The Prime Minister Claims She's Pregnant - Chapter 47

Ming Yi was on leave at home and had not yet returned to court. The Emperor’s impatient arrival was certainly not for a benevolent cause.

“Tuntun, cursing like this is useless. He suffers no loss from it,” Gu Jinse said as she crouched down beside her, using a pebble to draw on the ground. “Look, isn’t this little figure cute?”

Tuntun did not fall for it. “It is ugly.”

“Then use a stone to smash it. Do not be merciful; just release the malice in your heart.” Gu Jinse thoughtfully placed the stone in her hand and looked around. The Emperor’s men had surrounded the house, making it impossible to eavesdrop.

The two sat at the door sighing together. Tuntun kept poking the ground with the stone while Gu Jinse glanced back at the guards. “Do you think I should move?”

“Moving out of the capital is the only way, otherwise His Majesty will come whenever he pleases.” Tuntun peeked at Gu Jinse’s expression. “Supervisor, what are you thinking about?”

“Nothing. I am going to get something to eat.” Gu Jinse remembered a saying from her mother: being Gu Jinhuan’s mother is bad luck.

Now she felt that being the Emperor’s foster daughter was also bad luck. Facing an unjust fate, she could not say no; she could only wipe her tears and endure in silence. It was quite a grievance.

Shortly after Gu Jinse left, the sound of porcelain shattering came from inside the room. Tuntun was too frightened to move, holding her breath in fear. Then the door opened, and the Emperor walked out with a troubled expression.

Ming Yi sat inside the room. Though her face was pale, her energy seemed acceptable. Tuntun jumped inside and asked with a long face, “How are you?”

“I am fine. Has your supervisor returned?” Ming Yi smiled and rubbed her eyes. She walked outside and took a deep breath, feeling much better in her chest and lungs. “Let us go to the garden.”

Summer had not yet faded, and the garden was full of various flowers. Several autumn chrysanthemums had already formed buds. Ming Yi looked at the early-blooming chrysanthemums with a heavy gaze. Standing in a secluded spot to calm her mind, she felt much more relaxed.

“You are here! Do you want some grapes?” A familiar, lighthearted voice came from beside her. She did not need to turn around to know who it was.

Gu Jinse arrived carrying a bunch of grapes, looking radiant. She plucked one and held it to Ming Yi’s lips with a warm smile. Even if she had been unhappy moments ago, she would put on a cheerful front for Ming Yi now.

Ming Yi looked at the young woman with an unreadable gaze. “Gu Jinse, do you know what His Majesty said just now?”

“He probably said I am a nuisance. Does he know I was the one who insisted on the investigation?” Gu Jinse asked softly. She slowly popped a grape into her own mouth, the smile fading from her face. “Does he want to kill me or transfer me away?”

The Emperor had not originally intended to transfer Zhang Mingqian, but once Gu Jinse brought up the fact that Qin Zhao had been killed by him, the situation became uncontrollable. Zhang Mingqian had to take the blame.

Ming Yi did not answer. Gu Jinse observed her closely and asked, “How was the man from the Count of Chengen’s manor handled?”

“As if nothing happened, but his career ends here.” Ming Yi’s sleeve moved slightly as she clenched her hands into fists.

Gu Jinse nodded gloomily. “For him, there is no punishment at all. Qin Zhao is dead and Zhang Mingqian is transferred. It is truly unfair.” She had many angry words she wanted to shout, but her concern for Ming Yi outweighed her rage. She plucked another grape. “Forget I said anything.”

The heavy atmosphere was suddenly broken by her remark. Ming Yi did not know whether to laugh or cry; she had expected Gu Jinse to curse the Emperor and the court.

“You have grown up and learned restraint.” Ming Yi was satisfied as she took the grapes from Gu Jinse’s hand. “There are many injustices in the world. It is best to settle matters peacefully and better yet not to let yourself suffer. If you do not feel aggrieved, life goes on. But rest assured, I will make you feel better.”

Gu Jinse looked confused.

“Let’s go back to eat.” Ming Yi did not explain further. She took Gu Jinse’s hand and walked through the flowerbeds. She looked at the flowers and then at the person beside her, thinking the person was more beautiful than the blossoms.

The unpleasantness brought by the Emperor temporarily dissipated, and the two ate dinner quietly.

Later, Gu Jinse busied herself with shop business while Ming Yi lay on the small couch reading. As time passed and dusk fell, they prepared for rest.

Lying together, Gu Jinse remembered Qin Zhao’s face and instinctively leaned closer to Ming Yi. Ming Yi asked, “Why are you afraid now?”

“I am not. I just want to sleep close to you.” Gu Jinse swallowed hard, subconsciously turning her back to Ming Yi.

“Why is your back to me? Are you not afraid a ghost will come from behind you, strangle me first, and then strangle you?” Ming Yi teased. Gu Jinse was cowardly yet always insisted on rushing to the front lines.

Gu Jinse sat up and looked at the corners of the bed. Finally, she looked at Ming Yi. “Let’s not sleep.”

