The palace doors stood wide open, and everything inside was laid bare at a glance.
The deafening crash of the door being kicked open made the two half-dressed people inside flinch as one!
The Eighth Prince whipped his head around. The instant he saw the bright yellow figure in the doorway, his face went deathly pale and his pupils shrank to pinpricks. He froze all over, as if a basin of ice water had been dumped over his head.
Then a piercing shriek rang out!
“Ah–!”
Emperor Pingkang glared at her. “Shut up!”
Chief Eunuch Cheng’s face darkened. He waved a hand at those behind him, and two burly eunuchs immediately stepped forward, one seizing each of He Wan’s arms. One of them, quick as a flash, drew a handkerchief from his sleeve and stuffed it into her mouth without a word.
The screaming cut off abruptly, leaving only muffled, trembling “mmph, mmph” sounds. She seemed to have had all the strength drained out of her. Only her eyes stayed stretched wide, full of terror and despair.
The Eighth Prince scrambled off the couch on hands and knees and dropped to the floor with a thud. He wore only a middle robe, the front hanging wide open, and he had no time to fasten it. He knelt there in disarray on the cold brick floor, his knees knocked raw without his even noticing.
“F-Father Emperor–” His voice shook badly, his teeth chattering, and he knocked his forehead hard against the floor. “Your son, your son–“
The Emperor’s gaze fell on the Eighth Prince kneeling on the floor.
That face, which on ordinary days he had found so endearing, now showed nothing but panic and disgrace.
“You wretch!” Emperor Pingkang raised his foot and kicked him!
The Eighth Prince was kicked flat, yet he didn’t dare dodge in the slightest. He scrambled up again, pressed his forehead to the floor without daring to look up, and kowtowed over and over. “Father Emperor, please calm your anger! Your son, your son–“
Suddenly he jerked his head up, his eyes red-rimmed, and pointed at He Wan, held between the eunuchs. His voice came sharp and frantic. “It was her! Father Emperor, she seduced your son! Your son never wanted to, I never wanted to!”
As he spoke he shuffled forward on his knees a couple of paces and clutched the Emperor’s leg. “Father Emperor, please see the truth! My cousin, she said she had something to discuss and wanted to see your son. Your son thought, she’s my cousin, I couldn’t refuse her, so I came. Who knew that the moment I walked in, she, she–“
His voice came so fast he seemed about to run out of breath, and he babbled incoherently. Yet the more he said, the more righteous he began to feel.
Right, that’s it.
He truly hadn’t meant to do anything with He Wan today.
She had insisted on seeing him. He hadn’t wanted to deal with her, but he’d been afraid she would make a scene and stir up trouble at this critical moment, so he had slipped away during a lull in the banquet.
Who knew that the moment he walked in, she would cling to him, saying over and over, what do we do, what do we do……
He’d grown impatient with her questions. How was he supposed to know what to do?! If she hadn’t pushed him so hard before, he wouldn’t have suddenly decided to just kill Seventh and be done with it, and now here he was, still sick with worry and fear…… | BLACK LOTUS NOVEL Novel Translation · Black Lotus Novel
He had mumbled a few placating words, wanting only to get rid of her quickly before someone found them.
But she wouldn’t leave. As she talked, her eyes reddened, and then she pressed up against him……
He’d thought everyone would be at the banquet in Hanyuan Hall tonight and this place was remote enough that no one would come. Who would have thought……
While he ran through all this in a cold sweat, his hands clutched the Emperor’s leg even tighter, and his mouth kept going. “Father Emperor, your son truly didn’t want to! It was my cousin, she took the initiative! She seduced your son! Your son was muddled for a moment and couldn’t restrain himself–“
His voice rose higher and higher, shoving all the blame onto He Wan, as if that would make him blameless.
Held between the eunuchs, He Wan heard this and went rigid all over. She stared at the Eighth Prince, the terror in her eyes gradually giving way to stunned disbelief. She wanted to say something, but could only make muffled “mmph” sounds, and her body began to thrash violently!
Emperor Pingkang’s face was an alarming iron-gray. He looked down at the half-dressed Eighth Prince clinging to his leg, his chest heaving. He was about to speak when a flurry of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.
Chief Eunuch Cheng, sharp-eyed, glanced outside and immediately bowed. “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has arrived.”
The words had barely left his mouth when Cui Yu’s figure appeared in the doorway.
