"That's you! I don't want to drag myself into this!" Consort An hadn't contacted the Imperial Noble Consort for a long time, which could be considered a unilateral abandonment of the alliance.

"What do you mean by that?" Consort Jing has something on her hands that the Imperial Noble Consort has, and she's already on a dead end. Naturally, she can't just walk away like Consort An.

"Literally, I have other matters to attend to in the palace, so I'll be leaving now!" Consort An bypassed Consort Jing and left directly.

"Hmph, you'll regret this!" Consort Jing watched Consort An leave. In truth, she wasn't sure either. Although Consort Chen seemed to have retired, how could she easily give up a son and a daughter? She just wanted to bring a few more people along to share the risks.

"Your Highness, shall we follow them?" Liu Xu looked up at Consort Fang and asked.

"Why follow them? Let's go back! We won't get involved in this battle between the Imperial Noble Consort and the Noble Consort Chen!" She wasn't stupid; how could the Imperial Noble Consort possibly defeat the Noble Consort Chen?

"Yes!" Liu Xu was sent by the Empress Dowager. Consort Fang tried her best to keep many things from her. Although she benefited, her freedom was restricted.

The night passed peacefully, unaware that the calm was merely the prelude to a storm.

Chengqian Palace

"Sister Ningdong, this is Her Majesty's tonic. The imperial physician has already examined it!" Bingqiao carefully handed the tonic to Ningdong, her heart pounding with nervousness and her palms sweating.

"Alright, Her Majesty hasn't gotten up yet, let's leave it there for now! It's about time, so it'll be ready to eat once Her Majesty is dressed!"

Ningdong truly trusted Bingqiao; after all, they had worked together for many years, and she never imagined that Bingqiao would change her mind.

"Then this servant will go out and collect some dew first, Your Highness must have some tea!" Bingqiao put the tonic aside and then whispered to Ningdong.

"Alright!" Ningdong thought that there was indeed not much dew left, and she wouldn't feel comfortable letting anyone else go. Bingqiao was thoughtful, so it would be suitable for her to go.

Not long after, Wanyi also received Bingqiao's message. Wanyi was in a good mood and dressed up in her palace. After all, the matter was not honorable, so she could not dress too brightly or too plainly.

"We need to keep a close eye on both Yinzhen and Shuwan. There's still going to be trouble today. If Shuwan is unwilling, we'll have to bring Yinzhen back!"

Yinzhen has already gone to the Imperial Study. Shuwan would cry if she didn't see him for a long time, but she wouldn't cry when Yinzhen was there. In these special times, it wouldn't matter if Yinzhen missed a day.

"Yes, I understand!" Granny Cheng nodded in response.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Noble Consort of Chengqian Palace had a rare good night's sleep and was in a very pleasant mood.

"You were so good today. You knew your mother was tired, so you didn't make a fuss at all!" The Imperial Noble Consort said, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking at her pregnant belly.

"That's Her Majesty's little prince, of course he dotes on Her Majesty!" Ningdong personally helped the Imperial Noble Consort wash and dress.

"The porridge is especially delicious today." After getting dressed, the Imperial Noble Consort walked to the table and realized that she was very hungry.

"Your Majesty, this is today's tonic!" The imperial physician diagnosed that the Imperial Noble Consort's pregnancy was somewhat deficient, hence this tonic.

"Well, thankfully the tonic isn't bitter, otherwise I don't know if I could have kept drinking it." After all, she's always been afraid of bitter things.

"For the sake of the young prince, this servant thinks Your Highness will definitely drink it." Ningdong said with a smile, after all, the medicine for inducing pregnancy is so bitter, and she has been drinking it for more than two months, hasn't she?

"Indeed, nothing is more important than him." The Imperial Noble Consort recalled how she had gotten through the days before.

"This is red date porridge, you should try it!" Ningdong suggested, seeing that the Imperial Noble Consort was only eating one kind of porridge.

"No, I'm a bit full. Come with me for a walk! I'm in the late stages of pregnancy, and the imperial physician said that walking more will make delivery easier."

The Imperial Noble Consort touched her belly and said that the baby was very cooperative and kicked once, which made her smile even deeper. She could feel the baby move every time, which was quite amazing.

"Yes, Your Highness, please be careful!" Ningdong quickly helped the Imperial Noble Consort and they walked outside together.

Before she had gone far, the Imperial Noble Consort felt a warm flow. It was as if she had lost control of her bladder, and clear water was flowing out.

"Your Majesty..." Ningdong called out helplessly to the Imperial Noble Consort.

"My water has broken, I'm about to give birth! Quickly, go and call the midwife!"

The Imperial Noble Consort was also very embarrassed, but the pain in her stomach brought her back to her senses. She didn't care about anything else and could only ask Ningdong to help her to the delivery room to notify the midwife.

The water broke in front of the Imperial Noble Consort's palace. With so many spies watching, naturally all the ladies of the harem, big and small, knew about it and rushed to Chengqian Palace.

"Finally here! It was worth the long wait." Wanyi sat on the palanquin in a good mood, looking at the familiar scenery along the way, which she thought was much more beautiful than usual.

"Who did this? They've completely disrupted my plans!" Consort Wen exclaimed in disbelief upon receiving the news. She was the first to object to the Imperial Noble Consort becoming Empress.

"Your Majesty, this is a good thing. We don't even need to lift a finger. If the Imperial Noble Consort falls, the next one will be the Noble Consort Chen. Your Majesty and the Noble Consort Chen are so close, it would be very easy for you to do something!" Li Yan comforted the Noble Consort Wen.

"I'm afraid she's just stirring up trouble. If she successfully gives birth to the prince, then her position as empress will be truly secure."

Even if they take action then, the little prince will already be born, and if something happens, the emperor will feel even more pity. Unless something truly terrible happens, it will be difficult to bring down the Imperial Noble Consort.

"Your Highness, shall we go and take a look first? If we can act, then we will; if not, we can plan later! In any case, the Imperial Noble Consort won't become Empress anytime soon," Li Yan suggested to Consort Wen.

"That's right, we can't be late, let's go!" Although Consort Wen was angry, she still remembered that she was supposed to wait at Chengqian Palace, because that was the rule!

Inside Chengqian Palace, the Imperial Noble Consort was enduring the pain, because the midwife said that the child born this way would be very smart. Four experienced midwives were waiting for the Imperial Noble Consort to start cervical rupture, while the other palace maids were busy wiping away sweat and feeding her.

"Your Highness, you will need to be patient for a while. It's only five fingers dilated yet. Once it's eight fingers dilated, you can start pushing!" Granny Chen, who was in charge of this operation, told the Imperial Noble Consort after touching her.

"Alright, I will persevere." This is the future crown prince, and she wants the best of him no matter what, not for anything else, but so that she can become the empress, second only to the emperor.

"Come, Your Majesty, have something to eat, otherwise you won't have the strength to give birth later!" Ningdong felt sorry for her mistress, even though it was the second time she had seen her mistress give birth.

"Greetings, Sister Chen!" When Consort Wen arrived, Consort Wan was already waiting there, along with some other concubines.

"Sister Wen!" After exchanging greetings, Wanyi and the others took their seats. Since the Imperial Noble Consort was giving birth in the main chamber of Chengqian Palace, they could simply wait in their usual places for paying their respects.