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

The Empress Dowager set up a Buddhist hall in the east wing of the Cining Palace.

The entire harem knew about this.

Although, of the two "destined women" from Hanshan Temple, one has already been censored for bringing about her own downfall.

The other woman, though favored, showed no signs of getting pregnant.

Logically speaking, the Empress Dowager should have given up.

But the Empress Dowager did not give up completely.

She had waited for decades with so many concubines in the harem.

How long has Consort Zhen been in the palace?

The emperor's body made it difficult for women to conceive, so it was normal that Consort Zhen's reaction was slower and she was unable to conceive for a long time.

However, the Empress Dowager wondered if her attitude was not sincere enough.

Therefore, she specially set up a Buddhist hall in the east wing of Cining Palace, and some palace maids who were already Buddhists became nuns there.

The Empress Dowager was very pleased and approved of this behavior.

This small Buddhist shrine has now become a "pilgrimage site" in the hearts of the concubines in the imperial harem.

Now, Consort Lan has also been brought back from the Cold Palace by the Emperor.

Whenever the Empress Dowager saw Consort Lan's face, she inevitably thought of her own Chang Le.

Consort Lan knew that if she wanted to gain a foothold in the harem, she absolutely could not bypass the support of the Empress Dowager. Therefore, after returning to her former palace, she went to the Empress Dowager's palace to pay her respects early the next morning.

The Empress Dowager looked at Consort Lan's face with a very complicated expression.

It was as if, through her, one was looking at another person in a different time and space.

The Empress Dowager's eyes welled up with tears as she touched Consort Lan's cheek. "Child, you've suffered so much."

Consort Lan thought that having been reborn and seeing the Empress Dowager again, she would not feel anything. However, the Empress Dowager only said one sentence, and her tears fell.

Consort Lan sighed inwardly.

"Mother."

The Empress Dowager was taken aback, then her fingers trembled slightly.

Because of her connection with Princess Chang Le, Consort Lan was adopted by the Empress Dowager and lived in the palace, thus being considered the Empress Dowager's adopted daughter.

Before becoming a concubine of Emperor Qianwu, he always called her "Mother Consort".

Even after she became a concubine of Emperor Qianwu, she did not change this title.

The Empress Dowager's tears also fell.

Her voice trembled slightly, "Good, good... It's good that you're alright, then Mother can rest assured."

"It's all my fault. I was confused for a moment and did something wrong, which made you and my brother angry... It's all my fault..."

The Empress Dowager knew that she was referring to the matter of Consort Chen from back then.

Consort Lan was indeed young and impetuous.

As the Empress Dowager's adopted daughter, and having grown up by her side since childhood, she and Emperor Qianwu grew up together as childhood sweethearts.

She believed that she was special in her brother's heart.

Emperor Qianwu treated her differently.

Although Consort Lan, Nie Shulan, was nominally the Empress Dowager's adopted daughter, for some reason, the Empress Dowager did not formally recognize her as her goddaughter or include her in the imperial genealogy.

This laid the foundation for Nie Shulan to later become a concubine of Emperor Qianwu.

If Nie Shulan had been included in the imperial genealogy and become a "princess," she certainly wouldn't have been able to use that name to enter the palace as a concubine.

She grew up with Emperor Qianwu as childhood sweethearts. As she began to experience love, all she could see and think about was her brother.

Her brother was everything to her.

But she never expected that Consort Chen would be the first to conceive a child for Emperor Qianwu.

The overwhelming jealousy and sense of loss gnawed away at the last vestiges of Lan Fei's rationality.

Therefore, Consort Chen was not entirely wrong to her back then; she did indeed lay a hand on her.

She was just not as ruthless as Consort Chen.

Her methods were ultimately naive.

Ultimately, Emperor Qianwu and the Empress Dowager discovered that almost all the methods used were the work of Consort Chen herself.

Consort Kelan is not innocent either.

So after being banished to the cold palace, she actually died of old age in the palace in her previous life.

After the Empress Dowager passed away, she wanted to come out and keep vigil for her kind and gentle foster mother, but her brother, the Emperor, forbade it...

Later, the emperor also passed away unexpectedly...

Later, when the Crown Prince ascended the throne, Consort Lan's complexion paled slightly.

The crown prince appears gentle and refined, but in reality, he is a madman.

Aside from his somewhat absurd actions regarding Princess Chaoyang, the Emperor was undoubtedly a wise ruler in all other respects.

He worked diligently to govern the country, promoting land and tax reforms, vigorously developing agriculture, encouraging itinerant merchants, and pushing forward education and the reform of the imperial examination system...

Unfortunately, after his unexpected death, the crown prince did not continue the reforms of his emperor brother, and the court gradually became corrupt.

In her previous life, after the crown prince ascended the throne, she was in the cold palace. At first, she was not affected, but gradually, the palace servants in the cold palace realized that no one was supporting her, and they began to show their ugly faces.

In the end, she starved to death.

The feeling of starving to death is truly unbearable.

Consort Lan no longer wanted to endure that unbearable hunger.

Unexpectedly, when she opened her eyes again, she found herself back in the past, when her emperor brother was still alive.

This time, Consort Lan actively exercised her body and, with the Empress Dowager's protection and pity, gradually developed her power in the Cold Palace.

Finally, she found this opportunity.

Only then did he regain favor.

Having regained the emperor's favor, Consort Lan cherished it immensely.

This time, she was determined to stay by the Empress Dowager's side and do everything possible to prevent her brother, the Emperor, from dying.

In my past life, my elder brother, the emperor, died under mysterious circumstances, during an autumn hunt three years later...

Consort Lan thought that it was probably done by the Crown Prince's men.

