In the courtyard of the Prince's Mansion, the sycamore leaves were just beginning to show the first hints of autumn, their golden-red flakes rustling in the morning breeze. But the chili powder held between Shen Weiwan's fingers spun around in her throat. She was squatting in the porch, sprinkling the third handful of Yunnan chili powder into Xiao Yu's ebony boots. The fine red powder stained her nose, like a small animal stealing spice.
"Noble Lady Liu? Which Noble Lady Liu?" She didn't even raise her head, with chili seeds stuck in the cracks of her fingernails.
Chuntao came over with a handful of dried itchy grass, the grass debris staining her newly made pomegranate-red bodice. "Miss, have you forgotten? It's Lin Wanrou's cousin! She just passed the imperial selection and entered the palace last month. Relying on the Lin family's connections in the Ministry of Personnel, she hangs out in the Imperial Garden every day, hoping the Emperor will take a closer look!"
Shen Weiwan raised her eyebrows and compacted the last handful of chili powder. A wisp of spicy red mist immediately rose from the soles of her boots: "Oh? She's pregnant?" Before she finished speaking, the sound of the old housekeeper's crutches came from outside the corridor.
"Miss!" The old butler's white beard trembled like a reed in the autumn wind. "His Highness the Seventh Prince asked you not to interfere in the affairs of the palace. He said that Concubine Liu..."
"Things in the palace are really fun!" Chen Weiwan clapped her hands, and chili powder fell on the green bricks. "Chun Tao! Comb my hair into the most eye-catching double-ring bun. Let's go and congratulate Concubine Liu!"
Half an hour later, Shen Weiwan, five months pregnant, rode into the palace in a soft blue velvet sedan chair. As the sedan passed the Nine-Curve Bridge, she caught sight of the dazzling apricot-yellow hue of the Imperial Garden through the curtains. Concubine Liu was helping a palace maid admire the flowers. Her gold-embroidered robe, embroidered with exaggerated twin lotus flowers, made her complexion appear even whiter than her rouge and powder.
"Sister, you're pregnant, and you're still out here to get some fresh air?" Shen Weiwan deliberately held onto her waist as she got out of the sedan chair, her fingertips rubbing against her round belly. "Unlike me, who is locked up in the Prince's Mansion by His Highness every day, afraid of touching his precious baby."
When Concubine Liu saw her, a hint of jealousy flashed across her eyes, but she put on a gentle smile: "Sister, you're joking. I heard from the imperial physician that walking more is good for the fetus." As she spoke, she deliberately straightened her belly. The curve under her brocade robe was hard, as if it was stuffed with a pillow.
Shen Weiwan sneered in her heart, but her face showed innocent surprise: "Oh! My sister's belly looks rounder than mine! It's only been three months, right? Could it be that she is pregnant with twins?"
The maidservant beside Concubine Liu immediately responded, "Replying to the eldest prince's wife, my young lady is having twins, so her pregnancy is particularly obvious!"
"Twins?" Shen Weiwan took two steps closer, her voice low enough for everyone around to hear. "That's great news! But sister, do you feel...something moving strangely in your stomach sometimes? These past few days, I've always felt like something was crawling inside..."
Concubine Liu's smile froze for a moment, and she forced herself to say, "Sister, you're joking. Isn't it normal for a fetus to move?"
"It's not a fetus!" Shen Weiwan suddenly raised her voice, startling the nearby gray sparrows and making them fly away. "It's a bug!"
The palace maids and eunuchs around her gasped for air. Concubine Liu subconsciously took a half step back, her handkerchief wrinkled in her hand: "Sister, don't scare me..."
"I didn't scare you!" Shen Weiwan suddenly lifted her moon-white skirt, revealing a fake green-scaled snake tied to her pregnant belly! The snake's body was made of flexible soft leather, and the internal mechanism pulled the scales to rise and fall slightly. The snake's head was also decorated with two obsidian eyeballs, which glowed coldly in the sunlight.
"Look! That's it!" she pointed at the fake snake, her voice tinged with tears. "Yesterday it was only the length of a finger joint, and today it's this long! I must be having a worm nest in my stomach!"
"Ah!" The little maid next to her fainted on the spot. Concubine Liu's face turned pale as paper. She pointed at Shen Weiwan's stomach and couldn't speak. At this moment, Shen Weiwan suddenly cried "ouch" and covered her stomach, her body shaking: "It hurts! Bugs are fighting inside!"
Her cry alerted the patrolling Jinwu Guards, and the leading guard, the captain, rushed over, knife in hand, followed by the panting imperial physician. Concubine Liu looked at the lifelike fake snake, then at her own hard belly. In her nervousness, the cotton padding tied around her waist fell to the ground with a thud, rolling away.
The whole place was dead silent.
Concubine Liu collapsed to the ground, her hair disheveled: "No...it's not what you think..."
Shen Weiwan pointed at the cotton pad and pretended to be shocked: "Sister! Why did cotton fall out of your stomach? Could it be that you..."
The imperial physician stepped forward, picked up the cotton pad, and took Concubine Liu's pulse again, then shook his head and stepped aside. Concubine Liu knew she couldn't hide it anymore, so she rolled her eyes and fainted. The red gold hairpin in her bun knocked against the stone slab, making a crisp sound.
"Miss, your trick is really amazing!" Chun Tao quickly picked up the cotton pad and leaned close to Shen Weiwan's ear, "Using a fake snake to scare off the fake belly, now the whole capital knows that Concubine Liu is a liar!"
Shen Weiwan proudly stroked her pregnant belly. The little one under the brocade seemed to sense her mother's pride and kicked lightly. At this time, Xiao Yu's voice came from the moon gate: "Shen Weiwan! What are you doing in the palace again?"
He walked over quickly, his dark brocade robe still stained with dew from the morning court. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Shen Weiwan was fine, but he caught a glimpse of the fake snake tail looming around her waist: "Are you using this thing again?"
"I'm cleaning up the harem for you!" Shen Weiwan took his arm and pointed at Concubine Liu who was being carried away. "Look, the fake pregnancy liar has been exposed by me, right?"
Xiao Yu sighed helplessly and straightened her hair that was messed up by the wind: "Don't scare yourself with these things next time. What if you startle the fetus?"
"Who am I?" Shen Weiwan raised her chin, and the glass hairpin in her hair shone with colorful light. "Let's go and ask for a reward from our father!"
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