Well, that made things very clear.

  Ying Qionglou headed to Biyue Pavilion first—it was right behind the Empress’s Fengyi Pace, after all.

  As soon as he stepped inside, all the pace maids knelt down and cried out, “Congratutions, Your Majesty! Li Liangyi is with child!”

  Ying Qionglou had more or less guessed as much. He nodded and walked into the inner chambers.

  Li Liangyi tried to rise and greet him with a formal bow, but Ying Qionglou stopped her. Instead, he first turned to the imperial physician standing by.

  “How is it?”

  “Replying to Your Majesty,” the physician said respectfully, “Liangyi is about a month along. The pregnancy is stable—there are no complications at present.”

  “Good. Reward her,” said Ying Qionglou.

  After the imperial physician gave his thanks and took his leave, the Emperor bestowed more gifts upon Li Liangyi. Within moments, the news had spread throughout the harem.

  “Since you’re pregnant, take care of yourself. Once you give birth, I’ll promote you,” Ying Qionglou said as he gently touched her abdomen.

  Li Liangyi was overjoyed, her eyes filled with affection as she gazed at him.

  While they were speaking, Guifei and the others also arrived.

  The Emperor took his leave first and went to see the Empress.

  Wumian had no intention of going to see Li Liangyi in person. She merely sent Linshui to extend polite greetings on her behalf.

  When the Emperor arrived, Wumian smiled and said, “Just heard the good news—congratutions, Your Majesty.”

  “Save the congratutions until the child is born,” Ying Qionglou replied. “What are you doing?” He noticed she had her sleeves rolled up and was wearing a pale blue ruqun, clearly in the middle of something.

  Wumian smiled. “Doing something Your Majesty would never guess. Want to come see?”

  “Certainly,” Ying Qionglou replied, intrigued.

  She smiled and led him to the back, past a moon gate, where a rge bck pot was set in the courtyard.

  Several pace maids and attendants quickly knelt and greeted them, looking nervous.

  Wumian waved her hand. “Carry on. Once it’s done, move the pot out of sight.”

  “…What exactly is this?” Ying Qionglou was genuinely puzzled.

  Wumian pointed to the roof. “Look over there, Your Majesty.”

  Across a few rooms, someone was cleaning out a chimney.

  “What are you doing?” Ying Qionglou asked, utterly baffled. Cleaning chimneys and scraping soot from pots—this couldn’t possibly involve the Empress, right?

  Wumian smiled. “Why don’t you guess?”

  Ying Qionglou frowned and thought for a long while. “I truly have no idea. You’d better tell me.”

  “These days, the ink we use is far too pin. I wanted to make a new kind—one using pnt ash.”

  The current standard was pine soot ink. Oil-based inks hadn’t been developed yet. Pine soot, to Wumian, felt too light for writing. She didn’t know how to make oil ink, but she remembered that pnt-ash ink had a deeper tone—darker than pine soot, perhaps.

  “…You really are too pyful,” the Emperor said, not sure whether to scold or ugh.

  Fortunately, Ying Qionglou was tolerant in this regard. He didn’t mind her whims.

  “It won’t be ready today,” Wumian said. “I’ve already told them how to make it. Since Your Majesty is here, I’ll stop for now. When it’s done in a few days, I’ll send some to you. But you mustn’t throw it away—try it and give it a chance.”

  “All right. If it’s from you, I’ll use it,” he agreed.

  Back in the main hall, Ying Qionglou brought up the Zhao family situation. “I only heard about it today. Would you like me to say something on your behalf?”

  “No need. It’s already resolved. My fourth brother was the one who acted foolishly. Your Majesty need not intervene—we wouldn’t want the Sun family thinking we’re using power to pressure them,” Wumian replied.

  “Very well. The Empress handled it beautifully,” Ying Qionglou said with approval.

  He might not have handled it this way himself, but there was nothing wrong with how she’d done it.

