A middle-aged emperor, childless, was blessed with a beautiful and pregnant concubine who entered th

She couldn't wait to confront the scoundrel emperor in front of her.

Slap him twice more hard.

Stab him to death with another blow.

But reason told her that it wasn't enough.

It's not time to confront him directly.

She went to great lengths, but was still stabbed in the back. Although the system protected her, it wouldn't actually kill her.

But she had just given birth.

Without the help of a system, a woman who has just given birth could be fatally injured if she were to take a knife for someone else.

She has worked hard to build this business, and she must not act impulsively.

Coming back to his senses, Emperor Qianwu covered Zhou Mingyi's hand, "My beloved consort, why did you suddenly appear in Qianqing Palace?"

Zhou Mingyi thought to himself, "That bastard, no matter what others do, he will eventually become suspicious."

She coughed twice, her face pale.

This cough aggravated the wound.

In that instant, she gave a wink to the lotus flower beside her.

Lianwu immediately said, "Your Majesty, the Empress... the Empress..."

Emperor Qianwu pressed, "What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

The lotus flower lowered its head, looking as if it wanted to speak but dared not, which actually eased Emperor Qianwu's suspicions somewhat.

"Speak, what happened to your empress? You are pardoned!"

The wax apple trembled, as if it had received encouragement and a pardon in an instant because of those words.

"Your Majesty knows that the princess... is young and doesn't understand things, and made a mistake in a moment of confusion..."

"Young and ignorant?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianwu's expression turned cold.

"She's not a three-year-old child anymore. Chen'er is her own younger brother. How could she do something so beastly!"

Zhou Mingyi slightly curled the corners of her lips, feigning weakness.

"His Majesty……"

Emperor Qianwu gripped her hand tightly. "You don't need to plead for her. This time, I absolutely cannot tolerate them, mother and daughter!"

"Chen'er is still so young, and they dare to do such heinous things. As long as they and their daughter are alive, our Chen'er will never have a peaceful day!"

"You have no idea, that girl Chaoyang, she's got a really big heart!"

"She not only wants to be a princess, she also wants to be the crown princess..."

Lianwu covered her lips in terror, and Zhou Mingyi also feigned extreme shock...

Emperor Qianwu finally realized what he had said...

But then he thought about it again, and realized that Ah Chang had given birth to his only child, his only prince.

Now that the prince has been born, the outcome is already decided.

He will cherish this child as if he were the very eyeball of his life.

They will also train him to be a qualified successor.

In this way, it wouldn't hurt to say these things to Ah Chang and her confidants.

He let out a heavy, cold snort.

Zhou Mingyi raised her hand, and Emperor Qianwu immediately grabbed her wrist.

"His Majesty……"

"You mean the princess attacked Chen'er because she wanted to seize the throne?"

She looked on in disbelief.

Emperor Qianwu remained silent, but did not deny it.

Zhou Mingyi still couldn't believe it. "This, this... this is truly a fantasy! I would rather die than even imagine such a thing!"

Emperor Qianwu immediately covered her lips in alarm, "You are not allowed to say that word!"

Zhou Mingyi's eyes flickered, and tears fell.

"I thought she was afraid that you would neglect her after her younger brother was born. I always thought she was a child who lacked love..."

After she finished speaking, she burst into tears.

Upon hearing these words, Emperor Qianwu became even angrier.

"Ah Chang, you're so kind!"

Distracted like this, Emperor Qianwu would fill in the blanks in his mind.

It turns out that Ah Chang is so kind. Even though that unfilial daughter Chao Yang has done such a rebellious, disloyal, unjust, and unkind thing, Ah Chang still thought of personally coming to talk to the father and daughter.

Who would have thought that this rebellious woman would dare to lay a hand on him?

At this moment, Emperor Qianwu wished that the knife would stab him instead.

He was a martial artist with a strong physique, while Ah Chang, a frail woman, bravely took the blow for him.

He truly owed her a great deal.

……

The emperor's sense of guilt is indeed very useful.

