With the emperor around, the empress dowager would not make things difficult for Danruo like she did the first time. After the normal procedure was completed, all the concubines and female members of the royal family present saluted the empress.

When it was the turn of Princess Kang and her family to pay their respects, Dan Ruo deliberately turned her head and spoke to Qi Mu:

"Last time, I heard Princess Kang say how smart and lovely Chen'er was. Now the child is almost two months old."

Chuxia took the swaddled baby Chen from Chu Xiangxiang's arms and brought him to Danruo.

Qi Mu knew what she was thinking and glanced at the sleeping Chen Ge'er.

He agreed, "How can a baby of only one or two months old be considered smart? He just sleeps a lot."

Princess Kang's legs trembled as she squatted. She was of a high status, and apart from the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, no one had ever dared to leave her alone for such a long time.

The Queen Mother was about to speak when Dan Ruo turned to her and said, "Mother, Chen'er is so cute, look at him."

The Queen Mother's attention was diverted. Dan Ruo panicked and said guiltily, "Princess Kang and niece-in-law, please get up quickly. It's all my fault for missing Brother Chen too much just now."

Chu Xiangxiang didn't know whether she should stand up or not, after all, the niece Danruo called was now Rong.

Princess Kang and Rong Shi would not care about her. They both hated her so much that she made up her mind and fell down on purpose to confirm the Queen's reputation of being harsh on the royal family.

There was a plop, and it sounded painful. Everyone had been secretly watching her.

Dan Ruo let out a low cry of surprise. Qi Mu was afraid she would be frightened, so he angrily scolded her, "Chu from Prince Kang's Mansion has been disrespectful in front of the emperor and has been stripped of her status as a concubine."

Seeing that no one was asking Chu Xiangxiang to be strong, Dan Ruo "kindly" comforted her:

"Your Majesty, Chu has made an invaluable contribution to the Kangjun Prince's Mansion by giving birth to Chen'er. I don't think she did it on purpose this time. How about waiving the punishment and instead fining her one thousand taels of gold?"

Qi Mu felt that the queen loved him, otherwise why would she give up such a good opportunity to vent her anger? She changed it to a fine for her own sake. Knowing that the treasury was empty, he suddenly felt very happy:

"Since the Queen has interceded for you, I will fine you one thousand taels of gold."

Chu Xiangxiang felt humiliated, but she had to thank him. She was determined to obtain supreme power in the future.

After this incident, everyone knew that the Queen was not someone to be trifled with, and the Emperor was still protecting her. The Queen Mother even felt that the Queen was too vindictive. Fortunately, she had filial piety to suppress her.

"Since the Empress is still young, I will leave the power of the palace to me for the time being."

Qi Mu didn't want Dan Ruo to become a queen without real power: "My Queen Mother is old, it's time for her to take good care of herself. How can I trouble her to work so hard for me?"

The Queen Mother didn't want to give up: "I have been in good health these past two years and can still work hard. Besides, Rong Zhaoyuan and Jiang Jieyu are both veterans in the palace. With them helping me, I won't be too tired."

Danruo doesn't want to work like a housekeeper and work herself to death, so she doesn't want to take care of anything other than her duties.

"Then I will continue to trouble you, Queen Mother. Thank you for your wholehearted efforts for Your Majesty."

Seeing that Danruo gave up, Qi Mu stopped talking. He said that if Danruo was willing in the future, he would ask her for it. He would protect her in normal times, and even though he didn't have the power in the palace, he would not let anyone look down on the queen.

--

After returning to Prince Kang's Mansion, Rong was in charge of the household expenses. She didn't want to take one thousand taels of gold from the public account, so she asked Chu Xiangxiang to find a way herself, otherwise she would ask the emperor to demote Chu to a concubine.

After Prince Kang found out, he personally went to persuade Chu Xiangxiang to keep a low profile, stay at home, avoid getting into trouble with the Queen, and pay the fine himself.

Looking at Prince Kang who was hurrying to Rong's courtyard, Chu Xiangxiang wanted to smash two pieces of porcelain, but she remembered that she was about to pay one thousand taels of gold, which was equivalent to ten thousand taels of silver. The bottom of her dowry was only thirty thousand taels, and the rest were shops and fields.

Rong Shi would definitely not replace her broken porcelain with a new one. She couldn't break things, so she turned to the maids hiding in the corner of the room.

Prince Kang betrayed her wish to be together for life, and now he still fantasizes about having a child every day. How is that possible? She comes from a medical family and although she didn't learn much, she still remembers a few prescriptions.

At the end of the first month, seeing that Rong was still not pregnant, Prince Kang couldn't help but complain. Xiangxiang got pregnant just a few days after her wedding, so why was Rong so tired? He was a little angry after struggling for a month.

After hearing that Rong had quarreled with Prince Kang, Chu Xiangxiang took the opportunity to coax Prince Kang to adopt Chen'er under the name of Rong.

Prince Kang also thought it was a great idea. The emperor said that the child was Rong's legitimate son. If Rong couldn't give birth to another son, she could adopt one of her other sons.

Thinking of the throne that was within his reach, he went to Rong to discuss it with great interest.

Rong was unwilling to do so. She could have her own child, so why should she adopt one? If the identity of the eldest son was taken by the child of that bitch Chu, what would happen to her future children?

The two parted on bad terms, and Rong anxiously wrote a letter to her parents' home.

The Prime Minister's wife brought Rong to ask for an audience with the princess, secretly saying that the princess was staying at home to take care of her pregnancy and would not see outsiders. But the Prime Minister's wife and her mother-in-law were sisters from the next room. She still had to give the prince consort some face.

The princess said that she had received a pomegranate-embroidered handkerchief from the queen, symbolizing fertility and good fortune.

Rong would rather believe it. After all, it was well known that it was difficult for the princess to have children, and it was a miracle that she could get pregnant at the age of 32.

Qi Mu has been asking Danruo to live in the emperor's bedroom since her wedding. Firstly, he doesn't want to be separated from her, and secondly, he is afraid that the tactics used in the harem will hurt Danruo, so he can only feel at ease if she lives in his own bedroom.

After receiving Rong's request for a meeting, Danruo changed into loose clothes. The child was two months old. Because it was a multiple pregnancy, her abdomen grew faster, but Qi Mu didn't know it yet. Fortunately, winter clothes were still relatively loose.

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