Chapter 137 Little Schemes

As they were approaching the capital, Pan Yueqing stuck her head out of the carriage. Looking at Li Zhe, who was following behind the carriage, there was a smile in her eyes. "You still came."

Li Zhe raised his eyes and glanced at her indifferently. "It's an equal exchange."

Equal exchange? Pan Yueqing's gaze lingered for a moment. She couldn't remember what deal she had made with Li Zhe for a while. Li Zhe turned his head away and didn't say anything more. Pan Yueqing suppressed the emotions in her eyes. As long as Li Zhe was willing to go back with her, her grandmother could be saved. Moreover, she had managed to get Li Zhe to come back with her without using any threatening means.

She got back into the carriage. Pan Haiyun was still pretending to be asleep. "Are we almost there?"

"Almost," Pan Yueqing squinted her eyes and lazily yawned.

"After we get back, you can have a good sleep for a few days," Pan Haiyun looked at Pan Yueqing, who was dozing off unconsciously, and couldn't help but feel a pang of affection. During these days of the return journey, although the schedule was relatively relaxed, it was still not possible to completely relax at times. Even they, a group of men, felt tired, not to mention this strong-willed girl in front of him.

Looking at Pan Yueqing trying to stay awake and chatting and laughing, he couldn't help but imagine that if the child who had died back then had survived, he or she might be like Pan Yueqing, who was decisive and capable while dressed in men's clothing. He unconsciously reached out and gently stroked Pan Yueqing's hair bun, smiling faintly. "Regarding Miaoqian, I will make sure she stays by Grandma's side peacefully and doesn't go out casually on weekdays." Pan Yueqing raised her eyes, and the smile in her eyes disappeared completely in an instant. Looking at Pan Haiyun, she said indifferently, "Speaking of which, Grandma has always had a weak heart and lungs. Now that Doctor Li has accepted my invitation, your daughter wants to go and attend to Grandma's illness."

Pan Haiyun understood what Pan Yueqing meant and nodded slightly as an approval.

After arriving in the capital, Pan Haiyun went to the palace to report. Pan Yueqing first returned to the Pan residence. She had to pack her things. Both emotionally and rationally, she should also bid farewell to Grandma Pan. Although she had a rather unpleasant quarrel with Grandma Pan a month ago and didn't think that Grandma Pan would be willing to repair their relationship after a month, sometimes one had to do things in a way that wouldn't give others a chance to gossip.

It was Pan Lianshan who came to greet her. Standing beside the small gate, holding an umbrella, she watched as the carriage slowly stopped. She bowed slightly to Pan Yueqing, who got off the carriage, and said with a smile, "Second sister is back!"

Pan Yueqing nodded. Looking at Pan Lianshan's smiling face, she couldn't help but smile and nod. "Is everything at home okay?"

"It's still the same. Because His Majesty took back Eldest Brother-in-law's title, Eldest Sister has been made to follow the rules by the old lady over there and is very impatient. She wrote a letter asking Grandma to make the decision to bring her back to attend to Grandma's illness," Pan Lianshan couldn't help but pout when she said this.

Pan Yueqing patted her hand gently. "The management of the household affairs is still in Concubine Li's hands, right?"

Whether Pan Yingqian came back or not had nothing to do with her. Pan Yingqian had been married to Yao Zhen for many years but hadn't given birth to a child. The one in her belly had already had a miscarriage due to the shock caused by Yao Zhen's accident. She didn't think there was anything to worry about for a woman who couldn't gain a foothold in her husband's family after getting married. Now, what she needed to worry about was that Liu Shi and the others might use Pan Haiyun's reputation to force the Pingnan Bo residence to divorce.

After the battle in the northern border, presumably Pan Haiyun's status in the Emperor's heart would rise a bit.

Pan Lianshan said, "Concubine Li's pregnancy is getting heavier, and she probably won't be able to hold on to the management for too long."

Pan Yueqing looked at her Dongfeng Pavilion not far away indifferently. "As long as she doesn't have to follow those rules, the child will be safe. There are two pregnant women on both sides. Why can't she hold on to it?"

