The Emperor asked Jiang Lingye to try to trust him. Jiang Lingye remained stunned for a long time, and for several consecutive nights, she could not sleep.
She couldn’t clearly describe the feeling in her heart—was it trepidation, anticipation, or unease? During the third watch of the night, she would turn to her side, keeping her eyes open, staring blankly at the Emperor’s sleeping face, continuing until the fifth watch.
She admitted that she had indeed developed feelings for the Emperor. It was difficult for any woman not to be moved by a young, handsome, intelligent, accomplished man who wielded supreme power. Moreover, the Emperor’s temperament wasn’t bad; he never arbitrarily beat or killed servants. In intimate matters, except for that somewhat rough encounter at Furong Forest, he had been very gentle afterward. Such a husband could easily make a woman develop deep feelings for him.
However, Jiang Lingye knew that she had entered the palace for power and status, to change her fate, not to fall in love with a man. The lessons of countless imperial consorts in historical records made her afraid to entrust her heart completely to the Emperor. She feared that if she gave her true feelings, she would end up with a miserable fate.
So even though she knew she had developed feelings, she desperately suppressed them.
While in this conflicted state of mind, she became pregnant.
Jiang Lingye was both surprised and delighted. Shortly after receiving the Emperor’s favor, she secretly found an Imperial Physician for an examination. The physician told her, after taking her pulse, that she would have difficulty conceiving and might struggle with childbearing in the future. Upon hearing this, Jiang Lingye was extremely disappointed.
Her disappointment wasn’t because she liked children, but because in the palace, having a child would greatly strengthen her position. Even someone as favored as Empress Dowager Xue had to maintain her status by taking other people’s children.
However, Jiang Lingye quickly adjusted her thinking. She thought that she shouldn’t see Empress Dowager Xue as someone who needed to take children to maintain her position. Rather, she should consider that Empress Dowager Xue had never given birth to a child in her life but still managed to sit in the high position of Empress Dowager. So, having children was like adding flowers to brocade if one had them, but not earth-shattering if one didn’t.
If Empress Dowager Xue hadn’t been so vicious—not only taking a child but also killing the mother, and in such a cruel manner that even the dead weren’t spared, forcing the Emperor’s birth mother to be buried with her face covered and her mouth stuffed with rice husks, and completely wiping out the Emperor’s maternal family—if she hadn’t been so ruthless, the Emperor would have been filial to her, rather than treating her with feigned obedience.
Jiang Lingye caressed her abdomen, experiencing a particularly unreal feeling. Did she have her child now? Was she going to be a mother?
And her child—would it be a boy or a girl? What kind of child would it be?
Jiang Lingye was both anticipatory and worried.
The Emperor appeared very happy about her pregnancy. He placed his ear against Jiang Lingye’s abdomen and said, “I can’t hear anything.”
Jiang Lingye gently reproached him: “It’s only been two months. How could you hear anything?”
The Emperor laughed heartily: “You’re right. I’m just too anxious.”
Jiang Lingye pressed her lips together. She had some concerns in her heart, so she said tactfully, “This concubine cannot serve Your Majesty in bed during this period. Please don’t forget about me and come visit me at Fengyang Pavilion often.”
The Emperor smiled: “Does Lingye think that every time I come to Fengyang Pavilion, it’s just for you to serve me in bed?”
Jiang Lingye thought of countless nights of passionate lovemaking; her cheeks could not help but flush red as she muttered softly: “Isn’t that the case?”
The Emperor caressed Jiang Lingye’s abdomen, laughing softly: “I am not a beast in heat. I come to Fengyang Pavilion for you, not to bed you. As for what happens afterward, I can only blame my irresistible emotions.”
As the Emperor candidly expressed his feelings, Jiang Lingye felt both shy and amused. She leaned against the Emperor’s embrace, and the warmth of his palm on her abdomen seemed to flow into her heart. She began to express her inner anxieties to him: “Your Majesty, I’m so afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Afraid that when the child is born, it will be missing limbs.” Jiang Lingye muttered, “I’ve already had several nightmares. I’m truly frightened.”
“That won’t happen. We have Imperial Physicians in the palace.”
“Even Imperial Physicians can’t diagnose such things.” Jiang Lingye’s face was filled with worry: “This is my first pregnancy. I don’t know if this kind of worry is normal.”
The Emperor was a man; he didn’t know whether Jiang Lingye was overthinking or if all pregnant women had such thoughts. After pondering for a moment, he said: “How about this—your mother and sister should have experience. I’ll grant them palace access permits so they can enter the palace at any time to ease your worries.”
