Chapter 89: Crowned in the Harem

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Outside the hall, the eunuch's sharp voice pierced the silence of Jingren Palace, and Chu Yunzheng hurried in.

Wang Jingyi's blue‑ceramic tea cup went "Clang—" as it shattered on the floor, and Xu Luoyan, in her panic, stepped on her own trailing skirt.

"Your servant wife, I present myself to the Emperor!"

"Your humble concubine, I present myself to the Emperor!"

The mother and daughter threw themselves to the ground, their foreheads heavily striking the cold bricks.

Chu Yunzheng's face was as grim as iron, his gaze sweeping over the kneeling palace staff, finally settling on Wan Tang curled in the border of light and shadow.

"My Consort Wan, just lying like this on the ground of your Jingren Palace?" The emperor's voice was like tempered ice.

Wang Jingyi lifted her well‑kept face, tears in her eyes, and said, "Your Majesty, you see clearly, this matter has nothing to do with your servant wife and her daughter! It is Consort Wan herself."

"What herself?" Chu Yunzheng suddenly leaned down, the golden threads of his dragon robe flashing coldly, "herself lying on this icy ground?"

Xu Luoyan took two steps on her knees, grabbed the emperor's robe and cried, "Your Majesty, Wan Tang has been accustomed since childhood to using such scheming tactics; today it is clearly a deliberate plot to frame me."

"Noble Consort." The jeweled crown collided with a cold clang, "I recall just having reprimanded you; you promised you would change!"

"I have not gone out," Xu Luoyan said, feeling aggrieved.

Li Ping'er'er suddenly went "Thump—" as she bowed, blood instantly appearing on her temple, "Reply, Emperor, the Master has been nurturing the fetus in the courtyard; Jingren Palace has sent envoys repeatedly, and only now the Master…"

"Ping'er'er, shut up!" Wan Tang forced herself to lift her head, the tear tracks glinting in backlight, "Who gave you permission to speak!"

Her voice was weak yet stubborn, "It's just a small misunderstanding between sisters."

Chu Yunzheng's gaze, like a blade, swept over the cowering Li Pin: "Li Pin, you speak."

"Your humble concubine… I truly fear the Noble Consort."

"Seeing the commotion inside, full of reprimands, and worrying about Wan Tang and the Imperial Heir," Li Pin clutched a silk handkerchief and sobbed, "I had no choice but to summon the Emperor."

The Emperor suddenly reached out and personally helped Wan Tang to her feet.

When he saw the bright red palm print on her face, the expression beneath his crown darkened like ink.

"Good, very good." His voice was frighteningly light, "Wan Tang's scheming is deep; you all are purely kind."

His fingertip brushed the scar, his tone suddenly sharp, "From top to bottom, Jingren Palace is truly master and servant of one mind, cooperating flawlessly!"

"Imperial Physician!" he roared suddenly, "If the Imperial Heir suffers any mishap, none of those present today shall think they can leave Jingren Palace alive!"

Wang Jingyi's face was ashen as she collapsed on the ground, and Xu Luoyan's golden phoenix hairpin went "Ding—" as it fell.

Wan Tang, in the Emperor's arms, tilted her head slightly, a fleeting cold smile flashing across her pale lips.

【Half of the Imperial Medical Institute's staff are from the Xu Family; when news comes they always say nothing is wrong.】

【Having no family background is pitiful; even though Wan Tang exhausted herself to overhaul the Imperial Medical Institute, she still lacks the power to place more of her own people.】

【Previously the important figures at the Imperial Medical Institute were all from the Xiao Family; now they have been replaced entirely by the Xu Family, with only a few insignificant people, arranged by Xiao Shunzi.】

Wan Tang nestled in Chu Yunzheng's embrace, remaining composed.

Her gaze slowly surveyed Wang Jingyi.

To say, compared with Wang Jingyi, Wan Tang fears dealing with Xu Luoyan more.

As long as this person is willing to change her mind, there is room to maneuver, making everything appear more natural.

But someone like Xu Luoyan is easy to handle, yet it still seems too deliberate. No one would say anything, but it is enough to give Chu Yunzheng many thoughts.

And that is what Wan Tang most does not wish to see.

"Emperor," Wan Tang, leaning in Chu Yunzheng's arms, gently tugged at his sleeve with her fingertips, her voice faint, "Your humble concubine wishes Xie Taiyi to take my pulse."

Upon hearing this, Xu Luoyan instantly panicked, clutching the handkerchief in her hand tightly.

