Hearing this, Jeje felt a tightness in her chest. She glanced out the window and watched the women's figures gradually disappear into the distance before instructing Adai, "Have the doctor come see me."
"Yes."
"Wait." Jeje called her back, asking, "Does the Great Khan know?"
Adai shook her head. "I don't know. The doctor told me in private, and I've already reminded them not to tell Zarut."
Jeje frowned, lost in thought, and then gave her orders, "Go on, bring the doctor here to see me. As for the Great Khan, I'll tell him myself."
Adai accepted the orders, and, perhaps trying to lighten the mood, added cheerfully, "The Great Khan went to see Consort Yu late last night, clearly to show everyone that they shouldn't listen to Zarut's baseless accusations. This matter has nothing to do with Consort Yu. You see, he still cares about Consort Yu very much."
"I know, go on."
But Jeje was not comforted. After all, this matter could be either trivial or grave. There had been other consorts and side consorts in the palace who, due to poor health, had lost children or whose children died young. Hong Taiji had experienced many such gains and losses, so his indifference toward Zarut was not surprising.
However, every one of those incidents had been under Zhe Zhe's control—no one dared play tricks under her watch.
"This is just the beginning. When that one arrives next year…" Jeje's worries grew. To this day, Yuer had yet to bear a son, and it remained uncertain if Hairanju could give birth. Jeje herself had accepted that she had no more hope of bearing children. But a woman from the Khorchin clan must bear a son for Hong Taiji; it had to be an heir with Khorchin blood to carry on the Great Jin's legacy.
She rose and walked to the window, just in time to see Yatu holding Atu's hand, happily skipping toward Hairanju's side palace. Their aunt came out immediately to greet them, lifting Atu into her arms and taking Yatu's hand, and then they all went inside together.
In recent days, although Hairanju remained cold toward the Great Khan and Yuer's relationship, she conducted herself with grace and calm, showing great affection and patience with the children. She was careful and precise in her actions, leaving no room for criticism, and it was no wonder Hong Taiji favoured her.
As for Yuer, that girl—despite making harsh remarks about her sister that day—still cared deeply for her. She had argued with Zarut because she overheard her speaking poorly of Hairanju. Qiqige had told Jeje all this.
"These two…" Jeje sighed.
Before long, Adai brought in the doctor. Jeje carefully questioned him about Zarut's miscarriage. The doctor explained that it seemed she might have accidentally ingested a potent substance that harmed the foetus.
He swore on his life that, on the day she fell, there were no signs of a miscarriage. All previous checks had shown the mother and child to be healthy.
"Could it be that the fall didn't show its effects immediately but did later?" Jeje asked.
The doctor replied, "The foetus was already well-developed; such a fall wouldn't harm it easily. She landed on soft snow and got up immediately, with no exposure to the cold. If she had shown bleeding immediately that day, we could attribute it to the fall, but given the two-day delay, it's unclear what she might have eaten in the meantime."
Jeje looked at Adai, who immediately understood the implication.
Meanwhile, the children had gone to visit her sister. After calming Azhe, Yuer found herself with nothing to do. She had read through half of the book Qiqige had left, but there were too many words she didn't recognize, so she set it aside to ask about later. She paced around the room, prompting Sumala to say, "Miss, you're making me dizzy."
Yuer asked, "How is Zarut doing? Could you go ask?"
Sumala shook her head. "I won't. This morning, the Great Consort ordered that no one in the palace is allowed to gossip or inquire into others' business."
Yuer sighed. "The rules are getting stricter. Doesn't Auntie get tired of it?"
"I think it's for the best," Sumala replied, pulling her to sit down and offering her a slice of pear. "Miss, that woman is so awful. Why should you care if she lives or dies?"
"The child was innocent," Yuer replied. "Now she'll be holding a grudge against me, and life won't be peaceful from now on."
Sumala replied, "Women back on the steppe still go herding even when they're expecting. Here too, many women work with big bellies, and they don't lose their babies. It's just her bad luck, and she fell on her own. It has nothing to do with you, and even the Great Khan came to stand by your side. What are you afraid of?"
