Chapter 841: Chapter 846, 847: Declining Twice, Yielding Twice (Part 2)
After Geng Songfu left, Emperor Yong’an slammed his fist heavily on the desk in front of him, causing it to shatter into pieces, with porcelain bowls and plates crashing to the ground.
"Your Majesty..." Wu Xian was also a bit frightened.
...
One day later.
Prince Wei’s Mansion.
In the study that had witnessed countless affairs, in the height of June, the doors and windows were shut tightly, keeping the sunlight out, with a few wisps of sandalwood incense curling inside.
Yue Ruyan stood behind the desk, her clothes half undone, a strand of hair stuck to her cheek with sweat, her thin lips biting gently, and a beautiful leg lifted.
No one knew how much time had passed, but a rare blush of shyness appeared on her charming, valiant face, and her cheeks gradually turned red. After hesitating for a moment, she turned her head and whispered, "Husband, I... I might be pregnant."
Upon hearing this, a slight tremor went through Chen Mo, who was concentrating. He put down the beautiful leg in his hands and said, "Have you found someone to check the pulse?"
"No," Yue Ruyan shook her head and said softly, "But my period hasn’t arrived yet."
Hearing this, Chen Mo frowned. In his heart, he didn’t want Ru Yan to get pregnant so soon.
After all, in this Prince’s Mansion, only Ru Yan could cooperate with him in cultivating the Esoteric Dual Refining Technique. If she got pregnant, the cultivation speed would slow down again.
This was also his fault; he had been entangled with Ru Yan almost every day recently, thinking that getting pregnant wasn’t that easy, so he hadn’t taken precautions.
However, to prevent Ru Yan from feeling that he didn’t want her to have a baby, Chen Mo feigned calmness and smiled, "It’s okay, if we have one, we’ll have one. We should have a child by now."
"But if I have a baby, I won’t be able to help you."
"It’s okay," Chen Mo kissed Yue Ruyan’s cheek.
Yue Ruyan felt much more at ease.
"Someone’s coming."
At this moment, both Chen Mo and Yue Ruyan sensed someone approaching the study.
"It’s Mi’Er," Chen Mo’s senses were stronger, and he recognized Wu Mi’s footsteps.
Yue Ruyan immediately became a little flustered, quickly tidying up her clothes, and then hurriedly went to open the window.
After all, this was the study, and Yue Ruyan felt a bit embarrassed.
Soon, there was a knock on the door, and Wu Mi’s voice rang out.
"Enter," Chen Mo said.
Wu Mi pushed the door open and entered. Seeing Yue Ruyan in the study, her expression paused slightly but quickly returned to calm. She didn’t avoid Yue Ruyan and spoke directly, "Husband, just now the Imperial Concubine sent someone over, saying some things I didn’t quite understand. She said something about not letting you bully others too much..."
Wu Mi repeated the words exactly.
Chen Mo was taken aback upon hearing this, but he didn’t take it to heart and laughed, "Mi’Er, your cousin really has courage. So quickly turning an elbow outward."
"When she entered the palace, Uncle Six probably didn’t teach her much, or she didn’t take it to heart," Wu Mi frowned.
"It’s okay, don’t worry about her. The fact that she’s willing to protect the emperor shows she’s quite satisfied with this marriage. At least, your father and Uncle Six didn’t completely mess up the match," Chen Mo said.
"But I just worry she’ll cause trouble for you, husband."
"It’s okay," to keep Wu Mi from taking this matter to heart, Chen Mo deliberately changed the subject, "Mi’Er, check Ru Yan’s pulse. She says her period is delayed. See if she’s pregnant?"
"Really?" Wu Mi was delighted and hurriedly took Yue Ruyan’s pulse.
However, upon checking, Wu Mi found no signs of pregnancy, leading to empty joy.
Yue Ruyan was also a bit disappointed, "Then why is my period late?"
"There are many reasons, and pregnancy is just one of them. I’ll prepare some medicine for you later, Ru Yan, to help regulate it and see if it works."
"Thank you, Sister Mi’Er."
...
As time moved into mid-June.
On this day.
While the civil and military officials were holding court, an eunuch quickly rushed into the great hall and knelt with a thud.
The eunuch said that a large crowd of commoners had surrounded the imperial palace.
