Perhaps it was because of the joy of good news that the Empress's headache miraculously disappeared after she woke up and learned of the news.

She was feigning fear; she dared not be alone and let her sisters from the palace make a ruckus here.

She looked up at Gu Yuchen, her eyes gleaming with a light she had never shown before, and said, word by word, "Your Majesty,"

Gu Yuchen was stunned, feeling his mind go blank for a moment.

In that instant, he thought of his father, the emperor. Although he was the legitimate heir, he was not the eldest son. In addition, the eldest prince was highly regarded at the time, and his father's position as crown prince had been deposed once.

If it weren't for the strong recommendation of the upright officials in the court, the throne would not have been passed to my father, much less to me!

Remembering his father's cruelty and suspicion after ascending the throne, he did not want his son to suffer the same fate, so he made him the crown prince early on. However, he also gave all his fatherly love to the Prince of Chu, and even secretly supported him in building up his power to oppose him...

Gu Yuchen slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. He made a silent vow that the eldest prince would not only be born to the empress, but would also be raised by him personally!

Gu Yuchen's eyes reddened as he gently stroked the Empress's hand. His lips curled up, and his smile grew wider, but he still restrained himself. His eyes shone as he looked at the Empress, and he chuckled softly after saying "good" several times.

"Zhao Xi, all the Empress's personal maids will be rewarded!" Gu Yuchen said in a low voice. "The Empress has worked hard, but for now, the matter of her pregnancy should not be announced to the public."

There are still some spies in the palace who haven't been removed. The Empress is still three months pregnant, so naturally, some things need to be kept secret.

The Empress was well aware of the sordid affairs in the palace, and turned to look at Consort De: "Consort Xian, you'll have to work hard during this time."

This meant that the affairs of the inner palace were to be handed over to Consort Xian, allowing her to focus on her pregnancy.

Gu Yuchen turned his head and glanced at the concubines in the harem, then his gaze fell on Consort Liang, and he glared at her fiercely: "The Empress is feeling unwell, and you are all making a ruckus here. What kind of behavior is this? Go back and reflect on your mistakes in your private quarters for five days."

Just as Consort Liang was about to make a rebuttal, Gu Yuchen said, "Especially you! Your palace gates were closed for three more days than everyone else's!"

Consort Liang let out a wronged hum, and unconsciously touched the place where the silver notes were kept before she felt much better.

Three more days is three more days, what's the big deal!

Anyway, I've got the silver notes!

The concubines left the inner palace happily, but when they came out of Kunning Palace, their faces were solemn. They hurriedly returned to their palaces, as if the Empress had really fallen seriously ill.

Not long after, news of the Empress fainting and the concubines being reprimanded and punished by being confined to their rooms to reflect on their mistakes spread throughout the palace, and by the next morning, it had spread outside the palace at an extremely fast pace.

After Consort Liang and the others left, Gu Yuchen learned from the Empress what they had been doing.

His expression was incredibly interesting for a moment.

As a prince, he naturally experienced a lot of infighting, even poisoning and framing, among the concubines in the harem. Not to mention anything else, the concubines in the Prince of Chu's mansion were extremely competitive.

But why do these concubines in his palace have such a strange demeanor?

However, he was quite satisfied!

After Gu Yuchen coaxed the Empress to sleep, he carefully inquired about Physician Qian's medical advice and realized just how dangerous the situation had been.

The Empress's health had not been properly maintained, and there were signs that the pregnancy was about to miscarry.

If it weren't for Consort Liang's sudden whim to bring all the other concubines to disturb her, the Empress probably wouldn't have fainted, and she certainly wouldn't have had Imperial Physician Qian come to take her pulse.

If we just delay a few more days, the child will disappear without a trace...

Gu Yuchen turned and glanced at the inner hall, giving detailed instructions before leaving.

Back in the Imperial Study, Gu Yuchen noticed that Gu Yuzhi's letter had fallen to the ground. He slowly bent down to pick it up, and then suddenly burst into laughter.

Zhao Xi was so shocked that her eyes almost popped out of their sockets!

This was the first time he had ever seen the emperor laugh so happily and freely since he ascended the throne.

Upon realizing that the Empress was pregnant, Zhao Xi immediately knelt on the ground and whispered, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Gu Yuchen laughed for a while before rereading the letter, then solemnly laid it out flat.

Only then did Gu Yuchen realize that his hands were trembling slightly. A feeling of lingering fear suddenly overwhelmed him, causing him to experience tinnitus, blurred vision, rapid heartbeat, and shortness of breath. It took a while for this feeling to subside.

"Xiao Liu's letter home came at just the right time!"

Especially cottonseed!

If it weren't for Minister Su's deep understanding of the importance of these cotton seeds, and his knocking on the palace gates in the middle of the night, the Empress would never have felt a headache and fainted the next day from being woken up.

Gu Yuchen gently tapped the dragon table: "Zhao Xi, go and convey my imperial edict, instructing Gao Shengliang to immediately send out the salt from the northern desert."

It's just a salt permit; can't his brother get a back door?

Queue up, queue up, what queue are you waiting for!

Now let's send the salt from the northern desert out and get them back as soon as possible!

Gu Yufan is currently unaware that Xiao Liu is planning to rob the salt permits. If he finds out, coupled with the previous incidents involving Li's Escort Agency, Li's Medical Clinic, and the relocation of people from Jiangnan, Gu Yufan will likely retaliate fiercely against Xiao Liu once he learns that the salt permits he has completely lost are now in Xiao Liu's hands.

It was only then that Gu Yuchen truly regretted his grand gesture of sending the Jiangnan disaster victims to Xinliang.

He stopped Zhao Xi and wrote him another letter, instructing him: "Have Qi Chenglang take this letter to Qi Chengjun; he knows what to do."

Obtaining a salt permit only grants the right to buy salt from the salt fields; the most important thing is to safely transport this salt from Huizhou back to the northern desert!

Gu Yufan is a vengeful man who acts without any scruples; he is absolutely capable of robbing salt on the way!

Upon hearing the Emperor's tone, Zhao Xi immediately understood the importance of the matter. He took the letter, tucked it into his robes, and left the palace to personally visit Gao Shengliang's residence.

Waking up from a deep sleep, Gao Shengliang was filled with resentment and wanted nothing more than to draw his sword and kill someone. However, his resentment vanished the moment he saw Zhao Xi. The little devil in his heart pounded his chest and shouted, "What is it that is so important that the Emperor would send Zhao Xi at this hour? Couldn't he have waited until tomorrow?"

When Gao Shengliang learned that the salt from the northern desert was to be diverted ahead of schedule, his anger was beyond description. If the person in front of him hadn't been Zhao Xi, he would have stabbed him!

Filled with rage, Gao Shengliang inquired about the inn where the Mobei Trading Company was staying. He arrived at the inn late at night with salt permits and finally returned home just before dawn.

After seeing the person off, Shen Yu'an turned around and rubbed his eyes hard. Seeing that the salt certificate was still in the box, he grinned silently.

The surprise came too fast, like a blizzard in the northern desert!

He sat on the edge of the bed, holding the box, taking a nap, waiting for dawn so that the city gates would open and they could leave quickly.

In his dream, Shen Yu'an seemed to have arrived in Huizhou. Looking at the white salt fields, his mouth watered.

That's all money!