Chapter 58
Was that… fetal movement?
Li Zhan was stunned for quite a while after hearing it. Once he finally processed what Ji Qingzhou said, he was immediately overwhelmed by a mix of excitement and helplessness.
But clearly, Ji Qingzhou wasn’t ready to have that kind of discussion face-to-face. After casually mentioning it, he walked straight ahead.
“Just one movement? Did it hurt?” Li Zhan asked, a bit nervously.
“It didn’t hurt,” Ji Qingzhou replied in a muffled voice.
Ji Qingzhou walked faster and faster, and Li Zhan, holding the young emperor, followed behind him, saying, “I didn’t expect… he’s growing so fast… It hasn’t even been that long, and he’s already moving?”
Ji Qingzhou thought to himself, I’ve never had a child before either, so I have no idea if fetal movement at this stage is normal or not.
In fact, he wasn’t even entirely sure whether that movement earlier had actually happened—or if it was just his imagination.
“It might not have been him moving…” Ji Qingzhou said uncertainly.
“Let’s have Tang Shu take a look,” said Li Zhan. Without waiting for Ji Qingzhou’s agreement, he turned and gave a few instructions to Dong Dong.
Ji Qingzhou initially felt a bit awkward—he didn’t really want to trouble Tang Shu, especially since the man might start asking all sorts of questions and make things even more uncomfortable. But then again, childbirth wasn’t something he had any experience with. It would be better to be cautious than risk anything going wrong.
“It’s been over four months. Fetal movement is completely normal. You’ll get used to it soon,” Tang Shu said after checking Ji Qingzhou’s pulse. “Now let me feel your stomach for a moment.”
Ji Qingzhou froze and his face flushed. But Tang Shu was completely unfazed. He reached out and gently pressed Ji Qingzhou’s lower abdomen.
Li Zhan stood watching from the side, his expression complicated. He looked like he wanted to say something but ultimately held back.
Tang Shu’s hand merely touched Ji Qingzhou’s abdomen briefly before pulling back. He added, “You’re quite slim, so your belly doesn’t show much yet. But it will become visible soon.”
“Ah? Then what do I do?” Ji Qingzhou blurted out.
“What do you mean, what do you do?” Tang Shu replied. “Everyone who gives birth ends up with a big belly. Did you think a child just pops out of nowhere?”
Ji Qingzhou: …
Of course, he knew the belly had to grow—but suddenly realizing that day was fast approaching made him panic a little.
“Don’t go wrapping your belly in cloth just because you feel embarrassed. That’s very dangerous,” Tang Shu warned.
“I know,” Ji Qingzhou said, looking guilty.
Tang Shu continued, “Now that fetal movement has started, the baby will grow more quickly. You can talk to him through your belly whenever you have time. Babies that hear their parents’ voices tend to be more intelligent when they’re born.”
“Really?” Ji Qingzhou asked.
“Of course,” Tang Shu answered with a straight face.
Ji Qingzhou had never paid much attention to this sort of thing before. He had heard of prenatal education, but he didn’t really know how it worked.
In truth, Tang Shu was mainly trying to use this as a way to get Ji Qingzhou to gradually accept the reality of being pregnant. Because even now, Ji Qingzhou still seemed a bit uncomfortable with it—clearly, he hadn’t fully come to terms with it emotionally.
“Wang Ye, you should also try to bond with the child more in your free time,” Tang Shu said to Li Zhan. “Otherwise, once the baby is born, if he only likes Young Master Ji and not you, that’ll be a headache.”
Li Zhan glanced at Ji Qingzhou and asked, “So… how do I bond with him?”
“Just talk to the baby more, and spend time getting closer to Young Master Ji. Surely I don’t need to explain everything?” Tang Shu raised an eyebrow with a teasing smile. “The pregnancy is quite stable now, so it’s also safe to, well, you know, as long as you’re careful not to be too rough.”
Ji Qingzhou: …
Li Zhan: …
Of course, both Ji Qingzhou and Li Zhan knew exactly what Tang Shu meant.
And precisely because they understood, the atmosphere turned a little awkward…
“We…” Ji Qingzhou began, intending to explain.
But Li Zhan cut in first. “Thank you for the reminder, Doctor Tang. I’ll be more careful.”
Ji Qingzhou: …
Now it really sounds even more misleading, he thought. Couldn’t he have phrased that better?
After Tang Shu left, the atmosphere inside the tent grew even more delicate.
Ji Qingzhou tucked in the blanket around the sleeping young emperor, his face still faintly flushed the whole time.
