The Prime Minister is Pregnant with Dragon's Seed - Chapter 21

As soon as Chu Huaiyin left, Meng Zhou’s shoulders suddenly slumped. He slapped the medicine pouch onto Jiang Xin’s chest and weakly said, “Hold this for me.”

Jiang Xin took it and sniffed it. “You’re going to take your medicine now? I’ll have Master Huang brew a dose for you.”

Master Huang used to be the army doctor who followed the troops. At once, Meng Zhou snatched the medicine back vigilantly, tore open a packet, and walked toward the kitchen. “No need to trouble Uncle Huang, I’ll do it myself.”

Jiang Xin was particularly enthusiastic. “Let your uncle help you, my good nephew.”

After brewing, Meng Zhou poured out the brownish-yellow decoction, pinched his nose, and drank it down. Jiang Xin offered two candied plums at just the right moment, but Meng Zhou shoved them back into his mouth. “I don’t need them.”

His tongue was numb, but his heart was even more bitter.

After finishing, Meng Zhou drained the dregs, threw them into the stove, and burned them to ashes along with dry wood.

Jiang Xin scratched the back of his head, feeling something was off about his nephew tonight. Drinking a bowl of medicine as if he were destroying evidence—it was like something out of those palace dramas, wasn’t it?

“The medicine smells too strong. Burning it to clear out the smell,” Meng Zhou patted his shoulder, trying to brainwash him.

“Really? How come I didn’t smell anything?”

“Your nose’s no good. Let Uncle Huang take a look when he’s free.”

“Oh, no wonder…” Jiang Xin nodded, completely convinced. If Meng Zhou said it wasn’t right, then it wasn’t. But if the medicine really tasted so bad, why wouldn’t he eat the candied plums… He chewed on them, puzzled. So sweet.

—

Ji Yang sent news back, he had led troops to encircle Chongling and discovered a large cache of weapons and laborers in seven excavated caves.

The villagers were rescued and returned home, which automatically dispelled the rumor of “the God of War conscripting soldiers.” The families of those conscripted were deeply grateful—now they acknowledged only one God of War: Chu Huaiyin.

Ji Yang had good luck. On the way there, he didn’t encounter any ghost troops. He tied up the ringleader, preparing to return to the capital, when wind rose in the mountains and thunder and rain clashed. Someone pretended to be a ghost and tried to rescue the traitor. Ji Yang, remembering Meng Zhou’s warning, held fast to one path and fought his way through. When the storm cleared, the fake ghosts were gone, becoming corpses littered the ground, truly becoming ghosts to meet the King of Hell.

Ji Yang brought several carts full of prisoners and stolen goods back to the capital. Righteously, he stationed half his troops there and conveniently took over the results of the cave labor.

On court, Chu Huaiyin brought up an old case, saying that five years ago, the military funds embezzled by the Wang family went missing. “Your son found it suspicious and took the liberty to investigate. Sure enough, I uncovered another batch of rebels for our Great Wei!”

Emperor Tianyuan’s health had rapidly declined lately, leaving him dizzy and dim-eyed. Only the word “rebellion” could jolt his attention.

“Who!”

Chu Huaiyin named him: “Liu Hongbao.”

Liu Hongbao’s fat body trembled, and he fell to his knees, banging his head. “Your Majesty! I have always been loyal to you, as heaven and earth can attest. Before my father passed away, he said he could never repay Your Majesty’s grace to our Liu family in this life, and hoped to serve you again in the next. I follow his last words, willing to shed bl00d for Your Majesty—how could I ever betray Your Majesty?”

Emperor Tianyuan didn’t believe it. Liu De was the minister he trusted most, even closer than even his own sons.

“Liu De was honest and simple. Thirteen years ago, when an assassin struck, he blocked the poisoned blade for me. His loyalty was clear. Later, I appointed him to oversee the Five-City Military Command. He declined several times, and any personnel change, he would come into the palace to discuss with me. Is there some misunderstanding in this?”

Liu De’s ability to play dumb was impressive—stammering, taciturn, walked to court on foot every day along the same few slabs of bluestone. One time it rained and one slab turned into a puddle. He stupidly stepped into the puddle without knowing how to go around. A colleague saw it and joked about it in court. Emperor Tianyuan not only did not despise him for being stupid, but trusted him even more.

