Chapter 452

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

"Tsk tsk tsk, this is the imperial harem," truly real and cruel.

The system felt that someone dying was simply too normal; just that Virtuous Consort and the Empress had exited so quickly, the Empress had no attachments so it was fine to say, but Virtuous Consort and her natal family were treated so miserably by the Emperor, dragging Prince Yong and Prince Jin into misfortune as well, so wouldn't the other princes with sons join forces to make things unpleasant for the Emperor?

Such a thing was truly very possible; who made Prince Yong and Prince Jin serve as precedents.

This time, those who weren't honest were all swept in by the Emperor's typhoon tail, and even the honest ones were fearful in their hearts; as long as they had ever taken action, they would be uneasy.

"The Emperor has no offspring, so the sons of those several princes all have a chance to ascend; this is a normal result of succession. But if those several princes take the opportunity to seize power and ascend themselves, that belongs to rebellion and internal strife. Their little bit of courage only dares to pull some insignificant petty tricks; actually raising troops to rebel? That's overestimating them too much."

The Emperor dared to make a move against Prince Yong and Prince Jin precisely because he understood himself and understood those few brothers.

Without accident, once Prince Yong and Prince Jin fell, the other few princes would stay quiet for a while.

And this period of time happened to be when Shen Yao was preserving her pregnancy; once Shen Yao safely gave birth to an imperial heir and the Emperor had a child under his knees, then the court situation of Yu Guo would undergo changes again.

Leaving other things aside, just saying that following the Emperor was always more promising than following certain people behind to rebel.

Who could gamble their life and property to rebel in a rebellion that could exterminate nine clans? Unless they were tied to a certain boat and couldn't get free, such as Virtuous Consort's natal family, the Ye Clan.

But the Ye Clan's outcome wasn't good either; Virtuous Consort in the palace died of illness first, the direct line of the family was all beheaded, the collateral branches were demoted to the border and never allowed to return to the capital, Prince Yong's concubine and eldest son, who had received great investment, died one after another; each and every one of these things was an excellent warning.

"System, keep a close watch on the situation inside and outside Furong Palace, and also pay attention to the other consorts in the harem, including the affairs of the Front Court," now Shen Yao was no longer a dispensable favored consort; one must know that the imperial heir in her belly was related to the inheritance of the entire Yu Guo.

The system let Shen Yao rest assured that it would arrange things properly; wasn't it just monitoring everyone? Easy peasy, a piece of cake~

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao reminded the system absolutely not to capsize; other people's precedents were also their guiding lamps; before truly succeeding, one could not rest easy.

The whole incident, triggered by the Front Court targeting the Shen Family, then pushed to a climax by Shen Yao, and finally detonated by the Emperor, finally returned to calm in the eighth month.

The palace was about to welcome the annual Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet, which should originally be grand, and with the news of Shen Yao's pregnancy, the Emperor gave orders for the Imperial Household Department to focus on holding it.

"I heard the Imperial Household Department is transporting fresh flowers from the Hot Spring Mountain Villa outside the palace into the palace.

"Noble Consort, nowadays our Furong Palace's fresh flowers are also all transported in from outside the palace."

They were specially selected and first sent to Furong Palace; the food, clothing, and daily treatment of the entire Furong Palace directly surpassed all the consorts in the entire harem.

Xiao Fu, smiling happily, held the freshly picked flowers, inserted them into a flower vase, and placed them before her master; a floral fragrance mixed with a clean, sweet, and dry scent spread around Shen Yao.

She subconsciously sniffed her nose, and her whole mood inexplicably became much lighter.

"The Emperor has ordered it; the people of the Imperial Household Department dare not not do it. Recently Furong Palace is right at the eye of the storm; you and Xiao Ji should watch more closely on ordinary days. We're not afraid of trouble, but we also can't cause trouble."

