The Queen is pregnant, and both concubines rejoice.
These three consecutive messages, like three boulders thrown into the center of a lake, stirred up a monstrous wave in the power center of the Star Kingdom.
The entire palace, and even the upper class of Chengtian City, were plunged into an unprecedented atmosphere that was both fanatical and bizarre.
The air was thick with invisible gunpowder smoke.
This was a war without swords or spears, but its brutality far surpassed any real battle.
The stakes are the future of this nascent empire and the supreme right of succession.
Su Wanqing's "Fengyi Palace" undoubtedly became the center of this storm.
Every day, officials and noblewomen of all ranks came in an endless stream to pay their respects, offer congratulations, and show goodwill, and their carriages almost blocked the Jade Avenue in front of the palace gate.
Countless rare tonics, exquisite fabrics, and delicate trinkets were sent into the palace like a flowing river.
This newly crowned "Queen of Destiny" is enjoying the most glorious and honorable moment of her life.
However, beneath this endless honor and glory, Su Wanqing's heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, and she could not find true peace for even a single day.
She knows Lin Feng too well.
That man had a mind as deep as the sea; every decision he made was never as simple as it appeared on the surface.
He held her high, crowned her queen, and bestowed upon her the honor of "ruling the world as an empress," but behind this glory was a rope that could be tightened at any moment.
The child in her womb was her greatest reliance, but also her greatest weakness.
She could clearly sense that the sisters in the harem who had once treated her with utmost respect now had a different look in their eyes.
Qin Lan's fighting spirit, Qian Xiaoxiao's jealousy, Meng Yao's sorrow... these emotions, like an invisible net, enveloped her, keeping her awake at night.
All she could do was tread carefully, as if walking on thin ice, to ensure that nothing went wrong for herself and the baby in her womb.
The weather was fine that day.
After finishing his official duties for the day, Lin Feng, unusually, did not summon any of his concubines, but instead went alone to the "Phoenix Palace".
This news once again drew the attention of the entire harem to this matter.
Upon receiving the notification, Su Wanqing felt both joy and nervousness.
She immediately directed the palace maids to change into their most elegant palace attire and prepare tea made with glacial snow water, which was Lin Feng's favorite drink. She strived for perfection in every detail.
When Lin Feng's tall figure appeared outside the palace gate, Su Wanqing greeted him with the gentlest and happiest smile on her face.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects." She slightly curtsied, intending to perform a proper bow.
"No need." Lin Feng reached out and gently helped her up, his gesture natural and intimate. "You are now the most important person in the empire. These formalities are no longer necessary."
He took Su Wanqing's hand and led her into the hall, where they sat down in the main seat, and he naturally pulled her close to his side.
"How are you feeling today? Has the baby been bothering you?" Lin Feng's tone was so gentle it could melt your heart. He even reached out and gently stroked Su Wanqing's slightly protruding belly.
Feeling the warmth from Lin Feng's palm and that unprecedented tenderness, Su Wanqing finally felt a sense of relief. She leaned on Lin Feng's shoulder and softly replied, "Your Majesty, everything is fine. The imperial physicians come to check on the prince every day and say that he is very healthy and energetic."
"That's good." Lin Feng nodded, picked up his teacup, and took a small sip.
The atmosphere inside the hall was warm and tranquil.
Su Wanqing savored this rare moment of tenderness, her heart filled with sweetness.
She felt that her previous worries might have been unnecessary. In any case, she was the mother of his child and his queen, a relationship that no one could replace.
However, she didn't see that the moment Lin Feng put down his teacup, a cold, mocking glint flashed in the depths of his eyes.
“Speaking of which,” Lin Feng said casually, as if he had suddenly remembered something, “I remember you weren’t like this before.”
Su Wanqing's heart skipped a beat.
"Hmm?" She looked up at Lin Feng with some confusion.
A half-smile appeared on Lin Feng's lips. He turned his head, looked directly into Su Wanqing's eyes, and slowly said, "I remember, at the beginning of the kingdom's founding, didn't you really like... boxing?"
The words "boxing" struck Su Wanqing's heart like two heavy hammer blows!
Her face turned deathly pale in an instant, completely devoid of color. The blood in her body seemed to freeze at that moment.
That long-forgotten history, the history she thought had been buried, the history she most wanted to erase, was thus exposed by Lin Feng in the most understated yet cruel way, revealing its bloody scars.
She never expected that Lin Feng would still remember these words! Moreover, he brought them up when she was pregnant with his child and her position seemed most secure!
