Since the "Dragon Heir Contest," a high-stakes gamble that swept through the court and the public, temporarily came to an end with the "Princess Party" winning a resounding victory, Lin Wanwan's life has become increasingly "dire and miserable."
Xiao Che, having seen the phrase "the will of the people" in some report, actually took his "doting father" remarks as a governing principle. With a stroke of his pen, he issued an imperial edict that read, "The Empress is pregnant with the imperial heir and is the most precious person in the world. Anyone who causes her any distress shall be punished as if he were plotting against the foundation of the state."
This absurd imperial edict, unprecedented and unparalleled in history, instantly transformed the Kunning Palace into the quietest and most boring place in the entire palace.
The birds dared not sing, for fear of disturbing the fetus; the palace servants had to walk on tiptoe, afraid of making the slightest sound; even the wind seemed to blow more gently. Lin Wanwan's daily life consisted of walking on a floor covered with three layers of Persian carpets under the watchful eyes of countless people, eating the imperial kitchen's carefully prepared, supposedly most nutritious but bland, pregnancy-preserving meals.
She felt less like an empress and more like a porcelain doll enshrined in a shrine, her every breath affecting everyone's nerves.
Xiao Che, in particular, has taken the "master of tension" attribute to the extreme.
He would take Lin Wanwan's pulse three times a day without fail, personally review the menus for each meal, and even suspect that the sparrows outside the window might be assassins sent by the Regent if Lin Wanwan glanced at them a few times.
In this tense atmosphere, Lin Wanwan faced her first real test since becoming pregnant.
The sky was bright and clear that morning.
Lin Wanwan got up with the help of the palace servants, rinsed her mouth with warm water that was said to contain calming herbs, and sat down at the dining table.
On the table was a bowl of carefully prepared bird's nest porridge and several plates of delicate side dishes that were neither oily nor salty. This was the "perfect solution" that the head chef of the imperial kitchen had come up with after racking his brains, following Xiao Che's rejection of his menu seven or eight times in a row.
Everything seemed normal, peaceful and serene.
However, when the steam from the bowl of bird's nest porridge, carrying a faint, sweet and fishy smell, wafted into her nose, Lin Wanwan suddenly felt a wave of nausea washing over her.
The feeling came so suddenly and so violently, as if an invisible hand had gripped her internal organs and was churning them wildly.
"Hmm..."
Lin Wanwan's face turned pale, and she instinctively covered her mouth.
Seeing this, Ruolan, who was standing beside her, also changed her expression and quickly patted her back: "Your Highness, what's wrong?"
"No...it's nothing..."
Lin Wanwan was about to say that she was just feeling a little nauseous, but the nausea was like a flood breaking through a dam, instantly overwhelming all her defenses. She couldn't hold back any longer, so she pushed the chair away abruptly, staggered to a corner, and dry-heaved violently into the prepared spittoon.
She hadn't eaten anything, so naturally she couldn't vomit anything. However, the burning and nausea that shot from her stomach straight to her throat caused tears to stream down her face. She leaned against the corner of the table, completely exhausted, her face as pale as paper.
The entire bedchamber fell into a deathly silence.
All the palace staff, whether eunuchs or maids, were frozen in place, their faces drained of color, as if they were witnessing the end of the world.
It’s over!
This was the only thought in everyone's mind.
The Empress...vomited!
He vomited in Kunning Palace! He vomited right under His Majesty's nose!
This...this is someone trying to "harm the foundation of the nation"!
Sure enough, the next second, a voice so cold it could freeze the air broke the deathly silence.
"What happened?"
Xiao Che had been admiring Lin Wanwan's sleeping face with a silly grin, planning to go to the Imperial Garden together to "bask in the dragon's aura" after she finished her breakfast. But the sudden scene before him made all the warmth on his face vanish instantly.
His face was even paler than Lin Wanwan's, but his deep eyes burned with a storm and panic powerful enough to incinerate everything.
He rushed to Lin Wanwan's side, wanting to help her up, but his hand trembled in mid-air, unsure of where to place it, afraid that if he touched her, she would shatter.
Lin Wanwan weakly waved her hand, about to explain that this was just a normal pregnancy reaction, but Xiao Che had already completed his absurd logical reasoning.
The empress vomited.
