Before Lin Xiwu, Jiang Xian had never been with any woman.

He was terrified when he suddenly took a concubine.

Moreover, the woman he took in was Lin Xiwu, who had once been engaged to Yuan Yuan...

The investiture ceremony was very grand.

After the ceremony, Jiang Xian was almost completely soaked, whether from the heat or fear.

As August approaches, Beijing is as hot as a steamer.

The civil and military officials, who had been eagerly waiting to see a good show, were all wilted by the sun and almost fainted.

Throughout the entire process, Yuan Yuan stood indifferently in front of the court officials.

The newly appointed Consort Lin quietly performed the rites and offered sacrifices to complete the investiture ceremony.

After the ceremony, Lin Xiwu was surrounded by palace servants and sent to Beichen Palace in a sedan chair.

What a great show, I missed it.

The courtiers, wilted by the sun, found the situation extremely boring.

"That's all for now! Let's go to the Imperial Garden for the banquet!"

"I thought I was going to see a good show..."

"Marquis of Changdu, your daughter is almost of marriageable age, isn't she? Perhaps she can even enter the palace and become an empress?"

"Shh, keep it down, keep it down..."

"..."

A group of people, guided by palace servants, walked towards the Imperial Garden.

Everyone has their own thoughts and intentions.

For several days in a row, the palace was very harmonious...

It was surprisingly harmonious.

Despite everyone's expectations, the Ninth Prince and Consort Lin did not have any conflict. In fact, the two did not even meet for several days in the palace.

The two appeared at the same event again, this time at a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

Yuan Yuan is too busy!

After returning to the capital, he personally killed the Minister of War, and from then on, most of the affairs of the Ministry of War were handed over to him.

But the Great Qi had no one of usable talent!

At the same time, the Court of Judicial Review, especially the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, frequently clashed with him and even tried to kill him.

Yuan Yuan is waiting for an opportunity.

This wait lasted until the second year of Chengwu...

Yuan Yuan had always known that the Empress Dowager was having an affair with a minor imperial guard.

But he never imagined that the Empress Dowager was pregnant!

The Empress Dowager was over forty years old. Although she was well-maintained, most women her age would already be grandmothers.

Ordinary women, even if they wanted to give birth, could not.

Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager became pregnant!

Moreover, she kept her pregnancy a closely guarded secret from the beginning.

Even the palace servants who attended to him personally were unaware of this...

The incident came to light because the weather was too hot, and the Empress Dowager wore too many clothes to cover her pregnant belly, which caused her to catch a heatstroke.

The palace servants of Huining Palace frantically searched for the emperor, then for Yuan Yuan, and even summoned the imperial physician.

When Yuan Yuan and Jiang Xian arrived from Haoran Hall, the imperial physician had already rushed over.

The atmosphere was tense inside the sleeping quarters of Huining Palace.

The imperial physician covered the Empress Dowager's wrist with a silk handkerchief, and as soon as his fingers touched her pulse, his expression changed.

Jiang Xianxin immediately asked, "Imperial Physician, how is the Empress Dowager?"

"Thud!"

A drop of sweat trickled down the imperial physician's temple and landed on the back of his hand.

The imperial physician looked even worse than the Empress Dowager, who was suffering from heatstroke and still unconscious.

His fingers trembled as he said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to take your pulse again and examine the Empress Dowager."

Yuan Yuan: "..."

He had little patience; his gaze shifted and landed on the Empress Dowager's abdomen.

In an instant, he frowned.

Just then, Jiang Xian looked at him and asked, "A Yuan... what's wrong?"

An idea popped into Yuan Yuan's mind.

He glanced at the palace servants waiting in the bedchamber and said coldly, "All of you, retreat to the entrance of Huining Palace and wait there!"

In the past year or so, he has already gained a bad reputation.

The palace servants were terrified of him at the mere sight of him, but now that he was driving them away, they breathed a sigh of relief.

In an instant, the palace servants, as if they had oiled their feet, quickly withdrew from the bedchamber.

