Beloved Empress

After around one hour, Mo Qi Qi slowly opens her eyes.

"You are awake?" she can hear Jun Qian Che’s calm and collected voice saying.

She hastily sits up and stares at him, "Why are you here, Your Majesty? What happened?"

"The Imperial Physician said that you were too emotional and fainted. Other than that, nothing is wrong with your health," replies him calmly.

When she remembers what happened prior to her losing consciousness, she looks at him intently, "Your Majesty, was the Imperial Physician pranking chenqie? How is it possible that chenqie is pregnant?"

Jun Qin Che stares at her, his voice turning a lot colder, "Do you think they will dare to joke about things like this?"

A forlorn expression appears on Mo Qi Qi’s face, "No way! It was just one time and I immediately became pregnant? Why am I so unlucky?"

"Do you really loath the idea of bearing zhen’s child?" asks Jun Qian Che in discontent.

"Your Majesty, it is not that chenqie is unhappy, it’s just that, this child should not even be here on the first place. If this child is born, Mo Clan will be twice as powerful. When the time comes, I’m afraid, even you will not be able to subdue them, Your Majesty," retorts Mo Qi Qi. She does not want this child. She does not want to have a child with Jun Qian Che, of all people. She detests him. That night was a nightmare. Whenever she looks at this child in the future, she will be reminded of what he did to her that night.

"These things are not for the Empress to fret over. It is late, rest early. Now that you are carrying a child, get your acts together. Don’t run around blindly again. Zhen will visit you again," after saying that, Jun Qian Che stands up and leaves.

Mo Qi Qi’s chest is full of fury.

Once the Emperor left, Ban Xiang runs in with a bright smile on her face, "Congratulation, Your Ladyship."

Mo Qi Qi glares at her, "What is there to congratulate about? Right now, all I want to do is to kill myself. I should have listened to you. I should have called in the physician long ago. That way, I could have gotten rid of this child without Jun Qian Che knowing." Now that Jun Qian Che knows everything, the child’s fate lies completely in his palm. If he decides he does not want this child, she will offer incense to his ancestors to show gratitude. If he wants this child, then, she might as well just kill him and his entire family. Gods up above, she only wants a simple life, both in this lifetime and in her previous lifetime. Why must you test her so?

Ban Xiang becomes worried when she hears that, "How could you even have that kind of thoughts, Your Ladyship? This is your child, your flesh and blood. How could you even have the thoughts of harming him?"

"But this child should not even be here on the first place! I was too negligent. My period has not come and I did not even think much of it. I thought my cycle was interrupted because I was too shocked by the assassins. Who would have thought..... I don’t want to live anymore!"

"Don’t be upset, Your Ladyship. Hadn’t you always wanted to give birth to His Majesty’s child to strengthen your position? If this child is a prince, no one can even touch your position in the future," replies Ban Xiang optimistically.

Mo Qi Qi sighs heavily, "Ban Xiang, you are too naïve. You have no idea how dirty the palace is. Do you think that all the problems will be solved once the child is born? He or she will have Mo Clan behind them. There are so many women inside the harem, do you think they will let my child grow up in peace?"

Ban Xiang remains optimistic, "This servant thinks that as long as His Majesty is there to protect the little prince or princess, nothing bad can befall them."

Mo Qi Qi sneers, "The first one to act would probably be His Majesty himself."

Ban Xiang gasps in shock, "Your Ladyship! Even a tiger will not eat it’s own cub!"

Mo Qi Qi sighs in regret. "The imperial family is worse than a tiger. The child’s fate now rest completely on the father’s hand. Never mind all this. Now that Jun Qian Che knows, we will see what he’d do next. If he really intends to get rid of this child, I will thank him from the bottom of my heart. Enough with this, go to sleep!" Mo Qi Qi lies on her bed and closes her eyes, avoiding from thinking about this matter.

As for Jun Qian Che, even he is not in peace after he returns to Yu Jing Palace. His mind is equally messed as Mo Qi Qi’s after receiving the shocking news. He really needs to consider everything carefully.

The next day, the news of Mo Qi Qi’s pregnancy spreads through the palace, shocking the masses. Some people does not believe it, others are even bolder by stating that the child is not the Emperor’s.

