Repeatedly broken branches

Xiao Shao and Ruan Cifeng have been married for a long time, but Xiao Shao is not as happy as before. Her face is always gloomy. Sometimes, Xiao Mu even feels that she seems to have something on her mind, making people wonder if there is a problem between them.

On the sixth day of her cold war with Yu Yanjing, Xiao Shao entered the palace with Song Yue, carrying her bundle. She didn't say a word and looked pale. Xiao Mu and You had a feeling that she and Ruan Cifeng had probably quarreled.

"What, Your Majesty, you... are pregnant? Why don't you tell the Emperor? He would be so happy to know."

Xiao Shao was clearly shocked to learn that Xiao Mu was pregnant but hadn't told Yu Yanjing. Xiao Mu had expected her to react so strongly.

Xiao Mu said without changing her expression, "Do you know how many days he hasn't spoken to me? Six days."

Xiao Shao sighed, but continued peeling tangerines for her. She knew that Xiao Mu liked tangerines the most right now, seven parts sweet and three parts sour.

It's only been six days. Since she and Ruan Cifeng got married, how many times has he paid any attention to her? He's spoken to her very few times. At first, he would sleep on the floor, but now he's moved to the study. Wouldn't Xiao Mu be furious?

"You were unhappy when you went upstairs. Was he not good to you?" Xiao Mu took the peeled orange from the small spoon, put it in her mouth, and bit into it. It burst with juice, both sour and sweet, just what she liked.

Xiao Shao smiled and said, "No, it's just that I missed Her Majesty the Empress, so I brought Song Yue to the palace for a few days. Doesn't Her Majesty want Xiao Shao to come?"

Xiao Mu quickly explained, "Of course not, I miss you too, but what if Ruan Cifeng minds?" She looked up at Song Yue beside her, her head lowered, silent, clearly she was also hiding something.

If her past engagement caused Xiao Shao's current unhappiness, she would feel terribly guilty.

"He won't mind. He also hopes I'll come back and spend more time with you. Don't worry about me now. Tell me, what's going on between you and the Emperor?"

Xiao Mu told Xiao Shao the whole story. Xiao Shao felt extremely uncomfortable. She didn't expect the Empress to protect You so much, even at the cost of breaking with the Emperor. But it was clearly You's fault. Although that's what she thought, she still didn't dare to say it.

"Your Majesty will not ignore you. If you are willing to humble yourself, Your Majesty will surely reconcile with you as before."

"Why should I bow my head? If I bow my head this time, I'll have to bow my head again next time. If I bow my head every time, wouldn't I lose face?"

Xiao Shao felt depressed. Now, she was always the last to know about the Empress's affairs. But in the past, they had experienced everything together. Now, she and You were together. She didn't know why she was jealous. She was always unhappy to see the Empress and You being so intimate. She didn't even want to see it.

Just as they were about to rest at night, Yu Yanjing arrived, along with Wei Lan. Yu Yanjing left Wei Lan outside the door and waited in Xiao Mu's room.

When Xiao Mu went back to her room to rest, she saw Wei Lan outside the door and knew that Yu Yan Jing must be inside. After being kept in the cold for six days, she finally couldn't hold back at night.

She slowly pushed open the door, and the person sitting inside immediately got up and hugged her. The scent of incense on him was very pleasant, like a light tea fragrance. The person spoke in a low voice, "If someone else hadn't told me, how long were you planning to keep this from me?"

Judging from his tone, he probably already knows. If he knows, then he knows. I wonder who told him. It could be Consort Jing, or it could be the imperial physician who told him to avoid deceiving the emperor.

"Who told you to ignore me..." Xiao Mu muttered under her breath, as if grumbling.

Yu Yanjing stroked her hair, his tone as gentle as if he were coaxing a child, "Then you have to tell me too. This is our child. I'm a little angry that you let me find out from someone else."

