Mu Yanming looked at the person in his arms through the dim yellow candlelight. She had a petite face the size of a palm, and a pair of almond-shaped eyes glistening with moisture as they stared at him.
Her long eyelashes fluttered, seductive without even realizing it.
And he, holding this delicate beauty in his arms at this moment, didn't even dare to breathe too loudly, let alone move.
Mo Qinghuan naturally felt the physical changes in Mu Yanming. She felt as if her whole body was on fire. She lowered her eyes and didn't look at Mu Yanming, but his scorching body was impossible to ignore.
Finally, out of desperation, she had to raise her hand to push Mu Yanming away a bit. This small action completely shattered Mu Yanming's rationality.
Mo Qinghuan was wearing a bracelet on her hand. When it touched Mu Yanming's chest skin, the coolness brought a momentary respite, pulling his rationality back a bit.
"Good girl Huan'er, we have to enter the palace early tomorrow. Stop causing trouble."
She frowned, her small face scrunched up in an expression of grievance.
Mu Yanming closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had endured so much, yet she still looked so aggrieved.
However, soon he noticed that the girl in his arms really stopped moving.
Listening closely, accompanied by her even breathing, she had already fallen asleep.
Since she got pregnant, she had been sleeping a lot. She would go to bed early at night, and no matter whether she woke up early or late in the morning, she always needed to take a nap during the day.
This time, she fell asleep without even taking off her clothes.
He carefully withdrew his arm and reached for the belt around her waist to untie it. As soon as his hand touched her clothes, the fire that had just been suppressed flared up again.
But he couldn't just let her sleep like this. She would surely be tired when she woke up tomorrow, so he had to endure it.
With great difficulty, he took off her outer clothes, leaving only her undergarment. As soon as he lay down, Mo Qinghuan moved closer, as if searching for a heat source.
He endured a difficult night. Near dawn, he finally managed to get some sleep.
In the morning, when Mo Qinghuan woke up, the place beside her was empty. She reached out and touched it; it was still warm, so he couldn't have been up for long.
As soon as she sat up, Mu Yanming walked out from behind the screen. He looked down at her with a smile on his face.
Looking at the quilt that had slipped off her waist, he recalled how she had been fidgeting in his arms last night. His Adam's apple twitched slightly, and then he turned his gaze to the clothes placed on the bedside.
He walked over and handed them to her.
Dan'er came in to help her get dressed. She was wearing a bright red cross-collared wide-sleeved ruqun with cloud patterns today, which was the official attire of the Princess Consort of the Regent. Mu Yanming was still wearing his favorite black python robe with cloud patterns. The combination of black and red complemented each other perfectly.
However, there were still some faint red marks on her neck. Dan'er was worried; it would be hard to cover them up.
Mu Yanming stood behind her and watched for a while. The corner of his lips curled up slightly, with a hint of a smile.
"It's okay. No one dares to comment."
Mo Qinghuan glared at him through the mirror. She knew that they were going to enter the palace in a few days, yet he still left her like this. She suspected that Mu Yanming did it on purpose, but she had no evidence.
Finally, after much effort, they managed to cover up the red marks on her neck.
After getting into the carriage, she sat beside Mu Yanming. The carriage swayed, making her feel sleepy again. The short distance from the Regent's Mansion to the palace allowed her to take a short nap. She leaned against Mu Yanming, and he put down the ancient book in his hand and gently pulled her into his arms.
But before his hand could fully embrace her, the horse neighed and reared up, waking her up. The carriage also jolted to a stop.
She opened her eyes and rubbed her sleepy eyes. Her almond-shaped eyes were full of annoyance.
Before she could question the coachman, Bai Ke lifted the front curtain, and Mu Yanming's gloomy face came into view.
Looking further, he saw the Princess Consort in the Regent's arms, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, looking half-asleep. He knew he had caused trouble.
But he didn't mean to. Someone had deliberately provoked them.
"Your Highness, it's the carriage of Prince Qi. It squeezed in front of ours."
Mu Yanming's face darkened. When did Mu Yichen become so bold as to openly provoke him? It seemed that he had been too lenient with him these days, which had made him get carried away.
However, seeing that they were already at the palace gate, he didn't intend to argue with Mu Yichen. Maybe Mu Yichen deliberately did this at the palace gate just to provoke him.
Mo Qinghuan lifted the curtain on one side and looked at the scenery outside. The gentle breeze blew across her thin face, waking her up a bit.
At the palace gate, everyone had to get off the carriage and walk into the palace on foot.
In front of the Green Wave Hall, Mu Yanming told Mo Qinghuan that he had to go to the imperial study to handle some other matters. He told her to stay here and not to wander around. He told her to wait for him obediently.
She nodded and sat there obediently, propping her face up with her hand, looking as if she was about to fall asleep.
Mu Yanming looked at her pale little face, feeling a pang of heartache. He thought that he wouldn't bring her to such tiring events next time.
"Dongxue, Bai Ke, you two watch over the Princess Consort. Don't let anyone get too close. Do you understand?"
Bai Ke and Dongxue both nodded and stood on either side of Mo Qinghuan's low table.
Not long after Mu Yanming left, Gu Qinglan came.
Her eyes lingered on Dongxue and Bai Ke for a while, and then she squatted in front of the low table. Seeing Mo Qinghuan with her eyes closed, she coughed lightly. "—Cough—"
Mo Qinghuan lazily lifted her eyelids. Seeing Gu Qinglan approaching, she wasn't too surprised. In such an occasion, the only people who dared to come and talk to her were probably Gu Qinglan and Zhao Yiyi.
Gu Qinglan saw that Mo Qinghuan seemed indifferent to her. She mumbled something in a low voice and then went back to her own low table.
After that, many people came one after another. Mo Qinghuan originally thought that Zhao Yiyi would come to greet her soon.
However, to her surprise, Zhao Yiyi didn't show up even when everyone was seated for lunch.
This made her feel a sense of unease.
Lunch was just a formality. The main event was in the evening. It was said that the emperor had spent a lot of effort to celebrate Concubine Li's birthday.
The concubines in the harem were already envious of Concubine Li, who was the emperor's favorite and held the seal of the phoenix, taking charge of the affairs of the harem on behalf of the queen.
When Mu Yanming came back, Mo Qinghuan had just put down her chopsticks. But in Mu Yanming's eyes, he thought she hadn't eaten anything.
Remembering that she seemed to have eaten some of the fish he had picked for her last time, he immediately sat down in front of her, picked up the chopsticks, and started to remove the fish bones for her.
Concubine Li was chatting and greeting the others on the surface, but her eyes kept glancing at Mu Yanming from time to time.
Not long after, lunch was over. He held Mo Qinghuan's small hand and took a walk in the imperial garden. Unexpectedly, they ran into Min Feiyan head-on.
She was about the same stage of pregnancy as Mo Qinghuan, and neither of them showed it yet.
She walked up to them with a smile, curtsied, and her eyes fell on Mo Qinghuan's stomach.