Deep Palace Pet Peach Blossom Flawless

Lan Qingwu lowered his eyes and said, "Bai Shuren has always been steady."

Then she said softly, "Noble Lady Wen is in labor, so His Majesty will not be here today."

Lan Qingwu was wrong this time. Emperor Shenwu arrived at Suowu Palace before noon. He accompanied Lan Qingwu for lunch and fed her personally.

Afterwards, he hugged her and prepared to take a nap together. Lan Qingwu couldn't help but whispered to him, "Your Majesty, aren't you leaving?"

Emperor Shenwu was puzzled: "Where are you going?"

After saying this, he realized: "What's the point of me going to a woman giving birth? Concubine Jiang is watching over her. She will report to me when the child is born."

Lan Qingwu knelt beside him, staring blankly at the emperor. The Shenwu Emperor lay on the bed, looking at Lan Qingwu's expression, and pulled her into his arms, "When Ruo Ruo gives birth to a child for me, I will never leave her side. Now... none of them can keep me company."

"And..." Emperor Shenwu frowned. "Noble Lady Wen is too... Even the full-term Bai Shuren wasn't frightened, yet she..." She still prides herself on her impeccable manners, but she's truly incapable of withstanding such a situation. Furthermore, I heard that Noble Lady Wen was protected from beginning to end. She's always afraid of comparison, and this comparison reveals a gap.

Lan Qingwu said no more. She thought that this was how the dynasty had always been. Women had an extremely low status, and so many women in the palace were there only to give birth to royal heirs. As an emperor, he would probably only be able to accompany and wait for the empress when she gave birth.

Lan Qingwu leaned in the emperor's arms and asked, "Your Majesty, was this a poisonous snake released by someone?"

Emperor Shenwu's eyes darkened. "I've already sent someone to investigate. It was the peculiar smell of the incense burning in the Buddhist temple today that attracted the poisonous snakes. There has never been true peace in this harem."

Lan Qingwu couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat when she thought of this man's methods. She unconsciously leaned closer into Emperor Shenwu's arms, and Emperor Shenwu also hugged her tighter.

Concubine Wen was having a difficult delivery. She was frightened and her amniotic fluid had broken. The imperial physician could only prescribe drugs to induce labor so that Concubine Wen could give birth as soon as possible to prevent the royal heir from dying in her womb.

Wen Guiren's beautiful face had turned extremely pale. At this moment, she still did not forget to grab Caixia's hand and ask, "Where is Bai Shuren? Is she okay?"

Caixia's face was filled with anxiety: "Master, Bai Shuren... is fine. She has returned to her palace."

Concubine Wen's face turned even paler. "She should have given birth, but nothing happened? If my son were born in March... the same month as the late emperor's memorial... then..."

March was a month of great importance for commemorating the late emperor. Several concubines' birthdays in March were so rare that they dared not announce them. If the emperor's child was born in March, wouldn't birthdays thereafter be kept simple? Who would even remember her child?

Caixia said anxiously, "Master, don't think about those things now! The most important thing now is that you and the young master are safe and sound. Only after you give birth to the young master in good health can you think about the future!"

Concubine Wen was so tormented by the pain that she could barely speak. Her entire body was drenched in sweat. After catching her breath, she asked incoherently, "Is His Majesty here...?"

Caixia hesitated for a moment, and Caiyun hurriedly said, "Master, His Majesty has sent the imperial physician to watch over you. Concubine Jiang, Concubine Chen, and Concubine Wan are also guarding outside the palace. His Majesty will definitely come over when he's done with his work."

Wen Guiren was tortured by the pain and almost fainted. She unconsciously called out "Your Majesty..."

Lan Qingwu didn't receive any news until the evening that Wen Guiren had given birth. Thinking of the underdeveloped medical technology of today, she couldn't help but remain silent. If she got pregnant in the future...

News of Concubine Wen didn't arrive until the afternoon of the next day. Emperor Shenwu was just waking up from a nap, hugging Lan Qingwu. Concubine Jiang sent her maid, Caiping, to deliver the message.

Caiping knelt outside the bedroom door of Suowu Palace. Through the heavy gauze curtains, the figures inside were dim and unclear.

All I heard was the emperor's cold and solemn voice: "Speak."

Cai Ping didn't dare to look up, and only said respectfully, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Noble Lady Wen has just given birth to a little princess. Congratulations, Your Majesty, on the birth of your precious pearl."