Xiao Mu suddenly got up from his arms and shouted angrily, "How dare you be angry? I'm the one who's angry, I'm furious, and you're willing to ignore me for six days."

Yu Yanjing comforted her, "Don't be angry. The last thing you can do right now is to get angry. Have you been eating and sleeping well lately? Have you eaten the food I brought you?"

"I haven't eaten. What's the point of sending food if you don't even come in person? It just makes me angrier. Anyway, I'm happy that I can eat and sleep well without seeing you... um..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Mu's soft lips were captured by him. He closed his eyes, trying his best to restrain himself and gently inhaling the scent. His lips were warm, and she felt that Yu Yanjing's kiss was sweet. So, she began to stand on tiptoe to respond to his deep and passionate kiss.

After a long while, Yu Yanjing released her lips and whispered in her ear, "I want to hear you say you miss me, not that you can live well without me."

Xiao Mu blushed slightly, looked up at him, her mind still replaying the kiss from just now. She liked the feeling of being kissed forcefully, and she liked the domineering Yu Yanjing. These were things she could only think about in her heart; she couldn't bring herself to say such shameless things.

If I told you I missed you, would you come?

Yu Yanjing said without hesitation, "As long as you miss me, no matter what I'm doing or where I am, I will come."

"What am I supposed to do if I think about you every single day?"

Yu Yanjing smiled and said, "Then I will stay with you every day."

Xiao Mu smiled sweetly, "Then can I go out of the palace often? Xie Huai will protect me. I'm not going out to play. I just think the palace is very boring. Can you understand?" She hugged Yu Yanjing's arm and rubbed it affectionately.

Yu Yanjing coldly turned his head away and said seriously, "No."

"Why? I told you we weren't going to play!" Xiao Mu was anxious, completely unaware that she was pregnant, and was jumping up and down in her panic.

Yu Yanjing's voice was cold and emotionless. "It's not because of that, it's because of Xie Huai. I don't want you to be with him, do you understand?"

So it was because she was jealous again.

Xiao Mu was overjoyed because she knew that only someone who cared about her would be jealous and mind her contact with other men.

So she continued the conversation, saying, "I think it's great to be with Xie Huai. He's a very interesting person, knows a lot, and knows a lot of fun places. Most importantly, he promised to give me a cat." Xiao Mu secretly glanced at Yu Yanjing, and sure enough, his face instantly darkened, and his eyes were filled with displeasure.

"..." Yu Yanjing stared at her coldly, speechless, which made Xiao Mu even more eager to tease him.

"Xie Huai is quite good-looking. If I weren't married, I would probably pursue him."

Yu Yanjing's expression darkened even more, and he even clenched his fists.

Xiao Mu burst into laughter in her heart.

"You want me to kill him?" Yu Yanjing suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. Xiao Mu seemed to see him again when they first met, with the same terrifying look in his eyes. She knew that Yu Yanjing was really angry, because he would never treat her like this before.

"I was just kidding, I just wanted to see you get jealous."

"Then you did it," Yu Yanjing said calmly.

Yu Yanjing's expression remained gloomy. Xiao Mu then realized how much she had gone too far with her words, and that Yu Yanjing must be very angry now.

Xiao Mu quickly abandoned her intention to tease Tian, ​​and hurriedly hugged his arm tightly, gently rubbing her face against him, making her hair messy. She looked up and smiled sweetly at Yu Yanjing, "You're not angry, you're jealous, so please don't treat me like this, otherwise, I'll make your son unhappy."

Yu Yanjing frowned at her, asking in confusion, "What son?"

Xiao Mu touched her belly and said with a smile, "This is your son."

Upon hearing this, Yu Yanjing's eyes lit up, and he chuckled awkwardly, "I prefer girls more."

Xiao Mu glared at him angrily, then blinked, looked down at the ground, and pretended to be furious, saying, "If I'm carrying a boy, wouldn't you have to marry another concubine to give you a daughter?"

