Qin Su was so concerned that she lost her composure, and only understood what had happened after Emperor Mingyang left.

Emperor Mingyang was not a fool. If support were useful, he would have sent her father long ago. There must be a reason why he sent Yu Shuo with only a few people.

The Empress Dowager comforted her, "Don't worry too much. Yu Shuo is an excellent martial artist. Even if he's not good at it, he can still mobilize troops on the border. Everything will be fine."

That's what she said, but Qin Su still felt uneasy.

Qin Su couldn't help but feel uneasy, having not heard of the Shacheng City Lord being punished and now that this situation had arisen.

Even so, she nodded to the Empress Dowager and said, "Your Majesty, I will return to the Prince's residence first."

The Empress Dowager sat cross-legged on the couch and said, "The weather is getting colder and colder. It's only a month or so until you give birth. If it's inconvenient, you can move to the palace. You and Consort Rong seem to have a good relationship. You'll have someone to look after you if you come to the palace."

It was indeed worrying that Yu Shuo wasn't in the mansion.

"Thank you, Mother, but there's no need."

It's really inconvenient to be in the palace; it's not your own territory, so people always feel uneasy.

The Empress Dowager then sent some medicinal herbs for the pregnancy to the Prince's residence, along with several experienced nannies.

However, these people were all well-trained by the Empress Dowager, so they could not be unable to distinguish who was the master and who was the servant.

Qin Su did not stay in the Prince's mansion for long. The closer she got to her due date, the more nervous she became, so she simply moved to the Marquis's mansion.

Fortunately, Yu Shuo wrote back frequently, which made the anxious Qin Su feel a little better.

However, a few days later, Qin Su received news from Chongyang that Xue Huai'an had been transferred to another post.

The place he was sent to was Huaizhou.

This event was clearly scheduled for next year, so why was it suddenly brought forward?

The feeling that things were getting out of control made Qin Su very uneasy, and along with this unease, she often felt a slight cramping in her stomach.

Uncle Liu took her pulse and said she was overly worried.

Qin Su tried to cheer herself up, but to little avail.

That day, Qin Su was invited by Cheng An to go shopping, saying that the Empress Dowager wanted her to spend more time with her and move around more before giving birth, so as to avoid difficulties during the actual delivery day.

Qin Su also wanted to go out for a walk to clear her head, so she agreed.

Several months have passed, and Guanqian Street remains as bustling as ever, seemingly unchanged.

"Susu, a new restaurant called 'Zhuyulou' has opened on Chang'an Street. It's said to have the best jewelry in the world. Let's go check it out."

Inside the carriage, Cheng An linked arm with Qin Su and said with a smile.

Qin Su naturally agreed; she had come out to relax and didn't have any particular purpose.

A spacious and luxurious carriage stopped in front of the Pearl Jade Pavilion. Cheng An got off the carriage first, and then he and Lian Tao helped Qin Su down.

Qin Su noticed someone was watching her. She turned her head and her expression turned sour when she realized who it was.

I never expected to run into you again now.

"How have you been, Princess Consort?" Qin Su smiled slightly at the visitor.

The woman was wearing a plain-colored long coat, with a white cloak embroidered with red plum blossoms over it. She was slender and looked rather unwell.

"Greetings, Princess Consort Chen." Chen Yirou bowed softly to Qin Su, her gaze unfocused as she stared at Qin Su's belly, seemingly lost in thought.

Cheng An blocked her gaze and asked unhappily, "What are you looking at?"

Chen Yirou bit her lower lip, looking somewhat aggrieved.

She didn't do anything, she was just looking, so why are you being so mean to her?

“Princess Cheng’an… I… I was just curious how many months pregnant Princess Chen is.”

Cheng An didn't want to pay attention to Chen Yirou. She snorted, "What's it to you?"

"Good sister-in-law, let's go in."

As soon as these words were spoken, the people at Zhuyulou immediately invited them inside.

"They've gone too far," Yinghong muttered to Chen Yirou, full of complaints. "They don't even know what kind of people they are. They can't even say for sure if the child in their belly is Prince Chen's, yet they have the nerve to swagger around."

Upon hearing Yinghong's words, Chen Yirou slapped her across the face.

Yinghong was completely stunned by the beating.

"Madam?"

"You hit me?"

Chen Yirou's face was terribly gloomy. "Yes, so what if I hit you? Shouldn't I be hit for speaking ill of the Princess Consort of Chen?"

She was also filled with anxiety. She had made similar remarks before, but what was the result? She almost died in prison.

She never wanted to go through that again. She couldn't care less if Yinghong wanted to die, but she absolutely couldn't drag her down with her.

"I see you don't want to stay in the Duke's mansion. In that case, I'll have the steward sell you off."

Upon hearing this, Yinghong refused to comply and immediately knelt on the ground, pleading desperately.

She couldn't believe that the usually gentle Chen Yirou would hit someone, but the facts were right in front of her.

Chen Yirou noticed out of the corner of her eye that the maid next to Qin Su kept glancing over. Not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Qin Su, she said to Yinghong, "Get up."

Yinghong thought Chen Yirou had softened her heart, so she wiped away her tears and stood up.

He followed Chen Yirou closely into the Pearl and Jade Pavilion.

Cheng An instructed the shopkeeper to display the finest jewelry, and Qin Su realized that Zhu Yu Lou's claim of possessing the best jewelry in the world was not entirely unfounded.

The accessories here are not limited to the Da'an style.

Take one of the headdresses, for example. It was made of animal bones and feathers. The animal bones were polished to a smooth and shiny finish, and the feathers had an extremely beautiful luster.

She stroked the jewelry and asked with a smile, "Is this jewelry from Quegu?"

The shopkeeper replied with a smile, "Princess Consort Chen has excellent taste; this is indeed from Quegu Jewelry. And these as well, they are all in the Quegu style. However, many pampered young ladies are somewhat averse to animal bones, so they won't buy these."

He talked a lot.

Cheng An and Qin Su didn't mind the animal bones, so they tried them and found they had a unique flavor.

"Wrap them all up, three portions."

Qin Su said with a smile, "Add one more."

Cheng An asked in a low voice, "Who's going to give this extra one to? Could it be that Xiao Zhi has already started looking for a girl? Is it for his sister-in-law?"

Qin Su smiled wryly, "No."

She planned to give the extra portion to Tao Rong, even though she and Tao Rong weren't very close, she was still on her side.

"Fine, whatever you say, this princess can afford it."

"I'll do it, Lian Tao."

How could she expect Cheng'an to pay for the gift? Wouldn't that be considered taking advantage of her?

"Why does this hairpin have water ripple patterns?"

The shopkeeper quickly explained, "This style is from the Yuehai Kingdom. Your Highness and Princess Consort Chen should have heard that our country and the Yuehai Kingdom are separated by a great river."

"The Kingdom of Yuehai is surrounded by the sea and has many islands. The style of their ornaments is often carved with water ripples. They also prefer to use pearls as embellishments."

"And these... are ornaments in the style of other countries."

"Wrap them all up." Cheng An waved his hand, paying first this time, afraid that Qin Su would try to pull the rug out from under him again.

Watching this scene from not far away, Chen Yirou clenched her fists, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Qin Su was clearly a bandit, so why was she so close to the princess? Wasn't she despised by the noble ladies of the capital?