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  It's almost the end of May, and Ming Xuan and Ming Wu's wedding is imminent. Madame Hou is busy with the wedding preparations, but she's also worried about Consort Gui's unborn prince, who refuses to be born. Day after day, she's exhausted from worry and anxiety, one moment suspicious, the next fearful. Suddenly one morning, she wakes up dizzy, her vision blacking out, and finally collapses from illness.

  Fortunately, the wife of the crown prince, Mrs. Cai, usually followed Madame Hou to manage household chores and handled these tedious matters in an orderly manner. The days passed normally for everyone in the mansion, but the masters of the house were all secretly uneasy.

  The Empress Dowager was supposed to give birth in late April, but she had several bouts of abdominal pain and everyone thought it was time for her to deliver. However, it turned out to be a false alarm every time. The imperial physician diagnosed that the baby was full-term and even prescribed medicine to induce labor. Logically speaking, this child should have been born earlier. Although it's not a big deal if he's late, the fact is that there are many people waiting for him to be born, including Empress Pei who has been eyeing the throne for her own son. This unusual situation can't help but raise suspicions.

  Madam Zhu of the Antai Temple held Ming Xuan's hand with a worried face and said, "If the Imperial Concubine gives birth safely, the relationship between the Pei family and our family can at least maintain a superficial harmony. If something happens to the Imperial Concubine this time, the Pei and Gu families will thoroughly tear their faces apart..."

  She looked at him with a mixture of sadness and concern, wondering what would be best for Xiang'er when she arrived.

  If Pei's family had not manipulated the imperial heir, it would mean that Pei Xiang made concessions and had the merit of supporting him. If he knew how to retreat after success and gradually withdraw from the court's power, then the Pei family's future fate of being exiled and exterminated could be avoided. However, if an imperial son were born now, the emperor would still need the Pei family to restrain the Gu family.

  It's easy for onlookers to see things clearly, but those who can remain clear-headed and resist the temptation of power when they are in it are few and far between. When the time comes, how will Xiang Jie handle herself?

  Ming Xuan's idea was somewhat different

  The imperial concubine is pregnant with the emperor's child, and it is impossible for the Pei family to remain unmoved. Either they will let the imperial concubine safely give birth to the child, or Pei Xiang will not make any moves at this critical juncture. If anything unexpected happens to the imperial concubine and the crown prince, the emperor's anger towards Pei Xiang will be renewed. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the imperial concubine will safely give birth to the child. Not only will Pei Xiang not make a move, but he will also have to guard against others making a move.

  What reason does Bae Sang have for doing such a thing?

  Ming Xuan suddenly thought of something and asked Zhu Lao Furen, "Can the pulse really distinguish between male and female? Won't there be times when it's misdiagnosed?"

  Madam Zhu was taken aback by the words. An experienced imperial physician would naturally be able to... How could Xiang'er ask such a thing? Could it be that...

  Her face suddenly turned heavy, but she shook her head. The Su Taoyi who was diagnosing the Imperial Noble Consort was an old friend of our family and a skilled doctor, so he shouldn't have made a mistake. Elder sister Xiang had been injured so badly that year, her breath scattered, but it was this very same Su Taoyi whose brilliant medical skills had brought her back to life.

  Ming Xuan couldn't help but smile wryly in her heart. The skilled hands of Dr. Su had not brought back the original Ming Xuan after all. It was likely that there was a lot of water in the reputation of this medical skill. If it were true, then Dr. Su had misdiagnosed the princess in the imperial concubine's belly as a prince, and Pei Xiang didn't know how he found out about it. Since it was just a princess, Pei Xiang didn't take it to heart, so he could naturally appear that calm.

  But after all, this is just a guess without any evidence, and saying it out loud would be pointless anyway.

  She thought for a moment and then said it was her granddaughter's nonsense, not to be taken seriously.

  But Mrs. Zhu still put this matter in her heart, she called the nanny over and instructed me to take my pulse with some chest tightness and go to Dr. Su's house to ask him to come over and take a look at me.

  The old lady's body had always been looked after by Dr. Chang, but now she was suddenly replaced by Dr. Su, which wasn't good at all. However, since it was the old lady's order, she naturally wouldn't dare to disobey her and retreated with a bow.

  It wasn't long before someone came in to report that Su Taifu was not at home. The gatekeeper of the Su family said that two months ago, Su Taifu had become infatuated with the head courtesan of Xiangyuelou and had a big fight with his wife. He insisted on bringing the courtesan back as a concubine, which made his wife furious. That night, she packed her bags and took their two daughters back to her hometown. Their two sons were worried and chased after them that same night, but they still hadn't returned by now.

  That person paused for a moment and continued to say that he only knew that Su Taiyi had newly built a house for the prostitute, and these days she had been there all along. She should have inquired more because she was afraid of Old Lady's anxiety, so the slave came back to report first.

  The old lady's face changed color and she weakly raised her hand. "No need, I'm feeling a bit better now. There's no need to call for Doctor Chang either. You all can go down first."

  Inside the house, after the servants retreated, she grabbed Ming Xuan's hand and said: "Sister Xuan, it seems that I guessed correctly. The queen's child was not a prince from the beginning, but rather Su Taishi misdiagnosed it. Later, when the queen's belly grew bigger, he realized his mistake and created this scandal of bringing in a concubine to send away the original family."

  If this was a trap set up early on, then the Su family shouldn't have left Shengjing two months ago. Su Taishan has always had a good reputation and wouldn't have ruined his own reputation and made the Su family lose face by getting entangled with a prostitute unless he was trying to send someone away.

