On our wedding night, my wife acted strangely.

After saying that, he was about to kneel down.

Consort Hui quickly struggled to get up from the bed, and Hongcui was startled and rushed over to help her.

"Don't kneel! Get up!" Consort Hui cried out anxiously. "Hongcui, quickly help him up!"

Hongcui ran back and helped the old doctor up.

Consort Hui sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes already red.

Because she recognized him; the man was Song Shanren, the doctor who delivered Nangong Jin's baby years ago.

At that time, Consort Hui was still young. She had a difficult childbirth when she gave birth to Nangong Jin, and it took her a whole day and night to recover.

It was Song Shanren who stayed in the delivery room for more than ten hours and managed to bring the baby out safely.

Later, when Nangong Jin was a month old, Consort Hui specially sent him a generous gift to express her gratitude for saving his life.

But not long after, Song Shanren disappeared from the Imperial Hospital.

Consort Hui asked several times, and the people in the palace said that he was old and had retired to his hometown.

She believed it.

However, seeing it now, it's likely that things weren't like that at all back then.

"Uncle Song, what...what are you doing here?"

Song Shanren stood up, put the medicine box on the ground, hung his hands at his sides, and glanced at Consort Hui.

Then he looked at her stomach and sighed.

"If Your Majesty still remembers this old minister, then this old minister's life has been worthwhile."

"How could I not remember you?" Consort Hui sniffed. "When you delivered Jin'er, I was in so much pain on the delivery bed that I didn't know anything. I just heard you saying beside me, 'Don't be afraid, your old minister is here.' After the baby came out, you were the first one to hold him."

Song Shanren nodded: "Yes, I was the first one to hold him. He weighed six pounds and three ounces and cried very loudly."

"Pfft, hehehe..." Consort Hui could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down her face.

Hongcui, feeling sorry for the girl, quickly handed her a handkerchief.

"Then you suddenly disappeared. I thought you went back to your hometown. What happened? Tell me."

Song Shanren paused for a moment, then said, "Sigh, it's all old news."

"You speak, I'm listening."

Song Shanren sat down in the chair, placed his hands on his knees, and slowly began to speak: "After I delivered the Fourth Prince's baby, Zhao Shuyu sent someone to find this old minister."

Consort Hui's expression changed.

"She asked me to do something in the Imperial Hospital."

"What is it?"

Zhou Shanren looked up at her: "She asked me to change the medicine the next time I examine your pulse."

"What medicine?"

"Bai Zhu, she wants me to replace Bai Zhu with Gan Sui."

Hongcui couldn't understand the difference between the two medicines, but judging from Consort Hui's reaction, she knew they were no good.

Atractylodes macrocephala combined with Euphorbia kansui—isn't that the same prescription that caused Zhao Shuyu to miscarry?

It turns out that Zhao Shuyu had been eyeing her since that time.

Consort Hui's voice tightened: "You...you agreed?"

Song Shanren shook his head: "Your subject did not agree."

Consort Hui let out a long sigh of relief.

"I am no hero, I am just a doctor," Song Shanren said. "A doctor's job is to save lives, not to harm them. Zhao Shuyu asked me to harm people, but I cannot do it."

"And then?"

"Later I learned that I could no longer stay in the Imperial Hospital. I had offended the Empress, and I would die today or tomorrow. So I took the initiative to resign, saying that I was too old to work and wanted to return to my hometown to retire. Nangong Xiong approved."

Consort Hui remained silent for a long while before asking, "Where have you been all these years?"

"I run a small pharmacy in the south of the city, treating the neighbors. I live a hard life, but some time ago, people from the Regent's Palace came to me and asked me to come to their residence, so I came."

Consort Hui then asked, "Do you know why the Prince invited you here?"

Song Shanren looked at her belly and laughed, "I understood as soon as I walked in today."

Aren't you afraid?

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm just an old man, and what I fear most is not being able to use what I've learned in this life. I'd be overjoyed to be able to deliver Your Majesty's baby again."

Consort Hui's eyes reddened again.

She had lived a miserable life for most of her life, constantly being schemed against in the palace, neglected by her husband, and her son had gone astray. She had no one she could trust.

Now that he's fallen to this state, he finds a glimmer of warmth in the presence of an old doctor.

"Uncle Song."

"Your old minister is here."

"This time... could you say to me, like you did last time, 'Don't be afraid, your old minister is here'?"

Song Shanren paused for a moment, then stood up and bowed deeply to Consort Hui.

"Your Majesty, do not be afraid, your old minister is here."

Upon hearing Zhou Shanren's words, Consort Hui's anxiety immediately subsided.

……

Soon, Consort Hui gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.

Although the son was born first, Lin Yi still insisted that the girl be the older sister and the boy the younger brother.

In his view, an older brother may not necessarily love his younger sister, but an older sister will definitely love her younger brother. He hopes that the two children can grow up together and support each other.

A year later, Consort Hui, under the name Shen Qingyue, was promoted to a concubine in the Prince's residence.

The same applies to Yifei and Su Meier.

The Prince's mansion does not keep concubines. As long as the title of concubine spreads throughout the Great Zhou, the status of women rises rapidly, and everyone admires the virtuous name of the Regent.

After Nangong Jin's rebellion failed and he disappeared, Nangong Xiong fell ill and never recovered. Lin Yi successfully put Nangong Jie on the throne as the new emperor, and Nangong Xiong was buried with imperial honors.

Of course, it was said to be an imperial ceremony, but Lin Yi hated extravagance the most. His tomb was built with only two side chambers before he was hastily buried, and no one in the court dared to say anything.

Lin Yi stated that in the future, only burial will be permitted in Tibet, and the construction of mausoleums will not be allowed. He himself will also be subject to this rule.

Guo Fu remained the same as always, unwilling to leave the Green Bamboo Courtyard. Lin Yi would occasionally visit her and offer a few words of comfort.

She doesn't compete or fight, living a life isolated from the world.

Lin Yi originally intended for Zhao Shuyu to move to the Prince's Mansion as well, since this woman had done a good job and hadn't caused any trouble in over a year. However, Zhao Shuyu refused and insisted on returning to the Zhao family in Jiangnan.

Lin Yi couldn't persuade her to go back, so he had no choice but to let her go. But three months later, news came that she had hanged herself in the Zhao family ancestral hall.

Poor woman.

How did Nangong Jin disappear? The story isn't finished here. The original plan was for him to fail in his rebellion and be captured alive by Lin Yi, but Fatty's suggestion was to just slap him across the face and kill him.

Lin Yi felt sorry for Consort Hui, so he didn't kill her and let the mother and son meet. Then he demoted her to Qiongzhou, which is Hainan Island. Given his status as the protagonist in the original book, he shouldn't starve to death.

Ten years later, the Great Zhou Dynasty was completely unified. Lin Yi had the final say in both the south and north of the Yangtze River. The workshops were also rapidly expanded, and scientific development was at a rapid pace.

Lin Yi organized scientific examinations, testing candidates by subject. He didn't want those pedantic scholars who only knew classical Chinese; he wanted people with professional skills. Moreover, those with strong abilities could receive state subsidies and official positions. Thus, the Great Zhou Dynasty began its first industrial revolution.

On this day, Lin Yi was to perform the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, leading his family to the summit.

He took Nangong Min's hand, pointed to the vast and beautiful land, and said to the women behind him, "Look, my beloved concubines, this is the empire I have conquered for you!"

The End.