These past few days, Zhou Mingyi has been resting in Weiyang Palace, checking on her beloved son from time to time, receiving a constant stream of rewards every day.

Now, everyone knows that Consort Zhen has won completely.

The duties at Weiyang Palace were the most important matters in the entire harem.

It is even heavier than the Qianqing Palace and the Cining Palace of the Empress Dowager!

……

It is indeed not advisable for Zhou Mingyi to fall out with Emperor Qianwu and his mother at this time.

Chaoyang and her daughter had just died, and her son Chen'er had just been born.

If she were to act recklessly now, Emperor Qianwu and the Empress Dowager could simply remove the mother and keep the child.

She absolutely refused to allow her plan to fail.

Now, she has killed the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and Consort Chen and her daughter.

Her enemies also included the Cen family, the Empress Dowager, and Emperor Qianwu.

She needs to be steady and take it slow.

Before that, she needs to increase her leverage.

……

The next morning, Zhou Mingchong received a letter from Weiyang Palace.

The letter contained only a few words: "The time has come, brother, you may act now."

After reading it, he held the letter close to the candle flame, watching it burn to ashes. Then he stood up, straightened his clothes, and strode out.

Inside the office of the Ministry of Personnel, colleagues were chatting idly in twos and threes.

Upon seeing him enter, someone greeted him with a smile: "Brother Mingchong, you look quite well today. Is there some good news?"

Zhou Mingchong smiled but did not answer. He simply sat down, spread out a blank memorial, dipped his brush in ink, and wrote slowly and steadily, stroke by stroke.

The memorial contained few words, but each word was like a nail firmly planted on the paper.

"Your humble servant, Zhou Mingchong, Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, respectfully submits this memorial: We should establish an Empress and appoint an heir to secure the foundation of the nation. I have heard that the foundation of the nation lies in the heir apparent, and the foundation of the family lies in the spouse. Now, Consort Zhen has given birth to the Imperial Heir, her merits are evident, and she should be placed in the Empress's position to serve as a model for the nation. The Imperial Eldest Son is intelligent and upright; he should be established as the heir apparent as soon as possible to ensure the stability of the state. I humbly submit this memorial at the risk of my life."

After finishing writing, he put down his pen, blew the ink dry, and sealed the memorial.

He didn't rush to hand it over, but waited for three days.

Over the next three days, people submitted petitions one after another.

Wang Hongyi, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, submitted a memorial requesting the establishment of an Empress; Chen Wenyuan, a Reader-in-Waiting of the Hanlin Academy, submitted a memorial requesting the establishment of a Crown Prince; and the Six Supervising Secretaries jointly submitted a memorial requesting the proper recognition of the titles and ranks of the empresses.

One book after another, as if by prior arrangement, piled up on Emperor Qianwu's desk.

Emperor Qianwu sat behind his desk, flipping through the memorials, a slight smile playing on his lips.

As an emperor, he always hated being pushed around by these courtiers.

Even though establishing an empress was what he wanted, the fact that these people kept submitting memorials made Emperor Qianwu feel somewhat awkward.

These opportunists, now that I have a prince, can't wait to curry favor with me, humph!

They're smart to be sensible!

At the same time, he also knew that A-Chang's brother, Zhou Mingchong, was pushing this matter forward with great effort.

Zhou Mingchong is A-Chang's older brother, so it's understandable that he would do things for his sister.

Moreover, he only had one prince, and Ah Chang had contributed to his succession by bearing him a child and had also saved his life.

She is worthy of the title of Empress.

"Fuquan".

Emperor Qianwu hesitated almost without hesitation.

Fuquan quickly stepped forward.

"By my decree, the Ministry of Rites shall draft an edict to confer the title of Empress upon Consort Zhen, née Zhou, and the title of Crown Prince upon the eldest son of the Emperor. The full moon celebration and the investiture ceremony shall be held on the same day."

Fu Quan was taken aback.

"Same day?"

Emperor Qianwu glanced at him.

Fuquan immediately lowered his head. "Yes, this servant will take care of it right away."

By the time the news reached the inner palace, it was already evening.

