Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 45 - Pregnancy Reactions

Chapter 45: Chapter 45 Pregnancy Reactions

The relentless downpour had lasted for nearly half a month, filling the city moat to the brim.

Severe urban flooding occurred in the Capital City, and the Emperor, who esteemed Jun Yuyan greatly, tasked him with managing a series of problems that arose following the flooding.

To prevent the collapse of the moat’s embankment, Jun Yuyan ordered people to work through the night to raise and reinforce it.

He was so busy that for several days, Murong Jiu did not see him at all.

Chun Tao said that sometimes he would return in the middle of the night, apparently not wanting to wake her, always sleeping in the side hall. He snatched just a couple of Shichen of sleep before leaving the estate again before dawn.

As Murong Jiu counted the days, the weather in the Capital City finally cleared up after a couple of days.

...

With the clear skies, everyone’s mood also improved. That afternoon, Jun Yuyan had finished his duties and came back to have lunch with her.

Originally, she had wanted to talk to him about Noble Lady Hui, but seeing how exhausted he looked, she advised him to rest first and suggested that it wouldn’t be too late to talk after he woke up.

Jun Yuyan slept until evening, resting in Murong Jiu’s bed. The familiar scent allowed him to have a good dream, and when he awoke, his fatigue had been swept away.

“Where is the Princess Consort?”

He got up, not seeing Murong Jiu, only spotting the maid named Zhen Zhu, pretending to clean a vase with a cloth.

Another maid was sweeping the courtyard, head bowed, looking extremely frightened.

He had forgotten her name, recalling only that Murong Jiu named her Cui Hua.

The last time she attempted to seduce her master, Eunuch Shi dragged her out to teach her a lesson, which made her abandon such thoughts.

Zhen Zhu also held some fear of him, and while curtsying, she said:

“Replying to the Prince, the Princess Consort has gone to the outskirts. She said she was visiting her Colored Glaze Workshop and should be back soon, I believe.”

Zhen Zhu cautiously eyed the Prince’s expression. The Second Prince wanted her to sabotage the Prince and Murong Jiu’s relationship, ideally making the Prince detest Murong Jiu, but she dared not.

She felt that the Prince’s gaze could penetrate the heart, which terrified her.

Murong Jiu had only taken Chun Tao with her, and as the Princess Consort, she often went out. The Prince should be annoyed by this; however, Zhen Zhu only heard the Prince say indifferently:

“Have the kitchen prepare dishes according to the Princess Consort’s taste.”

“Yes.”

Zhen Zhu hurriedly left; being in the same room as the Prince was oppressively nerve-racking for her.

Before long, Murong Jiu and Chun Tao returned.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they smelled the aroma of pickled vegetables.

Murong Jiu, who initially had no appetite, suddenly felt hungry again.

On the dinner table was a steaming dish of pickled vegetable fish slices. The fish slices were thinly cut, with curled edges, translucent, and fully soaked in the pickled vegetable broth, making it very appetizing to look at.

Seeing the Princess Consort enjoying her meal, Eunuch Shi said with a beaming smile, “This is the sea fish that the Prince had the Internal Affairs Office send over. It was still alive when it arrived, not fishy at all. Princess Consort, please eat more.”

Sea fish were common, but live sea fish were rare indeed. Transported from the sea, few could survive the journey, which explained why the fish meat was so fresh and tender.

Jun Yuyan was simply too kind. The woman he fell for would surely be the happiest in the world.

She looked at Jun Yuyan and said, “Thank you, Prince. You should eat more as well.”

“No need for formalities. If there is anything you wish to eat, just inform Eunuch Shi or Steward Lin.”

She nodded, feeling very grateful in her heart.

After the meal, Murong Jiu dismissed the servants and spoke to Jun Yuyan about Noble Lady Hui.

The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

“I smelled an Exotic Fragrance on Father Emperor the other day. That fragrance is a bewitching fragrance from the Western Regions that has addictive properties. If this continues for a long time, I fear it may harm Father Emperor’s health.”

She did not spell it out, but with Jun Yuyan’s intelligence, he could surely guess it was about Noble Lady Hui.

