After Becoming Pregnant With The Empress Cat's Cub - Chapter 43

Lan Ye: “From now on, I make the rules here!”

Li Hu gazed at the human before her, her eyes landing on the slight curl of the human’s lips.

Just this morning, Li Hu had seen the Queen and inquired about Rin’s return to the palace. Out of curiosity, she had brought up this human. Although the Queen hadn’t said much, it was clear from her expression that she did not like this human at all.

Li Hu had also heard that during dinner at the Empress’s palace last night, there had been some unpleasantness. Word was that the human nearly suffered a miscarriage from the stress and ended up being carried away by Rin.

The Queen hadn’t even sent anyone to offer condolences, clearly showing she didn’t care much for the child in the human’s womb.

Li Hu wondered where this human got the confidence to think she could actually summon the Queen.

Even though she was 100% certain the human couldn’t move the Queen, Li Hu wasn’t about to be provoked into making promises like some hot-headed youth.

She looked at the human with composed, mocking eyes and sneered, “You can summon Her Majesty? How impressive. Should I give you an award for that?”

Her cynical tone and mocking smile made Lu Li frown in worry as she looked toward Lan Ye.

Lan Ye’s smile didn’t waver. “Sure. Make sure the trophy is solid gold, with gems embedded in the base. Make it dazzling.”

As she spoke, she extended her hand and shook her fingers, signaling the other to look at the ring on her finger.

“By the way, the gems need to be at least this big. If they’re too small, people with poor eyesight won’t be able to see them.”

Li Hu: “…”

Was this human unable to understand human speech? Her mockery was so obvious, yet this human was seriously placing a custom order for a trophy…

Clearly, she was doing it on purpose. Just as Li Hu was about to tell her to stop playing dumb, the human spoke again.

Lan Ye continued: “Oh, once it’s finished, just deliver it to the Princess’s palace. So many people have heard you now. I assume you won’t go back on your word or get stingy and regret it once you get home, right?”

Li Hu: ?

Li Sha: “What nonsense are you talking about? Who agreed to give you a trophy?”

Lan Ye looked puzzled. “If you give an award without a trophy, what do you give instead?”

Then, she acted as if she suddenly realized something: “A direct cash prize?”

She nodded. “That works too. Whether it’s a trophy or cash, I’m fine with either. Remember to send it to the Princess’s palace. If you don’t offer free shipping, that’s fine. I’ll just have Rin go pick it up herself.”

Everyone: “…”

It was their first time seeing someone who didn’t get angry when insulted, but instead twisted the insult to secure benefits for themselves…

But the key point was: how did this human dare… how did she dare ask General Li Hu for money…

And she even said she’d have the Princess go pick it up. Who did she think the Princess was? Her errand girl?

Everyone’s expression toward Lan Ye became complicated.

Li Hu was also completely blindsided. She never expected this human to be so opportunistic, attempting to squeeze benefits out of her.

She even brought up Rin.

Thinking of how Rin had been raised to be polite and disciplined since childhood, Li Hu let out a mocking laugh.

“Rin would never be like you!”

The words ‘so ignorant’ didn’t have time to leave her mouth before the human interrupted.

“Yeah, she’s a bit different from me. I’m a bit more mature. But don’t worry, Rin doesn’t take money lightly anymore. If you don’t cover shipping, she’ll personally come to collect it later.”

Now, time to settle some real business.

On the phone screen, the Queen’s face was so dark it looked like a burnt potsticker.

Ever since the video call connected and the Queen saw that human’s smiling face, a surge of irritation had been blocked in her chest.

Hearing the exchange between the human and Li Hu just now, and knowing Li Hu’s explosive temper, the Queen felt a bit better knowing someone else was likely feeling even more stifled than she was.

However, remembering that this video call was forced upon her made her expression remain grim and heavy.

Standing behind the Queen, Qiao Zi looked at the Queen’s displeased face and lowered her head in terror. She was probably finished!

When she had followed the Princess’s orders to escort the human to the palace, Lan Ye had asked for her contact information. Even then, Qiao Zi had a faint feeling it would lead to trouble.

She just didn’t expect the trouble to arrive so quickly.

When she received those messages from the human earlier, she couldn’t believe her eyes! Lan Ye actually dared to threaten her into finding the Queen and even insisted she relay those messages!

It was a joke. Who was she? Was the Queen someone she could just see whenever she wanted? Just as she was about to refuse, the other party, as if predicting it, sent another barrage of messages.

