The Eldest Daughter Reborn: She Provoked the Obsessive Crown Prince and Couldn't Escape

"Oh, which of my princes is it?" The Emperor was indeed the Emperor; upon hearing the news that Fu Luan was pregnant with the Emperor's grandson, he immediately understood.

Although he was startled, he still maintained a calm expression, with a playful smile on his face.

“Naturally… Xiao Jiu’s.” Fu Luan calmly put the long robe that the Emperor had pulled down back on back on, covering the bite mark on her fragrant shoulder.

"Don't try to fool me! A woman's pregnancy can only be detected after at least two months."

"Two months ago, Xiao Jiu was still in the prison of the Ministry of Justice. How could she have gotten you pregnant?" the Emperor scoffed.

Fu Luan replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Naturally... I conceived when I visited her in prison. If Father does not believe me;"

"We can retrieve the records from the Court of Judicial Review to see if I visited Xiao Jiu frequently during his imprisonment."

"Father shouldn't mind... me referring to myself as 'your subject,' right?"

The Emperor looked down at you and said, "Hmph, two months ago, you were still in the Eastern Palace; if you really had Xiao Jiu's child in your belly;

"Isn't that tantamount to admitting that you had an affair when you were the Crown Princess? It's not a good thing for a young lady like you to have such rumors spread!"

"Does 'father-in-law taking over daughter-in-law' sound nice?" Even when facing the Emperor's gaze, Fu Luan showed no fear.

"Hmph, don't be so ungrateful! Don't forget: your Fu family's crown princesses assisted so many crown princes;

"Even when she was about to die, she was still just a 'Crown Princess'."

"I can only watch helplessly as other women ascend to the throne and become the empress!"

"Furthermore... since you have already divorced Yuanlu, how could you be my 'daughter-in-law'?" The Emperor paused, then continued:

"You became the Crown Princess only for the sake of the Empress's position; now that the Empress's position is vacant, why not take it all at once?"

"Why not take advantage of her youthful beauty and carry her in grand style from Chang'an Gate to Changqiu Palace?"

Fu Luan sneered: "It is said that the Emperor is deeply in love with and misses the late Empress Zhaoshen to the extreme."

“Even concubines who stroll around the vicinity of Changqiu Palace on the first and fifteenth of the month will be punished.”

"So, the Emperor's feelings and affection for the Empress are nothing more than this!"

The Emperor glanced sideways, then burst into laughter after a moment, "Ah Luan, you're still young..."

"When you reach my age, you will know that most men in the world are like this."

"What 'deep affection' and 'shallow affection'? It's all just a lie to you young girls."

"But... your princesses believed it, and you... believed it too."

"Very well... After your outburst, I've lost all interest in you. You may now take your leave!"

Fu Luan performed a grand salute and then left immediately, not wanting to stay for even a moment longer.

The Emperor stared intently at her retreating figure. "Hmph, 'Imperial grandson'? How dare you make up such a lie!"

"He was tortured beyond recognition in prison, how could he possibly be capable of getting you pregnant..."

Hua Luo and Fu Ling were extremely anxious waiting outside, and only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Fu Luan come out.

On the way, Fu Luan explained all the grievances she had just suffered.

The three of them, master and servants, cursed the emperor all the way before Fu Luan finally felt a little better.

"Since the great-aunt used the emperor's grandson as a cover to escape this calamity;

"Why not take this opportunity to have the Emperor bestow a marriage upon you and the Prince of Yuyang?" Hua Luo asked, feeling both distressed and puzzled.

Fu Luan sighed, "Do you think the Emperor would believe this?"

"This is an emperor who, without relying on his mother or maternal relatives, seized power and took personal rule at the age of thirteen by beheading treacherous officials!"

"How could he not see through my 'golden cicada shedding its shell' plan? He didn't expose me to my face, but that's just to save face for everyone!"

Although this incident caused Fu Luan's impression of the Emperor to plummet;

However, Fu Luan still admired his decisiveness in killing;

If Xiao Jiu could have half of her father's abilities in the future, she would have nothing to worry about...

