Chapter 234: Chapter 234: Too Early for a Diagnosis

She answered nonchalantly, but Chen Minrou gasped and grabbed her hand. "Good heavens, don’t you think you should ask an Imperial Physician to check your pulse?"

"Gently..."

Her wrist was starting to hurt.

Cui Lingyao frowned. "Didn’t the Imperial Physician check my pulse just a few days ago? I’ve been taking the prescription he gave me, and my collarbone is healing nicely. I’m eating and sleeping well. I just have a little craving for sour things. There’s no need to be so dramatic."

She was so calm that the thought in Chen Minrou’s mind dissipated, and she began to wonder if she was truly making a fuss over nothing.

After all, it wasn’t unheard of for one’s tastes to change while taking medicine.

Perhaps the exciting possibility that had just surfaced refused to be suppressed. And since they were genuinely close friends with nothing to hold back, Chen Minrou went ahead and asked, "When was your last menstrual period?"

"..." Cui Lingyao was stunned. "What do you mean?"

’She really hadn’t considered that.’

Chen Minrou couldn’t help but press a hand to her forehead and state bluntly, "I’ve been pregnant twice, and I’ve also had times when my tastes changed suddenly."

Pregnant!

Cui Lingyao’s eyes widened, and she shook her head again and again. "That’s impossible!"

"How is it impossible?"

Chen Minrou couldn’t understand her certainty and said with an amused laugh, "You’re not some unmarried maiden. You’ve been married for years. Surely you know that as long as a husband and wife share a bed, there’s always a chance of conception?"

Cui Lingyao didn’t speak, just kept shaking her head.

’The System had provided this body with contraception.’

’It hadn’t failed for three whole years. It’s only been a short while this time, so how...’

’The System!’

Cui Lingyao froze. She suddenly realized—the System was completely offline.

’After resurrecting this body, which had already died once, it had fallen into a deep sleep.’

’Unlike before, this time its energy was completely drained. It was a slumber so deep she couldn’t wake it.’

’So, before it fell asleep, did it reapply the contraceptive measures to her body?’

’Or rather, did it even have enough energy to apply those measures?’

’At the time, she had forgotten to ask it if the contraceptive effect was still active now that her body had been restored with its energy.’

...

Cui Lingyao’s heart suddenly began to race, her thoughts leaping from one thing to another.

’She remembered that night, straddling him.’

’As she rode him, she remembered the heavy, aching feeling in her lower abdomen.’

’It wasn’t as if they hadn’t been intimate right before her period was due in the past.’

’But only this time, the pain was intense.’

’Her breasts had also been sore for days.’

’Most importantly, she kept thinking her menstrual period would arrive "any day now," but several of those "days" had passed, and it still hadn’t come.’

She had been so busy with the banquet these past few days that she hadn’t bothered to keep track of the date. Now, jolted by Chen Minrou’s words, the more she thought about it, the more she panicked.

’Could it be... I’m really pregnant?’

Cui Lingyao subconsciously placed a hand on her stomach and stared blankly at Chen Minrou. "Since I woke up, I haven’t had a single menstrual period."

Let’s not even talk about the time before that.

Just counting from when Xie Jinbai returned to the capital, it had already been over a month.

On the very day he returned to the capital, they began sleeping together. Under the influence of the Hundred Diseases Pill, they had been completely unrestrained in bed.

That was until the day of the assassination attempt. She’d felt a pain in her abdomen during their lovemaking and assumed her menstrual period was about to start.

Concerned for her health, he hadn’t pestered her for more.

But now, nearly half a month had gone by.

They had both been busy, and her irregular periods were normal for her, so neither of them had noticed that her menstrual period never actually arrived.

Hearing her friend, Chen Minrou could only feel exasperated. "You are truly clueless!"

’How could any wife be so clueless? A month or two without a menstrual period, and the thought of pregnancy never even crossed her mind.’

’And the maids and servants attending her didn’t even think to keep track of the dates for their mistress.’

