After Becoming Pregnant With The Empress Cat's Cub - Chapter 26.1

Lan Ye understood. Si Qing’s safety depended on whether Lan Ye could satisfy the person in charge. She continued forward.

The long corridors were covered in thick carpets, making every footstep silent. Lan Ye memorized the route. There were guards at every end and corner. Escaping was impossible unless one could turn invisible.

“Are these all guards?” Lan Ye asked.

Qiao Zi: “Yes.”

Lan Ye: “Are the uniforms standardized?”

Qiao Zi grunted a “Yes.” She didn’t want to elaborate. Guard uniforms varied by rank, though the materials, a special blade-resistant fabric were the same. Lan Ye was seeing general guards.

Lan Ye asked because she thought of Little Landmine. She had wished her luck in the palace this morning, she didn’t expect to beat her here. Looking at the uniforms, blue collars, white base, red neckerchiefs, pumpkin shorts, and red knee-high boots. Lan Ye thought: If Little Landmine wears this, she’ll be dangerously cute.

She hoped she might run into her if she stayed long enough.

They soon reached a wider indoor gallery. Portraits lined the walls. Lan Ye slowed down. On the left were past Kings, on the right, past Queens. At the end of the hall, she stopped between the last two portraits.

These must be Rin’s parents. Rin looked exactly like the King, sharing almost the same mold. With the Queen, she only shared a resemblance in the eyes.

As Lan Ye slowed, the guide opened the doors at the end of the hall. “Please,” Qiao Zi said, gesturing inside. Once Lan Ye entered, she closed the doors and stood guard outside.

Lan Ye swallowed hard, feeling nervous. She looked toward the end of the great hall. There, atop several steps, sat a throne. It was magnificent, golden, and occupied.

The sheer atmosphere would have made Lan Ye’s legs shake if it weren’t for the two giant golden cat paws flanking the throne. The person on the throne was too far away to read their expression.

Seeing her frozen, the guide reminded her: “Please move forward.”

Lan Ye lifted her skirt and walked until she could see the person clearly. The person on the throne resembled the portrait but looked much older and paler, appearing bloodless.

“Why do you not bow upon seeing the King?” Mi Ni, the Royal Steward, stood by the throne, looking dissatisfied at the dazed human.

Lan Ye only then noticed the person standing next to the throne, dressed in gold so bright it looked like they were painted with it. It was blinding.

“How do I bow?” Lan Ye squinted. “I don’t know how. My head was injured recently. I don’t remember many things, and it doesn’t work very well.”

Mi Ni had never seen someone admit so sincerely that their brain was “broken.” She glanced at the King, who remained expressionless and silent. Mi Ni personally demonstrated the bow.

After doing it, her eyelid twitched. Wait, demonstrating for a human feels like I just bowed to her. She was a noble, the human was a commoner.

Lan Ye recognized the move, it was the same one she saw the “fiancée” do at Rin’s house. She followed suit, holding her skirt with her left hand, slightly raising her right, crossing her right foot behind her left, and curtsying.

The King scrutinized the human. This was the person her most excellent child had married. Looking at those wide, curious eyes, devoid of fear and that fuzzy head, the King let out a soft chuckle. “Interesting.”

“Lan Ye?”

“That’s me,” Lan Ye nodded immediately, then shut her mouth. Speak less, make fewer mistakes.

The King defined the person before her: A naive human.

Lan Ye felt the weight of the gaze. Previously, looking at the currency and portraits, she thought Rin looked like the King. Seeing her in person, the difference was stark. The King looked down from a high place, barely sparing a glance. Lan Ye thought: If Rin had looked at me like that from the start, we would never have happened. This look is just too annoying.

The “annoying” King spoke again. “Do you know who you married?” The tone was majestic but carried a sense of detached arrogance.

Lan Ye thought the voice was unpleasant too, far inferior to Rin’s. She remembered Rin’s voice had authority, but it was more of a personal pride, which, combined with her ears, was actually “gap moe” cute.

Lan Ye’s eyes flickered with a smile. “I know. Rin. She’s a great bounty hunter.”

The King laughed, as if hearing a joke. Mi Ni looked on with mockery. As I thought, the Princess was just playing around and didn’t even tell the human her identity. Only my Mi Can is worthy.

“She is no bounty hunter. She is my child, the most noble Princess of the Meow Kingdom, and the future King.” The King’s voice carried a hint of pride. She turned to the human. “You don’t seem surprised.”

Lan Ye said honestly (but not fully): “I guessed it from the portraits outside.” (In reality, she had known for a while but chose to ignore the trouble.)

The King smiled, thinking of Rin’s resemblance to her. “Rin will inherit my throne. Her wife will be the future Queen. Therefore, her wife must be an outstanding beastman.” She looked at the plain human.

“You are unsuitable.”

Lan Ye’s heart skipped, but she knew what to say. “I think you are absolutely right, Your Majesty.”

The King was surprised by the human’s self-awareness. Her tone softened. “Since Rin likes you, I can allow you to be her mistress, provided you stay in your place, do not appear in public, and do not reveal your relationship.”

Lan Ye’s lip twitched. She didn’t like this script. She actually wanted to punch this self-important person, King or not. In her original world, everyone was equal. She had little sense of hierarchy. But she knew the King had immense power here.

Lan Ye tried to look terrified. “Can I have other options?”

The King was surprised. Was she not satisfied? Did she insist on being Queen? “What do you want?”

Lan Ye tested the waters: “Is money okay? Just pay me off to go away.”

The King was taken aback again. The human just wanted money? As Rin’s mistress, she wouldn’t lack money anyway. “Just that?”

Lan Ye nodded. “Mainly, I look refined, but I’m actually a chatterbox. If I can’t talk about my relationship with Rin, I’m afraid I’ll slip up. It’s better if you give me some money enough to live on and I’ll stay far away and keep the secret.”

Mi Ni looked at her with disdain. Coarse and greedy human, only cares about money. And she only wants two hundred million? If we’d known, we could have just sent a check instead of bringing her here.

The King was fine with such a simple solution. “Fine. But there is a condition, you must get Rin to come back.” She glanced at Mi Ni.

Mi Ni stepped down and handed Lan Ye a phone. “Call the Princess.”

Lan Ye blinked. She was trying so hard not to laugh because the name “Rin” was about to get much longer. “What’s the number?”

Mi Ni frowned. “You don’t know?”

Lan Ye shook her head. “It’s saved in my phone. I didn’t memorize it.”

Mi Ni: “Where is your phone?”

Lan Ye: “I didn’t have time to grab it. Your people didn’t even give me time to change.”

The King frowned. She had ordered them to “invite” her back, not rush her so much that she couldn’t change. Outside, Qiao Zi sneezed, feeling a bad omen.

“How about you let me go back, I’ll get my phone and call her,” Lan Ye suggested.

Just then, a THUNDEROUS BOOM echoed through the hall! Lan Ye dropped the phone in shock. She reflexively clutched her stomach and looked toward the entrance.

Outside the open doors, the guards were scattered on the ground. A single, slender figure stood tall. In the wind, gold-pink hair fluttered like a defiant battle flag. Against the light, her face was obscured, but Lan Ye recognized her instantly.

Rin! She was here!

The King, who had been lounging, sat bolt upright. Her eyes filled with surprise and joy. Her child had come home.