A middle-aged emperor, childless, was blessed with a beautiful and pregnant concubine who entered th

The female healer was skilled; with a few golden needles, she stopped the bleeding from Zhou Mingyi's lower body and seven orifices.

"Quick, check on the child! How is the child?"

The Empress Dowager hurriedly replied.

The significance of these two children to the royal family, especially to the mother and son, is immense.

The Empress Dowager was truly terrified, fearing that the child might not survive.

The blood from Consort Zhen's seven orifices and her lower body was truly horrifying.

Even after the bleeding stopped, the Empress Dowager's face still turned pale and she swayed precariously.

Zhu Lan quickly helped her up and kept whispering comforting words, "The Imperial Concubine and the two young princes are blessed by the heavens; they will surely be alright."

Physician Tao, Physician Chen, and the newly arrived Physician Lu dared not slack off in the slightest.

Physician Tao was the first to examine Zhou Mingyi's pulse.

However, the more they looked, the more solemn the expressions of the imperial physicians became, and they could not come up with a definite answer for a long time.

Zhou Mingyi was also asking about the system.

"Judging from the timeline, I've been poisoned for five days now. Is there any cure?"

System: "With current medical technology, it can be resolved."

Zhou Mingyi: "Oh."

She lay on the bed with her eyes closed, but she was fully conscious.

It can clearly perceive the emotional changes and facial expressions of the people.

This feeling is truly novel.

She had antidote pills redeemed from the system shop, so she was already immune to all poisons.

In addition, with the system's scanning function, it is perfectly clear when she was poisoned, what kind of poison she was poisoned with, and how she was poisoned.

She knew that Consort Chen, Princess Chaoyang, and perhaps someone else couldn't resist taking action against her.

The "baby" in her womb is only three months old.

Even if they don't take action now, she will actively create opportunities for them within the next two months.

Whoever bumps into it is responsible.

But given Consort Chen's and Princess Chaoyang's temperaments, they would definitely be the most unable to restrain themselves.

Sure enough, six days ago, Zhou Mingyi suddenly wanted to eat white fungus soup.

Therefore, the Imperial Kitchen would send over a bowl of white fungus soup every day.

On the first day, Zhou Mingyi noticed something unusual about the bowl of white fungus soup.

But the child in her womb was fake, so she naturally pretended not to notice and continued taking her medication as usual...

Just then, Emperor Qianwu arrived.

He was tall and imposing, dressed in a black dragon robe, with a powerful and domineering gait. Seeing so many people in the palace, he lowered his brow and asked, "What's going on here?"

"Mother, what brings you here?"

"Once the baby is born, you can see it every day, so there's no rush."

As he said this, there was even a faint smile in the corners of his eyes and brows.

After more than a decade without offspring, Ah Chang is now pregnant with twins at once!

Who can say I'm incapable?

He was somewhat smug.

If it weren't for this unexpected situation, the Empress Dowager would surely have been in the mood to joke with her son, saying, "You little rascal, you came right after court, why are you criticizing me instead?"

But right now, the Empress Dowager is in no mood for it at all.

She even had to find a way to hide it from Emperor Qianwu. Mother and child are of one heart. She was so heartbroken. If the emperor knew that his child might not survive, how heartbroken would he be?

But her expression betrayed her.

Aunt Zhulan immediately whispered, "Your Majesty..."

Emperor Qianwu had already noticed something amiss. "What's wrong?"

"I recall, isn't today the tenth day of the medical consultations?"

"This isn't the time for my daily routine of checking your pulse."

Emperor Qianwu's expression suddenly changed. "What's wrong with A-Chang?"

No one could stop him. Emperor Qianwu walked to Zhou Mingyi's bedside in a few steps and met a beautiful but pale face.

The blood flowing from her seven orifices had not yet been cleaned up when Shiliu brought over a basin of warm water, her hands and feet still trembling uncontrollably.

"Your Majesty, Shiliu has arrived. If anything happens to you or the two young princes, this servant will not live on!"

"This servant will continue to serve you and your two young masters once I'm downstairs!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianwu understood everything.

His heart skipped a beat.

Emperor Qianwu lived in a small palace with his mother from a young age. Because his mother was not favored, he experienced the coldness of human relationships from childhood.

You have to understand that the imperial harem is the most realistic place in the world.

Later, he gradually ascended to the throne, which represented high official power, and from then on, Xie Jinghong completely severed all feelings of love and affection.

He never truly loved any woman.

Even with his favorite Consort Zhen, who was most compatible with him in that aspect and gave him complete pleasure in bed, he only doted on her, not loved her.

To emperors, women were nothing more than a means to continue the family line and to satisfy their desires.

What is love?

But ever since he learned that she was pregnant with twins, she has truly gained a place in his heart.

He had no male heir, but she was able to give him twins, so he was willing to give her a relatively equal position.

His mindset is completely different from that of eighteen years ago when Consort Chen was pregnant.

At the time, he was happy, but he was well aware that even if Consort Chen gave birth to a prince, there was only a 50% chance that she would be made empress.

Consort Chen was of ordinary appearance, not particularly outstanding, and had limited knowledge and a rather unpleasant personality.

He could choose a foster mother for the prince who was of high birth, well-informed, and had a more pleasing temperament.

Later, Princess Chaoyang was born, but she was only a princess, which saved us some trouble.

But now, he has truly considered Zhou Mingyi. Even if she only gives birth to two princesses, that is still two, which is fundamentally different from Consort Chen.

Emperor Qianwu's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot, his voice became extremely low, and the air pressure around him instantly dropped to an extremely low level.