The human threatened that if she didn’t comply, she would sue her for intimidating a pregnant woman, kidnapping a poor, innocent pregnant lady onto a private helicopter, and treating her rudely while forcibly detaining her for hours!

She said she’d send her to the Tribunal!

The human clearly didn’t understand that the Tribunal was for royalty and nobles, at most, Qiao Zi would go to a regular court.

But regarding the things the human was accusing her of, she wouldn’t be able to escape a prison sentence.

Especially because, from the human’s perspective, those things were true…

In Lan Ye’s view, the moment she stepped out of the dressing room, she saw Si Qing unconscious on the floor. Anyone would be terrified by such a scene. And Qiao Zi had indeed done it to intimidate her into cooperating.

But no one told her the woman was pregnant!

Qiao Zi was on the verge of tears. Having no choice, she claimed she had urgent business to report and entered the Queen’s study. Finding the Queen resting, she simply handed over the phone and let her see for herself…

She figured that no matter how angry the Queen was, given her years of loyal service, she’d get a scolding at most, or lose her job at worst.

But that human, she really couldn’t tell if she was joking or if she’d actually send her to eat prison food.

Prison food is terrible, she’d seen it once when she went to pick someone up. There wasn’t a single drop of oil in the vegetables!

Qiao Zi peeked at the Queen. On the screen, her face was still dark.

Recalling the words the human used to threaten the Queen, Qiao Zi couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration. The human really knew how to manipulate people, tailoring her threats to the individual…

She looked at the Queen. The human had actually succeeded.

When the Queen first saw the messages from Lan Ye, her first reaction was shock. This human actually dared to threaten her so flagrantly.

For a moment, she wondered if the human thought she could carry that child forever and remain untouchable, or if she had found out something that gave her such boldness…

Thinking of those messages, they appeared humble but were threats in every line…

The Queen closed her eyes and recalled what the human had sent.

[Your Majesty, I am Lan Ye. I am sorry for the intrusion, but I had no choice!]

[The nobles in the palace are abusing their power and bullying me. I’m quite shaken and don’t feel safe staying in the palace anymore!]

[I want to leave the palace. Your Majesty, you know I’m pregnant now. Rin will definitely be worried about me and will surely leave with me!]

[I’m sorry, but we might not be able to attend your birthday banquet. If this isn’t resolved, I won’t even dare to enter the palace again.]

[Also, as you know, the best education is leading by example. Although the baby can’t see from inside the womb, she might be able to hear. If she grows up knowing the world is full of bullies and that honest people have no place for justice, what if she wants to become a villain too?]

[I believe you don’t want to see that happen. If you agree, please return my video call so we can work together to make this world a little better.]

It was a long-winded message with humble wording and polite tone, as if the Queen wouldn’t see right through her intent.

She was clearly saying she was being bullied, and if the Queen didn’t step in to back her up, she’d take Rin out of the palace and skip the birthday banquet!

She was actually confident enough to think Rin would listen to her and miss her own mother’s birthday banquet for her sake!

Thinking of this, the irritation in the Queen’s chest felt like it was expanding, making her feel uncomfortable all over!

At first, when she saw these messages, the Queen’s immediate thought was to delete them and pretend she never saw them. She could not be threatened by a human.

Nor did she believe Rin would be so submissive to this human.

But then she remembered last night, how nervous Rin had been the moment the human claimed her stomach hurt.

She didn’t want to admit it, but she had to… Rin cared deeply for her.

Furthermore, Rin currently still had misunderstandings regarding her as a mother…

Finally, the Queen thought, Fine, I’m doing this for the sake of the child…

Looking at the connected video call, this human really was too much. The Queen had condescended to answer her request, yet after the call connected, the human didn’t even greet her first, choosing to argue with someone else instead.

It was only through the conversation just now that the Queen realized who the “abusive noble” Lan Ye mentioned was.

“Good morning, Your Majesty~”

Having finished dealing with the general, Lan Ye hurried to greet the Queen on the phone.

She turned on her maximum enthusiasm, smiling so wide she showed two rows of white teeth. Her eyes were full of surprise, as if she were genuinely delighted to see the Queen.

Queen: “…”

The video had been connected for so long, only a fool wouldn’t realize that look of “surprise” was faked…

Also, when the human smiled at her like that, it felt more terrifying than being threatened. She couldn’t help but rub her fingertips together.

On the other side, General Li Hu, who had just inexplicably lost a sum of money, frowned at the human’s words. “Your Majesty?”

There was only one person in the palace who could be addressed that way.