Granting palace access permits to a consort’s family members, allowing them to enter the palace at any time, was a privilege reserved for the Empress and the four Consorts. As a Jieyü, Jiang Lingye shouldn’t have had this treatment. She was both surprised and concerned: “Your Majesty, is this… appropriate?”
“Why wouldn’t it be appropriate?” The Emperor gently caressed her abdomen, seemingly very fond of this child: “A Jieyü is anxious during pregnancy and wants her mother and sister as companions. This is human nature. I believe the court officials will understand.”
Jiang Lingye pressed her lips together, then smiled: “On behalf of this child, I thank Your Majesty.”
With Jiang Lingye’s mother and sister entering the palace to comfort her, her anxiety about becoming a first-time mother was somewhat relieved. Moreover, the child in her womb was exceptionally well-behaved and didn’t trouble her at all. She didn’t experience the nausea and fatigue that her mother and sister had described. So she had extra energy to read books extensively and discuss court memorials with the Emperor. As she touched her abdomen, her heart was filled with gentle affection. This child wasn’t even born yet, but she had already bestowed all her maternal love upon it.
She spoke softly: “Child, you are so considerate of your mother. You truly are the most precious gift the Compassionate Bodhisattva has given me.”
She was increasingly looking forward to the child’s birth.
However, while the Emperor and Jiang Lingye eagerly anticipated the child’s birth, there were naturally those in the palace who did not. Chief among them was Consort Xian.
Consort Xian had always harbored intense jealousy toward Jiang Lingye because she had come from her palace. After Jiang Lingye became pregnant and received even more favor from the Emperor, Consort Xian’s jealousy grew stronger. She secretly tried to tamper with Jiang Lingye’s food and drink but was discovered in time by Empress Dowager Xue.
Empress Dowager Xue scolded her: “Look at you, what a disgrace! If Jiang Lingye gives birth to a prince, Consort De will plot against her. You don’t even have a child—what are you plotting for? And if it’s a princess, there’s even less need for you to scheme. The matters of the court are already giving me enough headaches. Hmph, those scholars just can’t stand a woman controlling the government. I’m warning you, don’t create additional problems!”
Under Empress Dowager Xue’s warning, Consort Xian didn’t dare make any more moves. As for Consort De, she had always considered Jiang Lingye too lowborn to be worth her attention. Besides, the child hadn’t been born yet, and its gender was unknown, so she saw no need to act so early.
Thus, Jiang Lingye continued her pregnancy in peace and safety until delivery.
The twenty-seventh day of the first month in the fourth year of Taichang.
On this day, Chang’an had just experienced a snowfall. As the saying goes, “Auspicious snow forecasts a bountiful year,” and the Emperor was in high spirits. With the Lantern Festival of the fifteenth day having passed not long ago, the entire city of Chang’an was still filled with a festive atmosphere. At noon, Jiang Lingye dined with the Emperor. Her belly was now visibly swollen, and the Imperial Physician had said she would give birth within a few days.
The Emperor put his ear to her abdomen to listen. By now, he could hear the fetus’s sounds. After listening intently for a while, he rose and smiled: “I heard Imperial Physician Lin say that when he listens to his wife’s belly, his child often kicks him. But this child has never kicked me.”
Jiang Lingye smiled, pressing her lips together: “This child hasn’t just never kicked Your Majesty—it hasn’t kicked me either.”
The Emperor found this remarkable: “Is there such a well-behaved child under heaven?”
“In my view, this child sees that father is burdened with state affairs and mother is burdened with pregnancy, so it behaves well, not wanting to cause trouble for either of us.”
The Emperor gently caressed Jiang Lingye’s swollen belly and smiled at the child within: “You’re so obedient. What reward should the father give you? I know—I’ll give you the Guangling Commandery as your fief, and your title shall be Yong’an, meaning ‘eternal peace.'”
Guangling Commandery was the most prosperous fief in the Great Zhou, and the title Yong’an carried the meaning of eternal peace, full of fatherly love. Jiang Lingye was both surprised and moved. She advised: “Your Majesty, don’t spoil the child.”
“I’ve considered this for a long time, Lingye. Don’t try to dissuade me.”
Jiang Lingye still felt it inappropriate and wanted to say more, but suddenly she felt a pain in her abdomen, and cold sweat broke out instantly. Seeing this, the Emperor also panicked: “Lingye, what’s wrong?”
“I… I’m going into labor…”
In Fengyang Pavilion, the Emperor anxiously paced outside the door. Behind the wooden door came Jiang Lingye’s extremely restrained cries of pain. It was said that a woman’s labor pain was unbearable, like walking through the gates of hell, but even Jiang Lingye’s cries of pain were suppressed. She was always like this—cautious, walking on thin ice.
Even when he told her to try to trust him, she still didn’t dare.