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

Looking back now... it has quite a profound meaning.

On the surface, that male favorite surnamed Xu was just a down-on-his-luck scholar, but he caught the eye of Emperor Qianwu.

Was this Emperor Qianwu's original intention, or Princess Chaoyang's?

Or is it that this male favorite surnamed Xu is an ambitious person?

Zhou Mingyi gently pinched the bridge of her nose with her slender fingers, beginning to ponder the relationships between these people...

Finally, my thoughts drifted back to Emperor Qianwu.

Why did Emperor Qianwu receive a prince's lover into the palace?

She had already heard about Emperor Qianwu's attitude.

The day the Crown Prince went to the Qianqing Palace, Fuquan didn't find out the whole story of what the father and son talked about, but he managed to glean a single sentence.

His Majesty ordered the Crown Prince to investigate Chaoyang's activities outside the palace over the years.

Send the Crown Prince to investigate Chaoyang.

This in itself is an attitude.

What does that mean? Is it to use the Crown Prince to investigate, or to test the Crown Prince, or... to test both sides?

Zhou Mingyi's lips curved into a smile.

interesting.

What she found even more interesting was that Emperor Qianwu had been visiting her at Chang Le Palace every day for the past few days.

Sometimes it's afternoon, sometimes it's evening, and sometimes it's late at night.

He didn't say much when he arrived, just sat down for a while, asked about her health, and said a few words to help her take good care of herself.

Each time, she would feign emotion, her eyes slightly red, her voice choked with sobs, saying, "Your Majesty, I will definitely take good care of myself and in the future... in the future, I will bear children for Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianwu would hold her hand and say, "I know you are a good person."

But Zhou Mingyi could see that Emperor Qianwu didn't believe it at all.

Zhou Mingyi slightly curled the corners of her lips.

Because she doesn't believe it, she'll be even more overjoyed when she actually gets pregnant, won't she?

The hope in Emperor Qianwu's eyes was only temporarily extinguished.

Only a full-scale counterattack in the future can make the fire burn brightly and intensely.

She knew that this pregnancy was Emperor Qianwu's last hope.

Your Majesty is thirty-seven this year. At this age, although it is not impossible for you to have children, your health is declining year by year.

The loss of her pregnancy, and the loss of her twins, was a greater blow to Emperor Qianwu than to anyone else.

She remembered that day, when Emperor Qianwu stood outside the delivery room, listening to her screams, the midwife's exclamations, and the silent stillness after the two children were born.

He didn't say anything, he just stood there for a long time.

Later he came in and glanced at the two children.

He glanced at it once, then turned and left.

Zhou Mingyi was lying in bed at that time, covered in sweat, but she saw that look in his eyes very clearly.

That wasn't the look you give a stillborn baby.

That was the look in his eyes as he saw his last glimmer of hope shattered.

Therefore, Emperor Qianwu visits her every day out of guilt.

He felt he hadn't been able to protect her and had caused her so much suffering.

But she insisted on saying that she would bear children for His Majesty in the future, which was like rubbing salt into his wounds.

Zhou Mingyi felt that after being reborn, she suddenly understood life.

Only when the pain is intense enough can it be unforgettable.

……

Zhou Mingyi leaned back on the soft pillows and sighed softly.

This sigh was for those eavesdropping ears to hear.

As for her own heart, she didn't actually feel any regret at all.

Her pregnancy was fake from the start.

Those two "stillborn" were inanimate objects created by the system.

She wasn't sad at all; on the contrary, she felt that the situation had been perfectly arranged.

When Emperor Qianwu became disheartened, he would think of other ways.

What other methods can we think of?

Zhou Mingyi's gaze fell on the cup of tea, which had gone cold, with a thin layer of white floating on the surface.

She thought of that scholar surnamed Xu again.

Why did Emperor Qianwu summon him to the palace?

What can a princess's male favorite do?

A thought suddenly occurred to her...

This thought made her sit up straight immediately.

Could it be that the scholar surnamed Xu was the consort chosen by Emperor Qianwu for Princess Chaoyang?

Why choose a male concubine when you can choose a consort?

wrong!

It's not about choosing a son-in-law.

He's a stallion!

An insignificant person, a person without any foundation, a person who can be manipulated and crushed at any time.

Zhou Mingyi suddenly understood.

ha?

She suddenly smiled.

She figured it all out.

Emperor Qianwu wasn't even genuinely looking for a husband for Chaoyang; he only wanted Chaoyang to give birth to that man's child.

That child was Emperor Qianwu's grandson, and since he had Emperor Qianwu's blood in him, he was not an outsider.

After the child is born... the father will leave, and the child will remain!

Emperor Qianwu is... this is simply cutting off the source of the problem!

Absolutely amazing!

She slowly leaned back against the soft pillow, her smile deepening.

interesting!

So much fun!

She had thought that this was just a battle between the Crown Prince and Chaoyang.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Qianwu himself also got involved.

And they went in so deep, so early.

What about her?

What should she do?

Zhou Mingyi closed her eyes and slowly made plans in her mind.

She doesn't have to do anything.

Or rather, all she needed to do was one thing—make the fire burn even brighter.

Let the Crown Prince know that Emperor Qianwu had summoned Chaoyang's male favorite.

Let Chaoyang know that the Crown Prince is investigating her.

This was to let Emperor Qianwu know that both sides had already started making moves.

