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

Princess Chaoyang's expression darkened as soon as she left the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace.

She made a few inquiries and learned that the Golden Beauty had moved from a side hall to the main hall of the palace.

He had the air of a petty person who had achieved his goal.

Not only did the number of servants double, but the number of guards patrolling near the palace also doubled.

That beautiful woman, Jin, became arrogant because of the emperor's favor. She demanded abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, and fish maw for every meal, as well as fine silks and satins, pearls from the south, and gemstones from the Western Regions...

With such a high profile, it's hard for anyone not to know about it.

Princess Chaoyang's face darkened; she felt as if something that rightfully belonged to her had been stolen away.

From the attitudes of her grandmother and father, Princess Chaoyang understood that she could not act rashly.

If she gets caught doing something wrong again like last time, her father and grandmother will not let her off the hook.

Last time, Princess Chaoyang acted so recklessly, directly ordering Emperor Qianwu's secret guards to take action, because she was confident that even if the Empress Dowager and Emperor Qianwu knew that she was the one who did it, they would not do anything to her.

Even if they can't harm themselves, they might take their anger out on their mother.

But since her mother gave birth to her, even if she suffered some grievances, it wouldn't seriously harm her.

Therefore, Princess Chaoyang had no scruples.

But, this child of Jin Meiren...

Princess Chaoyang thought long and hard but couldn't come up with a good solution, so she decided to be patient and remain inactive.

Soon, she noticed something was wrong.

Although Consort Jin's treatment improved dramatically, it seemed that the Emperor did not make a special trip to visit her. He still visited Consort Zhen's Weiyang Palace most often, just like before.

That Consort Zhen was truly a vixen!

Speaking of Consort Zhen, Princess Chaoyang couldn't help but think of her elder brother who worked at the Hanlin Academy.

Princess Chaoyang dared not openly harass Zhou Mingchong.

But Zhou Mingchong was like prey that she hadn't yet caught, and he would tease her from time to time.

During her trip to Jiangnan, Princess Chaoyang brought back several male concubines.

One of them looked somewhat like Zhou Mingchong.

Before meeting Zhou Mingchong, Chaoyang thought that the male concubine surnamed Xu was quite nice.

However, compared to Zhou Mingchong, who was dressed in official robes and embroidered badges, he was far inferior.

Princess Chaoyang was so angry that she ignored that male favorite for several days.

……

Besides Consort Zhen in Weiyang Palace, Emperor Qianwu's most frequent destination was Consort Yun's.

Yun Mei's life wasn't particularly beautiful, but her long, jet-black hair was truly like clouds and satin, and she seemed to have a very gentle personality.

One afternoon, about two weeks later, Zhou Mingyi and Consort Yun were enjoying flowers and tea in the Imperial Garden when they suddenly heard that a disturbance had broken out in Consort Jin's palace.

Yun Meiren immediately stood up, a hint of nervousness on her beautiful face.

"What happened in Consort Jin's palace?"

Zhou Mingyi pressed her down, "Sister, don't rush, sit down."

Consort Yun frowned, but finally sat down and explained, "Consort Jin is carrying His Majesty's child, and there is no room for error. I'm just... a little anxious."

Zhou Mingyi glanced at her.

She has been seeing Yun Meiren for about half a month.

On the surface, all the women in the palace appeared to be deeply devoted to Emperor Qianwu.

But Zhou Mingyi understood that when it comes to interests, women are good at pretending and acting.

Just like how Emperor Qianwu still believes she is sincere and kind.

"Sister, you are overthinking it. Consort Jin has no imperial physicians, and at the very least, there is His Majesty and the Empress Dowager."

"Let's go later to avoid a collision."

Yun Meiren hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.

The two drank tea for a while longer, and Yun Meiren became visibly restless.

Zhou Mingyi then said, "Let's go take a look too."

The two arrived at the palace of the Golden Beauty, which was extremely lively. The Golden Beauty was still dressed in red and green, as if she wanted to wear her entire dressing case on her head.

