The throne power symbolizes the status of the empress, and naturally, the empress could not bear the loss of her throne power.
However, the emperor's command, the empress does not want to comply, nor can she refuse.
Reluctantly, she divided a portion of the palace affairs among the plum blossom princess and wan princess.
It was still the least important palace affairs.
The plum blossom princess is responsible for managing the flowers in the palace, and the wan princess is responsible for distributing fabrics in the palace.
Although so, they were still very happy.
Being able to interfere in the palace affairs not only signifies the emperor's trust but also represents the ability to plant informants within the harem.
This is such a rare opportunity.
The gentle concubine is demoted to the rank of a concubine and her title is stripped away, now she will be known as Lin's consort.
Additionally, she has been sentenced to a three-month foot-binding ban.
Such a heavy blow, naturally, Lin's consort couldn't bear it.
It was said that she was hiding in the Yongfu Palace, weeping until she lost consciousness, with swollen eyes.
But that was not the end; the Empress Dowager quickly issued another imperial edict to the Yongfu Palace.
The Empress Dowager ordered Lin's consort to copy Buddhist sutras 300 times, and she had to copy them while kneeling.
Even more, she sent a nanny to watch over her every move.
With the loss of the emperor's favor, Lin's consort dared not confront the Empress Dowager. She had to obey and copy the Buddhist sutras while kneeling submissively.
Those days were extremely difficult.
The empress's situation wasn't much better either.
Although the Empress Dowager didn't order her to copy the Buddhist sutras, she did summon her to the Cining Palace.
It was said that the empress was severely scolded by the Empress Dowager and cursed in a very unpleasant manner.
When the empress left the Cining Palace, it was said that her eyes were red.
It was evident that she had been crying.
Yu Ya naturally heard about it. The more unstable the empress's position is, the more beneficial it is to herself.
Perhaps it was because the throne power had been divided, and she had also been scolded by the Empress Dowager. The empress had become more obedient.
She no longer continued any underhanded actions.
Yu Ya spent her days in the Yu Xian Palace, eating and drinking, or sleeping, like a pig being raised for meat.
Her belly also blew up like a balloon, growing bigger day by day.
Even with the most loose clothing, her belly appeared much larger than that of an ordinary pregnant woman.
The caretaker, Qian, quickly noticed that something was wrong with her belly and suspected that she was carrying twins.
So she whispered this matter to the Empress Dowager in private.
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's expression grew serious.
First, she summoned Zhou the Imperial Doctor to the Cining Palace and began to inquire about Yu Ya's pregnancy.
"Zhou the Imperial Doctor, I remember that the belly of Empress Yu Ya was only five and a half months along. How could it be so much larger than that of a normal pregnant woman?"
The Empress Dowager had ceased lying in bed and was now half-lying on a soft sofa, her gaze fixed on Zhou the Imperial Doctor kneeling below, asking coldly.
"To the Empress Dowager, Your Majesty: the size of a pregnant woman's belly does not necessarily indicate a problem. Yu Ya's fetal image is fine, and her pregnancy is steady."
Zhou the Imperial Doctor knelt on the ground, wiped the sweat that wasn't there from his forehead, and nervously spoke.
Of course, he knew what the Empress Dowager was asking. It was merely a suspicion that Empress Yu Ya might be carrying twins.
However, he dared not say anything about it without the emperor's order.
"I am not asking about this, Empress Dowager. I am suspicious that Empress Yu Ya might be carrying twins?"
The Empress Dowager pursued the question further.
The tone of her voice had become more impatient.
"Thi…"
Zhou the Imperial Doctor was speechless.
Of course, Empress Yu Ya is carrying twins, but he dares not say so without the emperor's order.
For a moment, he didn't know how to answer.
The Empress Dowager, seeing Zhou the Imperial Doctor's expression, knew exactly what was going on.
Internally, she became more and more convinced that Empress Yu Ya was carrying twins.
Hearing that there would be two grandsons soon, the Empress Dowager naturally felt very happy.
But this is the royal family, and especially since the emperor has no heir.
If they are of the dragon and phoenix species, it would be better, but if they are two royal sons...
As for two princesses, the Empress Dowager had not even thought about it.
Princes are the most important; what good are princesses?
Therefore, the Empress Dowager instinctively believed that Yu Ya's belly contained two royal sons.
With this in mind, her expression became even more serious, and she kept turning the Buddhist beads in her hand.
Consequently, the atmosphere in the Cining Palace also changed.
