The Emperor was furious, but for the sake of the 50,000 strings of cash allocated for disaster relief, he couldn't afford to fall out with the Prince of Guhuai. He really was bound to be swayed by the offer!
At this moment, Gulnaffee hugged the Emperor's arm and sobbed, "Your Majesty, Gulnaffee lost her birth mother at birth. It is thanks to Brother Gu Huai's protection that Gulnaffee was able to grow up safely."
From now on, Nafi will stay in the palace to serve the Emperor. Her only worry is for her brother, Gu Huai. Since Gu Huai has taken a liking to Consort Yu, she hopes the Emperor will grant his wish…
Seeing Gulinafei clinging to the Emperor's arm and crying, Hongyu was furious. Just as she was about to speak, she felt a churning in her stomach and quickly covered her mouth to stifle her anger.
Everyone dismissed it, but Kong Que'er sensed something was wrong and quickly went to examine Hong Yu. She saw that Hong Yu's face was pale and she was gagging repeatedly, as if she were experiencing morning sickness.
Something's not right. Hongyu has only been in the Emperor's bedchamber for a month, how could she be pregnant so quickly? Could it be that Hongyu is faking her pregnancy to avoid marrying the Prince of Guhuai?
Excellent. As long as it is confirmed that Hongyu is faking her pregnancy, the ministers will surely continue to try to bring Hongyu and King Guhuai together.
So, Kong Que'er pretended to be surprised and touched Hongyu's belly, asking, "Is Consort Yu pregnant?"
Hongyu nodded quickly, lowered her eyes and smiled shyly, "I only found out last night. I thought the Emperor was busy with state affairs and I would report to him in a few days. I didn't expect the reaction to be so obvious today."
"Consort Yu is so foolish! How could you hide such a big matter?"
As she spoke, Kong Que'er turned to look at the Emperor and exclaimed with delight, "Your Majesty, Consort Yu is pregnant!"
The Emperor was overjoyed. If Hongyu were to bear a child, who would dare to send her to a marriage alliance?
The Emperor hurriedly ordered Eunuch Cai, "Quickly summon the imperial physician."
A short while later, a young imperial physician, who looked like a pale-faced scholar, hurried over. After a brief bow to the Emperor, he sat opposite Hongyu and took her pulse.
Although Hongyu was pretending to be pregnant by taking a traditional Chinese medicine for advanced age, she was not afraid of the imperial physician taking her pulse because she had already bribed the young imperial physician.
The young imperial physician is the apprentice of Imperial Physician Wen, and Imperial Physician Tang.
When Imperial Physician Wen was used by Zhang Yue'er, he tried to frame the Empress but ended up losing his life instead.
After Imperial Physician Wen died, the young Imperial Physician Tang was squeezed out by the other imperial physicians. It was only thanks to the care of Princess Yan, also known as Hongyu, that Imperial Physician Tang was able to remain in the Imperial Hospital.
After taking Hongyu's pulse, Imperial Physician Tang rose and walked to the Emperor, bowing as he reported, "Your Majesty, Consort Yu is pregnant."
The Emperor was overjoyed. He ignored Gulnaffee beside him, got up from the dragon throne, and rushed to sit next to Hongyu.
Hongyu was overjoyed to regain the Emperor's favor, and while holding the Emperor's hand, she glanced sideways at Gulnaffee.
Gulnaffee blushed and quickly got up from the dragon throne to sit next to Peacock.
Kong Que'er, Kong Xiang, and King Xiang all suspected that Hongyu was fabricating a marriage alliance to avoid a political marriage. Therefore, the three of them shouted in unison:
"Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Tang is too young. It would be more prudent to have an older imperial physician examine Consort Yu."
"How could Consort Yu be pregnant so quickly, having only been in the palace for a month?"
"I request Your Majesty to send an experienced imperial physician to examine Consort Yu's pulse, in order to prevent anyone from falsifying the diagnosis."
After a while, an elderly imperial physician slowly arrived and, led by Eunuch Cai, sat opposite Hongyu.
Hongyu felt uneasy and nervous. She secretly glanced at the person sitting opposite her and saw that it was none other than Zheng, the famous upright imperial physician in the capital.
"Your Majesty, please place your hand on the pulse pillow."
As Physician Zheng spoke, he took out a square handkerchief and waited, but Hongyu did not extend her hand for a long time.