Because of the matter involving the Exotic Fragrance, several people in the palace were aware of it.

Jun Yuyan’s brows furrowed slightly as he inquired, “What kind of scent is this Exotic Fragrance?”

Addiction… it seemed he was becoming addicted to her scent as well.

But he did not believe that the fragrance on Murong Jiu was a bewitching fragrance.

Murong Jiu recalled, “It’s a bit like the fresh scent of lotus, with some other smell, if you really sniff it, it actually has a bit of a medicinal odor, but after smelling it for a while, you don’t notice it.”

Jun Yuyan asked, “Aside from addiction, what other effects does it have on the body?”

She hesitated for a moment, then whispered, “It can heighten desires, which naturally has a significant impact on someone of Father Emperor’s age.”

Jun Yuyan stared at her blushing ears for a moment, then shifted his gaze away.

He thought that if Murong Jiu was using fragrance to tempt him, she wouldn’t have been able to sleep in separate blankets from him.

Moreover, since she was pregnant, she seemed to be particularly careful about her child and would be unlikely to use a harmful bewitching fragrance.

That exotic fragrance must be innate to her.

He said, “I will make a trip to the palace tomorrow.”

“What do you plan to say? Father Emperor might not believe you.”

“I am just going to give a heads-up to Mother Consort.”

In addition, he would send someone to investigate the forces behind Noble Lady Hui. With her background, she couldn’t possibly have had access to the bewitching fragrance from the Western Regions; there must be someone behind her.

Jun Yuyan was well aware that without evidence, he couldn’t falsely accuse anyone in front of Father Emperor. Even though Father Emperor favored him, he might not necessarily believe his words.

Murong Jiu felt a slight relief inside, Jun Yuyan was reliable in handling matters, and there should be a better way to deal with Noble Lady Hui’s case.

Even if they couldn’t expose her, being prepared meant that Noble Consort Qi would not fall for the tricks of the Empress and others.

“How is your Colored Glaze Workshop doing?”

Jun Yuyan suddenly asked her.

Murong Jiu blinked, and honestly replied, “It’s doing okay, I had Manager Chai expand the operation, and now we can produce several hundred colored glaze items a day.”

“Are they selling well? Do you have a sales channel?”

She didn’t expect Jun Yuyan to take an interest in her business, and chuckled lightly, “Not yet, but they will all sell out very soon.”

She spoke with confidence, and although Jun Yuyan originally thought about finding a merchant convoy to help sell them to a foreign country, upon hearing this, he did not press further, despite his curiosity.

He knew about her hoarding grains. Many people were not optimistic about it back then, and now every grain shop regretted not following her lead.

Perhaps she really did have a way to sell all that colored glaze.

The weather cleared up, and it was not appropriate for Jun Yuyan to continue sleeping over at Murong Jiu’s place.

The “leaky” roof had already been fixed perfectly good by Steward Lin and the craftsmen.

That night, Jun Yuyan moved back.

Murong Jiu felt a bit uncomfortable sleeping alone, thinking to herself that Jun Yuyan had only slept here for a few nights, so why had she already gotten used to it?

Perhaps it was because Jun Yuyan had such a strong presence.

Suddenly not having him around made the entire house seem empty.

That night, she had a nightmare which she hadn’t had in a long time.

In the dream, a succession of insincere faces flashed by, laughing and scolding, utterly mocking her, until at last, someone pushed her head into the water, and the terrifying sensation of drowning, water filling her mouth and nose, jolted her awake.

It was still dark outside, and Murong Jiu could no longer sleep.

Without disturbing Chun Tao, she changed out of her sweat-soaked clothing herself.

After just a few moves, she felt nauseous and unbearably queasy, uncontrollably retching. Chun Tao, who was sleeping in the outer room, heard the commotion and ran in without even putting on her outer garment.

“Miss, what’s wrong with you? Where do you feel uncomfortable?”

Murong Jiu was unable to speak, as she vomited until everything turned dark around her, even bringing up bitter bile.

All the servants in Qiyun Courtyard heard the noise.