Wang Jingyi's eyes lit up, and she stepped forward, "Your Majesty, Xie Taiyi is not on duty today; how many hours will this back‑and‑forth delay?"

She thrust Hou Taiyi forward, "Hou Taiyi's medical skill is superb; he can treat Consort Wan right now."

Wan Tang frowned slightly, tears glimmering in her eyes, "But…"

"Madam, do you perhaps not trust my humble self?" Hou Taiyi's forehead beaded with cold sweat, his voice trembling.

Seeing this, Wang Jingyi became even more convinced of Wan Tang's insecurity, and raised her tone, "Hou Taiyi is also a selected master of the Imperial Medical Institute; does the Emperor still not trust him?"

She glanced pointedly at Wan Tang's abdomen, lowered her voice, "Hou Taiyi, you must examine carefully and say whatever you find."

Chu Yunzheng, irritated by the noise, said coldly, "Enough! Hou, one hand, you examine."

"Your humble servant… I understand."

Hou Taiyi stepped forward trembling, his fingers placing on Wan Tang's pulse.

After a moment, his complexion changed abruptly, and with a thud he fell to his knees, his forehead against the blue bricks, trembling, "Reply, Emperor, Consort Wan has been frightened; her fetal qi is unstable and she must immediately take a calming‑fetus medicine, otherwise there may be disaster."

"What a Jingren Palace!" Chu Yunzheng laughed with fury, his face beneath the crown as dark as iron, "Xu Luoyan, I have just reprimanded you for ignoring my decree, and you not only fail to reflect behind closed doors, but also summon people to Jingren Palace to bully!"

Xu Luoyan, terrified, knelt on the ground, trembling, "Your Majesty, you see clearly, I am wronged…"

"Wronged?" Chu Yunzheng sneered, "I think you, Noble Consort, are being too arrogant!"

He flicked his sleeve, "Effective immediately, you are demoted to Quiet Consort, relocated to Jingxinyuan, and without an edict you may not set foot in Yangxin Hall even a step!"

Wang Jingyi, seeing this, hurriedly knelt and crawled forward, pleading mournfully, "Your Majesty, show mercy! Yan'er was only momentarily confused…"

Wan Tang, seeing the moment had arrived, tears suddenly spilling, choked, "Emperor… I have followed my elder sister for ten years; she may not have a bodhisattva's heart, but I am not unkind either."

"Now you cannot tolerate me like this; the reason, I truly cannot understand."

She lifted her gaze toward Wang Jingyi, voice trembling, "Madam, do you think that because I followed the Emperor, I have forgotten my former master?"

"Or perhaps, all along it was me, blind in the eyes and heart?!"

Wan Tang choked.

After all, the Emperor knows that Xu Luoyan intends to grant Wan Tang in marriage to a eunuch.

Since she must appear innocent and pitiful, Wan Tang will keep up the act.

"For me, past affairs are already fleeting dreams; now you and I are both the Emperor's women, why can't we make the Emperor our central pillar?"

Chu Yunzheng heard the words, and his gaze suddenly turned cold.

Wang Jingyi hadn't yet reacted when the Emperor said coldly, "I remember that Yan'er, though spoiled before, never did such a wicked thing."

He stared at Wang Jingyi, each word deliberate, "Now that you are here inciting, it becomes even more vicious."

"Emperor!" Wang Jingyi's face turned ashen.

She hurried to exonerate herself, "I, the Subject's wife, am wronged; how could I dare …"

"From today, Wang Jingyi is forbidden to set foot inside the palace gates!" Chu Yunzheng ordered coldly, "If you defy, you will be punished for opposing the imperial decree!"

Wang Jingyi collapsed on the ground, and Xu Luoyan, now Concubine Jing, looked ashen.

【Pleasant, Wang Jingyi was too arrogant; letting her be here is also the Emperor's mercy.】

【Now the Emperor is gathering evidence and has Su Yanci look for a fatal incriminating piece against Xu Chengyuan; had that item not been unattained, Wang Jingyi could have been eliminated outright.】

【Let's see how they will be arrogant!】

【Wan Tang is literally a fool; helping Xu Luoyan become pregnant gave them a sliver of hope, didn't it?】

Wan Tang heard the words and merely gave a smile.

Xu Chengyuan indeed had an unlucky day.

But Xu Luoyan would not die because of it.

A woman marries and follows her husband; since the day Xu Luoyan entered the palace, she has been a member of the royal family.

