The bright moon hangs high, beckoning him down from his pedestal.

At the same time, incense wafted through the air inside the Qingyi Palace.

Shen Qingruo was wearing a light cherry blossom-colored belted long dress. Her face was clean and her eyes were lowered as she quietly leaned against the soft pillow.

The imperial physician lowered his head and placed his fingertips on Shen Qingruo's outstretched, snow-white wrist.

He was just routinely taking her pulse and didn't think much of it. He knew that Princess Qingruo was frail.

But the pulse throbbing beneath his fingertips made the imperial physician's brow furrow even more deeply. The pulse was smooth and powerful, flowing like pearls...

His heart skipped a beat, thinking he had made a mistake in his diagnosis. He quickly focused his mind and carefully examined the area again.

That's right, this is clearly a pregnancy pulse.

The imperial physician's face turned deathly pale, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and he abruptly withdrew his hand, collapsing to his knees with a thud, his forehead pressed tightly against the cold ground, his voice trembling:

"Your Highness, I...I..."

He hesitated for a long time, but the rest of his words were stuck in his throat, and he dared not utter a single word.

How could this be? Princess Qingruo has lived in the deep palace for so long, how could she suddenly become pregnant? This is a crime of defiling the palace, a capital offense!

Having stumbled upon such a secret, his life is likely in danger.

Seeing his terrified expression, Shen Qingruo gently raised her eyes and said softly, "Imperial Physician, what did you diagnose? Please speak freely."

The imperial physician lay prostrate on the ground, trembling even more violently, and dared not utter a word.

Shen Qingruo leaned forward slightly, her voice softening: "Is it me? Do you have a child?"

Her question was so direct that the imperial physician had no choice but to grit his teeth and squeeze out a few words: "Your Highness, the pulse does indeed resemble that of a pregnant woman..."

After he finished speaking, the expected reprimand did not come.

Shen Qingruo simply hummed in agreement, as if it were a trivial matter.

She looked at the imperial physician kneeling on the ground and said softly, "Get up and speak."

The imperial physician raised his head tremblingly, but dared not stand up.

"My health is weak, so I trouble the imperial physicians to take good care of me in the future," Shen Qingruo continued, her tone gentle.

"However, this matter should not be leaked to the outside world for the time being. I will speak with His Majesty personally."

The Imperial Physician was puzzled by this. Why would the princess tell His Majesty about such scandalous matters within the palace? Would His Majesty be furious if he found out?

Shen Qingruo found the confusion on his face somewhat amusing and reassured him, "Imperial Physician, rest assured, this child is His Majesty's heir. I have not done anything out of line. You may leave now."

The imperial physician's mind went blank; he was completely dumbfounded.

His Majesty's heir?

Your Majesty and Princess Qingruo?

The princess is pregnant with the dragon's child?

Just a few months ago, these two were nominally father and daughter.

Although it has now been clarified that there is no blood relation, how could this identity change have happened in just a few months?

The imperial physician, in a daze, kowtowed and accepted the order, practically crawling out of Qingyi Palace.

His Majesty and Princess Qingruo have a child.

If this child is born, what should he call His Majesty? Father? Or...?

The Imperial Physician shook his head vigorously, not daring to think any further. He walked unsteadily toward the Imperial Hospital, feeling that the palace roads he was used to walking on today were exceptionally long and unfamiliar.

It seems the imperial palace is about to undergo a major upheaval.

-

After the imperial physician left, Shen Qingruo leaned against the window, her mind gazing at the scene in Jingyang Palace.

She whispered to herself, "Xiao Jiu, if the people from Jingyang Palace want to investigate the contraceptive potion, let them investigate more smoothly."

"Understood, Aruo." The orb of light flickered excitedly.

Sure enough, less than two days later, when Granny Yan secretly went to the Imperial Hospital to retrieve the contraceptive medicine, she was caught red-handed by Bizhu, who had been lying in wait, along with several burly old women.

Upon hearing the news, Shen Jingyan's heart pounded with excitement at the prospect of uncovering the truth.

She didn't make a scene, fearing it would disturb her mother, but instead led her people directly and forced her way into the Taiji Palace.

Wu Tian, ​​who was guarding outside the palace, saw the imposing Princess Chang and inwardly groaned. Just as he was about to stop her, Shen Jingyan pushed him aside and rushed inside.

Shen Wangxi was reviewing memorials when she heard the noise and looked up. Seeing her daughter barge in without being announced, her brows immediately furrowed, and her voice was filled with displeasure:

"Ayan, what about your rules?"

Shen Jingyan disregarded the formalities and spoke directly:

"Father, I know you have an affair with Shen Qingruo!"

Wu Tian immediately knelt down and bowed his head, feeling that this princess was really courting death, showing no regard for the boundaries between ruler and subject.

Shen Wangxi paused, his hand holding the pen still, a layer of frost covering his face. He was an emperor, and his actions were not open to any dissent, not even from this daughter he had doted on since childhood.

He stared intently at Shen Jingyan, his tone calm yet undeniably authoritative: "So what?"

Those few simple words, without any denial or remorse, pierced Shen Jingyan's heart.

She hadn't expected her father to react this way.

Shen Jingyan suppressed the bitterness and pain in her heart, her voice rising with excitement:

"You cherish her, you protect her, but do you know she's treating you like a fool?"

Shen Wangxi frowned even more deeply.

Before he could ask, Shen Jingyan blurted out, "She sent her personal maid to the Imperial Hospital to secretly get contraceptive medicine! Did you know about this?"

Shen Wangxi clenched her fist in disbelief.

Aruo...is she drinking a contraceptive soup?

He forced down his emotions, his face remaining impassive, his voice cold and hard: "Do you have any evidence? If there is no concrete evidence, it is slander, and your intentions are despicable."

"Yes!" Shen Jingyan immediately spoke up, "Shen Qingruo's personal nanny, Madam Yan, is currently being held in custody at the Imperial Hospital! Caught red-handed! Father will know as soon as he asks!"

Shen Wangxi suddenly stood up and strode forward.

As he passed Shen Jingyan, he stopped, not looking directly at her, his voice icy:

"If this was your doing, a frame-up, then I will not let you off lightly this time."

After he finished speaking, he strode out of the hall without waiting for her reaction.

Shen Jingyan stood there, stunned, watching her father's back as he walked away without looking back. Her eyes welled up, and a tear slid down her cheek without warning.

She didn't know when it started, but it seemed that a layer had grown between her and her father, and they were drifting further and further apart.

She forcefully wiped away the tear that betrayed her, took a deep breath, raised her head, straightened her back, and quickly followed after him, as if the vulnerability she had felt just moments before had never existed. She was still the proud, most esteemed princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty.