The First Madam no longer wanted to continue asking Xue Bitao what had happened. She was thinking about how to make Zhenyuan Hou take back his title after the banquet and not hand over the internal affairs to the Second Madam.
The First Madam felt uncomfortable when she thought that Zhenyuan Hou would hand over the internal affairs to the Second Madam who was incompatible with her.
Unfortunately, Zhenyuan Hou had been socializing and the First Madam could not find a chance to talk to him, so she could only resentfully give up.
After socializing outside for a while, Zhenyuan Hou came to the Old Ancestor.
Jiujiu and Zhou Haiqing were talking to the Old Ancestor.
Although Zhou Haiqing had a cold and inviolable appearance in front of outsiders, he was particularly amiable in front of the Old Ancestor. He peeled fruit for the Old Ancestor and Jiujiu, made snacks, and told jokes and amused them with ease, without the slightest bit of arrogance.
The Old Ancestor, who was originally particularly satisfied with Zhou Haiqing, could not be more satisfied with him now.
Zhenyuan Hou came over and saw that the Old Ancestor's mood was not affected at all by Xue Bitao's absence. He immediately smiled and said, "Mother."
"Dingyuan, you're here." The Old Ancestor looked at Zhenyuan Hou who was all alone and frowned. She asked, "Where's your wife? Why did you come here alone? "
"She's busy. I came to see her first."
"Busy?" The Old Ancestor frowned. How could she not know what kind of person the First Madam was? When she heard Zhenyuan Hou say that she was busy, she immediately understood. She cared about Zhenyuan Hou's face and only smiled and said, "Since she's busy, let her be. I'm an old woman, it's fine with Yu 'er and Haiqing accompanying me."
Jiujiu saw the clues, but no matter what, the First Madam was her mother. Although she did not like her very much, she still smiled and said, "Since Mother is busy, I won't disturb Mother."
Zhou Haiqing lowered his eyes and poured tea for Jiujiu and the Old Ancestor, as if he did not notice the tension between the two.
Xue Bitao did not say a word of greeting until the end of the banquet, and the Crown Prince did not come either.
Although the Great Ancestor did not say anything, he was extremely disappointed. Naturally, no one knew what Zhenyuan Hou was thinking.
Except for the First Madam, who was still worried about Xue Bitao, everyone in the Zhenyuan Marquis' residence knew that the Crown Prince was very dissatisfied with them.
If he had the slightest idea, he would have at least sent a greeting.
At this very moment.
The Crown Prince looked at Xue Bitao, who was kneeling on the ground with a rosy complexion. His expression was so gloomy that water could be wrung out of it. The Crown Prince's vicious gaze was as cold as a knife as he stared at Xue Bitao's flat stomach that showed no signs of pregnancy.
The nanny that the Empress sent to take care of Xue Bitao had already been sent away by him. As for him, he wanted to cut open Xue Bitao's stomach and pull out the child that shouldn't be there.
In his previous life, he could poison his eldest son to death for Xue Biyu. Naturally, he could do the same in this life. However, he did not expect that Xue Bitao would become pregnant so quickly, and that the Empress would know about her pregnancy. The Crown Prince even suspected that Xue Bitao had fainted at the time or had faked it.
If the Empress did not know about the child, it would be fine. He could still quietly kill the child. But now that the Empress knew, the Emperor would naturally do the same. If anything happened to the child in Xue Bitao's stomach, the Empress would definitely make a fuss.
The Crown Prince looked expressionlessly at Xue Bitao. After a long time, he withdrew his gaze and said in a voice as cold as ice, "Get up."
With the Crown Prince's permission, Xue Bitao hurriedly got up from the cold ground with one hand. However, the pain from her knee made her gasp.
Now, the Crown Prince was looking at her like an enemy, and she was surrounded by the Empress. Even if the First Madam wanted to come, she would not let her, let alone spread the news.
Now, she was like a bird that had been locked in a cage and had lost her freedom.
She hated the Crown Prince, but she had to listen to his words.
Looking at Xue Bitao's face, which was paler than before, the Crown Prince coldly snorted. No matter how disgusted he was with the child in Xue Bitao's stomach, he could not kill it now. He could only wait until he ascended the throne and find a time to kill them both. ,
The Crown Prince's eyes were cold and disdainful. They were filled with indifference, disdain, and scheming against her.
In her previous life, when she was pregnant, the Emperor's illness had worsened. The Crown Prince only had one child. If the child was lost, it would become a reason for the other princes to attack him. Therefore, he allowed her to give birth to the child.
In this life, because of the Empress's attention, the Crown Prince could only allow her to give birth to the child. However, looking at the Crown Prince's eyes, she was afraid that when he ascended the throne, she would not be able to escape death.
Xue Bitao's mouth tasted bitter, but in order to continue struggling at death's door, she could only lower her eyes and pretend that she did not know anything.
After a while, the mama sent by the Empress to take care of her brought her daily tonic soup. Xue Bitao drank the tonic soup in one gulp under the mama's fiery gaze. Then, as instructed, she lay on the bed and closed her eyes to rest.
At this moment, in the Great General's residence.
Jiujiu lay on the chaise lounge and leisurely spoke to Zhou Haiqing as she ate fruits and pastries. "Tell me honestly, what's going on between the Crown Prince and Xue Bitao?"
A few days ago, Xue Bitao came running to find her. Zhou Haiqing said that she would not be coming back, but in the end, the Old Ancestor told him that Xue Bitao was pregnant. The date was brought forward too early.
Zhou Haiqing put down the military book in his hand and raised his head to look at Jiujiu's clear and bright eyes. "Do you want to know?"
"Yes, I do."
Logically speaking, the Crown Prince should pay attention to Xue Bitao's pregnancy. However, why did he not even send congratulations to the Old Ancestor's birthday? This was clearly the prelude to his dissatisfaction with the Zhenyuan Marquis' residence.
After today's birthday banquet, the number of officials who wanted to be on good terms with the Zhenyuan Marquis' residence would be reduced by half.
Although the Crown Prince's position was very stable, the other princes also had their own thoughts on this position. If the Crown Prince wanted to continue sitting there, he had to maintain a good relationship with the Zhenyuan Marquis residence. However, he did such a thing at this critical juncture. It was truly inconceivable.
"The Crown Prince does not like Xue Bitao." Zhou Haiqing looked into Jiujiu's eyes and said, "The informant reported that the Crown Prince has never spent the night at Xue Bitao's place. Furthermore, before the news of her pregnancy broke out, there was not even a servant in Xue Bitao's room."
"What?"
"You don't believe me?" Zhou Haiqing raised his eyebrows.
Jiujiu hurriedly shook her head and muttered in a low voice, "It's not that I don't believe you, but even if he doesn't like her, he can't not even put in some effort."
"Xue Bitao does not have anyone by her side. She is married to the Crown Prince and represents the Zhenyuan Marquis residence. As long as she is alive, the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Zhenyuan Marquis will not change. The Crown Prince is the heir apparent and will be the ruler of the country in the future. Therefore, even if the Zhenyuan Marquis knows of Xue Bitao's situation, he will not criticize the Crown Prince."
After all, the Zhenyuan Marquis was not foolish enough to make a fuss with the future ruler over an unfavored daughter.
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