Protecting her emperor brother was equivalent to protecting her future wealth and honor.

As for Consort Chen and Princess Chaoyang?

Consort Lan had no idea about these two people at all.

Since the emperor brother can't have children anyway, it doesn't matter who he favors. In the end, the closest people will always be the mother and her two children.

In Consort Lan's heart, she always regarded the Empress Dowager as her own mother.

The Crown Prince is both my husband and my elder brother.

The three of them must live a good life together!

The Empress Dowager looked at Consort Lan's face, which was no longer young, but because she looked very much like Consort Chang Le, she naturally resembled the Empress Dowager when she was young.

Hearing her tearful lament of regret, my heart had already softened.

"Good child, it's good that you understand, your brother..."

The Empress Dowager paused for a moment, "The Emperor only has one child, and you are also the child's mother. I urge you not to act impulsively again and do something wrong."

Consort Lan replied naturally, "Yes, I have never seen the sunrise. At that time, Consort Chen was heavily pregnant. I never imagined that more than ten years would have passed in the blink of an eye."

When she spoke of her only granddaughter, the Empress Dowager's gaze softened even more.

"The aunt and niece look most alike; she and you... look very much alike."

Consort Lan gained the Empress Dowager's favor because she resembled Princess Chang Le. She was originally just the daughter of Emperor Qianwu's wet nurse, and her status was low.

Because she resembled Empress Changle and her birth was quite coincidental, she was raised directly under the Empress Dowager's care after her wet nurse passed away.

The Empress Dowager doted on Chaoyang not only because she was Emperor Qianwu's only child, but also because the child looked like her deceased daughter, Changle.

Consort Lan also resembled Chang Le, and she naturally bore some resemblance to Chao Yang.

Consort Lan's eyes flashed. "My daughter acted impulsively and caused that child to be unable to be born. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will definitely apologize to her properly."

Seeing Consort Lan's sincere expression, the Empress Dowager's gaze softened even more. "Your intentions are truly precious."

The mother and daughter then talked intimately for a while longer.

The sun had nurtured Nie Shulan for many years, and although it was more of a transference of affection, the mother and daughter did indeed have feelings for each other.

Previously, when Consort Lan was in the Cold Palace, it wasn't that the Empress Dowager didn't want to see her; it was just that she stubbornly refused to admit her mistakes, leaving the Empress Dowager helpless.

Now that she has reconciled with the emperor, the empress dowager can naturally put an end to this matter.

"Mother, I've heard that there's a Consort Zhen in the palace who is said to be incredibly beautiful?"

The Empress Dowager nodded. "That child is indeed quite handsome. You will see him at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet in a few days."

"Does the emperor like her very much?"

In her previous life, this Consort Zhen did not exist, so Consort Lan was somewhat curious.

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager tapped her forehead. "You know what kind of person your Emperor brother is, don't you?"

"He had the world in his heart, and the women in his harem were either gentle and charming or virtuous and generous. All the emperor wanted was an heir."

"However, speaking of beauty that could topple kingdoms, there is also Consort Liu, who could rival her in beauty."

Consort Liu and Consort Lan knew about it.

That person entered the palace several years ago.

After her brother, the emperor, died in her previous life, it is said that she changed her identity and followed the new emperor...

Later, it was said that he contracted an illness and died suddenly.

However, since Consort Lan was in the Cold Palace, she hadn't changed her mindset in her previous life, so she hadn't cultivated any power in the Cold Palace and wasn't very clear about this.

However, considering the Crown Prince's perverted nature, there might be more to the story behind Consort Liu's death.

But Consort Zhen, a person who never appeared in the previous life, has now appeared in the harem and is said to be quite favored, which makes Consort Lan a little nervous.

Seeing her nervous expression, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but flick her nose.

"As long as you can figure it out, no matter how beautiful a woman is, she can't compare to you and the emperor who grew up together as childhood sweethearts."

"You must not do anything rash and hurt the emperor's feelings."

Consort Lan blushed slightly, "Mother..."

The Empress Dowager smiled upon seeing this, "Alright, you've just come out of the Cold Palace. That's not a place for anyone. You should rest and recuperate properly. Have you seen the imperial physician?"

Speaking of this, Consort Lan's pretty face blushed slightly.

The Emperor is still the same as before; although he is getting old, he is still very strong.

Although she had been training her body in the cold palace, she still couldn't quite withstand it...

But my brother the emperor said it's much better than before...

After that night, the emperor ordered the imperial physicians and female doctors to apply medicine to that area...

Therefore, apart from her emperor brother, she saw mostly imperial physicians and female doctors after returning to the palace.

However, I was too embarrassed to tell the Empress Dowager about these things.

The Empress Dowager was pleased to see their good relationship.

She chuckled and patted Consort Lan's hand. "Alright, what's so fun about being so lifeless?"

"You young people should do what young people should do."

"I remember you used to love playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football)?"

Previously, the Empress Dowager disapproved of Consort Lan playing Cuju (ancient Chinese football), fearing that she might accidentally lose her pregnancy.

Besides, Consort Lan was a concubine, not a princess.

As the emperor's woman, she naturally had to be dignified.

But now that Consort Lan is twenty-eight, the Empress Dowager no longer places her hopes on her, believing that she will definitely not be able to conceive.

A child who is destined to be unable to conceive, a child you raised and have feelings for—go ahead and play with them if you want.

As long as she's happy, that's all that matters.

Consort Lan blushed and said, "I am now the Emperor's consort, not a little girl like Chaoyang. How can I still play Cuju (ancient Chinese football)?"

"I'm not playing anymore, I stopped a long time ago!"