Ming Yi was speechless. She turned to grab the quilt to cover herself, but Gu Jinse snatched it first and tossed it into the corner. Her eyes narrowed. “You scared me, so you must take responsibility.”

“Gu Jinse, why were you not afraid a few days ago, but only tonight?” Ming Yi blushed, her tone turning strange.

Gu Jinse replied righteously, “I was worried about your illness a few days ago and forgot to be afraid.”

“Not even a ghost would believe that lie.” Ming Yi exposed the clumsy excuse.

Gu Jinse said innocently, “A normal ghost wouldn’t, but a lecherous ghost would.”

Ming Yi was flustered, while Gu Jinse smiled and kissed the corner of her lips. She pinned Ming Yi’s hands down, feeling quite proud of herself. Ming Yi felt dizzy from the kiss. “My body hasn’t fully recovered yet.”

“Fine, I will give you an examination. I have read many medical books lately and gained much knowledge. I can test it on you.” Gu Jinse rubbed her thumb against Ming Yi’s wrist. “Where should we start the check-up?”

“Gu Jinse!” Ming Yi raised her voice, but ultimately swallowed the words she was about to say. Their eyes met. Gu Jinse’s eyes were full of longing, while Ming Yi’s were full of shyness and a desire to bite her.

Gu Jinse laughed softly, her hair brushing against Ming Yi’s chin. Ming Yi closed her eyes and whispered her name. Everything followed naturally after that. Ming Yi trembled and refused to open her eyes as Gu Jinse held her tenderly.

The next morning, Gu Jinse got up for the morning court session. Ming Yi remained in bed with her back to her. Gu Jinse crawled back and toyed with Ming Yi’s earlobe. “Are you not going to court?”

“I feel unwell; I am still sick.” Ming Yi brushed her hand away, feeling exhausted. To prevent her from messing around, she wrapped herself in the quilt. “I want to eat osmanthus cake. Remember to buy some on your way back.”

Gu Jinse twitched her lips. This was a clumsy excuse to get her to leave. “I want to take leave too.”

“I won’t approve it. By the way, the new Minister of Personnel is not easy to deal with. Watch yourself.”

Gu Jinse left for work dejectedly.

Ming Yi slept until noon, then got up to wash and change. She summoned Tuntun. “Select ten people and wait for my command.”

Tuntun’s eyes lit up. “I’ll do it right away! Is your health better? Actually, I heard some noise last night. You sounded like you were crying.”

Ming Yi looked up, and Tuntun immediately jumped away. “I’m going now!”

Left alone, Ming Yi took several deep breaths to hide her embarrassment. She blamed Gu Jinse in her heart many times before heading to the garden to pick flowers.

That evening, a colleague stopped Gu Jinse after work. “The Minister of Personnel is hosting a banquet today. Are you not going?”

“No.” Gu Jinse refused outright.

The colleague kindly warned her, “That official is an old friend of His Majesty. He has been a local official for over a decade. If you do not go, he might make things difficult for you.”

“I still won’t go. I have something important tonight.”

The colleague frowned. “What could be so important?”

Gu Jinse said happily, “My wife wants to eat osmanthus cake. Which task do you think is more important?”

“You could just have a servant buy it.” The colleague felt relieved. “I thought it was something major. Why don’t you come have a drink with me first? Just one cup and then you can go.”

Gu Jinse was dragged away and got into her colleague’s carriage. Meanwhile, Ming Yi was at home doing embroidery while Tuntun calculated the monthly expenses.

As darkness fell, Chi Mei arrived with her medicine box and bowed to Ming Yi. “Chancellor, everything is ready.”

Ming Yi looked up. “Good. Check my pulse.”

Chi Mei smiled as she opened her box. “You look much better. It seems Supervisor Gu has taken good care of you.”

“She is meticulous and patient,” Ming Yi said with a smile.

After checking her pulse, Chi Mei said, “Your health is fine now. You can stop the medicine.”

Life at the Gu manor was warm and lively. Whenever Gu Jinse returned, the maidservants swarmed around her. Ming Yi remained quiet, reading or embroidering, and occasionally walking in the garden. She was due back at court the next day. She told a maid, “When the supervisor returns, tell her to sleep in the study. I am a bit tired.”

At the banquet, Gu Jinse was bored to tears. The event was cold and formal. She toyed with her wine glass, feeling her own temperament slowing down. After three cups, she decided to leave. There were too many high-ranking officials there, and a low-level official like her had not even seen the Minister of Personnel.

As she tried to sneak out, a servant nearly ran into her. A hand pulled her back to avoid the collision.

Du Yan looked at her coldly. “Supervisor Gu, are you leaving already?”

“Chancellor Ming wants osmanthus cake; I must go buy it.”

“Sir! The second master of the Count of Chengen’s manor has been murdered! He was found hanging from a tree!”

Gu Jinse’s words were interrupted. She reacted slowly to the news. “That name sounds familiar.”

Du Yan sneered, “Your memory is poor. He was the one who harassed Qin Zhao.”

Gu Jinse stared into space. “He’s dead?”

