Chapter 45: Yao Suluan is Pregnant
"Thank you? Mowan is still waiting for your thanks!" Yao Mowan's attitude was as if this way the way things should be by rights as she looked straight back at Yan Nansheng.
"Wha… what a joke! Yin Xue is the hidden guard I'm most proud of. As of now, Nansheng has given her to you, yet you still want me to thank you? Does Heaven's law still exist!?" Yan Nansheng glowered at Yao Mowan who had her hands crossed in front of her chest.
"It's alright if you don't thank me as well. You can just send Yin Xue directly to Ye Junqing and see if he'll accept it!" Yao Mowan struck the nail on the head with one sentence.
"What do you mean?" Yan Nansheng lifted his brows as he looked towards Yao Mowan with slightly flickering eyes.
"Had Ye Junqing been willing to accept your good will, Mowan doesn't think such a big meat pie could possibly land on Mowan's head! As of now, Mowan has reluctantly accepted Yin Xue which also means Mowan has agreed to protect Ye Junqing. This is such a huge favor, you'd better start thinking of how to repay it!"
Yao Mowan looked towards Yan Nansheng with a completely serious expression and saw that the other person's expression looked like he was slightly choking.
"You! You're inverting black and white!" Yan Nansheng's thoughts were completely disheveled. Originally, he had come to demand a favor. How did Yao Mowan twist this so that he ended up being the one that owed her a favor!?
"Fairness naturally exists in one's heart," Yao Mowan replied with a concise and comprehensive statement.
"Cough cough… Don't rush to leave yet! That move just now was pretty sharp, you were able to uncover Yao Moxin's cause of death with just a few sentences. Nansheng had investigated for quite a while but didn't even find a bit of spider thread or any horse tracks! However, even if Yao Suluan admitted it with her own mouth, there's sadly no evidence ah!" Yan Nansheng exclaimed his admiration sincerely while exposing a troubled expression.
"Why is evidence needed?" Yao Mowan's heart slightly trembled as she asked.
"Without evidence, that youngster, Junqing, won't believe it!" Yan Nansheng looked towards Yao Mowan as if this was obvious.
"Why should we make him believe it?" Yao Mowan suddenly stopped walking and looked towards Yan Nansheng with a solemn expression.
"If he believes that Yao Moxin was driven to her death by Ye Hongyi, he wouldn't sit and wait for death here like this. He'll once again pull himself together…"
"Pull himself together to do what? Stake his life in a life or death struggle against Ye Hongyi? Does Alliance Head know the current situation? Ye Hongyi had already taken back all of Ye Junqing's military power and all the civilians and military men know that the Esteemed Prince has let himself go. If we let the Esteemed Prince learn about Yao Moxin's true cause of death now, it would be pushing him into eternal damnation!" Yao Mowan interrupted Yan Nansheng's words coldly, the depths of her eyes deep as an abyss.
"If he wants to kill Ye Hongyi, then that's easily achievable! Once he takes Ye Hongyi's head, I'll bring him back to Phoenix Feather Manor. As long as I, his senior brother, am around, his safety is guaranteed!" Yan Nansheng fiercely took a breath then refuted.
"And then? Then let the Esteemed Prince bear the reputation of having committed regicide for the rest of his life? Let the great hero in everyone's eyes live as a coward his whole life, incapable of doing anything except hide in your Phoenix Feather Manor? And what do you think people would do when their every hope turns to ash? Can you really guarantee that the Esteemed Prince won't end up chasing after Yao Moxin?" Yao Mowan's words that were cold as frost fell one by one, striking Yan Nansheng's heart like heavy bells. These things actually hadn't occurred to him.
"Ahem… I was just talking about it a little, what are you so angry for!?" Yan Nansheng couldn't help but reply indignantly upon seeing Yao Mowan's glower while shrugging helplessly.
"You're not allowed to even think about it!" Yao Mowan replied fiercely. Even though Yao Mowan knew that Yan Nansheng's thoughts were only jumbled due to concern, she couldn't stop herself from reprimanding him. She couldn't imagine what kind of intractable situation would occur if Yan Nansheng had followed his earlier plan and told Ye Junqing the truth.
"Fine, fine, everything you say is correct. Happy? However, back to the topic, I never expected that Yao Moxin would actually have a little sister like you who's this adept at concealing your strengths and biding time. How did you manage to persevere through all those years of acting dumb!?" Yan Nansheng asked earnestly.
"Yin Xue! Throw this guy into the lake!" Right after she finished speaking, she heard a 'putong' come from behind her. Yao Mowan stumbled in shock. By the time she looked back, Yan Nansheng was already inside the lake. His long red robe floated on the surface of the water like a magnificent crimson blossom. It was so beautiful that nothing more beautiful could be imagined.
"Is he really your previous master?" Yao Mowan turned to look towards Yin Xue, still stunned.
"Yes." Yin Xue wasn't of many words, she simply cupped her fist and replied tersely.
"Ahem… you can withdraw." Yao Mowan silently vowed in her heart that as long as she lived, she won't gift Yin Xue to anyone even if she was beaten to death! She definitely won't!
In Pure Flowers Palace, Cai Ying headed out the palace doors while holding a robe and just happened to encounter a figure running haphazardly over.
