Chapter 1546: Heads Roll

"Your Majesty," Eunuch Lü replied fawningly, seeing the Empress's anger, "this servant personally went to the palace during the day and spoke with Master Zu."

"So, he agreed to come?" The Empress's willowy brows rose. She had waited so long, full of expectation, but the other party still hadn't arrived, igniting an inexplicable fury within her.

"He should have agreed," Eunuch Lü replied, recalling the situation in the palace at the time.

"Should have?" The Empress straightened up instantly, her voice rising a pitch.

Eunuch Lü hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty possesses such peerless beauty—what man in this world would refuse? When Your Majesty invites him, wouldn't he come rushing over?"

The Empress snorted coldly, "Don't assume everyone is like you. He's different from ordinary men."

Eunuch Lü was so excited he was almost in tears. *See? Her Majesty actually knows my place in her heart,* he thought. *Then all these years of my dedication have been worth it.*

He thought for a moment and said, "It must be that Master Zu has just returned to the capital, and his residence is busy. He might have been delayed by something, but he should arrive later."

"It had better be as you say," the Empress said, her fingers lightly tracing her body. *How could he bear not to come to such a beautiful body?* she mused.

***

What she didn't know was that at this moment, Zu An had completely forgotten about her. He was instead enjoying the warmth of home at the Sang residence.

Sang Qian was nestled docilely in his embrace. Concerned about harming the baby in her womb, she intentionally turned sideways, with her back to him. As a young lady from a prominent family, whose emotional experience was like a blank slate, she couldn't withstand Zu An's seasoned approaches. Moreover, as he was the child's father, she had long since accepted him as her man. At first, she was a little shy, then she partially yielded, and even actively moved back slightly to fully embrace him.

She trembled all over. All she could do was tightly press her lips together, so as not to wake the other person.

***

Early the next morning, Zu An went to the palace. Although court audiences weren't held every day, given his position in the Eastern Palace and his status as a Brocade-Clad Guard, he needed to make an appearance. Furthermore, the matter involving Sang Hong was not yet concluded.

After Zu An left, Zheng Dan sat before her dressing mirror, drawing her eyebrows while calling out to her sister-in-law, "Xiao Qian, come here, I'll help you with your makeup and hair."

"No, thank you. I heard cosmetics aren't good for the baby," Sang Qian replied with a smile while tidying the bed. Compared to her usual pallor, she looked exceptionally radiant today.

"Yes, yes, yes, good for you for being pregnant," Zheng Dan said, pouting a bit sullenly.

"Oh, I didn't mean it that way," Sang Qian hurriedly explained. "This child will still call you 'mother' later, won't he?"

"I wasn't really angry," Zheng Dan remarked. "It's just that I should probably pretend to be pregnant for a while too, to let the outside world gradually accept this information."

She knew about the Sang family's plan. While marveling at the Sang father and daughter's genuine investment, she was also somewhat moved, as this arrangement meant the Sang family would implicitly acknowledge her relationship with Zu An, and they wouldn't have to be secretive anymore. Knowing that she would nominally be the child's mother in the future, the relationship between the two women progressed by leaps and bounds.

Unlike the overt and covert struggles between sisters-in-law in other prominent families, there was no reason for them to contend with each other. On the contrary, their interests were aligned to some extent. Coupled with the fact that they had been relying on each other in the Sang family recently, they had long become like real sisters. That's why she deliberately made such a joke.

"What pregnant woman is as glamorous as you?" Sang Qian couldn't help but exclaim. "You know, Zheng Dan is now a widow. Most widows in the capital dress as plainly as possible, but Zheng Dan is different from ordinary people. If one were to rank the most glamorous widows in the capital, Zheng Dan would undoubtedly be at the top."

Although the other party was her sister-in-law, Sang Qian wasn't angry in the slightest. On the contrary, as a fellow woman, she felt some sympathy for her. She had married her brother for family reasons. Unfortunately, her brother died tragically before she even formally entered the family. If nothing unexpected happened, such a woman would spend the rest of her life in lonely solitude, dedicating herself to a monastic life.

Fortunately, there was Big Brother Zu...