Da Yuer stuffed a slice of pear into Sumala's mouth, saying, "You better keep quiet, or Aunt will hear you and punish you again."
Sumala had barely swallowed the pear when the sound of bowls and dishes shattering came from across the courtyard, startling her so much she nearly choked.
She rushed to the doorway and saw that all the palace maids from Zarut's quarters had been driven out, kneeling beneath the eaves in the freezing cold, where the steps were coated with thin ice.
Da Yuer, who had come along to see, instructed Sumala, "Go to my sister and tell her not to let Yatu and the others see this scene."
Sumala laughed cheekily. "Miss, why don't you go yourself? It's a perfect chance to chat with older Princess and pass the time."
Da Yuer turned her back. "Are you going or not? If not, I'll find someone else."
Sumala stuck out her tongue and, rubbing her hands, ran to Hairanju's door, where she bumped into Baoqing. The two of them slipped inside the curtain and found Consort Lan teaching her nieces how to embroider.
"I understand," Hairanju said. "I won't let them see it; it would be bad to frighten them."
Baoqing murmured from the side, "Just a while ago, those palace maids were so arrogant, even trying to take things from me and Sumala. Look at them now! They should've been more aware of who they were serving."
Hairanju scolded, "Did you forget the Great Consort's lesson? I think you need to stand under the eaves to clear your head too."
As she spoke, she took out a few scraps of fine fabric for Sumala, saying she could use them to make an embroidered sachet or shoe cover, which would look decent as a gift, even though they were just leftovers.
Baoqing, however, protested, "My Lady, I asked you for some, but you wouldn't give any, and here you're saving them for Sumala?"
Hairanju smiled, "You take things I've already made; would you even want scraps like these?"
The cheerful atmosphere in the room lifted Sumala's spirits too, though she couldn't help but wish her own lady would join them. Da Yuer clearly cared so much about her sister; if it weren't for older Princess, she wouldn't have had that argument with Zarut and brought all this trouble upon herself. It was hard to understand whether she was too proud to come or if she truly couldn't forgive her sister.
Just then, as they laughed and chatted, Atu suddenly started crying. Thinking she might have pricked her finger with the needle, Hairanju rushed over, but the little girl was clutching her stomach, crying, "It hurts, Auntie, my stomach hurts…"
Having been a mother herself, Hairanju didn't panic, but Atu's symptoms worsened quickly; she started throwing up and, not long after, had diarrhoea. Seeing her younger sister in such distress seemed to upset Yatu as well, who soon clutched her stomach, crying that it hurt too.
The children were sent back to Da Yuer, and a few doctors came to examine them. They asked about what the little girls had eaten, suspecting it might have been something unclean or simply that they had overeaten.
It wasn't until evening that Yatu fell asleep, and Atu finally stopped vomiting and having diarrhoea, though she clung to Da Yuer, unable to let go for even a moment.
At first, Hairanju stayed by her side, but eventually, as more people crowded the room, she stepped out, unsure if she'd be able to return. Instead, she sent Baoqing to check on the girls.
Now, Baoqing knelt beside Da Yuer and said, "After the little girls arrived, they just played embroidery with Consort Lan and didn't eat anything."
"I know. Yatu herself said she didn't eat anything at her aunt's," Da Yuer replied. "Don't worry yourself unnecessarily. Do you think I'd blame my sister? Kids overeat all the time."
Not long after Baoqing left, Adai came to report, "The doctors have checked the food the girls ate, and there's nothing unusual about it. It seems they really just ate too much. The Great Consort asks you not to worry; a couple of skipped meals should do the trick."
Da Yuer instructed her, "Tell Aunt that I'm not worried. They've had stomach upsets from overeating before; no need to alarm everyone."
Later that night, Hong Taiji came to see the children. After holding Atu for so long, Da Yuer's arms were completely sore, unable to lift even a teacup, which Hong Taiji noticed and felt sorry for.
He began massaging her arms as he watched the children lying beside them. With a smile, he said, "They'll grow up like this, little by little. With boys, we hope they grow up quickly so we can send them to the battlefield early for training. But with girls, we wish they'd stay young, so they could remain by our side forever."
