The officials reacted belatedly, recalling the medical skills of Lu Qingwan, which they had all witnessed.
They had heard countless tales of her abilities, such as cesarean sections, manual heart reinforcement, and cranial surgery, even if they hadn't seen them firsthand.
They had never considered that, regardless of whether Lu Qingwan or Si Fengwu had issues with conception, Lu Qingwan could easily cure it!
Whether they had children or not was simply none of their concern.
The woman was also stunned. She had not expected Lu Qingwan to be pregnant, nor that her carefully prepared medicine would have no effect on Lu Qingwan at all.
Her plan to enrage Lu Qingwan, make her cause a scene in public, ruin her reputation, and incur Si Fengwu's displeasure was thus stillborn.
Before the woman could even process this sudden turn of events, she saw Si Fengwu scoop Lu Qingwan into his arms. "You're pregnant?
When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me sooner?
Where is Li Jin? Quickly summon Su Shang to me, quickly!"
As he spoke, he carried Lu Qingwan and hurried towards Weiyang Palace.
The ministers were bewildered. The Minister of Justice asked Elder Wen foolishly, "Elder Wen, this... what about this shrew and the child?"
Elder Wen chuckled, "Didn't the Prince already say? Hand them over to the three judicial organs for investigation, thoroughly examining everything from the woman's origin to the person behind her.
As for the child, verify the relationship between the child and the woman with the Jici Hospital.
If the child is hers, keep her at the Ministry of Justice for now; the child's presence will facilitate the investigation.
If the child is not hers, transfer them to the Mengyang Institute, and do not involve the innocent."
Elder Wen, with a smile, had blocked all escape routes for everyone behind the woman.
Then, he glanced at the direction of Weiyang Palace with an increasing smile, saying, "Let's go, everyone. The Prince and Princess are unlikely to have time to discuss state affairs today."
Si Fengwu and Lu Qingwan had been together for eight years and finally had their first child; how could they not be excited!
Although the ministers were usually long-winded and nitpicked over minor matters, they had enough sense to know when to stay out of the way.
The entire day passed without anyone disturbing Si Fengwu and Lu Qingwan. In fact, many matters that required their attention were resolved by Prime Minister Nan and the two elders.
Meanwhile, Si Fengwu, after a brisk run carrying Lu Qingwan, suddenly slowed his pace.
"I'm sorry, A'wan. I was too excited. I heard that pregnant women can feel nauseous; are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
After speaking, he returned to the initial topic, "Why didn't you tell me earlier that you were pregnant? You've been helping me handle court affairs these past few days; it must have been exhausting."
Si Fengwu never lacked patience and tenderness towards Lu Qingwan, and now that she was pregnant, his patience and tenderness multiplied.
Lu Qingwan, however, only felt amused. "I originally planned to tell you after the enthronement ceremony, when the fetus was stable and I could hand over state affairs to you.
I didn't expect such an incident to occur. If I hadn't announced the pregnancy today, I don't know how many more incidents would have arisen before the enthronement ceremony.
With today's commotion, at least no one can use the child as a pawn to drive a wedge between us anymore."
Si Fengwu carefully settled her onto the dragon couch and said softly, "Although that woman came with the child to frame me, she wasn't aware of my situation at the time, and she even seemed unaware that you practiced medicine.
The confusion on her face when you announced your pregnancy and revealed the emotion-inducing drug hidden in her hair was undeniable.
I suspect this was a spur-of-the-moment action, intended to make you lose control.
A'wan, at this point, most of our enemies have been dealt with. Apart from that couple, there's likely no one else capable of such a deed."
Lu Qingwan couldn't help but agree with his words.
"Around the New Year, Yan Heling was convicted of plotting to harm a prince and causing chaos in the court, leading to his exile. Bai Lianhua was secretly executed.
Logically, apart from the eccentric pair of Liu Hanyan and Nangong Che, no one else should bear such ill will towards me.
But no matter how you look at it, Liu Hanyan wouldn't stoop to using such inferior medicine against me, would she?
She put on such a show in front of me for so long; how could she make such a low-level mistake?"
This point stumped Si Fengwu as well.
After all, they both thought like normal humans and couldn't comprehend such a ridiculously foolish blunder.
However, "Speaking of which, don't you think the general tone of Nan Qi has been a bit off for the past six months?
If nothing else, the moment Liu Hanyan took over, she controlled the situation in Nan Qi, yet the Nan Qi Emperor has been on his deathbed for nearly half a year without dying.
Nangong Che's infamy for rebellion has only grown. If this continues, Nangong Che will likely have to break and rebuild to become emperor, just like you and I had to."
Nan Qi was a structurally sound court. Even if Nangong Che was indeed the crown prince personally appointed by the late emperor, the current Nan Qi throne rightfully belonged to someone else.
It would have been fine if Nangong Che had restored order immediately upon his return, but as time dragged on, his advantage as the legitimate crown prince had gradually eroded.
"So, you're implying that this woman's appearance is not an isolated incident?"
Upon reflection, if even something as crucial as imperial succession could go awry, then it wasn't surprising that a plan to have someone bring a child to frame Si Fengwu and enrage Lu Qingwan could also have its flaws.
Their wild guessing like headless flies was interrupted by a group of people who arrived in a hurry.
"Master, we heard you are pregnant, is it true?"
Su Shang rushed over with a medicine box, barely managing to stop herself.
Lu Qingwan blinked. "The news hasn't been out for even three quarters of an hour, and you're already here? That's fast."
Despite her shock, Su Shang didn't forget the purpose of her visit. She grabbed Lu Qingwan's wrist to take her pulse and then sneered, "How could it not be fast?
Someone was thrown onto a horse and charged into the palace.
Your subordinate thought the enemy couldn't defeat Master, so they were finally targeting us lowly pawns. It truly startled the Imperial Guards..."
Lu Qingwan followed her gaze. Duan Yue, Li Jin, and Li Qing tacitly stepped back, exposing Lian Yu, who was panting behind them.
The latter awkwardly scratched his head. "Well, this is our dynasty's first imperial heir, and also the eldest grandson of the Lu family, so it must be taken seriously..."
His weak excuse gradually disappeared under the playful gazes of both Lu Qingwan and Si Fengwu.
"You are the dignified Minister of War, riding a horse in the palace. Tell me, if someone impeaches you tomorrow, how should we, your Prince and Princess, respond?"
Lian Yu shook his head, looking confident. "No one will impeach me. They all wish for you to have a child so that the realm can be stabilized.
If anyone were to impeach me, it would most likely be someone who doesn't want you to have children.
We can use this opportunity to conduct a thorough investigation and perhaps uncover a few rotten蛀虫 hiding in plain sight!"