Thinking of that man, Sang Qian's pretty face flushed. Her sister-in-law had clearly been intimate with him for a long time. If her brother hadn't died tragically, he would have been furious. However, her brother was already deceased. What was more important now was the Sang family's future. To be honest, the whole affair was quite unfair to Zheng Dan, and getting her cooperation would make everything much easier.

"If anyone dares to gossip, I'll rip out their tongues," Zheng Dan snorted, showing a hint of her former gang leader demeanor from Brightmoon City. "Oh, Xiao Qian, why are you tidying the quilt yourself? Just let the maidservants do it."

"No need. The Sang family is short-staffed right now, and doing a little work within my capabilities is good exercise," Sang Qian said, her face flushing. She hastily rolled up the bedsheet, using her body to conceal it.

Just then, Zheng Dan came up behind her and poked her head over. "Is there something you don't want me to see?" she asked.

Sang Qian was startled and couldn't help but tug at her. Patting her chest, she said, "You almost scared me to death! Don't appear silently like that!"

"If you do nothing wrong in the dead of night, you won't fear ghosts knocking on your door," Zheng Dan said, looking at her with a half-smile.

"What ghosts? Don't scare your godson!" Sang Qian said, awkwardly touching her belly, wondering if Zheng Dan's mention of "dead of night" was hinting at something.

"When my godson grows up a bit, he might often take a stick and bother his father's sleep," Zheng Dan said, also touching her belly and smiling with pursed lips.

"Why?" Sang Qian asked, looking bewildered.

"Because his father keeps poking him when he's sleeping!" Zheng Dan said, leaving with a giggle, as if afraid of being hit.

Sang Qian's face instantly turned bright red. She instantly understood that Zheng Dan had likely woken up and seen what happened last night. Both shy and embarrassed, she quickly chased after Zheng Dan to playfully hit her. The two sisters-in-law became a playful tangle.

Zheng Dan repeatedly begged for mercy: "I'm wrong, I'm wrong! Don't upset your pregnancy!" She secretly sighed in her heart, *Silly girl, if I hadn't deliberately created the opportunity, how could you two have become so intimate, like a real husband and wife, so quickly?*

Whether it was the Zheng family's business or her past experiences in the gang, they had given her a strong sense of crisis awareness. Although Zu An hadn't mentioned it much, she had more or less learned what formidable individuals his confidantes were. Although she was a top-tier figure in Brightmoon City, she still didn't quite measure up when looking at the entire world. Sang Qian's situation was not much different from hers. Only by sticking together would they have a chance to face those "sharks" in the "sea king's fish pond."

***

"Achoo!" Outside the Eastern Palace, Zu An rubbed his nose, wondering if he had caught a cold last night.

"Master Zu has such a cheerful expression; did something good happen last night?" a guard said, winking. With dark circles under his eyes and a look of exhaustion, it was none other than Park Duandiao, who loved to frequent brothels.

"Isn't that obvious?" Jiao Sigun replied, ever the contrarian. "Master Zu accomplished a world-shaking feat and was promoted to Marquis yesterday. Isn't that a good thing?"

Looking at the two guards of the Eastern Palace, Zu An immediately felt a sense of familiarity. It was the same familiar recipe. "Long time no see, you two still look as dashing as ever," Zu An said, naturally putting his arm around their shoulders. The few of them chatted and laughed, reminiscing.

The two saw that Zu An's status was steadily rising, yet he still treated them with such warmth, and their faces broke into wide smiles.

As the group chatted happily, someone soon came to report, "Master Zu, the Crown Prince requests your presence inside."

"The Crown Prince?" Zu An was a bit surprised. However, it was inconvenient to continue chatting with Jiao and Park there.

After entering the main hall, he found the portly Crown Prince happily playing games with a few eunuchs.

Zu An bowed and asked, "Crown Prince, why did you send for me?"

"I didn't send for you; Linglong wants to see you. Go on in," the Crown Prince said, waving his hand, looking annoyed that Zu An had interrupted his playtime.

Zu An then realized, *I knew this foolish Crown Prince wouldn't seek me out on his own.*

He then entered the inner hall.

Not far from the Eastern Palace, Eunuch Wen observed all of this. He then summoned a young eunuch and gave him certain instructions. After the young eunuch left, he was still uneasy and decided to go personally. If he really found something between Zu An and the Crown Princess, countless heads would roll.