The imperial physician has already taken the pulse.

Yuan Yuan said coldly, "Now you can speak."

"thump!"

The imperial physician suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Highness, spare my life!"

The emperor stared at the imperial physician, then at Yuan Yuan.

Yuan Yuan coldly demanded, "Speak!"

The imperial physician kowtowed repeatedly, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Empress Dowager...she is pregnant!"

"What?" The emperor was shocked.

pregnant?

Empress Dowager?

Is the Empress Dowager pregnant?!

The emperor was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time.

After finally regaining his senses, he gasped and asked the imperial physician, "Did you misdiagnose my pulse?"

The imperial physicians were terrified.

He trembled and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, it's impossible for you to have misdiagnosed the pulse! Any imperial physician in the Imperial Hospital could detect a pregnancy pulse!"

As he spoke, he wiped his face: "Your Majesty, I have confirmed repeatedly that the fetus is already seven months along..."

The Empress Dowager was wearing a corset and thick clothes to keep herself warm, and her own body was very weak.

I'm afraid... I'm afraid my life is in danger!

After he finished speaking, the imperial physician looked at the emperor expectantly.

The emperor was completely at a loss and subconsciously looked at Yuan Yuan: "A Yuan... what do you think we should do?"

The Empress Dowager of the country is pregnant! What should we do?

If this gets out, the royal family will lose all face!

He, the emperor, is likely to become a laughing stock!

If this news reaches the other four kingdoms, the entire Great Qi will likely become a laughing stock!

And there's the Imperial Sister!

If the Great Qi makes such a fool of itself by marrying the imperial sister to a distant Xiqiu, what will she do in Xiqiu?

When that time comes, the Xiqiu people will definitely laugh at her and bully her!

What will happen to my elder sister then, all alone and helpless...?

Jiang Xian became increasingly frightened as she thought about it.

His eyes were red and his gaze was fierce: "A-Yuan, the Empress Dowager's child cannot be kept!"

Yuan Yuan hadn't even spoken yet.

Hearing Jiang Xian say this, he was somewhat surprised: "Why?"

Why?

Jiang Xian was extremely anxious.

He said urgently, "Ah Yuan, if the Empress Dowager gives birth to a child, I and the royal family will be ridiculed by the world!"

I am not afraid of being laughed at, but my royal sister cannot!

My elder sister is marrying into Xiqiu. Daqi can't protect her, but Daqi can't hold her back and let Xiqiu look down on her!

Furthermore, the Chu Kingdom, the Eastern Ye Kingdom, and the Northern Di Kingdom are all eyeing the Great Qi Kingdom covetously!

Therefore, A-Yuan, the Empress Dowager's child cannot be kept alive!

Yuan Yuan was truly surprised to hear Jiang Xian speak with such clear logic.

He glanced at the Empress Dowager, who was still unconscious, and said to the imperial physician, "Wake the Empress Dowager up first."

The imperial physician hesitated for a moment before taking out silver needles.

After being given acupuncture, the Empress Dowager slowly woke up.

Upon seeing the person standing by the bed, her expression changed drastically, and she immediately raised her hand and placed it on her lower abdomen.

Feeling her lower abdomen still bulging, she breathed a sigh of relief.

After she finished venting her anger, she realized that she had been exposed!

The Empress Dowager was both exhausted and anxious: "I..."

"Congratulations, Empress Dowager. Congratulations, Empress Dowager." Yuan Yuan's lips curved into a cold arc, a half-smile on his face: "These past few months, you've had a hard time keeping it a secret, haven't you?"

I wonder, after this child is born, will he be surnamed Yin or Jiang?

Why don't we just take the surname Jiang?

I've already thought of the imperial decree for the Empress Dowager—

The late emperor missed the empress dowager terribly, and she appeared in his dreams every night. In his dreams, the two met and played music in harmony, and the empress dowager became pregnant with his child...

"So, is the Empress Dowager satisfied?"

The Empress Dowager's face turned deathly pale instantly.