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

But he personally sent those innocent people to the guillotine.

Emperor Qianwu was deeply distressed.

He recalled the days when he fought with so many brothers for the throne...

He once aspired to be a wise ruler.

And over the years, he believed he had done a fairly good job. He was not a tyrant, nor was he easily swayed by others; he worked diligently to govern, and his subjects lived in peace and prosperity…

But this incident made Emperor Qianwu begin to doubt the meaning of life.

……

Weiyang Palace.

It was already dark when the lights came on in Weiyang Palace.

Consort Zhen disliked darkness, so the palace was always brightly lit.

Zhou Mingyi knew that Emperor Qianwu would definitely come, so she deliberately pretended to wait for him.

Sure enough, Emperor Qianwu arrived during dinner.

She pretended to be unaware of the situation, and, supporting her large pregnant belly, tried to get up to pay her respects, but Emperor Qianwu stopped her.

"Don't move. You're heavily pregnant; there's no need for formalities."

Emperor Qianwu strode over and put his arm around her shoulder.

Zhou Mingyi didn't stand on ceremony and immediately leaned in softly, "Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

"I just had a dish of duck with rock sugar and bird's nest, and I thought it was quite good. Would Your Majesty like to try it?"

Emperor Qianwu was in a bad mood, and upon hearing this, he forced a smile.

"If my beloved consort thinks it's good, then I'll accompany her to try it."

Zhou Mingyi immediately ordered someone to add a bowl and chopsticks for Emperor Qianwu.

He looked terrible today; his brows were furrowed with exhaustion, and his eyes were bloodshot.

His face, which was originally quite handsome, now looks much older.

Zhou Mingyi frowned slightly, looking somewhat disgusted, and quickly lowered her head to look at her lower abdomen.

After a while, she raised her pretty little face.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

She clearly knew the truth, but pretended to be unaware.

Emperor Qianwu sat down beside her and took her hand.

Her hands were warm and soft, and as he held them, his agitation did not lessen at all.

"Ah Chang".

His voice was a little hoarse, "Today, I... made a decision."

Zhou Mingyi looked at him, eagerly waiting for him to continue.

Emperor Qianwu gazed out the window, his eyes distant.

"I hereby issue an imperial decree to retry Zhao Yannian's case."

Zhou Mingyi frowned, pretending to be gentle and considerate.

"I am not familiar with the affairs of the previous dynasty, but if it is a matter of concern to Your Majesty, I am willing to listen attentively."

Emperor Qianwu was already troubled and had countless things to say, so he couldn't care less about these matters.

They also failed to notice Zhou Mingyi's deliberate attempt to distance herself from the situation.

"It's the rising sun."

"She harmed Zhao Yannian; it was Chaoyang."

"She's set her sights on Zhao Yannian's son, and she also has her eye on my mines. How could a princess be so despicable?"

"Zhao Yannian refused, so she...she fabricated evidence of treason and killed Zhao Yannian's entire family."

His voice was trembling.

Zhou Mingyi scoffed inwardly.

She certainly knows how to shift the blame well; the imperial edict ordering the confiscation of property and execution was not issued by Princess Chaoyang.

Princess Chaoyang dared to do such a thing only because she was favored and protected by you.

If any member of the Zhao family survives, they will only hate you, you dog emperor!

But unfortunately, she is now a gentle and considerate imperial concubine.

Just as she was about to speak, Emperor Qianwu tightened his grip on Mingyi's hand again.

"Did I do something wrong? From childhood to adulthood, I've given her whatever she wanted."

"She caused trouble, and I cleaned up after her. She harmed people, and I covered for her. I thought that as my daughter, it was only natural for me to spoil her. But I didn't know that I would spoil her like this."

Zhou Mingyi looked at him, her gaze growing cold, and then she lowered her head slightly.

Yeah, so you deserve to die!

She clenched her fingers, her long nails freshly painted with henna that morning, and pinched them until they turned red, but she seemed oblivious to it.

But he said against his will, "Your Majesty, please don't say that."

"Her Highness is young; perhaps... she was just confused for a moment?"

Emperor Qianwu gave Zhou Mingyi a deep look. "Is she still young?"

"Ah Chang, she is a few months older than you. If she were as gentle and refined as you, she would never have done such a thing."

"Those are the lives of dozens of members of the Zhao family. How can they be easily dismissed with a mere 'moment of confusion'?"

Zhou Mingyi lowered her eyes and pursed her lips.

Yes, such disregard for human life is a result of your own indulgence.

Now that the truth has been discovered, you can't stand it?

As Emperor Qianwu looked at her, a strange feeling welled up inside him.

"Ah Chang, do you think I... am too cruel?"

Zhou Mingyi shook her head.

"This concubine dares not."

"I only feel that Her Highness the Princess is, after all, His Majesty's own daughter. If His Majesty punishes her too severely, I fear His Majesty will regret it later."

Emperor Qianwu frowned, but pulled her into his arms and sighed deeply.

"Ah Chang, you have a gentle nature and always think of others."

"What if our prince is as soft-hearted as you? What will happen in the future?"

Zhou Mingyi touched her lower abdomen and said, "Don't worry, my child will never be like you."

Zhou Mingyi leaned against his chest, "All I know is that a child is a blank slate. If Your Majesty and I teach him carefully, our child will surely become the best person in the world."

She then applied eye drops to his eyes.

Emperor Qianwu was a suspicious and protective man.

These two points have never changed.

She said that on purpose.

Princess Chaoyang was his biological daughter, and naturally, a father would love everything about his own daughter.

If it's not good, then it must be because someone else has corrupted his daughter.

As expected, Emperor Qianwu pondered for a moment before saying, "In those days, Consort Min was both beautiful and talented, Consort Rou was gentle as water, and Lady Chen..."

