Chapter 200 Has Liu Ruolan become more shrewd?
The Prime Minister's wife looked at her daughter's confident demeanor, but her eyes were still full of doubt. She didn't think Liu Ruolan could come up with any good ideas, and said irritably, "What ideas could you possibly have?"
Liu Ruolan's eyes darted around, and a calculating smile curved her lips: "His Majesty is certain that he took contraceptive medicine and could not possibly have anyone pregnant. So... let's start with my sister."
“We can find a skilled doctor to accompany me to the palace.”
Upon hearing this, the Prime Minister's wife suddenly looked up, her eyes lighting up instantly!
She immediately understood Liu Ruolan's intention: "You mean, find a way to get the kind of medicine that can make a pregnant woman's pulse look like she's not pregnant? Have your sister take it, and then you can announce to the outside world that your sister is not pregnant at all, and that everything... was just a misdiagnosis by the imperial physician?"
The more she thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed. "Once we get past the imperial physician's follow-up examination, we can find another opportunity to have your sister quietly abort the child in her womb?"
“No.” Liu Ruolan shook her head, a glint of light flashing in her eyes. “In that case, His Majesty will still have doubts.”
"How about... we say that my sister is highly fertile? Those contraceptive drugs weren't very effective for her, so... she got pregnant unexpectedly?"
The Prime Minister's wife frowned deeply: "Absurd! Where would so many people with highly fertile bodies come from? His Majesty isn't stupid; he couldn't possibly not verify it!"
"How can we verify this? Are we suggesting that my sister abort the child, take contraceptive medicine, and then have intercourse with His Majesty to see if she can get pregnant?"
"The claim of being easily fertile is simply impossible to verify."
"But we can take this opportunity to seize the initiative."
A chilling light flashed in Liu Ruolan's eyes; she had clearly already devised a plan. "There should be a way to counteract the contraceptive. We can have the imperial physician and the doctors we brought verify it in front of His Majesty!"
"We just need to give my sister a dose of medicine that can counteract the contraceptive, and give her a lot of it. Then, there should be some of the medicine in her blood."
"When that time comes, we will take a few drops of my sister's blood. Then, we will have the imperial physician take His Majesty's contraceptive medicine, mix it with my sister's blood, and test it to see if the effect of the contraceptive medicine has been weakened."
"Whether it's real or fake, we can find a way to bribe the imperial physician."
Liu Ruolan bit her lip tightly, her voice filled with unwavering determination: "The child in my sister's womb must be His Majesty's, and only His Majesty's, for it will be of benefit to our Liu family!"
"We must insist that the child... is His Majesty's! If His Majesty still doesn't believe us, we can say that His Majesty should wait until the child is born before... a blood test to verify paternity!"
"We must stick to our guns. No matter what His Majesty asks or says, we will insist that the child is His Majesty's. We will conduct a blood test to verify paternity after the child is born."
"At that time, we can swear to the heavens that if the child is truly not His Majesty's, we are willing to... exterminate his entire family!"
Her eyes flashed, and her voice lowered, filled with endless calculation: "Nine months of pregnancy, how many things can happen in those nine months... is uncertain."
The Prime Minister's wife looked at her daughter, who was meticulous and methodical, and for the first time, a look of approval appeared in her eyes.
Her daughter has grown up a bit, and her mind has finally improved.
She was so caught up in her joy and the feasibility of the plan that she completely overlooked the fleeting, meaningful glint in Liu Ruolan's eyes.
After a long pause, she nodded emphatically and immediately made her decision: "Okay! We'll do it your way!"
"Go to the palace first and find out the truth from your sister. I'll return to the manor now and arrange everything for you!"
"When I'm ready, I'll send someone to the palace to inform you. Then you can go directly to His Majesty, and together we'll put on a good show."
Once the noise from next door subsided, Shen Qingci raised her eyebrows in surprise and whispered to Chu Jichen beside her, "Liu Ruolan... has certainly improved."
"Although the idea that 'a fertile constitution can counteract the effects of birth control pills' sounds utterly absurd, it's enough to buy time."
"A lot can indeed happen in nine months."
“For example…” A cold glint flashed in her eyes, “enough for the Liu family to plot everything, to plot rebellion.”
"Although the Liu family may not succeed, but..."
Shen Qingci looked at Chu Jichen, a slight smile playing on her lips. Chu Jichen certainly wouldn't have to wait too long.
"Whether Emperor Yongming will still be sitting on this throne nine months from now is another matter..."
"If Liu Ruolan really has so many thoughts, then I... should be careful."
Chu Jichen raised his eyebrows slightly. He didn't think that a foolish woman like Liu Ruolan could think so far ahead.
However, he didn't know what she wanted to do for the time being.
Furthermore, he wasn't particularly interested in guessing what other women were thinking.
Looking at Shen Qingci's thoughtful expression, Chu Jichen reached out and gently took her hand, which was resting on the table. His voice was full of undeniable comfort and promise.
"Don't worry, Qingqing," he looked at her, his deep phoenix eyes filled with undisguised doting, "No matter how cunning Liu Ruolan is, she... won't be able to cause trouble for long."
"I will absolutely not allow her underhanded schemes to harm you in the slightest."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci's eyebrows curved into a smile, and the wariness and solemnity in her heart quietly dissipated somewhat.
“Since we’re already here,” she stood up and stretched, “then… let’s have lunch here at Yunmeng Tower before heading back.”
The food was served quickly, filling the table to the brim.
Just as Shen Qingci was about to pick up her chopsticks, she suddenly heard a loud commotion of crying and shouting coming from the street outside the private room.
The sound was shrill and desperate, instantly shattering the tranquility of the private room.
Shen Qingci's brows furrowed unconsciously.
She stood up, walked to the window, pushed open the carved wooden window, and looked down.
The once bustling street was now in complete chaos.
Several ragged, emaciated refugees were frantically scrambling around a steamed bun stall, grabbing at the food.
A similarly thin woman tightly clutched two steaming hot meat buns she had just snatched, as if protecting rare treasures.
But the other refugees around her, like hungry wolves, stared intently at the food in her arms, reaching out to snatch it.
"Don't take it! Don't take my buns!" The woman was shoved and fell to the ground, but she still held tightly to the food in her arms, crying and screaming, her voice hoarse and desperate, "My son... my son is starving to death!"
But how could a weak woman like her possibly withstand so many men who were already starving?
In the blink of an eye, all the buns in her arms were snatched away!
The woman stared blankly at her empty arms for a moment, then could no longer hold back and sat down on the cold ground, bursting into tears.
She cried as she pounded her fists on the ground, her voice filled with deep-seated hatred and despair.
"A tyrannical ruler! A tyrannical ruler who is incompetent!"
"The Northern You Kingdom... the Northern You Kingdom has already invaded! Yet the imperial court is slow to send reinforcements! The border generals are offering no resistance whatsoever!"
"It ruined us...it destroyed our families, left us homeless!"
"My daughter... my daughter starved to death on the run!"
She raised her head, her eyes, already red and swollen from crying, filled with utter emptiness and death: "Could it be...could it be that even my only son can't be saved?"
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