After a two-week journey, Emperor Jingcheng and Azi finally returned to the palace, where Emperor Jingyuan, accompanied by several key ministers, came to greet them. The journey had been relatively smooth, consisting of minor skirmishes; Liu Xinqi was simply too weak.

Di Jingyuan stood excitedly in front, his eyes fixed on the slowly approaching carriage. Cheng Er dismounted and stepped forward to lift the curtain. Di Jingcheng carefully helped Azi out and carried her down from the carriage.

These past few days, Azi has been in a bad mood, and being pregnant, she felt unwell while riding in the carriage and vomited several times. She has spent these days in a semi-conscious state in the man's arms. Now she is still groggy and her complexion is not very good, leaning softly against Di Jingcheng's chest.

Emperor Jingyuan finally saw the person he had been longing for day and night, but when he saw her frail and sickly appearance, he was shocked. What had happened to her? But he still suppressed the emotions that were about to burst forth in his heart and knelt down to greet her with his ministers.

"Welcome back to the palace, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Jingcheng, his heart set on the woman in his arms, held her tightly without putting her down, much to the dismay of several ministers. Even if the emperor doted on the empress, he still needed to maintain his dignity.

"Rise, my dear ministers. You have all worked hard. Please go back and rest."

Di Jingyuan stood up, his gaze fixed on the beautiful woman in Di Jingcheng's arms: "Your Majesty, you don't look well. You must have had a long and tiring journey."

"The Empress and I have had a long and tiring journey. Please come inside." Emperor Jingcheng carried the woman into the sedan chair, ignoring the bewildered expressions on the faces of the ministers.

Emperor Jingyuan had the palace servants escort the ministers out of the palace. Hearing some complaints from the ministers, he coldly said, "You should all mind your own business."

"yes."

Upon returning to the main hall, Zheng He'er and Zheng San excitedly greeted them: "This servant, along with everyone in the main hall, pays respects to the Emperor and Empress and welcomes Your Majesty and Her Majesty back to the palace."

"Get up and summon the imperial physician."

Zheng He Er got up and saw that the Empress, whose complexion was not good, was lying in the Emperor's arms with her eyes closed. He quickly told Zheng San to run out.

Emperor Jingcheng gently wiped her forehead. Amidst the worried gazes of the crowd, Imperial Physician Li spoke up: "Your Majesty is feeling down and has been traveling a long way, so your body is somewhat weak. The pregnancy is stable, so there's nothing to worry about. However, Your Majesty should not overexert yourself for too long, otherwise it will be detrimental to the prince, and your own body will not be able to withstand it either."

Upon hearing this, all the servants were overjoyed. The Empress was pregnant, and there would be a little prince in the palace!

Qinghe, Zheng He, and the others breathed a sigh of relief and followed the imperial physician out to prepare the medicine. Di Jingyuan overheard the imperial physician's words at the door, and his heart ached even more. She already had a child with his elder brother, so was he completely out of luck? He stood dejectedly at the door, his head hanging low.

Zheng He and his entourage came out and happened to meet him: "Oh, greetings, Prince Yuan. Is Your Highness going to see the Emperor? The Emperor is probably busy right now."

"I have come to visit my elder brother and sister-in-law. Please inform them of my arrival." Di Jingyuan smiled bitterly, still wanting to go in.

"Your Highness, please wait a moment."

Di Jingyuan was left standing alone at the door. After a while, about 15 minutes, Di Jingcheng finally came out with Zheng He'er.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

"No need for formalities, you've had a hard time these past few days."

Di Jingcheng straightened up, glancing behind him out of the corner of his eye. The girl he longed for wasn't there. He gave a self-deprecating laugh to himself. Yes, she was sick.

Di Jingcheng observed his subtle expressions and actions, his heart turning cold. His younger brother still couldn't let go of Azi in this life. However, he would never give in.

"Let's talk in the front hall. Zheng He, you stay here and keep watch. Remember to inform me immediately if anything happens."

The two brothers hadn't seen each other for a long time, so they didn't catch up or discuss politics.

With his back to him, Emperor Jingcheng hesitated for a moment before asking directly, "Where is the imperial edict I ordered you to issue?"

Emperor Jingyuan looked somewhat saddened and knelt down with a thud: "Please punish me, Your Majesty. I did not issue an imperial edict." He gritted his teeth and continued: "I believe that Your Majesty's trip is of no benefit to the court. If this edict is issued, the court and the harem will surely be in chaos."

Di Jingcheng did not refute him, after all, they were brothers, and in his previous life he had done it for Azi... He sighed softly, turned around and stared at his younger brother kneeling on the ground: "Jingyuan, do you think your elder brother wouldn't have thought of these things? You know perfectly well that I have already arranged everything."

"Please punish me, Your Majesty."

He understood that Emperor Jingcheng would not punish him, but he would not back down.

"Jingyuan, your sister-in-law is pregnant, and I have already obtained her parents' approval for this trip." Emperor Jingcheng stated directly, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer; it was better to make things clear sooner rather than later.

Di Jingyuan suddenly looked up at his brother. He knew, he had known all along.

"Brother, I..."

"I know what you're thinking, but she's in poor health right now, so please don't disturb her peace."

"Your Majesty, I know. Please take good care of her," Di Jingyuan said softly, unsure of what gave him the confidence to say those words to Di Jingcheng.

Di Jingcheng smiled and said, "She is my wife and the mother of my child. Of course I will love and protect her." After saying that, he strode away, leaving Di Jingyuan kneeling on the ground, looking as if he had been hit by frost, devoid of all life.

When Di Jingcheng returned, Azi slept restlessly, perhaps because of the change of scenery, or perhaps because he wasn't there. She opened her eyes, still groggy, and watched the man walk in. She reached out for a hug, saying, "I feel unwell, I want a hug~"

She sweetly pouted, and Di Jingcheng quickly stepped forward and gently pulled her into his arms, softly stroking her slightly protruding belly: "Baby, is it uncomfortable here?"

Azi shook her head coquettishly: "No, I feel uncomfortable when you're not here."

Seeing her so dependent, Di Jingcheng felt a surge of tenderness in his heart. She was truly his precious darling, someone he couldn't let his guard down for even a moment, and he would have to keep an eye on her every moment from now on.

"Okay, I'm here, baby, you're not uncomfortable anymore, okay?"

Watching the girl in his arms slowly fall asleep and feel much more at ease, he summoned Zheng He to draft a new imperial edict abolishing the harem, preparing to announce it to the world in court the next day.

The following day, in the imperial court, three months later, the undercurrents seemed even more turbulent. When Zheng He loudly proclaimed the imperial edict abolishing the harem, the court officials were in uproar.

Many ministers jumped out to object, but Emperor Jingcheng silenced them all; some also supported him. The two sides were evenly matched. Emperor Jingyuan stood there blankly, speechless, as if he had lost his soul.

Just as the argument was reaching a fever pitch, Minister Wu stepped forward, and his words instantly silenced everyone. Even Emperor Jingcheng hadn't expected this…