Chapter 80 The Legend of Zhen Huan, Nian Shilan 18

The Empress discovered He Mianmian's true name was He Qiaoqian, and that she was the daughter of a high-ranking official who had been convicted during the reign of the late Emperor.

He Qiaoqian and Zhen Yuandao were childhood sweethearts and were betrothed since they were young. After the He family was convicted, He Qiaoqian was supposed to be exiled to Ningguta.

As a result, Zhen Yuandao found someone to smuggle her out of the group. The escorting yamen runners couldn't find He Qiaoqian and were afraid of being punished and dismissed by their superiors.

It was common for people to tacitly agree to die during exile. Zhen Yuandao had guessed what the constables were going to do, which is why he dared to do it.

And so, Zhen Yuandao brought her back to the capital and raised her as his mistress.

Zhen Yuandao's actions constituted a serious crime of disobeying the imperial decree, and the Empress directly instructed Ulanara to find an official with whom Zhen Yuandao had a grudge to report the matter.

Zhen Yuandao and Huanbi were sentenced to death, and Consort Wan was stripped of her title and demoted to Noble Lady. The reason for this was that Noble Lady Zhen revealed that she was pregnant.

Because they were unaware of the situation and because Consort Zhen was pregnant, Mother Zhen and Yu Rao were able to leave the Zhen residence safely.

The guards who had seized the property wouldn't allow them to take anything with them, so they had no choice but to return to Zhen's mother's house.

This is also because Consort Zhen already knew she was pregnant and deliberately revealed it before the imperial edict was written.

She originally wanted to have a stable pregnancy before revealing her pregnancy, but she didn't expect to encounter such a thing. However, even her pregnancy could not change the fact that Zhen Yuandao and Huanbi were sentenced to death.

However, when she went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, she still saw the letter that read "Wanwan is like you," but she dared not contradict or question it, because she was pleading for Zhen's mother and Yu Rao.

Later, Consort Ying was found to be pregnant and was promoted to Consort Ying.

Nian Shilan began to poison the Empress Dowager, and within two months, the Empress Dowager passed away. As for her will, naturally, she did not write one, because she was not in a conscious state and would not think of writing one.

Due to emotional distress during her postpartum period, Consort Zhen gave birth to Princess Longyue prematurely. Consort Zhen then requested to go to Ganlu Temple to pray for blessings.

Her mother had already remarried. After all, the Yun family was run by Zhen's mother's half-brother, and her maternal grandparents had already passed away, so it was not appropriate for her to stay there for long.

Zhen's mother was a weak woman and could not raise Yu Rao on her own, so she had to remarry.

The man chosen for her second marriage was a low-ranking official of the sixth rank, whose deceased mother was a merchant from a wealthy family.

Having lost his wife, and with young children in need of care, the most important thing is that he has good character, doesn't care about Zhen Yuandao's affairs, and the Yun family can keep him in check.

With Zhen's mother and Yu Rao finding good homes, Consort Zhen naturally wouldn't stoop to being a substitute and serving her father's killer.

Consort Zhen even suggested that Consort Hui raise Princess Longyue. The Emperor laughed angrily, feeling that he had spoiled Consort Zhen before.

Not only did he refuse, he also handed Princess Longyue over to Consort Li to raise, and on the spot changed the imperial genealogy, making it clear that Princess Longyue's only birth mother was Consort Li!

Consort Li, overjoyed by this unexpected good fortune: Wow~ What is this? Consort Zhen gave birth to a daughter for me?! I'm so happy~

Out of consideration for their past relationship, her face, and the fact that she had given birth to a princess, the emperor still agreed to send someone to Ganlu Temple.

During her years in the palace, Consort Ying had become more cunning and asked Nian Shilan to help protect her pregnancy.

The Empress was known as an "abortion expert," and Nian Shilan, wanting to oppose her, decided to become a "pregnancy preservation expert," so she agreed.

After ten months of pregnancy, Consort Ying gave birth to the Eighth Prince Hongyao. Although he was a prince, his birth order did not particularly please the Emperor.

He wasn't as favored as the previous princes, but he was still much better off than the former fourth prince.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, Consort Ye entered the palace. The 'Dragon Slayer' made her appearance, and Nian Shilan instantly perked up.