Seizing the throne, abolishing the adopted son, the imperial concubine rose to prominence

"Help the concubine up quickly."

The emperor waved his hand and had Cao Zhong personally help Concubine Zheng sit down. Then he said softly, "If your sister's unborn child is born, it will be my first since I ascended the throne. Of course, I will show great favor to her."

"Besides, my beloved concubine has been wronged by what happened today, but now my beloved concubine is second only to the emperor, and there is no more title to be given. I can only make amends on your sister."

"Your Majesty...I thank Your Majesty for your grace."

Concubine Zheng wanted to refuse, but seeing the tenderness in the emperor's eyes slowly cooling down, she had to grit her teeth and thank him softly.

The emperor always thought that the sisters were harmonious, and she couldn't let the emperor down.

She was just a concubine, and she had no intention of sparing the life of that little bitch after she had used up her belly, so she would just let her enjoy the glory for a few months.

"Your Majesty is right. The heir in Concubine Shen's belly is indeed extremely precious. With your Majesty's grace and protection, Concubine Shen will surely give your Majesty a healthy prince in the future."

When the Queen saw Concubine Zheng forcing a smile, the dissatisfaction in her heart eased a lot.

"Congratulations to Concubine Zheng, and Concubine Shen."

After the emperor and empress said so, the concubines in the palace stood up and congratulated them.

No matter what everyone was thinking, they all had a look of joy on their faces. However, Concubine Shen, who had just been honored, was still kneeling on the ground with her head bowed.

"It is your blessing that the Emperor values ​​the child in your womb. Why don't you thank the Emperor for his grace?"

When Concubine Zheng saw her concubine sister's cowardly and timid appearance, she felt much better.

No matter how much you praise a pheasant, it is not worthy of being on the table.

"Thank you, Sister Noble Concubine, and thank you for the Emperor's grace."

Zheng Baolin, no, Concubine Shen prostrated herself on the ground and kowtowed respectfully to Concubine Zheng and the emperor.

Seeing her cowardly appearance, everyone gave up the idea of ​​watching the sisters fight each other.

Everyone in the palace knows that Concubine Zheng is jealous, and Concubine Shen's personality means she will only be bullied and humiliated by her own elder sister.

Only Gu Youning cast an especially long gaze upon the humble, cowardly figure.

She always felt that Concubine Shen's pregnancy was just right.

Thinking of the medicine that Concubine Shen had taken from the imperial pharmacy before, Gu Youning had a vague guess in his mind.

"Empress, I leave Concubine Shen's baby to you. Please ensure the safe birth of the heir."

The emperor looked at the queen and gave her a stern warning.

"Yes, I will cooperate with Sister Zheng and take good care of the dragon fetus."

"I will also pass on instructions to all places in the palace. Everything should be based on Concubine Shen's dragon fetus."

The queen's face froze.

Everyone inside and outside the palace knew that the future crown prince would be from either the Cui family or the Zheng family.

Previously, the Zheng family held military power, and Duke Zheng was arrogant, which made the emperor wary of him. Although the emperor paid attention to the checks and balances of power on both sides, he openly and secretly favored the Cui family. However, the emperor was also well aware that the main branch of the Cui family was more inclined towards Prince Liang, and the status of the Cui family, the mother family, in the emperor's heart was not necessarily more important than the Zheng family.

Now that Zheng has the royal heir first, not to mention that those who support her in the Cui family will waver between her and her aunt, if the Zheng family wants to take a step further, the emperor may not necessarily promote Concubine Zheng again in order to stabilize the court.

Above the noble concubine, there is the imperial noble concubine.

Since the precedent of Da Zhao conferring the title of Imperial Noble Consort was always under the premise of there being no Empress, according to convention, the Imperial Noble Consort could exercise the power of the Empress.

In this way, the Imperial Noble Consort was equivalent to an ordinary family's wife. She had been planning and enduring for so many years, so how could she allow someone else to sleep soundly beside her bed?

But she has already been suspected by the emperor because of the matter of the eldest prince, and he reminded her of this today, so it will be difficult for her to take action in the future.

The queen's eyes inadvertently swept across Gu Youning's face. If the Zheng family had an heir, the eldest prince, as the eldest son, would probably be the first to be disapproved, so perhaps she wouldn't have to bother.

"Everyone, please leave. Concubine Shen should go back and take good care of herself."

