Marrying the Crown Prince

"Oh?" Consort De looked surprised, covering her mouth with a handkerchief, her eyes wide. "I never expected that the Noble Consort would care about me so much. I am truly moved."

Her affected manner successfully disgusted the Imperial Concubine, leaving her face stiff with revulsion—Who! Cares! About! You!

Emperor Chenze sat on his throne, taking in the expressions of the people below, and couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

In his mind, as long as the concubines in the harem didn't cause any sordid or ugly incidents, Emperor Chenze treated their vying for favor as mere amusement.

After all, those in a position should fulfill their duties, and each person should do what they are supposed to do at what time.

A general should defend the territory, a courtier should assist the emperor, a student should study hard, and a doctor's mission is to save lives and heal the wounded.

As for concubines, they had to compete for the emperor's favor. If you didn't compete for the emperor's favor, what would you do in the palace? Just to retire?

"Ahem!" Emperor Chenze coughed lightly, suppressing the smile on his face, and looked at Consort De with a serious expression. "Consort De, what did the imperial physician say?"

"The imperial physician says that I am two months pregnant." Consort De gently stroked her flat belly, her smile different from her usual alluring demeanor, instead radiating tenderness and affection.

Her voice was soft, but her words were like a bomb, leaving everyone in the hall stunned.

However, this did not include Zhou Zhou and Li Ziyan, but they both acted very seriously and were stunned along with everyone else.

Empress Chu also found it somewhat unbelievable. Her eyes swept over Consort De, and when she saw her young and beautiful face, everything seemed to make sense again—although Emperor Chenze was old, Consort De was indeed quite young.

Perhaps because no princes or princesses have been born in the harem in recent years, Empress Chu subconsciously felt that Emperor Chenze was no longer capable of ruling.

It seems that Emperor Chenze is quite capable.

However, just because Empress Chu believed in Emperor Chenze's sexual prowess did not mean that others thought so. After all, Consort De had been favored for so many years, she would have gotten pregnant long ago, so why was she only getting pregnant now?

It's hard not to suspect the baby in her belly...

Thinking of this, the Imperial Concubine smiled and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, and congratulations to Consort De. After so many years, you have finally overcome your hardships and are pregnant with the imperial heir."

As soon as she said this, almost all eyes were focused on Consort De—yes, how come she couldn't get pregnant for so many years, but now she's pregnant?

Emperor Chenze: "..."

Do you really think I'm blind?

His eyes were bright and sharp, like a knife, coldly sweeping over everyone present. The crowd immediately lowered their heads, no longer daring to be so blatant.

"Speaking of which," Empress Chu thought of something after the Imperial Concubine's reminder, "a concubine's pregnancy is a joyous occasion and should be recorded in the annals of history."

Emperor Chenze lowered his eyes, concealing his emotions, and responded calmly, "Mm."

Soon, the official document was presented. Empress Chu looked through it for a while and smiled, "That's right, she conceived in October of last year."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chenze immediately beamed with joy, "Excellent, excellent, reward me!"

After leaving Fengyi Palace, the group still had to go to Shou Kang Palace.

Wang Qingwu leaned close to Zhou Zhou and whispered in her ear, "Consort De is two months pregnant and has been keeping it a secret, but now she has revealed it herself. The reason for this is probably not simple."

Zhou Zhou nodded slightly, glanced around discreetly, and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, replied softly, "It's alright. She's in the West Palace, and you don't go to the palace often, so just keep your distance."

"Are you stupid?" Wang Qingwu gritted his teeth and tugged at her sleeve. "I'm worried about you."

Zhou Zhou gave her a strange look, leaving Wang Qingwu completely bewildered.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

“I was thinking,” Zhou Zhou sighed softly, “that you’ve been spending too much time with your cousin.”

As a result, my mind became dull.

Wang Qingwu: "..."

Who are you calling a jerk? Don't think I can't understand just because you're being so subtle!

She rubbed Zhou Zhou's waist, but Zhou Zhou, being ticklish, quickly dodged to the side, pleading, "Good sister, it was my fault."

"You heartless bastard, I knew I shouldn't have reminded you." Wang Qingwu pretended to be sad, lowered her eyes, bowed her head, and wiped away her tears with her handkerchief. The movements were smooth and seamless, without the slightest hesitation.

What else could Zhou Zhou do? She could only keep calling him "sister" and coaxing him like her precious darling.

Li Ziyan and Li Zichen exchanged a glance, their expressions complicated.

Inside Shou Kang Palace, after exchanging greetings, everyone sat quietly to the side, listening to Emperor Chenze and the Empress Dowager speak.

"Your Majesty, you look better and better," he said, offering his usual flattery.

The Empress Dowager smiled faintly. "Really? It's so cold lately, and I haven't had much of an appetite. I never expected to have gained weight?"

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look at the mother and son, for fear that they would be called out and dragged aside for a chat.

Of course, since the roll call was to be made, it wouldn't be a junior, so Empress Chu called out.

"It must be the blessings of our ancestors that make Mother seem to grow younger with each passing year." Emperor Chenze replied quickly, not forgetting to include Empress Chu, "Empress, don't you think so?"

Empress Chu nodded vigorously, her sincerity unwavering. "Yes, Your Majesty is the Empress Dowager of Da Chen, the mother of the Emperor. Heaven and the gods will naturally bless Your Majesty with a long and prosperous life."

She rarely said anything nice, and the Empress Dowager looked pleased. "With the recent holidays, has the Empress been busy handling palace affairs?"

"Thanks to the Empress Dowager, everything went smoothly. Moreover, last night Consort De suddenly felt unwell and summoned the imperial physician, who said she was more than two months pregnant."

"Oh?" The Empress Dowager raised her eyebrows and looked at Emperor Chenze with affection. "In this palace, the concubines have not been pregnant for many years, right? This time, they must be well cared for."

Emperor Chenze nodded in agreement, "Mother, rest assured, your son and the Empress will certainly take it to heart."

Although this child was unexpected, he was still looking forward to it.

After exchanging a few more words with Emperor Chenze and Empress Chu, the Empress Dowager looked at Li Ziyan and Zhou Zhou.

Compared to Emperor Chenze, who was worried about having an heir, and Empress Chu, who was quietly urging the birth of a child, the Empress Dowager did not care about these things.

In her view, having children is about fate, not something that can be forced.

If they really can't have another child, they can just adopt one from the imperial clan. After all, Chong'an and Xuanping, who are the third and fifth sons, are quite fertile.

Her eyes swept over Li Ziyan, and she finally confirmed one thing—

"Jinyou looks a bit stronger than he did before the New Year."

Yes, after a winter, the result of hibernating is weight gain, something most people can't avoid, including the protagonist.

Li Ziyan was in poor health when he was young, and it was not easy for him to gain even a pound or two of weight. As a result, he was always rather thin. It is no wonder that the Empress Dowager was somewhat surprised that he had gained a little weight.

Li Ziyan smiled and said, "It's all thanks to you, and of course, it's also because Zhouzhou took such good care of me."