Chapter 158 Pregnant

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Yixiu smiled, as if she had taken Yinzhen's caring gesture for granted. Amidst the envy and jealousy of many concubines, she easily maintained her unshakeable position as the principal wife.

"Your Majesty and Your Majesty are truly a loving couple. Your humble servant toasts you both with a cup of wine."

Holding a wine glass, Yun Si, who resembled a refined gentleman, was the first to step forward and walk in front of the two of them, seemingly just to offer a toast.

"Eighth Brother, you're too kind."

As if nothing had happened, Yinzhen raised his wine cup in return, and Yixiu also drank a cup of wine in return. No sooner had the two put down their cups than a large group of princes gathered around, as if they had planned it all along.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I would also like to offer you both a toast." Yunxiang followed closely behind, coming forward to offer a toast. It wasn't that he wanted to make things difficult for his fourth brother, but if there was good news that only his fourteenth brother knew about, he could only drink a few more cups with his fourth brother to deepen their relationship.

Yinzhen and Yixiu drank another cup.

"Your Majesty, I would also like to offer a toast, but today is the birthday of Your Majesty's sister-in-law, so it is not appropriate to drink too much. Why don't you drink another cup on behalf of Your Majesty's sister-in-law?"

Next to step forward was the Ninth Prince, Yun Tang, who was even more explicit than the Eighth and Thirteenth Princes. Now, Yi Xiu immediately realized that these princes were after the Emperor.

Yixiu wanted to stop Yinzhen, but before she could speak, Yinzhen pressed her hand down, saying, "Alright, Yixiu can't hold her liquor, I'll take her place."

He and Yun Tang drank two more cups in cooperation. After Yun Tang finished drinking, he wiped his mouth and laughed loudly: "That was great!" The group of people who were already eye-catching instantly attracted the attention of everyone in the hall, and the playful noises became quiet.

"Having drunk their wine, I can't refuse this cup either, can I?"

Yinreng raised his wine cup with a half-smile. He had worked diligently for Yinzhen in handling state affairs, yet Yinzhen was kept in the dark about good things. The thought infuriated him. When he was Crown Prince, he had to review memorials for the Emperor; now, as a Prince, he still had to do the same. The more he thought about it, the more amiss things became. He decided to ask for three days' leave and let Yinzhen shoulder the responsibilities of an Emperor, letting him review the memorials himself.

"Second Brother is too kind. This is a toast to Second Brother."

It was hard to refuse a toast from such a skilled worker, so under Yixiu's worried gaze, Yinzhen drank another cup.

"Your Majesty has a good capacity for alcohol," Yunzhi said with a brisk walk, stepping out from the crowd to the front and placing two wine bowls in front of Yinzhen's table. "What's the point of drinking small cups? Come, Your Majesty, I'd like to offer you a bowl!"

"How audacious!" The brothers stared at their leader with strange looks. Yinzhen looked at the wine bowl on the table, which was bigger than a soup bowl and filled to the brim with wine that was about to overflow. Then he looked at his leader, Yunti, who had a sincere face as if he had come to offer a toast. He fell silent for a moment.

Although he drank the wine as if it were water, it was still such a large bowl. Even water would make one feel bloated after drinking it; why should an emperor suffer like this?

"vomit--"

Just as everyone was silently watching, a dry heave broke the silence.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Yixiu asked impatiently, afraid that if she was a step too late, the Emperor would really drink the wine in the bowl.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty has been rude..."

Cao Qinmo's expression froze. Anyone would be nervous if they suddenly received the attention of the Emperor, Empress, and so many princes at the same time. Fortunately, she covered most of her face with her hands, so that her expression wouldn't change too obviously.

Logically speaking, if a concubine suddenly vomits at a banquet, someone would definitely step forward to suspect that she might be pregnant, and then they would go along with it and invite the imperial physician to examine her.

However, the timing of Cao Qinmo's retching was not right. Everyone was wondering whether the Emperor would drink the wine offered by Prince Zhi, and her retching stole the show, making her the center of attention.

