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

"I thought the Emperor had listened to others and ignored me. What else would I do with my body then?"

Concubine Zheng's pale face turned pink as she leaned on the emperor's knees.

"How could I bear to do that?"

Xiao Heng's tone became increasingly gentle, but his expression turned stern as he looked at the palace maid still kneeling on the ground: "If I hadn't arrived in time today, you would have just left the Imperial Concubine to suffer on the bed alone. Is this how you usually serve your master?"

"Come here, drag out all the servants in the hall and give each of them fifty lashes."

"Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty, please spare me!"

All the palace maids in the hall were so frightened that they kowtowed and begged for mercy. The palace maid kneeling in the front even tried to pull Concubine Zheng's skirt, but was kicked away by the emperor.

"emperor……"

Concubine Zheng stood up and wanted to say something, but the emperor gently embraced her in his arms with a look of pity on his face: "Take the man to the Ministry of Punishment for execution, and don't disturb Concubine."

The palace maids were quickly dragged away by the emperor's men.

"I know my beloved concubine is soft-hearted and cannot bear to punish them severely. Don't worry, my beloved concubine, I am only teaching them a lesson. After the punishment is completed, they will remain by my beloved concubine's side to serve her."

The emperor looked at the anxious expression on Concubine Zheng's face and soothed her gently.

"I have caused Your Majesty trouble again."

The people serving in the palace were all her confidants, and there were two palace maids she brought into the palace from the Zheng family. Concubine Zheng did not want to kill these people, but only punished them with fifty lashes. These people's lives were cheap, so it didn't matter.

……

In the evening, in the side hall of Cheng'an Palace.

"Concubine, please pay your respects to the Emperor."

"Get up."

Xiao Heng walked to the bed with an expressionless face and opened his arms.

Zheng Baolin hurriedly lowered his head and went forward to help change clothes.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine is feeling heartache again."

As soon as the two of them lay down on the bed, Cao Zhong knocked lightly on the door.

Zheng Baolin was about to stand up when he heard this, but was pinned down by the emperor.

"Your Majesty, my sister..."

Zheng Baolin said timidly.

But the emperor did not get up after all.

"Drinked."

After the emperor left, Zheng Baolin was rudely forced by Nanny Lu to drink a bowl of bitter and strong pregnancy medicine.

……

Early the next morning.

Fengyi Palace.

"Your Majesty, the one in Cheng'an Palace was favored yesterday."

In front of the phoenix mirror, the palace maid carefully inserted a phoenix hairpin into her already tied bun while whispering.

"Then the imperial concubine is probably going to take another day off today."

The queen curled her lips.

"But the Emperor is too obedient to the Imperial Concubine. Without the Imperial Concubine's approval, Zheng Baolin would not have dared to take the initiative to ask for her favor."

"News has also arrived from Cheng'an Palace. Yesterday, the Emperor saw that the Imperial Concubine was unwell. Not only did he immediately summon the Imperial Physician for treatment, he also had all the palace maids who attended to the Imperial Concubine taken to the Ministry of Punishment. They were personally supervised by Eunuch Cao and given fifty lashes."

There was some worry in the maid's words.

The queen was speechless for a moment, but she looked carefully at the gold filigree phoenix-beaded hairpin in her hand.

"Your Majesty, would you like to wear this one today? I'll give it to you..."

"No need."

But the queen put down the hairpin.

In Changchun Palace, Gu Youning was exempted from paying respects by both the emperor and the empress, so she naturally didn't want to trouble herself.

After hearing Tan Yin's report of what happened in Cheng'an Palace last night, Gu Youning was also a little confused about the emperor's thoughts.

Was the heavy punishment imposed on Concubine Zheng's personal attendant due to suspicions about what happened yesterday? Or was he truly angry because Concubine Zheng was nearly ill?

Gu Youning could see that the emperor was mostly playing around with Concubine Zheng, but he might still be sincere in his feelings.

After all, Concubine Zheng's feelings for the emperor are real, and true love is the most moving.

However, the emperor punished the people around Concubine Zheng, which was considered as a way to vent Tan Yin's anger. Fifty lashes of the cane, supervised by Cao Zhong himself, would not be fatal, but it was enough for these palace ladies to lie in bed for half a month.

As for Concubine Zheng, she has temporarily lost someone close to her, so she is afraid that these days will not be smooth.

"The Emperor has arrived."

The eunuch's announcement came from outside.

"No need to get up."

Just as Gu Youning was about to get out of bed, he was held down by the emperor who was striding towards him.

But soon Gu Youning turned his head to face inside, leaving only his back to the emperor.

"But are you angry?"

The emperor thought Gu Youning knew that he had gone to Cheng'an Palace to act out yesterday, so he wasn't angry. He grabbed her shoulder and wanted to pull her into his arms, but she struggled to get under the covers. A muffled voice came from under the covers: "I have caught a cold, and I'm afraid it will be passed on to the emperor."

Xiao Heng's face turned awkward when he heard this and he coughed twice. He didn't expect that this woman would be so considerate now, and he just thought too much.

"I have asked the imperial physician, and he said this cold is not contagious."

"really?"

Gu Youning pulled the quilt down a little.

"Your words are not empty."

Xiao Heng said seriously.

Gu Youning secretly curled his lips. In this harem, the emperor would never tell the truth.

"I feel uncomfortable."

Since the emperor himself said that there was no problem, Gu Youning propped himself up and threw himself into the emperor's arms.

"My forehead is a little hot."

Xiao Heng hugged him and touched Gu Youning's forehead with the back of his hand.

"Is it the Emperor's hands that are cold?"

Gu Youning pouted slightly: "I am actually fine. But the palace servants all obeyed the emperor's orders and dared not let me get out of bed. From yesterday until now, I have been lying there almost limp."

Xiao Heng laughed. This woman must be as straightforward as ever. She would pretend to be sick even if others were not sick so that he would worry more about them. But she was different. She just wanted to lie down and feel bored.

However, the emperor was very grateful at this moment. Fortunately, what happened yesterday did not scare the woman, and her temperament was still so lively.

"As long as you take your medicine every day and the fever subsides, I will not let the palace maids detain you."

Seeing that the woman was still reluctant, the emperor thought carefully and said, "Yesterday I ordered Fang Cainu to be banished to the cold palace. I have also dealt with the people around the imperial concubine."

Gu Youning was delighted when he heard this. The emperor's words showed that he was suspicious of Concubine Zheng.

However, her face was filled with astonishment: "The child in Fang Cainu's belly..."