After the Empress O Got Pregnant - Chapter 4

Scallions and green vegetables can be harvested in just a month. Jiang Wu bought some noodles and lean pork, set up a small pot of her own, and built a makeshift stove with stacked stones.

She had cooked for herself since she was a child, so she was completely at home with these chores, but Zhang Lengzhou, who was reading a book nearby, kept turning her head to look.

In ancient times, there were no lighters; people had to rely on flint stones to strike sparks. By the time everything was done, the person who had looked so neat and clean just moments before was now covered in grime.

Only those striking obsidian eyes curved into bright, clear crescents.

“Zhang Lengzhou, dinner is ready! Go get the bowls!”

Zhang Lengzhou stood up and had just turned to walk back when she bumped head-on into three figures dressed entirely in black.

She met their gazes one by one: Lantian, Zhao Zhi, and Zhang Xiao, the other three paramours of Pei Yu.

Outside, these three alphas would not even be qualified to catch sight of her and Jiang Wu, but inside the palace, they were all simply paramours; none held a higher status than the others.

In particular, the maternal families of her and Jiang Wu were loyal supporters left behind by the late emperor, while the remaining three were staunch partisans of the new emperor. If anything were to happen, the female emperor would naturally be inclined to favor the other three a bit more.

Zhang Lengzhou lowered her gaze, instinctively stepping aside. The moment she moved an inch to the side, the wall formed by the three of them also shifted to block her. After several repetitions, her patience finally wore thin.

“Could the three of you please make way?”

“Where to?” The leading crow-like figure smiled as she looked over. “I didn’t expect our paramour Jiang knew how to cook. We could smell the fragrance from far away. Good things should be shared, right? Paramour Zhang, grab three more bowls for us.”

Behind them, the grimy little puppy poked out half her body, her clear and gentle voice drifting down lazily.

“Zhou Zhou, just shoo away the beggars when they show up; you do not need to pay attention to them. Three big alphas like that and they do not even know how to find their own food.”

Even though they had been insulted, the three did not get angry; instead, they continued to lecture from their lofty positions.

“Hmph, a gentleman stays away from the kitchen. I advise you, if you cannot survive in the palace, you might as well pack your bags and go home. Who behaves like paramour Jiang, leaving a perfectly good life outside just to throw herself at someone? It has been several months, and she has not even caught a glimpse of Her Majesty.”

“And you, Zhang Lengzhou, who are you putting on that high-and-mighty act for all day long? You must have begged for that edict from the late emperor yourself, because Her Majesty does not care at all. Yet you keep your nose buried in books all day, smelling of ink and water-colors. In the inner palace, can books fill your stomach? No matter how much learning you have, you still have to compete.”

Hearing these words, the person in the back finally put out the campfire, dusted off her fingers with an indifferent expression, and strolled out.

Her beautiful phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and when her obsidian pupils were not smiling, they cast a dim, profound depth.

How could reading be useless? In the world she lived in in her past life, poetry and prose urging people to study were countless, not to mention famous quotes: Life can start over, but the college entrance examination happens only once. (Do not take it too seriously, just a joke.)

Since transmigrating, this was her first time carefully examining the three people in front of her. Their facial features were utterly ordinary; aside from a fierce look, they had the sharp, chiseled jawlines typical of alphas, leaving no memorable impression whatsoever.

In the entire inner palace, the only attractive ones were herself and Zhang Lengzhou.

Whether the three of them were wearing matching outfits on purpose, they were dressed entirely in pitch black. Even in the scorching heat, they draped themselves in dark robes, and underneath one could see matching black inner wear, long boots, and trousers, wrapping themselves up tightly from head to toe.

Suddenly, Jiang Wu lost all desire to argue.

She was picky about looks; if she was going to bicker, she wanted to bicker with someone at least slightly decent-looking. Yelling back and forth with them would make her feel like she was talking to a pile of coal.

With that, the alpha who had just looked so menacing suddenly sighed, patted Zhang Lengzhou’s shoulder, and offered some earnest advice.

“Zhou Zhou, listening to other people’s voices is important, but when other people’s voices sound too awful, you can also choose not to listen.”

“Let us not listen to them talk.”

The light-blue thin robe was pushed up a bit higher, revealing a pale stretch of wrist bone, droplets of water from recently washing her hands still clinging to her fingertips.

As she turned around, the three people who had just been furious fell into an eerie silence for a moment before one of them suddenly spoke up.

“You probably do not know yet, but it looks like we are getting a newcomer here.”

“This morning, Her Majesty fainted during court, and the Imperial Physicians’ Quarters examined her and said she is one month pregnant.”

There were four ranks in the female emperor’s inner palace: Empress, Noble Consorts, Consorts, and finally, Paramours.

Paramours were the lowest rank, housed farthest away from Pei Yu. Those who had been favored were automatically promoted to Consorts, and only then would they be free from the risk of expulsion, with their monthly stipend directly doubling.

And whoever made Pei Yu pregnant, especially since this was her first child, would surely receive exceptional favor, possibly being directly elevated to Empress or Noble Consort, there was no telling.

The late emperor was an alpha and had numerous offspring, but an even earlier female emperor was an omega and had only an empress.

Jiang Wu paused for a moment, still finding it novel that a woman in this world could make another woman pregnant.

If she ever got close to the female emperor, she would definitely be curious enough to ask about her feelings, or observe the whole process closely.

