After Becoming Pregnant With The Empress Cat's Cub - Chapter 23

As the human’s words landed, Si Qing’s heart gave a violent leap.

Without almost any hesitation, she replied to the other party.

“She doesn’t look like him! Not at all! Not even a bit!”

Sensing that the human was testing something, Si Qing remained vigilant, keeping her mouth shut tight. She wouldn’t let her fish for any information!

Hearing Si Qing’s answer, a flash of emotion crossed Lan Ye’s bright, large eyes, and the smile on her face faded slightly. She turned her head to look at the giant screen.

This is a problem…

Looking like that and saying they don’t look alike… unless you’re blind, you’re lying through your teeth. As for why she was lying… Lan Ye had a premonition that the answer was “trouble.”

She made a quick decision in her heart. Turning her head back to look at Si Qing, she smiled mysteriously.

“Don’t say that to Rin, she’d be sad to hear it.”

Si Qing’s vigilant face showed a hint of confusion: “Sad about what?” Her Highness the Princess didn’t want to look like the King at all.

Lan Ye leaned in a bit and whispered, “Rin got plastic surgery to look like the King.”

“Huh?” Si Qing twitched her ears, wondering if the mall music was too loud and affecting her hearing. “Plastic surgery?”

Lan Ye nodded. “What, do you have an issue with plastic surgery?”

Si Qing: “How do you know that? Did Rin say so?”

Lan Ye laughed. “I’m guessing. Otherwise, how could they look so much alike?”

Si Qing was utterly speechless. “Why don’t you guess that she’s the Princess?” If they looked alike, shouldn’t the first reaction be a blood relation? Who on earth guesses plastic surgery…

“Oh?” Lan Ye’s tone rose curiously. “Is Rin a princess?”

Realizing what she had just said, Si Qing really wanted to slap herself. “How could that be possible? Of course not!”

“Right, how could it be.” Lan Ye paused with a smile before continuing. “If Rin were a princess, how could she be friends with you?”

As she spoke, Lan Ye seemed to lose interest and continued walking forward.

Si Qing, carrying a pile of bags, rushed to catch up and blocked Lan Ye’s path. “What do you mean by that? If Rin were a princess, why couldn’t she be friends with me?”

Lan Ye stopped to look at her, and the look in her eyes could only be described as overflowing with disdain.

Si Qing: !

A lump of anger stuck in her chest! “What’s wrong with me? Why wouldn’t it be possible?!” She was of noble blood, possessed outstanding abilities, and was fiercely loyal, why couldn’t they be friends?

In her anger, Si Qing almost blurted out her background, but luckily, she kept a shred of logic.

“Because you’re stingy.”

“I’m stingy?”

“You aren’t even willing to help carry a few things. Look at your face. Forget it, give the stuff to me. I’ll carry it.”

As Lan Ye reached out to take the shopping bags from Si Qing’s hands, Si Qing spun around to dodge her. “No need!”

Lan Ye immediately retracted her hand. “Alright then.”

She continued walking with empty hands and a light step. A smile flickered on Lan Ye’s face as she didn’t forget to look back and encourage the manual labor. “I was wrong just now. Who wouldn’t want to be friends with a helpful, good person like you?”

Watching the human’s carefree back, Si Qing suddenly felt like something wasn’t right… Looking down at the shopping bags in her hands, why didn’t she let that human take them back just now?

Wait, did this human go through that whole charade just to make her carry the bags?

Realizing she’d been played, Si Qing hurried to catch up. But just as she got close, the human spoke again.

“I wonder how many princesses the King has in total.”

Last night, in the time between dinner and her call with Rin, she had looked up information about this world as usual. She learned that in this world, information about princesses is only released upon their death or when they inherit the throne.

Currently, online data showed a total of three deceased princesses and seven deceased “Princess Meows.”

“Princess Meows” were kitten cubs that failed to evolve into human forms. Some lacked spiritual power and were just ordinary kittens, while others had spiritual power but were delayed in their evolution.

Lan Ye looked at Si Qing. “You must know, right?”

Si Qing raised an eyebrow. “How would I know!”

Lan Ye looked serious. “Because you look very smart.”

Si Qing coughed twice. She didn’t expect this human to be capable of saying nice things. But she wasn’t going to fall for it!

“A lot, probably.” She gave an answer to prove she was smart, but didn’t give a specific number that would reveal she knew the inner workings.

Lan Ye looked at Si Qing with a face that said ‘You truly are well-informed.’ “With so many, were they all born to the Queen?”

