The next day, the Eastern Palace suddenly grew lively.
Consort Yan was the first to visit. She did not say much, only sharing amusing stories from her pregnancy.
"Mo was a little rascal. He practiced martial arts in my belly from the very beginning. I knew then that he had to be a boy."
Jian Ruonan asked, "Mother, did you throw up when you were pregnant?"
Consort Yan said, "Yes. For the first three months, I threw up so much I couldn't eat anything. It got better after that, but my appetite still wasn't what it used to be."
Jian Ruonan asked, "Did giving birth hurt?"
Consort Yan said, "Terribly. It hurt so much I wanted to die. But the moment I saw my child born, I felt so happy."
When the Empress Dowager learned that Consort Yan had told Jian Ruonan about the discomfort of pregnancy and the pain of childbirth, she gave Consort Yan a thorough scolding.
"You should have told her you had no symptoms during pregnancy and that childbirth didn't hurt at all." Furious at her failure to do better, the Empress Dowager said, "She already can't bear hardship. Now that you've frightened her like this, she'll be even less willing to have a child."
After being reprimanded by the Empress Dowager, Consort Yan pleaded a headache and refused to visit the Eastern Palace again.
This daughter-in-law was not someone she could afford to provoke.
Whoever wanted to go could go.
With Consort Yan refusing, the Empress Dowager went herself.
The Empress Dowager was more direct. As soon as she sat down, she announced the purpose of her visit. "Crown Princess, giving birth doesn't hurt at all."
"With so many Imperial Physicians attending you, what is there to fear?"
"You're most precious when you're pregnant.