Da Yuer rolled her eyes. "Easy for you to say. How many times do you even see them in a year? You forget the time Yatu saw you and was so scared that she cried and couldn't recognize her own father?"
Hong Taiji laughed, "There will be more time in the future."
Da Yuer asked offhandedly, "Not going to war anymore?"
Hong Taiji nodded, motioning for her to turn so he could massage her other arm. He said, "I mentioned it to you before. Next year, Nam Jung will be bringing the Imperial Jade Seal to pledge allegiance. I've decided that when she brings the seal, I will proclaim myself Emperor and change the country's name. Once I am Emperor, I won't personally lead battles as often. But I'm only telling you this now—keep it to yourself. The time hasn't come yet."
"You're going to be Emperor?"
"Yes. When the time comes, Jeje will be Empress, and you will be Imperial Consort."
Da Yuer was intrigued. "So we're going to be like the Han people now?"
Hong Taiji scoffed, "Nonsense! Emperors and empresses are not unique to the Han. There are realms beyond our own, you know?"
"I saw a pocket watch among the gifts Dorgon sent you," Da Yuer said with amazement. "Qiqige told me it came from somewhere very, very far away. She even showed me how to read it."
Hong Taiji asked, "Did you keep it?"
Da Yuer nodded seriously, "Am I not supposed to?"
Hong Taiji scolded, "Are you planning to play with the Imperial Seal next, too? You're completely unruly."
He accidentally squeezed her arm a little too hard, causing her to yelp in pain, which woke up Yatu.
Pampered by her parents, the child was fussy, asking for water, then food, and then jujubes as she clung to Hong Taiji and acted sweetly.
Da Yuer asked the nursemaid, "What jujube does she want?"
The nursemaid fell to her knees in fear, stammering, "Forgive me, forgive me…"
Da Yuer and Hong Taiji were baffled. "What is this about?" they asked.
Trembling, the nursemaid explained that the food checked by the Great Consort earlier was actually not what the girls had eaten. The girls had snuck a large bag of honeyed jujubes that morning and polished them off when no one was watching, so the nursemaid hadn't included them in the inspection.
Da Yuer shrugged it off. "Those were the honeyed jujubes from Qiqige, weren't they? There shouldn't be any problem. I've had some too."
But Hong Taiji's expression instantly darkened. He glared at the nursemaid as she explained to Da Yuer that the girls had eaten an entire bag, at least twenty to thirty jujubes in total.
Da Yuer tapped Yatu on the head, saying, "How big do you think your stomach is? Aren't you afraid of stuffing yourself?"
Hong Taiji said coldly, "You should be more careful with things sent from outside the palace."
"I understand. Don't be angry; children have no self-control when it comes to eating," Da Yu'er replied.
She knew well that even if the food was from inside the palace, there was always the danger of someone tampering with it. Vomiting and diarrhoea were minor troubles, but if someone's life were on the line, who knew whose head would roll?
Nowadays, all of Hong Taiji's food went through several rounds of inspection. As the power of Great Jin grew, his throne now, and his future emperorship, were sure to attract envy. Trustworthy people were few, and this was the harsh reality of "loneliness at the top," as the Han people said.
Hong Taiji had worries on his mind, but he didn't want Da Yuer to notice. Instead, he played with Yatu, whose giggles soon woke up Atu as well. Eventually, the nursemaids came to carry the children away, allowing Hong Taiji to finally rest. Da Yuer, unwilling to have her husband leave her side in the middle of the night, reluctantly let the children be taken away.
As they nestled close, Da Yuer couldn't help but feel any lingering resentment melt away, reminded of how he'd gone out of his way to see her the previous night. This man always found a way to make her happy; she knew she would be forever bound to him, heart and soul.
"Your Majesty…" she whispered.
Hong Taiji opened his eyes and lightly tapped her lips with a finger. "Didn't I tell you to keep that to yourself?"
Da Yuer laughed and asked, "Am I the first to call you that?"