Li Zhan walked over and sat beside him. Ji Qingzhou, thinking he was about to do something, instinctively leaned back a little.
Seeing this reaction, Li Zhan felt a sudden tug in his heart and said, “Doctor Tang said I should spend more time bonding with… the child.”
He had originally wanted to say “spend more time bonding with you,” but at the last moment, he switched it to “the child.” Ji Qingzhou seemed to relax slightly at that and replied in a low voice, “Maybe… you could read him some scripture or something?”
Ji Qingzhou recalled that modern prenatal education sometimes involved playing music or telling stories to the baby. He wasn’t sure if it worked or not, but if Li Zhan wanted to sing a song or read a scripture, Ji Qingzhou figured he could accept that.
Even if the image of it did feel a little… embarrassing.
But since Tang Shu had said it was good for the child, Ji Qingzhou figured he could go along with it.
“Alright, I’ll do as you say,” Li Zhan said.
Although the way he envisioned “bonding” involved much more than this, everything had to go through a process. Reading to the child seemed like a good enough place to start.
So that night, Li Zhan sat cross-legged next to Ji Qingzhou and read scriptures to the child in Ji Qingzhou’s belly for over half an hour.
In the end, Ji Qingzhou fell sound asleep to the deep, pleasant cadence of Li Zhan’s voice, while the young emperor, who was sleeping on the inner side of the bed, dreamed the whole night. In his dream, his imperial uncle chased him around demanding he recite scriptures and even demonstrated them aloud right by his ear… When the young emperor woke up early the next morning, his head was still filled with the scriptures he’d heard in the dream.
The matter with the Western Camp and Xiao Tengyun quickly reached a temporary resolution. Since no official judgment had been passed yet, Li Zhan didn’t assign anyone to take Xiao Tengyun’s place. Instead, he personally selected a few men who had once followed the former commander to act as temporary overseers of the camp.
From Ji Qingzhou’s perspective, Li Zhan had clearly seen the futures of many people—he could easily pick out those worth grooming and trusting. Combined with Li Zhan’s sharp ability to judge and utilize talent, it might’ve looked like he was simply choosing temporary caretakers, but in reality, he was taking firm control of the Western Camp through these very choices.
Two days later, once Qi Jingchuan’s condition had stabilized a bit, Li Zhan ordered preparations to return to the capital.
“Qi Jingchuan has always presented himself as a princess. How are we supposed to explain to the court that it was he, not the princess, who got injured?” Ji Qingzhou couldn’t help but ask on the way back to the capital.
“There’s no need to explain that,” Li Zhan replied. “We’ll just say the princess was seriously injured and has been sent back to the Liang Kingdom to recover. After all, many people witnessed the injury that night—it’s not something that can be faked.”
Originally, Li Zhan had intended to charge Xiao Tengyun with the crime of attempting to assassinate a Liang prince. But after Qi Jingchuan reminded him, he realized that accusing him of harming a Liang princess would carry the same weight, and he wouldn’t have to go to the trouble of explaining Qi Jingchuan’s identity switch.
When the time came, they would simply have Qi Jingchuan appear in court as the Liang prince and question the matter of the “princess’s” injury himself.
“He’s badly hurt. Will he really recover by then?” Ji Qingzhou asked with concern.
“It shouldn’t be a problem. He knows his own limits—if he couldn’t handle it, he wouldn’t push himself,” Li Zhan said.
Ji Qingzhou nodded, thinking to himself that Qi Jingchuan was indeed ruthless toward himself. For a grown man to pretend to be a princess so convincingly, without slipping even once while spending so much time alongside Qin Zheng—it was truly impressive.
“Wang Ye, you knew about Qi Jingchuan’s true identity from the beginning, didn’t you?” Ji Qingzhou asked.
“Yes,” Li Zhan replied.
“Then why did he choose to present himself as a princess?” Ji Qingzhou asked, puzzled.
“I never asked him,” Li Zhan said. “But if you’re curious, I could ask him for you.”
Ji Qingzhou: …
Is it possible for two people’s levels of curiosity to be so vastly different?
But no matter how curious he was, Ji Qingzhou couldn’t possibly ask Li Zhan to go digging into someone else’s personal secrets just for his amusement. So he quickly said, “Never mind… Maybe it’s just a personal hobby of his. It’d be rude to ask outright.”
Li Zhan raised an eyebrow at that and said, “I suppose Qin Zheng probably knows something. If you don’t want to ask Qi Jingchuan directly, you could try asking him.”