Liu Shuang'er was practicing her horse stance in the courtyard when she heard the little palace maid's words and almost lost her balance.

"What did you say? To bestow the title of Empress?"

The young palace maid nodded with a smile.

"Yes! His Majesty said it himself: the full moon celebration and the investiture ceremony will be held on the same day. Consort Xiu, this is a joyous occasion!"

Liu Shuang'er was stunned for a while, then suddenly grinned and burst into laughter.

"That's great, that's great!"

Palace maid: "Xiuyuan, isn't this rather unseemly?"

Liu Xiuyuan ignored her and ran towards Weiyang Palace.

How could the palace maids outrun someone who had practiced martial arts for many years?

The crowd followed behind her, and halfway there, they saw her stop and slap her head.

"Oh dear, I forgot to change my clothes!"

She ran back to change her clothes, and after a long while, she finally arrived at Weiyang Palace, panting heavily.

Zheng Yanran was already there, sitting on an embroidered stool, her eyes red-rimmed, clutching a handkerchief in her hand, too excited to speak.

Zhou Mingyi leaned back on the soft couch, holding the little prince in her arms, and couldn't help but smile as she looked at the two of them.

"What are you all doing? I'm not dead yet, why are you crying?"

Zheng Yanran quickly wiped away her tears.

"Your Majesty, I am happy...happy..."

"Pah! Pah! Pah! It's a perfectly good day, and you can't say anything about it... How come you're not a little taboo about such things?"

Zhou Mingyi smiled but didn't say anything.

People revere life and death, and Zhou Mingyi was no exception.

But she was never afraid.

Liu Shuang'er stood at the door, then suddenly knelt down and kowtowed earnestly.

"This humble servant greets Your Majesty the Empress."

Zhou Mingyi was taken aback for a moment, then realized what was happening.

"Get up. The investiture ceremony has not yet been held."

Liu Shuang'er stood up and said earnestly, "It's only a matter of time. I'll call you now so you won't feel awkward later."

Zhou Mingyi slightly curled the corners of her lips.

The Liu family's pure and innocent heart is truly rare.

Although Zheng was timid, she seemed genuinely happy for her.

As for the others, Chen Wanning sent a Duan inkstone through someone as a congratulatory gift. She did not come in person.

Zhou Nian'er also arrived. She quietly bowed, said a few words of congratulations, and then left.

Consort Lan and Consort Lin, among others, were also very generous and sent gifts.

Consort Lan also personally delivered many toys to Zhou Mingyi for the princes.

Each item was inspected by the Imperial Medical Academy beforehand.

This kind of thoughtfulness is rare.

No wonder she was able to get out of the cold palace.

She and she could be considered allies.

However, Consort Lan now stays at home very much and rarely goes out, so she doesn't have much contact with Zhou Mingyi.

The full moon celebration is scheduled for the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, also known as the Double Ninth Festival.

Before dawn, Weiyang Palace was already bustling with activity.

The wax apple and pomegranate took out the phoenix robe, phoenix crown, and pheasant-feathered garment that had been delivered, and carefully inspected them, afraid that there might be some mistake.

Zhou Mingyi sat in front of the dressing table, letting them do whatever they wanted.

The face in the mirror looked fuller than before she gave birth, with a healthy complexion and a smile in her eyes and brows.

"Your Majesty looks beautiful today."

Shi Liu couldn't help but praise it.

Lianwu glared at her. "Still calling me 'Your Highness'? You should call me 'Empress' now."

Shi Liu quickly changed her tune. "Yes, yes, Your Majesty!"

Zhou Mingyi smiled but didn't say anything.

She looked at herself in the mirror, at the phoenix robe and the phoenix crown on her head, her expression resolute.

In her past life, she was a lowly concubine in the Eastern Palace, and when she died, there was no one to even collect her body.

Now, she sits on the phoenix throne, wearing a phoenix robe and a phoenix crown, the most noble woman in the world.

Her son was the Crown Prince. Her elder brother was the Empress's brother.

She will personally take care of her enemies, one by one.

No wonder everyone wants to climb the ladder; the taste of power is truly wonderful.