She was just a pitiful woman who had just suffered a miscarriage, heartbroken day and night, weeping every night.

A devoted man who still talks about bearing children for His Majesty in the future.

She will continue to recuperate, continue to drink those bitter medicines, and continue to say those words that make him feel guilty and moved when Emperor Qianwu comes, with tears in her eyes.

Then, sit back and watch the tigers fight.

Zhou Mingyi opened her eyes, picked up the cup of tea that had gone cold, and took a small sip.

The tea was cold, but her heart was warm.

……

Meanwhile, at the Princess's residence.

Chaoyang leaned against the chaise lounge, holding a letter in his hand.

The letter was delivered from the palace by her people; it contained only a few lines of text, but she read it for a long time.

Xu Yan was summoned to the palace.

It was personally passed down by the Emperor.

Chaoyang's brows suddenly furrowed.

She couldn't understand for a moment why her father wanted to summon Xu Yan to the palace.

To Chaoyang, Xu Yan was initially nothing more than a fake.

His appearance does resemble Zhou Mingchong's somewhat, but upon closer inspection, they are different.

Zhou Mingchong was handsome, but also proud and unyielding.

Xu Yan was different; he... was quite adaptable...

However, Xu Yan did have some insight and knew to advise her to seize power...

Yes, she has exceptional advantages. She is the emperor's only son, so why can't she rule the country?

Who does Xie Jing think he is?

The Xie family's relatives are nothing but dogs, the losers among those who competed for the throne all those years ago!

What qualifications does he have?

Is it simply because he is a man?

What about men? What about women?

From childhood to adulthood, Chaoyang never believed that women were necessarily inferior to men.

Because she was Emperor Qianwu's only son.

She was never neglected because of her gender.

Xu Yan said that outsiders respected and feared her only because she was her father's daughter.

Not because she is the rising sun...

She thought about those words all night, and then she understood.

Xu Yan is right.

She needs to make people respect and fear her because she is the rising sun, so she has to compete, grab, and break the traditions of the Great Zhou Dynasty that have lasted for hundreds of years.

Before her, no princess had a fiefdom or estate, nor was any princess allowed to maintain a private army.

So after her, when she ascends the throne, who will dare to say that women are inferior to men?

Who dares to say that a woman cannot be an emperor!

In that instant, Chaoyang's ambition reached its peak!

In the past, her scheming against the concubines in the harem and her picking on Xie Jing were all out of jealousy.

But now, Chaoyang realizes that everything she did in the past could pave the way for her own ambitions.

All of this... is just too much of a coincidence!

It was precisely because Xu Yan enlightened her that he held a certain place in her heart, and even became somewhat different from her.

But it's just that it's somewhat special; it's not that it's particularly important.

At this moment, the Emperor suddenly summoned Xu Yan, which made Chaoyang think twice.

Did Xu Yan do something else behind my back?

Other things... things she didn't know.

Her gaze was deep, and her brows were slightly furrowed.

Xu Yan was her male favorite. Although this was a secret, if the Emperor wanted to investigate, he could naturally find out.

It has been found out. Why was he summoned to the palace? What was the purpose of summoning him to the palace?

Is it a question? A warning? Or...?

She suddenly sat up straight.

Or perhaps, Father Emperor wants to see him?

I want to see what this person looks like, what their background is, and whether they are qualified...

Chaoyang suddenly realized a possibility.

Is Father Emperor looking for Xu Yan?

Otherwise, why would he suddenly summon a failed scholar, especially one with whom he had some connection...? She couldn't find any other reasonable explanation.

Chaoyang understood Emperor Qianwu; he never fought a battle without preparation, nor did he do anything without a reason.

That's why Chaoyang felt at ease.

What the Emperor said in the Imperial Study was tantamount to giving his stance.

But why is he looking at Xu Yan?

Could it be... that she wants to see if he's qualified to be her husband?

The thought of this possibility made Chaoyang's heart skip a beat.

Prince Consort?

She had never thought of this word before.

She said she would never marry; that was a message she gave to her father, the emperor, and the path she paved for herself.

But what if her father didn't allow her to remain unmarried for life, but instead forced her to marry?

Marry someone chosen by your father, the emperor.

Have a child...

Chaoyang had a vague idea in her mind, but it wasn't the answer she wanted.

Her expression suddenly turned rather unpleasant.

She remembered what her father had said in the imperial study.

He said, "I understand."

At the time, she thought he was tacitly agreeing.

Now it seems that Father Emperor may not have meant it that way.

He might even have other intentions...

Chaoyang's fingers tightened slightly, and the letter crumpled under her grip.

But then I thought about it again, and that didn't seem right.

If the Emperor really wanted her to marry, why did he choose Xu Yan?

Xu Yan was just a failed scholar from a humble background with no connections.

What use is a prince consort like that?

Chaoyang never doubted Emperor Qianwu's love for her; she was his only child, and it was this exclusivity that gave her absolute confidence.

This uniqueness makes it all the more precious.

Even though her father knew perfectly well that the two pieces of flesh in that wretched woman Zhou's belly might be related to her being aborted, she did not receive the slightest punishment.

The same goes for the Empress Dowager.

While feeling sorry for Lady Zhou, he indulged his father in not punishing her.

In Chaoyang's view, this was tantamount to indulgence.

It's about protecting her.