"You once said... you wouldn't have children with men." Lin Feng's tone remained calm, but every word was like a red-hot steel needle, piercing Su Wanqing's nerves.
"Your Majesty...you..." Su Wanqing's lips trembled violently, her mind went blank, and she had no idea how to respond.
Looking at her panicked and terrified appearance, Lin Feng's smile deepened.
"What? Not only have you given birth, but you're also so concerned? It seems that nothing in this world is absolute." He gently patted her stiff cheek, the gesture ambiguous, but his eyes were icy cold.
Su Wanqing's body trembled like a leaf in the wind. She finally regained a sliver of reason from her extreme shock.
She knew that any explanation now would only make things worse. She had to give the man in front of her an answer that would satisfy him.
Her survival instinct set her brain racing.
"Your Majesty...you jest." Her voice was hoarse and dry. "Back then...what I said back then was...that they were ordinary men."
She raised her pale face, forcing herself to force a smile that looked worse than crying, and met Lin Feng's scrutinizing gaze.
“Those ordinary mortals, mediocre and incompetent, always think about having women carry on their lineage. Naturally, I look down on them.”
Her speech became faster and faster, and her thoughts became clearer and clearer.
“But Your Majesty…you are different!” Her eyes instantly blazed with fervent worship and awe: “You are the chosen king, the ruler of this planet! You have established an everlasting dynasty! Your bloodline is the bloodline of the gods! To bear children for you and continue your sacred lineage is the highest honor for me…for all women in the world!”
She took a breath, grasped the most crucial point, and added:
"What's more... what's more, you really do have a throne to inherit here!"
After saying this, she stared intently at Lin Feng, nervously awaiting his verdict.
These words can be said to be the pinnacle of her quick wit.
She subtly transformed her past feminist remarks into a disdain for "mediocre men," thereby highlighting her boundless admiration for Lin Feng, this "extraordinary man."
She elevated the act of "having children" from the vulgar "carrying on the family line" to an incomparably sacred level of "continuing the bloodline of the gods" and "inheriting imperial power for all ages."
However……
"Hahaha...hahahahahaha!"
Suddenly, Lin Feng burst into a deafening laugh. He laughed so hard he was doubled over, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
But there was not a trace of warmth in his laughter, only endless coldness and mockery.
Su Wanqing's heart sank little by little into an abyss with his laughter.
She knew that her words had not truly moved him.
The laughter abruptly stopped.
Lin Feng's face instantly turned cold. The temperature in his eyes was even colder than the eternal ice of the North Sea.
He slowly leaned close to Su Wanqing's ear and spoke, word by word, in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"I haven't forgotten what happened back then."
boom!
Su Wanqing's last line of psychological defense completely collapsed.
He hasn't forgotten. He hasn't forgotten anything.
Everything he did today was to tell her that he remembered her entire past.
He could take these things out at any time and use them as weapons to attack her.
Fear, like a tidal wave, overwhelmed her.
She no longer cared about the dignity of a queen, or the prince in her womb. With a "thud," she slid off her seat and knelt heavily on the cold obsidian floor.
"Your Majesty! I know I was wrong! I was young and ignorant back then, and I spoke nonsense! Those words were just jokes to attract attention! I beg Your Majesty to have mercy and not take them to heart! I beg Your Majesty!"
She kept kowtowing, her smooth forehead making a "thump-thump" sound against the hard ground.
She didn't even dare to protect her stomach; she only wanted to beg for the man's forgiveness in the most humble way possible.
Lin Feng looked down at the woman kneeling on the ground, as humble as dust.
Once upon a time, she was just as proud and intelligent, speaking eloquently and with a sparkle in her eyes in his presence.
And now, what difference is there between her and those mediocre women in the harem?
How boring.
A hint of weariness flashed in Lin Feng's eyes.
He snorted coldly and said slowly, "Then we'll see how you perform."
After saying that, he didn't look at her again, straightened his robes, turned around, and strode out of the hall.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Su Wanqing cried out, trying to grab his clothes, but her body went limp with fear and she couldn't move at all.
She could only watch helplessly as Lin Feng's resolute figure disappeared outside the palace gate.
In the empty hall, she was left alone, kneeling on the ground, feeling the bone-chilling cold and anxiety.
She knew that from this day forward, she, the "Queen of Destiny," would live under endless scrutiny and trials. The child in her womb was no longer a get-out-of-jail-free card, but a death warrant.
If she cannot give birth to a prince who satisfies His Majesty and can perfectly inherit his will...
If, in the future, she takes any step that does not satisfy His Majesty…
Then, she and her child will instantly fall from heaven to hell.
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