Zhou the Imperial Doctor knelt on the ground and dared not speak.
After a while.
The Empress Dowager waved her hand at Zhou the Imperial Doctor and allowed him to leave, without causing him any trouble.
"Qiuyun, go call the emperor over!"
The Empress Dowager said to Qiuyun, who was standing by waiting.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Qiuyun replied.
Qiuyun respectfully replied, "Yes, Your Majesty," and quickly turned around to leave.
Soon after, Yebeichen appeared at the Cining Palace.
It's not clear what they discussed.
In summary, after that, the Empress Dowager never mentioned it again as if she had forgotten.
Autumn approached.
The day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the emperor's gifts, the empress's gifts, and the Empress Dowager's gifts all arrived.
They were distributed according to rank, and were similar to those of previous years.
Of course, Yu Ya's was the most generous.
As per custom, there was a state banquet in the afternoon, hosted by the emperor and the empress, for princes, ministers, and court ladies.
It was the family banquet in the evening at the palace.
The family banquet was held in the imperial garden. The location of the imperial garden was spacious, allowing for flower viewing, landscape appreciation, and moon gazing.
It was an ideal place to be.
In the afternoon, Qingtansan helped Yu Ya put on the clothes one by one.
A light blue dress, decorated with a simple "flying heaven" hairstyle by Qingyu.
A strand of hair was left in a peacock tail style at the back of her head, which made her appear even more ethereal and divine.
Of course, one must overlook her large belly.
After the hairstyle was done, Qingtansan fixed the head ornaments onto the hairdo.
A set of oriental pearl hair ornaments, complemented by crystal tassels and swing ornaments, made her look light and elegant, as if she were an elf who had accidentally wandered into the mortal world.
Of course, one must still overlook her large belly.
Yu Ya was pregnant, and she was carrying twins, but her figure remained unchanged.
Her belly appeared round and full, much larger than that of an ordinary pregnant woman.
"What are you looking at me like that?"
Yu Ya noticed that Qingtansan and Qingyu had odd expressions in their eyes, which also puzzled her. She couldn't help but ask.
"Your Majesty, they say that ugly children make beautiful mothers, and beautiful daughters make their mothers' beauty more pronounced. Your Majesty looks so beautiful even with pregnancy, could it be that you're carrying…"
Qingyu wanted to say that Your Majesty might be carrying princesses, but he was afraid of angering Your Majesty and didn't dare to say it.
In the harem, although princesses are revered, they still can't compare to princes.
Yu Ya was taken aback, really didn't expect Qingyu to suddenly bring up this topic, but she wasn't worried.
She is carrying twins, both boys and girls will be born.
"Whether they are princes or princesses, they are both my treasure."
Yu Ya smiled, stroking her belly with a tender gaze.
"It's getting late, let's go."
She said this to the two, and then left the Yuxian Palace with her hands on her stomach.
Qingtansan and Qingyu exchanged a glance, but said nothing. They quickly followed after her.
The imperial garden is not far from the Yuxian Palace.
Turn left at the door, go straight south, and then turn right.
However, along the way, Yu Ya walked for nearly half an hour.
As a pregnant woman.
By the time Yu Ya arrived at the imperial garden, she felt that there were already a large number of people seated in front of her.
Meifei, Wanfei, Yuzhaoyi, Ningxiuyuan, Chun Gui'an, Jing Fei, Shun Ronghua, Yan Xiaoyi...
And nobles.
Like Li Guiren, Zhou Guiren, Zheng Guiren...
There were at least seven or eight of them.
There were also beauties, maids, attendants, treasures, and other female officials.
She was too overwhelmed to tell who was who, and many of them were also strangers to her.
The three major figures—the emperor, the empress, and the Empress Dowager—had not arrived yet. Lin Fei, who was still under house arrest (formerly known as Ruo Fei), had not come either.
The others who should have come were all here.
However, she noticed that many of the minor consorts were not dressed very well.
The fabric on their clothes looked very worn-out, and the hair accessories were very simple. Not only were there none that were particularly fancy, but it was evident that they weren't valuable.
The clothes they were wearing were not even as good as those of her attendants Qingtansan and Qingyu.
Yu Ya didn't say anything, holding onto Qingtansan's hand and slowly approaching forward.
"Congratulations to Empress Yu Ya! May you live a long and happy life!"
Everyone saw her and quickly stood up to give her a greeting.
Yu Ya smiled: "Please rise, no need for formalities!"
She then sat down at her designated seat.
She didn't put on any airs.
