The Perilous Palace Dream - Side Story-2
Side Story (Part 2): It Is Hard to Be a Father
Ever since parting ways at the refugee village, it was unknown whether this old man had encountered a benefactor or been touched by imperial fortune to turn his bad luck around, but he had managed to establish roots in the ancient city of Pingyang. Because his predictions for children and marriages were accurate, his life was going quite smoothly. His once sparse goat beard had become much neater, and paired with a clean Daoist robe, he actually possessed quite a immortal and ethereal air.
In all his life, the most extraordinary facial features he had ever seen were those of the two individuals he met at the refugee village. He never expected to run into them again here in the ancient city of Pingyang…
Wait, that’s not right! Last time, it was clearly a handsome young man—why had he turned into a delicate, charming young lady this time?
Before he could think too deeply about it, he blurted out, “Do you two still remember this old man? This… this… so you were actually a young lady all along!”
Nie Qinglin had always loved beauty. Although she was already married, she still liked to dress brightly like a young maiden. Being out and about today, her hairstyle and attire were completely that of an unmarried noble lady. The old man, having already harbored the preconception that they were brother and sister, had been brooding over the beating he received last time, feeling deeply that it had ruined his reputation.
Meeting them again, he wanted to set his divine fortune-telling reputation straight, so he added, “If you had made it clear back then that you were a woman, how could this old man have predicted that sign of an early death!”
The Grand Tutor usually couldn’t be bothered with such traveling charlatans, but hearing him say this, he stopped in his tracks and asked, “And what if she is a woman?”
“If she is a woman, she possesses the facial features of an Empress who commands the harem… However, I thought these features were strange back then. Whether it was a Phoenix entering a Dragon’s Palace or a Dragon entering a Phoenix’s Nest was unclear to me at the time. But now that the new Empress Regnant has ascended the throne, I am suddenly enlightened! Miss…”
Speaking up to this point, the old man lowered his voice.
“Miss, you have the facial features of an Empress Regnant!”
Seeing this old man hit the mark purely by blind luck, the Grand Tutor laughed out of sheer annoyance.
“Taoist, didn’t you say last time that I possessed the features of an Emperor?”
Having said that, the old man also felt a bit like the Chu merchant selling both the sharpest spear and the strongest shield—unable to make his own story hold together. Yet he had indeed read their faces according to physiognomy! Could it be that the world was so turbulent recently that true dragons were popping up everywhere?
He looked closely at Wei Lenghou’s cold, stern face once more and gasped.
“Why does the young master have a scar on his cheek? That happens to restrain your rebellious nature and suppress your imperial aura! What a pity, what a pity… However…”
Knowing that the old man was referring to the faint scar left behind when he was poisoned, Wei Lenghou raised a brow slightly, feeling too lazy to listen to the old man’s continued nonsense.
“However, although the young master has broken his rebellious trait, he has opened his romantic fortune. What was originally the sign of a solitary star fated to have no sons has now transformed into a swelling aura of abundant offspring…”
These words made him stop in his tracks once again.
With bright, burning eyes, he asked, “Are you saying I will not lack offspring in my lifetime?”
The old man nodded, looked closely again, and said, “However, the child in your destiny shares a face far too similar to yours—his rebellious trait is extremely heavy. I fear that when he grows up, father and son will constantly quarrel with each other…”
Nie Qinglin hadn’t taken it seriously at first, but seeing how the old man spoke with such an air of thoroughness, she couldn’t help asking, “Taoist, what about my fortune regarding children?”
Seeing her ask, the Taoist beamed with joy.
“Young lady, not only do you have the features of an Empress Regnant, but you also possess an extremely prosperous fortune of having both son and daughter. Your children will bring great fortune to their mother, and they will be exceptionally brilliant and filial…”
Wei Lenghou could no longer listen to another word! Had Nie Qinglin not held him back, he would have stretched out his long leg to kick that lying old Taoist flying once again!
What absolute rubbish of a fortune-telling! How could a husband and wife be predicted to have two completely different sets of children? Unable to listen any further, he pulled Nie Qinglin away and entered the temple.
“Why are you being so petty, getting angry with a traveling charlatan?”
Wei Lenghou snorted coldly and said through gritted teeth, “If a rebellious son is truly born as that old man said, see if I don’t break both his legs!”
Nie Qinglin actually really wanted to say that her father-in-law also hung words like ‘breaking his son’s legs’ on his lips every day, yet her husband now was still as light and agile as a swallow!
However, her husband had always cared about his pride, so such fire-fanning words must never be spoken. Following the example of other women, she placed the pair of boy and girl dolls neatly on the altar table crowded with dolls, then bought incense, candles, and donated oil money.
—
Coming out of the Guanyin Temple, Nie Qinglin bought another bag of sour apricots, holding them in her arms and nibbling away.
Seeing her eat with such delight, the Grand Tutor took one and put it into his mouth.
The sourness made him close his eyes and knit his brows tightly. He then snatched the sour apricots from her hands and said, “So sour—won’t it set your teeth on edge? Don’t eat any more.”
But Nie Qinglin refused to comply, acting as though she hadn’t eaten her fill yet. The old woman selling sour apricots smiled and said, “The Bodhisattva in this temple is truly efficacious! Did the young lady get blessed right after worshipping? Sour for boys, spicy for girls—eight or nine out of ten who eat my sour apricots end up pregnant with sons!”
These words moved the Grand Tutor’s heart.