Yu Yanjing, both amused and exasperated, held her hand and said, "How could that be? I wouldn't. I can only have one wife, and that is you. Whether it's a boy or a girl, it's all your child. I prefer girls because if a girl is as pretty and lively as you, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"You...you're so glib."

Yu Yanjing raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled gently, "You can't ignore me for so long now. You don't know how I've been these past few days. I couldn't sleep at night, and I couldn't concentrate on court. All I could think about was how to coax you, and all I could think about were the mistakes I made. I shouldn't have blamed others, but I was really worried about you. I couldn't sit still for days without hearing from you. I disguised myself and went out to find you, ignoring everyone's attempts to stop me. You are very important to me, do you understand?"

Xiao Mu felt a lump in her throat after hearing this. She wrapped her arms tightly around Yu Yanjing's waist, pressed her face against his belt, and said softly, "There won't be a next time. No matter what, let's not keep each other in the cold."

"Okay, it's a deal." Yu Yanjing lowered his eyes and patted her head with eyes full of love.

In the days that followed, she was either vomiting or on her way to vomit. No one told her how uncomfortable pregnancy was; whatever she ate, she vomited; even if she only drank water, she would vomit it up.

With constant vomiting and reduced food intake, Xiao Mu lost a lot of weight. She used to be a bit chubby, but now she looks bony, and her face is no longer as round as before.

Yu Yanjing was heartbroken and stopped attending the morning court sessions, leaving all matters to Shen Ruoxuan and spending all his time by Xiao Mu's side.

The imperial physicians and the old nannies in the palace said that I would be fine after the first three months, but I don't know if that's true or not.

All she wants to do right now is lie down. She feels nauseous as soon as she gets out of bed. It's okay when she's lying down, but she feels nauseous whenever she sees meat or fish. She can only rely on some medications to keep her pregnant, and her mouth tastes bitter every day.

Seeing Xiao Mu in such distress, Xiao Shao no longer wanted to leave the palace. She only wanted to stay by her side and take good care of her, preferably until she gave birth.

But she just couldn't get along with You, because You and Xiao Mu seemed to be much closer, and she sometimes felt like an extra person. Now that she was a princess, Xiao Mu would leave many things to You, which made her feel even more out of place.

"You, what is this?"

As Xiao Shao passed by the kitchen, she saw You Shou sitting in front of a clay pot of stewing medicine, looking rather unnatural. So she stopped and asked him a question.

You hurriedly picked up the fan, as if to cover something. Xiao Shao looked at it and thought that perhaps her belt was not fastened properly. You whispered, "Princess, this is a prescription that my husband, Ruan, sent in. He said it can relieve the Empress's morning sickness."

Ruan Cifeng.

She had been in the palace for more than half a month, and her husband had not inquired about her or even written a letter. However, he was very considerate to the Empress, sending her things to make her feel comfortable even though he was far away from the palace.

Indeed, the Empress was far more important than her, the wife who had been formally married and brought into the family in a grand sedan chair.

"Okay. You keep watching then, I'm going back to my room first." Xiao Shao didn't say much more and left the kitchen with a dejected expression.

You closed the door, squatted by the stove, took out the note hidden in his belt, and threw it into the stove.

In the firelight, a few words could be vaguely seen: "cooperation from within and without."

You took out a spoon and stirred the still bubbling medicine. She was in a panic. Although it wasn't the first time this had happened, she was still very scared. She was afraid that the truth would come out, and she was afraid that something might happen to that person.

"Your Majesty, this is a medicinal soup sent by the Prince Consort. He says it can cure your morning sickness."

Xiao Mu glanced at the dark soup and said weakly, "Put it down, I'll drink it later."

Yu Yanjing, who was standing to the side, suddenly said, "I just remembered that Bai Jiaoyu from the Western Regions is coming to visit you, worried about your health. What is your relationship with her?"

