The whole family travels through time and space, and the three of them struggle together

Chen Xiuying was so happy since her son's marriage was settled that she even smiled while learning anatomy from her teacher. She was dissecting a dead rabbit.

Doctor Qian was also very happy. He heard from his young apprentice that his apprentice's wife was also studying medicine, and he asked her to bring her to him so that he could give her special treatment.

But things were not going well for Zhuang Xinyan. When she learned that the people sent by Gu Yuwen had failed, and not only did the two people not get disfigured, but the marriage between the two families was also successful, she was so angry that she threw the teacup in her hand.

The one who also smashed the cup was her aunt, Concubine Zhang in the palace.

After hearing the news, Concubine Zhang threw the teacup in her hand away, leaving a mess on the ground.

Seeing this, Shaoyao quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped her master's hands. "Master, calm down. This news may not be true. It's just speculation at the moment."

After hearing what she said, Concubine Zhang calmed down and said, "Go call Cui Liu up and ask her to explain in detail."

Upon hearing this, Shaoyao responded with "Yes" and called Cuiliu, who was waiting outside, in.

"Tell the Imperial Concubine the details in detail."

So Cui Liu knelt on the ground and told everything she had learned.

"Your Highness, I have a childhood friend who entered the palace with me. She works in the laundry department, specifically responsible for cleaning the Empress's underwear. According to her, the Empress's dirty underwear has been late for two days this month and has not yet been delivered."

Concubine Zhang nodded at this. Shaoyao took out a purse from her sleeve and handed it to Cuiliu. "You did a good job. If there is any news in the future, the Queen will reward you. Go away!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Cui Liu took the purse, kowtowed, and went out with gratitude.

Shaoyao looked at her mistress and said, "This period is only two days late, so there's nothing to say. I remember the mistake that happened to Concubine Shu, and it was seven days late."

Concubine Zhang still had some recollection of Shaoyao's story about Concubine Shu. Everyone had assumed she was pregnant. However, after the imperial physician examined her, they discovered her menstrual period was delayed due to stress. Many in the palace laughed at her for this.

She casually touched the armor on her hand and asked, "Do you know why I am so beloved by the Emperor?"

Shaoyao knew this. She had been favored by Emperor Jiayou for her outstanding dancing skills, and later promoted to Imperial Concubine after giving birth to the Emperor's eldest son. However, Shaoyao knew her master's temper well and could not claim that her dancing skills pleased the Emperor, otherwise she would be suspected of being a seductress.

So, she chose her words carefully: "Naturally, the emperor sees that you are both virtuous, talented and beautiful, and you have the eldest prince, so the emperor loves and respects you more."

Concubine Zhang nodded. "You're right about the last part. The Emperor promoted me to Concubine because I gave birth to the eldest prince. As for virtue, talent, and beauty, the Empress is also not lacking. So, if the Empress is pregnant, what will happen to the eldest prince and me?"

Concubine Zhang was right. The traditional rule of the Donghua Kingdom's royal family was to establish the eldest son as the heir. If there was no legitimate son, then the eldest son would be the heir. If the queen gave birth to a legitimate son, then Concubine Zhang would have no choice but to follow her son to his fiefdom after she grew old and faded.

Shaoyao knew her master was worried, so she asked, "What do you think?"

"Next time she leaves the palace, find a few more people and do it more cleanly, leaving no trace. If we can't hit her in one go, then let her be ruined."

Shaoyao said "yes" and went out to make arrangements.

******

Kunning Palace

Fang Ruo looked at the queen who was changing her clothes and persuaded her, "Your Majesty, why don't you leave the palace a few days later?" If she leaves a few days later, she will know whether she is really pregnant.

Empress Cao was no fool. "If it turns out to be true in a few days, I won't be able to get out. I have to get out now!"

There was a problem with the glasses, and the gang didn't know how to design it. She had to go find Chen Xiuying, because only Chen Xiuying could solve this problem. If Xue Jing was the only one to go, Chen Xiuying might be hesitant. Although she would tell her, she might not be able to tell her everything. It would be safer for her to go there in person.

