In Love With My Fierce Farming Wife!
Chapter 1178 - 1090: Leave It to Me to Handle

Chapter 1178: Chapter 1090: Leave It to Me to Handle

After Su Pan’er finished speaking, she left without looking back.

Her casual demeanor unexpectedly left Feng Xiyue prostrate on the ground, and even a long while after Su Pan’er had left, she still hadn’t stood up.

Having served by the Empress’s side for many years, although she couldn’t claim to understand her completely, she was familiar with at least seventy to eighty percent of her temperament. If the Empress had been furiously angry today, she would have had the confidence to escape this calamity. But the Empress’s silence, this abnormal reaction, tightened her heart with foreboding.

This time, it was unlikely to end well.

However, she had no regrets!

If she had really allowed the Empress to investigate the jade pendant, then, then... her own affairs might have become impossible to conceal.

She extended a trembling hand, groping to try to pick up the fragments of jade from the ground.

But when she had smashed the jade pendant, she had done so with hidden force, and it was shattered too severely to be pieced back together, as shattered as her already battered heart.

"Empress, I’m sorry, so sorry, Xiyue had no choice..."

She clenched the jade fragments tightly, the shards piercing into her palm without her feeling it.

Su Pan’er hurried back to Huayang Palace, and as soon as she entered the Warm Pavilion, she saw the figure seated on the prominent chair in the middle, sitting with a flourish.

"Your Majesty? Your servant pays respect to Your Majesty. Your Majesty... has the morning court session ended..."

Under Qin Yi’s knowing gaze, Su Pan’er’s words became lodged in her throat, and she found herself unable to speak.

Qin Yi sat unmoving, and Su Pan’er maintained her kneeling posture until she became tired in no time.

"Come here."

He still couldn’t bear to see her suffer the slightest discomfort.

Seeing her tired, his heart ached even to let her stand for a moment longer.

"Your Majesty..." Su Pan’er approached as directed.

But before she could finish speaking, he suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace with a swift motion.

"Your Majesty, what are you..."

Su Pan’er struggled to prop up her upper body, trying to get a clearer look at his face.

But Qin Yi stubbornly pressed her down, preventing her from moving. That gnashing tone rose in her ears: "What exactly goes on in that head of yours? Huh? Speak up, and let me help you resolve it!"

The willingness to struggle immediately ceased.

"Your Majesty, you... are aware of everything?"

"What do you think? Huh!"

Qin Yi bellowed lowly, raising his hand and delivering two crisp slaps to her buttocks!

"You’re a mother of two children, pregnant with another two, why can’t you be more well-behaved? Do you think that apart from you taking action, those servants are just dead? Why does Your Majesty keep so many servants in the Imperial Harem’s Palace if they’re useless? If they’re useless, it’s better to expel them from the palace! It would spare me from the eyesore!"

"Expel from the palace?"

Su Pan’er murmured back.

"What, you want to plead for these useless people, huh?"

Qin Yi grew frustrated: "Don’t say anything, they are but a few servants. I have already ordered Jiu Lan to pack up her belongings and leave the palace immediately. So she won’t bother you anymore."

"Are you speaking of Jiu Lan? She was awarded to my palace by Your Majesty, and even if she were to leave, it should be I who gives permission. Besides, there are many areas where I rely on Jiu Lan, she cannot go."

Busy with matters concerning Qin Feimo and Feng Xiyue, she would have truly forgotten about Jiu Lan’s coming and going, had His Majesty not mentioned it.

"Very well, if you wish to keep her, then keep her. If you need more staff, just say so."

Qin Yi didn’t insist.

"The current staff is sufficient."

Su Pan’er saw that Qin Yi’s conversation revolved around Jiu Lan, yet didn’t touch on other matters, so for the time being, she was content to feel relaxed. She turned her head and ordered some food to be brought for His Majesty, then she herself went into the inner room to wash and rinse.

Watching Su Pan’er’s retreating figure, the relaxed expression on Qin Yi’s face slowly subsided.

Eunuch An came in from outside the Warm Pavilion, leaned over, and whispered into Qin Yi’s ear. Qin Yi nodded slightly, then his eyes showed a surprised look, and with a wave of his hand, he dismissed Eunuch An.

When Su Pan’er came out after finishing her wash and rinse, there were a few more snacks on the table.

"Come! These are the tripe, charcoal gold intestine, and grilled mandarin fish I had just made, along with the green vegetables, come and have some."

Qin Yi beckoned her with his hand, and personally served some dishes into her bowl.

This pregnancy was different from the last two for Su Pan’er, her tastes had changed significantly. Especially fond of meat, be it pork, mutton, beef, rabbit, or horse meat... she liked them all, it was an outright case of ’no joy without meat’. Fortunately, despite her hearty eating, consuming so much every day, aside from her belly and chest noticeably rounding, she hadn’t gained much weight.

The Imperial Physician had told him that it was beneficial for a woman to gain some weight during pregnancy to help with childbirth, and seeing that Su Pan’er’s face remained largely unchanged, it made Qin Yi worried.

Therefore, he always made efforts to collect various delicacies to bring into the palace, in order to fatten Su Pan’er up.

Su Pan’er sat down, thanked him, drank half a bowl of green vegetable soup, and only then did she start eating the meat in her bowl.

"Oh, there’s actually beef today? That’s rare!"

In those days, pork was the cheapest, generally disliked by Princes and Ministers, but Su Pan’er still enjoyed it. Beef, on the contrary, was the most expensive and rarest, which was due to Imperial Court’s decree forbidding the private slaughter of oxen. To eat beef, one had to wait for an ox to die naturally, of illness, or by accident.

But oxen moved so slowly, accidents were few and far between, naturally making beef a rarity.

However, looking at the braised beef in the dish, its color was bright and shiny, tender and fragrant, clearly not from an animal that died of illness or old age.

Qin Yi smiled, and casually added another chopstick full to her bowl, "Why ask so many questions? Just eat your meal!"

Being the Empress of a nation, could she really not manage to get some beef?

Su Pan’er grinned and, returning the favor, she also served a chopstick full to his bowl, "You should eat a bit more too."

The two of them served each other their favorite dishes, harmoniously enjoying their dinner together.

After the servants cleared away the bowls and plates and they had rinsed their mouths with fragrant tea, the couple finally relaxed. Su Pan’er leaned against the chaise lounge while Qin Yi gently massaged her calves. As the child within her grew month by month, cramping in her legs became more frequent.

"You really have nothing you want to tell me?" he suddenly asked.

"Tell you what?"

"What do you think." Qin Yi gave her a look.

"You know it all already, why would I need to say anything?" Full and content, Su Pan’er half-closed her eyes, seemingly ready to fall asleep at any moment.

"Since that’s what you say, very well then!" Qin Yi suddenly declared, "You need not concern yourself with the matter of the Virtuous King; you can’t handle it anyway. Best not to get involved in these state affairs, lest you attract the unwanted attention of those idling Speech Officials with nothing better to do. Leave the rest to me to deal with."

Su Pan’er suddenly opened her eyes, gave Qin Yi a long look, and then closed them again.

"What do you plan to do about Qin Feimo and Imperial Concubine Feng?"