Chapter 1551: Heads Roll

“Your Majesty,” Eunuch Lu quickly replied in a fawning manner, seeing the Empress’s anger, “This servant personally went to the palace during the day and spoke with Master Zu.”

“So, did he agree to come?” The Empress’s slender eyebrows twitched slightly. She had waited so long, full of anticipation, but the person still hadn’t arrived after a long time, leaving her feeling empty and filled with an inexplicable vexation.

“He should have agreed,” Eunuch Lu recalled the situation in the palace at that time.

“Should have?” The Empress sat up straight immediately, her voice rising a pitch.

Eunuch Lu hurriedly explained, “Your Majesty possesses such celestial beauty; what man in this world would refuse? With Your Majesty’s invitation, wouldn’t he come rushing over joyfully?”

The Empress let out a cold snort, “Don’t assume everyone is like you. He is different from other men.”

Eunuch Lu was so moved he was almost in tears. *Look, Her Majesty actually knows the depth of my devotion! All these years of effort have been worth it.*

He thought for a moment and said, “I suppose Master Zu just returned to the capital, and there are many matters at his residence. He might have been delayed by something or someone and should arrive later.”

“It had better be as you say.” The Empress’s fingers lightly traced her own body. *With such a beautiful body, how could he bear not to come?*

What she didn’t know was that at that moment, Zu An had completely forgotten about her and was instead enjoying the warmth of home at the Sang residence.

Sang Qian was gently curled up in his arms. Worried about harming the baby in her womb, she deliberately turned her side, facing away from him.

As a young lady of a prominent family whose romantic experience was like a blank slate, how could she withstand Zu An’s seasoned tactics? Furthermore, since he was the father of her child, she had already accepted him as her man. Initially, she was a bit shy, but then she somewhat relented and even moved back on her own to fully embrace him.

She trembled all over. All she could do was tightly press her lips together to avoid waking the other person.

Early the next morning, Zu An went to the palace. Although imperial court sessions weren’t held daily, whether it was his position in the Crown Prince’s palace or his identity as an Embroidered Uniform Guard, he needed to show his face. Moreover, the matter of Sang Hong was not yet concluded.

After Zu An left, Zheng Dan sat before her dressing table, drawing her eyebrows while calling out to her sister-in-law, “Xiao Qian, come here, I’ll help you get ready.”

“No, thank you. I heard makeup isn’t good for the baby,” Sang Qian replied with a smile, tidying the bed as she spoke. Compared to her usual pale complexion, she looked exceptionally radiant today.

“Yes, yes, yes, big deal, you’re pregnant,” Zheng Dan pouted, looking a bit sullen.

“Oh, I didn’t mean it that way. This child will call you mother eventually,” Sang Qian quickly explained.

“I wasn’t really angry,” Zheng Dan said with a sigh. “It’s just that I should probably start pretending to be pregnant soon, to let the outside world gradually accept this information.”

She knew about the Sang family’s plan. She marveled at how much effort the Sang father and daughter were putting in and was also somewhat moved, because this way, the Sang family would tacitly approve her relationship with Zu An, and they wouldn’t have to be secretive anymore.

Knowing that she would nominally be the child’s mother in the future, the relationship between the two women progressed by leaps and bounds.

Unlike the overt and covert struggles between sisters-in-law in other prominent families, there was no reason for these two to contend. On the contrary, to some extent, their interests aligned. Moreover, during this period, they were the only ones relying on each other in the Sang family. They had long since become like true sisters, which was why Zheng Dan deliberately made that kind of joke.

“What pregnant woman is as glamorous as you?” Sang Qian couldn’t help but exclaim, knowing that Zheng Dan was currently a widow. Widows in the capital typically dressed as plainly as possible, but Zheng Dan was different from ordinary people. If one were to name the most glamorous widow in the entire capital, it would probably be Zheng Dan.

Although the other person was her sister-in-law, Sang Qian wasn’t angry in the slightest. Instead, as a fellow woman, she felt some sympathy for her.

She had married her brother for family reasons. Unfortunately, her brother died tragically before she even formally entered the family. If nothing unforeseen happened, such a woman would spend the rest of her life in lonely solitude, devoted to spiritual practice.

Thankfully, there was Brother Zu...

Thinking of that man, Sang Qian’s pretty face flushed. Her sister-in-law had clearly been intimate with him for a long time. If her brother hadn’t died unexpectedly, he would have been furious to death.

