The Eldest Daughter Returns: Imperial Uncle, I'm Pregnant!

Now that things have come to this point, Duke Wen has nothing left to hide. He has been brought into the open from the shadows, and it would be even more unseemly to continue hiding at this point.

The Emperor was enjoying a massage from Consort Xi in her palace. The air was filled with the calming incense that had just been lit in her palace, and the Emperor felt completely relaxed and at ease.

Yes, Consort Xi has now become Imperial Concubine Xi. This level of promotion has never been seen in this dynasty or even the previous dynasty. Even the late emperor, who favored his concubines over his wife, could not match it.

The Empress's position in the palace became increasingly awkward. Everyone speculated that the Emperor was getting older and was starting to follow the old path of the previous Emperor, favoring his concubines over his wife. It was only a matter of time. The only difference was that the Crown Prince was already an adult prince, while Consort Xi did not yet have a prince.

Hearing such rumors in the palace made the Empress feel even worse. She tried to persuade the Emperor from the Empress's perspective and also tried to appease the Empress Dowager as the daughter-in-law. But no matter what she did, the Emperor ignored her.

However, he simply ignored her. The Empress's power and the imperial seal remained with her, and the Emperor did not reprimand her or express any dissatisfaction.

After a while, the Empress lost interest in the Emperor and finally sighed, "I'm old and my looks are fading." After that, she stopped paying attention to him and just focused on doing her job as Empress.

The Crown Prince was indifferent. He had been worried about the Empress, but now that he saw his mother could see reality clearly, he stopped paying too much attention to her affairs and focused on how to protect the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess's pregnancy has been kept secret, and only the people in the Chu Prince's residence know about it. The Crown Prince, who takes the Crown Princess's pulse, is so worried about the Imperial Hospital staff and those around him that he takes the Crown Princess to the Chu Prince's residence every few days.

As he listened to the people below say that Duke Wen went to the Third Prince's residence that very day and didn't come out until late at night, the Emperor couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.

"Ha, is my good uncle really that shameless? That Song Yue'e just said that she and Consort Yu—oh, no, she's not called Consort Yu anymore, she should be called Consort Yu now—that Consort Yu is the child she had with a mysterious man." The Emperor's face was full of gloom, and he couldn't help but feel a violent emotion rising from his heart.

"If it weren't for the fact that the Third Prince is my son, I would definitely kill that disgraceful wretch!"

Consort Xi quickly nestled into the Emperor's arms, gently comforting him. Seeing that he was no longer so agitated, Consort Xi took out a brush and wrote on it:

"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. You should take care of your health. Those people are not worth it."

Looking into those eyes, the Emperor suddenly realized he wasn't sure if the person before him was the same one from before. He sighed, gently patted Consort Xi's shoulder, and said nothing more. His eyes were filled with complex emotions, making Consort Xi hesitate to meet the Emperor's gaze.

The Emperor didn't make things too difficult for Consort Xi. He looked at the wisps of smoke rising from the incense burner and asked, "What good things has your master made recently?"

Consort Xi was taken aback. Yes, she had told the Emperor before that she was an orphan who was picked up and raised by a Taoist priest. Later, she encountered a disaster and was taken away by the Third Prince, which led to her connection with the Emperor.

When the Emperor saw that Consort Xi wanted to write again, he impatiently pushed all the paper to the ground. "Speak," he said, "my eyes hurt. I'm always reading memorials, and now I have to read your words too. It's making me very annoyed."

Consort Xi bit her lip and slowly opened her mouth, "Yes, Your Majesty, I'm glad you don't mind my voice."

The Emperor closed his eyes and merely frowned at the rough, broken voice, saying nothing. According to Consort Xi, her voice had been somewhat healed by the elixirs her master had prepared, but whether it would fully recover depended on continuing to take the elixirs.

"Can your master really cure your voice?" After all, he had already had the imperial physician examine him, and even the imperial physician was helpless. Could a wandering Taoist really have such ability?