  “You’re free today?” Wumian asked curiously. It was only midmorning.

  “There’s nothing urgent in court, so I thought I’d come to see you. The weather’s getting hotter—do you need anything?”

  “Not really. The Dragon Boat Festival is nearly here. Mother’s thinking of hosting a family banquet. Now that Li Liangyi is pregnant, it’s another joyous occasion. I imagine she’ll be pleased.”

  “Hmm.” Ying Qionglou nodded. “If you need anything, just let me know.”

  Wumian nodded and didn’t press the topic.

  After lunch, the Emperor returned to the Xuanzheng Hall without saying whether he’d return that night.

  “Your Majesty, shouldn’t we prepare a gift for Li Liangyi?” Linshui asked.

  “Let’s wait a while,” Wumian waved a hand.

  Linshui acknowledged with a sigh.

  Zhang Momo scoffed, “With her status, she’s not worthy of a gift from Your Majesty!”

  Wumian gave Zhang Momo a look. This woman… no longer suitable to stay.

  She was loyal, yes, but her rigid mindset could easily cause problems.

  “Zhang Momo, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask of you.”

  “Whatever Your Majesty needs, this servant will obey,” said Zhang Momo.

  “It’s like this—you know what’s going on in my family. My fourth brother’s dead set on marrying someone with an unknown background, and it’ll be hard to shake him off. My mother has no backbone, and no one in the family is particurly capable. Grandmother’s old, and the second branch is always nitpicking. I really don’t feel at ease. I’d like to ask you to go back and help look after things for a while. Just keep an eye out.”

  Zhang Momo nodded. “If Your Majesty needs it, of course I’m willing. When shall I leave?”

  Wumian breathed a sigh of relief. “Tomorrow, then? Stay as long as you need. With you there, I’ll feel much better.”

  Zhang Momo patted her chest. “Don’t worry, with me around, no one will dare bully the madam or our main branch.”

  Wumian smiled. She had expected Zhang Momo to object, but this was a pleasant surprise.

  That evening, Linshui said, “Li Liangyi’s making too much of a fuss. She’s barely a month pregnant and already eager to make an announcement. Even if no one harms her, at this stage, the pregnancy isn’t stable yet.”

  “Exactly why I said not to rush with gifts,” Wumian replied, pulling the bnket up. “Our emperor’s women—each and every one is a real piece of work, all quite capable in their own right.”

  Linshui nodded. “You’re tired, aren’t you? Rest early.”

  Wumian murmured a response and closed her eyes.

  Linshui tucked in the bed curtains and y down in the outer chamber.

  The next morning, Wumian had already instructed someone to inform Li Liangyi that she was exempt from morning greetings until after her third month.

  But then Li Fei also submitted a request for leave, citing ill health.

  So, that morning’s greetings cked Fu Meiren, Li Liangyi, and Li Fei.

  “Li Fei has always been in good health—what’s happened now? Just yesterday, Liangyi Li announced her pregnancy, and today Li Fei’s suddenly fallen ill?” Rong Fei said pointedly, implying jealousy.

  “Who knows? Li Fei’s always been precious,” snorted Jiang Zhaorong.

  “She’s the most favored, after all,” added Hu Meiren. “Now that Li Liangyi’s pregnant, it’s only natural she’d feel a little upset.”

  As soon as Hu Meiren said that, all eyes turned to her.

  Forget it—this one, you really couldn’t tell whose side she was on. Her mind was straightforward to a fault.

  But the thing was… she wasn’t wrong.

  Wumian hid her amusement behind a sip of tea. She couldn’t let herself ugh—how frightening would that be?

  “Your Majesty, you look especially radiant today,” said Lin Baolin with a smile.

  “Do I? I went to bed early and slept long enough, so I’m feeling refreshed.”

  “Is that so? Same here. I brought some embroidery I’ve been working on. If Your Majesty isn’t busy ter, may I show it to you?”