After dismissing the crowd.
"Prince, what does His Majesty truly mean?"
Duan Wang walked on the road leading out of the palace, glanced at the Grand Teacher who was walking beside him, and said in a low voice, "I'm not quite clear either, but about Consort Yao's child..."
He did not continue speaking.
In the end, it was not a matter of leaving.
The Grand Teacher naturally understood the meaning behind Duan Wang's words, leaned in, and whispered, "I will certainly give my full support to Prince Duan!"
Duan Wang smiled and looked at him, then turned around and whispered to the Grand Teacher, "I will definitely not neglect the Grand Teacher!"
The two exchanged a smile, understanding each other without words and also understanding each other's meanings.
Duan Wang quickly returned to the palace and then went straight to the main hall to find Princess Duan's wife.
In the main hall of Duan Wang's residence, Xihetang.
Princess Duan held a cup of tea in her hand, her eyes gazing out the window at the garden outside, lost in thought.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching and knew who it was, so she smiled and stood up to welcome them out the door.
"Prince has returned?"
Seeing Duan Wang, the Princess of Duan smiled warmly and stepped forward to naturally take off his outer robe, hanging it aside.
"What news from the Empress?"
Duan Wang casually sat on the bed and leaned back, looking at Princess Duan and asking.
The Princess of Duan smiled, walked over and sat beside him, "The Empress has indeed taken the bait. A few days ago, someone from the Empress's quarters secretly approached me, saying they wanted the Maitake Powder. Of course, I gave it to them, but I gave them the Mother and Child variant."
Zimu Gui is a highly poisonous drug specifically for pregnant women, which can cause death for both mother and child if even a small amount comes into contact with them.
Still the kind that can't be saved.
"I suppose the Mother and Child Poison will soon be used on Consort Yao."
Princess Duan looked at Duan Wang, and laughed coldly.
"Good." Duan Wang nodded slightly, satisfaction showing on his face, "You have done a good job."
"Remember to clean up your tracks and make sure no one finds out," he solemnly cautioned.
"Prince, please rest assured, I understand!"
Princess Duan's face became serious, and she spoke earnestly.
He hesitated for a moment, then frowning, he said, "But we can't rely solely on the Empress; we need to make two plans!"
"What steps does the prince plan to take?" Princess Duan asked, moving closer to him.
Duan Wang looked at her and smiled mysteriously, "Of course, for Mid-Autumn Festival to give my good brother a bit of excitement."
The Princess of Duan seemed to understand but not quite, seeing that the prince had his own plans, she did not continue to ask.
The sun was setting in the west, and Yue Xian Palace was greeted by the radiance of the setting sun as North Chen arrived.
North Chen kissed the top of Yue Yao's forehead when he saw her, "How was today? Was the child well-behaved?"
Yue Yao held his hand and placed it on her abdomen, "The child is only three months old. Wait until I'm five months pregnant before His Majesty asks such questions, please!"
North Chen smiled slightly, "It seems I'm the one who is anxious!"
"Your Majesty, the imperial physician came over today to take my pulse and said that there may be twins in my womb!"
Yue Yao thought of something and suddenly said.
"Double fetuses?"
North Chen was stunned for a moment, and his eyes instantly fell on her abdomen.
Double births might be a blessing in a common household, but in the royal family, it is not necessarily a good thing.
If they are two princesses or a set of dragon and phoenix twins, that would be better.
But if they are two princes, one of them must be killed.
Especially if there are no other princes and the royal family desperately needs an heir, the other one would be even more unlikely to survive.
Yue Yao saw the serious expression on his face and knew what he was thinking.
Then, she knelt down beside North Chen's feet, "Your Majesty, I beg you, if it really turns out to be twins and both are princes, please send the other one out of the palace far away. Give him a path to survival!"
She is carrying dragon and phoenix twins, which is completely not worried, but she still needs to act concerned.
North Chen, unable to bear it, gently pulled her up from the ground and sighed softly, "These are also my children. How could I ever bear to kill one of my own children."