Moreover, with her great revenge still unavenged, how could she possibly be in the mood for marriage?

The most important thing right now is to disrupt Yuanlu's "good job"!

"Waiting passively like this isn't a sustainable solution..."

"By the way, the Department of Jewelry!" For several days in a row, Fu Luan went to the Longxi Prince's Mansion every day;

They all came up empty-handed, and no one knew where Yuan Jia had gone.

Fortunately, on this day, Fu Luan found another way.

She recalled that before the horse race, Yuanlu's attendant, Ge Tai, had spoken with Li Sizhen of the Shanggong Bureau...

Although entering the palace might mean running into the Emperor again, there's no time to worry about that now!

"May I ask, Li Sizhen, did you speak with a follower named Ge Tai under the command of the Prince of Youbeiping last month?" Fu Luan immediately entered the palace and asked bluntly.

"Then may I ask, Lady Yuan, do you still remember everyone who spoke to you last month?" Li Sizhen asked with a half-smile, giving Fu Luan a rebuff.

Fu Luan replied with a smile, "I've heard that the female officials of the Six Departments and Twenty-Four Offices are quick-witted and tight-lipped. I've seen them today and know it's true."

"What Li Sizhen knows is that I once had a relationship with the Prince of Youbeiping..."

"Now we've been separated by a villain, and the prince's leg is..."

"I'll have to ask my ex-wife to come out and make this trip for him..."

As she spoke, she took out a silk handkerchief, about to cover her face and pretend to cry;

Then Li Sizhen sneered, "Please forgive me for speaking out of turn, Your Highness, but the Prince of Youbeiping is probably not a good match for you."

"Leaving aside your peerless beauty, Lady; you already have the ancestral precepts of the Great Wei to rely on, and the Fu family and the Marquis of Chang'an to depend on, why bother..."

Fu Luan forced back the tears she had just shed, and pretended to be angry, saying, "Hmph, it's a shame that the Prince often praises you in front of me."

"You said 'Li Sizhen of Shanggong Bureau is so good,' but I never expected you to slander him like this behind his back!"

"We will find a way to arrange the alliance with the Xianbei ourselves, and we dare not trouble you, Lady!"

After Fu Luan finished speaking, she turned to leave, but Li Sizhen called out from behind, "Find a way? Where does the county magistrate intend to find a way?"

Fu Luan turned around and said, "Hmph, Li Sizhen just said that I have the Fu family and the Marquis of Chang'an's mansion as my backers."

"Does my mother's clan, with so many people, not have a treasure worthy of being presented to the Xianbei?"

"It's just a matter of spending more money and connections, so please don't worry about it, Li Sizhen!"

Li Sizhen smiled slightly; this time, her smile was as if she were looking at a child, "That 'Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow' that your prince ruined was a combination of agility and lightness."

"The celestial horse above has three legs in the air, with only one leg resting on the back of a flying bird to maintain its stability."

"The ingenuity of this treasure's design, the exquisiteness of its craftsmanship, and the beauty of its finished product... cannot be achieved by simply 'spending more money'."

"I am not boasting, but only the Imperial Workshop can manufacture such a treasure that can be presented as a national gift."

"Once you leave the Shanggong Bureau, only the fine things passed down from our ancestors can compare."

Seeing that she was somewhat hooked, Fu Luan deliberately said, "I don't believe it! What nonsense is this 'Horse Trampling a Flying Swallow'? It's just a little bronze trinket."

"You can buy one for just a few coins at the secondhand shops on Chang'an Avenue; it's not worth much!"

"Li Sizhen has been in the palace for a long time, so she must be..."

She originally intended to provoke Li Sizhen by claiming she was "unaware of the market situation."

But the thought of these female officials spending years in the palace without seeing the light of day is already pitiful enough;

Why should she hurt people with her words?

Li Sizhen didn't care, and instead laughed and said, "Everyone says that the county magistrate is sharp-tongued and can even out-argue the emperor!"

"Having seen you today, I utterly admit defeat..."