However, her brother was already deceased. Now, what was more important was the Sang family’s future. Truthfully, the whole affair was quite unfair to Zheng Dan. Getting her cooperation would make everything much easier.

“Whoever dares to gossip, I’ll rip out their tongue!” Zheng Dan snorted, displaying a hint of her former gang leader demeanor from Brightmoon City. “Oh, Xiao Qian, why are you tidying the quilt yourself? Just let the maids do it.”

“No need. The Sang family is short-staffed right now, and doing what I can is good exercise,” Sang Qian’s face flushed. Using her body to block, she quickly rolled up the bedsheet.

Just then, Zheng Dan came up behind her and peered over her shoulder, “Is there something you don’t want me to see?”

Sang Qian jumped in surprise and couldn’t help but tug at her. She repeatedly patted her chest, “You almost scared me to death! Don’t appear silently like that!”

“If you do nothing wrong in broad daylight, you needn’t fear ghosts knocking at midnight,” Zheng Dan looked at her with a half-smile.

“What ghosts? Don’t scare your godson,” Sang Qian awkwardly touched her belly, wondering if Zheng Dan’s mention of ‘midnight’ was implying something.

“When my godson grows up a bit, he might often take a stick and bother his father while he’s sleeping,” Zheng Dan also touched her belly, smiling with pursed lips.

“Why?” Sang Qian looked confused.

“Because his father keeps poking him while he’s sleeping!” Zheng Dan chuckled softly and walked away, as if afraid of being hit.

Sang Qian’s face instantly turned crimson. How could she not understand that Zheng Dan had likely woken up and seen what happened last night?

Embarrassed and flustered, she hurriedly chased after her to playfully hit her. The two sisters-in-law tumbled together in playful chaos.

Zheng Dan repeatedly begged for mercy, “I’m wrong, I’m wrong! Don’t upset your pregnancy!”

In her heart, she secretly sighed, *Silly girl, if I hadn’t deliberately created the opportunity, how could you two have become as intimate as a real couple so quickly?*

Whether it was her family’s business or her past experiences in the gang, they had given her a strong sense of crisis. Although Zu An hadn’t spoken much about it, she had more or less learned what formidable women his confidantes were. Although she was a top-tier figure in Brightmoon City, looking at the whole world, she was still somewhat lacking. Sang Qian’s situation wasn’t much different from hers. Only by banding together would they have a chance to face those ‘sharks’ in the ‘sea king’s fish pond’.

“Achoo!” Outside the Crown Prince’s palace, Zu An rubbed his nose, thinking he hadn’t caught a cold last night, had he?

“Master Zu looks so pleased with himself. Did something good happen last night?” a guard said, winking and nudging. With dark circles under his eyes and a weary, depleted look, it was none other than Pu Duandiao, who loved visiting brothels.

“Isn’t that obvious? Master Zu accomplished an astonishing feat and was promoted to Marquis yesterday. Isn’t that good news?” Jiao Sigun remained as argumentative as ever.

Looking at the two guards of the Crown Prince’s palace, Zu An immediately felt a sense of familiarity. It was the same familiar recipe.

“Long time no see. You two haven’t changed a bit,” Zu An naturally put his arms around their shoulders. The few of them chatted and laughed, reminiscing.

The two guards saw Zu An’s status steadily rising, yet he still treated them with such warmth. Their faces broke into wide smiles.

As they were chatting happily, someone soon came to report, “Master Zu, the Crown Prince invites you in.”

“The Crown Prince?” Zu An was a bit surprised, but it wasn’t convenient to chat with Jiao and Pu here anymore.

Upon entering the main hall, he found the corpulent Crown Prince amusing himself with a game alongside several eunuchs.

Zu An bowed and asked, “What did Your Royal Highness want to see me about?”

“I didn’t send for you. It’s Linglong who wants to see you. Go on in,” The Crown Prince waved his hand, looking annoyed that Zu An had interrupted his fun.

Zu An then realized. *I wondered why this foolish Crown Prince would seek me out on his own.*

He then entered the inner hall.

Meanwhile, not far from the Crown Prince’s palace, Eunuch Wen observed all of this, and then summoned a young eunuch, giving him specific instructions.

After the young eunuch left, Eunuch Wen still felt uneasy. He decided to go there himself. If it was indeed discovered that Zu An and the Crown Princess had something going on, then countless heads would roll.