Chapter 71 After the forced marriage 7
Upon hearing this, Fu Sheng was astonished to learn that Consort Ning was pregnant.
From now on, Fusheng will definitely treat Ning Cairen like a living Bodhisattva!
Heavens above, you have been kind to us this once, sending Consort Ning to the Emperor's side and bringing him an heir. Oh my, this is truly a great joy!
With a thud, the old man knelt on the ground, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Your Majesty finally has an heir! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Prince Ning! Thank you, Heaven, and thank you, all the gods and Buddhas!"
I don't know which deity did this, but he should thank them all.
Chu Chengqian was stunned for a long while before he reacted. His smile grew wider and wider, and his eyes fell on Ning Yan's lower abdomen, as if he were looking at a rare treasure. "I have a child? Consort Ning is really pregnant with my child?"
I've asked that same question countless times.
Physician Chen patiently told him, "Yes, Consort Ning is pregnant!"
"Good, excellent! I finally have an heir! Reward Physician Chen with one hundred taels of silver. From now on, Consort Ning's pregnancy will be entrusted to Physician Chen!"
Thinking of something, Chu Chengqian instructed again: "No one is allowed to talk about what happened today. We'll talk about it after Consort Ning's pregnancy is stable."
"Your Majesty, I will obey! I will not tell anyone."
I'll go back and sleep in a separate room from my wife, so I don't accidentally blurt it out in my sleep!
This is the Emperor's first child, it is of great significance, and we must not allow anything to happen to the child!
After Physician Chen withdrew, Chu Chengqian pulled Ning Yan back into his arms and kissed her repeatedly, as if only in this way could he calm his excited emotions.
"Yan'er, I originally intended to make you a concubine immediately, and then promote you to Imperial Noble Consort after you give birth to your child. However, the news of your pregnancy cannot be revealed yet, so you will have to endure this for two more months."
Once the fetus is firmly settling and the pregnancy is three months along, it's time to tell.
Ning Yan: Anyway, they're all concubines, so what difference does it make what rank they hold?
“I don’t feel wronged at all. Being with the Emperor is my greatest fortune.”
Ning Zhaozhao thought that the original owner was very glorious as the empress in her previous life. Little did she know that it was all achieved by the original owner taking a step ahead and scheming. Where in aristocratic families could there be so much love and happiness?
It's all just a matter of proceeding cautiously step by step!
The original owner had exhausted all her energy just to win Chu Rui's favor. When she became empress, she was even more exhausted, having to be favored while also protecting her children from being harmed.
As a result, her body couldn't withstand the Crown Prince's advances, and she died young. All the talk of exclusive favor and true love was just a lie. Chu Rui had two or three hundred women in his harem, and many palace maids were favored but not given official titles. The number of women was truly countless.
Chu Chengqian, on the other hand, always felt that he could never treat Ning Yan well enough, especially after she became pregnant. He treated her like a precious gem, afraid of breaking her if he held her in his hands and afraid of her melting if he kept her in his mouth. If he didn't already have a principal wife, he would have wanted to directly make Ning Yan the empress.
"Fusheng, go open my private treasury and move all the finest jewelry and ornaments to Consort Ning's palace."
When the concubines in the harem heard that the emperor had bestowed another large number of gifts upon Ning Yan, they were so angry that they smashed countless things, but none of them dared to make a move.
Because the families of Consort Shu and Consort Shun, who had previously disliked Ning Yan, were exiled.
Although these two were not banished to the cold palace or demoted, they were confined to their own palaces and were never allowed to leave!
What's the difference between this and being banished to the cold palace?
...
Yong'an Prince's Mansion.
Ning Zhaozhao had been neglected for too long, and reality was far different from her imagination. She was unwilling to accept this. If she did not reconcile with Chu Rui and have their child, wouldn't that immense wealth and status be given to someone else?
So she did something she thought was clever, but it was actually incredibly foolish.
