Chapter 261 The whole capital city called her a vixen, but she just sneered!

Meng Yanzhi glanced at him, then said with a smile, "It's about the military rations. I know they handled it well, that's why I'm happy."

"What's there to be happy about?"

"Besides, your main task right now is to protect the child and take good care of your health. You don't need to worry about things outside."

Xiao Xingyuan held Meng Yanzhi's hand and smiled gently.

Upon hearing this, Meng Yanzhi belatedly realized that she had unintentionally begun to interfere in court affairs, even if her intention was to help, she had still broken a taboo.

Thinking of this, Meng Yanzhi lowered her eyes and nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."

Although Meng Yanzhi didn't explicitly express her disappointment, Xiao Xingyuan sensed something was wrong with her. He frowned and looked at Meng Yanzhi with some confusion: "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, I also think that the most important thing right now is to give birth to the child properly."

Meng Yanzhi gave a faint smile, lowered her head, and gently touched her lower abdomen.

Seeing her gentle smile, Xiao Xingyuan felt cheerful and put his arm around her shoulder, letting her lean against him.

Seeing this from afar, Zhao Dongzhi felt extremely uncomfortable. Gu Hanqing walked over, followed Zhao Dongzhi's gaze, smiled, and said directly, "I knew long ago that she was the most favored concubine, so why are you still not satisfied?"

"Sister Gu is joking. I didn't mean that."

"Seeing that she is doing well, I feel at ease."

Zhao Dongzhi lowered her eyes, sighed, and was clearly still somewhat disappointed.

Even though Meng Yanzhi never agreed to be with him, he could never forget the joy and gentleness she brought him.

Especially when Meng Yanzhi's bright eyes fell on him, Zhao Dongzhi felt his heart was out of control.

Seeing Zhao Dongzhi like this, Gu Hanqing sighed and looked at the two people hugging in front of her. Then she said directly, "Dongzhi, people always have to look forward. It's meaningless to force things or people that don't belong to you. She is already a Noble Consort. If you don't put these thoughts aside, it could be a disaster for your Zhao family."

After saying these words, Gu Hanqing turned and left.

As soon as she left, Zhao Bailu skipped over, patted Zhao Dongzhi on the shoulder from behind, and said with a smile, "Brother, you can go over if you want. What are you doing standing here?"

"Why are you here?" Zhao Dongzhi frowned. "Look at you, you're about to get married, and you're still so carefree. What kind of behavior is that?"

Zhao Bailu had heard these kinds of words so many times that she was sick of them. Her eyebrows furrowed tightly, and she looked at Zhao Dongzhi with dissatisfaction, saying sullenly, "Brother, I'm just getting married, why do you all keep talking about me? Does getting married mean I won't be myself anymore, won't be Zhao Bailu anymore?"

"You! Me?"

Zhao Dongzhi subconsciously wanted to refute, but for some reason, after saying those words, she found that she seemed to have no way to refute them at all.

With no other choice, Zhao Dongzhi could only sigh and gently pat her head: "You're still young, you'll understand in the future. I'm saying all this for your own good."

"Brother, actually, if it weren't for Sister Gu entering the palace, you two would be a couple."

"Now that Sister Gu is back, are you willing to rekindle your old romance?"

Zhao Bailu got straight to the point. She saw it clearly: Gu Hanqing still liked Zhao Dongzhi very much, and Zhao Dongzhi liked Meng Yanzhi, but only because of the spirit in Meng Yanzhi, which was somewhat similar to that of Sister Gu back then.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Zhao Dongzhi turned around and frowned as he looked at Zhao Bailu.

"A young lady's reputation is so important. You must never speak carelessly in the future. What if you accidentally ruin Sister Gu's reputation?"

"She was already in a difficult situation after leaving the palace, and we shouldn't make things worse for her."

Zhao Dongzhi was unusually stern, his eyebrows furrowed tightly as he stared at Zhao Bailu. Only after seeing her nod did he breathe a sigh of relief.

On the other side, Gu Hanyue frowned and hesitated for a moment as she watched Gu Hanqing sitting there staring in Zhao Dongzhi's direction. Then she said, "When we were little and played together, you always liked to stick close to Zhao Dongzhi. Now that you're single, why don't you try harder?"

"He likes Meng Yanzhi, why should I get involved?" Gu Hanqing frowned, looking at Gu Hanyue with displeasure.

Gu Hanyue waved her hand dismissively and said indifferently, "Meng Yanzhi is now a Noble Consort, so it's not his turn. You still have a chance."

“I am the eldest daughter of the Gu family. How could I do something so despicable? Knowing that he likes Meng Yanzhi, would I still go up to him and beg him to settle for second best?”

"I can't do something like that."

Although Gu Hanqing came from the palace and liked Zhao Dongzhi, she loved herself more and valued her dignity even more. She would never do anything that would lower her status!

Seeing Gu Hanqing's expression, Gu Hanyue immediately understood her sister's pride. She looked in Zhao Dongzhi's direction, then said with some disdain, "That Meng Yanzhi is nothing special. Why do they all like her so much?"

After the polo match, the rumors intensified, with many people believing that Meng Yanzhi was not a normal woman at all, but rather a monster, a scourge that would bring disaster to the country and its people. There were even several versions of the story, saying that she was a fox spirit raised in a fox den.

Every word of these rumors reached Meng Yanzhi's ears.

Mencius' father sat in a chair and spoke eloquently.

He looked at Meng Yanzhi with some resentment: "You're too amazing. How could you make His Majesty do such a thing? Now look what's happened, our Meng family has become a fox den, we're all in the eye of the storm. Are you satisfied now?"

Meng Yanzhi glanced at her father and said coldly, "What others don't know, you don't know either?"

"Me!" Of course, Meng's father knew that his daughter was not a monster, and he also knew that the root of the problem lay with Xiao Xingyuan.

But people are all bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. Who can speak ill of the emperor? It's all because Meng Yanzhi is a vixen and shameless!

Meng's father took a deep breath: "Now, the rumors outside are unpleasant, which is not good for you. What will you do if all the civil and military officials unite to attack you?"

"That has nothing to do with me."