The Emperor pressed his lips together, lowering his eyes in silence for a while, then said quietly, “This Emperor has never seen anyone pregnant.”

The bigger her belly got, the more anxious he felt. A person’s stomach protruding out that much, so heavy too—what if she accidentally bumped it while moving, wouldn’t that hurt terribly? And walking, with the belly hanging forward constantly, with her small frame, what if she couldn’t support it and fell flat on the ground?

Hua Chun, done laughing, reached out and took his hand, squeezing it, her eyes bright as if holding stars. “Don’t worry, it won’t fall off. If you’re really so worried, you could think of something else to distract yourself, like whether this concubine is carrying a boy or a girl.”

Yuwen Jie was stunned, then said quite naturally, “Should be a boy.”

“Why?” Hua Chun raised an eyebrow.

“Because imperial sons are precious,” he said. “Your belly really is quite heavy.”

Hua Chun: “…”

Fairy tales really were all lies. What about the male lead saying deeply, “Whether it’s a boy or girl doesn’t matter, as long as it’s yours, I’ll love it”? That plot only happened in cheesy dramas. Look at this Yuwen fellow, so honest, saying whatever’s on his mind, and a card-carrying son-preferring type!

She grew displeased. “This concubine prefers girls.”

“Why?” the Emperor asked, unable to understand. “Don’t women all hope for sons?”

“Daughters are more affectionate than sons,” Hua Chun said, lifting her chin. “Rather than have a stinky brat infuriate me, better to have an obedient little girl to dote on.”

The Emperor pressed his lips together, thought for a moment, then asked very seriously, “What if it’s a stinky girl?”

Hua Chun gritted her teeth. “Daughters take after their fathers—is Your Majesty lacking confidence in yourself?”

“No, generally daughters resemble their birth mothers. This Emperor just…” His gaze wandered over her for a moment, and Yuwen Jie paused, then reluctantly said, “Why don’t you have another daughter later, then.”

To hell with you! Hua Chun glared, holding her own belly as she stood up. “If you want a son, go have one yourself—this pregnancy is this concubine’s own daughter!”

Saying this, she turned to leave, only to discover Sun Liuxiang still standing in the middle of the hall.

Wiping a hand over her face, Hua Chun smiled at her wide-open eyes. “Just now, this palace and the Emperor were performing a comedy routine. The Commandery Princess needn’t take it to heart. Come along with this palace to Yangxin Hall to sit for a while.”

Coming back to her senses, Sun Liuxiang nodded quickly, glanced at the Emperor a couple times secretly, then lifted her skirt and followed Hua Chun out.

Wasn’t the Emperor of Great Liang supposed to be, according to legend, taciturn and tyrannical? Had she just been seeing and hearing things, or was she dreaming? That man sitting there talked a lot and was gentle—could it be a fake emperor?

Thinking about it, that seemed impossible…

Looking up at the person walking ahead, Sun Liuxiang couldn’t help asking, “How does Your Highness manage it?”

“Hm?” Hua Chun was still sulking, looking at her blankly at the question.

“The Emperor treats you very well,” Sun Liuxiang said quietly. “That’s not the treatment an ordinary person gets.”

Rolling her eyes, Hua Chun said irritably, “He just doesn’t treat me as a person—treats me like a womb being kept.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m joking, don’t take it seriously.” Chuckling, Hua Chun reached out and pulled her close to walk together. “I heard the Commandery Princess has been with Prince Xi for a while, done a lot for him too—did you get anything out of it?”

Sun Liuxiang pouted. “If I’d gotten anything out of it, would today have ended this way?”

Just one divorce letter away, and the two of them would have no relationship at all.

Hua Chun sighed a little. “Do you like him a lot?”

Scratching her head, Sun Liuxiang thought carefully. “Not really that fond, actually. Just happened to marry this person, so I wanted to be good to him. But being good to him… he doesn’t seem to like it much.”

Every time the stilt-walking act made her genuinely hurt, and she wasn’t so oblivious as to not hear that Prince Xi was mocking her, but there wasn’t much more she could do for him—the rest was truly beyond her ability.

Hua Chun was a bit surprised. “You don’t like him, yet you foolishly wanted to stay with him and do all those foolish things for him?”

Not waiting for an answer, she muttered to herself, “Right, human nature has this spirit of giving, especially in women—maybe not liking someone much, but to follow the plotline of idol dramas and romance shows, you’d still be good to a person, and end up moving yourself in the process. Is that how you are too?”

Sun Liuxiang clearly couldn’t follow what she was saying, looking at her blankly for a while before saying, “If I could be with His Highness, I’d be good to him. If we can’t be together, then simply let go—it’s not a big deal. Him being locked up at White Horse Temple means I’m useless to him now, and dragging this body of fat around in front of him is quite disgusting for him too. Before we’ve consummated the marriage, wouldn’t it be better for me to find someone in the countryside to marry?”

Was that really how she thought? Hua Chun clicked her tongue. She’d thought this foolish girl was deeply in love with Yuwen Xi and had planned to properly counsel her, never expecting her to be this open-minded, able to pick things up and put them down so easily.

That made things much easier for her.

“So, regarding this treason charge alongside Prince Xi, and having your title as Prince stripped—what’s your view on that?”

