that she was able to protect her secret in exchange for being teased by Ouyang Feilong’s gaze. However, she could not remain angry for long. She decided to partially forgive him when she woke up and found a purple jade bracelet. It was put on her left wrist before Ouyang Feilong left for the meeting, wearing the same bracelet on his right wrist.
He was left-handed, though he had trained himself to be ambidextrous. This was one of the secrets of the Black Dragon that was known only to a few.
Bai Yu did not quite understand the meaning of each color of jade. That morning, he gave her an oath as he pressed a kiss onto the bracelet. The warmth of his lips on her wrist could be felt within her heart.
Then, he asked for her opinion on appointing Ouyang Mingxian as Taizi as soon as possible. Bai Yu agreed. With her pregnancy, she did not have time to lose. The faster Ouyang Mingxian took over the east palace, the safer her children would be.
“Your Majesty.”
“Hm?” Bai Yu was enjoying the coolness of her jade bracelet. “What is it?”
“The Empress Dowager would like to see Your Majesty.”
“Alright. You go and prepare the palanquin.”
In truth, Bai Yu intended to continue sleeping for a while longer after Ouyang Feilong had left. Still, she ended up waking herself up to put on her phoenix robe as usual. Not in preparation for the morning greeting, but for an audience with Empress Dowager Wei.
Her lithe figure in light purple clothes, matching the jade bracelet around her thin, white wrist, gracefully stepped into the Empress Dowager’s palace. She curtsied to the one who had summoned her, a woman who was superior to her in both age and title.
“Sit down.” Empress Dowager Wei’s voice was free of pretense, just like every time Bai Yu came to see her.
“I have disappointed Mother with my lateness.”
Bai Yu had intended not to come here for two reasons. First, because of Ouyang Feilong’s order. Second, she wanted to wait and see Empress Dowager Wei’s reaction to what had happened last night.
“How could you let such a disgrace happen under your care?!”
Heh. So she knew everything.
“I deserve death, Your Majesty.” Bai Yu lowered her head, replying in a guilt-ridden voice as she hid a mocking smile.
“Your life can’t even compare to a sliver of his majesty’s honor!”
Ah… What a loving mother you are, Your Majesty.
“Handle it. as quietly as possible…” The senior woman’s voice was firm. It sounded as if she was truly angered by the situation.
“Yes, mother.”
“There’s more.” Bai Yu lifted her head. “You’re considered the female head of the royalty. The matter of the emperor’s heir is your direct responsibility. If his majesty keeps visiting only you and there is still no pleasant news, send other consorts’ names for his majesty to choose.”
As if thunder had struck Bai Yu.
“This is also a ‘duty’ that the empress like you must do for the dynasty, not just dress yourself up and prance around all day. Understood?”
Bai Yu touched her hand on the bracelet given by Ouyang Feilong and tried to calm her heart. “I understand, mother.”
“And that included Qin Wang too. You must keep Qin Wang Fei healthy. Aijia will hear good news from either the inner court or Qin Wang Palace as soon as possible.” And so everything ended up being about Ouyang Mingxian again. “Da Yang has only changed hands. The dragon’s heir is as important as everything else.”
“I agree with Mother.” And I already have the said heir.
“You can stop coming to visit aijia for a while. Focus on copying ‘On the Duty of the Mother of the Nation’ into one copy for aijia as soon as possible.”
Then, she ended by ordering her to do what she had told Mu Qilin to. What a clear, sunny morning, yet the air smelled so rotten.
—————–
One week later, the royal mandate appointing Ouyang Mingxian as Taizi was announced throughout Da Yang, while Bai Yu was keeping herself in her palace, copying the book and taking care of the children in her womb. The courtiers expressed their approval, and the citizens expressed their joy. The nation’s stability was further consolidated.
Ouyang Feilong wanted to hold a banquet to celebrate the announcement. Originally, it should have fallen under Bai Yu’s responsibility; however, as she was occupied with organizing Empress Dowager Wei’s birthday banquet while having to copy the book every day, he delegated the duty to Zhao Gui Fei and Mu De Fei, effectively ending the latter’s grounding punishment.
Currently, Bai Yu’s duty was only to prepare for the birthday banquet during the day and copy the book at night, with Ouyang Feilong bringing his petitions to read next to her.
