I never thought that he could be so nagging and so, feeling impatient, I bluntly cut in, “Your Majesty, why don’t we address the question of whether we should keep this baby or not first?”

Qi Sheng lowered his head in silence, and it was only after a long while when I began to feel agitated that he softly replied, “What do you want?”

Though he remained composed while saying that, his fingers had dug deep into his palm, forming a clenched fist. He seemed to be pretty nervous and so I thought it best if I showed a bit of loyalty to him, regardless of whether he would believe it or not, “Your Majesty is right. To curb the growing influence of the Zhang clan, it’s better if we abort this child.”

Upon hearing that, Qi Sheng shot his head up and fixed his eyes at me, “When did I say I don’t want the child?”

I was struck dumb first by his words, and immediately the shock was followed by a fit of anger. When you walked in, you said you didn’t want the child. How could you deny it within such short time? What a fickle man are you!

I held in my fury and asked Qi Sheng, “So are we keeping this baby or not?”

“Keep it!”, firmly replied Qi Sheng, who leaned towards me and said with a cold tone, “If anything should happen to this baby, you will have me to answer to!”

I held my head high and asked, “Then, what about the Zhang clan?”

Qi Sheng blurted out, “Consider it taken care of!”

“What about me?”, I added.

“You will always be my Empress.”, replied Qi Sheng.

I was a bit vexed by this reply. What do you take me for, a silly child? I stretched out my hand and gave him a shove, “If the Zhang clan were to be incriminated, there is no way I can still remain as the Empress. Are you taking me for a fool?”

Qi Sheng grabbed my hand and replied in a low voice, “Believe me. I will find a way to keep your position!”

Unable to struggle free of him, I simply withdrew my hand and replied, “Then believe me when I say this. The Zhangs will forever remain loyal to you till the end of the world!”

Hearing this, Qi Sheng gradually loosened his grip on my hand and stood up. After a good while of silence, he scoffed, “Imagine what the Zhang clan will react when they find out that you are a fake.”

I was struck dumb by this. What the heck? The moment you sit on the throne, you start thinking about using this to threaten me? I stood up from the bed and replied with a solemn face, “There are only two daughters in the Zhang clan eligible for the title of the Empress, Zhang Pengpeng and Zhang Er. Back in the old days, if they found out about me, they probably would find a way to get rid of me and send Zhang Er to be the Empress. But now…”

Qi Sheng looked at me and asked, “Now what?”

I sneered, “Now that Zhang Er and He Bingze have consummated their relationship, the Zhang clan wouldn’t dare send a damaged good to your bed!”

The look on Qi Sheng’s face suddenly changed as he stared at me.

Feeling the need to press on, I smiled and added, “That said, everything has an exception. So what if Zhang Er is the lover of He Bingze? Jiang shi is Zhao wang’s wife, is she not? That doesn’t stop you from keeping her in the Youlan Hall. Your Majesty is the master of us all and it’s only natural you would take in just about anyone!”

The face of Qi Sheng had turned ashen and his eyes looked like they were about to spew fire.

For a moment I felt worried. I worried that this man would be too worked up by my provocation that he might actually die. But on second thought, I might be better off with him dead. Even if I couldn’t be the Empress, I might still be credited with helping Bathroom Lord to his throne. Even if it was only for keeping up appearances, Chu wang would not mistreat me, the former Empress.

As I thought about this, I felt the sudden urge to say some more malicious words and finish him off for good. But before I could say anything, I felt a sudden spasm in my belly and immediately I stooped down, letting out a yell in pain.

Upon seeing this, Qi Sheng lunged forward and asked, “Are you alright?”

Do I look alright? Are you blind or something? I laid in the bed, holding my belly with my hands and groaning, “My belly hurts!”

Hearing that, Qi Sheng became more agitated and hurriedly summoned Lv Li in. He also had someone send for the royal physician.

After a short while, Physician Song trotted all the way here. As soon as he set foot in the palace, he asked Lv Li, “Is Her Majesty bleeding?”

Upon hearing the negative answer from Lv Li, Physician Song breathed a sigh of relief. He first asked about which part of my body was hurting and came up to take my pulse.

All the while, Qi Sheng had been standing by the bed with one of his hands placed on his back. He remained silent, observing Physician Song with tightly closed lips.

Meanwhile, Physician Song was still taking my pulse, and the whole room was inundated with an air of utter silence.

The acute pain in my belly seemed to have mitigated a lot. As I sensed the odd atmosphere in the room, I couldn’t help but ask Physician Song, “Is there something wrong? Is the baby OK?”

Small beads of sweats exuded from Physician Song’s forehead and he stole a glance at Qi Sheng before asking in a lowered voice, “Your Majesty, what did you eat?”

Confused by his question, I didn’t know what to say. Before I could come up with an answer, Lv Li blurted out, “Her Majesty hasn’t eaten anything yet since this morning, except for half a cantaloupe.”