"Save her, at all costs."

Even abandoning the two children she was carrying...

"I will do everything I can to save my two children."

Emperor Qianwu closed his eyes tightly, and after a long while, he opened them again, his expression having regained some clarity.

If something happens to the mother, the baby will definitely not survive.

But if the mother's body can be saved, the child still has a chance.

Two babies, only three months old, faced certain death after leaving their mother's womb.

The three imperial physicians had sweat beading on their foreheads, and their hands trembled slightly.

"Yes, we will do our utmost!"

Zhou Mingyi felt herself being given several mouthfuls of herbal medicine, and her consciousness gradually returned.

"She's awake! Her Majesty is awake!"

Emperor Qianwu sat in front of Zhou Mingyi's bed, holding her fair and slender fingers tightly. Her fingers seemed to have become quite slender as well.

"Ah Chang, wake up."

Zhou Mingyi opened her eyes groggily, "What happened?"

She feigned surprise and confusion, but when she spoke, her voice was very hoarse, which was consistent with the fact that she had slept for a long time and hadn't had time to drink water.

She had barely finished speaking when she suddenly asked, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with me?"

"Did you sleep for too long?"

She struggled to get up, but her body felt limp and she had no strength at all, so she couldn't get up at all.

Why do I feel so weak?

She pinched the bridge of her nose, and could barely lift her arm.

She started acting again, "Huh? Why are there so many people in the room?"

"Pomegranate, what time is it?"

Shiliu hurriedly squeezed in, "Your Majesty, it's almost 7 PM."

Zhou Mingyi raised her arm to shield her eyes, as if her eyelids felt very heavy.

"Your Majesty, my eyelids are so heavy, I feel so tired, I have been impolite."

Emperor Qianwu held her with a look of tenderness, yet he was afraid of touching her lower abdomen, and his tall frame seemed somewhat at a loss...

He put his arm around Zhou Mingyi's shoulder and let her lean against him.

"It's alright, Ah Chang can do whatever she wants."

Zhou Mingyi laughed, "Your Majesty, you'll spoil me rotten if you keep doing this."

"Everyone is watching, even the Empress Dowager is watching."

Emperor Qianwu held Zhou Mingyi's hand tightly, "My Chang is a beauty of unparalleled grace, gentle and virtuous. I can spoil her no matter how much I pamper her."

A blush rose on Zhou Mingyi's pale face. "Your Majesty is trying to make me happy again."

The Empress Dowager couldn't help but smile bitterly, her heart filled with sorrow. Was it truly that even Heaven wouldn't allow her son to have an heir?

Just then, Zhou Mingyi suddenly said:

"Your Majesty, my lower abdomen is a little sore..."

She placed one hand on her lower abdomen, her brow furrowed. "Your Majesty, why does my lower abdomen hurt so much?"

"I feel as if something is falling down!"

She screamed, her voice trembling, "My child, Your Majesty, our child!"

Emperor Qianwu immediately flew into a rage, his emotions erupting in that instant: "Tao Xingzhi, I order you to save Consort Zhen!"

"Investigate the cause of Consort Zhen's and her unborn twin sons' health problems!"

Imperial Physician Tao was terrified, but reality did not allow him to be fearful. The most urgent task was to take care of Consort Zhen and the two little princes in her womb.

This is the hope that His Majesty and the Empress Dowager have been waiting for for more than ten years.

If Consort Zhen and her two unborn sons were to get into trouble, his life would be over!

He scrambled and stumbled, but could only try to remain calm.

"Your subject obeys!"

He led Physician Chen and Physician Lu to carefully examine Zhou Mingyi's pulse, and the three whispered among themselves.

At this critical moment of life and death, the three united like never before.

Tao Xingzhi knelt on the ground. "Your Majesty, has the Empress been taking cinnabar?"

The Empress Dowager's expression changed. "What?"

"How could Consort Zhen, who was pregnant, have taken cinnabar?"

Imperial Physician Tao didn't dare to raise his head. "But there are indeed traces of cinnabar in Her Majesty's body..."

Emperor Qianwu: "Guards, carefully check and verify everything that Consort Zhen eats and uses on a daily basis."

Shiliu mustered her courage and said, "Your Majesty, the Empress's daily meals and supplies are all taken care of by this servant and Sister Lianwu, and we never ask anyone else to help."

"This servant will help too!"

Wax apples nodded eagerly.

Only by following the Empress can we have a bright future.

They shared the same fate as the Empress, rising and falling together.

If the Empress's unborn child cannot be saved, but things go well, the Empress will gain more favor from His Majesty and the Empress Dowager, and perhaps she can conceive again in the future, and have a chance to rise again.

But if even the Empress can't be protected, then who can she and Shiliu rely on in the future?

After all, they were once Consort Zhen's people. Now, in this harem, only Consort Lan and Consort Zhen are on good terms.

People like Lady Yun only want to attach themselves to the Empress; they don't genuinely want to befriend her.

Returning to Consort Lan, it is said that Consort Lan and His Majesty were childhood sweethearts, so she must have deeply loved His Majesty.

From a woman's perspective, who could truly befriend a woman who has borne children with the man they deeply love?

Lianwu knew very well that the relationship between Consort Lan and her own empress was more of an implicit alliance formed against Consort Chen.

Anyway, Consort Lan herself couldn't have children, and she had a falling out with Consort Chen back then.

Therefore, rather than Consort Chen becoming pregnant again, it would be better for it to be one of our own concubines...

If something were to happen to her mistress, how much value would she and Shiliu have in Consort Lan's eyes?