Xiao Mu raised her eyes, a shadow of unprecedented gloom clouding them. She smirked and said through gritted teeth, "We have a very good relationship. She's my cousin."

Bai Jiaoyu, you've finally delivered yourself to my doorstep. This time, I'll make sure you never leave, and you'll never be able to return to the Western Regions to be your noble princess again.

You's heart skipped a beat. Her master was really coming to Chaoyang Kingdom. What if she was exposed? She didn't even know how to face the Empress. She had been so good to her. What would she do if she found out that she had conspired with Bai Jiaoyu to harm her?

……

"What happened? Why did Consort Chen faint?" Yin Fu'an looked at the imperial physician with a worried expression.

The imperial physician knelt down and hurriedly offered his congratulations, "The beauty is one month pregnant, but the pregnancy is unstable and her body is too weak, which is why she fainted. With proper care, she will be fine."

Yin Fu'an's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked incredulously, "Really?"

The imperial physician nodded. "It is indeed a pregnancy pulse, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty, Consort Chen is pregnant with your heir once again."

He was overjoyed. This time, they finally had a child. Chen Lanhe also gave in to her desires. This time, they truly had a child.

Chen Lanhe glanced at Yin Fu'an with a heart full of despair. This time, she wanted to protect the child in her womb, but unfortunately, she really didn't know what to do in the face of such a cold-blooded and ruthless man.

In her heart, there will always be only Deng Yizhi, no matter what, it will never change, it will never change!

"You should rest well. Now that you are pregnant, you no longer need to serve the emperor or pay your respects to the Consort. I will speak to her. I will come to see you again after you give birth." Yin Fu'an looked at her coldly, his tone devoid of any warmth.

Chen Lanhe couldn't understand why he had smiled when the imperial physician told her she was pregnant, but then changed his attitude after the physician left, saying he would come to see her again after she gave birth.

It's ridiculous. What kind of relationship do they have? They only have this kind of relationship. She still lost. No matter what, she still couldn't make Yin Fu'an completely devoted to her.

What exactly does it take to become a favored concubine?

Even though I embarrassed Consort Qing and made her lose face, and even though I only summoned her and ignored the other concubines, why is the situation still like this?

Is it simply because she didn't show her true feelings?

"Your Majesty, are you unhappy?" She hesitated for a long time before saying this. She didn't want to say it, but she said it anyway.

Yin Fu'an looked up and said, "I have more than one child. Why should I be happy? I also have two princes and five princesses."

Yes, that's the reason. It's not like he's never been a father before; he already has seven children and has long lost the joy of becoming a father for the first time.

So that's because it's not unique.

"So, my child can't please Your Majesty?"

Yin Fu'an laughed and said, "Yes, but I don't want to lie to you. When we had our first child, I was truly happy because it was the child of the woman I loved most. But now, you are not the woman I love most."

Yin Fu'an smiled bitterly to himself.

Chen Lanhe casually said, "The Emperor's most beloved woman is Consort Qing." She remained completely unfazed, because this man was not his most beloved man either.

“No,” Yin Fu’an suddenly said with a smile, “she was just my plaything.”

Chen Lanhe inexplicably felt that the man in front of her was somewhat terrifying. How could he so casually utter the word "plaything"? She was a flesh-and-blood, living person, and yet she was being treated as a plaything by the man she loved most.

Chen Lanhe choked up, unable to speak for a long time.

Yin Fu'an put away his smile and said nonchalantly, "Look at her, she has such a strange temper, she gets angry at the slightest thing, but if you treat her well, she will be very obedient to you and stick to you like a kitten. On the contrary, if you make her unhappy, she will go crazy or even bite people. Isn't that interesting, just like my plaything?"

Chen Lanhe stared at him blankly. If it weren't for her love for him, why would she act like this? It can only be said that Consort Qing was foolish.

Yin Fu'an was quite direct; he blurted out these words that would break anyone's heart without any hesitation.

She knew all too well that all the women in the palace were his playthings, including herself.