I swept the harem by pretending to be weak

"Okay, okay, Rou'er, you are really my lucky star. And Ziyi, you have worked hard. This time I will not let the villain hurt my child again." The emperor could see that he was delighted.

For the previous three consecutive years, no concubine had become pregnant, and the emperor even began to suspect that there was something wrong with him. But after this selection, within just a few months, three concubines in succession reported pregnancy.

This made him firm in his belief that he was still young and as long as he worked hard, he would definitely have his own son in the future.

"This matter is all thanks to Ziyi. I dare not take credit for it." Liu Zhirou smiled gently.

"Isn't the virtuous concubine here yet?" the emperor suddenly asked.

"The virtuous concubine has been in poor health, so maybe that's the reason for the delay." Liu Zhirou thought for a moment and said ambiguously.

"She doesn't have a physical problem, she clearly has a heart problem! She doesn't learn from others' good points, but only becomes petty!" The emperor looked very angry. Indeed, no matter what, Concubine Lan was a member of Concubine Xian's palace. Now Concubine Lan was pregnant, but Concubine Xian was hiding on the pretext of illness. This made the emperor doubt whether she had other intentions.

In addition, the concubine Liu Zhirou who had lived in her palace before also had a miscarriage for unknown reasons.

Although the incident happened in Concubine Shu's palace, the imperial physician later told the emperor after checking the tea that Liu Zhirou drank that if it was just that tea, it would not have caused her to miscarry so quickly.

Did Concubine Xian play any bad role in this?

When the emperor thought of this, he could not help but feel murderous. He could allow Concubine Xian to compete with the concubines in the palace for favor, allow her to be petty, and even allow her to deliberately frame Concubine Zhang. These were all insignificant matters.

But the emperor would never allow the virtuous concubine to harm his own child.

If he really got evidence of this, he would never let Concubine Xian go.

Ai Ziyi didn't know that the emperor had thought of such a dangerous thing. She was still immersed in the joy of being a mother for the first time.

Although she said that she didn't care much, Ai Ziyi actually still hoped to give birth to a child with her and the emperor's blood as soon as possible.

This is not just a matter of love, but more importantly, it is about consolidating the family. Ai Ziyi's father is one of the emerging generals. He is not from a noble family, so he has been targeted by the children of high-ranking officials from the beginning.

Although General Lin took good care of their family, it was only a drop in the bucket and was unlikely to be effective.

If Ai Ziyi could gain a foothold in the palace, or even give birth to a prince for the emperor, her father's worth would surely increase.

At that time, those nobles would not only not dare to suppress her father, but would also try their best to get close to her father.

Just like Liu Zhirou's father Liu Ming, he was originally just a small businessman dependent on Duke Deng's Mansion, and anyone could step on him.

But now, the family of Duke Deng, who served as their backer, has fallen, but their Liu family has not been implicated. Their business has become more and more prosperous, and they have even gained connections with many high-ranking officials and nobles.

The harem and the former dynasty have always been connected.

Seeing that the two of them were being affectionate, Liu Zhirou tactfully left.

She didn't love the emperor, and of course she didn't have any bitter feelings towards him. Her attention was more focused on Concubine Xian.

Concubine Xian was a very strange person. Even she had to admit that she couldn't understand Concubine Xian's tricks at all.

If Jixiang and Ruyi were still alive, how could Concubine Xian allow them to be sent to other palaces after knowing so many secrets? If Jixiang and Ruyi were already dead, she should have rejected Liu Zhirou immediately, otherwise how could she deal with Liu Zhirou?

Liu Zhirou did not stay in Weiyang Palace any longer. She was not familiar with the other concubines living in Weiyang Palace, and it seemed a bit abrupt to visit them at this time.

Not long after she returned to Changchun Palace, Concubine Xian's people came to visit her.

"Empress Chunpin, this is someone who once served you. May you be blessed with good fortune and happiness."

Two timid palace maids hurriedly came to pay their respects. The younger girl even had a scar on her forehead that was difficult to hide.

Liu Zhirou smiled and said, "Thank the Concubine Xian for me. Chuntao, go get a sachet for the father-in-law."

The eunuch who brought Jixiang and Ruyi over hurriedly thanked him.

If Liu Zhirou, who had just entered the palace, bribed these eunuchs, perhaps she had some intention of currying favor with them, but the money that Liu Zhirou gave them now was a complete reward.

After all, Liu Zhirou is now a proper empress, and has a high status in front of the emperor. Her words can decide whether these people live or die.

After Liu Zhirou ordered the eunuch to be sent away, she began to interrogate Jixiang and Ruyi.

"Eunuch Xiaobao asked someone to tell me before that if anything happened to him, he would immediately rescue you two from Weiyang Palace. What is going on? Do you understand?" Liu Zhirou asked the two unfortunate palace maids in the name of the deceased Eunuch Xiaobao.

Jixiang burst into tears immediately.

"Your Highness...Your Highness, Eunuch Xiaobao is really a good man. Your Highness the Concubine misunderstood him and ordered people to beat him to death..."

"What is going on? Don't be anxious and tell me slowly. Speak clearly. If you are really wronged, I will report to the emperor and seek justice for you." Liu Zhirou quickly said a few words to comfort him.

Ruyi found that her sister was really unreliable, so she quickly took over the conversation and began to narrate.

Liu Zhirou also learned the whole story from her narration.

It turned out that Concubine Xian suspected that Eunuch Xiaobao had defected to Concubine Shu and harmed Liu Zhirou's child. Concubine Xian was afraid that such a thing would happen again and would have a bad influence on her if the Emperor knew about it, so she ordered him to be eliminated.

Things seemed normal, but Liu Zhirou didn't quite believe it. But he didn't continue to interrogate them, but comforted the two palace maids and ordered them to be taken downstairs.