"I promise you, even if I have two sons, I will definitely spare the life of the other."
He spoke seriously again.
According to tradition and to ensure the stability of the imperial power, in such a situation, the other child would have no chance of survival.
They are his children; how could he bear to kill them?
Yue Yao and Night North Chen discussed it for a while.
They decided to keep the news of the twins a secret and not reveal it yet.
It would be best to keep it a secret until the delivery.
No one would know, if the other one is truly born as a prince, it can also be sent away quietly then.
Then, publicly, it will be announced that she gave birth to one child.
Night North Chen went to the Imperial Medical Office specifically, intimidating and persuading Doctor Zhou not to leak the news of Consort Yao's twin pregnancy.
"From now on, Consort Yao's fetus will be in your hands. What should be said and what should not be said, you should know!"
Under the threat and promise of the emperor, Doctor Zhou, with a face twisted in misery, could only agree to everything.
Yue Yao was also very cooperative, wearing loose clothing as much as possible in daily life.
Although it is only three months now, it is gradually showing signs of pregnancy.
A double pregnancy belly is much larger than a single one, so slightly hiding it can also avoid others from noticing.
Night North Chen even kept it a secret from the Empress Dowager, the fewer people who know about it, the better.
Fearful of others noticing her pregnant belly, Yue Yao seldom walked outside of Yue Xian Palace.
But she had to go to pay court to the Empress every day, and it couldn't be avoided anymore.
However, the Empress looked at her as if she was not pregnant every day when she went to pay court.
In that way, the Empress had no intention of letting her off from the daily court visit.
On her way back from the morning court today, something unexpected happened to her.
Firstly, she almost fell from the sedan chair.
The reason was that oil had been spilled on the palace road, causing the bearers of the sedan chair to lose their balance.
Yue Yao reacted quickly and flew down from the sedan chair before it fell.
But as she stepped down, a wild cat went crazy and rushed out from the side of the road at this moment.
The wild cat was straightening to attack her abdomen.
Clearly, someone had been planning this for a long time, wanting to harm her baby bump.
Yue Yao laughed coldly, and without waiting for the wild cat to attack, she directly struck it with a palm, killing it instantly.
Although she was not hurt, she was still somewhat startled, fortunately, there was no problem.
Night North Chen learned of this and was extremely angry. He immediately ordered people to investigate.
The investigation finally led to Qin, who was once the Shao Guifei.
Qin Guifei held a grudge against Yue Yao, and every day she plotted against her and cursed her.
She cursed her to never have a good death, to die with one corpse and two lives, and other such things.
Night North Chen learned of this, naturally could not bear it, and all the affection he had for Qin Guifei was completely destroyed.
He issued an imperial edict directly to have her executed.
It was said that when Qin Guifei received the imperial edict to execute her, she refused to die, arguing and demanding to see Night North Chen.
Night North Chen did not see Qin Guifei but instead coldly ordered: "Since she refuses to die, you should personally send her on her way."
Qin Guifei died soon after, and it was reported that she was strangled to death by Zhang Gonggong, the apprentice of Fu Gonggong.
It was said that both eyes were staring wide open, as if she couldn't believe her fate.
Finally, she was wrapped in a straw mat and thrown to the wasteland graveyard outside the palace without a grave.
Poor, tragic, and hateful.
The death of Qin Guifei caused great commotion in both the court and the palace, and also made people see how much the emperor valued Consort Yao.
Now, no one dared to offend her even more.
Of course, many people still secretly plotted against her.
The Empress was blamed by Night North Chen, who punished her several times, and also insulted her in both subtle and overt ways.
Even the fixed two days of the first and fifteen of every month, which she usually rested in Fengyi Palace, were skipped.
She simply stayed at Yue Yao's Yue Xian Palace instead.
The whole palace was laughing at the Empress, who used to be unloved but now even respect had been taken away from her.
The most obvious sign was during her morning court, where there were more and more dissenting voices.
Even more boldly, some dared to confront the Empress directly, occasionally throwing barbs at her.
There were no more respectful attitudes or words in her behavior.
