Bai Mengxiang looked up, his eyelash fluttering slowly, and with his gentle smile, he stared towards Xu Yongheng.

Xu Yongheng was dressed in his royal, yellow robes, on his head, a beautiful crown filled with jade and gold pieces was worn.

"Yongheng, are you already done?" Bai Mengxiang asked, his voice soft.

Xu Yongheng couldn't help but chuckle, moving towards Bai Mengxiang and holding his hand in his own. He breathed out, and with one hand, tucked a strand of Bai Mengxiang's hair to the side.

"I have just gotten ready. Are you ready to go yet?" Xu Yongheng answered before swiftly asking the same question to Bai Mengxiang. 

"I am," Bai Mengxiang replied, feeling himself getting pulled with one hand gently to a warm embrace.

"You look beautiful, even more beautiful than you usually are. Even then, you are still the most beautiful person in the world." 

With those words, a tint of pink appeared on Bai Mengxiang's cheek. 

"You're teasing me again," Bai Mengxiang spoke out.

"How can I? I am merely telling the truth." Xu Yongheng said those words without any sense of shame. Instead, he had a proud grin on.

"I didn't know that the Emperor could be such a man," Bai Mengxiang brightly smiled, his eyes showing happiness.

"Only for you will I become such a man," Xu Yongheng leaned down and kissed Bai Mengxiang's cheek.

"Stop it now, we still have to go to the Royal Banquet." Bai Mengxiang said as Xu Yongheng pulled away from him.

"Well, then let's go," Xu Yongheng held Bai Mengxiang's hand as they walked out of the door.

Bai Mengxiang took slow steps, one hand was held by Xu Yongheng, and the other hand rested on his stomach. He took in a deep breath filled with the smell of fresh flowers. He could feel the stares he was given as they walked out of his palace, but Xu Yongheng merely told him not to worry.

They stopped as they were in front of the huge doors that would lead to the banquet being held. The eunuch announced their arrival.

"The Emperor and Imperial Noble Consort has arrive."

As Bai Mengxiang walked inside, he heard the chattering in the room quiet down. He felt more eyes stare at him, or more specifically, his stomach. The same procedure went on. The people bowed towards him and Xu Yongheng as they walked towards the throne.

Just as Bai Mengxiang was going to walk towards his seat, Xu Yongheng pulled him as they walked the steps up towards the throne.

"Long live Her Majesties, the Empress Dowager and Empress, may you live for ten thousand years." Just as Bai Mengxiang was about to bow, he was jerked back up. His head turned to looked towards Xu Yongheng.

"Mengxiang, my child," The Empress Dowager exclaimed, eyes wide as she stared at Bai Mengxiang's stomach.

"Congratulations, Imperial Noble Consort Bai." Mei Lin spoke up from her seat. She truly didn't care about who in the harem got pregnant. Her only job was to control the harem and make sure everything stays peaceful.

But someone else wasn't feeling like that, make that two people. Ye Zhuang and Shilian cursed under their breaths, eyes with hatred as they stared at Bai Mengxiang. They were already trying to think of a way to get rid of him.

"How long has it been?" The Empress Dowager asked, pulling Bai Mengxiang towards her to sit on a chair by her side.

Instead of Bai Mengxiang, Xu Yongheng spoke instead.

"Close to five months."

"So long? How come you didn't tell your mother about this?" The Empress Dowager asked, her eyes playfully glaring at Xu Yongheng.

Xu Yongheng took a sip of wine, replying. "We wanted to have the situation stabilized first. Mengxiang has a weak body so we didn't plan on telling until we knew for sure that everything was alright."

Bai Mengxiang almost wanted to smack that man. His body was not weak. Even though he was pregnant, he could probably still beat the heck out of Shilian. 

Ahhhh, speaking about Shilian. What was with the way he dressed today?

His clothes were all over the place, bright, way too bright and he was decorated with jewelry the same way a Christmas tree was decorated with decorations. Was he trying to show off in front of Yu Zhuang?

"Well, those little things don't matter. It is great to know that you will be giving me a grandchild soon." The Empress Dowager said, joy was lit in her eyes.

"Son, go on ahead. Announce Mengxiang's pregnancy, you have already held off for so long. The nation will be glad for this news. This child will be a treasure not just for us, but for the whole nation." The Empress Dowager told Xu Yongheng.

Xu Yongheng took a long look at Bai Mengxiang. Seeing that the expression on his face didn't change, Xu Yongheng took a small breath and began to speak.

