Qi Yanzhou, caught off guard, stumbled and fell onto Ye Chutang.
The soft sensation against his chest made his face burn crimson, a wave of heat surging through his body.
His heart pounded so fiercely it seemed ready to leap out of his chest, leaving him utterly flustered.
Ye Chutang noticed Qi Yanzhou’s unusual reaction but didn’t dwell on it.
Assuming he was simply unused to such intimate contact with women—being a man of restraint and propriety—she pushed him against the wall and covered him with a quilt.
"Stay hidden and don’t move," she instructed.
Then, she lifted the bed curtains.
Seeing Le'er already at the bedside, she yawned and asked, "Le'er, what were you shouting about earlier?"
Just then, Dan'er and Jinzhi, who lived in the eastern side room, rushed in barefoot, having heard Le'er’s cry.
Relieved to find Ye Chutang unharmed, they exhaled deeply.
Dan'er frowned. "Le'er, what’s all the shouting for?"
Le'er wore a look of deep remorse.
"I thought I heard movement in the young mistress’s chamber and feared something had happened, so I called out."
She knelt before Ye Chutang.
"Young mistress, I was half-asleep and must have misheard. I didn’t mean to disturb your rest."
Ye Chutang waved it off. "You meant well. Rise. It’s late—all of you, go back to bed. I’m fine."
The three maids obeyed and left the chamber.
Soon, the doors to the eastern side room and the annex closed one after another.
Ye Chutang patted the quilt.
"Your Highness, you can come out now."
The quilt was saturated with Ye Chutang’s fragrance, and Qi Yanzhou felt as if he were being steamed alive.
When he threw off the covers, a wave of heat escaped, raising the temperature inside the canopy bed.
Ye Chutang sat cross-legged, studying the flustered, hardened man with amusement.
"Your Highness seems haunted by what happened that night?"
Qi Yanzhou wasn’t haunted—just baffled that a woman would treat her virtue so lightly.
"Miss Ye, doesn’t your reputation matter to you?"
Of course, it didn’t. But as a woman in ancient times, she had to pretend.
"Of course it matters. But I believe life is more important than virtue."
"That may be true, but most men value a woman’s purity. How do you plan to marry in the future?"
"Simple. I’ll marry one of the few men who don’t care about such things."
Ye Chutang narrowed her eyes. "Don’t tell me you’re thinking of turning our act into reality and proposing?"
Qi Yanzhou’s heart skipped a beat.
The thought had crossed his mind.
But sensing her resistance, he said, "This prince merely believes a woman’s virtue is significant. If Miss Ye wishes to marry—"
"Stop right there," she cut in. "I have no desire to marry you, Your Highness. Save the title of princess for the woman who holds your heart."
With that, she pushed aside the bed curtains.
"Your internal injuries require rest. Unless it’s urgent, stop wandering around. Now, leave—I won’t see you out."
Seeing her firm rejection, Qi Yanzhou’s eyes darkened.
He climbed off the bed and left the Minister's Mansion.
Once he was gone, Ye Chutang knew the night’s alert was over.
She slipped away to collect her order from the carpentry shop.
Returning, she resolved to wake early for the market to buy fresh vegetables.
But she overslept until dawn.
Only then did Ye Chutang realize something was off with her body.
"Did I let my guard down at the palace yesterday? Despite all precautions, did I still fall into a trap?"
After muttering to herself, she immediately checked her own pulse.
Upon discerning the pulse pattern, she felt as if struck by lightning.
A pregnancy pulse!
Impossible!
Before the one-night stand,
the original host's menstrual cycle had just ended two days prior.
Due to premature birth, the original host had always been frail.
After being sent to the countryside, she had been constantly mistreated by servants, leading to chronic coldness in her body.
After Ye Chutang transmigrated into her, she had also soaked in an icy pool for a long time.
With these four layers of "protection" combined, the probability of pregnancy was practically zero.
Precisely because of this, Ye Chutang hadn’t taken emergency contraception—after all, the medicine was harmful to the body.
"It must be because I just woke up, and my fingers aren’t nimble enough. I must have misread the pulse."
With that, she immediately flexed her fingers and took deep breaths.
Once fully awake and calm, Ye Chutang checked her pulse again.
The pulse under her fingertips rolled like beads—undeniably a slippery pulse, the sign of pregnancy.
Confirmed with the pregnancy, Ye Chutang was stunned.
Abort it? Or keep it?
She sat frozen on the bed for a long time, unable to decide.
"Miss, are you awake?"
Dan'er's voice pulled Ye Chutang out of her chaotic thoughts.
She responded, "Coming out soon."
She got up, dressed, and went to the backyard to wash up.
After freshening up, she returned to her room, where Dan'er helped her style her hair.
"Miss, your complexion doesn’t look good today. Did you not rest well last night?"
Ye Chutang nodded vaguely.
"No wonder you woke up late today. After breakfast, you should go back to sleep for a while."
"Mhm."
During breakfast, the Minister's Mansion suddenly buzzed with activity.
Seeing Ye Chutang's confusion, Dan'er explained, "The second young miss’s wedding is approaching. The mansion is being decorated starting today."
Hearing this, Ye Chutang suddenly realized that Ye Anling had been unusually quiet lately.
"What has Ye Anling been up to recently?"
Dan'er replied, "The second young miss has been embroidering her wedding veil."
A bride’s wedding attire was typically handmade by herself.
Since Ye Anling’s wedding was arranged in haste, her gown had been entrusted to seamstresses, leaving only the veil for her to embroider—a token of auspiciousness.
"After such a major incident in the An household, didn’t she visit Princess Anping?"
"No, but she did send some silver notes to the princess."
At this, Dan'er recalled a piece of gossip she’d overheard in the kitchen that morning.
After breakfast, she told Ye Chutang, "Miss, I heard the two men who disrespected Princess Anping both died suddenly in their homes last night."
Ye Chutang had expected this outcome—just not so soon.
"Evil reaps evil. Serves them right."
With that, she yawned sleepily and returned to her room to rest.
Lying in bed, she found herself wide awake.
Ye Chutang placed a hand on her flat stomach, sensing the sudden presence of life within.
The child was still too small—no bigger than a mung bean—so naturally, she couldn’t feel anything.
Abort it?
With so much happening recently, she couldn’t afford a moment of weakness. If she aborted, she’d need to observe confinement, which was out of the question.
Keep it?
If her unwed pregnancy were discovered, even if she escaped being drowned as punishment, the child would bear the stigma for life.
Torn between these dilemmas, Ye Chutang chose to keep the baby!
The fact that this child had overcome such odds to exist meant it was fated to be with her.
Moreover, having a child of her own flesh and blood would give her a bond—she’d no longer be alone in this world!
Ye Chutang decided that once she thwarted the emperor’s schemes, she would find an excuse to leave the capital and quietly give birth.
Years later, when she returned to the capital with enough reputation, even if she claimed the child’s father had died, no one would dare question it.
With her mind settled, she felt lighter and closed her eyes to rest.
Ye Chutang drifted into a dream.
Ye Chutang dreamed that Qi Yanzhou had discovered her pregnancy and was trying to take the child from her.
When she refused, he forced her into marriage—threatening to keep the child and discard the mother if she resisted.
But she turned the tables, ending the dream with a triumphant "discard the father, keep the child."
When she woke, a faint smile still lingered on her lips.
Amused, she gently touched her belly.
"Are you protesting because I haven’t told your father about you?"
"Don’t worry. He’ll never know."
Little did Ye Chutang realize how quickly fate would prove her wrong.