When Xu Chengyuan fell from power, the Emperor, recalling old feelings, at most demoted him to Answering and moved him out of Jingren Palace.

What Wan Tang wants is not just these few points.

She looked up, charmingly gazing at the Emperor, and whispered, "Emperor, I, the Subject's wife, do not wish to stay here."

"May I leave now?"

"Of course." Chu Yunzheng's voice was full of indulgence.

Chu Yunzheng's arm bent, and he lifted Wan Tang steadily.

Her body was light; the moon‑white hem of her skirt fell, creating a cloud‑like curve against the Emperor's dark dragon robe.

"Emperor, how shall I proceed?" Wan Tang called softly, her fingertips instinctively gripping his collar.

"Do not move." he said softly, his brows under the crown calm yet bearing an unyielding authority.

The hall doors flung open; the palace servants kneeling outside immediately bowed, forehead to the ground, none daring to look directly.

Chu Yunzheng strode out of Jingren Palace, and behind him Li Defu shouted, "Mount up!"

Along the long palace corridor, the sweeping servants, seeing the imperial carriage from afar, hurried to the sides and knelt.

Occasionally a low‑rank Imperial Concubine admiring the snow in the garden, upon seeing the Emperor carrying Concubine Wan pass by, was startled, immediately bent her knee in salute, and even held her breath.

"It is Concubine Wan …"

"The Emperor himself is holding her!"

The faint whispers were swept away by the cold wind; no one dared to speak loudly.

Chu Yunzheng kept his gaze steady; Wan Tang in his arms turned her head slightly, meeting the startled gazes of several low‑rank concubines.

A faint smile lifted her lips, and her slender fingers rested on her rounded abdomen.

All the way, the Emperor's dragon‑patterned brocade boots pressed into the snow, leaving deep imprints.

Wherever they passed, palace gates opened in succession, guards knelt, palace maids stepped aside, no one dared to block or speak.

Until the vermilion‑painted gate of Xitang Courtyard came into view, the eunuch guarding it, seeing from afar, immediately knelt and shouted, "Welcome, Emperor! Welcome, Concubine Wan!"

Jingren Palace.

The Emperor had just left when Wang Jingyi stood up.

"Snap!"

The crisp sound of a slap cracked through the empty hall.

Wang Jingyi slapped Hou Yi's face, and the poised, virtuous demeanor vanished.

"Foolish talent! Who let you speak the truth?" Her lowered voice was laced with venom.

Doctor Hou covered his face, knelt and crawled two steps, "Madam, you see clearly! I, the humble servant, did not speak the truth!"

He glanced left and right, leaned close and whispered, "Concubine Wan's pulse is ominous, clearly a sign of a difficult delivery!"

"If we do not treat her now, it will likely end badly, a single body, two deaths!"

Xu Luoyan heard the words and sneered, "Serves her right!"

Wang Jingyi's complexion finally softened, and she flicked a silver note from her sleeve, "A reward for you."

"Thank you, Madam! Thank you, Empress!" Doctor Hou repeatedly bowed, his forehead knocking loudly against the blue bricks.

"Oh dear, Madam Wang is still here?"

Li Pin's voice suddenly came from the hall door.

She leaned against the vermilion‑painted doorframe, her fingertips twirling a handkerchief, smiling as she watched the three in disarray.

The hardships endured in the Cold Palace, each time she sees Xu Luoyan, the memory remains fresh, doesn't it?

"You, Lin!" Xu Luoyan sprang up, "You, that scoundrel, daring to be brazen before me?"

Li Pin, unhurried, bowed slightly, "Concubine Jing, choose your words carefully."

She deliberately emphasized the words "Concubine Jing."

"Attendants!" she raised her voice, "Won't you open the gate and escort Madam Wang out of the palace?"

Outside, a young eunuch immediately responded, pushing the door.

Wang Jingyi's face turned ashen, and she flicked her sleeve past Li Pin.

"Get out! All of you, get out!" Xu Luoyan grabbed a teacup and smashed it at the hall door; shattered porcelain splattered onto Doctor Hou's robe hem.

Hou Yi pretended to be panicked and retreated outward, but was blocked by Li Pin at the corner.

A silver note slipped silently into his sleeve.

"Well done," Li Pin's fingertip brushed his cuff and withdrew.

The Marquis lowered his waist even further: "Your Majesty, clearly see, the Xu Family has already given enough."

"The Xu Family is the Xu Family," Li Pin interrupted him, veil covering her lips with a light laugh, "What my Lin family gives is the prosperity of your later life."