"Though most of you must know by now, We will still say these words. The Imperial Noble Consort, Bai Mengxiang is currently pregnant. This will be a warning to everyone who tries to harm Our child. It is best to not even think about harming Imperial Noble Consort Bai Mengxiang or Our child. If you do, We will get to the bottom of this and exterminate nine generations of your family." Xu Yongheng spoke with power. His aura of murderous intent slipped out as he said his warnings. 

After all, who knew how many people in the harem had been killed, or have lost their child? The palace was the most unfortunate place a child could grow up in, they lived with numerous plots of death and traps laid out for them. In the palace, only the strong would survive.

Bai Mengxiang stood by Xu Yongheng's side, his back straight as he looked at all the people who were here. He emitted an aura equal to that of Xu Yongheng's, creating the image of a perfect pair.

With the announcement, there were many who were in joy, but there were also those who weren't. 

Shilian clenched the handkerchief in his hand, hiding the scowl on his face. In his past life, he never knew about the things that would happen right now because he was killed already. He never knew that Bai Mengxiang got pregnant after his death, and he didn't even know about Yu Zhuang. But as he stared at Bai Mengxiang, standing next to Xu Yongheng with his pregnant stomach, Shilian was filled with rage. He felt like that should be him and not that unruly man.

On the other side, Yu Zhuang was not feeling too well either. Although he had a smile on his face, his eyes were filled with hatred as he looked at the man that was beside his beloved. Pregnant, huh? That's okay, Yu Zhuang could get rid of both of them after he marries Xu Yongheng. After all, he was the prince, his position should be higher. It wouldn't even be wrong if the title of empress was snatched and given to him.

As Bai Mengxiang stared into the crowd, three figures got his attention. They were the original Bai Mengxiang's family, now his family. He smiled towards them, but didn't make a move to go up to them until later.

Xu Yongheng, noticing that Bai Mengxiang was staring at his family, asked, "Do you want to go visit them for a bit?"

Bai Mengxiang snapped out of his daze and looked at Xu Yongheng. "It will be alright, today's banquet is not about me after all. The two princes must be awaiting your announcement."

Hearing that, Xu Yongheng's pleased mood dimmed down a bit but he didn't show it on his face as he nodded in return.

"Go sit by Imperial Mother, I'm sure that she wants to talk to you as of now." Xu Yongheng guided Bai Mengxiang to the seat that had been put next to the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager saw Bai Mengxiang walking towards her, and immediately, she had a big, bright smile on. She didn't even care about her own son, instead, focused on Bai Mengxiang.

"Don't think that I have forgiven you just yet, how could you lie to your own mother and not tell her anything?" Empress Dowager directed this sentence towards Xu Yongheng, while looking at Bai Mengxiang with gentle eyes. 

"At that time, it wasn't safe yet, Mother. Mengxiang wanted to tell you, but I didn't let him. After all, I still need to get rid of a few things first," As Xu Yongheng said this, he helped Bai Mengxiang sit onto the chair.

Bai Mengxiang had a bright smile as he watched the pair, because of that, the Empress Dowager could easily see how happy he was.

"Mengxiang-ah, you truly are my favorite. Even my own son might not compare to you," The Empress Dowager said, her eyes glaring at Xu Yongheng.

Xu Yongheng only pretended he didn't hear that as he took care of Bai Mengxiang's need.

"Are you comfortable? Do you want tea or would you prefer juice? What kind of sweets do you want? I'll make sure to tell the kitchen to prepare anything you crave," Xu Yongheng acted exactly like a worried fool as he asked question at the speed of light, stunning even the Empress Dowager.

"Son, I think you're too worried. I'm sure that if Mengxiang needs anything, he can tell me and I'll make sure to prepare it for him. After all, you have duties to attend to," The Empress Dowager suddenly said, her eyes staring straight into Xu Yongheng's. Surrounding them was an air that felt like they were battling against each other.

"Is that so, Mother? But this is something I must do as his husband." Xu Yongheng countered back, his eyes glinting as flames seemed to appear within them.

"But I know more about pregnancy than you do, additionally, I am his mother too. Unlike you who rules over the court, I take control in the harem." The Empress Dowager replied, shaking her head as if Xu Yongheng had made a huge mistake.

The sound of a crystal clear laugh broke their intense contest as they turned to Bai Mengxiang.

Seeing how happy he was, they both smiled, though it barely showed.

[Male lead's love percentage is at 92%, please continue working hard, Host]

Within Bai Mengxiang's eyes, an emotion appeared within them, disappearing before anyone could tell.

This was too easy for him. 

He was definitely going to stir up trouble soon.