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Having realized all of this, Xiao Jizi couldn’t help but exclaim aloud, "My heavens, she’s pregnant!" Truly a momentous cause for celebration!

When Xiao Qing heard the shout, she thought something else had happened and couldn’t help but dash out and ask, "Xiao Jizi, what did you say about being pregnant?"

Xiao Jizi was so excited that his words became jumbled, "I’m pregnant, no no, the Young Master is pregnant!" He started dancing with joy.

Xiao Qing was stunned upon hearing that, the Young Master is pregnant? Pregnancy means there is a little baby in the belly, right?

Just then, hurried footsteps were heard in the courtyard.

Looking up, they saw His Majesty approaching quickly, followed by Zhang Qing and a few Young Eunuchs.

Upon seeing the bright yellow imperial robe on the person leading, Huang Zude was dumbstruck on the spot, his goodness, what a stroke of ancestral fortune, he had only entered the Imperial Medical Bureau not long ago and had now seen His Majesty!

Heavens, he definitely had to tell his father when he got home and burn incense to pray to the ancestors for their blessings.

Once they snapped back to reality, the three of them hastened to perform their salutations, "We greet Your Majesty."

"Rise, how is your master doing?" the Emperor said as he walked past them, heading quickly into the inner chambers.

Xiao Jizi, with a smile so wide it reached his ears, heard the words and hurried after His Majesty, unable to contain his happiness he said, "Your Majesty, I am, no no, the Young Master is pregnant." He almost misspoke again.

The Emperor paused upon hearing this, asking with disbelief, "What, she’s pregnant?"

Xiao Jizi’s face was filled with happiness as he nodded repeatedly, repeating once more, "Yes, Your Majesty, the Young Master is pregnant, the Young Master is pregnant!"

The Emperor stood still, the Little Concubine... was carrying his child?

He subconsciously asked, "How many months?"

A wild joy began to heat up inside him, he and his Little Concubine were going to have a child?

From now on, he and his Little Concubine would have a child that was blood of his blood?

Xiao Jizi was momentarily dumbfounded, "Uh..." He had been so happy that he forgot to ask.

At this time, Huang Zude caught up and suppressed the excitement in his heart, bowed, and said humbly, "Your Majesty, it has been two months."

The Emperor silently counted, so it’s been some time then, he had still been with his Little Concubine several times afterward, fortunately, there hadn’t been any recent exertions.

Realizing that the man before him was unfamiliar, he couldn’t help asking, "And you are?"

Hearing His Majesty inquiring about him, Huang Zude excitedly knelt down and said, "Replying to Your Majesty, this humble servant is Huang Zude, newly advanced to Imperial Doctor Assistant of the Imperial Medical Bureau. In this life, to be graced by Your Majesty’s presence, is truly a fortunate blessing beyond three lifetimes. "

He had to tell his father that His Majesty spoke to him and he would need to fast for three days and burn incense, bathe, and change clothes before respectfully informing the ancestors!

The Son of Heaven was a wise and brilliant ruler, a figure he had long admired, often lauded by the folks.

His father often told him that he was living in a good era; years ago, the world was rife with suffering, the people struggled to survive, living from day to day in fear, and it was thanks to His Majesty taking the throne that such turbulent times were over, allowing him to practice medicine well, accumulate merit, and repay the imperial grace.

While practicing medicine in the streets and alleys among the folks, he had heard many tales of His Majesty’s deeds and, just as his father said, found him to be as wise as the stories proclaimed, hence his admiration for the illustrious ruler grew stronger.

He joined the Imperial Medical Bureau also because of His Majesty, partly in the hopes of meeting the fabled ruler and partly to apply his skills in service to the Son of Heaven.

The Emperor, surprised by his words, wondered about this young man; although he appeared mature and composed, he was surely only twenty or so in age, was his medical expertise reliable?

Forget everything else for now—the Little Concubine’s well-being is crucial. The Emperor suppressed the thoughts in his heart, his emotions surging, and continued to walk inside.