To put it plainly, Emperor Tianyuan had long feared a coup from his sons. That’s why the Liu family always controlled the capital’s defenses. Liu De died, and his son inherited the post. To confront this truth was hard for him. He found it easier to suspect Chu Huaiyin of having ulterior motives—perhaps trying to seize control of the capital’s forces by framing the Liu family.

Chu Huaiyin summoned the main culprit from Chongling. The shackled prisoner’s face was filthy, but one could still see his resemblance to Liu De.

Undeniably of the same bloodline.

Before the old emperor could speak, the Second Prince’s face changed—he couldn’t stay calm. After the fall of the Wang family, the Liu family was his last card. Now that Chu Huaiyin presented clear evidence, he panicked. At the very least, he couldn’t let the Emperor doubt them today. This time Chu Huaiyin suddenly attacked him and caught him off guard. As long as he had a little more time, he would be sure to destroy the evidence and overturn the case.

“Father, Liu De served the country loyally. This must be a misunderstanding!” He turned, righteously rebuking Chu Huaiyin. “Five years ago, when the Crown Prince marched north, Commander Liu yielded the battlefield without hesitation. Now, with his bones barely cold, you accuse him in court—won’t that chill the hearts of all other ministers?”

Other ministers chimed in. The Second Prince and his faction were adept at framing Chu Huaiyin.

Chu Huaiyin sneered and gave him a sidelong glance. “Baseless?” He had brought witnesses. Only those playing blind couldn’t see them.

Right Prime Minister Yan Xiang stepped forward. “A large number of weapons flowed from Chongling Mountain into the capital. It’s a serious threat. I request that Your Majesty thoroughly investigate the capital and root out any hiding spots.”

The Emperor, imposing without getting angry, “This matter shall be handled by the Left Prime Minister. Meng Fushan, receive the decree.”

Meng Fushan, who had tried to avoid being drawn into conflict, stepped forward to accept the order—unaware his own father-in-law was one of the main culprits.

Now this would be entertaining.

Yan Xiang laughed inside, though he wore a regretful face of someone not trusted by the emperor.

The Second Prince exchanged a glance with Liu Hongbao, and the moment court adjourned, they left the palace in a hurry.

The main culprit, now brought forward, was limp all over. He had ruled over Chongling like a tyrant, but now surrounded by nobility in the golden hall, he seemed like nothing more than a frightened shrimp. As he wiped the sweat off his face, even his features seemed to subtly shift—less and less like Liu De.

In truth, he was Liu De’s younger brother, stationed in Chongling for over a decade. Even Liu Hongbao barely remembered what he looked like. Chu Huaiyin had had him made to look more like Liu De, just to provoke the Second Prince.

Finding a scapegoat for Chongling was easy. Whether training soldiers for the court or for private use, it was all a matter of how you spin it—depending on whom the Emperor believed.

But the moment the Second Prince panicked and defended Liu De, with the Emperor’s suspicious nature, the spearhead would be diverted from Chu Huaiyin and directed towards the Second Prince.

Prince Huai’s Manor.

Chu Huaiyin changed out of his court robes and said to Ji Yang, “Keep an eye on the capital. If there’s any movement, arrest them immediately.”

The Emperor, now pretending not to know, was eager to play peacemaker. He wants his two sons to obey him and beg him to appoint a crown prince.

Chu Huaiyin never expected the matter to be resolved through the emperor. With the Second Prince in panic, now was the time to root out all his bases in and around the capital and the surrounding areas one by one, leaving no trace of trouble behind.

“Where is Meng Zhou? Why hasn’t he made a sound lately?” Chu Huaiyin sipped tea. It had been days since he’d seen him.

Ji Yang replied, “Er, the Dali Temple has kept him busy…” The shadow guards assigned to Meng Zhou were only to protect his life in emergencies—not to spy on him. Meng Zhou didn’t take the initiative to approach, which was quite unusual for him.

“Send him a message. Tell him to stay indoors and keep away from trouble these days.”

Thinking of how sick Meng Zhou had been last time, he added, “Tell him to eat well. No—have someone bring food from the manor.”

Reduced to a food delivery boy, Ji Yang muttered: “…Yes.”