Otherwise it would be easy for someone to catch a handle and settle accounts later. Although Shen Yao didn't feel she would be troubled by others, it was better to be safe than sorry. Xiao Fu and Xiao Ji were currently quite handy to use, and she didn't plan to replace them with new people to cultivate.

Xiao Fu respectfully nodded her head, "Master, rest assured, this servant understands."

Shen Yao smiled and waved her hand, then lay on her side on the bedchamber couch to sunbathe, "Go busy yourselves; if there's anything, report to this palace."

"Yes."

Xiao Fu bowed her body and turned to go out, just bumping into Xiao Ji, who was returning with pastries.

"Master is resting; don't rush to use them yet. Please ask Imperial Lv Taiyi to help take a look. These days, there's always someone being dishonest in Furong Palace; be careful of Master's body."

Since the pregnancy news was announced, Xiao Fu had become somewhat suspicious.

It really wasn't her fault for being timid; after all, the palace had all sorts of demons and monsters. Even though they guarded Furong Palace tightly, items 'with additives' were still endlessly sent over, appearing by Master's side and before her eyes.

"Elder Sister, rest assured. When I returned, I had already asked Imperial Lv Taiyi to examine them separately.

The small kitchen in Furong Palace is still short of some hands. Later I will go to the Imperial Kitchen to urge them to perfect it as soon as possible."

Once they had their own small kitchen, then Master could eat and drink daily with more peace of mind, and they would also have more time and energy to watch other places.

Xiao Ji, as a close maid who often went out of the palace to run errands for Master, knew best the importance of Furong Palace.

Even those few General Managers who used to be high and mighty now lowered their voices and apologized with smiling faces. How important the child in Master's belly was went without saying.

"I'll go with you to the Imperial Kitchen side, especially regarding selecting people; loyalty is more important than ability. The food in the palace isn't too bad, but who knows if certain people have ill intentions."

Xiao Fu waved her hand and pulled Xiao Ji to a room not far away for a private chat.

Both were Shen Yao's close maids and had accompanied Master from outside the palace into it. How could the deep affection they had built compare to latercomers? In this palace, they were the people most loyal to Master, and the standard for selecting people should also refer to their characteristics.

…………

The sunlight was just right. Shen Yao was sleepier during pregnancy and often fell asleep without realizing it while staying there.

Today was the same. When Shen Yao opened her eyes, she saw Yu Yu sitting not far away, flipping through books.

"Your Majesty, since you came, why didn't you speak to wake this subject?"

Shen Yao asked knowingly, looking at the other person with a pair of hazy eyes.

Yu Yu put down the book in his hand, got up, came to the bedchamber, and sat down close to Shen Yao. "I heard the Imperial Physician say that Beloved Consort has a hard time being pregnant and should rest more. I came over with nothing to do; waking Beloved Consort wouldn't that delay the Imperial Son?"

It was just that Shen Yao didn't care about these things. Otherwise, if a scumbag like the Emperor opened his mouth, it would make people want to beat him up badly.

Listen, what kind of talk was this? Left side Imperial Son, right side Imperial Son, as if the purpose of their existence as consorts was to give birth to imperial heirs.

"Does Your Majesty only care about the Imperial Son and not care about this subject?" Shen Yao pulled Yu Yu's hand and placed it on her slightly bulging abdomen. She was nearly four months pregnant, and it felt obvious to the touch.

Yu Yu obviously often did this kind of thing, without a trace of unnatural emotion.

Smiling and teasing Shen Yao about competing for favor with the child, Yu Yu waved his hand to have Li Guiquan send things over—all treasures from the Ku Fang, now taken out by Yu Yu to curry favor with Shen Yao.

Shen Yao's eyes were moved. "Your Majesty~"

Yu Yu hugged Shen Yao around the waist, and the two leaned together, nuzzling each other, making others so embarrassed that they all lowered their heads and said nothing.

Crack—

The sound of porcelain shattering rang out. Noble Consort was in Yongning Palace's main hall, her hair in disarray and her temper flaring.