“These past few days when I visited Qi Jingchuan, I noticed Qin Zheng seemed to act a bit strange around him,” Ji Qingzhou said. “At first I thought their bond must be deep since Qi Jingchuan got injured to save him. But now… I’m not so sure.”
Li Zhan glanced at him. “Why do you say that?”
“I can’t put my finger on it. They barely even speak when they’re together. Isn’t that odd to you?” Ji Qingzhou asked.
Li Zhan gave a faint smile and said, “People interact in all sorts of ways. You can’t always rely on words or actions to gauge their feelings. If you really want to understand how someone feels about another, you can’t just look at what they say or do.”
“Then how should you tell?” Ji Qingzhou asked.
“Look into their eyes,” Li Zhan replied.
Instinctively, Ji Qingzhou looked at Li Zhan—and was immediately caught off guard by the intensity in his gaze. Even though Ji Qingzhou still didn’t fully understand Li Zhan’s feelings for him, his heart nonetheless skipped a few beats in that moment.
“So you’re saying… Qi Jingchuan and Young Master Qin…” Ji Qingzhou steadied himself and asked, “Even though they don’t speak, their relationship is actually much deeper than I thought?”
Seeing that Ji Qingzhou was still fixated on Qi Jingchuan and Qin Zheng, Li Zhan gave a helpless smile. “Probably.”
From that smile, Ji Qingzhou glimpsed a flicker of emotion he couldn’t quite decipher. But before he could dwell on it, Li Zhan had already composed himself.
On the second day after their return to the capital, Qi Jingchuan appeared at court—this time, as the prince of the Liang Kingdom.
Dressed in the traditional garb of the Liang Kingdom, Qi Jingchuan stood in court during the morning assembly, cutting a striking figure. Though his serious injuries had yet to fully heal and his face was pale, his voice was powerful and unwavering as he spoke, exuding the presence befitting a royal prince.
Previously, the assassination attempt on the Liang princess had not been deliberately concealed by Li Zhan, so word had already spread through the court upon their return to the capital. A princess from a foreign kingdom being gravely injured while visiting Dayu could easily result in severe diplomatic consequences if mishandled.
However, the ministers had not expected Qi Jingchuan himself, as the Liang prince, to appear personally in court and demand an explanation from Li Zhan. Since they had not received any prior notice of his arrival, the sudden appearance of the Liang prince surprised everyone.
“I came to Dayu intending to personally escort my sister back to the Liang court. I never imagined that upon arriving in the capital, I would hear news of her attempted assassination,” said Qi Jingchuan. “If my royal father hadn’t trusted Wang Ye, he wouldn’t have allowed my sister to join the diplomatic mission. Now that she has suffered such serious injuries, it is only right for me, as her elder brother, to demand an explanation so that this matter doesn’t damage the peace between our nations.”
Li Zhan replied, “Rest assured. Even if you did not demand it, I would not let this matter be ignored.”
With that, several soldiers including Xiao Tengyun were brought forth.
Without waiting for a direct order, Dong Dong stepped forward and reported the findings of their investigation at Western Camp.
According to the report, incriminating letters had been discovered in Xiao Tengyun’s quarters that proved his secret communications with Di Kingdom. The attempted assassination was, in fact, part of his plan to use the incident to incite conflict between Dayu and Liang Kingdom.
The ministers were stunned. No one had expected the assassination attempt to be tied to such a serious betrayal.
Assistant Minister Chi stepped forward. “May I ask, does the evidence include both witnesses and physical proof?”
Dong Dong replied, “We have both the letters and testimonies from Commander Xiao’s subordinates.”
Chi Zhou continued, “Who wrote the letters? How were they delivered? Have the handwriting samples been verified? How can we be sure these letters were hidden by Commander Xiao and not planted to frame him?”
Dong Dong admitted, “These details have not been verified.”
“If these specifics haven’t been confirmed,” said Chi Zhou, “then according to the law, we cannot sentence Commander Xiao so hastily.”
Li Zhan nodded and asked, “What would you suggest, then?”
“I believe we should follow the laws of Dayu to investigate this matter thoroughly. Only then can we present a proper explanation to His Highness the Prince of Liang,” said Chi Zhou.
Though Chi Zhou served under Li Zhan, he was known in court for his upright and outspoken nature. That he would question the matter was not unexpected.
Besides, the rest of the ministers were still in shock. Everything had happened so quickly that they hadn’t had time to grasp the full situation.
Apart from those personally connected to Xiao Tengyun, no one was eager to speak up, opting instead to watch how the situation unfolded.
The only one to raise objections was Chi Zhou, Li Zhan’s own trusted aide.