Fang Ruo knew she couldn't persuade her master, so she could only go out and arrange a carriage for her. Meanwhile, Emperor Jiayou was also helpless when he heard the Empress was leaving. He had used the child as an excuse to allow her to leave the palace twice, but this time, it was clearly not going to work. He had promised her in the first place, so he couldn't go back on his word now. He could only order his five and six secret guards to protect the Empress.

After Empress Cao took Zhihua out of the palace, she went directly to Datong Trading Company to ask Xue Jing about the situation.

Xue Jing was also troubled by the glasses issue, otherwise he would not have alarmed Queen Cao. It was really something they couldn't solve.

Initially, Zhou Dajiang had explained the principles of the glasses to him and the technicians. While they had a general understanding, they still struggled with the actual operation. Unfortunately, Zhou Dajiang was away on a business trip, so production had to be put on hold.

Empress Cao nodded after understanding the situation, thinking that she would have to ask Chen Xiuying about the glasses. Zhou Dajiang must have learned about it from Chen Xiuying, so his explanation was not thorough.

So, she asked Xue Jing to wait a little longer while she went to talk to Madam Zhou to see if she could understand more and then let her explain it in detail to everyone.

The Empress had spoken, and Xue Jing naturally followed his orders. With the Empress's intervention, he believed the problem would be resolved quickly. If all else failed, the Empress could still send someone to Xinde Prefecture.

Empress Cao left Datong Commercial Bank and went to Hanbaobao, where she thought Chen Xiuying would be. However, she found out that Chen Xiuying was not there, so she took Zhihua to Sifang Hutong.

"The weather in July and August is like a child's face, changing in an instant." It was sunny when the two of them left home that morning, but now it was overcast.

Zhihua was worried that the Empress would catch a cold and get sick again, so she advised the Empress to go back first and she would come back tomorrow to tell Madam Zhou about the situation.

Empress Cao was not one to act on her own, and although she had already entered Sifang Hutong, she still had something else in mind and did not want to take any risks, so she nodded in agreement.

Just as the carriage turned around and was about to go back, a group of people suddenly jumped out from the side and chased a man.

The bearded man running in front shouted, "Help! Someone is trying to silence me!"

Seeing this, Zhihua's eyes flashed, and she ordered the driver, "Back off!"

But animals are animals after all. Although the driver pulled the reins tightly and shouted at them to fall back, they were no match for the legs of a group of people. In a short while, they surrounded them.

The person running in the front no longer pretended, drew out the dagger behind him and stabbed the horse's head. Seeing this, the groom immediately whipped him.

The groom was also a secret guard hired by Aunt Fangruo. Normally, the Empress would take him and Zhihua with her when she left the palace. Seeing something was amiss, he immediately jumped out of the carriage to block the assassins' advance. Seeing this, Secret Guards Five and Six no longer hid, first firing a flare into the sky, then emerged and engaged the assassins.

Zhihua knew the situation was dire. There were at least a dozen assassins outside, while they, including her, only numbered four. The disparity in numbers meant the three of them could only hold off for a while. Only by sending the Empress away could they be safe.

But this wasn't a busy area, with few people coming and going, and she was an obvious target even after getting off the bus. But she couldn't care less at this point. She quickly undid her clothes and let the Empress put on hers. She then took the Empress's regular clothes from her bag and put them on.

"Your Majesty, after you get off the car, run to Lord Zhou's house. I will try my best to divert the others. I believe that as long as we can avoid this wave, the Emperor's secret guards will arrive."

Queen Cao also knew that the situation was critical at the moment, so she didn't bother to think too much. She nodded, jumped out of the car with Zhihua, and ran to the back of the car.

The assassin who was intercepted had clearly planned this in advance. Seeing that the enemy had already escaped, he immediately changed his tactics, splitting two of them to chase after Empress Cao and the other two.

Zhihua protected Empress Cao as she fled. Seeing the assassins getting closer and closer, she had no choice but to draw out her dagger and fight with the two assassins.

Queen Cao knew that she was a burden at the moment. Seeing Zhihua protecting her, she could only speed up and run towards Zhou Mansion.