Is the Child Mine?

News of Eva's pregnancy seemed to grow wings, spreading throughout the palace in an instant. Naturally, it also reached the Crown Prince's Residence and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Crown Prince's Residence, secret chamber.

Qian Renxue sat upright behind her desk. What lay spread before her was not a memorial, but a letter that carried a faint, cool fragrance.

"Personally opened by Your Highness:

It has been over a month since we last met, and I have missed you madly. Yet recently, I have felt somewhat unusual. Only after the imperial physician took my pulse did I learn that I carry Your Highness's child, more than a month along. Recalling that wonderful night at Emerald Palace, Your Highness was so vigorous that this humble concubine could scarcely bear your affection. That this child was conceived is truly a gift from Heaven. Thinking that Your Highness's bloodline will continue fills my heart with joy, though I also know the gravity of this matter. Thus, I write to inform you. May Your Highness take care and quietly await good news.

Respectfully, Eva"

Child, Your Highness's bloodline, wonderful night.

Every word made Qian Renxue's vision go dark.

She abruptly clenched the letter before her, nearly crushing the thin sheet of paper.

"Impossible. This is absolutely impossible!" she snarled under her breath, her voice filled with unmistakable shock and fear.

She was a woman! Eva was a woman too!

Although her consciousness had been hazy that night, but... how could that soul bone possibly...?

Though Qian Renxue did not want to believe it, an icy voice in her mind refuted her thoughts.

What if?

That was an Angel Divine Outfit Soul Bone approaching one hundred thousand years in age! It was a divine gift!

It could flawlessly simulate a male appearance and body, even perfectly replicating one's aura and soul power fluctuations. Who could say for certain that it could not simulate complete male functions?

She abruptly rose to her feet and paced anxiously through the secret chamber, her golden hair becoming slightly disheveled with her movements.

No, she had to confirm it. She needed to know what had happened that night.

"Uncle Yu Long!"

From the shadows, Snake Spear Douluo Yu Long silently appeared and bowed respectfully.

"Young Mistress."

Qian Renxue drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her turbulent emotions. Her voice was as steady as she could make it, but her gaze was sharp as a blade as she stared fixedly at Yu Long.

"Uncle Yu Long, that night at Emerald Palace a month ago, while you were outside, did you hear or sense anything unusual?"

Yu Long's body stiffened for an instant. He raised his head and looked at Qian Renxue's pale, tense face, a trace of complexity and hesitation flashing through his eyes.

After several seconds of silence, he finally said in a low voice, "Young Mistress, I was indeed guarding outside the hall that night. There was quite a bit of commotion inside."

"Commotion?" Qian Renxue's heart sank to the bottom. "Explain clearly!"

"It was Eva's voice. At times she sounded coy and flirtatious, at times as though she were in pain, yet also as though she were experiencing bliss."

Yu Long carefully chose his words, and even his old face reddened somewhat. Clearly, recalling that scene caused him immense embarrassment as well.

"There was also the sound of the bed shaking and objects colliding. It continued for quite some time. This subordinate... this subordinate had only assumed that Young Mistress was deliberately putting on an act to deceive that enchantress. After all, Young Mistress is a woman. This subordinate never imagined that you... could actually... ah..."

Yu Long did not finish his words, but his meaning could not have been clearer.

He had heard those suggestive sounds and naturally assumed that Qian Renxue had been acting for the sake of her mission. In his understanding, Qian Renxue was a woman and could not truly have done anything substantial to another woman.

Boom!

Yu Long's words were like the final heavy hammer blow, ruthlessly smashing into Qian Renxue's already crumbling psychological defenses.

Even Uncle Yu Long, who had protected her closely and watched her grow up, had said so. He believed she had been acting. It seemed that the truth of that night had been completely confirmed.

Qian Renxue staggered back a step and barely managed to steady herself by bracing against the cold wall.

The world spun around her. An overwhelming sense of absurdity, shame, and indescribable panic completely swallowed her. She really had with Eva... and even...

"Is the child... my child?"

Qian Renxue's hand unconsciously moved to her flat lower abdomen, only to jerk back as though she had been burned.

Absurd! It was too absurd!

But if the divine soul bone truly possessed such heaven-defying abilities, and if Eva was truly pregnant, then the timing matched perfectly.

The Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire had an affair with the empire's favored consort and had even gotten her pregnant.

Once this secret was exposed, the plan she had painstakingly cultivated would collapse in an instant, and Martial Soul Hall's arrangements would be ruined beyond repair.

What would Bibi Dong think of her? What would Grandfather think of her?

But at the same time, if... if that child truly carried her bloodline...

A descendant flowing with the sacred blood of the Six-Winged Angel, Qian Renxue's child.

What should she do? Protect the child?

Acknowledge the child?

Qian Renxue even thought in confusion: was she the father, or the mother?

But if the child truly was hers, she certainly would not be like Bibi Dong.

"Young Mistress? Are you all right?"

Yu Long looked worriedly at Qian Renxue's distraught appearance, while turbulent waves rose in his heart as well.

With the Young Mistress reacting like this, could something beyond all reason truly have happened that night?

Could that divinely bestowed Angel Disguise Soul Bone really be that powerful?

Qian Renxue abruptly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, lingering fright remained in them, but she had forcibly suppressed most of her turmoil.

She could not panic! Absolutely not!

"This matter is top secret!" Qian Renxue ordered Yu Long in an unquestionable tone.

"Uncle Yu Long, everything you heard and sensed that night is to rot in your stomach. Do not mention a single word of it to anyone, including Grandfather and the Pope."

"This subordinate understands. I swear to defend Young Mistress's secret unto death." Yu Long dropped to one knee and made a solemn pledge.

"Also, keep a close watch on every development at Emerald Palace, especially anything concerning that child. Report to me immediately if anything unusual happens."

Qian Renxue walked to the window and looked out into the heavy night, her back appearing exceptionally lonely.

"Yes!"

Yu Long silently withdrew, and the secret chamber once again fell into dead silence.

Qian Renxue stood alone in the shadows. The fragrant letter in her hand seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

News of Eva's pregnancy had already spread through the palace like wildfire. Snow Night was overjoyed, and every faction would surely begin making moves.

Eva had made this move with extreme ruthlessness, completely forcing her to the edge of a cliff.

Was the child really hers?

She did not know. She truly did not know anymore.

Qian Renxue touched the side of her neck, where the phantom pain from the kiss marks seemed to linger.

To make Qian Renxue completely believe it in her heart, Eva had expended a tremendous amount of soul power that night to use dark magic.

And the effects of the dark magic were obvious. Qian Renxue could not make sense of the truth of that night at all.

After all, aside from the marks on her body, Eva had also tampered with Qian Renxue's memories and perceptions.

It caused Qian Renxue's judgment to waver as never before.

"Quietly await good news?"

Qian Renxue looked at those four words at the end of the letter, a cold and bitter curve rising at the corner of her lips.

Eva was forcing her, using this child to bind her tightly to herself.

"What good news indeed."

Qian Renxue murmured softly, golden light flickering in her eyes.

"Eva, whether this child is real or fake, I'll play this act through with you. But who will have the last laugh remains to be seen!"