Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 257: Is the Empress’s Pregnancy Real or Fake?

Chapter 257: Chapter 257: Is the Empress’s Pregnancy Real or Fake?

Qi Yu smiled slyly and complained deliberately, "Mother, are you scheming against me? How did I become the kidnapper? Do I look like a human trafficker?"

The Noble Consort shook her head helplessly, teasing, "You’re still so sharp-tongued, I wonder how Mingjue, that tight-lipped man, ever wins an argument with you."

"Why bring him up?" Qi Yu glared, then pointing at Shi Zhou, she laughed and said, "I didn’t kidnap him, it was Lord Shen who did!"

Shi Zhou immediately blushed deeply.

The Noble Consort paused for a moment before realizing that Lord Shen referred to Shen Xiheng.

Now even more curious, she turned to Shi Zhou and repeatedly urged, "Good child, let me have a look at you."

As Shi Zhou slowly raised her head, the Noble Consort was startled at first glance by those watery peach-blossom eyes.

A look of surprise flickered across her face, mirroring the nanny’s reaction, "So similar!"

"Similar to what?" Qi Yu deliberately asked.

But the Noble Consort sighed and said no more.

The group walked towards Jingyang Palace. The Empress had already sent someone to summon them, and delaying any further might lead to accusations of neglect.

Qi Yu knew the Empress’s ways well and whispered to Shi Zhou, "Later, just follow behind me, keep your head down, and don’t speak."

Shi Zhou, puzzled, still nodded.

After all, this person wouldn’t harm her.

The Noble Consort looked back at Shi Zhou again and couldn’t help sighing. After a long moment, she slowly started to advise, "Child, when you meet the Empress later, remember to keep your head down, and do the same when you see His Majesty."

"Why?" Shi Zhou asked, fixing her gaze on her.

The Noble Consort was defeated by her clear gaze and shook her head weakly, saying solemnly, "Because, you look too much like someone."

The day Shi Zhou saw Li Tianze, she had the same thought.

His Majesty looked very much like her mother, and these people kept saying she resembled someone.

That person could only be her mother.

The doubts deep inside her grew thicker, seeming to approach the truth, yet the whole picture remained unclear.

If her mother really had some relation with His Majesty and the Empress, then why did she leave the capital city and even marry into a bandit’s den?

And why had her father always refused to disclose the truth to her, instead allowing her to discover it in such a roundabout way?

While she was deep in thought, they had already reached the entrance of Jingyang Palace.

Qi Yu supported the Noble Consort, with Shi Zhou walking behind them with her head lowered.

As they entered, they heard a palace maid announce, "The Noble Consort and Princess Qi have arrived."

Then, a cold voice followed, "The palace has sent for you several times, and finally, you graced us with your presence. It’s indeed a great fortune."

The remark, though sardonic, left everyone present with a look of anticipation for the drama to unfold.

Liu Sisi and Li Huaixi, standing beside the Empress, even showed a hint of schadenfreude in their eyes.

Qi Yu responded with composure, "To receive such deep affection from Her Majesty the Empress, I too feel it is a great fortune."

The Empress sneered and then asked, "Having been away for months, Princess Qi seems to have forgotten the rules of the Imperial Palace, hasn’t she?"

Qi Yu looked up at her, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes, and spoke indifferently, "Not at all, everything in the palace follows Your Majesty’s example. Whatever Her Majesty does, I emulate. There shouldn’t be any mistakes, right?"

"You—" The Empress choked on her words.

The audacious wretch, daring to push the blame onto her.

The others were also terrified; no one had expected Princess Qi to speak to the Empress in such a manner.

Especially today, on the Empress’s birthday.

Moreover, ever since the Empress had become pregnant, no one in the harem dared provoke her.

Liu Sisi pursed her lips, a trace of coldness flashing in her eyes.

It seemed she had underestimated the Princess; she was indeed sharp-tongued, even daring to contradict the Empress.

Xiang Lan behind her also widened her eyes. Was this the same Princess she had just seen outside the palace?

How had she changed so drastically in such a short time?

Just now she seemed carefree, but suddenly, she had become sharp and biting.

Xiang Lan was secretly alarmed. If the Princess had feigned her earlier demeanor, then hadn’t all her little actions been seen through?

Thinking this, she realized just how wrong her earlier thoughts had been.

The Princess was far from being someone without cunning; indeed, she was deeply scheming and hid it well.

Li Huaixi did not have the patience to hold her peace; she always spoke whatever came to her mind.

Seeing Qi Yu dare to mock her mother in front of so many people, she immediately stood up and pointed at her, exclaiming, "How audacious, who gave you the nerve to speak like this to my mother? Don’t you know that my mother is pregnant? What if she were jostled, and it frightened the child in her belly? What then?"

Only then did Qi Yu notice the Empress’s barely noticeable baby bump.

She calculated the time; it had been three months, already past the unstable period.

However, she didn’t believe the Empress was truly carrying a ’Dragon Son’; there must be some hidden story not yet known.

She tugged at the corner of her mouth and said to Li Huaixi, "You stand so close to the Empress and dare to speak so loudly and harshly. I think, it is clearly you who have startled the ’Dragon Son’."

Li Huaixi was so choked up, she had nothing to say and could only glare at her before sitting down in displeasure.

This was when Liu Sisi softly spoke, "The Princess is carrying the Dragon Son and should not be startled. Everyone should be more careful with their words."

The Empress, hearing this, looked at her appreciatively.

Qi Yu slightly raised her eyebrows; it seemed these two had long been in cahoots.

No wonder that Miss Liu had sought trouble with her early in the morning.

After the banquet started, Li Tianze and Li Mingjue also came over, with Li Tianze sitting down next to the Empress.

Li Mingjue then took a seat next to Qi Yu and asked in a low voice, "Has the Empress been making things difficult for you again?"

Qi Yu took a sip of peach blossom wine and leisurely replied, "When will the Empress ever let me be? Prince, she came targeting you but ended up making me take the blame, which is quite unfair."

Li Mingjue, seeing she was about to pour herself more wine, quickly moved the wine pot aside.

Qi Yu glared at him discontentedly, and Li Mingjue offered her a piece of candied lotus root with his chopsticks, "You should just eat this. If you get drunk, who knows what you might end up doing?"

"Is my alcohol tolerance really that bad?" Qi Yu murmured while eating the candied lotus root.

Li Mingjue smiled and remained silent.

Not bad, but also not good.

Most importantly, her drunken temperament was terrible.

And every time she got drunk, it was he who had to deal with the trouble.

Qi Yu, having long forgotten her own bad behavior, opted for tea instead of wine.

After downing several cups of tea, Qi Yu felt almost full.

She set aside her chopsticks and from the corner of her eye saw Li Tianze attentively caring for the Empress, her expression became hard to describe.

If the Empress hadn’t been pregnant with the Dragon Son, his attitude wouldn’t have been so pleasant.

But then again, whether it was truly a Dragon Son was still uncertain.

She poked Li Mingjue and leaned closer to his ear, whispering, "What do you think, is this pregnancy of the Empress real or fake?"