Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

Crimson clouds descended, and snowflakes fluttered down.

Lin Wantang lowered her head and remained silent. Her white fox fur coat was draped over her shoulders, and her hood was off. In an instant, a thin layer of snow fell on her black hair, and the pearl hairpins at her temples were also covered in snow, adding a touch of aloofness to her cold beauty.

Wei Wujiu didn't let his attendants step forward to hold an umbrella. Instead, he gently brushed the snow off her shoulders and, relying on his tall and slender figure, used his black cloak to shield her from the falling snow.

"I'm asking you a question! Why aren't you answering?"

He was quite patient, but still urged her on slowly and deliberately.

Lin Wantang held the prayer beads he hadn't yet taken in her hand, her fingertips warming the jade, not feeling much coldness. When she looked up again and met the smile in his eyes, she knew he was teasing her again.

"Not now," she said.

This was not what Wei Wujiu had expected, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Lin Wantang, wanting to tease him a little, put on a serious and aloof expression: "Does the Governor want to become the one I love? That's a long road ahead, and the Governor will have to keep trying."

Having said that, Wei Wujiu understood.

His smiling eyes deepened, and he took a step closer to her. His suppressed voice slowly emerged from his throat, low, mellow, and magnetic like a seductive spell: "You've learned to toy with me, huh? Who spoils you?"

The words gently and slowly landed on Lin Wantang's ear, like an electric shock, making her heart flutter. She subconsciously wanted to back away, but in the instant they passed each other, Wei Wujiu snatched the string of prayer beads from her hand.

"Didn't you know beforehand that the Commander-in-Chief was being unreasonable?"

Lin Wantang suppressed the blush on her cheeks, raised her eyebrows and threw out another remark, then smiled and dodged the question, curtsied again, and said, "Governor, this subject will take her leave now."

Wei Wujiu stroked the prayer beads, nodded slightly, and watched her enter the main hall under the umbrella of the attendants.

The hall was filled with concubines, relatives, wives of princes and nobles, and young ladies, arranged according to their seating order. They whispered among themselves, their voices not loud, but they vaguely knew what had happened in the outer hall and corridor. The commotion suddenly stopped the moment Lin Wantang entered.

Lin Wantang greeted each of them with grace and poise, and finally bowed to Consort Ning, who was seated in the main seat of the imperial concubines, and reported: "Her Majesty the Crown Princess is unwell, and Her Majesty the Empress is urging the imperial physicians to treat her. His Majesty the Emperor has also arrived at the side hall."

Consort Ning was the head of all the consorts and enjoyed the Emperor's favor, but she had long been at odds with the Empress in private. In fact, she had even made enemies of the Empress because of the second prince she had given birth to. Upon hearing this, she pretended to be panicked and hurriedly helped her maid to her feet: "What happened? Quickly help me to go and see."

Lin Wantang remained silent and moved aside without blocking the way.

But after taking a few steps, Consort Ning suddenly realized that the situation was probably not good, otherwise the Emperor would not have come. So she shouldn't go and cause trouble at this critical moment. She sighed, "Alas, I was too anxious. How could I abandon all the distinguished guests in this hall? Today is the fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month, a very important day."

The others echoed her sentiments, offering kind words to comfort Consort Ning and expressing their hope that the Crown Princess would be safe and sound. Amidst the laughter and chatter, Consort Ning took charge of hosting the palace banquet for the day.

Because Lin Qinglian had previously instructed her to prepare for the palace banquet, Lin Wantang could not sit idly like a guest. So, according to her memory of the preferences of the concubines, noble ladies and young ladies, she had the palace servants serve tea, snacks and fruit soups one by one.

Everything was done meticulously and in an orderly manner.

Everyone who saw this praised her highly. Consort Ning was very good at understanding the emperor's thoughts and knew Wei Wujiu's influence in the court. Therefore, she praised Lin Wantang repeatedly without being critical and showed great appreciation for her.

