The King of Huaiyang looked at the empty plate, his face immediately tightening. He walked over in a few strides and snatched her plate, saying, “Still eating this? Are you asking for a beating?”
Mentang licked the corner of her mouth, looking a bit aggrieved, “I only ate three. Mama Li was afraid I’d eat too much, so she made each fried cake very small, not even half the size of those sold in the street markets. I didn’t get to eat my fill at all…”
Cui Xingzhou still maintained a stern face, “You have the nerve to say you didn’t eat enough? Your gluttony has become a weakness for others to exploit! If Empress Shi hadn’t warned you early, wouldn’t you have really been in danger?”
Mentang smiled, taking his hand and guiding it to her small, protruding belly, “Look, isn’t this size just right?”
Recently, to mislead King Sui’s spies, Mentang had been adding a layer of cotton padding to her belly every day, making it appear quite large at first glance.
The snacks from outside the manor were still bought as usual, but Mentang hadn’t touched them. Her regular meals were all personally overseen and prepared by Mama Li, who watched her like a hawk.
With Mama Li watching, Mentang couldn’t even eat an extra bite. Tonight, she had pretended to go into labor, coming to this small courtyard near the street through the manor’s secret tunnel. Before leaving, she hadn’t forgotten to have Bicao bring two boxes of food, taking advantage of Mama Li’s absence while she was tending to the old Princess Consort in the manor, to satisfy her cravings with a few big bites.
Seeing Cui Xingzhou’s stern face, Mentang blinked her eyes and quickly changed the subject, “How did it go? Was the plan successful?”
The King of Huaiyang nodded, “The situation in the palace has stabilized, and King Sui has been apprehended. However, those old ministers haven’t been released from the palace yet. After all, King Sui is connected to the Gong family’s interests, and his supporters in the capital haven’t been completely purged. As for the Empress Dowager, His Majesty will ‘take care’ of her in her later years. We subjects don’t need to worry about that.”
Having said this, he hadn’t forgotten the earlier topic, snatching the half-eaten fried cake from her hand, “Although we’ve falsified the date of your delivery to the public, your actual due date is approaching. If you continue eating like this, you won’t need anyone to drug you; you’ll make the child too big on your own! Starting tomorrow, you’re only allowed to eat vegetables and rice. Anyone who dares to give you these greasy foods will be sold to a slave trader!”
This last sentence was meant for Bicao and the others outside the room.
Bicao, quick to react, heard the prince’s harsh words and entered with her head lowered, swiftly removing the snack boxes.
Mentang pouted. For some reason, as her pregnancy progressed, she had become increasingly gluttonous. Hearing Cui Xingzhou’s domineering tone, she felt a surge of grievance, “Pregnancy is so difficult, not allowing me to eat anything or go anywhere. I’ve heard that childbirth is so painful you cry for your parents. Maybe you should find someone else to have children in the future…”
By the end, she had begun to sob. Cui Xingzhou tilted his head, seeing her genuinely cry, and immediately softened his tone, “How could anyone else’s child be as handsome as yours? It’s just for a few more days, bear with it a little longer. I’ll have the manor hire more cooks to prepare for when you finish your confinement period. Then you can eat to your heart’s content, and even if you become plump, I won’t mind.”
Hearing this, Mentang immediately stopped crying and reached for a small bronze mirror, asking nervously, “What? Have I gotten fat recently?”
Cui Xingzhou pecked her cheek and said, “A little plumpness is good. It makes you more delicious to kiss!”
He wasn’t lying. Although Mentang had only become slightly more voluptuous, she felt even softer in his embrace. This fragrant and soft feeling was far more tempting than those fried cakes!
She cried and whined just for missing a few bites. Comparatively, he had been abstaining from much more, but had he ever cried to her for milk?
Just wait until after she gives birth… Cui Xingzhou couldn’t help but think resentfully.
Mentang could see his tense jaw as she looked up. For the past few days, Cui Xingzhou had been tossing and turning at night, unable to sleep, practicing his grappling techniques all night. Mentang naturally guessed at the prince’s frustration.
Now she couldn’t help but stroke his chin, giggling, “Delicious, but untouchable. The prince must be quite pitiful!”
Cui Xingzhou, seeing her playful demeanor, planted another kiss on her plump cheek.
After a night of palace upheaval, the capital was destined for a day of bloodshed and intrigue, but for this night, there was a moment of peace and warmth in the small courtyard.
By dawn the next day, news of the overnight sealing of the Gong family and King Sui’s mansions shocked the court and commoners alike.
As for the important ministers of the court, most had been detained in the palace and hadn’t been released.
The armies of the Shi and Cui families entered the city to replace the guards, and the palace gate guards had also changed their military insignia. Many officials who had been close to King Sui had vanished without a trace, their fates unknown.
Even the households that hadn’t been affected kept their gates tightly shut, refusing visitors to avoid any complications.
However, compared to the other households where the ladies were anxious and spent their days in trepidation, there was a sense of relief in the King of Huaiyang’s manor.
That night of terror, when it was revealed that the basins carried out of the birthing room were filled with pig’s blood, Duchess Chu nearly had Butler Gao bring out the family disciplinary tools to severely punish her son and daughter-in-law for their lies.
Mentang, cradling her belly, gently explained the intricacies of the situation to the Duchess.
When she recounted how Concubine Yun in the palace had colluded with King Sui, putting drugs to induce labor in the snacks bought for her from outside, Duchess Chu gasped in shock, no longer concerned with reprimanding her son and daughter-in-law for their deception.