His gaze swept over the hall, and his expression turned grim at once. He strode forward a few paces and bowed to Emperor Pingkang. “Your son greets Father Emperor.”
The Emperor’s expression flickered. “Why has the Crown Prince come?”
Cui Yu straightened, his face composed, his voice tinged with concern. “Replying to Father Emperor, your son had stepped out to change and heard loud screaming from this direction. Then a eunuch at the side hall told me Father Emperor had come this way. Your son worried for Father Emperor’s safety and came to see.”
At this, Emperor Pingkang’s brow eased slightly.
But then…… he looked down again at the Eighth Prince still clutching his leg, and the brow that had just relaxed knotted up again, his face growing even uglier.
Cui Yu’s gaze also fell on the Eighth Prince. Seeing him half-dressed and utterly disgraced, his face turned cold and grim.
Emperor Pingkang drew a deep breath. “Drag her out.”
Chief Eunuch Cheng understood at once and waved a hand at the two eunuchs holding He Wan.
The two eunuchs promptly dragged He Wan toward the door. Gagged, she couldn’t make a sound, and could only fix her eyes on the Eighth Prince with a deathly stare, until she vanished beyond the doorway.
The Eighth Prince, however, kept his head lowered fiercely and didn’t dare say a word.
The hall fell quiet.
Emperor Pingkang looked down at the Eighth Prince kneeling on the floor, his chest rising and falling unevenly.
Cui Yu lowered his gaze slightly, quietly hiding the look in his eyes, then looked at the Eighth Prince kneeling on the floor and spoke in a low voice. “Eighth Brother.”
The Eighth Prince’s body stiffened.
“To commit such an act with no regard for the imperial family’s dignity,” Cui Yu’s voice was cold and heavy, “if this should ever get out, where would Father Emperor’s honor be? Where would the imperial family’s honor be? Have you ever thought of that?”
The Eighth Prince’s face flushed red, then went livid, then flushed red again. Prostrate on the floor, he couldn’t say a word, and his body only trembled harder.
Hearing this, Emperor Pingkang’s expression grew uglier still.
The Crown Prince was right. If a thing like this got out, it would be the imperial family’s face lost! His own face lost!
His expression grew darker and darker, and the fire in his chest burned hotter.
“Guards!” His voice suddenly rose.
Several eunuchs came in from outside at once and stood with hands at their sides, awaiting orders.
“Take this rebellious son away as well!” Emperor Pingkang pointed at the Eighth Prince, his voice and face severe. “Without my decree, no one is permitted to visit him!”
The Eighth Prince snapped his head up, his face bloodless, his lips trembling as he tried to speak. “Father Emperor! Father Emperor! Your son knows his fault! Your son–“
Chief Eunuch Cheng gave a signal with his eyes, and eunuchs stepped forward at once and gagged the Eighth Prince.
At last the hall fell completely silent.
Emperor Pingkang stood where he was, his chest still heaving, his face iron-gray, his voice still carrying unspent rage. “He Wan…… offended the Emperor’s presence and harbored treacherous intent. Bestow the white silk.”
Cui Yu stood to one side, his expression unchanged, merely lowering his eyes and saying nothing.
Having spoken, the Emperor knit his brows even tighter.
Eight……
This son, he had always treated as his youngest. Born adorable, sweet-mouthed since childhood, he had, after all, held a certain place in his heart……
His brows locked, he was silent for a good while, then suddenly turned to Cui Yu, who stood to one side.
“Crown Prince,” his voice dropped, “what do you think…… should be done with Eight?”
Chief Eunuch Cheng, standing nearby, couldn’t help lowering his head slightly.
His Majesty was putting this question to the Crown Prince……
Cui Yu’s expression didn’t change. He said in a low voice, “Eighth Brother has committed an outrage against human relations. It is already a grave offense, and should it get out, it would bring shame upon the imperial family and even make us the laughingstock of the whole realm.”
“This matter is of great consequence and must not be treated lightly. Otherwise, with Eighth Brother’s temperament, there’s no telling what greater trouble he’ll cause down the line. It’s only that……”
He paused there, raised his eyes to Emperor Pingkang, and said heavily, “As for how exactly to deal with him, your son dares not presume to say. It is entirely for Father Emperor to decide.”
Hearing this, Emperor Pingkang’s face darkened a shade further. “Confine the Eighth Prince…… to his residence. He is not to leave without my decree. In some days’ time…… after a month, I will issue the formal edict.”