Beside her, Zhang Lengzhou cast a subtle, hesitant-looking glance in her direction.

“Then, congratulations to Her Majesty?”

It had nothing to do with them anyway. She did not understand why these three people came to bother them early in the morning just to announce this, while the noodles were already getting soggy.

“Are you guys idiots?! With that person around, it will be even less likely for Her Majesty to summon us. By then, we will just be kicked out after three years. Zhang Lengzhou was personally appointed by the late emperor so she might be fine, but Jiang Wu, what reason do you have to stay?!”

Well, what a coincidence.

This character would pine away and die in less than a year anyway; there would not even be a chance of being kicked out.

She let out a dry laugh, finding it impossible to explain that she might die a step sooner instead.

Footsteps suddenly clattered along the corner path. Attracted by the sound, those looking on turned back as a leading palace maid, accompanied by a group of guards, locked eyes with her.

The palace maid pointed at Jiang Wu. “That is her. Tie her up and move her to Her Majesty’s bedchamber.”

Jiang Wu felt as though she could hear her life slipping away from her fingertips. We are doomed.

The death plotline had been triggered early! What about her noodles?! It was all the fault of those troublemaking alphas.

Lowering her gaze, she blinked away the tears welling in her eyes before looking at Zhang Lengzhou with a pair of water-washed, reddened eyes, beginning to dictate her final testament.

“I still have a pastry hidden in my cabinet, along with some loose coins. Remember to eat them.”

Zhang Lengzhou nodded.

Since she had gotten the female emperor pregnant, Her Majesty certainly would not deign to look at those few pastries and coins; she would not stand on ceremony with Jiang Wu.

After the person was tightly bound like a zongzi and carried away, Zhang Lengzhou slowly turned back, a hint of teasing amusement in the depths of her eyes as she looked at the remaining people.

“Well, everyone, she now has a reason to stay in the palace after all.”

“By the way, do you guys still want to stay for noodles?”

The few of them looked at each other, let out dry laughs, and said they had forgotten they had eaten earlier that morning. Telling her to enjoy her meal, they claimed they had matters to attend to and hurried away.

Too lazy to bother with them, Zhang Lengzhou walked straight back into Jiang Wu’s small dwelling.

The dragon saliva incense inside the palace had been replaced with another fragrance meant to calm the fetus. The woman sitting on the dais looked pale, one hand clutching her lower abdomen to ease the churning discomfort within, while the other hand pressed against the desk, her lowered eyes scanning the accumulated state affairs.

She was actually pregnant.

Naturally. That night she had marked her; that foolish dog had bitten her nape for almost the entire night, pouring all her alpha pheromones inside.

Before her, the imperial physicians were still kneeling. She waved her hand, signaling them to stand.

The doors of the grand hall were pushed open. Her heart was lightly brushed by a feather, and when she looked up and found it was the Head Imperial Physician returning, her gaze dimmed slightly.

“Your Majesty.”

“Hmm, I.” She paused. Being pregnant for the first time, she was somewhat unsure of what to call herself. After a long moment, she continued, “How is the one in my belly?”

The Head Imperial Physician hurriedly cupped her hands. “Your Majesty has been overworked, resulting in an unstable fetal pulse. During pregnancy, a large amount of pheromones will be required to maintain it.”

With that, she withdrew two bottles of medicine from her sleeve: the one on the left was to terminate the pregnancy, and the one on the right was to preserve it.

Struggling on the imperial throne was already exhausting; many female emperors were unwilling to spend effort preserving an unstable pregnancy.

Pei Yu understood the unstated meaning. She lowered her gaze, feeling a faint ache in her lower abdomen that drove her to extreme irritability.

Should she keep it or not?

In her life trajectory, there had originally been no plan to personally nurture a child.

She did not trust alphas. In this world, the only one who truly cared about a child was the omega mother; as for the other party, whether the child existed or not didn’t matter. Since they were not the ones carrying it, naturally they would not care.

Yet the moment she felt the connection of bloodline, she still felt a flutter in her heart.

What could a child possibly have done wrong? It merely existed, merely descended into that small womb. It should experience this world and get a chance to see its mother.

Her fingertips picked up the medicine for preserving the pregnancy on the right, and the Head Imperial Physician hastily took away the other bottle. At that moment, the doors were pushed open once more, and the tightly bound alpha was tossed onto the floor of the grand hall.

Pei Yu’s long eyelashes fluttered. For a moment, she did not know what to do, but when her gaze met the bewildered person below the steps, an indescribable irritability flared up again.

She waved her hand, and Qing Yue stepped forward, bowing to untie the ropes on Jiang Wu before leading everyone else out of the hall.

This cheap dog did not know where she had been wandering again, getting herself, all covered in grime, yet only those obsidian eyes remained exceptionally bright, still rimmed with crimson watery moisture, wearing a wronged expression as if she had been bullied.

Pei Yu was almost angered to the point of laughter.

What was she feeling wronged about? Was she already unable to handle being tied up for a single journey?

Then what about her own fatigue, soreness, emotional lowness, and instinctive urge to draw close over the past month?

Alphas really were all a bunch of cheap creatures.

A layer of frost covered the depths of her gaze, yet her lips curled into a smile.

Slender, elegant fingertips popped open the medicine bottle. Clutching her lower abdomen, the woman looked pale-faced at the person below the platform, her thin lips parting slightly: “Come here, feed me my medicine.”

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