"The Emperor went to Furong Palace again. What exactly is good about Consort Xinzhao? She just knows how to get pregnant; this palace can too. Why doesn't the Emperor come to Yongning Palace?"

The Noble Consort sat on the ground, her eyes cursing with resentment the people who displeased her (except the Emperor).

Lian Xiang: ……

Lian Xiang did not know what to say; ever since Virtuous Consort and the Empress died of illness one after another, her master's emotions had become erratic and unpredictable. When the Emperor came over it was fine, but as long as the Emperor did not come, her master would lose control in various ways and curse at others.

Fortunately, Yongning Palace was guarded tightly inside and out, so some words had not spread too far; otherwise, Lian Xiang did not dare imagine what the Emperor's reaction would be upon hearing the wind of it.

"Your Ladyship, the ground is cold; may this servant help you up?"

As Lian Xiang spoke she moved to pull her up, but was shoved away violently by the Noble Consort.

With a thud, Lian Xiang's back slammed directly into the wooden stool placed in the center, her whole body curling up in pain like a cooked shrimp.

The Noble Consort acted as if she saw nothing, still complaining why the Emperor would not come to Yongning Palace, insisting on going to Furong Palace instead; she and Consort Xin were no different, so how could the Emperor not see her joy?

Could it be that Virtuous Consort was right? That the Emperor simply wanted to make trouble for the Zhou Family, which was why he chose to cold-shoulder her.

The Zhou Family, the Zhou Family, "It must be that Father displeased the Emperor; Father always sings a contrary tune with the Emperor, and is entangled unclearly with several other Princes; yes, it must be so; this palace must find the Emperor, this palace—"

The Noble Consort rose to go out, but unexpectedly her steps turned unsteady and she collapsed on the ground.

Lian Xiang braced herself and caught the falling Noble Consort; her raised heart finally settled back down.

As expected, giving her master the Calming Pill in advance was the right move; otherwise her master would have run out like this, and the only faces lost would be her master's and the Zhou Family's.

It seems she still needs to send a letter to the Master outside the palace; a few ingredients in the Calming Pill cannot be relied upon the Imperial Hospital, and stirring up unnecessary trouble would be even more unwise.

'The Noble Consort has already reached this step? What exactly did Virtuous Consort say to the Noble Consort before she died of illness?'

Because the System helped, even Shen Yao in Furong Palace, far from Yongning Palace, could know a thing or two about the situation there.

Even with the Emperor right beside her, the two of them facing the food on the Eight Immortals Table, Shen Yao still dared to openly zone out with the System.

'Nothing was said, just the usual mouth-cannon, going round and round like a cart wheel.'

The System wore an innocent face; it really had monitored the conversation between the Noble Consort and Virtuous Consort, and seeing its own Host did not believe it, it simply recited it all over again.

Shen Yao: ……

The words were indeed as the System said, no different from what the Noble Consort and Virtuous Consort usually said, yet the Noble Consort's condition went wrong precisely after Virtuous Consort died of illness.

One thing is certain: the Noble Consort was absolutely not tampered with by the Emperor. Even after ten days or half a month, the Emperor would still go to Yongning Palace to sit a while or share a meal.

With such treatment… logically the Noble Consort should not be growing more and more deranged, but more and more normal; after all, the Virtuous Consort who could spar words with her was gone.

Wait?

Could it really be related to Virtuous Consort's absence?

A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed her mind; Shen Yao wanted to grasp it, but a sentence from the Emperor pulled her back to reality.

"What was Beloved Consort just thinking about?" The Emperor placed the prepared soup in front of Shen Yao, smiling as he probed, "Zhen called Beloved Consort several times and there was no reaction."

'Nonsense! Host, don't listen to the Emperor's drivel; there weren't many calls, just one call just now,' the System could not help but retort in her mind against the Emperor's exaggeration, and by the way weakly reminded him that he had been secretly observing the Host for a long time, so he should have noticed the Host zoning out.

Shen Yao: ……