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

The matter involving Jin Meiren last time had far-reaching implications.

The head physician of the Imperial Medical Academy, Chen Zhi, was exiled three thousand li away, and was neither pardoned nor allowed to return.

Liu E, the imperial physician, was the first to diagnose pregnancy, but His Majesty revoked his medical license and imprisoned him on the grounds of incompetence.

Although Emperor Qianwu did not directly kill the two imperial physicians, this incident made the entire Imperial Medical Academy extremely nervous.

This is really...

His Majesty has no heir, and the harem is without children; the responsibility lies with the Imperial Hospital.

The Empress Dowager once rebuked the Imperial Medical Academy for its incompetence, saying that they could not help His Majesty detoxify and relieve his worries.

After finally finding a "pregnancy pulse," it turned out to be a false pregnancy to win favor!

Now, another concubine, Zhenfei, has arrived.

Physician Chen truly wished he hadn't come today.

Unlike Consort Jin, Consort Zhen was not vulgar and rude. She knew that summoning him under the pretext of the cold last night would keep him safe as long as the news did not get out.

To be honest, Physician Chen did not believe that Consort Zhen could conceive.

The strange poison in His Majesty's body was something that even the Imperial Physician Chen couldn't cure back then.

Not to mention these young imperial physicians.

"this……"

"Your humble servant will do his utmost."

While taking Zhou Mingyi's pulse, Physician Chen inquired carefully, "Besides the cessation of menstruation, does Your Highness have any other discomfort?"

Zhou Mingyi seemed to think for a moment, "I have a little loss of appetite..."

"I still have some gas..."

As Fuquan listened to the conversation between the Empress and Physician Chen in the palace, he subconsciously looked at Emperor Qianwu again.

"His Majesty……"

Emperor Qianwu waved his hand, his whole body still tense.

Fu Quan promptly shut his mouth.

In the last incident involving Jin Meiren, nothing was ever found out. It could only be concluded that Jin Meiren brought this upon herself by faking a pregnancy to gain favor.

Since the person has already been beaten to death in court, the matter is considered closed.

She was just a farmer's daughter, but she became arrogant and domineering because of her pregnancy, which offended many people.

Such an ignorant person, well, he's dead.

But Consort Zhen... is different from Lady Jin.

Consort Zhen was more cautious and more intelligent.

She noticed something was wrong with her body.

If she were to become pregnant, she would undoubtedly rise to the top in one fell swoop.

If it's not true, His Majesty is already mentally prepared and will not suspect that she deliberately faked a pregnancy to win favor.

Inside the hall.

"Your Majesty's pulse does indeed resemble a slippery pulse, but upon closer inspection, I notice some differences. Your Majesty, could you please consider whether there has been anything unusual in the palace recently?"

"Regarding food and drinks..."

Emperor Qianwu's expression suddenly darkened.

Fuquan immediately realized it.

As expected, Emperor Qianwu turned and left in a huff. On his way back to the palace, he said in a deep voice, "Was the matter of Lady Jin's false pregnancy truly investigated thoroughly?"

Fu Quan's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

The chief eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs was from his hometown.

This matter was initially handed over to the Directorate of Ceremonial for investigation.

The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs failed to uncover the truth, which may be because the mastermind behind it did not want the truth to surface.

If there is indeed something hidden about this matter, then the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs cannot escape responsibility!

Emperor Qianwu's face was ashen, his eyes were filled with dark clouds, and the air pressure around him was extremely low.

Some people are overreaching.

That very night, Emperor Qianwu ordered his secret guards to investigate the whole affair. Unexpectedly, they caught a young palace maid in Weiyang Palace who was poisoning the well that served water to the palace.

Emperor Qianwu was furious. The palace maid was caught on the spot and trembled with fear.

Zhou Mingyi huddled in Emperor Qianwu's arms and wept.

"Your Majesty, I don't know who I've offended, but someone has poisoned my well! They're trying to kill me!"

These words are utter nonsense.

It was obvious to Emperor Qianwu; he had his own eyes and ears to see it.

But Zhou Mingyi insisted on speaking.

Even though there were no children in this deep palace, Xie Jinghong was the only man in the harem.

A group of women would fight over a man, even if it was for power, favor, countless amounts of money, or beautiful clothes and jewelry.

But Zhou Mingyi knew that Emperor Qianwu liked to hear these kinds of things.

She cried so pitifully that Emperor Qianwu's heart softened.

He still loved her slender waist as always, his large hands gripping her waist tightly as he pulled her into his arms.

Zhou Mingyi was wearing a stand-up collar, front-opening, wide-sleeved shirt today. The outer garment was loose, but there was something special inside: a thin belt cinched her waist.

Emperor Qianwu frowned as soon as he grasped Zhou Mingyi's slender waist.

She seems to have lost some weight.

Are you worried about having children?

He was certain that if any woman in the harem showed any signs of pregnancy, it would be publicized to everyone.

But she didn't.

Taking advantage of a cold, she secretly summoned the imperial physician to confirm whether she was indeed pregnant.

She was afraid of disappointing him, afraid that he would be disappointed in vain.

How could there be such a foolish woman?

Emperor Qianwu's gaze fell on Zhou Mingyi's lower abdomen. If there really was a child of their own there, how wonderful that would be!

Even if it wasn't, it was his fault, not hers.

Emperor Qianwu felt a rare pang of guilt.

If his Ah Chang hadn't entered the palace and become his woman, she would surely have been able to have her own children no matter who she married.

But even though he could give her the rank of concubine and the emperor's favor, he couldn't give her a child.

Emperor Qianwu had long suffered from the lack of an heir.

But for the first time, he felt guilty for not being able to give Zhou Mingyi a child.