Chief Eunuch Cheng hastily assented.
Having said this with an iron-gray face, Emperor Pingkang turned to leave.
Cui Yu spoke up just then. “Father Emperor, Seventh Brother has suffered wrong this time and was injured as well. Perhaps Father Emperor could grant Seventh Brother some reward, to comfort him.” — BlackLotus Translation — Black Lotus Novel
Hearing this, a complicated look crossed the Emperor’s eyes. “You are certainly thoughtful.”
Had the Crown Prince been pleading for Sixth this time, he would have been suspicious, thinking the Crown Prince was trying to win Sixth over. But Seventh……
Seventh had no maternal family, and was a useless good-for-nothing who went about with a gloomy face all day, which was frankly unappealing.
The Crown Prince had never had much friendship with Seventh, either. That he would plead for Seventh…… showed a sense of loyalty and feeling.
Far better than the cold, harsh sort, devoid of affection and kindness.
Emperor Pingkang said, “Since the Crown Prince speaks for him…… in some days’ time, Seventh will be enfeoffed as a Commandery Prince.”
After Emperor Pingkang left, Cui Yu closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. When he opened them again, his eyes were calm and still.
“Zheng Yuande.”
“This servant is here.” Zheng Yuande stepped forward at once.
Cui Yu swept his gaze over the hall and lowered his voice. “Clean it up.”
“Yes.” Zheng Yuande hurriedly answered in a low voice.
Cui Yu didn’t go straight back to Hanyuan Hall.
When the door was pushed open, the Seventh Prince was leaning on the couch, his face still pale. Hearing the sound, he looked up. “Crown Prince……”
Cui Yu walked to the side of the couch but didn’t sit. He simply stood there, looking down at him.
The Seventh Prince lowered his eyes, his fingers unconsciously clutching the bedding.
“I have dealt with the people on He Wan’s side,” Cui Yu said calmly. “Tonight’s matter ends here.”
The Seventh Prince’s body went slightly stiff. His lips moved, but no words came.
Cui Yu was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke. “As for your Mother Consort, I have already sent Chief Imperial Physician Lu, who stayed behind in the capital, to see her.”
The Seventh Prince’s head snapped up. The ashen despair in his eyes was shattered by a light of disbelief. He stared at Cui Yu, his lips trembling slightly, as if he wanted to say something but dared not believe it.
“Chief Imperial Physician Lu says that as long as your Mother Consort is properly cared for, her life is not in danger,” Cui Yu’s voice softened a little. “From now on, Chief Imperial Physician Lu will go every three days to check her pulse. You need not worry.”
The Seventh Prince’s eyes reddened in an instant.
“Crown Prince……” He opened his mouth, but his throat felt blocked by something, and he couldn’t get out a single word. He struggled to sit up, but Cui Yu pressed a hand on his shoulder.
Cui Yu looked at him. “Rest well and recover from your injury.”
Tears finally fell from the Seventh Prince’s eyes, dropping soundlessly onto the bedding. Refusing to let himself make a sound, he only nodded hard and gazed at Cui Yu steadily, his voice hoarse. “Thank you, Crown Prince.”
Cui Yu glanced at him, said nothing more, and turned and left through the door.
Behind him, the fingers the Seventh Prince had clutched the bedding with slowly loosened, then tightened again, then loosened, over and over. His tears wouldn’t stop. In the empty hall, the faint sound of sobbing, suppressed to the extreme, could be heard……
Inside Hanyuan Hall, the lamps blazed bright as day, and the sound of silk and bamboo music never ceased.
Shen Yanshui sat at her table, holding a lotus pastry and nibbling on it in a desultory way. Beside her, Liangyuan Zhang was murmuring something to the Sixth Prince’s Side Consort, now and then covering her mouth with a soft laugh, and the atmosphere was fairly harmonious.
Her gaze, however, had settled on the seats across the way.
The Eighth Prince’s and He Wan’s places were still empty.
She glanced again toward Shen Ronghua.
In just this little while, she had noticed that her elder sister, the legitimate daughter, kept glancing at the Eighth Prince’s and He Wan’s empty seats every so often.
And the frequency was rising, her expression growing somewhat anxious as well……
She was by now nearly seventy or eighty percent sure. If something truly happened tonight between the Eighth Prince and that He Wan, then this elder sister of hers was probably really……
As she thought this, from the corner of her eye she suddenly caught a figure appearing at the Crown Prince’s seat. She turned her head quickly…… the Crown Prince was back.
