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Through the thin fabric, he could feel her warmth.

Perhaps due to his martial arts skills, his senses and hearing were better than those of ordinary people.

Xiao Jinyan felt as if he could sense the baby moving, and he looked up at Shen Chuwei in surprise, "The baby seems to be moving."

Shen Chuwei felt the hand on her stomach; its temperature was unusually high, probably because of the hot weather...

She explained with a giggle, "Your Highness, this is called fetal movement."

Xiao Jinyan found it quite novel, "Really? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"Not now, but once the babies grow bigger, who knows." Because when the babies get bigger, especially two of them, space becomes limited, and they might start punching and kicking.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinyan’s gaze dropped back to her belly as he threatened, "You two better behave inside your mother’s womb. If you make your mother suffer, I will not let you off easily once you come out."

In ancient times, only the legitimate wife had the right to be called ’mother’.

A concubine could only be referred to as ’niang’.

In Xiao Jinyan’s eyes, Shen Chuwei was already his legitimate wife; she was just one ceremony short of an official title.

Shen Chuwei couldn’t help but laugh. Was Xiao Jinyan actually threatening the babies?

Xiao Jinyan lifted his head upon hearing her laugh and saw Chuwei’s eyes curved into crescents, "I only wish to let them know how hard it is for you, their mother."

As she laughed, Shen Chuwei let out a yawn, "Your Highness, your concubine is feeling a bit sleepy."

Xiao Jinyan nodded, "I will rest with you."

"Sure." Shen Chuwei moved aside to make space for Xiao Jinyan in the bed.

Xiao Jinyan took off his shoes and lay down beside Shen Chuwei, then pulled her into his embrace. It had been five months since he had held her, and she was still tender and soft in his arms.

Shen Chuwei had gotten used to sleeping alone recently. Being held in Xiao Jinyan’s arms wasn’t that she disliked it; it was just a little inconvenient with her being pregnant.

But soon, she fell asleep.

Xiao Jinyan had not closed his eyes for two days and nights on the road, and now, lying in bed with his wife and child in his arms, he quickly fell into a peaceful sleep.

Meanwhile, on the Official Road,

A splendid Phoenix Carriage flanked by guards sped along.

The Empress lifted the carriage curtain and gazed out the window with her beautiful eyes, showing signs of impatience as the City Gate was still at a distance.

"Why so slow? Tell them to go faster."

Qing Ying instructed the guards outside, "Make them speed up."

"Yes," replied the Guard.

Shortly after, the pace of the Phoenix Carriage picked up, noticeably more jolting than before.

To hurry back for the sake of her daughter-in-law and beloved grandson, the Empress had to endure the rough ride.

Seeing the Empress’s pallor, Qing Ying asked with concern, "Empress, are you feeling alright?"

The Empress covered her mouth with a handkerchief, waiting for her turbulent stomach to settle before shaking her head, "It’s fine. As long as we can get back to the palace quickly, none of this matters."

Qing Ying felt somewhat distressed for her.

At that moment, the Phoenix Carriage suddenly stopped.

The moment the Phoenix Carriage halted, the Empress’s stomach felt somewhat better, but she was very angry, "Why have we stopped? Hurry up and proceed!"

Qing Ying lifted the carriage curtain to inquire, "What’s the matter?"

The Guard replied, "There is someone blocking the way, claiming to be the Empress’s niece, Lady Chang Liangyuan."

The Empress frowned upon hearing the news, "Lady Chang? What is she doing here?"

Qing Ying lifted the carriage curtain, assisting the Empress as she stepped out from the Phoenix Carriage.

Upon seeing the Empress emerge, Lady Chang cried and hastened forward a few steps, kneeling on the ground to perform a salute: "Aunt."

With Qing Ying’s support, the Empress descended from the Phoenix Carriage, casting her eyes down upon Lady Chang who was in tears.

"How dare you leave the Imperial Palace on your own accord?"

