Under his manipulation, Consort Li's body grew weaker and weaker. The three people in the Prince's residence were unaware of Consort Li's condition and were completely unaware that she was pregnant. In addition, Consort Li was always being protected, but in reality, she was being monitored, so no one noticed that something was wrong with her.
Later, Consort Li used some unknown method to persuade the emperor to compromise once again, and Consort Li was finally free to leave Zhaoyang Palace, but she was still followed by the emperor's men.
Consort Li first went to see Empress Yin Yuyao. Because she was being followed, she only chatted with Yin Yuyao about random things. However, Yin Yuyao noticed that something was wrong with her. Her face was pale and weak, her abdomen was slightly protruding, and she was being protected so closely.
At first, she didn't realize that Consort Li was pregnant, because not only had she never served the emperor, but she was also very thin and her clothes were loose, so it was impossible to tell that she was nearly six months pregnant. It wasn't until Consort Li touched her abdomen that she found out.
Although she didn't care about the story between the emperor and Consort Li, seeing Consort Li acting so strangely, she went along with Consort Li's wishes and asked about it.
When Consort Li was asked, she immediately burst into tears, saying that the pregnancy had been extremely difficult. She covered her face with a handkerchief, mouthed something to Yin Yuyao, wiped away her tears, and then put the handkerchief down, pretending to be tormented by the child. Finally, she showed a sweet smile and said, "But it is my blessing to be able to continue Your Majesty's lineage. No matter how hard it is, it is worth it."
Yin Yuyao recalled her first meeting with Consort Li. Consort Li's tears seemed fake, but only the two of them knew that Consort Li's tears were real.
"Tears streamed down her face, her eyes filled with pain and sorrow. Her lips formed only two words: 'child.' I understood what she meant; she wanted me to save her child. I knew Ning Ci and Yuwen Li's personalities; they would never harm Consort Li. So, there was only one person left. I knew Consort Li couldn't speak, so I went to ask Ning Ci. Ning Ci had a close relationship with the Empress Dowager, and soon the Empress Dowager found out about Consort Li's past."
"Only then did I understand why the Emperor brought Consort Li back but secretly drugged her. The heart of an emperor! Even Consort Li, who had seen so many men, was deceived by this most noble man. She only realized it after she noticed her body was gradually weakening, but it was too late. Because she had taken so many harmful medicines, it was a miracle that she hadn't lost her baby. I felt guilty for not being able to help her much."
Consort Li knew her days were numbered and that even if she gave up the child, there was no way to save her. She wanted to keep the child. Yin Yuyao knew the situation and, unable to persuade her otherwise, she had no choice but to go along with Consort Li's decision. She found many strong medicines for Consort Li, all of which absorbed the mother's nutrients and supplied them to the child.
After more than a month of effort, Consort Li's body became increasingly weak, but her belly grew much larger. She later gave birth prematurely when she was just over seven months pregnant.
The Emperor didn't come, but Yin Yuyao brought Ning Ci instead. Yuwen Li was also pregnant, but Yin Yuyao didn't let her come. When Consort Li gave birth, the Empress Dowager also came. The Empress Dowager didn't look well, but she still forced herself to stay and wait with them for Consort Li to give birth.
This wait lasted for eight hours.
Finally, the Second Princess was held in the Empress Dowager's arms. Yin Yuyao and Ning Ci saw Consort Li one last time. When Consort Li saw the Empress Dowager and Ning Ci, she knew that the child would survive. So, filled with gratitude for the three of them, she closed her eyes in peace.
As for the arrangement of the second princess, Ning Ci originally wanted to raise her under her own name, but the Empress Dowager chose to give the second princess to Yin Yuyao. The Empress Dowager's thoughts were not hard to guess. Ning Ci did not have any biological children yet, but she had an adopted daughter first. She was worried that the emperor would no longer favor Ning Ci because of this.
The Empress Dowager's worries were not unfounded. Before the Emperor ascended the throne, the old Emperor had warned him to have fewer and better children. Apart from the Empress, each of the other concubines should only have one child, whether biological or adopted, to provide for them. Too many children would only cause discord in the harem, harming both themselves and others.
The emperor naturally agreed, adding that he wasn't keen on having many children.
The Empress Dowager was aware of this matter, so she couldn't help but worry about her niece and show favoritism. The Empress, however, was of a different status, and since she was completely unaware that the eldest princess was Yin Yujie's biological daughter, believing she was Yin Yuyao's child, she ordered Yin Yuyao to adopt the second princess.
So Yin Yuyao already had two daughters before she even had any biological children. This was not a good omen, Ning Ci said so to Yin Yuyao, but Yin Yuyao didn't care. She figured it didn't matter how many children she raised, and she didn't care about the emperor's opinion.
When the emperor learned of this, he was somewhat displeased with Yin Yuyao and Ning Ci for visiting Consort Li. He was even more displeased that Consort Li still had blood relatives. When he learned that the Empress Dowager had arranged for the Second Princess to be under Yin Yuyao's name, he could not say anything because of the Empress Dowager's name. He could only vent his anger on Yin Yuyao and Ning Ci, and did not allow the two of them to serve him for more than a year.
Yin Yuyao was quite comfortable with this, but she felt bad for Ning Ci. She didn't have to get involved in this, but it was all because of her.
However, Ning Ci did not blame her. Instead, he showed concern and comforted her, which made their relationship even better.
During the year that the two did not serve the emperor, many things happened. Yuwen Li gave birth to twins, the eldest prince and the second prince. The emperor was overjoyed and bestowed upon Yuwen Li the title 'Chen'. The emperor held his first imperial concubine selection after ascending the throne, but only two women were chosen. Their backgrounds and ranks were also very different: one was a fifth-rank woman, who was named Consort Lin, and the other was a seventh-rank woman, who was named Lady Liang.
However, Consort Liang became pregnant with the emperor's child after only a month in the palace. The emperor's harem now has five women, four of whom already have children, and the fifth is about to be born. Many women went to the emperor to flatter him, saying that he was very fortunate, but this only aroused the emperor's dissatisfaction. As a result, no one dared to mention the emperor's harem on their own initiative anymore.
"Consort Liang gave birth to the third princess and was promoted to Consort Liang. In the following years, the emperor did not take any more concubines, nor did any of them become pregnant. Until the sixth year of Xinrong, the emperor became involved with another woman, who seemed to be from a brothel. However, this time the emperor did not bring the woman back to the palace, but only brought back a prince, who was placed under my name without any explanation. Now I not only have two adopted daughters, but also an adopted son."
As Yin Yuyao spoke, a slight smile even appeared on her face. Chen Xiao asked, "Why would that dog emperor force a child on you? Princess Muyang was Yin Yujie's request, Princess Muling was the Empress Dowager's request, but this Third Prince?"
Xi Xi spoke up at this moment, "Task takers can't leave their bloodline or have their pulse checked on the task interface; they can only find out they're infertile. Did Gou Deng already know you were infertile?"
Hearing the two address the emperor, Yin Yuyao found it somewhat amusing. Having lived as an ancient person for so long, she had almost forgotten that she was originally a modern person. Now, hearing Chen Xiao and Xi Xi address him like this, she not only did not find them vulgar, but also felt a sense of warmth.
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