Cui Yu stood straight as a pine, looking as composed as ever, with nothing out of the ordinary in his appearance. He sat down at his table and casually picked up the wine cup on it. Seeming to sense her gaze, he turned his head slightly and looked over at her.
Their eyes met in the lamplight.
Seeing him look her way, the heart Shen Yanshui had kept in her throat suddenly settled. Whatever happened with the Eighth Prince and He Wan, let it happen. The Crown Prince was there anyway.
Seeing her from afar, the chill in Cui Yu’s eyes eased a little.
With the Crown Prince’s return, the mood in the hall seemed to liven up too. Several court officials came forward with cups in hand to toast the Crown Prince.
Cui Yu responded with an unruffled air, raising his cup for slight sips, neither warm nor cold.
Seeing this, the Sixth Prince’s eyes deepened, and he cast a glance toward Shen Ronghua without seeming to.
Sensing that gaze, Shen Ronghua’s lashes fluttered slightly. She lowered her eyes and took a sip of tea, suppressing the growing irritation and unease in her heart.
Why was nothing happening yet?
She had waited most of the night, tormented with anxiety, yet there was still no news of the Eighth Prince and He Wan.
She remembered clearly…… | BLACK LOTUS Novel Chapters — BLACK LOTUS NOVEL
It should have been at tonight’s banquet that the Eighth Prince and He Wan’s illicit affair would be discovered, causing a huge uproar and shaking the whole court. She hadn’t been at the retreat palace back then and didn’t know the details, but the incident had truly happened.
How could nothing be happening?
She glanced again toward the hall entrance, her fingers unconsciously twisting her handkerchief.
The longer it dragged on, the more uneasy she became.
Beside her, the Seventh Princess was eating fruit. Looking up and seeing Shen Ronghua in this state, she asked curiously, tilting her head, “Consort Shen, what’s wrong? You seem distracted.”
Hearing this, Shen Ronghua’s body went slightly stiff. Then she came back to herself, quickly put on a smile, and said gently, “Seventh Princess is mistaken……”
The Seventh Princess blinked. Seeing that her expression was normal, she didn’t ask further, and turned back to chatting with the other princess.
But she waited and waited, all the way until the banquet ended, and nothing came.
Shen Ronghua returned to her courtyard with a grim face.
The Crown Princess’s miscarriage that should have happened at the Duanyang Festival, and now the Seventh Prince’s matter…… these showed that what she had seen in her dream had all been meant to happen.
So the matter of the Eighth Prince and He Wan should have happened too…… What in the world had gone wrong?!
If everything could change because of her existence, then what about the Sixth Prince’s ascension to the throne?
Might that change too, because of her existence?
Her face went white in an instant, her hands began to shake, and her whole body trembled.
No, she couldn’t panic.
She took a deep breath, then another, forcing herself to calm down.
Seeing her like this, Xiangmo, beside her, grew anxious. “Niangniang? What’s the matter, Niangniang?”
“It’s nothing,” Shen Ronghua sat on the couch, her face slightly pale. She looked at Xiangmo beside her and suddenly lowered her voice. “Go…… find out what news there is of the Eighth Prince and He Wan from tonight’s banquet……”
Xiangmo was startled, puzzled, but agreed. “Yes, this servant will go right away.”
“Be careful,” Shen Ronghua added. “Don’t let anyone notice.”
“This servant understands.” Xiangmo nodded and slipped out without a sound.
The room went quiet again.
Shen Ronghua leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes, her fingers absently rubbing the jade bracelet on her wrist while her mind raced.
This kind of variable was simply too great for her. Things were gradually slipping out of her control, making her more and more uneasy……
She couldn’t go on being this passive!
The Sixth Prince……
She touched her belly, and her heart couldn’t help beating faster. She drew another deep breath before she could press the wildly pounding heartbeat down.
Whether or not the matter of the Eighth Prince and He Wan had blown up today, now that the Seventh Prince had been hurt…… the Sixth Prince would surely come looking for her.
Shen Ronghua picked up her teacup and took a sip of tea that had gone completely cold. The bitter liquid went down her throat, and her heart finally steadied a little.
When Shen Yanshui returned to Chengxin Hall and stepped out of the washroom after bathing, she saw Chunping hurry in from outside, her face paler than usual.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, puzzled.
