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

"I listened to her for an hour."

Emperor Qianwu stood up, walked around the imperial desk, and slowly approached her with his tall and upright figure.

"After listening, I asked her a question."

He stopped in front of her, looking down at her. Consort Chen had her head down and could only see the tips of his boots, which were bright yellow and embroidered with dragon patterns.

She didn't dare to look up, afraid of seeing his imposing expression.

"I asked her,"

Emperor Qianwu's voice descended from above, "Did you think these words yourself, or was someone taught you to say them?"

Consort Chen's breath hitched.

She suddenly raised her head and met Emperor Qianwu's eyes.

There was no anger or murderous intent in those eyes, only something indescribable.

It's like scrutinizing, like weighing, like encompassing everything, carrying a strong sense of inquiry and indifference.

"concubine……"

Her voice trembled slightly, "I don't know what Chaoyang said..."

"Yeah?"

Emperor Qianwu did not look away.

"Then let me ask you," he said, "how much do you know about Consort Zhen's miscarriage?"

Chen Fei's mind went blank.

I finally got to the bottom of this!

Consort Zhen suffered a miscarriage...that box of medicine...

Her knees buckled, and she almost knelt down again, but Emperor Qianwu grabbed her wrist.

His hand supported her arm, not too hard, but it made her unable to move.

"Consort Chen," his voice lowered, "I'll ask you one more time, how much do you know?"

Consort Chen's lips were trembling.

She wanted to say she didn't know, that she knew nothing at all.

But she knew that Emperor Qianwu hadn't come to ask her anything. Chaoyang had already told her that she couldn't accept the child in Zhou's womb.

Consort Chen already knew about this.

In fact, she was happy to see it.

At the time, however, she did not know that she would never be able to conceive a dragon child again.

Chaoyang was clearing obstacles for herself, including her own birth mother...

Even though His Majesty had been childless for a long time, Chaoyang still sent medicine to all the concubines in the harem, including her own birth mother...

Truly...truly...extremely vicious!

His Majesty guessed it!

"I..." Her voice was dry and hoarse, like sandpaper, "I only just..."

What?

Only then did he begin to doubt his own daughter?

I only found out now that the medication I've been taking for four years might have a problem?

Only then did I understand what all those little trinkets Chaoyang had given me over the years, those worthless little trinkets, those childish little trinkets, were all.

She was unable to speak.

Emperor Qianwu looked at her, and the indescribable look in his eyes slowly faded away.

He released his grip, turned around, walked back behind his desk, and sat down again.

"The morning sun told me this today."

His voice returned to its usual flat tone: "The Crown Prince is unfit to be a ruler, the imperial clan members are mediocre and incompetent, and there is no one in the court to whom the state can be entrusted."

"She said that she was my only child, a descendant of the Xie family, and that she could not allow the Xie family's empire to fall into the hands of others."

He paused.

She also said that she was willing to remain unmarried for life to share my burdens.

She will never marry.

To share my burdens.

Upon hearing these words, Consort Chen's mind suddenly cleared.

Remaining unmarried for life means having no husband and no powerful relatives. Sharing my burdens means she can legitimately participate in court affairs, and legitimately…

She remembered the look in Chaoyang's eyes when he looked at her that day.

Confident and self-assured.

Rebellious.

But there was something else in those eyes.

What is that?

Consort Chen couldn't understand it.

Emperor Qianwu looked at her expression and suddenly smiled.

Chen is foolish; her true colors can be seen at a glance. Unless she's still pretending now, then she and her daughter Chaoyang have been underestimated from the very beginning!

"Do you know how I answered her?"

Consort Chen shook her head.

Emperor Qianwu's gaze fell on the folded document on his desk.

"I say," his voice was light and airy, "I understand."

These four short words seem to say nothing at all, yet they also say everything.

Emperor Qianwu did not speak again.

The hall fell silent again, with only the dripping of the water clock.