But at this moment, her hair was half undone, she was kneeling on the ground, and she was muttering something under her breath.

"Impossible! It can't be fake, how could my child be fake..."

Emperor Qianwu and the Empress Dowager sat at the head of the table, their faces as black as ink.

Princess Chaoyang stood aside, observing coldly.

"Father, Grandmother, I accompanied you to the palace for a meal today. After the meal, I was in the Imperial Garden to digest when I accidentally bumped into Consort Jin's personal maid."

"She was carrying a wooden basin, which was covered with a cloth. I found it strange and ordered Qingmei to go and check. But the palace maid was very strange; as soon as she saw Qingmei, she turned and ran away!"

"I think this is suspicious! We should have her apprehended immediately!"

"And then I saw blood-stained clothes in the wooden basin!"

"I wonder if some murder has occurred in the palace?"

"Your subject immediately ordered someone to throw the trousers in front of Consort Jin, but Consort Jin was arrogant and insisted that Your subject had wronged her."

Princess Chaoyang had an arrogant expression on her face.

"How can I admit to something I didn't do?"

"But to my surprise, Consort Jin immediately bumped into me and then cried out in pain!"

"If I hadn't stopped her pants beforehand, there would have been no way to explain myself!"

As she spoke, she burst into tears and threw herself into the Empress Dowager's arms.

"Grandmother, you must stand up for Chaoyang."

"Chaoyang returned from Jiangnan, fully expecting to have a younger brother soon. He was thinking about how to get closer to Jin Meiren so that he could accompany his brother as he grew up."

Princess Chaoyang's words struck a chord with the Empress Dowager and Emperor Qianwu.

Their expressions immediately softened considerably.

Princess Chaoyang continued:

"But who would have thought that this beautiful lady would be so audacious as to fake a pregnancy to vie for the emperor's favor, just to win over his grandmother and father!"

Consort Jin's eyes widened, and she immediately cried out in protest, "Your Majesty, I'm innocent! Your Majesty, I'm innocent! I truly knew nothing!"

"These trousers don't belong to me. I am truly pregnant with Your Majesty's child. My pregnancy has been confirmed by the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital. How could I possibly fake it?"

"Even if it's fake, it's a mistake by the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital; it's definitely not something I, the concubine, did!"

Despite saying that, Jin Meiren looked guilty and her eyes darted around.

Zhou Mingyi slightly curled the corners of her lips.

She knew that Kim Mi-ren's pregnancy was suspicious.

It's just unknown what method she used to deceive the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital.

Why did they slip up in such a short time?

Her pregnancy was far too short-lived; no wonder the news never reached the Crown Prince's palace in her previous life.

Zhou Mingyi had no idea either.

Perhaps the news had reached the Eastern Palace in her previous life, but she was so focused on her brother's safety that she didn't notice.

But Zhou Mingyi knew that Jin Meiren's pregnancy would not be successful.

So she continued eating and drinking as usual.

She pretended not to know that Xie Jinghong, that scoundrel, used her as a raft to protect "this child."

Sure enough, the truth came out in less than half a month.

The Empress Dowager and Emperor Qianwu knew that Consort Jin's words were true, but they still couldn't help but frown.

"Where is the head of the Imperial Medical Academy?"

Chen Yuanzheng's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

He immediately stepped forward to take Jin Meiren's pulse.

"Reporting to Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, Consort Jin's pulse is indeed different from what it was half a month ago."

"Half a month ago, your humble servant and the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital agreed that Consort Jin's pulse resembled a slippery pulse, but since she was still young, we could not be certain."

"Now, this pulse is quite different from a slippery pulse, I suppose..."

He glanced instinctively at Emperor Qianwu, whose face was ashen. "It seems that Consort Jin is currently menstruating... and thus accidentally soiled her trousers..."

Emperor Qianwu remained silent for a long time.

The Empress Dowager said directly, "Zhulan, take two men inside and pull down her pants for inspection."