Chunping came up a few steps and lowered her voice. “Zhuzi, word has just come from His Majesty’s side…… that young lady of the He clan, for some reason, had a hysterical fit, offended the Emperor’s presence, and harbored treacherous intent. His Majesty was furious and has bestowed…… the white silk.”
Shen Yanshui was slightly startled. “The white silk?” So she’d been sentenced to death outright?
That He Wan had seemed perfectly fine all along. A hysterical fit, offending the Emperor’s presence…… that was probably just the excuse given to outsiders.
The real reason……
As she was thinking, footsteps suddenly sounded in the courtyard, and a tall, slender figure strode in.
“Your Highness!” Shen Yanshui’s eyes lit up. She hurried forward to greet him and sent away everyone attending in the room.
Everyone answered and withdrew, closing the door behind them, leaving only the two of them in the room.
Shen Yanshui knit her brows lightly. “Your Highness, this concubine just heard from Chunping……” Then she asked in a small voice, “Was it that His Majesty found out about her and the Eighth Prince?”
Cui Yu’s brows drew down slightly. He didn’t answer right away, only raised a hand to circle her waist and led her over to sit on the couch. black lotus novel Novel Translations | Black Lotus Novel
“Mm.” His voice was low.
Shen Yanshui thought, as expected.
Only, two people had committed the offense, so why was only He Wan being punished?
She glanced at his expression and asked softly, “And the Eighth Prince?”
Cui Yu looked at her, his brows heavy. “Confined to his residence for now. The formal edict will come down in a few days.”
Hearing that, Shen Yanshui nodded thoughtfully.
He Wan had already been put to death. If the Eighth Prince were punished right on its heels, people would inevitably connect the two matters.
The Emperor was guarding the imperial family’s face.
Only……
She was still a little puzzled. She frowned and couldn’t help muttering under her breath, “Where did those two get the nerve? An affair in private is one thing, but to be so desperate that they’d do it on an occasion like this?”
She truly couldn’t figure it out.
The retreat palace was full of people, and countless eyes were on the banquet. For the two of them to dare to sneak off and canoodle at a time like this, wasn’t that just asking for death?
While she was muttering, she noticed the person beside her had fallen silent for quite a while.
She turned to look at him and saw Cui Yu’s face had darkened slightly, his expression somewhat complicated.
He didn’t speak. He only raised his arm around her waist and pulled her fully into his embrace.
Leaning against his chest, listening to his steady, strong heartbeat, Shen Yanshui put her arms around his waist and said softly, “Your Highness?” Her voice was worried.
The Crown Prince seemed to be in a bad mood tonight. Then again, no one whose family had a scandal like this would be in a good mood.
She reached out and stroked his back soothingly, her voice gentle. “Your Highness……” Don’t be sad.
Cui Yu rested his chin on her shoulder and was silent for a good while before he said quietly, “……It was Seventh Brother’s doing.”
“……What?”
Shen Yanshui’s eyes flew wide open. She nearly thought she’d misheard!
It was…… the Seventh Prince’s doing?!
So the Eighth Prince and He Wan being caught in their illicit affair by the Emperor was no coincidence, but a scheme of the Seventh Prince’s?
“Then last time……” Had the Seventh Prince really let them see him on purpose? She instinctively looked at the Crown Prince.
Cui Yu seemed to understand her look. His face grave, he nodded slightly.
Shen Yanshui: “……” Although she’d had a suspicion along these lines, having it confirmed was still shocking!
She had thought the Seventh Prince was a poor little thing who got bullied, with no maternal family to shield him, no favor from the Emperor, a gloomy and taciturn temperament, and even his own attendants paying him no mind.
But now it seemed–
Among those who survived in the palace, where were there any naive, kindhearted little white flowers?
Only…… the Seventh Prince couldn’t be blamed for this.
Even a saint, humiliated like that, would probably go dark.
Shen Yanshui asked, “Then has His Majesty given the Seventh Prince any compensation?”
The Seventh Prince had suffered such a wrong. The Emperor ought to have shown at least some gesture…… In fact, she now couldn’t help suspecting that the Seventh Prince’s injury today had been the Eighth Prince’s or He Wan’s doing as well.
Cui Yu’s voice came from above her head, low and calm. “In a few days, Father Emperor will enfeoff Seventh Brother as a Commandery Prince.”
