So then why hadn’t she come this time?

  Ying Qionglou turned to Lu Zhong. “Ask the people at Hanliang Pace who they informed.”

  Lu Zhong understood what His Majesty meant right away and gave a nod.

  To put it bluntly, he was asking whether Li Fei had reported the situation to the Empress. If this had been before, no one would’ve cared whether she did or not.

  But now that His Majesty held the Empress in esteem, it was different.

  If the question was asked, the answer had to be honest.

  Once everyone else had dispersed, Ying Qionglou entered the inner chamber. Li Fei’s complexion looked even worse than before—certainly not like she was faking.

  And in truth, she wasn’t pretending.

  Li Fei looked at Ying Qionglou, eyes full of grievance. “I’ve troubled Your Majesty... I was just so frightened.”

  Ying Qionglou walked over and sat beside her. “Why are you unwell again?”

  “I was just about to eat when I suddenly felt pain in my abdomen. It scared me so badly. The physician said it’s nothing serious—just fetal restlessness—but… why does it keep happening?” Even Li Fei herself was panicked.

  In moments of distress, she always wanted to see the Emperor—but this truly wasn’t an act.

  A pregnant woman being emotionally fragile wasn’t unusual. But for these episodes to always happen at such convenient times…

  At this very moment, Li Fei herself hadn’t even realized how strange it all seemed. Right now, her greatest concern was still the child.

  Ying Qionglou’s gaze grew complicated. “What have you been thinking about all day? You’re pregnant—you should be focused on taking care of yourself. I’ve already said: once you give birth, I’ll promote your rank.”

  “Your Majesty! I didn’t do this on purpose. I truly don’t know why my stomach started to hurt.” Li Fei clutched his hand, flustered. “I swear I didn’t mean to!”

  Tears were already spilling down her cheeks.

  Ying Qionglou sighed. “All right, all right. Don’t cry. I know it wasn’t deliberate.”

  —

  Meanwhile, Jiang Zhaorong had just left Hanliang Pace and was headed toward Fengyi Pace—she’d pass by anyway.

  Wumian, upon hearing she’d arrived, immediately summoned her in. “It’s hot as bzes. Couldn’t you have come a little ter?”

  “I was just passing by,” Jiang Zhaorong said with a smile, sitting down and taking a cup of sour plum soup offered by the maids.

  “Oh my, this sour plum soup tastes different from what the Imperial Kitchen serves.”

  “Replying to Zhaorong,” said Linshui, “this version has extra ingredients—dried tangerine peel and mint.”

  “No wonder—it’s refreshingly cool.” Jiang Zhaorong smiled. “Your Majesty always knows how to arrange things so thoughtfully.”

  “You came from Hanliang Pace? How was it?” Wumian didn’t bother pretending—she asked directly.

  Jiang Zhaorong had already expected it. As if the Empress didn’t know. She simply hadn’t gone.

  “Sigh, Li Fei again… just like st time. Same problem, same diagnosis. The physician said fetal restlessness was due to poor sleep.”

  Wumian let out a ugh.

  “You found it funny too, didn’t you, Your Majesty? It is funny,” Jiang Zhaorong snorted.

  “Why make such a fuss? Would it kill her to just focus on delivering the child safely?” Even Wumian was starting to believe it was intentional.

  And really—why target her?

  Always stirring up drama using the child—was that the smart move?

  The two of them shared a few more amused remarks before Wumian had Jiang Zhaorong stay for a while to avoid walking under the sun.

  After she left, Dukang came to report: “His Majesty returned to Taiji Pace an hour ago. Seems he’s still busy. Unsure if he’ll visit Li Fei tonight.”

  Wumian simply nodded and didn’t comment on it.

  If he goes, he goes.

  “Her Majesty the Empress Dowager will return in a little over ten days. If Li Fei keeps relying on her pregnancy to act out… I doubt the Empress Dowager will be so accommodating,” Feixu said.

  “Li Fei’s being foolish. If she just gives birth properly, with the favor she has now, even if the future is uncertain, she’s sure to be promoted. What does she gain by butting heads with me?” Wumian shook her head.

  “Who knows? Probably just letting her imagination run wild now that she’s pregnant,” Feixu replied.

  Wumian didn’t want to waste more thought on it. “Let’s go. I’m going to do some calligraphy.”

  —

  Back in Hanliang Pace, Li Fei’s complexion was still poor. After a nap, she woke feeling a little more lucid.

  “Do you think His Majesty seemed a bit unhappy today?” she asked, frowning. Last night, she’d pouted and begged him not to leave.

  She truly hadn’t faked the stomach pain—but… did His Majesty believe her?

  "How could that be? His Majesty cherishes you the most," Doukou said.

  "Don’t say such useless things," Li Fei frowned.

  "Yes, this maid knows she was wrong," Doukou quickly said. "But truly, Your Highness, His Majesty didn’t seem angry at all. He just looked worried about you and the child. Please don’t overthink it. Once you safely give birth to the prince, who in the pace could compare to you in status? Even Her Majesty the Empress doesn’t have a child yet."

  "I understand." Li Fei irritably rubbed her belly.

  It wasn’t as if she was doing it on purpose. Why was this pregnancy so unstable?

  The matter passed quietly, and that night, the Emperor once again went to Hanliang Pace as usual.

  However, while the incident had passed, the rumors in the pace had only just begun to spread.

  Everyone had something to say. The general consensus was that Li Fei, relying on her pregnancy, was pressing the Empress down hard.

  As for what had actually happened that day, Lu Zhong had long since investigated. It turned out no one from Hanliang Pace had gone to inform Fengyi Pace.

  Since they hadn’t gone, the Empress’s absence was completely justified.

  Li Fei had gone out of her way to avoid informing her. Why should the Empress make the effort to show up? Besides, she no longer oversaw pace affairs.

  Ying Qionglou, upon hearing this, merely nodded and said nothing.

  —

  That morning, Wumian was seated by the window practicing calligraphy when the sky outside began to darken.

  “Looks like a big storm is coming,” she said, gncing out. “Quick, go tidy things up.”

  Linshui rushed to give orders while deftly gathering up the Empress’s books and papers herself. The windows hadn’t been fully closed, so those near the desk were quickly shut tight.

  Before they could finish, a low rumble of thunder rolled overhead.

  Lightning followed quickly, fshing white across the courtyard.

  Then came the second cp, much louder this time.

  Linshui hurried to guide Wumian away from the window. “This thunder is loud enough to rattle your heart!”

  Wumian nodded. Indeed, people were small and powerless—such forces of nature were truly frightening.

  A heavy downpour soon followed, and Wumian reclined on the bed, watching the maids light the mps.

  The room was quite dim now, so it was necessary to have them lit.

  Just then, a faint commotion could be heard.

  “What’s that noise?”

  Feixu ran to the door to listen, only to see Dukang rushing over in a raincloak to the main hall. “Your Majesty, it’s Hanliang Pace—there’s a fire!”

  “What? It’s raining! How could there be a fire?” Feixu excimed in shock.

  “The roof was struck by lightning—it caught fire.”

  From inside the room, Wumian let out a low hiss.

  Li Fei... could she really be a spider spirit?

  “Your Majesty, this… this…”

  “Wait a bit,” Wumian said innocently. “Going out right now—what if I get struck by lightning?”

  As much as this was a serious matter, staying alive was still the priority.

  Linshui nearly ughed but managed to hold it in.

  But she had to admit, Her Majesty wasn’t wrong. No matter what happened to others, they couldn’t let their mistress be put in danger.

  “The fire won’t spread this far, will it?” Feixu asked, a bit concerned.