Beloved Empress

Jun Qian Che returns to his study and begins reading the mounting memorials. He had hoped that it would help get his mind off Mo Qi Qi’s pregnancy, unfortunately that is not the case. No matter what he does, the sight of Mo Qi Qi smiling keeps floating in front of him.

He puts down the memorial at hand and lets his mind wander off. A particular scene floats inside his head, of Mo Qi Qi playing with a little child in a garden full of blooming flowers. They are playing hide and seek and are hiding amongst the flowers and he is standing there, watching them from a corner. The child sees him and begins running towards him, "Give me a hug, Imperial Father! A hug!"

Although he cannot tell if the child is a boy or a girl, he can tell that he himself is very happy.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is seeking attendance," Eunuch Lin reports from the doorway.

Disturbed from his daydream, Jun Qian Che calmly says, "Let him in." Deep inside, he wonders what is going on with himself. Why is he suddenly fantasizing about the child? That child cannot stay, that child must go.

"This official greets Your Majesty," says Chu Ling Xiao.

"You may stand up," by now, Jun Qian Che has already got himself together. "Didn’t zhen order you to escort the foreign King and Queen to tour the capital? Why are you here?"

"Answering Your Majesty, the King and Queen have heard of the Empress’ pregnancy and have gone there to congratulate Her Ladyship. They decide to postpone the trip to tomorrow, so this official is here to report that."

Jun Qian Che nods, "Zhen understands. Since it is so, you can return to your manor for now."

Chu Ling Xiao does not immediately leaves. He lingers there, looking like he wants to say something but does not know if he should.

"Is there anything else, Prime Minister?" asks Jun Qian Che.

Chu Ling Xiao thinks for a moment before finally saying, "Your Majesty, this official would like to butt into something that this official ought not to. Are you going to let the child live?"

Right now, what Jun Qian Che hates the most is other people asking him that, unfortunately, the barrage of people asking that question does not show any signs of slowing down. "Whatever it is you want to say, say it directly," says Jun Qian Che coldly.

Chu Ling Xiao laughs awkwardly, "What this official means is that the Empress Dowager will definitely object to this child. Although the child belongs to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager will always love you more. She will not want to see you suffer under the hands of Mo Clan because of this child. If this child is a boy, Duke Zhen will definitely rally the other ministers to coerce you into making him the Crown Prince. If anything happens to you after that, the throne will go to the child. That means that there will be even more attempts on your life after that. The child will be a puppet Emperor, and the entire Hua Chen Kingdom will be under Mo Clan."

"So, you are also here to persuade zhen to get rid of the child?" without him realizing, his tone has gotten a lot icier.

Chu Ling Xiao is so scared that even his heart is getting goosebump. But still, he gathers his courage to say, "You are still young, Your Majesty. You can have more children after this. Do not let one thing affect the bigger plan. You must think thrice."

Jun Qian Che’s voice is cold as he says, "Zhen understand. Zhen knows what there is to do, you can go first."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chu Ling Xiao knows that Jun Qian Che must be devastated right now. Even though he does not like Mo Qi Qi, that child is still his. It is normal for him to feel torned. Chu Ling Xiao does not dare to linger and immediately leaves.

Jun Qian Che is no longer in the mood to review memorials. He stands up and walks out of the imperial study.

Feng Yang Palace is very lively today. Just as Mo Qi Qi sends off the concubines, the foreign King and Queen arrive to offer their congratulation.

Mo Qi Qi beckons them to sit under a pavilion in the courtyard and lets Ban Xiang serves them pastries. She even lets them taste her home-made sour plum soup, which they like very much. They repeatedly thank her for her kindness.

The truth is, she is not doing this to be kind on behalf of Jun Qian Che. She has her own plan.

She smiles happily as she chats with the couple.

Everyone assumes that she is happy because she is pregnant, but only she knows the truth.

