Chapter 209.1

Upon hearing these words, Yaoniang couldn’t react for a moment and looked at Doctor Liu with surprise.

The other party stroked his beard and smiled, saying, “It’s been just over a month, and the pulse is not yet obvious, but it should be accurate.”

Yaoniang then remembered that she hadn’t had her period for a while. She had been busy with the coronation ceremony and had overlooked it. Hong Chou had mentioned it to her earlier, but she had forgotten about it.

“Congratulations, niangniang. Congratulations!” Hong Chou and others came forward to offer their congratulations. Yaoniang was dizzy from their enthusiasm, and all she could do was smile.

After the laughter, it was time for rewards. Everyone in Kunning Palace received a month’s salary, and those like Yu Chan and Hong Chou, who served her closely, were rewarded with three months’ pay. People from the Kunning Palace were also sent to deliver the good news to Emperor Jin’an, and there would probably be another wave of rewards later.

This good news spread throughout the palace in no time, and everyone in the Forbidden City knew that the empress was pregnant. People were envious of the empress, not because being pregnant was such a great blessing, but because the timing was perfect.

She became the empress not long ago, and now she’s already pregnant.

What could be more fortunate than this?

Especially at a time when the court was not very peaceful, there were those who wanted to promote the establishment of a large harem for Emperor Jin’an.

According to tradition, for a ruler of a country, having only a few concubines was unacceptable; a large harem with many concubines was necessary to ensure a continuous line of descendants and maintain peace for thousands of years.

Once one became the emperor, everything was related to the prosperity of the country.

Meanwhile, Emperor Jin’an was discussing this matter with several senior ministers in Yangxin Hall and the ministers were passionately arguing their points, but he remained silent. Just then, the good news arrived from the Kunning Palace, confirming what Emperor Jin’an had said earlier that he already had two imperial sons, and the empress was still young, so there was no need to expand the harem right now.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jin’an was overjoyed and immediately dismissed the ministers. The ministers could only touch their noses and leave the palace one by one.

Before this joyous occasion had settled down, the next day Emperor Jin’an issued an imperial edict to crown his eldest son, Zhao Chen, as the crown prince.

This matter naturally caused a stir in the court. This crown prince was not even five years old, and young children were susceptible to premature death. Even the previous crown prince was only established at the age of five.

However, since the crown prince was both the legitimate and the eldest son, the ministers couldn’t find many justifications to oppose it; they could only use the crown prince’s young age as a reason for caution. However, the voices of dissent didn’t escalate but quickly subsided.

The Emperor Emeritus, who was quietly living in the palace, issued his first edict after abdicating the throne, designating Zhao Chen as the crown prince. This instantly eased the tension in court.

The combined weight of these two edicts was not just double; it was multiplied by several folds. With the edict from the Emperor Emeritus, as long as the crown prince doesn’t commit heinous crimes such as treason, he could almost certainly sit on the throne as the future ruler of the country.

Even if Emperor Jin’an wanted to depose the crown prince someday, he would have to get past the edict of the Emperor Emeritus first. But by then, the Emperor Emeritus might have passed away. If the living emperor wanted to overturn the edict of a deceased emperor, who was also his father, it would be extremely unfilial and tantamount to risking the scorn of the entire nation.

Kunning Palace once again became the focus of attention. Everyone wished they could share even a tiny bit of the empress’s good fortune, then they would be set for life.

Why?

She was barely in her twenties, and she was already the designated empress and mother of the nation. It was a blessing that women throughout the country could only envy.

For this reason, the Su Family, now known as Marquis Cheng’en’s household, became the most sought-after people in the capital. Even the Yao Family, a previously small and unknown family, was now a guest of honour in various households in the capital.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

This was because the imperial family rarely appeared in public, and if anyone wanted to establish a connection with them, they had to do so through intermediaries.

With these three edicts in succession, many people had to change their way of thinking. If it were just Empress Su alone, it would be one thing, but with the crown prince having such a stable position, it naturally cemented Empress Su’s status as well.

Since that was the case, instead of trying to bring down the empress and replace her, it was better to support her and enjoy a smooth path.

As for Kunning Palace, Yaoniang was now wholeheartedly focused on nurturing her pregnancy, oblivious to the storms brewing outside.

On the first day, she bid farewell to Qiao-shi, who had come to congratulate her. The next day, Xiao Jirou came.

The two of them sat together and talked for a long time. Unlike Qiao-shi, Xiao Jirou rarely appeared in public and rarely visited the palace. The last time she entered the palace was when all the titled madams gathered in the palace to congratulate Yaoniang on becoming the Empress.

“You said you moved back to the Xiao Family?” Xiao Jirou didn’t intentionally bring it up, but from her words, Yaoniang could still sense it and asked in surprise.

Xiao Jirou smiled bitterly; she didn’t want to hide it from Yaoniang. In fact, this matter couldn’t be hidden. If it weren’t for her hesitation, she wouldn’t have struggled until today to enter the palace.

Seeing that the other person remained silent, Yaoniang asked again, “Why? Are you still angry with seventh brother-in-law?”

“I’m not angry with him. It’s been so long; I’ve already forgotten about it.”

“Then why?”

Why? She couldn’t come up with an answer herself.

Yaoniang had always been considerate, and seeing that Xiao Jirou didn’t want to say more, she stopped asking. The two sat together and talked about other things before Xiao Jirou finally left the palace.

Today, Qing Wang also entered the palace.

Unlike An Wang and the others, Qing Wang had achieved meritorious deeds this time.

Although he made a grave mistake, his great contributions during the pacification of chaos led Emperor Jin’an to personally decree that he stay in the capital and appointed him as the commander of the capital’s three garrisons.