Once the news reaches Jun Qian Che, he decrees that anyone who discusses the Empress’ pregnancy and thereby, indirectly harming the Empress’ health, will be killed as a punishment for their crime.

After that decree, the situation slowly quiets down.

When Mo Qi Qi finds out about those rumors, she really wants to salute the palace’s people for their overactive imagination. At the same time, she too realizes that there is no smoke without fire, and that the previous owner indeed had something going on with an unknown man.

Deep down inside, she actually hoped that the rumors would spread even faster, so that Jun Qian Che would be pushed to a corner with nowhere else to go but to save face (by getting rid of the child.) However, she did not expect him to suppress the rumors so quickly and effectively.

When the concubines found out that Mo Qi Qi is with a child, the bunch of them gathers in her palace early in the morning to congratulate her.

Mo Qi Qi is afraid that the rest of the concubines will hate her for this, so she quickly explains herself, "Meimeis, bengong assure you that this child is indeed an accident. We were only together once, who would have thought...... Bengong wish it is one of you here, who is carrying this child."

The rest of the concubines on the other hand, are feeling pretty generous about this, "Your Ladyship, you do not have to explain anything to us. We are very happy for you. Better you than Yang Guifei. If this has been Yang Guifei, she would tip her nose so high that it would reach the heavens already. You having this child will be good to all of us, we will support you."

Mo Qi Qi immediately reassures them, "Don’t worry, bengong is sincere towards all of you. Bengong will always support you. Even if bengong have a child, bengong will continue helping you lot gain favour."

The concubines laughs shily, "We are relieved to hear that. Your Ladyship, you have to safely give birth to this child for our sake."

Mo Qi Qi looks at them in confusion, "What do you mean? Did His Majesty say something to you all?"

The concubines collectively sigh, "We usually never even get to meet His Majesty, much less get the opportunity to have him speak to us. It’s just that, we thought that once you give birth to this child, His Majesty will frequently visit you. We will get to see him as well."

Mo Qi Qi nods, understanding their intention, "Oh, so that’s why all of you are happy that I am pregnant. Your dedication towards His Majesty is just..... Bengong is touched on his behalf. He will be touched if he knows this as well." You trash, Jun Qian Che. You collect so many young girls at the prime of their youth here and then neglects them.

"Her Ladyship Yang Guifei arrives!" an announcement comes from outside.

Yang Shi Han elegantly walks in, dressed in yellow. She looks at Mo Qi Qi before saying, "Greeting the Empress." She nods lightly, refusing to curtsy, showing just how arrogant she can be.

Mo Qi Qi is too lazy to deal with her and simply says, "Bengong didn’t think that even Guifei would come to greet bengong this morning. What a precious guest. Go on and sit."

Yang Shi Han sits at the front-most seat. She looks at Mo Qi Qi before laughingly speaking, as though cracking a joke, "The entire palace is bustling this morning, saying that the Empress is pregnant. Chenqie wonders if it is true or not, and has come to check it myself."

It is Xia Fei who replies first, "Who would dare to lie when it comes to this? Chenqie think it is more like Guifei cannot bring yourself to believe it."

Yang Guifei covers her smile elegantly, "It does not matter whether bengong believes it or not, what matters is if the Emperor does. Bengong never heard of His Majesty ever spending the night in Feng Yang Palace, so how could it be possible that the Empress is suddenly pregnant? Unless the father of the child is someone else."

"You sure are bold, Yang Guifei! How dare you speak such treacherous words towards the Empress? This is enough to get you exiled into the Cold Palace!" the rest of the concubines are enraged.

Yang Shi Han remains unaffected by their outburst, "Bengong is just telling the truth. Why are you lot so anxious? Is there some truth in bengong’s words perhaps?"

Mo Qi Qi is calm throughout the entire exchange. She did not let anyone know what happened that night, so it is only natural for them to be oblivious of what Jun Qian Che had done.

Yang Shi Han continues attacking, "Why is the Empress so quiet? Is chenqie right, Your Ladyship? Is that why you have no words to say?"

Mo Qi Qi smiles gently before calmly saying, "Since Guifei is carrying suspicion, Guifei will not believe anything bengong says regardless. Perhaps it is better if you ask His Majesty directly. Ask him if this child is his. Ask him if he has ever stayed the night in Feng Yang Palace."

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