Chapter 254: Chapter 237: How About Taking You to Meet the Former Eldest Princess? (3 Updates)
The Empress Dowager was startled by her, "What happened?"
While asking, she instructed someone to call for the Imperial Physician.
The palace maid had already handed over a spittoon. Fanghua bent over, waiting to rinse her mouth after vomiting before straightening up, her face slightly pale.
Facing the concerned gazes of her mother and brother, she tried to suppress the feeling of nausea, "I think Iâve been too busy these days, havenât eaten properly, and harmed my spleen and stomach."
Lu Xingzhouâs eyes flickered slightly from the side.
He had actually noticed that Ah Yinâs menstrual period was late for quite a few days, but had been preoccupied with Yanqingâs matters and hadnât found the opportunity to ask.
Lu Xingzhou was already in his fifties, and even though he wasnât present when their previous two children were discovered to be pregnant, he had heard some basic knowledge.
He hadnât ruled out certain suspicions, but considering his age as a grandfather, the possibility of having more offspring was slim.
Therefore, he thought it was very likely that Ah Yin had simply overworked herself and harmed her body.
ââ
The Imperial Physician soon arrived. After examining Fanghuaâs pulse, his face showed joy, "Congratulations to the... congratulations to the Empress Dowager, the lady is already more than two months pregnant."
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowagerâs teacup wavered in her hand, then fell to the ground after a few shakes.
Lu Xingzhou turned his head, looking at her intently. Even without speaking, Fanghua could feel his intense excitement and joy, different from before.
She couldnât help but laugh, "Are you dumbfounded?"
Lu Xingzhou still didnât speak.
The child with Ah Yin was not the first; including Lu Yanqing, he had already been a father to two children.
However, when he first learned about Yanqingâs existence, his feelings were complicated.
For an ordinary man, itâs impossible to accept it immediately.
But thinking of everything between them, he could understand her difficulties; ultimately, he slowly came to treat that child as his own over time.
Wanwan was an unexpected joy, learned too late yet also suddenly, but he couldnât openly be good to her as a father.
Regardless of whether those two children were his own, they left some regrets on them.
But this one is different; this was personally witnessed with the joyful pulse, and immediately shared the joyous news with Ah Yin.
That joy of having a child in old age and the satisfaction it brings, is beyond words.
For the first time in his life, he eagerly anticipated the birth of a child and looked forward to accompanying it as it grows.
Not for continuing the family lineage, but simply hoping to have a child wholly his own, whether a boy or a girl, as long as itâs his flesh and blood, he would love it.
Fanghua glanced at Lu Xingzhou who was still in a daze, smiling with her lips pursed, "My mother and brother are both here, arenât you embarrassed to stare at me like that?"
Saying this, she lowered her head, unable to hide the sweetness at her lips.
Upon learning she was pregnant, all the black and white in her mind seemed nonexistent and unimportant.
She now just wanted to go to Ningzhou and live the simplest yet warm life with her husband, without scheming against each other, without the need to be wary of who might harm her.
Everyoneâs life inevitably ends in death, and in the mere few decades in between, she doesnât want to live too tiredly nor waste time on irrelevant people. Her heart is only enough to hold her husband and child.
"Itâs simply an unexpected joy," the Empress Dowager couldnât help but sigh, shifting her gaze to her son.
In Emperor Guangxiâs eyes, envy was clearly written.
He, in his middle age, has only one son.
In the Royal Family, prosperity is paramount.
Precisely because there are no extra Princes to be Crown Prince candidates, Zhao Xi has become the target of public criticism.
A couple of years ago, Emperor Guangxi was eager to make Zhao Xi the Crown Prince.
But now, heâs changed his mind, he wonât openly establish a Crown Prince as long as heâs on the throne, and will directly write the succession edict when the time is near.
In this way, many unnecessary disputes can be avoided.
Zhao Xi, as the current only Prince capable of continuing the Royal Familyâs lineage, must not be prematurely perished due to external forces.
...
After confirming the pregnancy, Lu Xingzhou and Fanghua didnât stay long in the Imperial Palace and took their leave right after dinner.
They are currently still residing in the Princess Mansion.
Without outsidersâ gazes, in the carriage on the way back, Lu Xingzhou couldnât resist pulling Fanghua into his arms, gently rubbing his chin on the top of her head.
Fanghua reached out, hugging his lean waist back, inhaling the familiar scent of him, her voice light and soft, "I finally can make up for your years of regrets."