Upon entering the inner chamber, he saw the Little Concubine with her eyes closed, lying on the bed, covered with a quilt, her hands placed underneath it, her expression serene.

The Emperor hurriedly sat on the edge of the bed, reached out to touch her forehead, then felt her cheeks, but could not discern anything unusual.

The Emperor turned to look at Huang Zude.

Zhang Qing had also followed inside. Seeing the situation, he understood and quickly asked Huang Zude, "Doctor Huang, how is Young Master Lian now?"

Huang Zude, excited, replied, "Young Master’s constitution is strong; there are no serious issues now. I have prescribed fetus-preserving medicine, and after taking it for a few days, she should be fine."

The Emperor, somewhat anxious, asked in disbelief, "If there’s nothing wrong, how can one just pass out?"

Huang Zude repeated the diagnosis he had explained to Xiao Jizi and Xiao Qing earlier to His Majesty.

Upon hearing about her excessive worries and dramatic emotional fluctuations, the Emperor’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed painfully.

How could such an innocent Little Concubine, usually so light-hearted, full of laughter and cheer, content with eating and drinking, seldom overthinking, be suffering from excessive worries and emotional instability? What had he done to her to cause this!

The Emperor’s heart ached immensely. The more he thought, the more frightened he became.

The Little Concubine was pregnant, and he had been completely unaware, first allowing her daily fatigue, then neglecting her, not to mention putting her in danger to be framed by Beauty Li, making her kneel for a long inquiry at Huaqing Palace, and eventually he even sent her to the Imperial Prison.

If she couldn’t withstand any one of these events, the child would have been in danger. If not for her strong constitution, by now, I fear...

That would have caused her a lifetime of heartfelt trauma, and he probably wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

It was all due to his negligence and presumption!

The Emperor stood up and paced the room, his fear growing, fingertips trembling slightly.

No, he must make a trip to Yixiang Palace tonight, no matter what. He must have someone be called to take care of the Little Concubine’s daily needs; otherwise, he wouldn’t be at ease.

With her propensity for stirring up trouble, without someone to watch over her, she couldn’t even last a day; hadn’t she eaten hawthorn a few days ago and nearly caused a miscarriage? Well, almost caused a miscarriage.

Having made up his mind, the Emperor calmed his spirit, then bent over to look at the person lying down again, who showed no sign of waking, and asked uneasily, "If there’s nothing wrong, why hasn’t she awoken by now?"

Doctor Huang explained, "To His Majesty, in my opinion, it’s because Young Master Lian has had dramatic emotional fluctuations, her qi surged up momentarily due to lack of rest, resulting in exhaustion.

Was she perhaps too active this morning?

Pregnant women need to sleep more; it’s best to rest more. "

The Emperor nodded. True to the Little Concubine’s habits, she would usually sleep until the sun was high before getting up; she really did get up too early this morning.

Just then, as if to confirm Doctor Huang’s words, Lian Hua, who was lying on the bed, seemed to feel uncomfortable sleeping on her back for so long, kicked off the quilt, turned over, and fell into a deep sleep again.

Everyone quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look, and Zhang Qing signaled for everyone to leave the inner chamber.

Seeing this, the Emperor’s heart melted, finally at ease, and he quickly walked to the bedside and sat down, his eyes tenderly watching the person before him.

Looking at the Little Concubine as she kicked off the quilt, then lay on her side atop it and continued to sleep, her face nearly buried, he couldn’t help but silently laugh and shake his head.

The Little Concubine still loved to kick off her quilt, doing so whenever she felt hot, then curling up into a ball when she felt cold after;

She also loved to clutch the quilt, clutching it whenever she felt cold. One night, he had woken half-awake to find that the quilt had been completely taken by the Little Concubine in her sleep, leaving him both amused and exasperated, and he couldn’t do anything to the soundly sleeping person.

The Emperor quietly watched the sleeping person for a while, loosened her hairpin, sorted out her tangled hair, then started to help her remove her socks and outer garment to make her sleep more comfortably.

It seems that, in their haste, her servants had not managed to remove her socks and outer garment and had simply laid her down on the bed.