Chapter 548 Sister Ruohan was really angry with her.
Chu Ruohan stood outside the Kunning Palace, watching the palace servants hurrying around and listening to the faint cries coming from afar, her heart chilled.
Does this mean that she offered herself to the emperor and empress and became a pawn in their hands?
She was lost in thought when Su Wan's personal maid Huaping came over quietly and bowed.
"Madam, please stay."
Chu Ruohan came back to her senses and looked at her.
Huaping lowered her eyes and spoke softly, "Madam, please don't blame the Empress. The Empress didn't want to involve you, but this matter is so serious that the Empress had no choice."
"You happened to enter the palace that day, so... that's how it happened."
Chu Ruohan said calmly, "The Empress's pregnancy is now stable, and the harem is peaceful and tranquil. This is a great blessing."
Her tone was calm, and no emotion could be heard.
Huaping sighed inwardly, knowing that the Duke's wife might have some resentment in her heart, but she couldn't say much, so she could only bow again and watch Chu Ruohan leave.
Outside the palace gate, Gu Junze was already waiting beside the carriage. When he saw Chu Ruohan coming out, he went to meet her and held her arm.
"Is everything over?"
Chu Ruohan nodded and got on the carriage.
The carriage moved slowly, and the interior was somewhat dull.
Chu Ruohan leaned on the cushion, rubbed her eyebrows, and finally couldn't help but speak,
"I was used as a pawn for no reason. It was clearly a scheme set up by the couple, but they dragged me into it. And I can't even complain."
There was a hint of depression in her tone. "That Concubine Hui is also stupid. Does she really think that she can occupy a place in a man's heart forever just by having a little bit of beauty?"
"I was so coaxed by the emperor's sweet words that I almost forgot my own name, which is why I ended up like this."
Gu Junze listened quietly and handed her a glass of warm water. After she calmed down a little, he said in a deep voice, "Do you really think that the baby in the Queen's belly is only a little over a month old?"
Chu Ruohan was stunned and her hand holding the teacup paused.
She suddenly looked up at Gu Junze, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
The imperial physician said it was more than a month, and it was only half a month after Concubine Hui lost her child that the Empress found out she was pregnant. The timing seemed reasonable.
But when Chu Ruohan thought carefully about what Su Wan had let slip that day, "country girls don't understand pharmacology," it was clear that she had been prepared for this.
Gu Junze looked at her with deep eyes: "Concubine Hui lost her child, and the Queen became pregnant right after. The timing is too coincidental."
"If it really happened then, why would there be such a fuss, alleging poisoning and frame-up?"
Chu Ruohan took a deep breath, and a horrifying thought came to her mind, making her speechless for a moment.
"That's not it..." She started to speak subconsciously, then suddenly closed her mouth.
Before the emperor and empress got married, they were already pregnant!
In order to clear away obstacles in the palace for the future eldest son and to stop people from criticizing the queen for losing her virginity before marriage, such a big plan was set up.
Attracting everyone's attention to Concubine Hui's conspiracy, it was natural to "discover" that she was pregnant...
She gave birth to a prince in a legitimate way. Even if the month was wrong, she could just say that Concubine Hui had murdered her and caused the prince to be born prematurely.
"Su Wan..." Chu Ruohan murmured, "She is no longer the naive herbalist she used to be."
This deep palace can indeed carve unpolished jade into the sharpest weapon.
Gu Junze held her hand and said in a low voice, "It's better for you to stay out of the palace from now on. We don't need to get involved in the plans of the couple."
Chu Ruohan nodded, feeling mixed emotions.
Only then did she truly realize how deep and terrifying the mind of this young emperor was.
And the seemingly gentle queen is no less ruthless in her methods.
From then on, Chu Ruohan rarely entered the palace.
She even took sick leave to attend the New Year's Eve palace banquet at the end of the year.
The smile on Su Wan's face faded a little, and a feeling of depression surged in her heart.
Sister Ruohan was really angry with her.
She knew that she shouldn't take advantage of people who treated her sincerely like that.
But she was pregnant and trapped within the palace walls. What else could she do except use the opponent's force to fight back?
She looked at the snowflakes falling outside the window and sighed softly.
The courtyard of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion was covered with a thick layer of white snow, and the sky and the earth were pure and clean.
Xuan Ge'er has grown a lot taller and is helping Gu Junze roll a big snowball in a very professional manner.
Chu Ruohan stood aside, holding little Qingchen, who was wrapped like a dumpling, in her arms.
"Daddy, make it bigger! Taller than me!"
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Gu Junze agreed with a smile, his hands moving non-stop.
Little Qingchen had just learned to walk, and she couldn't stay in her mother's arms. She twisted her body and insisted on getting down. Chu Ruohan had no choice but to carefully place her on the soft snow.
The little guy was wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket, and like a tumbler, he moved towards his father and brother, one foot deep and one foot shallow. After taking two steps, he sat down in the snow, not crying, but just giggling.
Gu Junze turned around and picked her up, patted the snow off her body, and kissed his daughter's chubby face.
Chu Ruohan looked at the scene before her, a gentle smile on her lips. This was the day she wanted!
Under the corridor not far away, Song Ruyan, wrapped in a thick fox fur, was staring at the lively scene in the yard.
Her belly is now very big and it is inconvenient for her to move. Doctor Qian is always by her side.
"I want to go too." She said as she started to walk into the yard.
Doctor Qian beside her grabbed her and frowned.
"Nonsense! It's freezing outside. You're heavy now, so be careful not to slip. What if you fall?"
Song Ruyan looked at the little toddler in the yard and curled her lips in dissatisfaction.
"Pay attention to nothing!" She snorted. "Little Qingchen is just a little over a year old. How can he be stronger than me? You're just making a fuss out of nothing."
Doctor Qian was angry and helpless. He held her arm and tried to persuade her earnestly: "My dear wife, how can it be the same?"
"She fell, patted her butt, and got up again. If you fell, it would be a matter of life and death! Be good, we'll just watch from the corridor."
Chu Ruohan heard the noise, couldn't help but shook her head and walked towards her.
"Ruyan, please don't make things difficult for Doctor Qian. He's doing this for your own good."
"Look at me, I'm almost as fat as a ball. If I don't move around, I'm afraid I won't be able to walk." Song Ruyan held Chu Ruohan's hand and complained with a bitter face.
Gu Junze also came over at this time, holding little Qingchen in his arms. The little guy stretched out his chubby little hands and babbled in the direction of Song Ruyan, "Auntie, Auntie..."
As soon as Song Ruyan saw little Qingchen, she immediately forgot all her troubles and smiled from ear to ear: "Hey, my dear Qingchen, come and give auntie a hug."
"Don't do that," Chu Ruohan stopped her with a smile, "Be careful not to hurt your waist again."
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