Widowed for Five Years, the Widow is Pregnant with the Emperor’s Child

Chapter 191

The next day, Emperor Jingxuan hosted the Qionglin Banquet at the Jiying Hall to entertain the newly minted imperial scholars.

At the banquet, Emperor Jingxuan personally bestowed upon Cen Yuanzhou a three-courtyard residence located in the inner city of the capital. He also kindly asked for his thoughts on marriage, seemingly intending to grant him an arranged marriage.

Seeing him receive such imperial grace and exceptional honor, the other scholars could not help but feel envious.

Only Cen Yuanzhou felt trembling and fearful inside, answering cautiously, terrified that Emperor Jingxuan's next sentence would be to arrange a marriage for him.

After all, he had previously obstructed the Emperor from exchanging flirtatious glances with his cousin multiple times, acting quite strangely.

Fortunately, Emperor Jingxuan was indeed just asking casually and had no intention of granting a marriage on the spot.

A few days later, Cen Yuanzhou and Lin Xiu moved into the new residence.

On the day of the move, Yun Wan and Sui disguised themselves and left the palace to visit the Cen family's new home.

Stepping down from the carriage, Lin Xiu, who was waiting at the front gate, subconsciously glanced behind them. Not seeing that tall figure, she whispered, "The Emperor didn't come this time, right?"

Yun Wan smiled. "Don't worry, Aunt. His Majesty is not free today and did not follow us."

Recently, envoys from another country had arrived in the capital. The two countries had always maintained friendly relations, and to show the Great Qi's sincerity, Emperor Jingxuan was personally receiving them today and could not get away.

Hearing this, Lin Xiu patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief. "That's good, that's good."

It was fine when she didn't know his identity, but now that she did, she was genuinely worried that if Emperor Jingxuan came, her family wouldn't be able to host him properly, and her heart wouldn't be able to take the stress.

Seeing this, Yun Wan couldn't help but laugh.

The new Cen residence was not large, incomparable to the mansions of high-ranking noble families like the Lu family who had been entrenched in the capital for generations. However, it excelled in its exquisite elegance, possessing the flavor of a Jiangnan garden, and was more than enough for the Cen mother and son to live in.

Upon entering, there were other people in the courtyard who had come to offer their congratulations, all young, unfamiliar faces.

Seeing Yun Wan, who was surrounded by attendants and exuded an air of nobility, they cast curious glances.

Noticing their gazes, Yun Wan nodded and smiled faintly. The crowd's eyes revealed their amazement, and they stood there for a long time, completely forgetting the rule of not looking at what is improper.

A light cough from Cen Yuanzhou jolted everyone awake.

Du Yang, who was on good terms with him on regular days, couldn't help but ask, "Brother Cen, I wonder who that lady that just passed by is?"

"She seems familiar with your mother. Could it be a lady your mother is considering for your marriage?"

Cen Yuanzhou's face instantly darkened.

Were they blind? Couldn't they see his cousin's married woman's attire and Sui, whom she was holding by the hand?

He revealed a kind and warm smile. "That is my cousin. She is already married."

Du Yang was surprised. "You have a cousin—hiss."

Realizing something, the crowd collectively fell silent.

Who else could Cen Yuanzhou's cousin in the capital be, other than Her Ladyship Consort Zhao in the palace?

In the main room of the backyard.

"Were those my cousin's good friends just now?" Yun Wan asked casually.

Lin Xiu nodded, sighing with emotion, "They are all young lads. A few of them are a few years younger than your cousin, yet their children are already three years old."

Hearing this, Yun Wan chuckled. "Is Aunt starting to worry about my cousin's marriage? A couple of days ago, His Majesty even asked if my cousin was engaged, and I told him the truth."

Lin Xiu was astonished. "Could it be that His Majesty wants to grant a marriage?"

Yun Wan said, "I told him we must first see my cousin's wishes, so as not to force a bad marriage."

Lin Xiu agreed. "That is the right reasoning."

