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

"you!"

"You wicked woman!"

Madam Xue retorted, "You're abandoning your own daughter for this adopted son?"

"His Majesty has no heir. Our Rong'er is already having a hard time in the palace. And now he's saved some Consort Zhen. Isn't this just openly making things difficult for our Rong'er?"

General Xue felt guilty when his daughter was mentioned.

He remained silent for a moment before refuting.

"Kuo'er has been stationed at the border for many years and doesn't know any Consort Zhen. This is an accident..."

Madam Xue snorted coldly.

The couple ended up in a draw.

Madam Xue glanced at her husband, then looked around the room. "Let's go. What are we still standing here for? They don't welcome us."

General Xue was very unconvinced. "You go back first. I'll stay and see if there's anything I can help with."

Madam Xue rolled her eyes in a very inelegant manner.

General Xue and she were childhood sweethearts, and he didn't mind.

"E'er, have someone send over some precious medicinal herbs and tonics in a little while."

"But no matter what, Kuo'er is nominally our son."

"Kuo'er's father saved my life back then. In fact, it is our Xue family that has wronged him all these years."

Speaking of this, Madam Xue said irritably, "How dare you say that?"

"If you hadn't failed to make things clear back then, Kuo'er and I might be as close as mother and son!"

General Xue was extremely embarrassed.

Madam Xue said irritably, "I'll have someone send it over in a bit. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Upon hearing his wife's words, General Xue was immediately relieved.

After his wife left, General Xue frowned again as he thought about his daughter's situation in the palace.

Originally, everyone knew that Emperor Qianwu had no heir.

Any family that truly loves its daughter would not send her to the palace.

However, some people don't care whether their daughters are doing well or not, and still send their daughters to the palace.

Their aim was to win Emperor Qianwu's favor and consolidate their power in the previous dynasty.

The reason why Xue Rong, the daughter of the Xue family, entered the palace is the third one.

Xue Rong is about the same age as Shen Kuo, and is twenty-three years old this year.

She entered the palace eight years ago.

Eight years ago, Princess Chaoyang was eight years old.

The birth of Princess Chaoyang at that time dispelled the rumor that the emperor's lineage would end.

Xue Rong had no intention of entering the palace, but she met Emperor Qianwu at a palace banquet. She was immediately captivated by the emperor's majesty and was willing to enter the palace to accompany him.

She may have harbored a certain unrealistic hope.

Since Consort Chen was able to conceive Princess Chaoyang, it means that His Majesty's health is fine.

Perhaps, she will be able to bear children?

With this in mind, Xue Rong entered the palace along with the daughters of several other ministers.

Eight years have passed.

Xue Rong rose to the position of concubine through her father's military achievements, but it was a title without real power.

The daughters of the other ministers were either unknown or had offended Consort Chen, and were not favored by Emperor Qianwu, suffering greatly in the palace.

The power in the palace was firmly held by Consort Chen and her daughter.

Later, Xue Rong also realized that apart from Consort Chen, no one else could conceive the Emperor's child, so apart from her, all the women in the palace were the same.

Occasionally, in order to balance the harem and the court, and also to make Consort Chen more restrained, His Majesty would give her special treatment.

Consort Rong was also willing to have such dignity.

As long as it can cause trouble for Consort Chen.

Consort Rong had been in the palace for eight years and had many grudges against Consort Chen.

For example, the palace will soon have another Consort Zhen.

His Majesty praised her for her chastity and loyalty.

However, there are several versions of her origin story.

Some say she was the younger sister of the current top scholar in the imperial examination, and the daughter of the late Lord Zhou Yanjin. It is said that she admired His Majesty and voluntarily entered the palace as a concubine.

There are also rumors that she once prayed for Zhou Tanhua at Hanshan Temple, and as a result, the emperor took a liking to her and found a pretext to let her enter the palace as a concubine.

There is an even more outrageous rumor that she was kidnapped by villains but was unexpectedly rescued by General Shen Kuo. After seeing her, the emperor fell in love with her at first sight and immediately took her into the harem as a concubine.

In addition, Xue Rong heard another version of the story, which she considered the most credible.

That is, it is said that Princess Chaoyang took a fancy to Zhou Mingchong, the third-ranked scholar, and asked him personally during the grand ceremony of the imperial examination if he would be willing to serve in the princess's residence, but Zhou Mingchong refused.

Princess Chaoyang was furious and forcibly detained Lord Zhou in the palace, forbidding anyone to bring him food, almost causing Lord Zhou to starve to death.

One was the only son of the Great Zhou Emperor, the most noble princess in the world.

One was the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination, a handsome and dashing young man.

However, Lord Zhou is an official appointed by the imperial court, and his entanglement with a royal princess is a scandal.

Zhou Tanhua was detained by the princess, suffering both physically and mentally. To make up for his trauma, His Majesty granted permission for his younger sister to enter the palace as a concubine.

Regardless of the reason, the fact that she is the younger sister of Zhou Mingchong, the current compiler of the Hanlin Academy and the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination, is undeniable.

Although Lord Zhou's official rank is not high, he is one of the top three scholars in the imperial examinations and has entered the Hanlin Academy. He is young and promising with a bright future.

Now, her younger sister has entered the palace and has been promoted to the rank of imperial concubine.

For a time, its glory was unparalleled.

Consort Rong knew what Consort Chen was planning.

She didn't want to get involved in this mess.

Since His Majesty had no heir, her feelings for him were slowly worn away in the deep palace.

Once you become the emperor's woman, you naturally can't leave the palace anymore.

But she was also a concubine, and her father served the country on the frontier, so as long as she didn't cause trouble for herself, her life in the harem was still relatively easy.

Consort Rong asked her trusted maid, "Where did these rumors about Consort Zhen come from?"

"Where did you hear these ridiculous rumors?"

The trusted palace maid said, "Your Highness, the palace maids are all talking about it in private."

Consort Rong was now even more certain of what was going on.

"Go and find out who is spreading these rumors, find the source, tie the person up and send them to the Imperial Concubine, and ask her to clean up the harem as a warning to others."

The trusted palace maid suddenly raised her head. "Your Highness, what does this mean?"

"It is said that besides Consort Zhen, there was another beauty, whom the Empress Dowager also brought back from Hanshan Temple. She is said to be a woman of destiny."

Consort Rong immediately became interested upon hearing this.

"Oh? What, a chosen one?"

The trusted palace maid paused for a moment, then said, "Regarding this chosen one, I haven't really found out much. I only vaguely heard that the Empress Dowager heard the words of the abbot of Hanshan Temple, who said that the chosen one was able to give birth to His Majesty's child at Hanshan Temple."

"What?"

Consort Rong's eyes widened.

Having offspring is the dream of countless women in the palace!

Just look at Consort Chen and you'll know.

She was made a Noble Consort simply for giving birth to a daughter for His Majesty.

What if it were a prince?

It seems she'll be made empress directly.

Consort Rong quickly calmed down.

What kind of woman is destined for greatness?

Over the years, His Majesty, the Empress Dowager, Consort Chen, and even herself have done everything they could for the sake of having offspring.

She even secretly sent a letter out of the palace, asking her mother to help her search for "secret recipes for conceiving a child" among the common people.

But none of them were of any use.

Consort Rong had already given up.

What else can we do if we don't give up?

"The so-called 'daughter of destiny' rumors are unbelievable and should be ignored."