"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Ye Xiu's heart was racing and she didn't dare to argue back, all she could do was plead: "It's concubine's fault, concubine messed things up, please forgive me, Your Majesty..."

  "That's enough, get out of My presence!" Empress Xiao snapped a sentence, and never looked at Ye Xiu Xin again, out of sight, out of mind.

  Ye Xiu's heart was like a great amnesty, rolling and crawling out of the main hall, turning back to shrink into his own side hall, not daring to come out again. Xiao Huanghou slumped and fainted in her seat, her face pale and desolate.

  The palace maids around her didn't dare to come forward, they all lowered their heads and stood trembling. The grand hall was silent and still. After a while, Ruan Qiu stepped forward and persuaded: "Your Highness, it's time for lunch, why don't you eat something first..."

  Xiao Huanghou's eyes were dull and expressionless, as if she hadn't heard. She turned her head to look at Wan Qiu, who was slowly tearing apart her handkerchief, and said in a low voice: "This matter is probably not so simple. Ye Xiuning is incompetent, the two princes are foolish, and Wu Yuyi is eating from both sides of his mouth... but perhaps all these things were done on purpose! Is it that I have been plotted against by someone? Wan Qiu, do you think so?"

  "Your Majesty?" Wan Qiu hadn't expected this and didn't dare say more at the moment.

  Xiao Huanghou pulled Qi Ya over with one hand, muttering: "If it were in the past, Lin Shi's status was not high, and she didn't have her mother's family to support her, so naturally she wouldn't have had the ability to bribe Wu Yuanyi. But now she is a person from Jing Fei Palace! Even if Jing Fei has been asleep for five years, the chess pieces she planted in the palace before I took over are still not completely cleared out, and her mother Xin Rong Da Zhang Emperor's Concubine is still alive, bribing Wu Yuanyi, she can definitely do it!"

  Here is the translation:

  "By now, the Empress's eyes were filled with a mad hatred: 'Yes, it must be so! That Wei... Wu Yuanyi had long since betrayed me, unfortunately neither I nor Ye Liangyuan detected it. Later, Ye ordered Wu to give Lin a warning, and that Wu must have immediately told Jingfei and Lin! Today, Lin again pretended to fall ill in front of the Dowager Empress and the Emperor, perhaps deliberately trying to lure us into a trap! We should not have let her wake up, it was my mistake, I underestimated her..."

  No one mentioned the chaos in Changxin Palace, but on the other side, Wei Jingfei, who had just returned to Huayang Palace, suddenly sneezed and tightened her clothes: "It's too cold today." She also muttered in a low voice: "This palace has just been promoted to concubine, maybe it's some damn person scolding behind my back."

  The palace maid beside Jingfei added a cloak for her and complained, "That one in the Jiyan Building really has a big attitude, pulling the emperor to set up a banquet. Inside, there are songs and dances everywhere, and the emperor doesn't even come to the main hall to see you, Your Majesty. Alas, she's pregnant now, and her momentum is rising with the tide. When can you win her over, Your Majesty?"

  Wei Jingfei thought of Lin Yuan and a look of disgust flashed across her face, she lowered her head and remained silent.

  ***

  In the Hongyan Building, Lin Wan was held on Taobao's lap, with a group of dancing girls in front of her, their dance moves were quite lively and bustling.

  Tuoba Hong was not a father for the first time, but this time he was the happiest. The mother of the eldest son of the emperor was a woman with a heart like a snake's gallbladder, and the second son died as soon as he was born. The third and fourth sons were even more unpleasant. Although Ye Liangyu's belly was useful, Ye herself was not outstanding, how could she be compared to Lin Yu?

  He looked at Lin Wan's still slender waist, stretched out his hand and carefully wrapped it around her, and then kissed her forehead: "Yan'er's child will definitely be the one that I like best. This time, I don't want to investigate further, can you blame me?"

  Lin Yan smiled and said, "The concubines are all so happy today that they're dizzy, their hearts are full of sweetness, how could they possibly feel unhappy?" She lowered her head and continued, "I understand Your Majesty's difficulties..."

  Lin Wan naturally knew about Tuoba Hong's helplessness, no matter what happened, he would never lay a hand on Xiao Huanghou. The Xiao family was deeply rooted and not as easy to deal with as the Shen family.

  In any case, she was far from being "true love" in Tuoba Hong's eyes, so how could he afford to offend the Xiao family for a concubine like her.

  "It's still you who understands me the most." Tuoba Hong let out a faint sigh, but his eyes seemed a bit dazed. Yuanni was naturally a sensible and considerate good woman, just like someone else in the past, who had also made him feel heartache, making him love her to distraction...

  Forget it, Shangguan Li's background had destined that she could never accompany him forever.

  "Don't worry, I won't let you suffer again." Tuoba Hong's hand gently stroked Lin Yuen's back: "I promise you, to give this child a peaceful life. This is our child, isn't it, Yuen? Feel it." He held Lin Yuen's hand and lightly touched her abdomen.

  Lin Yan's face was filled with sweetness, and she coquettishly called out "Your Majesty" before burying her head in his chest and falling silent. This demeanor of hers perfectly captured the confusion and shyness of a young girl experiencing pregnancy for the first time, which only made Tuoba Hong's eyes fill with affection.

  Just two words, "peace of mind", are not that easy to come by... This time's pregnancy came suddenly, she was a bit caught off guard. When she got up in the morning to wash her face, she felt dizzy and fell down, that feeling was a bit familiar, chest tightness, stomach acid reflux.

