After the Empress O Got Pregnant - Chapter 3

“Mm-hmm.” Jiang Wu pushed open the wooden door. On the table sat a small bucket, adorned with a small yellow flower picked from outside.

A night breeze swept past, making a few yellow petals tremble, carrying the fresh, sweet scent of lychees straight toward them.

Zhang Lingzhou stood at the doorway, her gaze following the alpha in front of her as she poured a bucket of ice into the smaller bucket containing the lychees, then carried a table outside to face the moon.

“Zhang Lingzhou, come here.” Jiang Wu beckoned. The cold white moonlight draped over her, casting a hazy, distorted layer, while the gold-threaded cuffs reflected a glimmer of light.

She clearly had pretty phoenix eyes, but when she lifted them upward, revealing the bright, sparkling obsidian pupils within, Zhang Lingzhou suddenly stopped feeling so angry at Jiang Wu for brushing her off.

Right now, she was kind of mad at herself.

Total simp for a pretty face.

The alpha excitedly poured some wine, handing a cup to the stiff-faced Zhang Lingzhou as well. Sitting down, she coaxed, “Living off your parents, right? Lady Zhang didn’t know about this? It should be very easy to have your mother send some food into the palace.”

“Then whose paper doll did you bury yesterday?”

“Not yours.”

“Oh.” The alpha sat down obediently, her last shred of anger instantly extinguishing.

With the moon climbing to the treetops, a hazy layer of moisture gradually welled up in those obsidian pupils. The intoxication of the wine she had just drunk diffused from the corners of her eyes, and then, those eyes curved into crescent shapes, like ripples spreading across the surface of a lake.

Jiang Wu had never drunk alcohol before and had no idea how well she held her liquor. Fearing she might end up rambling nonsense, she propped herself up, her breath exhaling a peppermint-scented alcoholic haze.

“Zhang Lingzhou, I’m so sleepy.”

When she said someone’s full name, her voice turned soft, wrapping around the warmth of early summer. Whether it was her imagination or not, Zhang Lingzhou always felt like there was a hint of floral fragrance mixed in with the peppermint.

Zhang Lingzhou nodded, watching the moon-white figure disappear through the back door. Her heart skipped a beat for no reason. Turning her head, she caught sight of a flash of dark red amidst the swaying moonlight.

Dappled tree shadows fell upon the woman’s fair wrists, the interweaving of light and shadow carrying a hint of desolation.

Zhang Lingzhou lowered her gaze and hurriedly half-knelt in a salute, “Your Majesty.”

“Were you all very busy today?” The woman’s voice still carried a slight rasp, sounding like someone whose voice had been overused and had not yet recovered.

“Replying to Your Majesty. Not busy.”

Upon hearing this, Pei Yu turned around, her robes fluttering. The desolation from just a moment ago shattered in an instant.

Perhaps it was her imagination, but Zhang Lingzhou always felt that Pei Yu was angry.

Pei Yu was practically fuming to the point of dizziness.

Along the way, she had come up with ten thousand excuses for Jiang Wu: for instance, that alphas have frail bodies and this was her first time, so she was still unconscious and hadn’t woken up yet; or that Jiang Wu was shy and timid, not knowing how to come find her; or simply that there were too many matters to attend to today.

Never in her wildest dreams would she have expected Jiang Wu to be drinking with Zhang Lingzhou.

When she arrived, she had only caught a glimpse of the alpha’s snow-white earlobes dyed with a flush of red, sitting exceptionally close to the person opposite her, their breathing intertwined as if they were about to kiss.

The emperor’s inner court had a vast number of occupants, making it impossible to care for everyone. Some were unwilling to leave and spent their entire lives without ever being summoned for an imperial favor, especially during times when Omegas held the throne.

Among those who were never summoned, many would find internal solutions among themselves. Toward such matters, the imperial family generally turned a blind eye.

But Jiang Wu, this cheap dog, had entered the palace under the grand pretense of insisting on her, and yet, not even three months in, she was already acting this intimate and ambiguous with another woman.

Especially since they had been intimate just last night.

What kind of wine had to be drunk at night?

Coming out this time, Pei Yu had brought no attendants. The residence of the concubines was remote, very old, and the furthest away from her own bedchamber. She walked alone for a long time, her waist and abdomen, wrestled through the previous day, feeling exceptionally sore and aching.

