The Sickly Regent Prince Who Was Abandoned as a Substitute Bride

Upon returning to the Marquis's residence, Dongfang Zheng immediately summoned the family's advisors to discuss countermeasures. They were well aware of the political significance behind this marriage and understood the emperor's intentions.

After careful consideration, Dongfang Zheng decided to take a series of measures to deal with this situation.

"Gentlemen, His Majesty has given me an order this time. Do you have any good suggestions...?"

"My lord, I think the first thing to do is to send trusted confidants to secretly search for suitable talents in various places to strengthen the family's power."

"These talents will become an important pillar for the future development of the Marquis's mansion, helping them to better cope with potential challenges. Secondly, I ordered that the training of our own army be strengthened to improve the soldiers' combat effectiveness."

Another person said, "Only by possessing strong military power can one remain invincible in this ever-changing era."

Dongfang Zheng discussed matters with everyone until late into the night, and only when dawn was breaking did he drag his weary body back to his room. At that moment, he suddenly realized that he hadn't seen his daughter, Dongfang Mingzhu, for a long time. A sense of worry welled up inside him; he wondered how she was doing.

Just as he was deep in thought, footsteps sounded outside the door. Then, the door was gently pushed open, and a figure walked in. Dongfang Zheng looked closely and saw it was Dongfang Mingzhu. She looked flustered, as if something had happened.

"Mingzhu, why are you so late? Where have you been?" Dongfang Zheng frowned, his tone carrying a hint of reproach.

"Father, Father..." Dongfang Mingzhu lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly.

"Hmm? Why are you in such a panic? I haven't seen you lately, has something happened?" Dongfang Zheng scrutinized Dongfang Mingzhu, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

"Father, I'll take my leave now..." Dongfang Mingzhu didn't dare to look her father in the eye, quickly bowed and turned to leave.

As Dongfang watched his daughter's departing figure, his unease grew. He felt she was hiding something, but he didn't want to press her directly. He could only sigh inwardly, hoping he was just overthinking things.

Dongfang felt he hadn't seen Liu Qiqi in a long time and decided to go see her...

"My lord..." the maid was about to call out when Dongfang Zheng waved his hand, signaling her to be quiet and give her a surprise...

Just as Dongfang Zheng reached Liu Qiqi's door, he heard a sound coming from inside...

"Mingzhu, are you saying your father found out when you came back?"

"Yes, Father only knows that I went out, but he doesn't know that I went to Brother Jingchu's place. Aunt, now I am Jingchu's person. Brother Jingchu said that he will go to ask for permission soon."

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Zheng was instantly enraged, a flash of disappointment and anger crossing his eyes. He hadn't expected his daughter to be so audacious as to secretly have an affair with a man behind his back.

He clenched his fists, trembling with rage. His anger burned fiercely, as if it would set the entire world ablaze. He gritted his teeth and cursed, "That shameless bastard! How could he do such a thing!"

Dongfang Zheng desperately wanted to rush in and confront his daughter, but he restrained himself. After all, she was his own flesh and blood, and he couldn't easily lay a hand on her. However, he also couldn't tolerate his daughter's betrayal and needed to have a serious talk with her.

He took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and then pushed open the door and went inside.

Liu Qiqi and Dongfang Mingzhu, who were in the room, looked panicked when they saw him suddenly appear.

The Oriental Pearl Tower, in particular, was so frightened that its face turned pale and its lips trembled, unable to utter a word.

Dongfang Zheng glared at the Oriental Pearl Tower and said coldly, "What were you just saying?" His tone was full of authority and anger, which made the two people present shiver.

"My lord." Liu Qiqi was startled; she hadn't expected the lord to be here.

"Father...Father..." Dongfang Mingzhu hid behind Liu Qiqi, her face showing fear.

"Mingzhu, you have disappointed me so much. You don't take good care of your body. You are not even of marriageable age yet..." Although Dongfang Zheng had already received the Emperor's decree, he still couldn't help but lose his temper with his daughter.

"Father, Jingchu and I are in love with each other, and Jingchu will marry me..." Dongfang Mingzhu said with a firm expression.

"You, you, you're making me so angry! Liu Qiqi, is this how you raise your daughter..." Dongfang pointed at Liu Qiqi, too angry to speak.

"My lord, I... I..." Liu Qiqi knelt on the ground, not knowing how to explain. She felt wronged, even though it was clearly not her fault.

Perhaps due to excessive nervousness, Liu Qiqi suddenly felt nauseous. She covered her mouth and dry heaved repeatedly.

"Ugh... ugh..." Liu Qiqi kept retching. A bold guess formed in her mind: No way... it couldn't be...

Seeing Liu Qiqi like this, Dongfang Zheng felt embarrassed to continue scolding her. He frowned and said, "Go and fetch the family physician..."

"My lord, I'm just feeling a little nauseous, there's no need to..." Liu Qiqi tried to stop her, but Dongfang Zheng didn't listen to her.

Dongfang Zheng waved his hand and said, "No need to say more. I have my reasons for inviting the physician." After saying that, he ignored Dongfang Mingzhu and turned to look at the door.

Sure enough, not long after, the royal physician rushed over and, upon entering the room, respectfully bowed to Dongfang Zheng, saying, "Greetings, Lord Marquis."

Dongfang Zheng waved for him to get up, then pointed to Liu Qiqi on the bed and said, "Physician, take Liu's pulse and check on Mingzhu as well."

Dongfang Zheng did this because he was afraid that Dongfang Mingzhu was pregnant. If she was pregnant before marrying into the First Prince's household, her reputation would be ruined.

"Yes!" the physician replied, walked to the bedside and sat down, gently placing his hand on Liu Qiqi's wrist.

Liu Qiqi was extremely nervous because she knew she hadn't had her period for a month, and now the imperial physician was going to take her pulse, which made her heart jump into her throat.

"Congratulations, Your Excellency! Your concubine is pregnant! She's been pregnant for a month already." The royal physician beamed with joy and quickly bowed to Dongfang Zheng to offer his congratulations.

Upon hearing this news, Dongfang Zheng was overjoyed. He carefully calculated the time since his last intimate encounter with Liu Qiqi and realized that a month had indeed passed.

"Hahahaha, great, great, Qiqi, you've worked hard! I never thought I, Dongfang Zheng, would have a child in my old age!" Dongfang Zheng was so happy he couldn't stop smiling, his eyes full of joy.

"Hehe, I didn't expect this either..." Liu Qiqi smiled bitterly. She didn't know whose child it was. If it was the Marquis's, that would be fine, but if it was that other person's... oh my god, she couldn't even imagine it! ...No, this child absolutely cannot be kept...

"Physician, examine Mingzhu..." Dongfang Zheng was very pleased at this moment...