"I don't know either, but Master is good to me." Consort Xi still didn't dare to speak loudly, because if she spoke loudly, it would sound like a saw cutting wood, rough, broken and unpleasant. It was better to speak softly like this.

"Hmm, has your master gotten anything good lately?"

Consort Xi thought for a moment and said, "My master recently obtained a thousand-year-old flesh spirit mushroom by chance and refined it into nine pills, which have the effect of prolonging life."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor suddenly became interested and asked, "Flesh-like Ganoderma? And a thousand-year-old one at that? That's incredibly rare, even more precious than a thousand-year-old ginseng. Do you have any elixirs for that?"

Consort Xi hesitated for a moment before nodding gently.

"Bring it here, let me try it."

Consort Xi was somewhat flustered. "How can that be? You are the Emperor. Even the ministers would not allow such a thing if they knew about it."

"I am the Emperor, what is impossible? Whatever I say goes, bring it here!"

From that day on, the Emperor became even more obsessed with Consort Xi's palace, and even began to neglect state affairs. He invited Consort Xi's master, the Taoist Master Yiming, to the palace to seek immortality and enlightenment. The ministers objected, and some senior officials even demanded that the Emperor kill Consort Xi to restore order to the court.

Some ministers even wanted to summon the King of Chu to persuade the emperor, but at this time the King of Chu also fell ill and collapsed. No one knew what illness he had. The King of Chu was always in a daze. The Empress Dowager sent the imperial physicians several times, but they were unable to find out what was wrong with him.

Finally, after the death of an old minister, the emperor spoke up, saying that the crown prince would oversee the country. Although the emperor was not present, it was good that the crown prince could shoulder the great responsibility. Everyone was speculating whether the emperor wanted to abdicate ahead of time and become a carefree retired emperor.

Duke Wen also changed his usual behavior, forcefully supporting the Third Prince Xiao Yuheng with thunderous methods. He was not afraid of what others might say about whether Xiao Yuheng was his grandson. On the contrary, he generously admitted that Xiao Yuheng was his grandson, and that Consort Yu was his daughter who had been living away from home. As for Song Yue'e, Duke Wen meant that he had a one-night stand with her when he stayed in Qingzhou, which was why his daughter had been living away from home.

What's even more surprising is that the Duke of Wen directly changed Yu Tingting's name to Wen Tingting and registered her under the name of the Duke of Wen's wife, Madam Jiang, in the family genealogy. She is the eldest daughter of the Wen family, even Wen Rou is ranked after her. Overnight, Wen Tingting's status was completely changed, which made Consort Yu in the Cold Palace very happy. It seems that it's only a matter of time before she is reinstated.

However, the biggest obstacle was not someone else, but the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager was dissatisfied with the Duke of Wen's actions and issued an imperial edict to reprimand him. Although the Duke of Wen accepted the edict, he also said that this was ultimately a family matter of the Wen family, which made the Empress Dowager so angry that she almost fainted.

The Empress Dowager was no pushover either. You say it's your family matter? Fine, Consort Yu is now also a family matter of the royal family. So she personally ordered that Consort Yu be thrown directly from her previous palace into the real cold palace in the imperial palace, and that the Third Prince be forbidden to visit her.

The Duke of Wen personally went to see the Empress Dowager about this matter. The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes and told the Duke of Wen directly, "This is my family matter. The Duke of Wen should not overstep his bounds."

This angered Duke Wen so much that his face turned red, and he stormed off to find Xiao Yuheng.

"Your mother's situation is already like this. After all, she is a daughter of the Wen family. Although the Empress Dowager is angry, she will still protect her. It's actually quite good now. At least the Empress can no longer harm your mother. You can devote yourself wholeheartedly to the cause of seizing the throne."

Xiao Yuheng's eyes were red, and his hands were clenched into fists. "It is I who have implicated my mother."

