"When did Your Highness return to the capital?" Qin Su greeted Yu Shuo first, as if the promise he made before the expedition had not been made.

Yu Shuo pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and then answered Qin Su, "Half a month ago."

He thought he would see her when he returned to the capital, but to his surprise, he heard that she was not in the capital.

"I told you before I went to war that I would have something to tell you when I returned."

Qin Su immediately stood up, the bells hanging from her waist jingling as she moved. "I just remembered I have to go back to the manor first. Goodbye, Your Highness."

After saying that, Qin Su slipped away.

But before she had run very far, someone appeared in front of her.

"Compared to others, am I more unacceptable to you?"

Qin Su scratched the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly, "How could that be? Aren't His Highness and I friends?"

Yu Shuo's dark, bright eyes stared at her, making Qin Su feel a little uneasy.

"What does Your Highness want to say?" She was gambling that Yu Shuo wouldn't be able to bring himself to say it.

From the moment she met him, he seemed unwilling to express his feelings.

"Since we're friends, how about you do me a favor?"

"What help do you need? Your Highness lacks nothing, how can I possibly help you?"

Yu Shuo approached her, almost staring into her eyes, "The Empress Dowager has been urging me to get married. I am not familiar with other women. Why don't you help me deal with the Empress Dowager and temporarily become my wife?"

Whether this is true or not, only Yu Shuo himself knows for now. Once Qin Su enters the Prince's mansion, he will absolutely not give her a chance to leave.

Is this a disguised way of opening up?

Qin Su did not give an answer immediately.

The hope in Yu Shuo's eyes was almost extinguished, and the throbbing pain in his heart constantly reminded him that the girl in front of him did not want to marry him, even if it was a relationship of mutual exploitation.

Qin Su straightened her expression and said, "Your Highness should know that His Majesty will not allow us to get married."

"I can relinquish my military power." He can also relinquish the Moon Tower; he only desires what is in his heart.

"Foolish!" Qin Su's eyes sharpened. "It's not worth it, and it shouldn't be. Your Highness is a chosen one of heaven; you shouldn't act like this. I'm going back."

Qin Su walked past him, but was suddenly grabbed by Yu Shuo's hand.

This was the first time he had grabbed Qin Su's hand so forcefully.

Yu Shuo has always been very approachable and tactful in front of Qin Su, never getting overly intimate.

This is the first time, so it's considered offensive.

Whether it's worth it or not is up to me. You don't need to think too much about it.

Qin Su broke free from his hand; she didn't linger, and Yu Shuo didn't try to stop her.

Yu Shuo knew Qin Su's concerns; their identities destined them to never be together.

But how could he be willing to do that?

Princess Cheng'an came out but didn't see Qin Su, and asked in surprise, "Didn't you keep him here?"

Yu Shuo lowered his eyes, his voice muffled, "She doesn't want to marry me."

Princess Cheng'an, who was at the center of the power struggle, could easily guess Qin Su's thoughts: "Why don't you find someone else to like? It's really hard for the two of you to get together."

Yu Shuo stared at Cheng An with his gloomy eyes, making Cheng An feel a little guilty.

"Alright, alright, you can handle your own affairs."

Yu Shuo entered the palace, and he first went to the Empress Dowager's palace.

He had been in a bad mood because of Qin Su's situation.

"What brings Your Majesty here?"

The Empress Dowager looked at her son, becoming more and more satisfied. "I said I'd ask you something when you came back, but I forgot. Today, I heard that Qin Su has returned to the capital, and I remembered it again."

Yu Shuo sat down and listened attentively to what the Empress Dowager had to say.

"You like that girl, don't you?"

He trusts his mother, Yu Shuo, very much, even though the two spend relatively little time together.

"Um."

The Empress Dowager sighed and then asked, "Did you know that she is pregnant?"

Yu Shuo nodded.

"You don't mind?" The Empress Dowager frowned slightly, thinking to herself: Have our feelings for each other become that deep?

Yu Shuo said, "The child in Qin Su's womb is my son's."

The Empress Dowager was startled and stared wide-eyed at her son.

"What did you say?"

Say it again.

Yu Shuo simply looked at his mother without saying a word.

Even Granny Qin was taken aback.

No one expected that the usually serious Prince Chen would do such a thing.

"You, you're so foolish! The Qin family girl isn't even married yet, how could you do such an absurd thing?" The Empress Dowager was furious. Recalling how she treated Qin Su, she felt fortunate that she hadn't mistreated the girl, otherwise she would have felt guilty to death.

She pointed at Yu Shuo's nose and scolded, "You're usually more proper than your brother, how could you do such a thing? It's utterly absurd!"

No matter how much the Empress Dowager scolded Yu Shuo, he remained expressionless, neither sad nor happy.

After the Empress Dowager had vented her anger, Yu Shuo explained, "On the day of the Spring River Banquet, she was framed and this happened by a twist of fate."

The Empress Dowager froze. So she had misunderstood her son?

She touched her nose awkwardly, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Yu Shuo knew what kind of person his mother was and didn't care about her misunderstanding.

"Then what do you plan to do? The Emperor probably won't agree to your relationship... Never mind, let me handle this matter." No matter what, the Emperor was still filial and dared not disobey her.

Yu Shuo said, "Please keep her pregnancy a secret, Mother."

The Empress Dowager glared at her son and scolded, "How could I not know about this? But judging from Qin Su's expression, she probably doesn't know about what's going on between you two."

"She doesn't know."

Meanwhile, after returning home, Qin Su told her parents about her pregnancy.

The baby is already over three months along, and the pregnancy will start to show soon. If I don't tell anyone now, it will be obvious.

This news was like a bombshell for the Qin couple, leaving them completely stunned.

Xiao Zhi was the most direct. He tugged at Qin Su's sleeve and asked very seriously, "Sister, who is the father of the child?"

The Qin couple were also concerned about this issue, and they shared the same thoughts as Qin Su. They just wanted to know who the child's father was, but they didn't want this person to tie their daughter down. As for the grandson recognizing his ancestors, that was even more impossible.

Amid her family's expectations, Qin Su shook her head, "To be honest, I don't know either. I conceived the child after the Spring River Banquet. It's a girl."

She stroked her belly, her eyes filled with joy. The couple could tell that Qin Su loved the child very much.

"Great! I'm going to be a grandfather!" Mr. Qin was as happy as a child.

Qin's mother held her daughter's hand and told her to rest well.

Xiao Zhi was a bit smarter than the Qin couple, and he quickly realized that his sister might have been set up.

So who is the one plotting against my sister?

Xiao Zhi's first suspect was Xue Huai'an; that person clearly had ill intentions.

However, it's best not to disturb your parents' happy atmosphere right now.

When Qin Su asked about Wang Manzhu, her mother only said that Wang Manzhu had always stayed in her courtyard and had never stepped out of her room. Qin Su still went to check on her and stayed with her for a while.

Qin Su didn't know whether Wang Manzhu would be punished later, and she didn't have a solution yet.