But she didn’t know that Cui Lingyao’s irregular periods were the norm. The maids attending her had, of course, kept track at first, hoping their mistress would soon have happy news.

After a few reminders ended in disappointment, Cui Lingyao, who believed she could never conceive, told them to stop counting the days for her in the future.

But now, even she was beginning to doubt that belief. The knuckles of the hand stroking her lower abdomen trembled slightly. "Just a few days ago, the Imperial Physician took my pulse and didn’t find anything... Could it really be...?"

"In the early stages of pregnancy, if it hasn’t been long, the pulse is faint and can’t be detected. Regardless, you should have a doctor check your pulse again, just to be safe."

Chen Minrou said, "If it’s inconvenient for an Imperial Physician to come, then summon the household doctor."

The more Cui Lingyao listened, the more sense it made. She couldn’t sit still any longer. She summoned Xia Zhi and instructed her in a low voice, "Please have the household doctor come. Don’t alarm anyone."

Xia Zhi acknowledged the order and withdrew.

On stage, an act of the opera had just concluded.

...

「Meanwhile.」

「In the reception hall of the front courtyard.」

As Xie Jinbai uttered his acceptance, Gao Yong let out a long sigh of relief.

The anxiety that had gripped him finally subsided.

He smiled. "Your Highness is wise."

Xie Jinbai had already sat back down in the host’s seat.

Gao Yong personally picked up a jug of Jade Liquid Wine and poured a cup for him. He then shot a look at the two beauties, signaling them to hurry over and attend to him.

The two beauties, cheeks flushed, undid their fox-fur cloaks, revealing the slender figures beneath wrapped in thin dresses. They were about to step forward to serve him.

"No rush," Xie Jinbai said, raising a hand to stop their approach. "Since I have accepted you, it is only right that I arrange a good home for you."

His gaze swept across the hall, landing on the courtier who had been the most earnest in persuading him. He looked at the woman called Lian’er and said coolly, "Go and serve Mr. Hu."

Lian’er’s rosy complexion froze, and she stood there, at a loss.

She didn’t dare to disobey, yet she was unwilling to submit.

The bold and coquettish demeanor she had deliberately displayed just moments ago vanished completely.

When Vice Minister Hu realized what was happening, he was utterly horrified.

He scrambled to his feet, declining in a panic. "Your Highness, you mustn’t."

"Oh?" Xie Jinbai propped his chin on his hand, his eyes lowered in a smile. "I saw Vice Minister Hu showering this beauty with praise just now. I am simply willing to help you fulfill your wish. Why ever not?"

Vice Minister Hu gave a strained laugh. "Lady Lian’er was a gift from His Majesty. I am unworthy and dare not accept her."

"That’s no matter. Since my father, the Emperor, gave her to me, she is mine to do with as I please. And I can give my things to whomever I wish."

Xie Jinbai waved his hand dismissively. "I’ve long heard that you, my dear minister, lead a rather... libertine life, with a backyard full of lovely songbirds. You only just took your ninth concubine not long ago; what’s one more? Now, hurry up and take her."

With that, he finally deigned to look at Lian’er and smiled faintly. "I have found you a new, ideal husband. Are you not going to express your gratitude?"

The hall fell deathly silent.

Lian’er’s face was ashen, but she dared not utter a single word of refusal.

She looked at Gao Yong.

But what could Gao Yong do? He served at the Emperor’s side and understood Xie Jinbai’s temper better than anyone. At a time like this, he didn’t dare to provoke his wrath in the slightest.

The man who brought her here wouldn’t plead her case. Lian’er’s knees trembled and gave way. Finally, with a THUD, she collapsed to the floor. "This servant... thanks Your Highness."

She was shaking like a leaf.

Now, not even a trace of that proud, pampered air remained.

Xie Jinbai didn’t spare her a single glance, instead turning to Vice Minister Hu with a ghost of a smile. "My dear minister, are you not going to lead the beauty away? Who knows, perhaps this will become a celebrated tale one day."

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