Emperor Shenwu's voice was emotionless. "Understood, Li Xiang. Reward according to the rules."

Caiping took her leave and left, and Li Xiang hurried to make arrangements.

Lan Qingwu listened quietly from her bed, her eyes lowered. The children born into the palace one by one were also his children. The Emperor Shenwu quietly embraced Lan Qingwu, his large palm gently caressing her belly. He looked forward to her bearing an heir, his legitimate son, his legacy.

On March 26, the fifth year of Shenwu, Concubine Wen gave birth to the third princess.

Concubine Xie was going crazy, driven mad, driven mad. After the Heyao Palace was closed by His Majesty, all the palace maids and eunuchs in her palace were sent away, leaving only Xie Shu and Xie Hua, two servants brought from the Xie family. After that, every meal was glutinous rice dumplings, never changing the appearance, and there were no dishes. How could anyone eat this?

The most terrifying thing was yet to come. The young eunuch from Qianzheng Palace who had come the other time had returned to Heyao Palace. Concubine Xie knelt and bowed her head, stunned as she listened to the eunuch's decree. "By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Xie, from her position as a third-rank concubine, is arrogant in her words, perverse in her behavior, and lacks talent or virtue. She is hereby demoted to the rank of concubine and relocated to Yichun Palace. She may not leave unless summoned. This is my decree."

Xiao Fuzi closed the imperial edict and looked at Concubine Xie with a half-smile: "Concubine Xie... no, Miss Xie, please!"

Xie Cainv slumped to the ground, staring at Xiao Fuzi in disbelief: "I don't believe it,... I don't believe it..." Yichun Palace may have a nice name, but it's actually located in a remote area next to the cold palace. Is His Majesty banishing her to the cold palace this time?! She's the daughter of the Xie family!

At the same time, Qian Guiren's life also came to an end. She was in a daze every day and had no time to wake up. The people around her had long been replaced. She probably never expected that when she was killing others, she would die in the same way.

Concubine Qian passed away quietly, as if she didn't exist in the palace. Her funeral was also extremely simple and deserted.

Lan Qingwu only found out about this a long time later, and no one deliberately told her about it.

On this day, the three concubines came together to the Qianzheng Hall to meet Emperor Shenwu, and Emperor Shenwu summoned them into the hall.

The emperor sat at the top. He was currently trying to resolve the conflict between the civil and military officials of the previous dynasty. There were always a few ministers who wanted to jump around, so Emperor Shenwu would simply remove them and let the lower officials come up. Fortunately, several important ministers and confidants understood the emperor's intentions and knew that several countries in the Paracel Islands would come to pay tribute, so no one would make things difficult for the emperor at this critical juncture.

After the three concubines finished their greetings, Emperor Shenwu asked them to stand up and asked, "Why are you here together? Is there something important?"

Concubine Jiang smiled and said, "Your Majesty, it has been a while since the palace has had a baby. Noble Lady Wen has given birth to the third princess, and tomorrow is her third birthday."

Emperor Shenwu thought for a moment and said, "The child was born in March, so the third-day bath should be simple, and the full-month bath can be a grand celebration."

Concubine Chen said softly, "Your Majesty, have you seen the Third Princess? The child has very thick hair."

Emperor Shenwu replied indifferently: "I went to see it today." He just took a quick look. Newborn babies all looked similar, but he couldn't tell what their hair looked like.

Concubine Jiang glanced at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I have something else to ask your Majesty."

"explain."

"Your Majesty, several countries in the Paracel Islands will come to Dasheng to pay tribute in April. So many concubines in this palace are still under house arrest. By then..." The state banquet will not be very good.

Concubine Wan also spoke up, "Your Majesty, there are two more people I would like to inform you about. Concubine Ye and Concubine Li were placed under house arrest by Your Majesty himself. Should they also be released from that order?"

Emperor Shenwu frowned imperceptibly: "The two of them..."

Concubine Chen bowed and pulled out a sheaf of copied scriptures from her wide sleeves. "Your Majesty, these are the prayer scriptures that Concubine Ye and Concubine Li copied throughout March. They specifically asked me to place them before the Buddhist altar."

Emperor Shenwu's brows relaxed slightly. "Since that's the case, all the concubines in the palace will be released from house arrest starting in April. Concubine Li will be stripped of her title and demoted to a talented lady. This will teach her a lesson."