“Wang Ye, though sentencing based solely on letters and testimony is legally questionable, we do have precedent in this court,” said Qin Xueqi. “If such judgments were made under the former emperor, it shows there’s nothing improper about it.”
Qin Xueqi, stationed at the outskirts of the capital, was usually absent from court. But because the incident had occurred during the joint military competition between the two camps, he was present today.
“What case are you referring to? When has our court ever allowed conviction without following legal procedures?” Chi Zhou asked.
“Wasn’t the previous commander of Western Camp convicted based on just a few letters and verbal testimony?” Qin Xueqi replied.
A hush fell over the court.
Although Qin Xueqi only mentioned the former commander of the Western Camp, the court officials couldn’t help but think of the Second Prince and the Ji family, who had been implicated in that same incident. Since it had happened, no one had ever dared to mention it openly, because the people involved were too complicated—and most of them were already dead.
No one could have imagined that today, this matter would resurface because of Xiao Tengyun’s case.
“Commander Qin, your words are a bit out of line!” someone reminded.
“What’s inappropriate about what I said?” Qin Xueqi replied. “Since Assistant Minister Chi of the Dali Temple wants to discuss legal precedent, then let us discuss the law. Based on the precedent set during the late emperor’s reign in handling that case, I believe there is no problem at all with convicting Xiao Tengyun of the crimes he’s charged with today!”
Upon realizing that Qin Xueqi wasn’t trying to reopen the old case out of sentiment but rather to push Xiao Tengyun to his death, many of the officials became visibly displeased.
Someone said, “Commander Qin, as one of the commanders, you should recuse yourself from commenting on this case.”
“Then speak plainly, and I’ll recuse myself,” Qin Xueqi said coldly. “Or do you all believe Wang Ye is incapable of getting to the bottom of the matter?”
The officials hadn’t expected him to speak such cutting, accusatory words. They were visibly indignant.
“Commander Xiao…” Li Zhan suddenly spoke. “Everyone here is speaking on your behalf. Let me ask you: regarding the accusation of colluding with the enemy—do you admit it?”
Xiao Tengyun, who had been kneeling with a cold expression all along, looked up at Li Zhan and said, “I do not acknowledge the contents of these secret letters. To convict me based on a few letters alone—I refuse to accept it. I beg Wang Ye to investigate thoroughly and return my innocence.”
“You don’t acknowledge it?” Qin Xueqi sneered. “Have you forgotten how you got that position in the first place?”
Xiao Tengyun’s face turned dark as he glared angrily at Qin Xueqi and said, “If you think what happened back then was improper, feel free to ask Wang Ye to investigate. But as for this accusation today—even if you kill me—I will not admit to it.”
Standing off to the side, Ji Qingzhou listened to the exchange between Qin Xueqi and Xiao Tengyun, and a sudden suspicion struck him: the two of them seemed to be playing off one another. Then it clicked—Xiao Tengyun must have already been approached by Li Zhan. Though his tone was full of anger and indignation, there was a surprising calmness in his gaze.
Because with this move, Li Zhan had forced Xiao Tengyun into a position where he had no room to resist. He had only two choices.
Either admit to colluding with the enemy and face execution with his entire family implicated or cooperate with Li Zhan and bring up the old case—admitting he had falsely accused the former commander of the Western camp. The result would still be death, but at least Li Zhan would spare his family….
Otherwise, if Li Zhan decided keeping him alive served no purpose, he could easily be given the label of “committed suicide out of guilt” at any time.
Anyone in his position would probably choose the second option…
“Very well!” Qin Xueqi immediately knelt on one knee and said to Li Zhan, “Since Commander Xiao himself has said that it’s unconvincing to convict someone based on a few letters, I ask Wang Ye to order a thorough investigation into the case against the former commander of the Western camp!”
The court officials were stunned by what they were witnessing. No one had expected the conversation to twist and turn like this and arrive at such an outrageous outcome. Yet as absurd as it seemed, it also made perfect sense.
After all, the one who had used secret letters to accuse someone back then was now the one standing accused.
If the precedent set by the late emperor was to be followed, there would be no need to investigate—just use the letters and testimony to determine guilt. But if a thorough investigation was ordered, it would be tantamount to denying the validity of how the late emperor handled that case.
“What do you all think?” Li Zhan asked.
The court officials hung their heads in silence, none daring to answer.
“What does Minister Zhang think?” Li Zhan called out.
“This old servant believes…” Minister Zhang quickly gathered his thoughts. In that fleeting moment, he saw through Li Zhan’s intentions and said, “The law of the land should be followed. If both cases raise doubts, then …. why not investigate both thoroughly?”