Lan Ye glanced at her, then reached out to pat Lu Li. She tilted the phone slightly so Lu Li could see the person in the video and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear: “Shout it out like you did when we came in.”

Lu Li nodded, took a breath, and shouted at the top of her lungs: “Her Majesty the Queen has arrived!”

Li Sha and the others were startled once again!

Everyone turned to look at the door, but it was empty. There was no sign of the Queen.

Li Hu was startled by the sudden loud noise. She hadn’t been on the stage earlier and hadn’t heard the earth-shattering “The Pregnant Woman has arrived.” Hearing this high-pitched, thunderous voice now made the nerves in her forehead twitch. She instinctively covered her ears.

Once the echoes died down, she let go and looked at Lan Ye. “Where is Her Majesty? You dare to lie?!”

This human was truly out of control, even daring to falsely announce the Queen’s arrival.

Lan Ye looked at her as if she were an idiot. “For such a small matter, is it really worth Her Majesty coming in person?~”

Just as Li Hu was about to say, “Then why are you shouting for no reason,” she saw the human point the phone toward her.

“Here, Her Majesty is right here~”

Li Hu saw the person on the phone screen: !

The Queen saw the face that suddenly appeared on the screen: !

Neither of them expected to see each other this way!

Li Hu blinked. This is the Queen? Impossible…

The others on the stage were too far away to see clearly. Although Li Sha was close, she had only seen the Queen from a distance before and couldn’t be sure if the person on the screen was really the Queen.

No one quite believed that this human could have the Queen’s contact info, let alone be on a video call with her…

Everyone looked at General Li Hu, waiting for her to confirm the identity.

At that moment, Lan Ye pulled the phone back to face herself. “Your Majesty, they saw you and didn’t even bow!”

The Queen had been slow to react because of the sudden appearance of Li Hu, so she hadn’t spoken. Now, seeing Lan Ye’s face again, she felt that looking at Li Hu was actually more pleasant.

“Turn the phone back.”

“You want to see who isn’t bowing to you?” Lan Ye said, showing the phone like a police officer flashing a badge to a criminal. “Here, these are the ones!”

The Queen and Li Hu were “face to face” again. A flash of awkwardness crossed the Queen’s eyes, along with a touch of resentment. Of all people for Li Hu to provoke, she had to pick this human…

Even though Li Hu could see clearly now, she was still in disbelief. “Your Majesty?”

With a cold face and a majestic voice, the Queen replied, “Mm.”

She didn’t say anything more, not knowing what to say… the human hadn’t stated a specific request yet… she only said something about making the world better…

Once Li Hu confirmed it was the Queen, her shock didn’t lessen. This human… how!

How could the Queen be in a video call with this human!

Even she had never had a video call with the Queen, everything had to be discussed in person!

Seeing the Queen’s majestic face on this small screen felt incredibly strange… Seeing the Queen looking at her, Li Hu snapped out of it and performed a formal curtsy toward the phone.

Since the human was holding the phone, it felt as though she were curtsying to the human…

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

When everyone saw General Li Hu bow, it confirmed that the person on Lan Ye’s phone was indeed the Queen. For a moment, those who had bullied others alongside Li Sha felt their hearts race with anxiety!

Everyone followed suit and bowed, all feeling as if they were kneeling before Lan Ye…

After Li Hu rose from her bow, she looked at the Queen. Their eyes met, but neither spoke. A sudden silence fell.

The Queen didn’t know what to say, and Li Hu was naturally fearful, waiting for the Queen to speak first.

Finally, the silence was broken by the tiny human holding the phone as if holding everyone’s fate.

After Lan Ye turned the phone back to herself, she wiped away her smile and replaced it with a look of indignation.

The speed of her facial transformation amazed everyone.

Her words were even more unexpected.

“Your Majesty, you have no idea! These people are trying to sabotage the ‘Meow Meow Voice’ Grand Finals, which is one of the programs for your birthday!”

The Queen raised an eyebrow. Meow Meow Voice?

Lan Ye continued: “These people are terrible! They want to kick out the person with the best singing voice and leave you with only the bad ones!”

Li Sha and the others who were implicated by Lan Ye: ?

Li Sha had thought the human would mention the spiritual power incident or how they bullied the “trash.” She had already prepared her defense, as long as they all stuck to the story that the “trash” had unstable spiritual power, they could counter accuse the human of slander!

After all, she was just a human with no spiritual power, she wouldn’t understand the inner workings of things. Without evidence, they could do whatever they wanted…

Li Sha never expected the human’s first words to be like this.

She was the first to protest: “What do you mean ‘best voice’! That trash!”