The weather was getting hot. Walking from the front gate to the backyard, Sui was already thirsty. At this moment, he was holding a cup and drinking water while listening to the adults talk.

Not paying attention, the tea spilled, flowing down his chin and wetting his collar.

Sui unhurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe his chin dry, then said to Yun Wan, "Mother, my clothes are wet."

Yun Wan looked over and saw a small wet patch on his collar. She had the accompanying palace servants bring a dry outer garment to change for the child.

Lin Xiu's gaze fell on Sui, her eyes full of affection. "If your cousin could have a child as good as Sui, I would have no other regrets in this life."

Before Yun Wan could speak, Sui poked his head out from behind the folding screen. "Great-aunt, then you should quickly urge Uncle to get married and have a younger brother or sister. I want to be an older brother."

Sui was tired of being the youngest and urgently wanted to be an older brother.

Lin Xiu laughed, "If you want to be an older brother, Sui should ask your mother to give you a younger brother or sister. Our Sui will definitely be a good older brother in the future."

Sui frowned in hesitation. "Then never mind. It's too hard for Mother to carry a baby."

Hearing this made both of them laugh heartily.

They stayed at the Cen house for several hours, until evening.

As the sun neared the western hills and dusk approached, Yun Wan and her son bid farewell to Lin Xiu and Cen Yuanzhou, and took the carriage they came in back to the palace.

When they reached the main street, a clamor arose, and the carriage gradually came to a stop.

After looking from afar for a few moments, the young eunuch driving the carriage turned back and said, "Madam, there seems to be a dispute ahead. A crowd has gathered, and I'm afraid we can't get through right now."

Yun Wan calculated the time; it would take about another half an hour.

She asked, "Are there any other roads nearby to return to the palace?"

The young eunuch replied, "There is one, but it's a bit of a detour. However, it will still be faster to arrive than waiting in this current situation."

Yun Wan looked down at Sui, who was drowsily leaning against her embrace, and ordered, "Then take the detour."

The young eunuch received the order, pulled the reins to change direction, and headed towards the less populated, longer road.

However, after traveling for about a quarter of an hour, the horse pulling the carriage suddenly let out a shrill neigh.

As if suffering tremendous pain, its front hooves flew up, and after landing heavily, it galloped forward, completely out of control.

The sudden turn of events made Yun Wan's heart tighten. "What's going on?"

The young eunuch said in panic, "Madam! The horse has suddenly gone mad for some unknown reason! Madam and Young Master, hold on tight!"

Yun Wan's face turned pale. How could a perfectly fine horse go mad?

But the jolts beneath her and the horse's neighs were real. With every violent bump, Yun Wan hugged Sui tightly and curled up in the corner.

The accompanying palace servants were even more terrified, watching helplessly as the carriage carrying their masters rushed forward like crazy.

"Quickly go call for help! Her Ladyship and the Little Highness are still inside!"

If anything happened to the two masters, their own lives would not be spared.

Inside the carriage, the jolts woke Sui up. Not understanding the current situation, he tightly grabbed Yun Wan's sleeve.

"Mother, where are we going?"

Yun Wan shielded him beneath her, trying hard to maintain her composure. "Be good, don't speak for now. The horse has gone mad, and we are in danger."

However, the carriage became even more turbulent. The young eunuch driving it used all his strength but failed to control the mad horse, and was even almost thrown off at one point.

He desperately gripped the reins, his face deathly pale. "Your Ladyship, what should we do? This servant truly cannot control it!"

Yun Wan's mind was also a blank at this moment. Hearing this, she said decisively, "A knife! Use a knife to kill the horse!"

"This servant does not have a knife on me!"

Without a knife to deal a fatal blow, injuring it would only provoke the horse into becoming even more frenzied.

Yun Wan glanced outside. There were very few pedestrians on this road, and seeing that they were about to crash into the river, the only plan left was to jump from the carriage.

But the carriage was moving so fast; an adult jumping out would be crippled if not killed, let alone a child.

Struggle and despair flashed through Yun Wan's eyes.