He frowned deeply. "I regret it!"

"When Lady Chen knelt before me and wept, I could not bear to see her and her daughter separated, so I promoted Lady Chen's rank so that she could raise Chaoyang."

"Looking back now, if Chaoyang had been raised by the talented and beautiful Consort Min or the gentle and kind Consort Rou, the outcome might have been different."

Tsk!

Zhou Mingyi inwardly cursed the shameless dog emperor.

That shameless bastard!

While Chen Shi certainly indulged Chaoyang, if he and the Empress Dowager had been willing to set rules for Chaoyang, she wouldn't have been so vicious and unscrupulous!

It's simply the confidence that comes from the mother and son.

Now that something has gone wrong, they're shifting all the blame onto the Chen family...

Emperor Qianwu now has no suspicion of Zhou Mingyi.

A woman carrying his precious child will inevitably be completely dependent on him; she is one of his own.

He was completely oblivious to the sarcasm in Zhou Mingyi's eyes.

He held her, resting his chin on the top of her head, and said in a deep voice, "I have already issued an edict to confine Chaoyang and Chen Shi to their quarters."

"Zhao Yannian's case should be tried as it should be. No one involved should be let off the hook."

"Every single thing that Lady Chen has done in the palace over the years must be thoroughly investigated; not a single detail can be overlooked!"

Zhou Mingyi leaned on his arm, raised her chin, and looked at him with admiration.

"Your Majesty is wise."

Emperor Qianwu flicked her nose, but his eyes showed even more distress.

"If I were truly wise, I wouldn't have been deceived by this mother and daughter until now. If it weren't for A-Chang saying these words, I would suspect that my beloved consort was mocking me."

Zhou Mingyi thought to herself, "No doubt about it, this is just a mockery of you."

But he said aloud, "Your Majesty, please don't overthink it."

"It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost."

"You are a wise ruler, but even tigers have their moments of weakness. Your kindness towards the princess will surely be understood."

After hearing this, Emperor Qianwu was pleased.

"To have one true friend like Ah Chang in one's life is enough."

Zhou Mingyi pressed her cheek against Emperor Qianwu's chest, "Why is Your Majesty thanking me?"

"The concubine did nothing."

Her voice was soft, but her face was expressionless.

Unfortunately, Emperor Qianwu could not see anything.

He simply held the person in his arms a little tighter, but then, afraid of pressing on her stomach, he gently loosened his grip a bit.

His worries eased a little, and he immediately had the mind to care about the child in Zhou Mingyi's womb.

"Was our little prince well-behaved today? Did he cause you any trouble?"

Zhou Mingyi couldn't tolerate anyone saying anything bad about the child in her womb.

So he pretended to punch him.

"My son is so well-behaved, he never bothers me. I eat well and sleep well. Look at my complexion, isn't it better than before?"

Zhou Mingyi is very protective of her own. This dog emperor is incompetent himself, yet he still wants to find fault with her son.

That won't do.

Emperor Qianwu did not understand Zhou Mingyi's implied meaning, but he still carefully held her shoulders and pulled her out of his arms.

He stared intently at the woman's face.

"Yes, my Chang is a woman of unparalleled beauty, and my son is exceptionally gifted; neither of them are ordinary people."

Zhou Mingyi smiled and said, "His Majesty's words are golden, so they are naturally the truth."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianwu burst into laughter.

The gloom of the day seemed to have dissipated slightly.

That night, the emperor wanted to stay overnight, but Zhou Mingyi politely declined.

Acting is acting, but not being able to sleep peacefully is unacceptable.

We have to get rid of them.

……

After leaving Weiyang Palace, Emperor Qianwu said, "You know, this Consort Zhen is just too virtuous."

"Every time I make a special trip to Weiyang Palace to accompany her, why does she always push me away?"

Fuquan broke out in a cold sweat as he listened.

To be honest, he was completely baffled.

Over the years, only two concubines in the imperial harem have become pregnant: Consort Chen and Consort Zhen.

Having served Emperor Qianwu for many years, Fuquan naturally had a vivid memory of Consort Chen's pregnancy back then.

In those days, besides Consort Chen, there were many other high-ranking concubines in the palace, such as Consort Lan, Consort Min, and Consort Rou.

Putting everything else aside, Consort Min was both beautiful and talented, a beauty that could topple kingdoms.

However, taking advantage of her pregnancy, Consort Chen monopolized His Majesty's time eight out of ten days.

If His Majesty went to other palaces, she would complain that the fetus was unwell and that she was in a bad mood.

Although His Majesty always brought the imperial physicians to see him, the physicians, though not daring to say it outright, understood the meaning.

The child is fine.

After a few times, His Majesty understood.

This was Consort Chen deliberately using her unborn child to gain favor.

Consort Zhen was very sensible and never competed for the emperor's favor.

Fu Quan thought to himself, “In the past, Consort Chen used her unborn child to compete for favor, and you thought she was being unreasonable.”

Now, even though Consort Zhen has a child, she is generous and sensible, yet you yourself are unhappy about it?

Isn't that just being a jerk?

But would Fuquan dare to say that?

He could only say, "Your Majesty is gentle, refined, and understanding; surely you don't want to put His Majesty in a difficult position?"

Emperor Qianwu was taken aback.

Difficult situation?

It's not difficult at all!

But then I thought about it again, Ah Chang has a gentle personality and is indeed very considerate...

Although, I still felt strange, as if I wasn't being cared about.

But Emperor Qianwu immediately rejected this idea.

How could Ah Chang not care about him?

That's impossible!

Emperor Qianwu remained silent for a moment, while Fuquan stood behind him, still bowing, waiting for him to speak.

"Go and see Consort Zheng."