Shen Yanshui thought, well, that counts as a bit of compensation.
After all, as far as she knew, in Great Yong, titles for princes were conferred step by step, and no one was made a full Prince from birth.
Generally, princes were made Commandery Dukes at fifteen or sixteen. Barring accidents, they’d become Commandery Princes around their weddings, but to be made a full Prince, one had to have some merit, or else rise through seniority.
Right now, the Eldest, Second, and Fourth Princes were only Commandery Princes. The Sixth and Eighth Princes, not yet married, held only the rank of Commandery Duke. As for the blind Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince…… they had not yet been granted titles.
Cui Yu looked down at her, his voice low. “A-Yan, it’s enough that you know about today’s matter.”
Shen Yanshui was slightly stunned, then nodded. “This concubine understands.” She knew the gravity of it. black lotus novel Novel Chapter — Black Lotus Novel
By the time news came that the Seventh Prince had been enfeoffed as Prince An, more than half a month had passed, and Shen Yanshui was about to go out to pick apricots.
She hadn’t expected that word of the Eighth Prince’s punishment still hadn’t come, yet the news of the Seventh Prince’s enfeoffment came out first.
“Prince An?” That title sounded pretty good.
The matter of He Wan being bestowed the white silk hadn’t stirred up much of a wave in the retreat palace. Whether the He clan knew something or not, they were simply very quiet.
But after this news, noticeably fewer people from the various households came out to stroll around.
She had originally wanted to invite Younger Sister Xu, Liangyuan Zhang, and the others to have barbecue, go boating on the lake, and listen to opera. The retreat palace kept a small opera troupe, and their voices were said to be excellent. But…… although more than half a month had passed since the Eighth Prince’s affair, the formal edict still hadn’t come down, like a time bomb with no set timer.
What if she and the others went boating and listened to opera, and right after, the edict came down and reached the Emperor’s ears? His son punished, and his daughters-in-law enjoying themselves at leisure. Well, wow, wouldn’t that just be asking to be resented for nothing?
So she gave up on those ideas.
She didn’t dare make any moves in this matter either. Each day she simply went out for a walk with Chunping or Dongyi, and used her ability to nourish the several fruit trees she’d found in the retreat palace.
They were wild fruit trees that no one had tended in previous years, and the fruit they bore was mostly small, sour, and astringent. After being nourished with her ability these past days, the fruit had grown much juicier, and just thinking about it made her mouth water.
Then there was…… the Empress.
During the hunt, she had sat beside the Empress, and afterward the Empress had called her over alone for a talk. Both times she had noticed that the Empress’s health was still not good.
Though she looked fine on the surface, and it was said her health had improved a good deal in recent days, when Shen Yanshui had probed with her ability, she could sense that the Empress’s internal organs had not worsened since the Duanyang Festival and had even improved slightly, but not by much.
She had never taken the Empress’s pulse. Her scant self-taught medical skill was, she knew, no match for the physicians’, and she didn’t know whether she was overthinking it……
In the end, she had channeled some of her ability into the Empress’s body, but it was only a drop in the bucket. Her ability was plant-type. Although it carried vitality within it, it could only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.
It was not like a healing-type ability that could cure illness outright. It could only ease some physical discomfort for the time being, improve the body’s foundation, and help the body fight the disease better.
That was all.
Whether or not she was overthinking, she decided to find a suitable moment to mention the Empress’s health to the Crown Prince.
She would pick some fruit nourished with her ability and send it over. The Empress would surely like it, and it would do her body good.
“Chunping, Dongyi, take the baskets. Let’s go see that grove. The apricots should be ripe.”
The two hurriedly assented.
All along the way Shen Yanshui walked rather slowly, the two following alongside with baskets in hand, glancing at her from time to time, afraid she might bump or trip.
Shen Yanshui: “……” It had only been two months. She didn’t even have a bump yet.
But…… she glanced down at her still-flat belly. Although there was no movement yet, she had found that…… it seemed she was carrying not just one baby.
She hadn’t told the Crown Prince about this yet, but tomorrow was when the Crown Prince would come to give her the routine pulse check. She planned to tell the Crown Prince the good news tonight when he came back.
Thinking of the expression the Crown Prince might show on hearing it, she couldn’t help giggling to herself.
Chunping: “……?”
Dongyi: “……??”
Hearing their mistress’s giggling, the two exchanged a puzzled look.
What was Zhuzi laughing about……?