Minister Zhang had always been a shrewd operator. Back when the Old Wang Ye tried to push Li Zhan into a marriage alliance, it ended up falling through. Now that the Old Wang Ye was gone and Li Zhan held sway over the six ministries, Minister Zhang knew that once Li Zhan decided on something, no one could truly stop him.
Since that was the case, he figured he might as well go along with it and earn some favor with the Regent.
For a court official, nothing was worse than a ruined reputation in old age. Minister Zhang understood the wisdom of aligning with the times…
“So Minister Zhang means both cases should be investigated?” Li Zhan asked again, as if fearing the others hadn’t heard.
“Yes,” Zhang said. “I humbly ask Wang Ye to order a thorough investigation into both the case of the former Western camp commander and the assassination attempt on the Princess of Liang Kingdom.”
Li Zhan’s gaze swept across the others. “And the rest of you?”
Seeing that even Minister Zhang had spoken up, the other officials quickly echoed their agreement.
At another time, they might have huddled together and discussed a coordinated response. But this had all happened so quickly—Li Zhan hadn’t given them time to react. Many of them hadn’t even figured out the core of the issue before they were swept up in the tide and forced to declare their stance.
“Then Assistant Minister Chi Zhou from the Dali Temple will investigate this matter jointly with the Ministry of Justice,” Li Zhan declared.
Chi Zhou and the Ministry of Justice officials accepted the order. All the ministers had their own thoughts, but none dared raise further objections.
After court adjourned, in a carriage heading to the courier lodge—
Qi Jingchuan looked pale, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Qin Zheng sat beside him. When he loosened Qi Jingchuan’s collar, he saw blood beginning to soak through the white inner garment.
“If your injury gets any worse, don’t expect me to pull favors. You can go cry to Wang Ye for sympathy,” Qin Zheng said.
“I’m already like this, can’t you be a little nicer?” Qi Jingchuan forced a weak smile and looked at Qin Zheng.
Qin Zheng shot him a glance. “I was never good at taking care of others. If Your Highness thinks—”
“Alright, alright, I won’t say it anymore,” Qi Jingchuan quickly interrupted. “You’re doing great. Even being mean suits you.”
His face was pale as paper, but his eyes remained bright—especially when looking at Qin Zheng. The joy in his gaze was completely unguarded, starkly different from how he looked when disguised as Qi Jingheng.
“Still not willing to talk to me?” Qi Jingchuan murmured as he leaned toward Qin Zheng. Qin Zheng instinctively moved away. The shift pulled on Qi Jingchuan’s wound, and he inhaled sharply from the pain. “It hurts too much… Just let me lean for a bit… alright?”
His voice gradually weakened, and then he slumped silently against Qin Zheng.
Qin Zheng had worn a cold expression while the man was awake, but now that Qi Jingchuan had gone silent, the icy mask seemed to melt. He furrowed his brows, reached out to steady Qi Jingchuan to prevent further aggravating the wound, and finally looked at the cold sweat covering the man’s forehead. After a pause, he couldn’t help but lift his sleeve and gently wipe it away.
Qi Jingchuan’s pale lips twitched into the faintest smile—then he completely lost consciousness.
Inside Yinghui Pavilion.
Chi Zhou held a brush, jotting down notes on paper while Ji Qingzhou stood nearby, grinding ink for him.
Li Zhan was on the other side discussing state matters with officials, but his eyes kept drifting toward Ji Qingzhou.
One official was in the middle of a crucial point when he noticed Li Zhan frown slightly and look away. Following his gaze, the official saw Ji Qingzhou, who had just shown an odd, uncomfortable expression. One hand rested on the table and hadn’t moved for a long time.
“What’s wrong?” Chi Zhou paused his writing and asked.
“Nothing,” Ji Qingzhou replied, shaking his head, though a blush crept up his ears.
“Wang Ye?” the official reminded Li Zhan.
Li Zhan gave a light cough and turned to Dong Dong. “Tell Ji Qingzhou he doesn’t need to continue serving.”
Dong Dong quickly whispered a few words to Ji Qingzhou. Ji Qingzhou glanced at Li Zhan with a slight flush on his face, then quietly withdrew.
The officials exchanged looks, silently noting to themselves that Wang Ye still held Ji Qingzhou in special regard. When it came to sensitive matters, he still made sure to exclude him.
So perhaps the so-called “favoritism” wasn’t as deep as it seemed…
Love the drama and palace machinations? Buy Ciacia a coffee on Kofi to keep the intrigue brewing.
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