Duke Wen was somewhat moved. He comforted him, "You don't need to blame yourself too much. I didn't expect Song Yue'e... Well, things have come to this point, and I have nothing more to say."

"Grandpa, what about your health..." When Song Yue'e was dying, it was revealed that she had an infectious disease. The Duke of Wen had always believed that he was keeping a mistress and still had a close relationship with Song Yue'e, so naturally he couldn't escape it either. Now he is also secretly seeking treatment from a famous doctor.

"I know my own body, so don't worry. You just need to focus on competing with the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince doesn't have a strong background, so you still have a chance."

"No, it's not my maternal grandfather. There's also the Crown Prince and the Prince of Chu's residence."

Duke Wen thought for a moment and said, "The Chu King's mansion is indeed daunting, but it is said that the Chu King is currently ill, and his illness is quite strange. He is most likely poisoned. The Chu King is already in dire straits, so there is nothing to worry about."

"Grandpa, we must not be careless. Even without the King of Chu, there is still the Queen Consort of Chu, who is an extremely intelligent woman..."

Duke Wen looked at Xiao Yuheng with an expression that said, "Child, I know what you're thinking, but now is not the time for romance. The Princess Consort of Chu is indeed a rare beauty, but only when you reach a high enough position can you hold her in your hands. Do you understand?"

“Grandpa is right.” A glint flashed in Xiao Yuheng’s eyes. Yes, he still couldn’t forget Gu Qingwan, especially recently he kept dreaming about her. Every night he dreamed about her, the story was different, as if he had been reborn, only in that Gu Qingwan loved him, Xiao Yuheng.

"As for the King of Chu, if you have any reservations, there are ways to deal with him. I will send him back to the border, and while he is away, I will take the capital!"

Xiao Yuheng was somewhat surprised. He tentatively asked, "Grandpa, do you mean..."

"That's right, just like you thought. You had Consort Xi entangle the Emperor, and the moment he finished taking those nine pills would be the moment of his death. At that point, if you still wanted to win over the court officials, it would be useless. Only in the face of absolute power will they submit unconditionally."

Xiao Yuheng was somewhat shocked. How could the progress be so fast?

Duke Wen didn't explain anything further. After seeing the Third Prince off, he stood in his study for a long time without coming out. He knew that his days were numbered. If he couldn't find a miracle doctor for that infectious disease, it would definitely kill him. Rather than waiting to die, he might as well make his wish come true in advance. Then, even if he died, he would have no regrets.

Duke Wen was unaware that after scheming for so long, he was about to reveal his trump card. Was it the right thing to do? But it was too late; time was not going to wait any longer.

At this moment, no one knew that Madam Jiang, the wife of the Duke of Wen, was standing in the courtyard outside the study, gazing at the closed gate in front of the study. The servants all thought that the wife had come to reconcile with the Duke, and everyone knew that the Duke had not been to the back courtyard for a long time. However, Madam Jiang did not move until it was dark and the courtyard was lit. Only then did Madam Jiang return to the back courtyard with the help of her maid.

After learning about what happened in the palace, Gu Qingwan refused to see the Crown Prince even when he came to visit.

As for Duke Wen and the Third Prince, Gu Qingwan could only sigh: How shameless!

Xiao Jingchen's physical condition is getting worse and worse. He has not only become excessively sleepy, but more importantly, he has nightmares when he is asleep. He feels uncomfortable whether he is awake or asleep, and his overall mental state is very poor.

"Qingwan, have I fallen asleep again?"

When Gu Qingwan saw that Xiao Jingchen had woken up, her tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a little. The prince was sleeping for longer and longer periods of time, and his nightmares seemed to be getting worse. She didn't know if Ning Yi could come back. If she had the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, it should be able to alleviate his current symptoms.

"How is Your Highness feeling?"

Xiao Jingchen sat up with Gu Qingwan's help. He felt dizzy and lightheaded, as if his head was filled with mush. He couldn't get up and didn't want to lie down any longer.