After the birthday celebration, Ling Shan and Jun Wuyuan became visibly busier.
The two had just confessed their love to each other in the Star - Picking Tower, and were in the sweet and affectionate stage of a relationship. However, they had to start a long - distance relationship.
Jun Wuyuan was busy consolidating his power in the court. Even though the Wang family had fallen, there were still many aristocratic families of various sizes in the court.
Jun Wuyuan would never experience again the feeling of being restricted and helpless by the aristocratic families.
He would never allow the aristocratic families to regain their strength. Compared with those pampered and privileged offspring of the aristocratic families, Jun Wuyuan valued more the scholars from humble backgrounds who had worked their way up to Chang'an step by step.
Naturally, not all aristocratic families should be completely eliminated. The mutual restriction between the aristocratic and humble - origin families was the way to maintain balance.
After Ling Shan became the imperial concubine, she naturally had to take over all the affairs in the harem.
On a fine and sunny day, Ling Shan, accompanied by Concubine Xue and Concubine Yu, personally saw off the "seriously ill" Queen Mother Wang from the palace.
In the square in front of the palace gate, Ling Shan personally lifted the heavy curtain of the carriage and bid farewell to the Queen Mother Wang with a beaming smile.
The scene of her first meeting with the Queen Mother Wang involuntarily flashed through her mind.
At that time, she was just a dispensable pawn. Poisoned, she had no choice but to obey the Queen Mother Wang.
If she hadn't been so lucky, she might have died under Jun Wuyuan's sword and become the nourishment for the peach trees in the orchard!
How could she have the qualification to stand here, facing the Queen Mother Wang in a victorious stance for the first time?
"Have a good journey. I won't see you off, Your Majesty the Queen Mother."
The "seriously ill" Queen Mother Wang's face was indeed ashen. Her turbid eyes stared deeply at Ling Shan for a moment, as if she had already accepted her defeat.
However, Ling Shan didn't believe that a woman who had dominated the palace of the Great Yan Dynasty for decades would admit defeat so easily.
She winked at the two maids serving the Queen Mother Wang, curled the corner of her lips, and watched the Queen Mother Wang leave.
Although the Queen Mother Wang was no longer in the harem, there were still many remnants of her power.
As soon as Ling Shan took charge of the harem, she started to deal with these obstacles.
She couldn't leave a bunch of the Queen Mother Wang's pawns in her own backyard.
Who knew when they would suddenly strike? It would be impossible to guard against.
This was a good opportunity to clean them up, as well as the "female Zhuge Liang" hidden in the harem.
After discussing with Yu Shiwei, Ling Shan decided to take this opportunity to thoroughly search the harem while removing the obstacles.
They were determined to see if the hidden beauty was really that much more skilled.
---
Time flew by, and in October, Chang'an suddenly entered winter.
On the fifteenth day of October, when Ling Shan woke up in the morning, she found a layer of snow on the palace roofs.
It had snowed in the middle of the night due to the sudden cold.
Ling Shan was originally from the south. She had rarely seen such a vast expanse of snow.
When had she ever seen such a pure and holy scene?
After breakfast, she couldn't wait to walk into the courtyard.
"Your Majesty, this is the first snow this year. I heard that if a loving couple walks in the first snow together, they will grow old together!"
Ban Chun supported Ling Shan. In the past two months, the relationship between her Majesty and the Emperor had been as sweet as honey, so sweet that it made them feel sticky.
Hearing Ban Chun's teasing, Ling Shan's face blushed.
What Ban Chun said was like: If we could walk in the snow together one day, it would be like sharing a lifetime of white hair.
Ling Shan couldn't help but shiver. This saying didn't sound like a good omen.
"Your Majesty, are you cold?"
Noticing Ling Shan's shiver, Ban Chun looked at her worriedly.
"I'm fine."
Ling Shan shook her head. Reminded by Ban Chun, she couldn't help but think more.
"Come on. Let's take the soup made by the small kitchen and go to the Zichen Palace to see the Emperor."
Seeing the affection hidden in Ling Shan's eyes, Ban Chun also felt happy.
Since returning from the imperial villa, Ling Shan had rarely set foot in the Taiji Palace and the Zichen Palace.
As soon as she arrived at the palace gate, Liang Jiusi greeted her with a big smile.
As soon as Ling Shan saw Liang Jiusi's smile, she felt a strange chill on her back and forced a smile.
"Your Majesty the Imperial Concubine, you're here. His Majesty just mentioned you."
"Thank you, Father - in - law."
Liang Jiusi smiled cheerfully. His eyes looking at Ling Shan were extremely kind.
There was no way around it. In the past two months, the Emperor had been in a great mood, and they, the servants waiting on the Emperor, no longer had to live in fear. Their days had been extremely comfortable.
Not only Liang Jiusi, but all the other servants waiting on the Emperor were extremely grateful to the imperial concubine.
"Shanshan."
Before Ling Shan could enter, Jun Wuyuan couldn't wait to come out.
His eyes were full of smiles. He reached out and grabbed Ling Shan's hand, then led her into the palace.
"It just snowed. The road is slippery. Why did you come?"
"Your Majesty, are you saying that you don't want me to come?"
Jun Wuyuan cried out in protest: "How could that be? Shanshan, don't wrong me. I've always wanted Shanshan to be by my side."
"Flirtatious."
Ling Shan glared at him coquettishly. She stood up and was about to take the food box when suddenly her vision went black and her body swayed.
Jun Wuyuan's eyes tightened. He quickly reached out to support Ling Shan, and his tone became tense.
"Shanshan!"
Ling Shan put her hands on Jun Wuyuan's chest. Her vision was black, and her legs seemed to go weak and give way.
It took her a while to feel better and have the strength to answer him.
"I'm fine. I just suddenly felt dizzy. Maybe I got up too quickly. Don't worry."
Jun Wuyuan frowned tightly. His eyes stared intently at Ling Shan's face.
The paleness of her once - rosy face made his heart tremble with unease.
"Liang Jiusi!"
Outside the palace, Liang Jiusi was chatting cheerfully with Ban Chun. Unexpectedly, a loud voice suddenly came from inside the palace.
Oh, my goodness! The Imperial Concubine was still inside. Why did the Emperor raise his voice like that?
He murmured in his heart, but he didn't dare to delay. He quickly walked in.
"Your Majesty..."
"Quickly invite Chang Wei here!"
"Yes!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Liang Jiusi caught a glimpse of Ling Shan's pale face, and his heart skipped a beat.
So it was the Imperial Concubine who was not feeling well!
Not daring to delay, since Liang Jiusi was old and couldn't run fast, he quickly pointed at a royal guard and told him to bring Chang Wei here as fast as possible.
"I'm really fine, Jiulang. Don't worry, okay?"
Jun Wuyuan pursed his lips tightly. He supported Ling Shan to the couch and gently patted her back.
"I know. Shanshan will be fine. Just let Chang Wei take a look."
Ling Shan smiled helplessly and nodded obediently.
Chang Wei was quickly brought over. He was originally full of anger, but when he saw Jun Wuyuan's gloomy face, he didn't dare to delay and quickly felt Ling Shan's pulse.
After a moment, a firm voice was heard.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty the Imperial Concubine. Your Majesty is pregnant."