After a long period of harmonious laughter and conversation, and after everyone had eaten, Lin Wantang estimated the time and reminded Consort Ning that they should move to the Imperial Garden for lunch, followed by a performance of opera.

Consort Ning was pleased. After exchanging a few words with everyone, she was escorted away from the palace by palace maids and servants.

Lin Wantang couldn't leave immediately. She needed to urge the palace servants to clean and tidy up, and she also wanted to know how the Emperor had dealt with Lin Qinglian and Shen Huai'an in the side hall.

Today's move was truly unexpected. She was worried that Shen Huai'an wouldn't be so desperate as to reveal her mother's secret before she had driven the dog into a corner.

Just as he was pondering this, he suddenly heard a palace maid announce that the Empress had returned.

The Empress had just been reprimanded and looked terrible. When she walked in and saw that the palace was empty, she wanted to find fault, but she was restrained by the fact that the Emperor was still angry. She didn't want to make a big fuss over a small matter, so she gave Lin Wantang a cold look.

Without saying anything, he helped the maid into the bedroom to change clothes, and soon after, he rode in the phoenix carriage to the Imperial Garden.

Lin Wantang didn't care. After watching the palace servants finish tidying up, she carefully checked and verified the items before heading out, when she bumped into Jiang Fulu.

"This old servant greets Miss."

Jiang Fulu bowed, stepped forward, and helped Lin Wantang slowly leave the hall. He whispered, "His Majesty has confirmed that the Crown Princess's pregnancy was indeed a sham, and that she was suspected of seeking credit and vying for favor. He is furious and has stripped her of her title and demoted her to a concubine."

Lin Wantang's eyebrows twitched slightly, and she asked in a low voice, "Anything else?"

"The Emperor summoned the servants of the Eastern Palace one by one. They all tried to play dumb, but they couldn't withstand the severe torture. After a few strokes of the cane, they all confessed. The Crown Prince is protecting and indulging the Crown Princess, but..."

Jiang Fulu paused, having just left the hall. He avoided the others and spoke in an even lower voice: "This is clearly a serious crime of deceiving the emperor, but the emperor is reluctant to punish the crown prince harshly. He says that the crown prince is too attached to personal feelings and cannot distinguish right from wrong. He has taken back the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue that the crown prince was supervising, confined him to his quarters and fined him, so that he can reflect on his mistakes."

After relaying the story, Jiang Fulu clenched his fist and pounded his hand in frustration: "Such a good opportunity, and all we got was Lin Qinglian. For the Crown Prince, it's nothing, just the loss of a woman."

"Moreover, judging from the Emperor's intentions, he will keep the decree to punish Lin Qinglian secret for the time being, so as not to damage the dignity and prestige of the imperial family. He will issue the decree after the New Year and the first month of the lunar calendar."

Lin Wantang listened calmly, her brows furrowed in thought: "The Emperor has... completely eliminated Lin Qinglian. If I'm not mistaken, after the New Year, the Emperor will discuss with the Empress the selection of a new Crown Princess for the Crown Prince."

Originally, the emperor disliked Shen Huai'an's marriage alliance with the Lin family.

Even if Lin Wantang were to become the Crown Princess, the Emperor would still be dissatisfied. The reason was simply that he was bothered by Lin Rucong being a former official of the previous dynasty, or he suspected and worried that the Lin family was not loyal enough to the Emperor, as they were in Cao Cao's camp but their hearts were with Han.

Moreover, after the emperor ascended the throne, he repeatedly suppressed the Lin family, both openly and covertly, stripping them of their military power and weakening their real authority. How could a daughter of the Lin family be worthy of providing strong support to the crown prince in terms of political power? What need was there for a marriage alliance?

In the previous life, the emperor opposed this marriage, but Shen Huai'an insisted on it and even incited the empress to persuade him. In this life, now that the emperor has finally found an opportunity, how could he not take the opportunity to punish the Lin family again?

Lin Wantang was startled and flustered. "Eunuch Jiang, is His Majesty still harboring resentment?"