Mentang also explained why they had kept the Duchess and her sister in the dark, citing the presence of King Sui’s spies in the manor. Even after a previous screening, they feared they might have missed some, so they had to keep it secret from them. They had unintentionally frightened mother and sister, and once this matter was settled, the couple would naturally kneel to accept punishment.
Now that Mentang had removed the padding around her belly, her small bump looked neither too big nor too small, not as alarming as before.
Although the Duchess had been scared out of her wits that night, what could be more important than the safety of her family members? If being frightened once could eliminate those evil people, she would be willing to be scared again.
That night, many of the ghosts and goblins in the outer courtyard of the manor were exposed. While the capital was in a state of purge and reorganization, many people were also tied up and taken away from the outer courtyard of the prince’s manor.
When the ministers were finally released from the palace, many ladies took the initiative to knock on the door of the King of Huaiyang’s manor, all coming to gauge the situation and inquire about the Emperor’s intentions.
Unfortunately, the Princess Consort of Huaiyang hadn’t given birth yet, and fearing exhaustion, all visitors were turned away.
In her spare time, Mentang inquired about the Princess Consort of King Sui. While King Sui’s household was rife with treachery, the Princess Consort was somewhat pitiable, having merely married the wrong person. Mentang wondered about her current situation.
If members of that household were to be exiled, Mentang hoped to extend some help to the Princess Consort of King Sui.
When she asked Cui Xingzhou about this, he looked at her and said, “I know you pity her weakness, and because I once slandered her reputation, you feel indebted to her. But when the nest falls, can there be any whole eggs? If this matter were up to me, I would spare her life without you asking. However… King Sui took off his belt and ended his life in prison the night he was charged. Upon hearing of King Sui’s death, the Princess Consort and the Crown Prince committed suicide by jumping into a well. There’s no need for you to worry about those who are no longer here.”
Mentang’s eyes widened in disbelief, and she hesitated before saying, “King Sui… doesn’t seem like the type to commit suicide, and the Princess Consort shouldn’t have such a fiercely chaste temperament, should she?”
Thinking back to how King Sui, when out of favor with the previous emperor, had become a monk while secretly accumulating power, she wondered how someone with such determination could lose hope and end his life so quickly after being captured.
As for the Princess Consort, she had managed to survive under the stigma of being rumored to have been kidnapped by bandits. How could she now jump into a well with her son just because of King Sui’s suicide?
Cui Xingzhou glanced at her and said calmly, “Although you were once a bandit, you always approach people with a measure of kindness. In this regard, you’re not like… others.”
The troops that went to King Sui’s mansion that day were all from the Shi family. The King of Huaiyang didn’t know the exact details, but he could imagine the brutality of that night.
The Shi family certainly didn’t want the miracle of Liu Yu’s escape years ago to repeat with King Sui’s son, so they were determined to eliminate any chance of survival.
Mentang fell silent upon hearing this, finally sighing inwardly: It seemed that Young Master Ziyu was truly the clever one, knowing what kind of virtuous wife could help him ascend to power. Even if she hadn’t run away back then, she would never have been the one he would choose to marry.
This was Mentang’s honest thought. In a direct military confrontation, Mentang was confident she could hold her own, ready to face any open or covert challenges.
But when it came to such extensive planning, ruthlessly eliminating political enemies down to their roots, not even sparing young children, she felt she lacked the necessary ruthlessness.
As Liu Mentang remained silent, Cui Xingzhou also said nothing, just slowly swirling the water in his teacup, watching the ripples form on the surface.
The room fell into complete silence for a moment.
When Mentang came back to her senses, she asked Cui Xingzhou if he was thinking the same thing she was.
“Thinking carefully, although King Sui’s plan was clever, he lost the initiative at every turn. Ultimately, it was because he and Concubine Yun considered us their primary enemies, but completely overlooked one person…”
Mentang didn’t continue, but Cui Xingzhou had already guessed who she was referring to.
The reason for King Sui’s downfall was entirely due to the betrayal of Huaping, Concubine Yun’s maid.
Mentang had only learned from Empress Shi when she came to inquire about her pregnancy, that when Sun Yunniang (Concubine Yun) had first befriended her, Empress Shi had inadvertently helped Huaping a few times. So when Concubine Yun and King Sui secretly plotted to poison and frame the King of Huaiyang, Huaping felt uneasy and secretly went to the Empress to reveal the truth.
Mentang didn’t know exactly how much help Empress Shi had given Huaping, but uncovering King Sui’s poisonous plot and staying one step ahead was indeed largely due to Empress Shi’s assistance.
This seemingly plump and good-natured Empress, after eliminating Empress Dowager’s influence and removing King Sui, had finally helped her husband firmly secure his position on the throne.
Now, everyone in the capital envied the King of Huaiyang for being part of the emperor’s protection party, standing firm during this political upheaval in the capital, becoming a pillar of support for His Majesty’s reign.
However, Mentang felt that there might still be undercurrents beneath the surface, requiring constant vigilance.
The Gong family, led by Empress Dowager, had not established their roots in the court overnight. It was heard that although the Empress Dowager was confined in the depths of the palace, several old princes had directly petitioned, begging His Majesty to grant them an audience with the Empress Dowager, to set the minds of the people at ease.
This was a matter of the inner palace, and Empress Shi was at a loss. She wanted to consult someone, so she issued an imperial edict summoning Liu Mentang to the palace.