Chapter 1650 - 601: The Fake True Daughter (Part 22)

The Ma Family endured the criticisms, accompanied with a smile, and seated according to rank at the Gong Yan.

Sitting in the high position was the Empress, who was the current Emperor’s first wife, two years younger than the Emperor, and just forty years old this year.

However, as the most prestigious woman of the Dafeng Dynasty, the Empress enjoyed the best luxuries.

She maintained herself very well, with delicate skin and exquisite features, appearing to be only about thirty years old.

Today, perhaps because it was the New Year’s Day, the Empress’s complexion looked exceptionally good.

Even the Princess Qi, sitting below, couldn’t help but take several more glances.

"What’s wrong, Princess Qi? Is there something amiss on my face?"

The Empress spoke affectionately, yet her words carried faint thorns.

It was said, the Empress hadn’t been fond of Princess Qi for quite some time.

In the past, things were fine. Princess Qi was just a favored girl from the imperial family, relying on her mother being the Eldest Princess An Le, she was quite flamboyant in the Capital City, in the Imperial Palace.

The Empress remembered the grace when Aunt An Le strongly supported the Emperor’s ascent to the throne and decided to tolerate Princess Qi as she was but a young girl.

But within a few years, Princess Qi married Prince Qi and bore a son and a daughter.

As for the palace, there was only one Princess.

The Emperor intended to adopt the Heir of Prince Qi, not only did the Empress know, but the people on the Imperial court were also well aware.

With her son set to become the next Emperor, Princess Qi, no matter how she tried to stay low-profile, couldn’t truly succeed in doing so.

Because even if she herself wasn’t flamboyant, others would gather proactively, flattering her endlessly!

Especially in some public social occasions, sometimes the Empress was less graceful than Princess Qi!

Empress: ... I am the true matriarch, yet Princess Qi overshadows me.

Now the Emperor is still alive, she remains the Empress.

One day, should the Emperor pass away and the new ruler ascend the throne, as the Empress Dowager in the harem, she probably would be just a figurehead.

The Empress was unwilling but had no other options.

She herself couldn’t bear children. The young and healthy Court Ladies arranged for the Emperor showed no signs of pregnancy either.

It seemed apart from adoption, there were no other solutions!

So, although the Empress had a heart full of complaints in the past, she could only endure, only watch helplessly as Princess Qi laughed and rejoiced with throngs on her supposedly-carved-out Gong Yan.

...However, that was before!

The Empress’s hand secretly stroked her lower abdomen.

Her period had been delayed by a month; the Imperial Physician quietly confirmed her pulse—a happy pulse!

Of course, there were more than one woman without replacements in the harem, apart from her.

Not to mention others, even her old rival, the Noble Consort seemed to also—

No hurry!

The Empress was not in a hurry at all.

She knew what the most crucial matter was for her now.

To safely deliver the child first, if it was a little Prince...

The Empress clenched her fist tightly, her eyes full of determination and decisiveness.

The throne could only belong to her son.

Even if there was no biological son, even a Concubine Son with a "deceased mother" would suffice!

Nonetheless, the Empress disguised herself very well, her emotions flashed past, and in an instant, she was still that gentle and magnanimous Empress.

Neither Princess Qi, the Ma Family, nor the others noticed.

However, the Ma Family, familiar with the plot, waited for most of the day at the Gong Yan, yet did not hear any good news from the front hall, causing her to feel somewhat anxious.

"The Emperor actually didn’t adopt the Heir of Prince Qi?"

"Is this perhaps another butterfly effect of mine?"

It shouldn’t be, the real and fake Lady of Prince Qi’s Mansion also existed in the original script.

The Ma Family just replaced someone, why did it lead to such a major change?

Or was there a mutation in the palace that she was unaware of?

The Ma Family was full of suspicion, yet didn’t know where to start.

She hated the evil feudal system once again, where women were trapped in the inner residence, unless they had their own connections, it was truly difficult to know about affairs on the Imperial court.

And restricted by her identity, the Ma Family’s biggest connection was Prince Qi’s Mansion.

On the side of Prince Qi’s Mansion, there was no sense of crisis.

They were fearless indeed!

The Emperor had struggled for over a decade, with in the harem numbering not just one hundred but at least two or three dozen, yet there had never been a Prince.

And the Emperor, now over forty years old, was soon to know his destiny.

The Heir of Prince Qi being his closest blood kin, and having the face of the Eldest Princess An Le, the Emperor was bound to adopt this nephew.

It was only a matter of time.

The entire Prince Qi’s Mansion had such recognition, thus they were not in a hurry at all.

Moreover, with the Eldest Princess An Le’s health being somewhat poor, the entire Prince Qi’s Mansion was busy attending to the Princess Mansion to take care of this ancestor, having no time or mind to concern themselves with others.

The Ma Family could only be anxious, and did not even have time for Gu Jingyuan.