Qing Pin’s pregnancy was secretly investigated by Mu Qilin. It was discovered that the Pin consort had an affair with a royal guard and had become pregnant. At first, she tried to keep her pregnancy a secret. However, for fear of being discovered and punished one day, she ate food that contained some ingredients that could cause miscarriage when consumed too much.
Only a handful of people knew about this. And surprisingly, Empress Dowager Wei was one of them. Otherwise, Bai Yu would not be summoned to be berated that day.
The dark secret was kept to protect Ouyang Feilong’s honor. Qing Pin’s body was brought out of the palace with a serious disease cited as the cause of death. Ouyang Feilong’s consorts became one less, without the emperor remembering her at all. It was truly a lonely life.
“Give zhen your hand.”
His large hand was extended toward her. Bai Yu and Ouyang Feilong were standing in front of the banquet, waiting to enter together. Bai Yu put her hand on his. Two purple jade bracelets lightly collided, bringing a smile to her face.
This man was never good at cherishing flowers, though his care was unchanging.
“Make way for the Emperor.”
“Make way for the Empress.”
Two figures walked into the banquet, side by side. Their elegance and gracefulness were as harmonious as ever. The sound of blessings was heard from two sides while they were heading toward the highest seats.
Before Ouyang Feilong would allow everyone to relax, a sound was heard, announcing the arrival of the person who had never attended banquets ever since the start of the new reign.
“Make way for the Empress Dowager.
“Blessings to Empress Dowager. May you live and reign for a thousand years, a thousand years, thousands of thousands of years.”
Ouyang Feilong did not smile. His face was expressionless as he went forward to welcome his mother and led her to the seat on his left side. Bai Yu sat down on his right, while slightly behind her were Zhao Ninghua and Mu Qilin, already in their seats.
The banquet began after the royals had sat down. Bai Yu was not interested in the performance in front of her; instead, she swept her eyes through the guests, finding the princes and princesses she had told to attend. At the very least, Ouyang Mingxian was still their older half-brother. How could they not come to the banquet intending to celebrate him?
Today, Ouyang Feilong had to drink more than usual, as every family wanted to congratulate him and Ouyang Mingxian. Both the uncle and the nephew had drunk quite a lot, while Bai Yu almost did not drink her wine at all. When she had to, she would slowly tip the cup and let the drink flow into her sleeve, letting the dark fabric hide the stain of her pretense.
“This is Taizi’s good day. Why didn’t your second consort come, Ming-er?”
After a while of celebrating, Bai Yu only noticed that Bai Hua’s seat was empty. There was only Chu Jiaoxin sitting beside Ouyang Mingxian, and so it was expected that Empress Dowager Wei would raise the question. However, strangely, a rare smile appeared on the usual coldness of Ouyang Mingxian’s face in response.
“Grandmother, today is indeed a very good day.”
.....
“Did something good happen?” Empress Dowager Wei asked, surprised. Everyone was interested in hearing about that good thing as well.
What was it that could make the aloof Ouyang Mingxian reveal a small smile?
“Hua-er could not attend the banquet because she was feeling tired. I had a royal doctor examine her, and he found that she’s pregnant.”
“Dear.”
“Hm?”
“Do you want a girl or a boy?”
“Mhmm.” Ouyang Feilong made a dragged-out noise as he thought.
Bai Yu glanced up at his face as she was laying her head on his chest. Her eyes were fixed on him, waiting for his answer.
“A boy.”
“Why?”
Today, she let him do as he pleased only because he used normal speech with her. His touch was gentle, as he had promised. Their naked bodies were intertwined in an embrace as they basked in the afterglow of their passion. Bai Yu was the first to begin the conversation, addressing him normally as ordinary spouses would.
“If it’s a girl, then I’m afraid she’d be a fool like her mother.”
.....
Bai Yu grimaced. “And I don’t want a boy. I’m afraid he’d be more beautiful than his mother, like how his father is!”
Ouyang Feilong laughed. “But you like it, don’t you? I still remember the first time you saw my face. Your eyes had a scary gleam.”
“I don’t like it anymore!” She said it entirely out of frustration.
“Should I grow a beard, then? That way, I might look more masculine.” Ouyang Feilong pretended to rub his chin to accompany his words.