“No. Besides the Queen, the King has multiple lovers.” The newly born Princess Meows in the palace were born to lovers.

Lan Ye was surprised. “He can have lovers?” Things online were definitely beautified. The promotional articles she saw all said the King and Queen were a “one life, one pair” kind of couple. Turns out, it’s one wife and a bunch of lovers.

Lan Ye: “Does the Queen have lovers?”

Si Qing nodded. “She does too.”

Lan Ye: “That’s good then.”

Si Qing: “Good how?”

Lan Ye: “It’s fair. By the way, how do you know all this?”

Lan Ye put on a look of doubt. Si Qing finally remembered, why was she chatting with this human again…

“Gossip. It’s all just gossip. You didn’t know?” Si Qing asked back. This human was sometimes ignorant to an extreme degree, it almost felt like an act.

Lan Ye: “You have gossip and don’t share it? How can you live with yourself? Remember to send it to me next time.”

Si Qing frowned. “Why should I send it to you?”

Lan Ye: “Look into my eyes.”

Si Qing instinctively looked.

Lan Ye: “What are we?”

Si Qing: “What?”

Lan Ye: “We are the Cat-Human Justice Alliance. We are partners, a duo. You have good stuff and you don’t share?”

Si Qing: “I’m quitting. Also, what have you ever shared?”

Lan Ye: “My light.”

Si Qing: “What?”

Lan Ye: “I shared my brilliance with you. I have love, justice, and courage. Haven’t you heard? ‘He who touches vermilion becomes red, he who touches ink becomes black.’ By being near me, you’ll slowly get some too.”

Si Qing: …….. “Should I say thank you?”

“You’re welcome. We’re partners.”

Si Qing: …….. How could a beastman and a human ever be partners!

“By the way, my wedding with Rin is set for the 30th. Remember to come. You’re Rin’s friend and my partner now. Remember to prepare two red envelopes, one for her, one for me.”

Si Qing: ……. She wanted to ask why the human didn’t just go and commit robbery. Suddenly, Si Qing paused. “The 30th? Of this month?”

Lan Ye: “Yeah. Is there a problem?”

Si Qing remembered the birthday shown on the big screen earlier. The 30th was the King’s birthday… she had also received news that the King would announce the marriage between the Princess and the one from the Mi family on that day.

“Is Rin okay with that?”

“What could she possibly have a problem with?”

Si Qing: “No… no problem.”

She felt a question mark forming in her heart. She had received news last night that this time, the King seemed determined to have Rin return to the palace. In Si Qing’s view, the Princess would return sooner or later. The throne would eventually be hers.

She looked at the human beside her. This one could never be the Queen… her human status meant the Royal Family would never agree, and the citizens especially the beastmen, would never accept her.

“What are you thinking about?” Lan Ye waved her hand in front of the dazed Si Qing.

Si Qing snapped out of it and, after hesitating, asked a question.

“If… if the King… wanted you to be his lover, would you agree?”

Lan Ye raised an eyebrow. “The King wants to be my lover?”

Si Qing felt the phrasing was wrong, but before she could correct it, the human spoke. “No way. The King is way too old.”

Si Qing wasn’t talking about the current King. “I mean, if a young princess inherited the throne and became the King.”

Before she could finish, Lan Ye waved her hand. “Still no.”

Si Qing: “Why?”

Lan Ye: “Although it sounds like I’d be pretty impressive if the King wanted to be my lover, forget it. It sounds like too much trouble.”

Si Qing: “What kind of trouble?”

Lan Ye: “An ‘o-jou-sama’ type like Rin would be very troublesome when she gets jealous.”

Si Qing: …… She’d be getting jealous of herself.

“Then what if you were asked to be the Queen? Would you want to be the Queen?”

“No.” Lan Ye didn’t even need to think.

Si Qing was puzzled. “Why?”

Lan Ye: “No freedom.”

Si Qing: “But you could gain so much!”

Lan Ye: “Is anything more important than freedom?”

Money, status, and power jumped into Si Qing’s mind one by one. But she felt that saying any of them would make her easy to mock as being vulgar. So, Si Qing’s brain whirled and she thought of a better one.

“Love.”

Lan Ye burst out laughing. “I didn’t see that coming, you’re a hopeless romantic.”

Si Qing: …….

“You’d be better off saying money, status, or power. Any of those are fine. What the heck is ‘love’?”

The question was tossed back to Si Qing, who tossed it right back. “What is it?”