Chapter 594: Overjoyed to Madness?

Chapter 594: So Happy You’ve Lost Your Mind?

As Prime Minister Pang was about to seize on Pang Xinyue’s words to push his case further, Crown Prince Wei Shiqing suddenly spoke up in cheerful firmness—only to refuse outright: "Absolutely impossible."

Yet his refusal dripped with amusement.

Both Prime Minister Pang and Pang Xinyue thought they had misheard.

"What?"

Wei Shiqing’s lips curled into a smirk, his eyes gleaming with smug satisfaction, as if he wanted the whole world to know how happy he was: "What I mean is, the Crown Princess is with child. I would never bring a high-maintenance girl into the palace at such a time to upset her."

The words hit like a lightning bolt, their faces falling in shock!

Prime Minister Pang blurted: "With child?!"

"Naturally," Wei Shiqing said with a smirk. He fixed his gaze on the prime minister, his smile deepening. "Prime Minister Pang, haven’t you always insisted in court that the heir producing an heir is a top priority? Now that the Crown Princess is pregnant, it truly is—as you yourself have said—a top priority."

Prime Minister Pang's head spun with disbelief.

Five years—the Crown Princess had been married into the Eastern Palace for five years without bearing a single child! The court and inner palace had long pushed for the Crown Prince to take a side consort.

And now, all of a sudden, she was pregnant?!

His first thought was *a fake pregnancy*.

But faking a pregnancy in the royal family was a capital offense. How dare he openly accuse the Crown Princess of such a thing?

"This... this is serious, Your Highness..." he stammered.

Wei Shiqing nodded, raising an eyebrow. "Indeed, it is. And your daughter’s dramatics before the Crown Princess may have disturbed her. Out of respect for your years of service to the dynasty, I’ll overlook her behavior this once. Take her home and discipline her properly."

Prime Minister Pang staggered and collapsed to the ground.

"Father!"

"My lord!"

Pang Xinyue and the Prime Minister’s wife panicked.

Amid the commotion, Wei Shiqing drawled, "Has Prime Minister Pang gone mad with joy at the news of the Eastern Palace finally having an heir? Guards, help him up and see his family out."

At his command, guards "helped" the fallen Prime Minister to his feet and "escorted" him toward the hall’s exit.

Pang Xinyue’s face was pale as death, biting her lip in frustration as she followed helplessly.

The Prime Minister’s wife wobbled to her feet, her knees throbbing from kneeling too long. A maid caught her arm, steadying her as she limped after them.

Watching the three disappear from view, Wei Shiqing smirked, dismissing them entirely as he turned and strode toward the rear palace.

Xingxing was keeping company with Mu Rujun, who had just woken up.

Propped up by soft pillows, Mu Rujun sat on the bed, still dazed.

Just like that… she was carrying a child?

And—

Doing the math, it must have been conceived the very day Xingxing first came to examine her!

Mu Rujun was in a daze, utterly overjoyed.

Xingxing smiled. "Sister Rujun, expecting mothers shouldn't have big mood swings. You must keep your spirits up from now on."

Mu Rujun grasped Xingxing's hand, so happy she was practically speechless. "Xingxing, it's all because of you—this baby is your doing!"

Xingxing let out an astonished "Ah"—was that really the case?

Had she really done anything special?

Shouldn’t the credit go to the Crown Prince instead?

Wei Shiqing stepped into the room and added his support. "The Crown Princess is right. It’s all thanks to Xingxing’s lucky influence that brought us this child. I’ve already sent word to the palace. Xingxing, stay a while longer—spend more time with the Crown Princess."

Since Mu Rujun was still in the early stages of pregnancy, Xingxing thought for a moment and agreed.

Just as Mu Rujun was about to speak, her face suddenly changed slightly. "...Now that I think of it, when Pang Xinyue was affected by that love potion, I approached her and noticed something strange about the smell in the room..."

Xingxing nodded. "That’s right. It was a faint trace of the drug released through her sweat."

Wei Shiqing’s expression turned stormy immediately. "That love potion—"

If that drug had any effect on Mu Rujun or the child, he swore he’d chop Pang Xinyue into eight pieces!

"It’s fine, really," Xingxing quickly added. "The drug was already very diluted after being released through Pang Xinyue’s sweat. It was just a faint scent—such a tiny dose poses no danger to humans."

Mu Rujun instinctively placed a hand on her belly and looked up at Wei Shiqing, her voice still soft. "My lord…"

Wei Shiqing stepped forward, sat beside her on the daybed, and embraced her. "Rujun, I’m here."

Mu Rujun was not one to cry easily, but happy tears sprang to the corners of her eyes. "With this child, this will ease your burdens at court."

Wei Shiqing gently stroked her hair, his voice soothing. "I’ve told you before—don’t worry. Their barking doesn’t bother me. I have many brothers, and when the time comes…"

His voice faded, leaving the rest unsaid.

But Mu Rujun, having been married to Wei Shiqing for years, understood his unspoken meaning.

Moreover, Wei Shiqing had once told her privately that if they remained childless, they could name the child of his second brother and Xingxing as the heir, raising them with care to ensure Great Xia’s throne would never fall into unworthy hands.

Of course—

Xingxing was still present, oblivious to all this, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to discuss such matters in front of the young girl.

Mu Rujun and Wei Shiqing exchanged a knowing smile.

...

When news of the Crown Princess’s pregnancy reached the palace, Emperor Jiazheng was with Empress Nie, musing with some dissatisfaction. "...Lady Mu is perfect in every way, yet she has been unable to conceive. Are we truly to let Shiqing pass the throne to Shiyan’s child?... If not, I should simply decree that two beauties be given to the Crown Prince!"

Empress Nie disliked discussing this with Emperor Jiazheng.

Especially today—she remembered it was Mu Rujun’s birthday.

The Mu family had sacrificed everything for the nation, leaving only Mu Rujun and her half-sister. To bestow concubines on her birthday banquet? Empress Nie barely suppressed the urge to scoff.

"If you wish to break with the Crown Prince completely, then proceed," Empress Nie replied coolly.

Emperor Jiazheng caught her meaning—if he really did this, it wouldn’t just be the Crown Prince turning against him, but likely his beloved wife as well.

He hastily amended, "...Ahem, Empress, I was merely discussing this with you. Just a thought—I wasn’t actually planning to do it..."

Empress Nie shot him a glance and was about to speak when a eunuch hurried in, beaming, and requested an audience.

Emperor Jiazheng waved for the eunuch to speak.

The eunuch knelt, beaming. "Your Majesty, Her Majesty—wonderful news! The Eastern Palace has sent word that the Crown Princess is already over a month pregnant!"