"Little Er? Little Ears." Sang Luo chuckled.
"… … Either is fine."
"Let's just call you Little Er."
"Okay."
"Tonight, have the kitchen make me a bowl of ginseng soup to replenish my energy. It's been a while since I had some," Sang Luo said, smacking her lips, and took out a sugar cane-like spirit fruit, focusing intently on gnawing it.
She wanted to find a place to spit out the chewed dregs.
The young man took a jade plate and received it, his eyes sweeping over her belly, nodding in response before leaving.
When it was time to eat, Little Er and several servants brought the food.
The imperial kitchen had prepared excellent dishes tonight, all of which she loved to eat.
Fei Yuan disliked her being a picky eater and would mix various ingredients for her to eat. Usually, the imperial kitchen would always make a few dishes that she didn't particularly enjoy.
Sang Luo was very satisfied with this meal, touching her belly, which had become quite round.
The servants in the palace were already accustomed to her appetite during pregnancy, and after neatly cleaning the table, they withdrew.
Little Er didn't leave, pouring a cup of tea and handing it to her.
He looked at her belly again, his eyes flickering, "Are you pregnant?"
Sang Luo hummed in acknowledgment, touching her belly. It wasn't very noticeable with clothes on. She was just full, so her belly had slightly arched into a rounded curve.
"When did you get pregnant?" he asked again.
His tone was a little strange. Sang Luo was taken aback, casually replying, "It's been a while, over a year, I think. I don't remember exactly how many months."
Everyone knew she was pregnant; it wasn't a big deal.
Little Er didn't say anything else, took the cup she had finished drinking from, and bowed before leaving.
Not long after, the pharmacy sent over the tonic for the night. Sang Luo drank it and felt sleepy.
When she woke up, it was completely dark.
She hadn't bathed yet. She could easily use a water-based cleansing technique for convenience, but her body felt a little sore. Every time she was pregnant, she would always experience some back pain and weakness. The longer the pregnancy, the more obvious the symptoms would be. Soaking in warm water for half an hour would help a lot.
She casually summoned two servants to heat the water in the bathhouse.
It happened to be Little Er who came to serve.
Sang Luo asked, "Is Granny Fang not here tonight?"
Normally, the work in the palace that required strength was left to the male servants, but Sang Luo wasn't used to having male servants close to her for personal care. Fei Yuan also allowed the few old female servants left in the palace to serve her. However, those old women were too talkative and had some ulterior motives. After being kept in the palace for a few months, Sang Luo only kept Granny Fang, who was dutiful, and gave the other old women some crystals to send them away.
"Granny Fang hasn't been feeling well recently, so she asked me to come and help," the young man said, lowering his head.
Sang Luo nodded, not thinking much of it. Granny Fang was indeed very old, and her legs were a bit weak. She had been planning to give her some travel money to go home and retire after a while.
"Then go and prepare. Make the water a little hotter, but not too hot. Add some jasmine petals to relieve fatigue…"
The newcomer was quick and diligent, but the details were not as good as the palace veterans, so she said a few more words.
Little Er carefully noted everything down and went to prepare.
Sang Luo went to the bathhouse later, sticking her foot in to test the water temperature. Not too hot, not too cold, just right.
"Esteemed Consort, allow me to help you undress," he stepped forward, taking the outer robe she had taken off.
Sang Luo paused, his hand on her waist, not expecting him to still be here, "Uh, no need, I can do it myself, you can leave!"
"I'll be guarding outside. If the Esteemed Consort needs anything, you can call me at any time."
"Okay."
Little Er withdrew.
Sang Luo took off her clothes and stepped into the pool.
The bath was so comfortable that she almost fell asleep. Afterward, she wanted to go to the dungeon to see Le Xia. After drying herself, she changed into a white silk robe.
She just opened the door.
Little Er, who was sitting on the steps, stood up and looked over.
The young man's eyes paused slightly.
The woman had just finished bathing, wearing a white robe, her slightly damp black hair scattered behind her, her pretty and delicate face flushed with a bit of redness from the heat, a small patch of fair and delicate skin exposed at her chest, dazzling to the extreme.
A faint sweet scent emanated from her body.
Enough to make any male beast unable to suppress their instinctive desires…
His eyes darkened slightly, and he took a robe and draped it over her, covering the exposed skin,
"The night is deep and the dew is heavy, be careful not to catch a cold."
"Thank you." This little male slave is quite thoughtful.
Coming out to enjoy the night breeze right after a bath is a bit chilly. Sang Luo wrapped the loose robe tighter around herself.
This outer robe is very wide and long, obviously a grown man's robe. Is it Little Er's clothes?
Seeing that the young man was rather thin, the robe wouldn't fit him well. Probably he didn't have money to buy proper clothes in the shop… She lowered her head and sniffed closer, seemingly catching a faint fragrance, somewhat familiar, giving people a sense of security…
Unfortunately, before she could clearly identify it, the faint scent was blown away by the night wind.
When the young man withdrew his hand, he touched her long hair that was being blown by the wind, his fingers slowly dropping to his side and lightly rubbing together, the lingering fragrance still surrounding him.
Seeing that she wasn't walking back to the palace,
"Where are you going? I'll accompany you."
"To the dungeon. It's a bit far from here. If you're not in a hurry to go back and rest, then accompany me on a trip."
"Okay, the work in the palace is very easy, I'm not tired."
Little Er accompanied Sang Luo to the dungeon.
Le Xia was gone.
What remained in the dungeon was a counterfeit.
Someone had swapped her out.
Sang Luo used her mental power to search the entire dungeon and found a trace of demonic energy remaining.
Fei Yuan and Si Ye had just left, and these people couldn't restrain themselves!
"What is the Esteemed Consort worried about?" Little Er asked.
"It's nothing, just be careful recently. Tomorrow, help me notify the palace's Imperial Guards to strengthen security. It's possible that demons have infiltrated the palace. Also, the food sent to the palace recently must be watched closely, and someone should taste it in advance…" Sang Luo sighed, touching her belly, "This pregnancy must not have any more accidents."
Seeing her wary and frightened appearance, the young man pursed his lips and said softly, "Are you being threatened?"
"Yes, it's not the first time, so I must be more careful. This group of demons is the most cunning and despicable. Last time, I fell for their scheme and almost lost my life."
Sang Luo turned around and went to the adjacent prison cell.
She didn't see the chilling coldness that flashed in the young man's eyes behind her.
Sang Luo searched the prison cells and the nearby palaces, but didn't find any other clues. The demons didn't dare to stay in Phoenix Palace for long, and ran away after taking the person.
Once bitten, twice shy. She originally wanted to go out of the palace to search, but her head started to feel dizzy and a sense of drowsiness rose in her body. The young man behind her stepped forward and hugged her, whispering in her ear, "Esteemed Consort is sleepy, I'll take you back to the palace to rest."
Being carried back to the palace by a strange male servant seemed a bit inappropriate. Sang Luo struggled slightly, originally wanting him to put her down, but ultimately couldn't resist the wave of drowsiness and fell asleep in his arms.
The young man looked down at her, teleported back to the palace, and put her on the bed.
Update 1