His face was cold. "Guards, throw this palace maid into the imperial prison and torture her severely! Who on earth dares to poison the concubines in the harem?!"

The guards immediately seized the palace maid, who turned pale and fainted.

Just then, Zhou Mingyi spoke up: "Wait."

Emperor Qianwu was taken aback. "What do you mean, my beloved concubine?"

Zhou Mingyi seemed to suddenly remember something, "Your Majesty, I suddenly remembered something. I felt a little unwell this morning, and thought it was because I caught a chill last night. But when the imperial physician was summoned, he said that I might have a slippery pulse..."

"I believe this matter is of great importance, and I dare not disturb Your Majesty until it is clarified."

Emperor Qianwu already knew about this matter.

Zhou Mingyi knew, of course, that she had hung wind chimes outside the palace, and that whenever someone approached, the soft sound of the bells would ring out.

In addition, she also has the "system" as a cheat.

Her favored concubine developed a high fever late at night, and Emperor Qianwu was preoccupied with Consort Chen and her daughter. No matter when, he might come to visit her the next day.

Sure enough, he arrived at noon.

Zhou Mingyi then performed in that play.

Although it was just acting, the fact that she seemed to have a slippery pulse was true.

Zhou Mingyi did not take any of the pills from the system.

Given Emperor Qianwu's physical condition, the possibility of her conceiving naturally was extremely low.

But she developed symptoms of pregnancy.

Remembering Jin Meiren's experience, Zhou Mingyi realized that someone was targeting her.

After she entered the palace, she gained the emperor's exclusive favor, which annoyed many people.

The first to be affected was Consort Chen.

If she were pregnant, the happiest people would be Emperor Qianwu and the Empress Dowager.

But this pregnancy might not be real. To avoid following in the footsteps of Jin Meiren, she put on this good show.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Qianwu acted so quickly, catching the person who had drugged the person that very night.

This shows that the medicine was put into the well multiple times.

Thinking about this, Zhou Mingyi couldn't help but frown.

She has only been in the palace for a short time and her foundation is shallow, so she must be more cautious in the future.

Zhou Mingyi's body has undergone system modification, making her immune to all poisons.

But that doesn't mean she enjoys being plotted against.

Emperor Qianwu was taken aback for a moment, then overjoyed, "My beloved consort, is this truly the case?"

Zhou Mingyi: ...

That dog emperor, what a great actor!

But now she is a weak and helpless concubine who trusts Emperor Qianwu wholeheartedly.

She lowered her eyes. "I'm afraid..."

"I fear I might be plotted against, and I fear His Majesty's hopes might be dashed."

"I summoned Physician Chen from the Imperial Hospital. He said that my pulse did initially appear to be a slippery pulse, but it was actually caused by the medication."

"There are many drugs that can cause slippery pulse."

"Now that Your Majesty has caught the person who administered the poison, why not invite the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital to examine the body? The truth will then come to light."

Emperor Qianwu said with a stern face, "My beloved concubine is right."

"Someone, go and fetch the imperial physician."

"Summon all the imperial physicians on duty at the Imperial Hospital today."

……

Chang Le Palace.

Consort Chen was so angry that her face turned ashen.

"Your Majesty went to Weiyang Palace this afternoon, why are you going there again tonight?"

"What kind of drug did Consort Zhen give His Majesty?"

Granny Chen was speechless.

Consort Chen then asked, "Have you done what I asked you to do?"

Granny Chen immediately wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured."

Just then, a palace maid rushed in, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Qingyou has been exposed!"

"His Majesty caught me red-handed and I was thrown into the imperial prison!"

"What?"

Consort Chen was immediately alarmed and instinctively confronted Granny Chen.

"Didn't you say it was all taken care of?"

Granny Chen: ...

"Your Majesty, you must make plans as soon as possible..."

Consort Chen's expression turned solemn, then she let out a cold laugh.

"What am I afraid of?"

"That's a fertility aid. It just causes a slippery pulse after use. I'm helping her. If Consort Zhen knew, she should thank me."

Granny Chen: ...

Inside the Yunmei Palace.

"What did you say?"

"His Majesty summoned the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy to Weiyang Palace?"

"Lu'er, is it because of that... medicine of yours, that it's working?"

Yun Meiren paced excitedly back and forth inside the palace.

Lulu: ...

Yun Meiren dared to use the same move twice, which was truly courting death.

But she could not disobey her master's orders.

Lu'er was heartbroken.

"My beauty, you'd better make plans as soon as possible!"

Yun Meiren snorted coldly, "What are you afraid of?"

"That's not poison. I just don't like Consort Zhen's cascading black hair and wanted to help her comb it a bit."

"Besides, didn't you have the Song family do it?"

"They can't trace it back to us."

Yun Meiren's expression showed some impatience.

"Now that Consort Zhen has developed a slippery pulse, isn't she not far from losing her hair?"

Yun Meiren paced back and forth excitedly, occasionally stopping in front of the bronze mirror and touching her full head of black hair with a slightly sickly expression.

"This beauty will soon become the one with the most voluminous and thickest hair in the entire harem. No one wants to compete with me!"

"That Lady Song is truly a coward. Knowing that Lady Jin was to be beaten to death by His Majesty, she still dared to go and watch. She deserved to be frightened into fainting."

Lulu: ...

No, if you hadn't hinted at it, they wouldn't have secretly obtained that drug to use on Consort Jin and Consort Zhen...

Thinking of Consort Zhen, Lu'er couldn't bear it.

Consort Zhen is much gentler than Consort Yun.

The palace servants broke her hair, but she was unharmed...

Sigh, they're both palace maids, how come she ended up with such a master?

Yun Meiren exclaimed excitedly, "Let's go to Consort Zhen's palace to see what's going on!"