Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

When Lin Wantang quietly returned to Chentingxuan, Wei Wujiu had just returned.

Hearing Jiang Fulu's voice outside the palace, she hurriedly tried to take off her night clothes in the bedchamber, but in her haste, she heard a deep, mellow voice ask, "How long has she been asleep? Didn't you let her in to serve you?"

These words may have aroused suspicion. Lin Wantang was too guilty to think much before she heard footsteps approaching. She knew something was wrong and hurriedly climbed onto the bed, grabbing the quilt to cover herself with the black clothes she hadn't had time to change out of.

The candlelight was dim, and the incense burner had gone out.

Wei Wujiu, enveloped in the chill of the night, didn't go directly to the bedside. Instead, he touched the white porcelain teacup inlaid with jade on the table from a distance, and found it had gone cold.

"How were they all taken care of?"

Wei Wujiu turned to the side, his voice soft and distant.

Jiang Fulu bowed respectfully to the side, repeatedly saying with remorse, "It was this old servant's fault, this old servant deserves punishment..."

Wei Wujiu frowned slightly, but didn't say anything. He just put a finger to his lips to shush, then waved his hand to let Jiang Fulu leave first.

"My lord, please be careful when you go in, so as not to disturb the young lady," Jiang Fulu instructed as soon as he went out.

Chunhen and Qiuying remembered this well. They bowed and entered the hall, keeping their heads down and not daring to look at anything. They added hot tea and burned incense. When they were about to serve Wei Wujiu to change his clothes, he raised his chin and sent them away.

With no one else around, the chill on his body subsided considerably. He then strolled towards the bed: "How much longer are you going to pretend? I know you're not asleep..."

The conversation abruptly ended.

Wei Wujiu inadvertently touched a corner of her black clothing that she hadn't managed to cover up under the covers.

In the dim lamplight, his eyes darkened, then he lifted his robe and sat down sideways, taking her hand in his: "Hmm?"

Lin Wantang's feigned sleep was just a bluff, so she couldn't keep up the act any longer and awkwardly opened her eyes, saying, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Commander. I originally wanted to wait for your return before resting, but... I was afraid you would worry about me and not want you to think about me..."

"Is that so?" Wei Wujiu glanced at the corner of his eye at the hem of her clothes that she was trying to hide.

Lin Wantang shifted slightly to sit up, still tightly wrapped in the blanket. "Yes, Commander, would you like some dinner? It's this late; eating more at this hour wouldn't be good for your health. How about some late-night snack?"

Wei Wujiu stared silently at her evasive eyes for a moment.

He wanted to expose her, and he also wanted to ask her what she did in secret when she left the palace at night.

But it seemed that Lin Wantang didn't want to talk about it, which was probably related to Lin Qinglian. It was indeed inappropriate for him to pry too much into matters between women, so he dismissed his doubts and said after a long while, "Stop making a fuss and get some rest."

Because they were not yet married, Wei Wujiu did not sleep in the same bed with her.

But Chen Tingxuan only had one sleeping quarters. He got up and headed outside, having slept in the outer quarters for the past few days. As if remembering something, he paused slightly: "The matter I told you at the Eastern Depot..."

They exchanged secrets, his secrets, which he hadn't yet told her.

Lin Wantang was taken aback for a moment, then quickly interrupted, "Commander, I'm a little tired today and want to go to bed. Could we... talk about it another day?"

"Okay."

After saying those two words, Wei Wujiu's lips twitched as if he wanted to say something more, but seeing Lin Wantang turn her eyes away as if to avoid him, clearly not wanting to discuss things further with him, he suppressed his thoughts and went outside first.

The inner hall fell silent once more. Lin Wantang looked up and sighed deeply. She got up, changed out of her black clothes, and lay back down, still preoccupied with her thoughts.

What Shen Huai'an told her tonight wasn't that she didn't want to tell Wei Wujiu everything, nor did she intend to become distant or wary of him. On the contrary, she didn't want this matter to involve or implicate Wei Wujiu any further.

He seemed to wield immense power, holding the title of "Nine Thousand Years Old" bestowed by the emperor, almost on par with him. However, his journey had been fraught with hardship and setbacks, making him a thorn in the side of countless people. Many others were waiting for him to make a mistake and kick him while he was down. The emperor's desire to kill him had also been growing for many years as he relied on and used him.

Lin Wantang absolutely cannot allow those people, especially Shen Huai'an, to have their way without her noticing.

Her most urgent task was to find a way to defeat her enemy in one fell swoop, so that Shen Huai'an would be unable to recover before he exposed her mother's affairs, and the emperor would be completely disappointed. Only in this way could she barely delay the outbreak of the situation.

Lin Wantang tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. The next day was the palace banquet, and she was summoned by Princess Yong'an early in the morning.

"Yong'an wants you to come with her today, so that the Crown Princess won't do anything that would be detrimental to you." Wei Wujiu understood Yong'an's meaning. After finishing his meal, he left the palace with Lin Wantang.

Chunhen and Qiuying bowed and draped the two women in sable coats. Lin Wantang then took the hand warmer from Jiang Fulu and forced a smile absentmindedly: "I've got it. Don't worry, Commander. Today's banquet is the most important thing. I won't cause any trouble."

"There's no need to endure humiliation and bullying." Wei Wujiu gestured for Night Hawk and the others to wait a moment. He lowered his gaze and looked at her intently, smoothing the knots in her fur coat. "Do whatever you want. If you can't handle the consequences..."

He paused, gazing into Lin Wantang's upturned eyes, which were shimmering and made one want to cherish her even more. His Adam's apple bobbed before he finally said, "Wait for me."

Lin Wantang felt a warmth in her heart and nodded and smiled, remembering the message: "Thank you, Governor. Don't be late, go quickly."

Wei Wujiu gave a slight "hmm," then withdrew his gaze and walked away with a flick of his sleeve.

Lin Wantang turned around to see them off. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but her mind was in turmoil. She had a feeling that... today was unlucky and something big was about to happen.

"Governor..."

Lost in thought, she blurted out a name. When she came to her senses, she saw Wei Wujiu, who was about to be helped into the sedan chair, turn around. Lin Wantang hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and hugged him tightly.

"Please be extra careful today, if necessary..."

Lin Wantang buried her face in his arms, smelling the familiar, cool scent of snow-covered agarwood, and felt a strange pain in her heart. Her voice became muffled: "Governor, remember to be wise and protect yourself. Never lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of small gains."

If Shen Huai'an anticipated her scheme and preemptively struck, disregarding today's palace banquet and directly revealing Lin Yasong's affair to the emperor, then Wei Wujiu would have to abandon her as quickly as possible in the face of utter disaster.

Lin Wantang didn't care whether the emperor revoked the marriage decree, insulted her, or even publicly asked her to withdraw it, thus ruining their good match, as long as Wei Wujiu wasn't implicated.

One should bear the consequences of one's own actions; her mother's affairs were originally none of his business.

She didn't say any of this, but with Wei Wujiu's intelligence, he would surely understand her meaning when the time came.

After Lin Wantang finished speaking, she bit her lip, using the pain to steady herself. She tried to pull her hand away, but Wei Wujiu's long arm tightened around her. She also heard him whisper something, and the moment she heard it clearly, she was stunned into silence—