Pan Lianshan bit her lip. "Liu Shi probably wants Concubine Li to be in an unstable situation."

Pan Yueqing gave Pan Lianshan a deep look. "I'll go and see Concubine Li later." After saying that, she prepared to take a bath and change her clothes before going to visit Grandma Pan.

It was inexplicably quiet in the Ci'an Pavilion. Even the servants were cautious in their words and deeds. Pan Haiyun hadn't returned from his report to the Emperor in the palace. Pan Yueqing changed into a cyan long gown. The light yellow sheer outer garment had a pair of pink butterflies embroidered on the front. Her hair was simply arranged in a flowing cloud bun, and a jasper and jade hairpin was inserted. Dressed in a simple and elegant manner, she greeted Grandma Pan. "Paying my respects to Grandma."

Grandma Pan raised her eyes and glanced at Pan Yueqing without any expression. She just responded indifferently. Pan Yueqing then looked at Pan Yingqian, who was sitting beside Grandma Pan. "Greetings to Eldest Sister."

She directly skipped over Liu Yingwei, who was holding her big belly. Now she was just doing this to avoid giving others a chance to gossip. But when facing a concubine, she didn't even want to pretend to maintain a good relationship. Looking at Grandma Pan's indifferent attitude and the mixture of red and purple on Liu Yingwei's face, who had been ignored by her, she smiled faintly. "Grandma is ill, and Uncle asked me to attend to her illness. Father agreed and asked me to tell Grandma about it."

She said she was just informing, which showed that it wasn't a discussion.

Grandma Pan could tell that this was Pan Haiyun's intention. She responded indifferently again. Then she let out a strange "eh" sound. "Where is Concubine Li? It's the day to distribute the monthly allowance, and why hasn't the account book been sent yet?"

Liu Yingwei picked up the tea cup and looked at Pan Yueqing, who was sitting opposite her under the guidance of the person beside Grandma Pan. "After all, she has no experience. It's okay for her to serve tea and water on weekdays, but every time it comes to distributing the monthly allowance or changing clothes, she's in a panic." After saying that, she stirred the tea cup in front of her. "Then I'm afraid Grandma will have to worry more about it."

"I'm old and don't like to take care of these things," Grandma Pan said with a calm face. Just as she was speaking, a maid came forward to announce, "Concubine Li is here."

A figure was reflected outside the sheer curtain. Li Rou, dressed in a simple and elegant manner and with a big belly, entered the room.

Although she was pregnant, Li Rou, who had always abided by the rules, still wanted to kneel and greet everyone one by one. Seeing Grandma Pan sitting there steadily, Pan Yueqing stepped forward and held Li Rou's knee that was about to bend. "Concubine Li, be careful. You still have a child in your belly. As your pregnancy progresses, you should be exempted from those formalities that can be waived."

"I don't dare," Li Rou looked at Pan Yueqing in a daze, but there was a smile in her eyes.

Pan Yueqing didn't let go of her hand and slowly led her to her side. "Father has been thinking about Concubine Li on the way. But as a subject, he must prioritize the Emperor and then his family. Before entering the city, he also said that since Concubine Li is pregnant now, even for checking the accounts, those people should take a few more steps, and Concubine Li should take fewer steps!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of Grandma Pan, Liu Yingwei, and the others turned unpleasant. Pan Yueqing understood the meaning. Grandma Pan seemed to have the intention of taking back the power of managing the household from Li Rou today. But what she shouldn't have done was to treat Li Rou harshly in front of Pan Yueqing. Nowhere in the world was there a rule that required a pregnant woman with a heavy belly to greet others with proper etiquette?

Liu Yingwei's belly wasn't as prominent as Li Rou's, and she was still sitting comfortably on the chair!

With just one sentence, Pan Yueqing blocked all the possible excuses that Grandma Pan might come up with. If it was said that a woman with a heavy belly shouldn't be overworked, then why was she still asked to kneel and greet others? If it was said that it was inconvenient for her to move around to check the accounts, then those in charge of the accounts could just come to Li Rou, right?