"Your Majesty, this servant went to the palace during the day and spoke with Lord Zu." Seeing the Empress's anger, Eunuch Lü quickly said in a somewhat obsequious tone.
"So he agreed to come?" The Empress raised her eyebrows, having waited so long with high expectations, only to have him fail to arrive, leaving her feeling a strange, burning desire.
"They must have agreed," Eunuch Lü recalled the scene in the palace at the time.
"Should?" The Empress sat up straight abruptly, her voice rising an octave.
Eunuch Lü hurriedly explained, "With Your Highness's unparalleled beauty, what man in the world would refuse? If Your Highness invited him, wouldn't he come running over eagerly?"
The Empress snorted coldly: "Don't assume everyone is like you. He's not like ordinary men."
Eunuch Lü was so excited he almost cried. "Look, the Empress knew her place in my heart. All my efforts over the years have been worth it."
He thought for a moment and said, "It must be that Lord Zu has just returned to the capital and has a lot of things to do at his residence. He was delayed by someone and should arrive later."
"It would be best if it were as you said." The Queen's fingers gently brushed over her body; how could he bear not to come to such a beautiful body?
...
What she didn't know was that Zu'an had completely forgotten about her and was enjoying the warmth of home at the Sang residence.
Sang Qian was nestled obediently in his arms, deliberately turning her back to him to avoid hurting the baby in her womb.
She, a well-bred young lady whose emotional life was like a blank sheet of paper, could not withstand Zu An's seasoned methods. In addition, the other party was the father of her child, and she had already regarded him as her man. At first, she was a little embarrassed, but then she half-heartedly went along with it and even took the initiative to move back to make it easier to fully accept him.
She shuddered, and all she could do was purse her lips tightly to avoid waking the other person.
...
The next morning, Zu An went to the palace. Although court assemblies were not held every day, he needed to show his face, whether it was for his position in the Eastern Palace or his status as an Embroidered-Robe Envoy. Moreover, the matter of Sang Hong was not yet over.
After Zu An left, Zheng Dan sat in front of the dressing mirror, drawing her eyebrows while calling to her sister-in-law, "Xiao Qian, come here, I'll help you with your makeup."
"No, I'd rather not. I've heard that cosmetics are bad for babies," Sang Qian replied with a smile as she tidied the bed. Compared to her usual pale complexion, she looked exceptionally radiant today.
"Yes, yes, yes, that's amazing, you're pregnant." Zheng Dan pouted, looking somewhat annoyed.
"Oh, that's not what I meant. This child will still have to call you 'Mom' in the future," Sang Qian quickly explained.
“I’m not really angry,” Zheng Dan said with a sigh. “It’s just that I should pretend to be pregnant for a while and let the outside world gradually accept this information.”
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She learned of the Sang family's plan. While marveling at how much the Sang father and daughter were willing to invest, she was also somewhat tempted, because in this way, the Sang family would tacitly acknowledge her relationship with Zu An, and the two would no longer have to keep it a secret.
Knowing that she would be the child's mother in name only, the relationship between the two women progressed rapidly.
Unlike the open and covert struggles between sisters-in-law in other large families, there was no point in these two fighting.
On the contrary, their interests were aligned to some extent. In addition, during this period, the two of them had been the only ones in the Sang family who depended on each other, and they had long been like sisters. That's why she deliberately made that kind of joke.
"Where can you find a pregnant woman as beautiful as you?" Sang Qian couldn't help but exclaim. Zheng Dan was now a widow, and most widows in the capital dressed very plainly. But Zheng Dan was different from ordinary people. If there were to be a ranking of the most beautiful widow in the entire capital, Zheng Dan would probably be the one.
Although the other party was her sister-in-law, Sang Qian was not angry at all. On the contrary, as a woman herself, she felt some sympathy for her.
She married her brother because of family reasons, but unfortunately, her brother died tragically before the marriage. If nothing unexpected happens, such a woman will spend the rest of her life in solitude, living a life of quiet contemplation and religious devotion.
Fortunately, we had Brother Zu...
Thinking of that man, Sang Qian's pretty face flushed. Her sister-in-law had obviously been with him for a long time. If her brother hadn't met with an accident, he would have been furious.
However, my brother has passed away, and now the future of the Sang family is more important. To be honest, I feel quite sorry for Zheng Dan. It would have been much easier to get her cooperation.
"Anyone who dares to gossip, I'll rip their tongues out," Zheng Dan snorted, displaying a resemblance to the former gang leader of Mingyue City. "Oh dear, Xiaoqian, why are you tidying up the quilt? Just let the maid do it."
"No need. The Sang family is short-handed right now, so doing what we can is a good way to get some exercise." Sang Qian blushed and hastily rolled up the bed sheet to cover herself.
At this moment, Zheng Dan had already come up behind her and poked his head over: "Is there something you're hiding?"
Sang Qian was startled and couldn't help but pinch her, patting her chest repeatedly: "You almost scared me to death! Don't show up without a sound!"
"If you do nothing wrong in the middle of the night, you'll never be afraid of ghosts knocking at your door." Zheng Dan looked at her with a half-smile.
"What ghosts? Don't scare your godson." Sang Qian touched her stomach awkwardly, wondering if her mentioning midnight was an implication.
“When our godson grows up a little, he might often take a stick and disturb his father’s sleep.” Zheng Dan also touched her belly and smiled.
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