I swept the harem by pretending to be weak

The imperial physician's hair and beard were all white. He squatted on the ground and carefully took Liu Zhirou's pulse.

Liu Zhirou's heart was in her throat at this moment.

Although she had rehearsed it several times and her ability in taking pulses was not bad, she still got nervous when the time came.

However, the facts did not surprise her.

The imperial physician stood up tremblingly: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, congratulations, Your Majesty, this young lady is nearly two months pregnant!"

Nearly two months ago, the emperor summoned his concubines into the palace one by one.

Upon hearing this, the most excited person was not the emperor, but Concubine Shu. She screamed hoarsely, "What? Are you telling the truth?"

"I would never dare to lie to you." The imperial physician wiped the sweat from his head.

He was really scared. If the young lady had not fainted in time and was really punished by Concubine Shu, or even had a miscarriage, then regardless of how Concubine Shu would be punished, he, the imperial physician who accompanied Concubine Shu and the Emperor on their outings, would definitely be killed without a burial place.

"Lu Jin, quickly order someone to bring the cushions and sedan chair!" The emperor was overjoyed.

In this palace, everything can be postponed except matters concerning children.

Being over thirty years old and childless was the greatest pain in the emperor's heart.

He had no close brothers, and it was even difficult to find someone to adopt.

What made him even more panic was that none of the concubines who had entered the palace in the past three years had gotten pregnant. He had two daughters, the eldest daughter of the queen was six years old, and the second daughter of Concubine Chen was four years old.

The new concubines entering the palace were all girls of good age, but none of them were pregnant, which made him doubt himself.

Fortunately, this doubt was eventually dispelled.

Concubine Shu had already knelt down in panic.

If Liu Zhirou was just an ordinary concubine, she could certainly find any excuse to manipulate her. But when Liu Zhirou was pregnant, the meaning was completely different.

"I really didn't know that Sister Liu was pregnant..."

However, the emperor had no intention of listening to her, just like he had not listened to Ai Ziyi's words before.

"You will be fined one year's salary and confined to your home for one year. If you do something weird again, you will be demoted. All right, have someone take her away and lock her up in her own palace. She is not allowed to come out without my permission."

Concubine Shu's face turned as pale as paper in an instant.

To be honest, a one-year salary deduction was not a big deal to her. After all, her maiden family was the Duke of Deng's Mansion, so she would never be short of money. But being confined to her home for a year was a condition that she could never accept.

Although Shufei holds a high position as a concubine, she has no children, so her position is unstable. If she is imprisoned for a year and cannot see the emperor, she will really fall into a disadvantageous position.

What's more, her old rivals will not let her go.

Now, after repeated attacks from the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, the situation in the harem has stabilized, but the hatred that was formed in the past cannot be reduced.

Among the high-ranking concubines, except for the devoted Taoist Defei, all of them had miscarriages to varying degrees. And these miscarriages were often caused by mutual foul play.

At first, the emperor was not used to taking care of these things, but later when he found that there was no heir to inherit his career, he began to pay attention to it.

Concubine Shu understood that she absolutely could not be eliminated at this critical moment. The situation at home was not much better. It was all God's blessing that they could not help her or even drag her down, so she wanted to continue to plead for herself.

But the emperor was already impatient. His mind and eyes were now filled with the possible child in Liu Zhirou's belly.

In the end, Concubine Shu was dragged away by the palace servants in a very embarrassed manner.

"Why did Concubine Liu faint?" the Emperor asked worriedly.

"Your Majesty, Concubine Liu was in poor health and was frightened, so she fainted. Fortunately, the fetus is in good condition. As long as she is well taken care of, there is a great hope that the child can be saved." The white-haired imperial physician replied.

The emperor was relieved.

The emperor's status was obviously different from that of everyone else. At his command, almost all the doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau came out in full force, and even when he was boiling medicine, there were many people watching.

A group of people rushed towards the Weiyang Palace in a mighty manner.

When Concubine Xian received the news, she was still in bed and did not even have time to dress up, so she quickly got up to welcome the emperor.

The emperor was obviously in a very happy mood and did not bother with her about her impoliteness.

The virtuous concubine finally felt relieved and asked the palace maids around her, only to find out that Concubine Liu was pregnant.

"Liu Xuanshi was awarded the title of Chun for her contribution to pregnancy and was promoted to Beauty. Lan Cairen was also promoted to Beauty for her contribution to protection."

Liu Zhirou had already woken up at this time, and when she heard this, she quickly stood up and prepared to thank the emperor. The emperor quickly exempted her from the formalities and told her that her only task was to take good care of herself and give birth to a prince for the royal family.

Ai Ziyi also sat beside her, sobbing and ignoring the title bestowed upon her.

The emperor spoke a few more words to Liu Zhirou, and obviously sensed her uneasiness, so he left very considerately, telling her to rest and recuperate.

However, not all the imperial physicians were taken away. The emperor ordered the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau to take turns to watch over the place and ensure that there was always an imperial physician here at all times.

The emperor left Huailiu Pavilion, but did not leave Weiyang Palace directly. Instead, he went to the main hall to find Concubine Xian.

"Your concubine pays her respects to the emperor." The virtuous concubine had almost finished dressing up at this time.

"No need to be so polite, Concubine Xian, are you okay now?" The emperor waved his hand to let her get up, and then asked.

"Much better. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern." The virtuous concubine naturally understood that the emperor was not concerned about her condition. She had been ill for many years. The emperor came to see her only a few times, and most of the time he just sat for a while and left. But she still forced a smile.

"That's good. Now that Chun Mei is pregnant, it's a critical time. Although everyone in the palace has been reprimanded by me, I am also worried that someone will really harm the child in her belly. I trouble you to take more care of her." The emperor was still very polite and courteous, which was quite incredible for a man who served as the supreme ruler.

But Concubine Xian would rather he was not so polite. It always made her feel that she and this man were too far apart, not like husband and wife, or even like master and concubine.

"What are you saying, Your Majesty? Sister Liu and I hit it off right from the moment we met. I treat her like my own sister and I must help her give birth to the child safely." Concubine Xian suppressed the bitterness in her heart and spoke kindly.

The emperor nodded with satisfaction.

After seeing that the matter of Liu Zhirou and the child was finalized, the emperor finally began to care about the virtuous concubine who had been with him for more than ten years.

What else could Concubine Xian say? She could only quietly pretend to be very happy to accept the other party's concern.