Chapter 53 He Desired Her, Yet She Felt Sick

Noble Lady Wei was pregnant. Ye Wanwan tried to recall, but she could not remember clearly.

Did Noble Lady Wei enter the palace in her past life? Was she pregnant?

She could not remember. There was no one with the surname Wei in her memory who had successfully given birth to an imperial prince or princess. Yet she also knew that this differed from what she currently understood; she could not rely entirely on her past memories to judge matters.

Her rebirth was the greatest variable. Jiang Feixue entering the palace to serve the Emperor ahead of time, Noble Lady Wei coming to her residence, and Zhao Yi’s attitude toward her—all these variables were simply too numerous, and things had already veered onto a completely different trajectory.

Still, change did not matter. Her very arrival was meant to bring about change. If she were simply to walk the old path of the past, why bother living this life all over again?

Noble Lady Wei’s pregnancy had little impact on Ye Wanwan, but it stirred up quite a massive storm within the palace.

All the envy, jealousy, and hatred previously directed at Ye Wanwan were now entirely transferred onto Noble Lady Wei. People even felt as though a stifled breath of anger had been vented for them, and they looked upon Ye Wanwan as quite a pitiable figure.

For a mere noble lady to conceive right under her very nose—was this not a blatant slap to her face?

Not only was she pregnant, but Zhao Yi had also directly promoted Noble Lady Wei to the rank of Zhaoyi. However, her living quarters remained unchanged; she still resided in the Guanju Palace.

Jiang Feixue was hopping mad, smashing up a room full of items and storming over to Ye Wanwan’s place to curse and rail no fewer than ten times.

What could Ye Wanwan say? By keeping the woman in her residence, Zhao Yi was slapping her across the face and yet forcing her to protect the woman as well. If Noble Lady Wei were to lose her child, Ye Wanwan would also bear the blame. Therefore, she absolutely could not harm Noble Lady Wei; on the contrary, she had to protect her.

Upon learning the truth, Jiang Feixue was so furious she almost vomited blood.

Not to mention Jiang Feixue, even the Empress Dowager never expected Zhao Yi to be so infuriatingly perverse.

Ever since Ye Wanwan ordered the palace maid Hongshang to be beaten to death with staves, the Empress Dowager had largely ignored her. Although Ye Wanwan felt wronged, losing such a significant amount of face naturally made the Empress Dowager unhappy as well. Yet this time, Zhao Yi’s actions made the Empress Dowager so angry she could no longer sit still.

Furious as she was with Ye Wanwan, she could not simply stand by and watch Zhao Yi slap Ye Wanwan in the face—was that not openly slapping the Ye family’s face as well?

Disregarding everything else, she immediately ordered a palace to be prepared and tidied up so that Noble Lady Wei could move out. To persuade Zhao Yi, the palace she selected was neither too large nor too small, with specifications that perfectly matched Noble Lady Wei—no, Noble Lady Zhaoyi.

Once the palace was chosen, she bestowed countless rewards, displaying her immense joy over this child so as to seal Zhao Yi’s lips.

Unfortunately, even so, Noble Zhaoyi did not move out, because Zhao Yi declared that the pregnancy had not yet reached three months and was not stable, making it unsuitable to change residences. In other words, Wei Ling still had to stay at Ye Wanwan’s place for some time.

Ye Wanwan did not care much, but the Empress Dowager and Jiang Feixue were so angry they practically vomited blood.

"You have been wronged. We harbor no other intentions; before long, We will have Wei Ling move out."

Zhao Yi was actually apologizing to her. This was practically a rare, once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. If someone had told her previously that Zhao Yi would speak to her with a sense of apology, she would have suspected that person was out of their mind—purely a fantastical myth.

Yet right now, Zhao Yi was clearly expressing his regret.

Not only did he apologize, but he also had numerous rewards sent over, far more lavish than those given to Wei Ling.

After Yuan De finished reading out the list of bestowals and withdrew with his attendants, Zhao Yi pulled Ye Wanwan into his embrace, and a kiss followed immediately.

Ye Wanwan was somewhat numb from excessive shock, but she still subconsciously tilted her head slightly, causing Zhao Yi’s kiss to land on the base of her ear.

"Your Majesty, Your concubine's monthly flow has arrived."

Her body was already frail to begin with, and coupled with her recent illness, this period had arrived with ferocious intensity, accompanied by excruciating cramps. She could only rely on medicinal draughts to ease the pain.

It was agonizing, but right now Ye Wanwan felt incomparably grateful for it. If not for this, she feared she would have been completely devoured by Zhao Yi.

Over the past two days, Zhao Yi’s thoughts and desires had been completely unmasked. It seemed that because those other women were too easily obtained, Ye Wanwan’s rejection and cold treatment not only failed to anger Zhao Yi, but instead allowed him to discover the thrill of the hunt and the pleasure of anticipation. His interest grew day by day, and his desire was now displayed with naked, uninhibited candor.

He wanted her, but she felt sick to her stomach.

Zhao Yi did not pull away; instead, he lingered, intimately nuzzling the area around her neck. He let out a sigh, showing a trace of regret, though his interest remained unabated.

"What is that scent? Why is it so fragrant?"

Fragrant?

Ye Wanwan sniffed her own sleeve. Aside from the faint scent of powder, there was nothing particularly fragrant about it.

That clueless expression made Zhao Yi’s gaze darken by another fraction. Unfortunately, Ye Wanwan remained completely oblivious to it all.