By the time she reached the bedchamber, the lamp lit upon her departure was burning down to its last flicker. She raised her hand and personally added oil to the lamp.

She was unaccustomed to having people too close. The single palace maid guarding outside walked in, her gaze dropping hastily upon catching sight of the empress’s flushed eye-tails, pretending she hadn’t seen anything.

“Does Your Majesty wish to retire?”

“Yes, prepare water for bathing.”

In theory, no one dared to gossip behind the empress’s back, but returning from an outing looking as though she had been crying was far too alarming.

Chunba and Qingyue had accompanied the empress since her childhood and brought her up through the years. Ever since the late consort passed away, they had never witnessed Pei Yu experience such intense emotional fluctuations.

Qingyue was steadier. The moment she raised her eyes, the person who had been chattering away instantly hushed.

“It must have been the wind.”

Chunba nodded, believing Qingyue’s words without a shred of doubt.

Qingyue had always been more reliable than her since they were young; believing her was guaranteed to be right.

Submerging her entire body in the bathwater, Pei Yu lowered her gaze. Petals drifted up and down on the water’s surface, one of them resting right over the small mole behind her wrist bone, concealing the faintly mottled red marks beneath.

Jiang Wu was truly excessive last night.

She admitted that drugging her was wrong, but the entire inner court belonged to her. As a mere concubine, whatever she did to Jiang Wu was justified. What right did that stupid Alpha have to be angry with her?

Clearly, her body was covered in marks, yet taking into consideration that it was her first time, she hadn’t made a fuss.

Pei Yu let out a soft breath, lowering her gaze until the moisture creeping at the corners of her eyes dissipated, before slowly rising from the tub.

Using her fingertips, she picked off the flower petals on her body, across her chest, one by one, tossing them casually into the water.

For a fleeting moment, she felt a brief trance; the ripples rising from the rose petals looked strikingly like the alpha’s eyes that night.

It was rare for Pei Yu to require attendance at night, and she specifically designated Qingyue.

Lowering her gaze, Qingyue pulled back the bed curtains to light the night lamp for Pei Yu.

“Qingyue.”

The woman’s clear yet weary tone drifted down slowly. Qingyue raised her eyes; the red marks on her collarbone, which had been concealed by robes during the day, were clearly visible.

They appeared ambiguous and dissolute against her ivory-white skin.

“Your Majesty, which concubine was it?”

Qingyue was a few years older than Chunba and far more mature; Pei Yu tended to share many matters with her.

This included that night when her pheromones went into chaos and she went to the inner court alone.

Pei Yu half-leaned against the edge of the bed, the dim yellow glow of the night lamp outlining the slender contours of the woman’s waist, making her look exceptionally fragile.

“Jiang Wu.”

“The prime minister’s household member?” Qingyue took a jar of ointment from her sleeve, warmed it between her palms, and smoothed it over the exposed marks on Pei Yu.

The woman nodded, the tension between her brows smoothing out slightly.

“But she didn’t come to find me.”

“That’s for the best, sparing the prime minister from coming over to demand explanations.”

She knew better than anyone that Cheng Jin had not sincerely wanted Jiang Wu to enter the palace. Sending her in was partly because she couldn’t out-stubborn her own child, but also partly to place her here to be ground down for three years.

Alphas who were too useless couldn’t find themselves a wife.

Once those three years passed, they could simply find an Omega to marry Jiang Wu off to, bringing a personal worry to a close.

“Then Your Majesty means?”

Qingyue looked uncertainly at Pei Yu. Having followed her since childhood, she naturally knew that, influenced by the late consort, Pei Yu held very unique views regarding partners.

She had not initially been raised to be the next empress, living from childhood in a side hall little better than a cold palace. By the time she truly came into contact with her birth mother and imperial sisters, her various concepts were already formed and deeply rooted. That was why, for so many years, she had never touched any of the concubines randomly tossed into the inner court.

In her field of vision, the woman’s eyelashes drooped, casting a small shadow beneath her averted eyelids.

“Act as if nothing happened.”

That low-class, foolish Alpha didn’t care; why should she?

She knew the monthly stipend for concubines was low, and figured Jiang Wu wasn’t lacking in silver either: two buckets of ice, two bottles of craft brew, and a bucket of lychees from goodness knows where.

She must be quite happy living in those run-down houses anyway.