“No!” Bai Yu hurriedly pulled her husband’s hand away, stopping him from touching his imaginary beard.
“Then what do you want, furen?”
“I want a child who won’t be confused as to who’s the father and who’s the mother.”
“In that case, should I cut my face to create an intimidating scar?”
“No!”
“Then I’ll wear a mask.”
“That’s even worse.”
“Covering my face with my hair?”
“Please be careful of your beautiful image, Your Majesty.”
“You’re so hard to please.” Ouyang Feilong faked a sigh.
“I’ve always been like this.”
“You’re right…” He pressed his nose into her hair, taking in its fragrance, before continuing. “…But there’s one thing that you’ve changed.”
“W… What is it?” Bai Yu’s heart raced… Did he know about it?
“You…”
“I?”
“You’ve gotten heavier.”
—————–
The next morning, Ouyang Feilong forbade anyone from bothering Bai Yu with the morning greeting. Despite his generosity, Bai Yu still did not forgive him for calling her fat by mentioning her weight instead of directly speaking about it, even though he himself was the cause!
Bai Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry that she was able to protect her secret in exchange for being teased by Ouyang Feilong’s gaze. However, she could not remain angry for long. She decided to partially forgive him when she woke up and found a purple jade bracelet. It was put on her left wrist before Ouyang Feilong left for the meeting, wearing the same bracelet on his right wrist.
He was left-handed, though he had trained himself to be ambidextrous. This was one of the secrets of the Black Dragon that was known only to a few.
Bai Yu did not quite understand the meaning of each color of jade. That morning, he gave her an oath as he pressed a kiss onto the bracelet. The warmth of his lips on her wrist could be felt within her heart.
Then, he asked for her opinion on appointing Ouyang Mingxian as Taizi as soon as possible. Bai Yu agreed. With her pregnancy, she did not have time to lose. The faster Ouyang Mingxian took over the east palace, the safer her children would be.
“Your Majesty.”
“Hm?” Bai Yu was enjoying the coolness of her jade bracelet. “What is it?”
“The Empress Dowager would like to see Your Majesty.”
“Alright. You go and prepare the palanquin.”
In truth, Bai Yu intended to continue sleeping for a while longer after Ouyang Feilong had left. Still, she ended up waking herself up to put on her phoenix robe as usual. Not in preparation for the morning greeting, but for an audience with Empress Dowager Wei.
Her lithe figure in light purple clothes, matching the jade bracelet around her thin, white wrist, gracefully stepped into the Empress Dowager’s palace. She curtsied to the one who had summoned her, a woman who was superior to her in both age and title.
“Sit down.” Empress Dowager Wei’s voice was free of pretense, just like every time Bai Yu came to see her.
“I have disappointed Mother with my lateness.”
Bai Yu had intended not to come here for two reasons. First, because of Ouyang Feilong’s order. Second, she wanted to wait and see Empress Dowager Wei’s reaction to what had happened last night.
“How could you let such a disgrace happen under your care?!”
Heh. So she knew everything.
“I deserve death, Your Majesty.” Bai Yu lowered her head, replying in a guilt-ridden voice as she hid a mocking smile.
“Your life can’t even compare to a sliver of his majesty’s honor!”
Ah… What a loving mother you are, Your Majesty.
“Handle it. as quietly as possible…” The senior woman’s voice was firm. It sounded as if she was truly angered by the situation.
“Yes, mother.”
“There’s more.” Bai Yu lifted her head. “You’re considered the female head of the royalty. The matter of the emperor’s heir is your direct responsibility. If his majesty keeps visiting only you and there is still no pleasant news, send other consorts’ names for his majesty to choose.”
As if thunder had struck Bai Yu.
“This is also a ‘duty’ that the empress like you must do for the dynasty, not just dress yourself up and prance around all day. Understood?”
Bai Yu touched her hand on the bracelet given by Ouyang Feilong and tried to calm her heart. “I understand, mother.”
“And that included Qin Wang too. You must keep Qin Wang Fei healthy. Aijia will hear good news from either the inner court or Qin Wang Palace as soon as possible.” And so everything ended up being about Ouyang Mingxian again. “Da Yang has only changed hands. The dragon’s heir is as important as everything else.”
“I agree with Mother.” And I already have the said heir.
