The queen is sober in the world, and she is winning every step of the palace fight.

The Emperor had not yet expressed his opinion after hearing Fei Wan's words. The Concubine Xian looked at him with her beautiful eyes and smiled softly:

"Sister Zhao is being too cautious. Even the imperial physician says Sister Ying's pulse is sound, and she's always been in better health than you, so I don't think anything will happen to her. His Majesty is happy, and everyone will get a reward. If you stop her, not only will Sister Ying's reward be gone, but everyone's doubled monthly salary will also be gone. In my opinion, you'd better not pour cold water on this. You're obviously the most understanding person, yet now you're trying to upset everyone."

Someone among the concubines interjected sourly, "Perhaps Zhao Ronghua is jealous. Seeing that Consort Ying is pregnant and favored, she feels bad!"

Concubine Xian took one look and glared at the concubine, scolding her, "If you can't speak, then shut up! I'm close to Sister Zhao, so a few jokes are fine, but why are you so jealous?"

The concubine quickly shrank her head and dared not say another word.

But the resentment on his face was real.

Not only her, but everyone else was also feeling jealous, either openly or secretly, and Fei Wan could naturally see it.

She and Zhishu were already favored and eye-catching, and Zhishu's pregnancy made people even more jealous. Not to mention the others, the virtuous concubine's words were also full of sarcasm and were a bit unstable.

But these are secondary.

Since you have chosen the path of vying for favor, being envied is to be expected, so don't take it to heart.

The most important thing at this moment is to find out whether there is any problem with Zhishu's pregnancy.

In her previous life, Fei Wan remembered that Empress Ying had never been pregnant. At least before she left the palace, during the nearly two years of Empress Ying's favor, her pregnancy remained unchanged. The palace maids privately discussed how Concubine Chun had achieved a breakthrough with her twins, a boy and a girl, and how no one could compare. Yet, Empress Ying remained childless, yet still enjoyed such a strong reputation. She was truly blessed.

Could it be that everything has changed in this life, and has Zhishu also changed her fate of being childless for two years?

Fei Wan ignored Concubine Xian's nagging and the Emperor's displeasure, and smiled in defense, "Your Majesty, I was merely advising you according to folk wisdom. I've often heard from the village elders that when a child first comes into the womb, they are very delicate and timid, wanting only to nestle in their mother's arms and not let too many people know. If too many people knew, the child would likely be scared away—this is all a local custom. I suppose the royal heir is precious and shouldn't be afraid of others knowing. It's my own ignorance."

The emperor suddenly remembered Yu Tingjin's miscarriage last year.

Although there was a conspiracy by some treacherous person, the pregnancy did not last more than three months. At that time, the Queen Mother also said that it was not safe to let too many people know about the pregnancy three months ago, and it would not be good to reward her publicly.

Just as he was hesitating, Zhishu snorted calmly, "My child is definitely brave and won't be scared away, but I can't say for sure whether he will find the crowds too annoying and walk away."

Many people were unhappy when this was said.

It’s just because Zhishu is looked down upon by too many people on a daily basis.

If she disagrees with something, she will just walk away. This is indeed Zhishu's style.

Everyone thought that if she gave birth to a child with the same temper in the future and was spoiled by the emperor to the point of lawlessness, it would be really unbearable.

The emperor smiled softly, raised his hand and tapped Zhishu on the forehead, saying lovingly: "You have such a bad temper! Okay, I'll do as you say. Then I won't reward you for now."

Zhishu finally smiled and bowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for understanding my feelings."

She raised her eyes again and looked at Concubine Xian: "Your Majesty, it was my idea not to reward you. Sister Zhao was just speaking for me and had no intention of offending anyone. Please stop holding her accountable."

Xianfei's smile was tinged with anger, but she couldn't bring herself to reprimand the pregnant concubine in front of the emperor. She sneered, "When did this palace start pestering Sister Zhao? I'm not even close to her!"

Fei Wan smiled: "Your Majesty has always treated me very well."

He also suggested to the emperor that although Sister Zhishu did not want the last time, all the concubines and sisters had always served His Majesty meritorious service, so they should still be rewarded with double the monthly salary.

"I feel that double is not enough. If Your Majesty is not stingy with the money in the treasury, how about giving us triple the monthly salary for once?"

She made the request with a charming smile, and since it was in public, the emperor would definitely not refuse and would not offend her.

So he issued an edict that the monthly salary of all concubines in the palace would be tripled next month.

The reason was to celebrate the Empress Dowager's 50th birthday, share in her blessings and longevity, and to reward the concubines for their hard work in honoring the Empress Dowager and serving the Emperor and Empress.

"Long live your majesty!"

Everyone in the hall knelt down to express their gratitude and receive the reward.

The salary increase caused by Zhishu's pregnancy was thus revealed.

Although the incident was caused by Zhishu's pregnancy, many people were jealous, but after they got the benefits, some people stopped being jealous and became truly happy. This is because the concubines in high positions don't care about the small monthly salary, but those without favor and those in low positions, how can they not be happy with more money?

This is also where Feiwan is thoughtful.

Enemies that need to be dealt with must be dealt with, and one must also calmly accept that others are jealous of one's favor. But most of the time, one must try to calm public anger, take everyone's feelings into consideration, and avoid making enemies for no reason.

After spending a long time in Changle Palace, the emperor finally left to continue his government affairs. Fei Wan then escaped by sending Zhishu back to the palace to rest.

The virtuous concubine continued to play cards and drink with the concubines, but with the incident of Zhishu, everyone became distracted during the banquet and most of the conversation was about offspring.

Fei Wan didn't care about these things. She helped Zhishu out of Changle Palace and walked slowly along the palace road. Wu Xiangrong followed behind, knowing that the two of them had something to say, so she tactfully led all the palace servants to distance themselves from the two.

Although she was happy for Zhishu from the bottom of her heart, Wu Xiangrong never spoke much in front of others to avoid causing trouble. She stood in the corner of Changle Palace like a shadow for a long time, not daring to say a word.

Fei Wan and Zhi Shu stopped beside a cluster of magnolia flowers and smiled and nodded at Wu Xiangrong who was a few feet away.

Wu Xiangrong responded with a big smile, indicating that they could talk without worry while she was keeping watch at the intersection.

The surrounding area is open and it is a good place to talk.

Fei Wan then asked in detail, "What exactly happened? Did you know you were pregnant beforehand? Is the imperial physician that Concubine Xian usually uses adequate? Do we need to immediately ask Wenyuan Pan or someone else to take a look?"

Zhishu's expression grew increasingly cold.

He sneered softly: "Sister, if I say I'm not pregnant at all, would you believe me?"

Fei Wan was not surprised.

I had expected things to be more complicated than that.

But could it be possible to fake the diagnosis of pregnancy in the virtuous concubine's palace in front of so many concubines?

"The virtuous concubine and the imperial physician Zhao teamed up to deceive you?" Fei Wan frowned.

This doesn't make sense.

If Doctor Zhao was lying, he would be exposed soon. Taking care of the fetus is not the job of just one doctor. In the next nine months, any other doctor who came to take the pulse would have his lies exposed.

It is impossible for Concubine Xian to bribe everyone in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Imperial Medical Bureau.