So much so that for a long while after she finished speaking, no one else made a sound. Cao Qinmo gritted her teeth, regretting that she hadn't tried to induce vomiting just for the sake of it; she was genuinely dry heaving, not faking it, and she couldn't control the timing.

"Let's ask the imperial physician to examine Sister Cao," Yi Xiu finally suggested. It wasn't that she genuinely cared about Cao Qinmo, but rather that the princes seemed quite eager after Cao Qinmo's words.

To protect the Emperor, Empress Yixiu is the most magnanimous and benevolent Empress today, and no one can stop her from summoning the imperial physician for Consort Cao!

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Consort Cao looked grateful, though her face was still somewhat pale. She breathed a sigh of relief; after all, they had managed to bring the imperial physician. However… glancing at the magnanimous Empress, Cao Qinmo felt uneasy; she was ultimately going to offend the Empress.

The concubines in the harem wanted to summon the imperial physician, and the princes, led by Yunzhi, could no longer keep urging the emperor to drink. They could only return to their seats with regret. Among them, Yunzhi's sigh was particularly loud and full of regret.

Yinzhen gave him a deep look. He was still too idle. He even had time to lose weight. The Ninth Prince was having too much of a good time being the God of Wealth. He should find him something to do.

"Hiss—why do I feel a little cold?" Yun Tang returned to his seat, rubbing the hairs that had suddenly stood up, somewhat puzzled. Without giving it much thought, he pulled the eighteenth prince at the next table to gossip about the Emperor's harem, completely unaware of the tenth prince's eye-roll.

A short while later, the elderly imperial physician with white hair was brought in to take Cao Qinmo's pulse. Amidst the curious and gossipy gazes of countless people, the physician knelt down and loudly announced the good news: "Your Majesty, it is a happy pulse. This young lady is already more than two months pregnant."

The hall fell silent for a moment, then everyone offered their congratulations to the Emperor and Consort Cao. Cao Qinmo was overjoyed, her eyes glistening with tears.

"This is truly a joyous occasion. Consort Cao was feeling unwell after vomiting; will that have affected her?"

"Your Majesty, this is just a normal symptom of pregnancy and there is nothing to worry about."

"That's good," Yixiu said with a gentle smile to Cao Qinmo, though it was slightly stiff. "Your Majesty, Consort Cao's pregnancy is a joyous occasion. Do you have any rewards for her?"

"Consort Cao is pregnant and will enjoy the rank and benefits of a concubine. Other rewards will be decided by the Empress."

"Yes," Yixiu said, feeling much more comfortable knowing that the Emperor was doing this to save face for her. "Then Consort Cao, please take your seat first. You may leave at any time if you feel unwell."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty the Empress." Cao Qinmo expressed her deep gratitude. This usually unremarkable noblewoman suddenly became the focus of everyone's attention.

After this incident, the banquet was filled with laughter and joy again, but how many people were discussing the gossip of the harem, or whether Cao Qinmo's actions were intentional or not, remains unknown.

Even if she knew, Cao Qinmo didn't care. She knew that her decision to reveal her pregnancy at the banquet would attract attention and even displease the Empress. But she had no choice. In the Shen Meizhuang incident, she clearly sensed the involvement of another force, which she couldn't uncover even using the Ulanara clan's connections held by Shang Rouze. She deeply felt the depths of the harem.

Fearing she would be harmed without a trace, she had no choice but to change her plans and reveal her pregnancy. Now, she no longer cared about vying for the first child after ascending the throne; she only hoped that with Shen Meizhuang as a target, she could successfully give birth to this child.

"Tsk, the Emperor's harem is truly extraordinary," Yun Tang commented, shaking his head.

Yun rolled his eyes speechlessly. "Ninth Brother, you're just talking nonsense. How could any woman in the harem be simple? Last time, Seventeen was used and was furious... Sigh, speaking of Seventeen, where are Seventeen?"

"That's right, where's Seventeen? Where there's the Emperor, how could there not be Seventeen? That shouldn't be the case."