"Niang niang? Niang niang, what's wrong?" Cai Ying was shocked and hastily went over to support Yao Suluan.
"Ghost… it was Yao Moxin! She came to cast soul imprisonment! Cai Ying! Save me! Save me!" Yao Suluan dragged her drenched body and staggered into Pure Flowers Palace in a panicked state. Cai Ying knew the taboos of the palace so she immediately reacted and closed the doors of the palace tightly before supporting Yao Suluan over to the gui fei chairT/N.
"Soul Imprisonment" the person whom the spell is cast on will have their soul imprisoned inside their bodies and be unable to move according to their own wills. The only person that can undo this spell is the spell caster.
"Niang niang! Didn't you head out with Yao fei? How did you end up like this? Is Yao fei alright?" Cai Ying questioned impatiently. She knew His Majesty cared about Yao Mowan. If something happened to Yao Mowan, His Majesty would definitely be alarmed. In addition, the way her master was currently shooting her mouth off was a scene that definitely cannot be seen by His Majesty.
"Yao Mowan… don't come for me!" Yao Suluan became even more agitated upon hearing the words 'Yao Mowan'. She flung her hands out and pushed Cai Ying to the ground before running into the inner room. Cai Ying didn't dare to dally and hastily got up to chase after her.
The next day, as expected, Yao Suluan caught a cold and was absent-minded. Cai Yin worriedly approached after seeing that the imperial physician had retrieved his hand from Yao Suluan's luminous wrist.
"Imperial Physician Zheng, is my niang niang alright?" On the couch, Yao Suluan's willow brows were tightly creased. She had her hand pressed over her forehead as she repeatedly recalled last night's incident. In the end, was it a trick of her eyes? Or was Yao Mowan really possessed?
"Congratulations niang niang, niang niang is pregnant. The dragon seed is already a little over a month old." Imperial Physician Zheng took two steps back and respectfully gave a salute.
"You… what did you say? My master is pregnant?" Cai Ying cried out excitedly before Yao Suluan even had a chance to react.
"From the looks of the pulse, there's definitely no error." Imperial Physician Zheng nodded firmly.
"That's great! That's right, will my master's cold affect the dragon seed?" Cai Ying skipped to the couch delightedly and helped Yao Suluan, who had been lying down, up.
"Niang niang, don't worry. This humble subject will prescribe some gentle medicine. It won't affect the dragon seed." After Imperial Physician Zheng gave his report, he accepted the bestowed silver and withdrew.
"Niang niang, after all that time you spent hoping, you've finally become pregnant with the dragon seed!" Cai Ying looked towards Yao Suluan with excitement bursting in her eyes.
"That's right, ben gong has finally become pregnant. Ben gong can finally become empress!" Yao Suluan's eyes sparkled and she immediately got off the couch to head towards the door.
"Niang niang, where are you going?" Cai Ying supported Yao Suluan as she asked, puzzled.
"Of course I'm going to let His Majesty know about this news!" Yao Suluan was uncontrollably thrilled so she temporarily threw last night's matter to the back of her head. There were countless consorts and concubines in the Inner Palace but the number of children was few and far between. There was not a single male infant so if she managed to give birth to a boy, there would definitely be no more suspense as to who would obtain the position of empress.
"Niang niang, you're someone with child right now. You should be resting. Just let this servant report it for you!" Cai Ying tried to pull Yao Suluan back but Yao Suluan stopped her.
"Ben gong must tell His Majesty about this personally. Get a cloak for ben gong," Yao Suluan said, persisting in her decision. Soon afterward, she headed out of Pure Flowers Palace.
Yao Suluan believed that the mother was precious based on the son. Now that she had this child, His Majesty would surely treat her favorably. Only when she reached Guan Osprey Palace and saw Ye Hongyi did she realize that the child in her belly was not even as precious as that animal in Yao Mowan's arms.
"Wan er, don't cry. With zhen here, Fluffy will definitely be fine! Why is the imperial physician still not here!?" Ye Hongyi took Fluffy from Yao Mowan's arms and stroked it lovingly as if he was stroking Yao Mowan.
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira, Proofread by Sonia
[Chiyomira’s Corner]
T/N – I had assumed that the 'gui fei' chairs were for 'gui fei's, but apparently it's a style of chair. It was probably only for 'gui fei's in the past. The chair is typically long so that you can rest your feet on it, with an armrest on only one side. That armrest can also serve as a pillow. The English equivalent is a chaise longue… which comes from French… should I keep it as gui fei chair or use chaise longue?
Then there's the other question, dragon fetus or dragon seed? I went w/ dragon seed because that's what it most literally translates to and it's the 'seed' of the emperor after all. But then I seem to remember coming across the term 'dragon fetus' before…
Haha, but unusual indecision in the translating process aside, this chapter was pretty enjoyable! Yin Xue's awesome! XD
Also, headsup, there’s an upcoming event on Sept fourth for extra chapters. More info on that will be coming next week. However, basically, it’s an event held on volare in which readers will go to the post to answer one multiple-choice question. If the majority gets the right answer for the question, the bonus chapter will be ‘unlocked’ and posted.