The medication on her collarbone and the back of her neck grew faintly hot, the scent of peppermint wrapping entirely around her.

She turned onto her side, curling herself tightly into the blankets, her voice muffled.

“Help me get some of the medicine used down there.”

“Leave it by my pillow. I will apply it myself.”

Were all alphas like this, or did only Jiang Wu have no sense of moderation? She was too eager, too intense, and far too difficult to withstand.

It was her first time as well. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she had pressed against Jiang Wu’s shoulders countless times. Yet the alpha had obediently stopped to look at her, eyes very bright, looking deeply wronged, the tip of her nose stained with moisture like a stray puppy caught in the rain.

Perhaps the night was too ambiguous, or perhaps people lose their rationality in such moments; she had actually closed her eyes, released her grip on the alpha’s shoulders, and allowed her to run wild.

How was it that Jiang Wu was completely different from the impressions people spoke of?

What foolish and jealous? What loving her so much she would give up everything?

It was all fake.

The sound of the night lamp burning was microscopic. Clutching the ointment by her pillow, Pei Yu took deep breaths while pushing the chilling sensation inward.

A flush involuntarily crept into her eyes. She curled into a ball, unable to tell whether she was feeling miserable or lingering on the taste of it.

The last time Jiang Wu was this broke was at the beginning of last month, when she had a sudden brainstorm and spent over eight thousand on an electric wheelchair.

Getting an electric vehicle on campus required a license plate and a pass, and while the license plate was manageable, the pass required you to be an intern student or a faculty member.

Yet her dorm was so far from the teaching buildings that her daily walking average exceeded ten thousand steps.

She ran out of money right at the start of the month, but fortunately, she had the wheelchair. When she was too hungry to walk, the wheelchair would push her along.

During that period, many people on campus spread rumors that she had an injury and couldn’t walk long distances. She magnanimously never explained; she was afraid people would wonder if her issue wasn’t her legs, but her brain.

Just as she barely scraped by to the start of the next month, she time-traveled. And the person she transmigrated into was genuinely broke.

The crux of the matter was that, for reasons unknown, the empress suddenly slashed the monthly salary of the inner court concubines from three thousand down to two thousand five.

The sky had fallen.

She took a bite of a steamed bun, gazing longingly out at the open patch of ground where she had planted green onions and little bok choy.

She genuinely wanted to kneel down and beg them to grow before she starved to death.

And then there was that female official who ran away after sleeping with her. She had roamed everywhere over the past many days, carefully dodging the empress who had recently taken to strolling around the periphery of the inner court, all while searching for her.

Not a single trace. An irresponsible jerk.

Jiang Wu had been face-blind for twenty-one years; people met on a single occasion were entirely unmemorable. Fortunately, it was said that when meeting and locking eyes with her mission target, the system would chime.

A cluster of light drifted in the air, blinking on and off.

“Host.”

“Yeah.” Jiang Wu was wearing a dark-colored long robe today, secured with a waist belt. The curves outlined by her slender waist carried an exceptional sense of strength in the sunlight.

The wooden door was knocked upon three times with proper etiquette, and then the person outside pushed it open and entered.

The scent of food circled around the tip of her nose. Jiang Wu turned her head, her entire figure glowing brightly in the sunlight.

Her obsidian pupils instantly and automatically locked onto the two buns in Zhang Lingzhou’s hands.

The woman closed the door, tossed the buns between her palms twice, and looked with complex expressions at the alpha whose gaze followed them.

“Has the empress come to look for you?”

“Why would the empress come looking for me?” Jiang Wu replied offhandedly, looking as if she genuinely found the question baffling.

Zhang Lingzhou pressed her lips together, a vague sense of unease washing over her.

She didn’t think Jiang Wu had the brains to deceive others. If it were the old Jiang Wu, gaining even a sliver of favor would have had her showing off everywhere like a flashy peacock.

The current her had zero intention of fighting for favor; she was simply a pretty little dog idling her days away.

So why was Pei Yu constantly lingering around the inner court lately, and why had her daily walking route changed to this area? And that night, the look the woman cast toward this place possessed far too much emotion.

But that was Pei Yu.

If she liked someone, she would simply promote them and keep them by her side; she had no reason to be so roundabout.

Zhang Lingzhou could only let out a soft sigh, handing the buns to Jiang Wu while her gaze fell blankly out the window.

She hoped she was just overthinking things.

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