  As for the other imperial physicians, if they had spread the news that the noble consort was pregnant with a dragon heir, even if they had diagnosed an unusual pulse, they would not have dared to speak of it again. After all, if it were true that she was having a dragon son, everyone would be overjoyed. But if in the future she gave birth to a princess, the one who had examined her pulse and determined the sex of the child was Imperial Physician Su. Since no one else was involved, naturally no one would dare speak of it.

  It is also possible that some petty individuals secretly informed Empress Pei about it.

  Madam Zhu smiled wryly and said, "The things that Master Bo has been doing these days must seem like a ridiculous clown in the eyes of Marquis Pei. But it's also good this way. Overindulgence is not a good thing. Even if the Imperial Concubine gave birth to the eldest princess, she didn't have to live as anxiously as if she had given birth to the crown prince."

  She hopes that Ming Huan's life will be better after marrying him.

  As expected, by noon, news came out from the palace that the Noble Consort had given birth to a princess and both mother and daughter were safe.

  The crown prince who had been in his heart for nearly a year finally became the princess Yongning Hou, and he was so angry that he couldn't help but blame it on Prime Minister Pei.

  He held his breath, feeling uncomfortable in his chest. After drinking too much, he went straight to Madame Hou's Yian Hall to vent his anger. The well-bred daughter was already pregnant, but she couldn't even tell whether it was a boy or girl, and yet she was shouting everywhere. This is terrible! Tomorrow when I go to court, how many people will be waiting to see me make a fool of myself?

  He was furious and his words became even more unpleasant because Madame Hou was still ill. He had thought that at least he could raise his children well, but as a result, one by one they were all idiots.

  Ming Ru's ears are soft and she has no mind of her own, listening to rumors is like rain. Originally good marriage, she herself made a mess that can't be enjoyed. Guifei used to be able to hold her temper, but this time she actually made such a joke. Ming Que is indeed well-behaved, in the South Garden Villa, she can still make the emperor notice and let her enter the palace, the edict has already been drafted. But at this juncture, how can others think? I'm holding these big ones in my hands, that's how to educate daughters.

  This morning after the court session, the Emperor ordered Yongning Marquis to stay behind and said that Minglan would be entering the palace and restoring her position as Shu Consort.

  Sisters serving the emperor together is not unprecedented. The two daughters of Zhou, a servant in the Ministry of Rites, were both in the palace as companions, but their ranks were not high - one was a concubine and the other just a talented woman. Yongning Hou had two daughters who held the rank of imperial consort, which should have been a glorious thing, but the timing of Ming's entry into the palace was off. The noble consort had just given birth to a princess, and Guo Long, the servant, sent his daughter into the palace again.

  He had originally wanted to reason with the emperor, but the emperor was very insistent and even produced a letter of engagement and a handkerchief embroidered with roses, saying that they had already made a private agreement. Although he was shocked beyond measure, the fact was as hard as iron, and it was the emperor's will, which he could not disobey.

  The fire in Duke Ning's chest was unbearable, and he couldn't calm down even after interrogating Mrs. Rui. He only learned about Ming Lian's situation over the past two months then. The things that made him angry were all tolerated by Madam Hou. As he had been busy with court affairs, he didn't pay much attention to family matters, and even if he knew some trivial things, he would often turn a blind eye. But this time, he lost face completely, and he didn't know how many people would mock him at the imperial court tomorrow. Those old stories all came flooding back to his mind.

  Madam Hou was originally ill and received a sudden message, which was already a blow to her. When Yongning Hou rushed in, it was a scolding. She was so angry that she could barely hold on. The imperial concubine gave birth to a non-royal son, thinking I wouldn't be sad, thinking the empress wouldn't be sad. Now, without thinking about how to explain to the emperor on behalf of the empress, he rushed in and yelled at me, a lowly woman in the back palace.

  She picked up the vase on the bedside table and smashed it over there. What have I been doing all these years? I've been tolerant, thinking that I'm easy to bully. It's not that I don't have a good family background or beauty, but rather that I'm the legitimate daughter of the Guo Gong Fu. Back then, they came to our house multiple times to ask for my hand in marriage.

  Marquis Yongning snorted coldly: If it weren't for the sake of a few children, I would have thought that you would be tolerated until now.

  He made a scene here, and after seeing Madame Hou's face turn very bad, he didn't know how to feel, but suddenly felt a hint of relief. However, as the wine fumes dissipated, his mind cleared up a bit. He coldly laughed at Madame Hou and said "Luo Shi, take care of yourself" before turning around and leaving with a flick of his sleeve.

  Rui's aunt saw Madame Hou's pale face and hurried over to help her support Master Hou, who had been drinking too much wine. "Don't take these words to heart," she said. "He'll forget them by tomorrow. Your illness is due to excessive worry; you need to be more open-minded in order to recover quickly."

  Madam Hou grasped Old Lady Rui's arm, her expression somewhat flustered. She almost sobbed as she said, "Master Hou must have found out about that matter..."

  These past few days, my mood has been bad and I accidentally saw some mocking comments which made me even more depressed. My emotions suddenly became very low and I felt a bit disheartened. I know that what I write isn't good, but no matter how bad it is, it's still something I worked hard to write, one word at a time. With my poor health and slow typing speed, writing a chapter takes 3 hours, plus thinking and revising, which really consumes a lot of time and energy. Even if what I write is rubbish, I think it's not easy for me to produce. So after putting it up, seeing so many friends supporting me made me very happy and feel that no matter what, as long as there are still people reading me, I will definitely work hard to continue writing and update more often. However, sometimes it's also very sad when a new chapter is released for 10 minutes and then there's already pirated content. Thanks to the original author, but the mocking comments from readers make me feel hurt and wonder if I'll still love doing this...

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