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, she was too far away, so she couldn't reach him, but she stumbled and fell into the mud instead.
As Song Zhao looked at Rongyue, her intense gaze remained fixed on him.
In that brief moment when their eyes met, Song Zhao nodded slightly in acknowledgement, and Rongyue, without saying anything, also nodded in response.
Once everyone arrived at Noble Consort Chen's palace, they saw that the unfamiliar imperial physician was there to examine her.
Noble Consort Chen asked Liu Yue, "Why has Doctor Qi, who has been attending to me all along, been replaced today?"
Liu Yue replied, "Doctor Qi took a leave of absence today and is not in the palace. However, Doctor He, who started serving in the palace last month, is also highly skilled in medicine."
"It doesn't matter. They are all doctors from the Imperial Physician's Institute, and their medical skills shouldn't be much different."
Doctor He was originally supposed to examine Noble Consort Chen first, but seeing Cheng Yu crying so hard, she said, "You go check on the Second Prince first and see if he's alright."
Noble Consort Chen referred to the Second Prince by his name instead of calling Cheng Yu the Crown Prince like everyone else.
Her pronunciation of this title was very distinct, and everyone heard it.
However, the Empress Dowager remained silent, and Noble Consort Chen was the one who saved Cheng Yu, so naturally no one dared to say anything.
After Doctor He finished diagnosing Cheng Yu and reported that everything was fine, Noble Consort Chen called him to examine her pulse.
Knowing that Noble Consort Chen had fallen, Doctor He was very careful when examining her pulse.
At first, there was a slight furrow on Doctor He's brow.
But as the pulse diagnosis went on, the severity on his face gradually faded until it was replaced with a joyful expression.
Then he repeatedly bowed to Noble Consort Chen and raised his voice, saying, "I congratulate Consort Chen! Your Ladyship, congratulations on your great joy! From the pulse, it can be seen that you are carrying twins this time!"
"Is it true?"
Overwhelmed with joy, Noble Consort Chen sat upright.
Her phoenix-like eyes widened in disbelief, "But last month when Doctor Qi came to check my pulse, he didn't mention anything different about this pregnancy!"
Doctor He assured, "After practicing medicine for many years, I have some certainty in this matter."
Receiving this good news, Noble Consort Chen could be considered fortunate after the mishap.
The other consorts congratulated her, including Song Zhao.
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?
