The Crown Princess was really having a hard time lately. If she had married an ordinary family, it would be a great big thing to have twins. But she married the royal family, and the situation was quite the opposite.
Births of two boys or two girls were regarded as ominous. The birth of a son and daughter was actually a great auspicious omen, but there were hidden dangers in it. The birth of the dragon and the death of the phoenix were regarded inauspicious, while the death of the dragon and the birth of the phoenix were regarded as great misfortune. Only when the twins were both in good health, would she then be able to have a firm position.
After calculating here and there, it was better to be pregnant with only one child. Whether it was good or bad, it was fifty-fifty. There would be no need to worry excessively.
What made her even more anxious was that even after six years of marriage to the East Palace, the prince only had one son. This was very pitiful compared with other princes who had many offsprings. The Emperor attached great importance to Di and Shu. He had always been concerned that the crown prince did not have a di son. Therefore, he had become increasingly dissatisfied with the Crown Princess over the years.
In addition, Xu Side Concubineâs ambition was growing. During her pregnancy, she would frequently spread rumours to disturb her mind. Several sisters-in-law also secretly use underhanded methods to cause her to miscarriage. The dangers and hardships were indescribable.
Although the Crown Princess acted calmly, she couldnât withstand the pressure and went to the Taoist temple to worship supernatural beings. After making the offerings, she stood in front of the Chien Tung for half an hour but did not dare to reach out for it. She had to call Yu Xiang in. If Yu Xiang picked an auspicious stick, it would be fine. If she picked an inauspicious stick, she would comfort herself and say that it was drawn by others and it had nothing to do with her.
After receiving the stick, her fingertips trembled slightly and handed it to the Master without looking at it.
The master of the temple mumbled âeh?â once. The Crown Princessâ back straightened and inquired, âIs it an inauspicious stick?â
The Old Madam held tightly to her buddhist beads and recited âAmitabha Buddhaâ. Suddenly, she remembered that this was a taoist temple and she quickly repented and instead recited âBoundless heavenâ.
Yu Si Yuâs eyes flickered slightly. She was just waiting to see Yu Xiang having bad luck. Who asked her to be involved in this kind of situation where it wouldnât be good regardless of the results? It could be seen that the wisdom and ability normally praised by her grandmother and elder brother were just an overstatement!
The master looked at it very carefully, then laughed and waved his hand, âNo, itâs not true. I want to congratulate the Crown Princess. You had actually drawn the only dragon and phoenix stick in this temple. Please have a look.â After saying that, he held his hand out.
The Crown Princess immediately beamed and looked at it intently. The top of the Qian was marked with a dragon and a phoenix connected from end-to-end. There were only two sentences in the Qianââ Bamboo turns into a dragon and phoenix soaring the sky, and the daoist rays of light illuminate all evils and disperses them. This implication was very obvious.
The Crown Princess breathed a sigh of relief. She held on the top of the stick and began to laugh. The panic and anxiety that had built up in her heart and was about to consume her dissipated instantly. She exclaimed, âXiangâer is truly a blessed person.â
Yu Xiang waved her hand, âItâs not that Iâm blessed. Itâs the Daoist immortals who use my hand to bless Your Highness. In the end, itâs still your highness who has a good fortune. I donât have anything to do with it.â She must draw the line well. Otherwise, she would be blamed if she didnât give birth to a dragon and phoenix fetus. The royal people were really hard to please.
âYou are a child who can speak well. Jiuâer has also come and is sleeping in the side room of the back hall. You can bring her out to stroll around so that she wonât sleep in the whole day.â The Crown Princess laughed.
Yu Xiang agreed and headed to the back hall under the guidance of the two palace people. The Old Madam breathed a sigh of relief. Xiangâer was indeed a lucky star. She secretly said to herself. She had a small chat with the crown princess for a while, and worshipped Leizu in the hall. Then, she left with Yu Si Yu, who had a lot in her mind.
Although the size of Baiyun Taoist temple was not comparable to that of Zhengguo Temple, it also occupied the whole mountain top. There was a natural lake on the top of the mountain. The blue water of the lake was a watermark of the light-blue sky, the bright rays of the round sun. It was one of those ânothing more beautiful could be imaginedâ sceneries. The lakeside seemed to be the most secluded place. Therefore, the Taoist temple specially built a two-story teahouse and several small pavilions beside the teahouse. It was a perfect place to drink tea or go boating.
When the scenery was good, there were very few people that visited there. When Yu Xiang came to the tea room with Ninth Princess and Fan Jiao Jiao, the seats on the second floor by the window were full, and only a small table at the entrance of the stairs was vacant.
The Ninth Princess was twelve years old this year. She would soon be thirteen. Even though she wasnât as beautiful as Yu Xiang, she was pretty and adorable. In addition, she exuded an eminent and noble aura. She could deceive people as long as she didnât open her mouth and say something stupid.
Fan Jia Jiao was the youngest amongst the three, but also the tallest and the strongest. She had a thick eyebrow and big eyes looking quite heroic. She wore a snake tail whip around her waist. She would pull it out without further objections if anyone dared to disrespect the Ninth Princess. The girls in the capital nicknamed her âhired thugâ. When she heard it, she wasnât ashamed but instead proud.
Due to the large number of people in the temple, the master of the temple gave the tea room to the female guests in order to prevent people from running into distinguished guests. Several small pavilions beside the lake were used to entertain the male guests, but both were suitable.
As he wiped the table with a cloth, he invited the three people to sit down.
The Ninth Princess pointed to the window and said, âI want to sit there.â
Fan Jiao Jiao immediately walked over, took out the whip from her waist and âcrackedâ it on the table, snorted and said, âDid you hear that? The Ninth Princess wants to sit here, quickly scram.â After the persistent teachings of Yu Xiang, she was becoming more and more like a tigress, and that disposition was fierce no matter how you look at it.
The four girls stood up in humiliation and moved to the stairway. The rest of them stood up and saluted. The Ninth Princess walked forward without glancing at them, picked up the pastry that the four people didnât touch and nimbled on it. The crumbs of the pastry immediately made the distinguished aura that she had exuded became a foolish aura.
Yu Xiang glanced at her and sighed. She turned her head to look towards the bright spring rays outside the window.
âWhatâs the matter with you? Eat!â The Ninth Princess picked up a piece of osmanthus glutinous rice cake[1] and handed it to her politely.
âYou can eat by yourself. Slow down and donât choke. You didnât eat before leaving the palace?â
âI did. My appetite increased lately. Imperial sister-in-law and Mother Empress forbid me to eat so much. They say that if Iâm as fat as I was when I was young, I wonât be able to get married next year.â Ninth Princessâ cheeks kept moving like a hamster.
âThey are scaring you. How are you fat when you are so young?! Thatâs called chubby, which is good-looking!â These years, Fan Jiao Jiao had become even more sophisticated in her flattery. She didnât purposely say this. She was just straightforward and was really fond of the Ninth Princess, which made her words very corny.