He even fearfully suggested that the commoners were about to revolt.
Geng Songfu stepped forward, saying to Emperor Yong’an that he would go out to check the situation.
About the time it takes to burn a stick of incense later, Geng Songfu hurriedly returned, holding a piece of cloth. When he reached the center of the hall, he unfolded it in front of Emperor Yong’an and the assembled ministers.
It was a petition from the citizens.
The citizens of the entire Celestial River City were petitioning Emperor Yong’an to abdicate in favor of Prince Wei.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yong’an felt a tightening in his heart, and his hand withdrew into his sleeve, where he had a decree of abdication.
He had been carrying it every time he attended court recently.
But there hadn’t been an appropriate opportunity to announce it.
Now he knew, this was the moment.
This so-called petition from the people was likely a fabrication by Geng Songfu.
Emperor Yong’an took a deep breath, pulled out the decree of abdication from his sleeve, and slowly read it aloud in front of the ministers.
After finishing, Emperor Yong’an, feeling completely humiliated, simply stood up, intending to go down and personally hand the decree of abdication to Chen Mo.
But Chen Mo politely declined on the spot, stating righteously, "Your subject lacks the talent and learning for such a role."
After speaking, he left the hall directly under the watchful eyes of the ministers.
Chen Mo’s departure left the hall in complete silence.
After a moment, Emperor Yong’an, holding the decree, looked at Geng Songfu below and said, "Geng Qing, Prince Wei refuses to accept it, what should we do?"
Geng Songfu stepped forward and said loudly, "Your Majesty, Prince Wei’s noble character is admirable to your humble servant, but we cannot ignore the people’s petition."
Zuo Lianglun also stepped forward at this time, "Your Majesty, please write another decree of abdication and announce it to the world."
"I second the motion!"
"I second the motion!"
"I second the motion!"
The ministers all stepped forward in unison.
Under pressure from the officials, Emperor Yong’an had no choice but to comply.
...
Meanwhile, Chen Mo had just returned to the mansion and saw Sun Meng approaching.
Chen Mo was first taken aback, then his expression lit up with joy, "You’re finally back. What on earth happened, why did it take so long for you to return?"
Sun Meng naturally recounted all that he knew to Chen Mo.
After listening, Chen Mo frowned, was he really being forced to go that far?
Chen Mo forced a smile on his face, patted Sun Meng’s shoulder, and said, "You’ve worked hard, as long as you’re fine, go take a rest. I’ll give you a holiday."
"It’s not hard, Your humble servant doesn’t need a holiday." At these words, Sun Meng’s voice was a bit uneasy, having heard that during his long absence, Luo Yong had been assuming his duties, and he was truly afraid that if he took a holiday now, Prince Wei would completely alienate him.
Seeing Sun Meng’s eager eyes, Chen Mo sighed and said, "Then go and rest for a while, report back in the afternoon."
"Yes."
...
The Inner Court.
The children were more delighted than anyone in the mansion to hear that Yang Qingqing had returned.
Dabai could play with them again.
As soon as Yang Qingqing returned to the inner court with her pet White Tiger, she was surrounded by the children.
Upon learning all that had transpired in the capital and the mansion during her absence, Yang Qingqing had a complicated expression and asked Wu Mi, "Ms. Mi, where is the husband?"
"The husband went to court and hasn’t returned yet," Wu Mi replied, also curious about why Yang Qingqing had taken so long to return.
Just as Yang Qingqing was speaking, someone came to report that the prince had returned.
Yang Qingqing hadn’t even had the chance to sit down and sip some tea before she excitedly went to meet him first.
Seeing Chen Mo, she greeted him with a bit of nervousness, "Husband, you’re back?"
"Yes," Chen Mo smiled warmly, knowing she had something to discuss with him. To prevent her from being too anxious, he warmly invited her to sit down first and started some small talk, "Qingqing, was your trip to the Shu Residence smooth?"
Yang Qingqing nodded, "Everything went smoothly on the road, thanks to General Sun Meng."
Chen Mo sat beside Yang Qingqing, holding her delicate hand, and, gazing at her face, said, "Traveling from Shu Residence, you must be exhausted. You look a bit tired, that won’t do. Go rest in your room for a while."
PS: Thank you all for the monthly passes!
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