Sun Liuxiang shrugged. “It’s my fault for standing on the wrong side with my father. Gambling has consequences—the Emperor sparing both our lives, father and daughter, is already extremely merciful. Liuxiang and my father surely feel grateful in our hearts.”

“You’re so sensible—Prince Xi’s loss for missing out on you,” Hua Chun clicked her tongue approvingly, clapping her hands in satisfaction.

Though today she’d gone to great lengths to prove to Commandery Princess Liuxiang that Prince Xi’s feelings weren’t sincere—partly out of personal sympathy—the main reason was still hoping Prince He and Commandery Princess Liuxiang would realize things in time, making the handover of Prince Xi’s fief go smoothly, without too much worry about remaining loyalists.

Seemed like things were progressing quite smoothly.

Sun Liuxiang bowed to her, hesitated a moment, then decided not to ask any further unnecessary questions, silently continuing to walk forward.

Having felt pleased with herself, Hua Chun also felt a bit awkward. She’d originally planned to talk things through slowly back at Yangxin Hall, but it had been resolved in just a few sentences—what should they talk about next?

Chuckling dryly a couple times, Hua Chun looked up at the sky, thinking of a topic, when Sun Liuxiang spoke up quite naturally, “Ahead is the fork in the road. Liuxiang will follow you, aunty, to the palace gate to wait for His Highness’s divorce letter. Your Highness is pregnant, so it’s best to head back early to rest.”

Slightly stunned, Hua Chun nodded, carefully studying this dark plump girl.

Sun Liuxiang might not be good-looking, but her thoughts were truly delicate.

Such a thoughtful girl, feigning ignorance while staying by Yuwen Xi’s side to help him—if not out of affection, what else could it be for?

“Your Highness.” A palace attendant placed paper and brush in front of Yuwen Xi, then stood with hands lowered, waiting for him to write the divorce letter.

Yuwen Xi felt somewhat angry, though he himself didn’t know why he was angry—probably related to that dark plump girl’s straightforward abandonment of him.

Such an ugly woman, yet she hadn’t even remained devoted to him to the death?

Brush in hand, he couldn’t bring himself to put it to paper no matter what. After waiting a while, he asked, “Is the Commandery Princess still in the palace?”

“Reporting to Your Highness, word is she’s been waiting at the palace gate for your divorce letter, already for quite some time,” the attendant said quietly.

Hmph, let her wait then.

Setting down the brush, Yuwen Xi said, “This prince is tired. I’ll write it after resting a while.”

The attendant was stunned, glancing outside at the sky, about to say something, but saw him head straight into the inner room.

Helpless, there was nothing to do but wait. Even though Prince Xi had lost his real power, and his lineage had become questionable, the Empress Dowager was still alive after all. As long as she lived, no one dared look down on Prince Xi.

So this sleep lasted until the next morning. Yuwen Xi lazily opened his eyes and asked, “Where is she now?”

Zhanshui cupped his hands. “Someone just came to urge again, saying the Commandery Princess is still waiting at the palace gate.”

Slightly stunned, Yuwen Xi’s face darkened. “Waiting at the palace gate all night?”

Zhanshui nodded.

Fat was one thing, but ugly too; ugly was one thing, but foolish too. Waiting until this late, she should have known he was deliberately delaying, yet still waited at the palace gate? What difference was there between her and that lump of stupid fat that waited for him in the rain at the cave entrance? And where did she get the idea to actually ask him for a divorce letter!

Muttering for a while, Yuwen Xi thought it over. “Go ask the Commandery Princess if she still wants the divorce letter.”

Maybe she’d regretted it overnight and was waiting for him to ask?

Zhanshui hesitated, but still sent someone to ask. Half an hour later, someone came back to report: “The Commandery Princess wants the divorce letter, please send it quickly, Your Highness.”

Cursing inwardly, Yuwen Xi snorted coldly and walked to the desk, casually writing something and stuffing it into an envelope. “One less ugly consort, one less suffering for this prince.”

That was true—ever since marrying Sun Liuxiang, the mocking voices behind his back had never stopped. Did they think he wanted this? If Prince He’s power weren’t so great, who would even glance twice at that dark plump girl?

“Your Highness.” A concubine came over, saying aggrievedly, “These rooms here are so run-down…”

Prince Xi frowned, his face showing displeasure. “Did you think we came here to enjoy ourselves? We’re under house arrest now! If you’re uncomfortable, then get out!”

The concubine was startled pale and quickly retreated to the side. Yuwen Xi flung his sleeve and walked inside, sitting alone on the edge of the bed, sulking.

Sulking, he instinctively glanced toward the door.

Usually when he was angry, sitting in his room wouldn’t take long before that dark plump girl would come in on her stilts. From now on, that would finally be gone—he wouldn’t have to watch that ridiculous performance anymore, nor be made to laugh even when furious.

But… pressing his lips together, he still couldn’t help wondering whether that fat girl had chosen to leave because of their difficult circumstances, or because he’d done something wrong.

The more he thought, the more he dwelled on it. Yuwen Xi turned and asked Zhanshui, “What kind of person is this prince?”

Zhanshui was startled, quickly saying, “You’re a very good master.”

Frowning, Yuwen Xi shook his head. “What kind of man?”

Huh? Zhanshui was baffled, and after a long pause said, “A very handsome man.”

Yuwen Xi: “…”

This kind of question was probably useless to ask a man. Thinking it over, he stood up and headed toward the side hall.