He suddenly recalled that ever since they set off from the capital, Guo’er had taken a liking to these sour snacks, while barely touching the snacks she usually loved to eat… Could it be…
At this thought, with a flip of his large palm, he swept his cherished pearl up into his arms and walked straight back toward the carriage.
His handsome appearance had already attracted the eyes of many women burning incense, and this sudden action made everyone look over involuntarily. Many tired young wives, seeing their own husbands walking ahead without a care, instantly felt a sense of comparison and couldn’t help secretly envying the young woman nestled in his arms, who had found such a handsome and considerate husband.
Being suddenly lifted up by him, Nie Qinglin let out a soft cry and said with a red face, “Grand Tutor, what are you doing?”
“Guo’er is so confused—have you really not noticed the changes in yourself?”
Once inside the carriage, the Grand Tutor ordered an immediate return to the manor and summoned the imperial physician who had been sent early on to check Shen Hong’er’s pulse. After taking her pulse for a moment, the imperial physician showed a face full of joy and said, “Congratulations, Grand Tutor! Her Majesty is expecting!”
This single announcement of pregnancy brought joy to the entire realm!
The ministers who had long suspected that the Grand Tutor was “impotent” let out a collective sigh of relief. One must know that if the Grand Tutor’s lower abdomen lacked strength, falling out of favor before Her Majesty would be a matter of time. Disharmony in the rear palace would bring disaster to the court! Old Minister Wu had repeatedly submitted memorials to the Empress Regnant, begging Her Majesty to open the harem wide and bring in vigorous young men to spread her lineage early on. It was said that the memorial was intercepted by the Grand Tutor, and Old Minister Wu’s entire family, along with their luggage, were “invited” back to their hometown overnight to spend their remaining years in retirement.
Fortunately! Fortunately! Her Majesty was finally expecting!
The Grand Tutor also wore a smile on his face throughout the day, and his treatment of the court ministers became much gentler. Although he had to refrain from intimacy with his beloved for the time being to protect the fetus, once five months had passed and the fetus was stable, he would be able to get close to her and slake his thirst a little.
Who could have expected that when Guo’er was nearly five months pregnant, Divine Physician Wei would take her pulse and actually discover that she was carrying twins!
“Grand Tutor, Her Majesty’s body was originally extremely difficult to conceive, but unexpectedly, although the rare poison you previously suffered from has completely dissipated, some of its essence remained in your vital energy. Fighting poison with poison turned out to be a fine prescription to dispel the coldness in Her Majesty’s womb, allowing her to conceive in one go. Truly, noble people bring great blessings, turning misfortune into good fortune! However, Her Majesty is carrying a pair of imperial dragon twins and is delicate and fragile. I fear it will be extremely exhausting for her. Please endure it, Grand Tutor, and refrain from entering Her Majesty’s dragon bed for the time being—you must abstain from sexual pleasures!”
Hearing this, the Grand Tutor’s face turned pale.
“Is there really no way to satisfy both?”
Having finally waited out the days, to lose it like this for nothing—the ones in her belly truly conflicted with him, just as that old Taoist had said!
—
When night fell, Nie Qinglin, whose belly was growing larger, slept fitfully.
She leaned half against Wei Lenghou’s chest, and before long, she felt a burning, firm rod resting against her buttocks from behind.
The Grand Tutor said close to her ear, “Can’t Her Majesty sleep? Lend me your pair of jade hands to slake my thirst.”
Over these past days, Her Majesty’s skill in handling the reins with her imperial hands had improved significantly. Seeing the Grand Tutor’s subtly thirsty look, besides blushing, she felt a gentle touch of emotion.
For her sake, her handsome husband had dismissed all his concubines and guarded her alone. Of all the civil and military officials in the court, how many senior ministers would guard an empty bed when their principal wife was pregnant? At the very least, they would prepare a bedchamber maid to relieve the fire.
Seeing his brow knit slightly from desire, Nie Qinglin couldn’t help asking softly, “Yulang, have you ever… regretted it?”
Hearing this, Wei Lenghou raised his head and pressed a kiss onto her forehead.
“In this vast world, Her Majesty is the only one my heart desires. If I had not met you, I fear I would never have known what it feels like to have my heart moved—so how could I talk of regret? However… I have always been thinking, I wonder if Her Majesty has ever regretted being born into the royal family, or being forcibly kept as a Princess by me… Do you harbor resentment in your heart?”
Nie Qinglin proactively raised her delicate chin and met his thin lips, her bright red mouth softly breathing out.
“To meet you and stay with you—I have no regrets up to this point…”
This deep affection caused a surge of emotion in the Grand Tutor’s heart. He wished he could instantly merge into one with the woman at his heart’s core, kissing and caressing her with reckless abandon. Why is this little woman still so captivatingly beautiful even while pregnant? Her slender waist hasn’t grown bloated at all from pregnancy, except for her belly that looks like an overturned pot lid—her skin has instead become even finer and softer…
The Grand Tutor turned the delicate woman over from his arms, completely forgetting the divine physician’s words, impatiently wanting her to ride atop him…
Suddenly, the rounded belly pressed tightly against the Grand Tutor’s abdomen gave a slight bounce, bringing him back to his senses. Looking down, he could see a small bulge rising on that snow-white belly, clearly the shape of a little foot. Though only five months along, it was kicking its father right at the door with quite a lot of strength!
He couldn’t help laughing and cursing softly, “Truly an unfilial son—kicking your father while still in your mother’s belly! Just wait until you come out, and see how I deal with you!”