Chu Rui, who had just returned from the military camp, heard that Ning Zhaozhao had something extremely urgent to discuss with him. Thinking it wouldn't hurt to listen, he changed his clothes and went to Ning Zhaozhao's courtyard.
When Chu Rui visited the courtyard again, Ning Zhaozhao's cheeks flushed with joy. She personally brewed a pot of tea for Chu Rui and brought it over, saying, "Your Highness, please try the tea I brewed."
Chu Rui picked up his teacup, took a sip, and found it tasted alright. "So, what brings you here today?"
He was prepared to be deceived by Ning Zhaozhao, but Ning Zhaozhao surprised him by setting a trap!
"Your Highness, I know what will happen in the future!"
Chu Rui: "...? What?"
"I say, I know what will happen in the future."
"If Your Highness doesn't believe me, you can have someone investigate. The Prince of Jin keeps 30,000 private soldiers at Wuya Mountain, and the Grand Tutor keeps a mistress in Wuqiao Lane. That mistress will give birth to a son for him this year, and soon she will be brought into the Grand Tutor's residence as a favored concubine."
Chu Rui was filled with shock: "Do you know what you're saying?"
Ning Zhaozhao nodded, "Of course I know what I'm talking about. I also know that the Crown Prince will be adopted by the Emperor and become the next Emperor because he and I have had three sons and two daughters."
Her primary goal now is to have a child with Chu Rui. The Emperor adopted Chu Rui because he had many children. Other members of the royal family, like the Emperor, either had no children or only had one or two, and they were all sickly. In his previous life, Chu Rui struggled for so long, but apart from the three sons and two daughters born to Ning Yan, he only had two princesses.
With hundreds of concubines, there were only seven children, five of whom were born to the same person. This gives you an idea of how difficult it was for the Chu family to have offspring.
If she couldn't give birth to Chu Rui's child, how could the Emperor possibly adopt him?
Not to mention inheriting Chu Chengqian's throne.
"What? You mean the Emperor has really died without an heir?"
Ning Zhaozhao nodded without hesitation.
Chu Rui was overjoyed.
Soon, he summoned his attendants and ordered them to inspect the two places Ning Zhaozhao had mentioned.
Although things are still uncertain, the idea that he will inherit the throne in the future is too tempting. Could it be that what the Taoist priest Wuwei said was true, that Ning Zhaozhao was really born with the destiny of a phoenix, and that whoever marries her will become the emperor?
So, that night, Chu Rui slept in Ning Zhaozhao's courtyard.
Five days later, the attendant who went to Wuya Mountain to investigate returned. "Master, there are indeed nearly 30,000 private soldiers hidden in Wuya Mountain. I saw Bai Yan there."
Who is Bai Yan? He is a retainer of the Prince of Jin's mansion, and is skilled in both literature and martial arts.
Now it seems he must be a confidant of the Prince of Jin.
Furthermore, the Grand Tutor did indeed keep a mistress in Wuqiao Lane, and she is currently heavily pregnant and will give birth in another month.
In fact, it wasn't necessary to wait for the concubine to give birth to a son; Ning Zhaozhao's words were basically confirmed. So, in the days that followed, Chu Rui stayed in Ning Zhaozhao's courtyard every day.
A little over a month later, Ning Zhaozhao indeed found out she was pregnant. Chu Rui was overjoyed. While the Crown Princess was tormenting Ning Zhaozhao, he punished the Crown Princess, who then fell ill from anger.
The atmosphere in the manor changed instantly. The servants all fawned over Ning Zhaozhao, and Ning Zhaozhao became increasingly arrogant, just waiting for Prince Yong'an to abdicate and let Chu Rui take the throne so that she could become Chu Rui's concubine.
Moreover, the Crown Princess doesn't have many years left to live. Once Chu Rui is adopted by the Emperor, she might become the Empress! She'll definitely be the Empress!
(End of this chapter)
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