Chapter 356 - Turning Angry (2)
No matter how you scrutinized it, that slight rise in her abdomen looked like a pregnancy bump.
The moment she realized this, Ji Fengyan immediately turned toward Lei Min and the Eldest Princess.
As expected, Su Lingsheng’s appearance had caused their faces to change into an abrupt shade of ghastly white.
Especially Lei Min, his earlier composed facade, was already showing signs of a crack. His eyes held a mixture of shock, anxiety and… much more complex emotions.
“Lord Grand Tutor wanted me to hand this person over to Your Majesty.” Still looking straight ahead with a solemn expression, the dark guard pointed at the fallen Su Lingsheng.
Su Lingsheng turned her pale face and an imploring gaze toward the Eldest Princess and Lei Min.
Eldest Princess’ shock was comparable to that of Lei Min’s.
It should be pointed out that half a month ago, she had already arranged for Su Lingsheng to be transported out of the capital. But… how had Su Lingsheng come to be here right now?
Not privy to the internal ongoings, the Emperor only felt that the lady on the floor looked somewhat familiar. “Who is this lady?”
The dark guard replied, “She is Su Lingsheng, a female official serving the Eldest Princess.”
Stunned, the Emperor couldn’t believe that the person they were just speaking of could have appeared like that before them. The Emperor was no fool. He had seen Su Lingsheng’s subconscious protection of her slight bump and could already guess just what was happening.
In that second, the Emperor’s gaze swept toward the Eldest Princess.
“She is Su Lingsheng?”
The Eldest Princess gritted her teeth. The dark guard represented the Grand Tutor and since he had personally delivered her here; the Grand Tutor must already know of this. There was no way she could deny this.
“Yes…” Eldest Princess answered faintly.
Observing Eldest Princess’ reaction, the Emperor more or less affirmed his own suspicions.
“You, get up and speak.” The Emperor’s smile had faded and he looked sternly at Su Lingsheng.
Trembling, Su Lingsheng stood up, her heart already feeling weak.
“Are you pregnant?” The Emperor glanced at Su Lingsheng’s abdomen.
Su Lingsheng shivered and stole an anxious glance at the Eldest Princess. Nevertheless, she could only nod her head in all honesty.
“Who is the father of the child you are carrying?” The Emperor’s tone had hardened. The entire situation had undergone a shift now that the Grand Tutor had personally intervened. The Emperor could no longer just gloss over the matter even if he wanted to.
Su Lingsheng dared not speak another word. Standing rigidly in the grand hall, her face had gone totally pale. Even a fool would clearly realize her predicament. The Grand Tutor had purposely interfered with Ji Fengyan’s marriage matters, while the Eldest Princess’s devious plan was about to go bust.
There were some things that Su Lingsheng could never reveal even under the threat of death. Not only would Lei Min be executed, it would embarrass the Emperor who had tried to whitewash this entire matter.
Currently, everything pointed to disaster for her and the child she carried.
Su Lingsheng continued to keep her mouth shut in fear. The atmosphere in the hall had taken a strange twist. Lei Min’s hands were tightly clenched, afraid that Su Lingsheng might end up blabbering.
They had thought they could leverage upon the Emperor to force Ji Fengyan into submission. Who could have expected that the Grand Tutor would swoop in like that!
Lei Min was in a complete panic.
The Emperor did not care at all if Ji Fengyan married a good man. As such, the Eldest Princess had wanted to make use of his position to force Ji Fengyan.