The Emperor took Hongyu's hand and placed it on the pulse pillow, and comforted her with a smile, "Noble Lady Yu, don't be nervous. If you don't get pregnant, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
Hongyu nodded, but lowered her eyes, not daring to face the Emperor. After all, she had eaten kaolin clay, which caused her morning sickness, and Imperial Physician Zheng would definitely not be able to diagnose her pregnancy.
To everyone's surprise, Imperial Physician Zheng exclaimed, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! The Empress is pregnant!"
"Haha..." The Emperor laughed loudly, then looked at the Prince of Xiang and said, "Father, Hongyu is already pregnant, it is not a lie. I hope that Father will choose another woman to marry into the Guli tribe."
After saying this, the Emperor helped Hongyu leave the main hall.
Seeing this, everyone in the hall was indignant. Kong Que'er quickly stopped Imperial Physician Zheng and asked, "May I ask, Lord Zheng, how long has Consort Yu been pregnant?"
Physician Zheng was straightforward and didn't think much of it, saying directly, "If she had just conceived, her pulse wouldn't be very strong. Judging from Consort Yu's pulse, she must be more than a month pregnant."
Kong Que'er, Kong Xiang, and Xiang Wang were all surprised. Hongyu had only been in the palace for a month, how could she be more than a month pregnant? Could it be that Hongyu had committed adultery before entering the palace?
Hongyu was quite puzzled. Could it be that she was really pregnant with the dragon's child?
The Emperor sent her back to the Jiaofang Palace to rest, and she then ordered Emerald to invite Imperial Physician Tang.
Imperial Physician Tang knelt down in fear, "Consort Yu, I was unaware that you were pregnant. If I had taken your pulse last night, I wouldn't have given you the kaolin pills."
Hongyu was terrified. She was really pregnant? Was the child the Emperor's?
She remembered that on the tenth day of the seventh month, Gu Erlang helped her poison Qiu Xue'er, and Yan Wang was beheaded by Kong Ying. She was overjoyed, and that very night Gu Erlang came to her door, so she repaid him with her own life.
When she woke up the next day, she heard that the cripple had been murdered. She rushed to find Old Li, hoping to confirm that the cripple was Liu Yu and that Liu Yu was already dead. This would allow Shen Yu to give up completely and marry Prince Jing.
She was in such a hurry to leave that she completely forgot to drink the infertility-preventing soup! She must be pregnant with Gu Erlang's child!
Oh no, she absolutely couldn't give birth to Gu Erlang's child. She stood up and looked at Imperial Physician Tang, asking in a low voice, "Is there any musk?"
Imperial Physician Tang kowtowed in fear, his voice trembling as he said, "Your Majesty, please spare me! The late Emperor established an ironclad rule: if musk is found in the harem, the person who commits it will lose their head..."
Hongyu nodded, waved away Imperial Physician Tang, and called Feicui to her bedside for a private conversation.
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At the hour of You (5-7 PM), the sky gradually darkens.
Hongyu, knowing that Emerald would be back soon, called Biyue and Xiuhua to go to Kong He'er's Millennium Palace.
Kong He'er was quite alarmed to see Hongyu and the other two visiting. Following Kong Xiang's instructions, she had ordered Magpie to follow Emerald. Could Hongyu's visit at this time mean she had already suspected something?
Although she was apprehensive, she still welcomed Hongyu and the other two into the hall and ordered the maid to prepare tea and refreshments.
Hongyu, with a friendly expression, pulled Kong He'er down to sit and chat while they ate:
“Sister, I am the adopted daughter of the King of Xiang. Biyue and Xiuhua are the King of Xiang’s nieces. You are the daughter of Prime Minister Kong. In other words, we are related by blood. From now on, the four of us sisters must take care of each other and not become estranged.”
"He'er will naturally not be estranged from her sisters, and hopes that her sisters will visit the Millennium Palace often."
After Kong He'er finished speaking, she stared at the doorway, afraid that the magpie would run in and let something slip.
At this moment, the magpie hurriedly walked in, and upon seeing a guest, it quickly bowed and retreated.
Kong He'er hurriedly followed.
The magpie whispered: "Your Majesty, Jade did indeed leave the palace looking for musk. She bought it at a pharmacy outside the city and has now returned to the Jiaofang Palace."
It is a capital offense for concubines to possess musk in the imperial harem. Should this matter be reported to the Emperor?
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