The cantaloupe tasted very crisp and juicy, and I would have eaten it whole, had Lv Li not insisted on leaving me just half of it for fear that it might upset my stomach.

An enlightened look quickly spread on Physician Song’s face as if he had had an epiphany. He looked at me cautiously and then stole a glance at Qi Sheng, all the while without uttering a single word.

Qi Sheng was growing impatient and asked in a cold voice, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing serious,” replied Physician Song while looking at me. He asked tentatively, “How about I prescribe some more medicine to keep the baby safe?”

There is really no need for this tactful speech. Why don’t you just say that my stomachache is the result of me eating that cantaloupe?

In resignation, I waved my hand, “No need. You may leave now.”

As if he had long been waiting for these words, Physician Song immediately got up, still yet gave another glance at Qi Sheng and took his leave in hurried steps.

I also stole a glance at Qi Sheng and found out that he was not looking so good. I hurriedly ordered Lv Li, “Go give that cantaloupe to His Majesty. It’s really tasty!”

Upon hearing what I said, the look on Qi Sheng’s face grew even more sour.

Lv Li secretly glimpsed at me, turned around and left the palace.

After Lv Li left, Qi Sheng turned around and looked at me in the eyes. I also raised my head and met his gaze. I was very much surprised when I found that his deep, black eyes were mixed with a tinge of blue. Before I could make any comment, he whispered to me, “Just trust me one more time!”

The word “trust” immediately brought about a strong feeling of annoyance inside my heart, but instead of showing it, I hurriedly nodded, “Yeah, as I always do!”

I paused, and then added, “Qi Sheng, can I ask you something?”

His otherwise bluish eye seemed to have brightened up at my question. He slightly tilted his chin up and asked, “What is it?”

I hesitated for a bit and then asked, “Is any of your ancestors by any chance a tribesman from the northern tribe?”

Qi Sheng was ostensibly befuddled by this question.

I pointed at my eyes and said, “Your eyes look a bit bluish. You don’t look like a typical local here. Do you have any relative from the side of the northern tribe?”

Qi Sheng remain silent at my questions and simply looked at me with his glowing, blue eyes. Truth be told, I was rather amazed by how strange he looked. Qi Sheng then let out a laughter, held up his head with closed eyes and looked at my direction after a long while. He then gently replied, “You are good. Really good.”

Wow, a praise from him. This is certainly unexpected! Doesn’t he realize that I am questioning his legitimacy?

But then again, I wasn’t the type who would gladly take a compliment without feeling shy, and so I hurriedly replied, “Nah, you are too kind. I have got a lot to learn from you!”

Suddenly, I smelled a whiff of fragrance wafted through the air. I looked up and saw Lv Li entering the palace holding that half cantaloupe. I smiled and stretched out my hand to beckon Qi Sheng over, “Have a taste of this. It’s really good. There aren’t many of those and I kept them all here at my place.”

Lv Li carefully served a fruit plate to Qi Sheng, looking rather frightened.

A gentle smile broke out on Qi Sheng’s lips. He lifted his hand and overturned the fruit plate which hit the ground with a loud clang. Seeing this, Lv Li immediately dropped to her knees in front of Qi Sheng.

Qi Sheng turned his head around and said to me, “Take care of yourself. If anything should happen to this child, I will hold everyone in this palace accountable!”

After making this threat, he waved his sleeve and left. I was used to his rather childish outburst of emotions and so I simply sighed without taking any of his threatening words to heart.

Then, I heard that Lv Li was also sighing.

I asked her, “Why are you sighing?”

Lv Li replied, “His Majesty was so infuriated this time, only because His Majesty really cares about you.”

I only watched the cantaloupe scattered on the floor and stayed silent for a long while.

Lv Li then asked, “Why did Your Majesty sigh just now?”

I turned around and asked, “Is it true that giving birth is very painful?”

Upon hearing that, Lv Li fell into a long period of silence. Then she stood up and walked to the side of my bed. She stooped down and gently replied, “Your Majesty, I think we should trust the Emperor one more time.”

I also looked at her and asked, “Do you believe that an Emperor can suddenly turn romantic?”

Lv Li slightly opened her mouth, as if trying to say something. But in the end, nothing came out of her mouth.

I smiled and lifted up her chin to shut her up, “Don’t be silly. Qi Sheng is not the romantic type. Even if he once was, he would never be like that with Zhang Pengpeng! Not in the past. Not ever! Hurry up and pick up those cantaloupes. Wash them clean. They might still be edible.”

Those words struck Lv Li dumb. I, on the other hand, only feel exhausted and wanted to lie down and sleep through the day. I was also thinking about how I should explain to the Bathroom Lord about why I was carrying the child that should have been otherwise in Jiang shi’s belly.