Jun Qian Che watches them from afar. He trains his eyes on her as she chats happily with the Queen. Although he does not know what they are talking about, seeing her so happy makes him happy as well.

Once they are through with polite talks, Mo Qi Qi immediately puts forth her agenda.

She shows them a painting.

Jun Qian Che, due to the distance, cannot see what the painting is. He wonders what she is trying to pull.

As for that painting itself, it is not of some national secret, but instead, it is the drawing of a modern toilet bowl. It even has a flush.

Mo Qi Qi uses English to ask them if they have this sort of toilet bowl in their country.

The couple shakes their heads.

Mo Qi Qi feels a little disappointed. If there is such a toilet in this era, she thought it would be in the west. She hopes to build a modern toilet in the palace. Maybe, if she has the correct model for setting, she will be able to go back to her time.

The foreign King smiles, "Why don’t you give us this drawing, Your Ladyship? We will bring it home and try to build it there. Once we succeed, we will send a prototype to you."

Mo Qi Qi is pleased beyond words. She thanks them happily. As long as there is a ray of light, she will not lose hope.

She made them promise her not to tell anyone, especially Jun Qian Che.

They assume that she is trying to surprise him, but only she knows the truth.

The only reason she has not sought the help of Hua Chen Kingdom’s craftsmen is out of fear that Jun Qian Che would find out. He might get suspicious and think that she is up to no good. His intention towards her is not pure to begin with and she is afraid that he only needs a little provocation to lift his hand to kill her.

The King and Queen will not be here for long. Once they create a prototype and send it to her, she will just say that is it a gift. By then, she will say that it might need a sink and everything else too, and Jun Qian Che will have nothing to say. Hahahaha! This is what people call pre-meditation!

Jun Qian Che lingers there for a while and only leaves once he has taken a good look of her. Now that he has seen her, his heart has calmed down a little. There are more things waiting for him in the imperial study and he cannot afford to loosen up for even a moment.

The news of Mo Qi Qi’s pregnancy has reached the nobles of the capital, so naturally, Duke Zhen’s manor also knows.

Duke Zhen and the Duchess quickly enter the palace, bringing a lot of supplement food for Mo Qi Qi.

The mother is very happy to see her daughter, "Mother did not think that our Qi Qi would carry His Majesty’s child. You must take good care of yourself and the child that you are carrying. For a woman, pregnancy is the most troublesome thing. If there is anything you would like to eat, do not hesitate to tell Mother."

Mo Qi Qi laughs, "No need to trouble yourself, Mother. The palace has everything."

Duke Zhen is still worried, "The things inside the palace are not safe. You need to be extra careful, Your Ladyship. Be mindful of what you eat and who you are keeping companies with. Only keep the people that you trust beside you. How about this, Father will ask His Majesty to let a couple of servants from our manor to enter the palace to serve you?"

Mo Qi Qi quickly stops him, "No need for all that, old dad. Daughter already trust everyone inside Feng Yang Palace. Daughter has just gotten pregnant. If we send people to serve daughter, it will show that we does not trust His Majesty. His Majesty might get angry."

"What is there for His Majesty to get angry about? Father is only thinking for Qi Qi and the baby. This is also His Majesty’s child, His Majesty should be happy instead," replies Duke Zhen.

Mo Qi Qi massages her forehead; this old dad is acting up again.

Duke Zhen sighs when he sees his daughter’s silence, "Fine, fine, fine. Old dad will listen to Your Ladyship. Since you don’t want more people, we will not send more people, alright?"

Mo Qi Qi laughs, "Thank you, old dad!"

Duke Zhen laughs, "Why are you so courteous towards your own dad? You have changed, now that you are becoming a mother yourself. You must take care of yourself. If anyone dares to bully you, tell dad. Dad will take care of them for you!"

Mo Qi Qi hesitates for a moment, "Old dad, you really want this child to be born?"

Serene: Damn, Duke Zhen is #dadgoal!

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