"You should also take care of yourself. Leave everything to the palace servants below. You don't have to worry about everything yourself."

The emperor waved his hand and gave Concubine Zheng a few gentle instructions.

"I, my concubine, listen to your Majesty."

Concubine Zheng's pale face was full of blushes. The emperor's tenderness towards her today made her feel that the coldness of the past few days seemed to no longer exist.

As expected, with the royal heir, the emperor became more affectionate. Also, she and the emperor were in love with each other, and now they had a child, so there was no regret between them.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have something to ask."

When the concubines paid their respects and turned to leave, a weak voice rang out.

Yan Cairen?

Although this Concubine Yan had saved the emperor when she was in the Eastern Palace, her health was also bad. So even though she was named a Concubine, she was like a transparent person in the harem and rarely even attended banquets.

"You're not feeling well. If you have anything to say, get up and talk."

The emperor raised his hand and spoke gently.

"I am unlucky. My health is weak, and I cannot accompany the emperor, let alone bear him an heir. But today, I learned of Concubine Shen's happy event, and I remembered how lonely Changning Palace is all day long..."

Yan Cairen's health was really not good. She gasped several times in the middle of just one short sentence.

The emperor frowned casually: "If you have something to say, just say it directly."

"I beg the Emperor and His Majesty to allow me to raise the Second Prince."

After Yan Cairen finished speaking, she leaned down with the help of the palace maid.

As soon as these words were spoken, regardless of what others thought, Gu Youning narrowed his eyes slightly.

This never happened in my previous life.

This matter was most likely planned by Xiao Yun'an. Compared with He Cairen, Yan Cairen, who had the merit of saving the emperor, was indeed a good choice.

"The Second Prince is still young, and you are not in good health. I'm afraid you can't handle the fatigue."

The emperor hesitated.

"I will definitely take good care of myself and the Second Prince. I beg Your Majesty to grant my wish."

When Yan Cairen thought of the poor child whose hand was broken and no one was taking care of him, his face became anxious.

"Your Majesty, Concubine Yan has been recuperating in Changning Palace all day, and it's indeed a bit lonely. If she had a child to take care of her, perhaps she would feel happier and feel better."

The Queen thought of Xiao Yun'an's dissatisfaction and hatred towards Gu Zhaoyi and her son, curled her lips and spoke.

"Thank you, Queen, for your consideration of me."

Yan Cairen hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

"I will do as you wish."

"Thank you, Your Majesty for your grace."

Yan Cairen's pale face rarely showed a slight blush of excitement.

"He Cairen, can I go with you to Roufu Palace? I can ask you for advice on how to take care of the Second Prince, and I can also take him back to Changning Palace."

Although Concubine Yan was dissatisfied with Concubine He's treatment of the Second Prince, she was willing to treat him politely in order to take him away smoothly and early so that the child would no longer suffer any injustice.

"Concubine Yan is following the orders of the Emperor and the Empress. How can I have any say in this?"

He Zhiyi raised his chin and said coldly.

"Thank you, Mr. He."

Yan Cairen didn't care about the other party's indifference, and regardless of his own frail body, he politely bowed.

He Cairen nodded perfunctorily.

"Do you really think you're still one of the nine concubines? He Cairen is on the same level as her."

Gu Youning heard Lady Wen humming softly in his ear.

Gu Youning did not stop her. Today, she made Lady Wen hold back her words several times.

The fact that Concubine Yan raised the second prince did not arouse much discussion among the concubines. The second prince and Concubine Yan were like invisible people in the palace, and there was nothing to mention about two invisible people hanging out together.

Therefore, everyone continued to walk out of the hall with normal expressions.

The emperor on the throne looked at Gu Youning and was about to stand up, but he saw that the woman had already been helped out by Concubine Wen.

The emperor paused.

"Your Majesty, would you like to return to Qianming Palace for lunch?"

Cao Zhong stepped forward and asked softly, tentatively, but received a cold glare from his master.

"I was confused. Concubine Gu and the eldest prince have just been frightened. They must hope that the emperor can stay with them for a while."

"I will send a message to the Shangshi Bureau right away, telling them to bring the lunch to the Jing'an Bureau."

Cao Zhong quickly slapped himself and said with a wry smile.

No one knows the master better than him. Sure enough, after hearing his words, the dragon's eyes softened.