“You can stop coming to visit aijia for a while. Focus on copying ‘On the Duty of the Mother of the Nation’ into one copy for aijia as soon as possible.”
Then, she ended by ordering her to do what she had told Mu Qilin to. What a clear, sunny morning, yet the air smelled so rotten.
—————–
One week later, the royal mandate appointing Ouyang Mingxian as Taizi was announced throughout Da Yang, while Bai Yu was keeping herself in her palace, copying the book and taking care of the children in her womb. The courtiers expressed their approval, and the citizens expressed their joy. The nation’s stability was further consolidated.
Ouyang Feilong wanted to hold a banquet to celebrate the announcement. Originally, it should have fallen under Bai Yu’s responsibility; however, as she was occupied with organizing Empress Dowager Wei’s birthday banquet while having to copy the book every day, he delegated the duty to Zhao Gui Fei and Mu De Fei, effectively ending the latter’s grounding punishment.
Currently, Bai Yu’s duty was only to prepare for the birthday banquet during the day and copy the book at night, with Ouyang Feilong bringing his petitions to read next to her.
Qing Pin’s pregnancy was secretly investigated by Mu Qilin. It was discovered that the Pin consort had an affair with a royal guard and had become pregnant. At first, she tried to keep her pregnancy a secret. However, for fear of being discovered and punished one day, she ate food that contained some ingredients that could cause miscarriage when consumed too much.
Only a handful of people knew about this. And surprisingly, Empress Dowager Wei was one of them. Otherwise, Bai Yu would not be summoned to be berated that day.
The dark secret was kept to protect Ouyang Feilong’s honor. Qing Pin’s body was brought out of the palace with a serious disease cited as the cause of death. Ouyang Feilong’s consorts became one less, without the emperor remembering her at all. It was truly a lonely life.
“Give zhen your hand.”
His large hand was extended toward her. Bai Yu and Ouyang Feilong were standing in front of the banquet, waiting to enter together. Bai Yu put her hand on his. Two purple jade bracelets lightly collided, bringing a smile to her face.
This man was never good at cherishing flowers, though his care was unchanging.
“Make way for the Emperor.”
“Make way for the Empress.”
Two figures walked into the banquet, side by side. Their elegance and gracefulness were as harmonious as ever. The sound of blessings was heard from two sides while they were heading toward the highest seats.
Before Ouyang Feilong would allow everyone to relax, a sound was heard, announcing the arrival of the person who had never attended banquets ever since the start of the new reign.
“Make way for the Empress Dowager.
“Blessings to Empress Dowager. May you live and reign for a thousand years, a thousand years, thousands of thousands of years.”
Ouyang Feilong did not smile. His face was expressionless as he went forward to welcome his mother and led her to the seat on his left side. Bai Yu sat down on his right, while slightly behind her were Zhao Ninghua and Mu Qilin, already in their seats.
The banquet began after the royals had sat down. Bai Yu was not interested in the performance in front of her; instead, she swept her eyes through the guests, finding the princes and princesses she had told to attend. At the very least, Ouyang Mingxian was still their older half-brother. How could they not come to the banquet intending to celebrate him?
Today, Ouyang Feilong had to drink more than usual, as every family wanted to congratulate him and Ouyang Mingxian. Both the uncle and the nephew had drunk quite a lot, while Bai Yu almost did not drink her wine at all. When she had to, she would slowly tip the cup and let the drink flow into her sleeve, letting the dark fabric hide the stain of her pretense.
“This is Taizi’s good day. Why didn’t your second consort come, Ming-er?”
After a while of celebrating, Bai Yu only noticed that Bai Hua’s seat was empty. There was only Chu Jiaoxin sitting beside Ouyang Mingxian, and so it was expected that Empress Dowager Wei would raise the question. However, strangely, a rare smile appeared on the usual coldness of Ouyang Mingxian’s face in response.
“Grandmother, today is indeed a very good day.”
.....
“Did something good happen?” Empress Dowager Wei asked, surprised. Everyone was interested in hearing about that good thing as well.
What was it that could make the aloof Ouyang Mingxian reveal a small smile?
“Hua-er could not attend the banquet because she was feeling tired. I had a royal doctor examine her, and he found that she’s pregnant.”
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