  She suddenly remembered the things that happened when she was pregnant in her previous life. She would never forget this, she was only 24 years old at that time and didn't understand anything, thinking that she had eaten something bad or caught a cold. Her work was extremely busy, how could she have time to go to the hospital for a check-up? Not only did she insist on working despite feeling unwell, but also took cold medicine randomly. The result was predictable, after a weekend of overtime, she fainted and that's when she found out she had been pregnant and had a miscarriage.

  At that time, her boyfriend was someone she truly liked and a reliable guy, they were already preparing for marriage. The other party saw how much of a workaholic she had become and felt pity as well as dissatisfaction. Not long after the miscarriage, Lin Yan again delayed their wedding plans in order to compete for a managerial position, her boyfriend didn't want to marry a woman who neglected her family, so they broke up.

  After that, Lin Wan didn't take love seriously anymore and even more refused to get married, dragging on until she was 29 years old when she died as a leftover woman CEO.

  Now she felt like she was pregnant again. She had Xiaochengzi secretly invite the doctor beside Yeliangyuan to come and take a look, and finally confirmed that she was indeed pregnant.

  She was very surprised at the time. Her body had never been good, and after getting hurt, she couldn't use it anymore, how did she get pregnant? But thinking about it is normal, after being sealed as a concubine, she no longer used safflower to make tea. Safflower is a precious medicinal material, the best for women's beauty, but if you eat it again after getting pregnant, it's easy to have a miscarriage, and it also has contraceptive effects in daily life.

  She didn't expect to get pregnant so quickly, but Tuoba Hong was very fond of her and worked hard day and night as soon as she recovered from her injury and could serve in bed.

  Lin Yan's heart was quite messy.

  She was also entangled in the news of her pregnancy and when it would be suitable to come out. After thinking about it, she decided not to hide it anymore. The cruelty of the harem in the Great Qin Dynasty had already far exceeded what she had seen in the Qing palace drama in her previous life. Hiding was not a good strategy. There were many capable eunuchs in the palace who could tell whether a woman was pregnant just by looking at her gait, and it was unlikely that Empress Xiao would not be able to find out. If she hid it, the result might be that she would be quietly harmed by others in the dark.

  If she speaks out, at least Tuoba Hong's power can protect her. She still admires Tuoba Hong's ability, and Empress Xiao can't turn the sky over no matter how hard she tries.

  Lin Wan gently leaned against Tuoba Hong's chest, the man's broad palm holding her in his arms, and this feeling was still quite enjoyable. Lin Wan closed her eyes, her fingers rubbing against Tuoba Hong's chest, which didn't have eight-pack abs, but was almost as good: "Your Majesty, you must keep your promise, I don't care how this child will turn out in the future, I just hope he grows up safely."

  "That's natural, I have the final say." Taizong felt a slight tremble in the person in his arms and softened in his heart. Yan'er was also afraid, right? She had just become pregnant for the first time and was being plotted against by Empress Xiao... Empress Xiao must have known about Lin Yan's pregnancy long ago, which is why she designed this play, with the goal of not tolerating this child, just as the palace maid beside Lin Yan said.

  Tuoba Hong's patience with Empress Xiao was wearing thin. If it weren't for Wu Yuanyi's good conscience, he would have summoned the empress dowager by now, and who knows what would have happened? Lin Yan was young and ignorant, unaware that she was pregnant, while Empress Xiao led a group of imperial physicians in making false claims. Once the green flag was withdrawn, Lin Yan could "rest and recover", and those physicians dared to deceive the emperor, secretly giving Lin Yan medicine to induce an abortion... By then, no one would know... And finally, Empress Xiao would report back to him that Hui Fei had died of illness.

  How poisonous is a woman's heart! Empress Xiao is also too greedy. She already has Ye's child, but she is still not satisfied.

  As for Ye's child, she really thought this treasure would fall into her hands? Ha! Tuoba Hong coldly sneered in his heart.

  "Although the concubine and Ye Liangyuan were not on good terms, after this incident, the concubine also felt sorry for her." Lin Yuen glanced at Tuoba Hong's expression and said softly: "Your Majesty, I would like to ask another favor of you, please don't blame Ye Shi anymore."

  Lin Wan's words were weak and pleading, but to Tuoba Hong, they sounded like another bucket of black water poured over Empress Xiao from head to toe. The veins on Tuoba Hong's forehead bulged, his voice cold: "I know! It's just that the Xiao family is so bold, doing as they please in the palace! The Ye family is mediocre and has no ability, easily controlled by her. Lin Wan, you're still young and soft-hearted, although the Ye family is innocent, it's rare for you not to blame them."

  Lin Wan lowered her head and smiled faintly, letting out a soft sigh. "In the past, there were many conflicts between me and Ye Shi. I always felt that she was competing with me for favor, and when she became pregnant, I still harbored jealousy in my heart... But now, I don't think that way anymore. Now that I'm also pregnant, with a small life growing inside me, this feeling is something only those who have been mothers can understand. Everything Ye Liangyuan has done, whether good or bad, was all for the sake of the child in her belly. Seeing Ye Liangyuan struggling through pregnancy and still having to endure hardships under the Empress's rule, I feel a deep sense of empathy." She looked up at Emperor Tuoba Hong with a straight gaze: "Your Majesty, Ye Liangyuan is truly pitiful. I don't blame her one bit; I only pity her."

  Lin Wan's words were deeply moving and meaningful, and Tuoba Hong's face also showed a change.