Why do I get the feeling that an "accident" will happen to the pregnant consort, and upon an investigation, the old marquis will be implicated and stripped of rank? If such a situation did occur, I could foresee the pregnant consort becoming infertile, the marquis' daughter will be barred from being empress, and only the third consort will be left. Add in another scandal, and boom, all three consorts can't become the empress. They convene and decide to have Paulina become empress, while they give birth to the kids. Based on my guess, that is what will happen.