After a long time, so long that Consort Chen's legs went numb, Emperor Qianwu finally raised his head again.

"Let's go back."

Consort Chen opened her mouth, as if to say something, but found that she couldn't say anything at all.

She bowed and turned to leave.

As he reached the door, Emperor Qianwu's voice suddenly came from behind him:

"Consort Chen".

She stopped in her tracks, but did not turn around.

"Keep those things Chaoyang gave you safe and sound," Emperor Qianwu's voice was devoid of emotion.

Consort Chen's heart clenched.

She got it.

Emperor Qianwu knew everything.

But Chaoyang was his only child, and that was the child's lifeline.

That's why she can be so unscrupulous.

Even if her own child schemes against her to death, she, as the biological mother, will undoubtedly stand firmly on her side.

Because she had no other choice.

……

Weiyang Palace.

Zhou Mingyi leaned against the soft pillows and listened to Lianwu finish speaking, remaining motionless for a long time.

Since her miscarriage, she has stopped burning other incense in her palace; now she burns sandalwood.

She began chanting Buddhist scriptures and copying sutras every day to pray for her two unfortunate children.

Even though she knew the child was fake, the system made it so realistic that she, as the mother, couldn't rest easy if she didn't do something for the child.

The rich sandalwood scent, in its delicate wisps, soothes the mind and nourishes the spirit.

She held a Buddhist scripture in her hand, her eyes clear and showing no sign of weariness.

"You mean," she began slowly, "that His Majesty summoned Princess Chaoyang first, and then met with Consort Chen?"

"Yes."

Lianwu bowed deeply and lowered her voice, "It is said that Consort Chen stood in Qianqing Palace for almost half an hour. When she came out, her face was frighteningly pale, and she was even a little unsteady on her feet."

"As for Her Highness, when she went in, her expression was meek and submissive, but when she came out..."

Lianwu glanced at her mistress's expression and whispered, "I heard that her back is straighter than when she came."

Zhou Mingyi chuckled softly.

Is your back straighter now?

That means we've obtained something, or confirmed something.

She would never marry, dedicating herself to sharing His Majesty's burdens.

What a boastful tone!

Princess Chaoyang's ambitions were even greater than she had imagined.

That's really interesting!

Originally, Zhou Mingyi only intended to kill Chaoyang and Consort Chen, the mother and daughter. After all, in her previous life, it was Chaoyang who personally ordered the killing of her brother and skinning him alive.

Consort Chen, Emperor Qianwu, and even the Empress Dowager were all accomplices!

Knowing that Chaoyang was so ambitious, Zhou Mingyi suddenly felt that the path of revenge might be even more interesting than she had imagined.

"What did His Majesty say?" she asked.

Lianwu lowered her head again: "Your Majesty said... I understand."

Zhou Mingyi raised an eyebrow.

I know?

That's it?

These four words are truly profound.

Neither agreeing nor refusing, it simply floated down, leaving people to figure it out themselves.

After Chaoyang returned home, he probably spent the whole night thinking about it, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that there was a chance.

She suddenly felt like laughing.

In her previous life, she was a concubine in the Eastern Palace, where she had to deal with the Crown Princess's difficult behavior and the open and covert attacks from the women in the harem.

I occasionally heard people talk about the princess, but I just thought of her as a golden branch and jade leaf, a favored daughter of heaven. I never thought that this princess had such a big plan in mind.

Never to marry?

If these words were spoken, the old foxes in the imperial court would probably be in an uproar.

A princess, who never married, remained in the palace to help the emperor handle state affairs...

What's the difference between that and the crown prince?

She gazed at the ceiling, her eyes deep and unfathomable.

What happened to Chaoyang in his previous life?

She doesn't remember very clearly.

At that time, she was trapped in the confines of the Eastern Palace, enduring day and night, until finally she lost her life.

Occasionally, when people mention the princess, they only say that she still lives in the princess's palace, is still favored, and is still unrestrained and flamboyant.

