Xie Qinglan's words made sense. She really couldn't help much now, so Shen Youying relaxed her brows and got into bed.

Her belly was quite large, making it a little difficult for her to get into bed. Xie Qinglan helped her up and asked curiously, "Why does your belly look so big?"

Shen Youying touched her belly and said uncertainly, "I have indeed grown quite fast these past few days. Maybe I've been eating too much?"

"Your face is still so thin, you haven't gained much weight at all, how could you have eaten so much?"

Xie Qinglan carefully touched her belly and said, "I don't think my sister-in-law had such a big belly when she was this far along in your pregnancy. Could she be carrying twins?"

Shen Youying said, "The doctor took Pingping's pulse today, and he only said that everything was fine, without saying anything else."

Xie Qinglan shook her head and said, "Perhaps the doctor didn't notice. Which family's wife was pregnant with twins before? The doctor didn't notice, and the midwife thought there was only one. After the baby was born, the wife kept crying out in pain, and that's when they realized there was another one that hadn't come out yet."

Shen Youying hadn't thought much of it at first, but after Xie Qinglan mentioned it, she realized that her belly was indeed getting bigger. It had been flat before, but it had been changing every day, swelling up like it was being inflated.

She touched her belly and said, "Whether it's one or two, it's not appropriate to make a big fuss about changing doctors to take my pulse now. Let's just rest for now."

Xie Qinglan looked at her face and said, "I think you're not as plump as before. You should worry less about things outside and focus on eating and drinking well. Otherwise, if you get pregnant with twins, the children will go hungry."

As she spoke, she touched Shen Youying's belly in a serious manner and said, "Don't you think what Auntie said is right?"

Shen Youying laughed at her words and used a silver skewer to pick up a fruit and fed it to her: "Whatever you say is right. Your favorite fruit is here. Eat it quickly."

Xie Qinglan ate the fruit from her hand, then took a piece of pastry and fed it to her: "Don't just eat by myself, you eat too."

...

With Xie Qinglan's arrival, Shen Youying had someone to talk to and distract her, so she stopped worrying too much about what was happening outside. The two of them slept on the same bed that night, and the next day she was even able to eat more at mealtimes.

After the two sisters finished their meal and took a walk to digest, Shen Youying remembered to ask her about what was happening outside.

"The Emperor wants to negotiate peace. What is the situation outside?" Shen Youying said, "Wang Deshun and the others are always worried about my pregnancy. They are afraid that I will worry or be frightened, so they will not tell me many things in detail. Now Danzhu and Bailuo cannot go out either. I have no idea what is happening outside."

Upon hearing this, Xie Qinglan did not hide anything from her and told her about the scene she saw when she came to the Prince's Mansion yesterday.

"I heard that the Northern Rong have raised their demands again. They not only want Xuanci to marry as a concubine, but also ten noble ladies as dowry, five thousand young girls, one thousand girls, and three thousand entertainers and dancers... When I came here in disguise yesterday, the soldiers were arresting people in the city."

It was only in front of Shen Youying that she dared to complain a little: "I've heard my father say that we clearly have the strength to fight the Northern Rong people, but the Emperor insists on negotiating peace. But I think even if we give them gold, silver and people, the Northern Rong people may not give up easily. It's just asking a tiger for its skin."

Shen Youying sighed. Even the women in the inner quarters could understand this principle, so the emperor might not be unable to understand it either.

The emperor was wary of Xue Shen, or perhaps the sword wasn't hanging over his head yet, so he felt that such a small sacrifice and concession was nothing.

"Even Xuanci is willing to be sacrificed; the Emperor is determined to have a marriage alliance."

Or perhaps, they were determined to use Xuan Ci as a price to completely eliminate Xue Shen, this potential threat.

*

In the palace.

Xue Shen was imprisoned in the desolate and remote Liyuan Palace. Not far from Liyuan Palace was the Cold Palace, where convicted concubines were dealt with. The fact that he was imprisoned here showed that Emperor Cheng'an had been driven to the brink and was ready to tear off all pretenses and reveal his true colors.

The guards watching over Xue Shen were Emperor Cheng'an's confidants. From last night until today, apart from necessary food, the imperial guards in the palace had not exchanged a single glance or spoken a single word with Xue Shen. It seemed that Emperor Cheng'an suspected that he had an inside agent in the palace and was therefore on guard against him.

Xue Shen scoffed sarcastically and began washing up at a leisurely pace.

However, Emperor Cheng'an will probably waste his efforts this time. Not only will he not run away, but he will also cooperate in escorting Xuan Ci to the Northern Rong army camp.

After Xue Shen finished washing up, a palace servant brought him breakfast. Emperor Cheng'an was too lazy to perform any elaborate rituals, and the breakfast was rather rough. However, Xue Shen had been on the battlefield before, and the food in the military camp was even worse. He calmly finished his meal, put down his chopsticks, and looked at the plate of food prepared by the commander of the Imperial Guards, who was standing at attention: "Has Your Majesty set a date for the wedding procession?"

The commander of the Imperial Guards hesitated for a moment, thinking that everyone already knew the date, so it wouldn't matter if the King of Qin knew, and then replied: "Tomorrow at noon."

Xue Shen nodded and said nothing more.

Upon seeing this, the commander of the guards breathed a sigh of relief, whispered a few words to the palace servants beside him, and sent someone to inform Emperor Cheng'an.

The next day, as expected, a maid delivered clothing and headwear.

Xue Shen dismissed the maids who were about to help him change, and put on his princely robes himself.

The King of Qin's ceremonial robe was dark red, with the collar and cuffs embroidered with a four-clawed golden python pattern in gold and silver threads. It was paired with a golden crown inlaid with pigeon blood, which further highlighted his nobility.

Xue Shen straightened his clothes in front of the mirror and walked out slowly.

Emperor Cheng'an had been on guard for the past two days, but when he heard from his guards that the Prince of Qin had not made any unusual moves and seemed to have accepted the fact that he would be sent to the Northern Rong as a hostage, Emperor Cheng'an became the one who could no longer sit still.

He always felt that Xue Shen wouldn't admit defeat so calmly, and worried that he still had a backup plan.

Therefore, when the marriage procession departed today, he personally came to "see Xue Shen off".

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Xue Shen bowed respectfully, his ceremonial robes as the Prince of Qin accentuating his imposing and vibrant appearance, a stark contrast to the ailing and dying Emperor Cheng'an.

Emperor Cheng'an squinted his dim old eyes and scrutinized him for a long while before slowly speaking: "Will Yuan Jin resent me?" He put on a hypocritical act as if he had no choice but to do so, and said insincerely: "It's right for you to resent me. Don't just talk about you, even Xuan Ci, whom I raised with my own hands, resents me, doesn't he?"

As he spoke, his gaze fell upon Xuan Ci, who sat in the carriage with swollen eyes.

Xuan Ci was adorned in a phoenix coronet and wedding robes, looking stunningly beautiful. Her face was heavily made up, yet it couldn't conceal her swollen, red eyes.

Four strong and sturdy old women stood guard around her. Empress Zhou stood beside the carriage and spoke to her with a sorrowful expression, but she did not respond at all.

Xue Shen glanced at it and said cryptically, "His Majesty is truly making a huge sacrifice by sending Xuan Ci to be a concubine of the King of Beirong."

Emperor Cheng'an paused in his feigned sorrow, then said, "If we hadn't made some sacrifices, how could we have achieved peace later?"

Xue Shen nodded: "I hope Your Majesty's wish will be fulfilled."