The stall owner shook his head: "I don't know, but she never eats here. She always buys food and takes it home, so she must live not far from here."
Su Xuening nodded silently upon hearing this.
Zi Shu definitely didn't eat here just now; she was probably afraid of being seen and didn't dare to linger outside.
From this, we can deduce that she should live nearby, and with Ye Xue's lightness skill, she should be able to catch up with her easily.
Su Xuening thought for a moment and then looked at the stall owner: "Please keep today's events a secret."
"Your Highness, rest assured, I didn't see or hear anything," the stall owner immediately assured him, almost as if he were raising his hand to swear an oath.
Su Xuening didn't say anything more and looked at Xuan Yuanzhan.
Xuan Yuanzhan understood and took out a gold ingot from his waist, placed it on the table, and then helped Su Xuening into the carriage.
The stall owner only got up from the ground after the three people left.
Looking at the gold ingots on the table, the stall owner wanted to chase after them to return them, but in the end, he didn't manage to catch up.
He really wouldn't lie; the amount of gold ingots he gave was far too much.
Ye Yun drove the carriage to the corner of West Street and stopped, clearly waiting for Ye Xue.
Meanwhile, Ye Xue followed Zi Shu into a small courtyard.
Ye Xue was lying on the roof watching Zi Shu eat wontons when she heard the door open.
Clearly, not only was Ye Xue slightly surprised, but Zi Shu was also startled and immediately looked towards the door.
The man who came in must be someone Zi Shu knew. Zi Shu visibly breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the man, and then continued eating her wontons.
Seeing Zi Shu eating wontons again, the man immediately shouted angrily, "Why are you sneaking out again? Do you know that if you're discovered like this, you'll get us all killed!"
Zi Shu wasn't worried about that at all. Grabbing the veil she had taken off from the table, she said to the man, "I'm wearing a veil when I go out, who can recognize me? Besides, I'm only going out to buy some wontons, less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, who would be able to see me at that exact moment!"
The man frowned and sat down opposite Zi Shu: "Better safe than sorry. When you came out, the Empress repeatedly told you not to go out unless necessary, and to stay in this courtyard to prepare for childbirth."
Seeing how easily he spoke, Zi Shu got angry: "Don't go out, don't go out, all you ever say is this. I'm a human being, not an animal. Being locked up here every day like I'm in prison, I only get to go out once every ten days or half a month, what business is it of yours!"
Zi Shu was so angry that she threw down her spoon and couldn't even eat the wontons she had finally managed to buy.
Seeing her anger, the man quickly sat down beside her, put his arm around her and coaxed, "Alright, alright, don't be angry, be careful not to hurt the baby. I'm just afraid that you'll be exposed and delay Her Majesty's important business."
The man's words quickly calmed Zi Shu down a bit: "Don't worry, I'm always very careful. I wear a veil and a cloak, and my clothes are different from before. So, even if I do run into someone I know, they might not recognize me. Besides, even if someone does recognize me, I can just say that Her Majesty has allowed me to leave the palace to marry, and no one will ever think of Her Majesty in that way."
She was so bold because she felt that going out wouldn't interfere with the Empress's plans.
Even the Empress herself probably felt that whether she went out or not wasn't that important, otherwise why wouldn't the Empress have sent people to keep an eye on her?
She was banished from the palace by the Empress for making a mistake. Since she's essentially leaving the palace to marry and have children, isn't that perfectly normal? On the contrary, having a few more people watch over her would only attract more attention. And these people must be people they absolutely trust; otherwise, the more people who know, the more detrimental it will be to their plans.
Since the Empress has not sent anyone to keep an eye on her, she might as well go out for some fresh air occasionally.
The man was worried that if she went out too often, someone would find out sooner or later, so he frowned and said, "Now that you're six months pregnant, you shouldn't go out. What do you want to eat? I'll buy it for you."
Seeing that he only makes empty promises, Zi Shu angrily said, "You make it sound so easy for you. You only come here once every three to five days, but you talk as if you come back every day!"
He even said he'd buy it for her to eat, but she's told him so many times before, and he doesn't remember ever buying it for her!
The man's face stiffened upon hearing this, and he hurriedly explained, "I had no choice, you know my wife..."
"Stop talking, I don't want to hear it." Zi Shu interrupted him coldly before he could finish speaking.
The man immediately dared not say anything more, and hugged Zi Shu, coaxing her, "Alright, let's not talk about it anymore, let's eat wontons."
As the man spoke, he picked up the bowl and began to feed Zi Shu.
Looking at the man's refined appearance, Zi Shu was too lazy to argue with him and ate the wontons he fed her.
The bowl of wontons was quickly finished.
The man looked at Zi Shu's swollen belly and said with some worry, "We really don't want to tell the Empress that you're pregnant with twins!"
Zi Shu's diagnosis and treatment were entirely his responsibility from beginning to end. If the concubine finds out that Zi Shu is pregnant with twins, she will definitely hold him accountable first!
When the man brought it up again, Zi Shu instantly bristled like a hedgehog, raising all her sharp quills and coldly said, "If you want to kill your son, then go ahead and bring it up."
The man was intimidated by Zi Shu's sharp gaze and stammered, "Perhaps Your Majesty..."
“I am her personal maid, and I know her personality better than anyone else. She is ruthless and kills without blinking an eye. For her power and status, anyone can be sacrificed at any time, even her parents and brothers and sisters, let alone servants like us who are as worthless as weeds.” Before the man could finish speaking, Zi Shu launched into a rapid-fire speech.
She still remembers the way Bai Qin was beheaded. She doesn't care about her or Bai Qin at all, even though they've been with her since they were little.
Moreover, she knew her very well; given her ruthless and cautious nature, she would never allow a handle like twins to exist in this world.
"If she knew I was carrying twins, only one of them would survive. They are both my flesh and blood, and I don't want anything to happen to either of them."
She couldn't understand a mother's feelings before, but now, six months pregnant, these two children are connected to her by blood. She will never allow anyone to harm her children.
Therefore, this secret must be kept no matter what!
The man was also somewhat frightened by what Zi Shu said.
His two sons were also his own flesh and blood, and of course he didn't want anything to happen to either of them.
That's why he hesitated and didn't immediately tell the concubine.
Seeing that he was softening, Zi Shu pulled him aside and coaxed, "Don't you also want a son to inherit the family business? Why don't we send one to the palace to be the crown prince and keep the other by our side to inherit your family business in the future?"
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