The imperial edict stated that anyone who caused the Empress distress would be considered to be plotting against the foundation of the nation.
Vomiting is, of course, an extreme source of distress!
So, who caused this?
Xiao Che's icy gaze slowly swept over everyone in the bedchamber, finally settling on the bowl of still steaming bird's nest porridge.
That's it!
There must be something wrong with this breakfast!
"Guards!" Xiao Che's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a terrifying, impending storm. "Seal off Kunning Palace! Thoroughly investigate today's breakfast! Tie up the head chef of the Imperial Kitchen and bring him here!"
His commands were like thunderclaps, striking the palace servants present until their souls trembled. Without the slightest hesitation, they scrambled out to carry out the orders.
Before long, the head chef of the imperial kitchen was bound like a dumpling by two fierce imperial guards and dragged into the main hall of Kunning Palace.
The chief steward, who was usually quite influential in the palace, was now pale with fright and trembling like a leaf. As soon as he was dragged in, he collapsed to the ground, unable to even beg for mercy.
Xiao Che didn't even glance at him. He carefully helped Lin Wanwan, who had recovered, to sit down on the soft couch and personally covered her with a thin blanket, his movements as gentle as if he were handling a rare treasure.
After doing all this, he slowly turned around and looked at the head of the imperial kitchen kneeling on the ground.
In that instant, all the tenderness and worry on his face vanished, replaced by a chilling killing intent.
Lin Wanwan leaned back on the soft couch. Although her stomach was still a little uncomfortable, she felt a bit better. She habitually looked up at the top of Xiao Che's head.
In that familiar area filled with emojis, a huge animated image was now prominently displayed.
It was a chibi-style figure dressed in the robes of an ancient judge, his face painted with oil paint, and his expression ferocious. Against his background were raging hellfires, and he held a giant writing brush, seemingly marking the Book of Life and Death with each stroke. Above his head, a line of large, blood-red characters flickered incessantly, radiating a chilling light.
[Speak! What did you put in the Empress's porridge?! How dare you endanger the foundation of the nation! .gif]
Lin Wanwan: "..."
She knew it would be like this.
This isn't about caring for her; it's clearly a live court hearing triggered by morning sickness, targeting a major case of "harming the foundation of the nation"!
"Speak!" Xiao Che's voice was icy cold. He pointed at the head of the imperial kitchen, who was trembling on the ground, and demanded sharply, "Did you personally supervise today's breakfast?"
"Yes...yes...it was your servant..." The steward was so frightened that his teeth were chattering.
"Good, very good." Xiao Che nodded, walking towards him step by step, each step feeling like he was stepping on everyone's heart. "Then let me ask you, what shouldn't you have put in the Empress's porridge?"
"Injustice... Your Majesty, I'm innocent!" The head chef of the imperial kitchen finally found a voice and cried out, "Even if this servant had the greatest courage in the world, I wouldn't dare! That porridge... that porridge was just the most ordinary tribute bird's nest, with a little rock sugar added, nothing... nothing at all!"
"Didn't release it?" Xiao Che sneered, squatted down, grabbed his collar, and lifted him up. His eyes were sharp as knives. "Didn't release it? Why did the Empress vomit? Didn't you hear my imperial decree, or do you think I'm joking? I've said that the Empress is the most precious person in the world, yet you've caused her so much trouble! Isn't this treason?!"
"This servant...this servant..." The head chef of the imperial kitchen was so frightened by the palpable murderous intent in his eyes that he almost fainted. His mind went blank, and he could think of nothing but the word "wronged".
He knew that today's events couldn't be explained away. The emperor wasn't questioning the case; he was convicting him!
Seeing the head chef of the imperial kitchen nearly faint from fright, Lin Wanwan sighed helplessly. She knew that if she didn't speak up soon, this poor head chef would probably become the first unlucky man in history to be beheaded because of "the empress's morning sickness".
She propped herself up and spoke softly in a weak but powerful voice that could be heard by everyone in the room.
"His Majesty……"
Xiao Che paused, immediately released the steward, turned around and quickly returned to her side, his tone instantly becoming tense yet gentle: "Wanwan, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell again?"
Lin Wanwan shook her head. She leaned against the soft pillows, her face still pale, her eyes unfocused. She licked her dry lips and whispered:
"Your Majesty... I just suddenly wanted something sour."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com