“Forget it, I’ll go myself,” said Chu Huaiyin, putting down his brush and standing up. He added to Ji Yang, “He doesn’t listen to you.”

That smug tone.

Ji Yang: “……” Whatever you say, Your Highness.

His teeth ached.

Just as he stepped outside, a dark figure dropped in front of him.

“Your Highness, this subordinate has failed. We lost track of Master Meng,” Ying Jiu got straight to the point. “Please punish me!”

“What? Lost him? With Meng Zhou’s level of skill, how did you…could it be that he run into some expert who kidnapped him—” Ji Yang offered a wildly irresponsible guess.

“Explain,” Chu Huaiyin’s chest tightened in an instant, it’s as if he was drowning. His mind leapt to the worst possibility—Meng Zhou had run into Liu Hongbao. Last time, Liu Hongbao had shown a clear predatory interest in Meng Zhou. Liu Hongbao was now busy transferring weapons, and Meng Zhou happened to like to get involved in the matter of Chongling Mountain. If they ran into each other, the consequences would be disastrous.

“Yes. Today, Master Meng entered a tailor shop. I followed your orders and kept my distance. But after a long time passed and he didn’t come out, I went in to look. The staff said they never saw him leave—as if he vanished into thin air.”

On the battlefield, even five thousand against fifty thousand, Chu Huaiyin dared to lead a breakout without waiting for reinforcements. But at this moment, he dared not take a single risk and only dared to use the safest method.

His voice dropped low as he gave the decisive order: “Shut the four gates. Search the entire city. Especially monitor Liu Hongbao and everyone around him.”

“Please reconsider, Your Highness,” Ji Yang urgently interjected. Now was the best moment to bring down the Second Prince’s faction. To stir things up now not only risked alerting the enemy—it would expose Chu Huaiyin’s trye power too early, pushing the emperor further toward the Second Prince. Moreover, there was no evidence that Meng Zhou had been harmed—this was too irrational.

Chu Huaiyin paused, a flash of ruthless resolve in his eyes. If he had already startled the snake, then he might as well catch it in the jar.

“Ji Yang, take the troops. Use the weapon investigation as a pretext and lock down the gates. Check everyone leaving the city. Ying Jiu, with me—we’re going to that tailor shop.”

—

Recently, Meng Zhou had been tossing and turning, unable to sleep, constantly anxious someone would discover his pregnancy. He couldn’t even focus on reviewing court documents.

After three days of indecision, he finally made up his mind to start preparing to flee.

Since Chu Huaiyin wouldn’t let him leave the capital, he’d have to find his own way.

He had hinted at this to his nanny. She loved him dearly and, without hesitation, offered to go with him along with Li Wenle, so there’d be a doctor on the road.

But Meng Zhou thought she was too old to travel far. And Li Wenle’s clinic had just found stability in the capital, and their lives were gradually settling down. How could he ask them to abandon everything to flee into some unknown mountain valley?

He chuckled and brushed it off. The old lady insisted too much—no point arguing. As long as they knew what was going on if he disappeared, that was enough.

He counted his remaining silver. Altogether, a thousand taels.

After Meng Huaihan took medicine herself, Her brother Meng Huai left the capital and returned to his former post, defying Zhou shi’s protests. No one knew the reason. The night before he left, he secretly gave Meng Zhou five hundred taels and a whispered “sorry.” Meng Zhou always saw him separately from the rest of the Meng family. He didn’t understand what that apology meant—maybe it was for his mother and sister.

He had to settle the old score with Jiang Yao and the original body’s grudge. But If he accepts Meng Huaidao’s money, things will get muddled. Meng Zhou refused it. He could tell the man was a little disappointed.

In his left hand, a silver ingot bearing the Huai Prince’s treasury mark—part of the seven thousand taels loaned from Chu Huaiyin.

In his right hand, a silver note—money earned from selling the ginseng Chu Huaiyin had given him.

It was all from Chu Huaiyin.

Like a debt-ridden sucker.

Meng Zhou puffed out his cheeks and tilted his head, feeling a little guilty.

After a moment, he slapped the table with resolve: Prince Huai should at least pay for the baby formula!

Author’s note: Meng kitten is running away with mountains of debt!