But now that I think about it, with Chaoyang's ambition, how could he have done nothing in his previous life?

Unless—she did it, but failed.

Zhou Mingyi's fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the bed, once, once.

What couldn't be accomplished in the previous life, can it be accomplished in this one?

Princess Chaoyang had already begun her plans.

She sent medicine to all the concubines in the harem. If Emperor Qianwu had not been childless, it is likely that none of the children in the harem would have been born.

Fortunately, she has a fertility pill produced by the system. It will be very interesting when she actually gets pregnant and can't abort or kill the child.

Zhou Mingyi's lips curved into a smile.

The two children that Chaoyang aborted this time were not real.

However, this caused a rift between Emperor Qianwu and Consort Chen towards Princess Chaoyang.

Thinking about it that way, the fake pregnancy pills are really worth it!

Two groups of people, each with their own agendas, bumped into each other inside her belly.

They complement each other and each get what they need.

As Zhou Mingyi thought of this, the smile on her lips deepened.

interesting.

She looked up at Lianwu: "Any further developments from Consort Chen's side?"

Lianwu thought for a moment: "After Consort Chen returned, her maid Chen went out of the palace. However, Chen was cautious, and our people only followed her to the south pharmacy before losing her."

Lost them?

Could her destination be that pharmacy?

Zhou Mingyi's eyes flickered slightly.

Given Emperor Qianwu and Empress Dowager's control over the harem, it's impossible that they didn't know her miscarriage was related to the Crown Prince and Princess Chaoyang.

As for Consort Liu, she was merely a scapegoat pushed out.

The palace maid who tried to throw away her white fungus soup and destroy the evidence immediately implicated Consort Liu and even brought out Princess Chaoyang's pearl beauty and calming pills.

Zhou Mingyi felt it was no coincidence.

Upon investigation, it was indeed found to be related to the Crown Prince's Palace.

However, the Crown Prince acted cautiously and left no clear traces.

But as long as there are some clues, Zhou Mingyi will take it as a certainty.

Apart from Chaoyang and the East Palace, although the people in the harem were also unwilling for her to give birth to a prince and receive exclusive favor, they dared not so openly target her unborn child.

Only Chaoyang and Donggong had an absolute reason to take action.

Princess Chaoyang was Emperor Qianwu's only child. Even if they knew she was the one who did it, Emperor Qianwu and the Empress Dowager could not really take action against her without any other imperial heirs.

So, did Consort Chen get some kind of inspiration and start to suspect her own daughter?

For example, those pearl beauty and calming pills sent to various palaces?

She had a system; even though she knew the pills contained cinnabar powder, she still ate them.

Anyway, it's harmless to the body, but if Princess Chaoyang has any tricks up her sleeve and she doesn't even take the first hit, how will she continue the show?

That was really interesting.

The mother and daughter grew estranged and began to distrust each other.

While Consort Chen was investigating the medicine her daughter had sent, Chaoyang was plotting to remain unmarried for life.

What will Consort Chen's expression be when she discovers the secret behind that medicine?

Zhou Mingyi suddenly felt a sense of anticipation.

"wax apple."

She spoke softly, "Keep a close eye on what's happening at Chang Le Palace."

"Especially regarding Granny Chen's investigation of the medicine, tell me immediately whatever she finds."

Lianwu agreed, but hesitated slightly: "Your Highness, is there anything this servant needs to do for the medicine?"

Zhou Mingyi shook her head.

"No need," she said. "Let them check it themselves."

Let them investigate themselves.

Only what is found through investigation is true.

What you discover yourself is what you remember most deeply.

All she had to do was wait, wait for the day when Consort Chen would learn the truth.

A mother discovers that her own daughter administered sterilization medication to her for four years...

Even knowing that Emperor Qianwu was struggling to have an heir, she still poisoned her own mother, extinguishing her hopes...

That scene must be very interesting.