The concubines went to Yikun Palace to pay their respects to the Queen.

After paying their respects, the concubines sat in their seats.

Concubine Chun was the first to say, "It is really worth celebrating that there is a wedding in the palace at the same time."

When Concubine Jia heard Concubine Chun bring the conversation to the topic of offspring, she recalled the rumors in the palace and asked casually.

"I heard that the Queen's taste has changed recently. She likes to eat anything spicy. All three meals a day in Yikun Palace are spicy dishes."

"I thought it was a rumor, but when I came to pay my respects to the Queen today and smelled the lingering spicy smell in the palace, I realized it was true."

When Ruyi heard that the sour boy and spicy girl's words were indeed spreading throughout the palace and even Concubine Jia asked about it in public, she knew that her plan had worked.

Thinking that everyone thought she was pregnant with a princess, she didn't know how to laugh at herself as the queen.

She just had to wait for her baby to be born full term. After giving birth to the prince safely, she would be able to hold her head high in the palace.

Thinking of this, Ruyi felt extremely proud.

Ruyi said, "I don't know what's wrong with me lately. I just love spicy food. Apart from spicy food, I can't eat anything else."

"My mother came to visit me yesterday. She felt a headache when she saw the spicy dishes on the table, so she asked her to accommodate my taste. Now that I think about it, I was inconsiderate."

Yanwan thought to herself, it’s a good thing you still knew this.

Concubine Jia really wanted to know whether the Queen was pregnant with a princess, but since the Queen was served by the imperial physician Jiang Yubin, it was impossible for her to get any useful information from him.

Concubine Jia was afraid that this was a trap set by the Queen, so she asked tentatively, "There is a saying among the people that sour boys and spicy girls make for spicy girls. Could it be that the Queen is pregnant with a princess?"

This is exactly the effect Ruyi wanted. "What about the princess? What about the prince? Aren't they both the children of the emperor and me? Regardless of whether they are princesses or princes, I love them equally."

Among the concubines present, only Concubine Chun had given birth to a princess. Concubine Chun recalled: "That's what I said, but I remember that when I was pregnant with the fourth princess, I didn't like spicy food as much as the queen did."

Concubine Jia seemed to sense something. Seeing that Concubine Jia was suspicious, Ruyi secretly hated Concubine Chun for talking nonsense and ruining her plan, so she quickly gave Concubine Yu a look.

Yupin understood and said, "Everyone has different physiques and different food preferences. When I was pregnant with Yongqi, although I didn't like sour food very much, I couldn't eat spicy food either."

"The Empress has such strong tastes, she must be a princess. Even if she is a princess, she will be the most honorable Gulun Princess in the Qing Dynasty, just like Princess Hejing!"

Even Yupin said so, so it must be true, right? Jiafei thought so.

Yanwan was too lazy to play the game of guessing the boy or the girl, so she signaled Chunchan behind her to bring the food over.

Yan Wan said: "Whether it is a prince or a princess, they are both the flesh and blood of the emperor and the queen. What's the difference?"

"The weather is getting warmer. I made delicious sour plum soup with fresh plums. I brought it to you sisters today to have a taste."

A bowl of sour plum soup was placed on the seats of Ruyi and each concubine.

Concubine Chun and Yi Huan took a bite first, "Concubine Ling is thoughtful. This tastes really good. Everyone, come and try Concubine Ling's cooking skills."

Yi Huan also said: "This bowl of sour plum soup is sweet and sour, it can relieve the heat and stimulate the appetite, it's really good."

Seeing that Concubine Chun and Concubine Shu had no problem drinking it, Concubine Jia, who was pregnant and had been craving for these things, also took a sip and found it tasted really good.

While drinking, Concubine Jia joked, "Concubine Ling's cooking skills are really good. It seems that she has learned a lot of skills in serving the emperor over the years."

Yi Huan said, "Sister Yan Wan is smart and eager to learn. She learns everything quickly. The emperor likes her whenever he sees her."

Concubine Jia said, "Concubine Ling has been serving the Emperor for quite some time, and has always been favored by the Emperor. How come she is still pregnant?"

Yi Huan came to Yan Wan's rescue and said, "What's the big deal? I entered the palace a few years earlier than Sister Yan Wan, and I gave birth to the Tenth Prince just last year. Sister Yan Wan is still young, and the Emperor loves her so she will definitely have children."

Concubine Jia stopped talking and just concentrated on drinking the sour plum soup.

Yan Wan saw that the other concubines had drunk some, but Ruyi didn't touch anything. "Does the Queen not like it?"

Ruyi looked straight ahead, pretending that the bowl of delicious sour plum soup was not beside her.

Rong Pei rebuked Yan Wan, "The Queen only wants to eat spicy food and can't eat anything else. Concubine Ling knew all this, but she still came to offer sour plum soup to the Queen. What is she thinking?!"

After saying that, Rong Pei stepped forward and took Ruyi's bowl of sour plum soup away.

Yan Wan looked at Ruyi and apologized in a low voice: "I was inconsiderate, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

When Ruyi saw that all the concubines were drinking sour plum soup with gusto, she felt that Yanwan was deliberately making things difficult for her. She wanted to ask Yanwan what she was trying to do, and whether she was trying to help Concubine Jia test her?

Yan Wan appeared sincere on the surface, but she was secretly dissatisfied in her heart.

Seeing that you and your servant only know how to bully others in your own circle, do you think that if you drink some sour plum soup in public, the concubines will recognize that you are pregnant with a prince?

I've given you a perfect opportunity to drink sour plum soup, but you don't even dare to take a sip. How cowardly you are.

You're asking me what I want to do. What can I possibly want to do? Of course I'm going to tempt you with your favorite sour food!

Look at you, Ruyi, how you’re staring at the sour plum soup with greed. You’re the queen, but your saliva is almost all over the floor. Aren’t you ashamed?

After all the concubines had left, it was finally midnight.

It happened that Rong Pei was on duty. After turning off the lights, Rong Pei sneaked into Ruyi's bedroom carrying a fruit plate and lit a candle.

Ruyi was wrapped in a quilt and kept stuffing sour dried apricots into her mouth with a fork.

Rong Pei leaned against the bed to illuminate Ruyi, "Eat slowly, Queen. I hid a lot of it when no one was paying attention. If it's not enough, I'll go get some more for you."

Ruyi ate the sour dried apricots with great satisfaction, "I eat those spicy dishes every day. I feel like I'm about to be burned by the spiciness. I feel like I can spit fire!"

"The bowl of sour plum soup that Concubine Ling had today looked really good. I was so greedy after seeing it!"

Rong Pei sneered, "Empress Ling Fei is really good at scheming. She wanted to use a bowl of sour plum soup to test the Empress's true strength. It's a pity that she made the wrong idea!"

Ruyi said: "Empress Ling's mind is hard to predict. Who knows what she is up to? Sigh, it's still not sour enough."

Rong Pei said distressedly: "The Queen had a really hard time being pregnant. She even had to eat dried apricots secretly. The Queen was really suffering."

"However, once the Queen gives birth to a prince safely, all the hardships will be over! Queen, please eat as much as you can. I will be watching outside for you."

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