Well, that was poetic justice. She moved to leave, but Du Yan pulled her back. “Do you want to go see?”

“I’m afraid of bothering the Chancellor. She is still recovering, and I don’t want to worry her. Ah, being a husband is hard.” Gu Jinse sighed theatrically.

Du Yan’s lip twitched. “I will go with you.”

“Master Du, the last time I had a long talk with Master Zhang, she was demoted a few days later. Are you sure you want to follow me?”

“Zhang Mingqian was alone and from a humble background. It is different for those of us from noble families,” Du Yan said dismissively.

Gu Jinse did not fully understand, but she asked for the location and rode there with Du Yan. There was no curfew in this dynasty. The victim was hanging from the tallest tree on the street, several meters high. In the middle of the night, the swaying body looked like something from a horror movie.

Gu Jinse arrived and looked up. Her heart skipped a beat, and she screamed. Du Yan was so startled by her scream that he fell off his horse. “Your voice is sharper than a girl’s!”

Gu Jinse usually kept her voice low, but that scream sounded exactly like a woman’s. The Ministry of Justice officials were still standing around because the body was too high to reach.

“Find some people with good martial arts to climb the tree,” Du Yan ordered. The swaying corpse in the dark was terrifying. Several people tried to climb, but the branches could not support the weight of two people. Someone brought a ladder, but it was too short.

A breeze blew, and some of the more faint-hearted people vomited. Gu Jinse vomited until she was dizzy. Du Yan handed her a handkerchief. “You call yourself an investigator? You are an embarrassment to men.”

“Master Du, how do you think they got him up there?” Gu Jinse crouched on the ground, her stomach turning. She wiped her mouth with the handkerchief.

Du Yan looked at the body and found it strange. This was a busy street with no curfew. How did they do it? The nearest shop was over a dozen steps away. Unless someone looked specifically at this spot, they wouldn’t see it.

Gu Jinse stood up. “This is a blind spot.” The tree was in a location that was hidden from the view of the nearby shops.

The two looked toward the entrance of the street simultaneously. Gu Jinse said, “Unless someone blocked the entrance to keep people out. It was dark, and more importantly, was he hanged alive or drugged first? Just like Qin Zhao, it is karma.” The culprit was clever.

“I’m done. I am going home to eat.” Gu Jinse waved her hand and climbed onto her horse. She looked down at Du Yan. “You can come to the Gu manor for dinner. I will return the handkerchief tomorrow.”

“I have no appetite.” Du Yan sighed. This was a blatant provocation of imperial authority. Who would be so bold?

Gu Jinse fled. She was not stupid.

When she returned home, it was past eleven at night. She was starving. She ordered a meal and went to bathe. Ming Yi had gone to bed early. Gu Jinse lay in the study, but she could not sleep. She opened the window for air, then finally grabbed her quilt and walked toward the main bedroom.

The maid on duty could not catch up with her. Gu Jinse pushed the door open. “Get out,” she told the maid in the room. The maid grabbed her own bedding and hurried out, closing the door behind her.

Ming Yi woke up as Gu Jinse entered. She pulled back the bed curtains to see the girl wrapped in a quilt with bare feet. Gu Jinse asked, “Can I get in bed?”

“If I say no, will you keep standing there?”

“No. This is my bed; I come whenever I want.”

Ming Yi sat up and made room. “Come up.”

Gu Jinse climbed into bed quickly, still wrapped in her quilt. “I want to know how you hung that man up without being seen.”

“Why don’t you guess that he climbed up there to hang himself?” Ming Yi yawned and lay down.

Gu Jinse sneered. “Climbed up himself? Why would he choose a busy street? Do you think his mind is as strange as mine? He was a noble and an official; did he not care about his reputation?”

“He was about to die; what does reputation matter? Did you see the body?” Ming Yi closed her eyes. “Go to sleep. We will talk in the morning.”

Ming Yi pulled her down to sleep, but Gu Jinse resisted. Suddenly, Ming Yi grabbed her sleeve and pulled her down onto the bed. Gu Jinse was dazed and remembered Tuntun’s words: the Chancellor is very good at fighting. The “goddess” had disappeared, replaced by a “hooligan.”

When a cool hand touched her chest, Gu Jinse immediately fought back and pinned Ming Yi down. “Instead of being a goddess, why are you being a hooligan?”

Ming Yi was pinned down, her sleepiness gone. Her hands were held tightly against the pillow. She warned, “Do not test your strength against mine. Years ago, you saw me beat the Crown Prince until he couldn’t fight back. Oh, I forgot, you were only two then. You probably forgot.”

Gu Jinse scoffed. “You are bringing up something from when I was two? Why don’t you talk about before I was born?”

Ming Yi closed her eyes. “I beat you when you were two.”

“You are shameless! I was two and you were twelve. Have you no dignity?” Gu Jinse was furious. The image of the elegant Chancellor had collapsed.

Ming Yi looked at her calmly, her gaze lingering on Gu Jinse’s lips. “Who is the one without dignity?”

Who was the one who had bullied the other the moment they met?