Tears filled Lady Chang’s eyes as she looked up at the Empress, "Aunt, doesn’t Lanlan get the chance to visit her family once every year? Lanlan took this opportunity to come and see you, hoping you would stand up for me."

The Empress felt anger rising within her, furious at the Emperor for not recognizing his own grandson and at Lady Chang for falsely accusing her grandson of not being her blood.

She snorted coldly, "His Majesty granted you the privilege to visit your family home, not to leave the Imperial City. You disregard the palace rules, and yet you expect me to stand up for you?"

Lady Chang’s crying paused momentarily, not expecting to be reproached by the Empress at such a time. Through her sobs, she revealed her swollen face to the Empress.

"Aunt, Lanlan was forced to, please look at my face."

The Empress looked at Lady Chang’s swollen face. Ordinarily, she would have felt very sympathetic, but now, she felt no pity, thinking Lady Chang somewhat deserved it.

While crying, Lady Chang said, "His Highness struck me. Lanlan was only thinking of His Highness’s best interests, fearing that he might place his trust in the wrong person. But honest advice grates on the ear. His Highness misunderstood Lanlan’s intention."

"Aunt."

The Empress asked, "What did you say that made the Crown Prince think of honest advice as grating on the ear?"

With choking sobs, Lady Chang slowly said, "Aunt, the child Lady Shen carries is not His Highness’s, but he won’t believe it.

He insists that Lanlan is jealous of Lady Shen and slandering her.

Alleged honest advice grates on the ear because His Highness trusts Lady Shen too much, deceived and unaware. "

Enraged, the Empress stepped forward and raised her hand to deliver a slap.

"Slap!" Lady Chang’s left cheek turned to one side from the blow.

The Empress scolded angrily, "Lady Chang, ever since you entered the palace, I have always protected you, afraid that you would be wronged.

But what about you? You scheme for favor, and I have seen nothing wrong in that, as there is only one Crown Prince, after all.

But for you to scheme and falsely accuse Lady Shen, you have greatly disappointed me. "

Clutching her right cheek, Lady Chang then moved her hand to cover her left, tears streaming down as she looked up at the Empress, "Aunt, why don’t even you believe Lanlan? Even the Imperial Doctor said that Lady Shen has been pregnant for more than four months... "

The Empress rebuked sharply, "Enough, I am not yet so senile that I cannot see the truth from fiction. A simple investigation will reveal the truth. Prepare yourself to be punished."

Having said that, she swept her sleeves and moved towards the Phoenix Carriage, with Qing Ying assisting her back onto the carriage.

Lady Chang was left kneeling on the ground.

After a long while, Huai Xiang helped her up and onto the horse carriage.

The Phoenix Carriage moved rapidly onwards.

The Empress, racked with fury, with her chest heaving uncontrollably, thought, "She really infuriates me, to think I cared for her all for naught."

"Empress, don’t let anger harm your health. In the harem, everyone has their own ulterior motives, the more people think, the more they will do whatever it takes to secure their position. Empress, take it a bit more lightly," Qing Ying advised.

"Indeed, in the palace, the women who will step on others’ heads to climb upwards are dime a dozen."

The Empress suddenly thought of Lady Shen, "With Lady Shen’s gluttonous nature, she’s probably no longer in the palace."

Having interacted with Lady Shen for so long, whether in manner or speech, she was different from the other women of the palace.

In front of her, the Empress, Lady Shen had never mentioned anyone else, their conversations revolving around nothing but food...

An hour before the Empress returned to the palace, the Emperor paced back and forth in the Imperial Study Room.

Suddenly he stopped, commanding, "Eunuch Li, reward Lady Shen with that string of agate beads and also a pair of Jade Hibiscus, reward both to her."

ps: Updating one Chapter in the wee hours, likely exploding with about thirty thousand words tonight.

A little spoiler, the dog Emperor has only sons and no daughters, so he treasures the protagonist’s daughter immensely (truly cherish the scene).