Lu Liangwei’s words had just left her mouth when she felt the boy turn his cold stare to her.
Lu Liangwei could sense his indignance clearly.
She looked away a little sheepishly.
Chu Qi was only fifteen this year, after all.
After hesitating briefly, she met his eyes and said with a grin, “You’re already fifteen this year, Lil Qi. If there’s a girl you fancy, let me know and I’ll get you two engaged.”
She was being completely sincere.
Chu Qi parted his lips slightly to speak, but at that moment, his gaze landed on her huge belly. After staring at it for a while, he suddenly said, “I don’t have a girl I fancy right now, but when I eventually do, I hope you can remember what you said today and fulfill your promise, Your Highness.”
Lu Liangwei was taken aback.
It was actually very rude and insolent of him to stare at her stomach so brazenly.
However, when the person in question was Chu Qi, such behavior no longer seemed uncharacteristically outrageous.
Lu Liangwei could not even bring herself to be angry.
That was because the boy’s eyes were crystal clear and devoid of any trace of irreverence.
Still, for some reason, to hear him say something like that while looking at her stomach made Lu Liangwei feel that she might regret her promise one day.
Just when she was about to speak, the boy had already turned on his heel and left.
Her mouth opened, then closed again as she eventually swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.
Naturally, Lin Qingyuan had also heard what Chu Qi said, and she suddenly whipped her head around to stare at Lu Liangwei’s stomach. “You’d better hope that you give birth to a son.”
At her words, Lu Liangwei, who already had a sense of foreboding, felt a chill run down her spine. She replied a little weakly, “You think too much. Even if I give birth to a daughter, Chu Qi’s already fifteen. The age gap’s just too big…”
Lin Qingyuan was used to speaking her mind around her, so when she heard this, she scoffed. “His Majesty and you are exactly fifteen years apart.”
Lu Liangwei, “…”
The Dowager Duchess poked Lin Qingyuan’s head and chided her good-naturedly, “Always the prattler. You’re already sixteen this year, aren’t you? That’s old enough to get married, and if you keep putting it off, you’re going to become an old maid.”
Lin Qingyuan hurriedly clung to her arm fawningly. “You’re right, you’re right. Please help me look for suitable candidates, Madam. If you find someone decent, I’ll marry him right away.”
Everyone there was familiar with each other, so there was no taboo when it came to joking.
The Dowager Duchess, having spent her youth storming the battlefield, was a woman of gallantness. Therefore, she was not at all taken aback by Lin Qingyuan’s shameless statement—in fact, she found it very much agreeable. “Certainly. After I return, I’ll help you select a few promising young men. I’m sure one of them will catch your eye.”
“Then I’ll leave my marriage entirely in your hands, Madam.” Lin Qingyuan grinned.
Ling Lihua sat beside Lu Liangwei and checked her pulse as usual.
Lu Liangwei was actually in fine health, and thanks to her knowledge of medicine, she could take good care of herself and save herself from all the minor aches and ailments that other pregnant women had to suffer.
Naturally, Ling Lihua was aware of her excellent physical condition too, but she still could not help herself from examining her daughter every time they met.
“How’s your diet recently? Did you feel any sort of discomfort?” Despite having confirmed through the pulse diagnosis that she was perfectly fine, Ling Lihua still asked for good measure.
“I’m fine, but I’ve been getting occasional cramps for the past few nights,” Lu Liangwei answered honestly.
Ling Lihua nodded. “Occasional cramps are normal, but you should still try to avoid cold foods.” Weiwei’s condition could be considered mild—some pregnant women regularly get severe cramps that would disrupt their sleep at night.
“All right,” Lu Liangwei replied meekly.
Not long after, Long Yang and Lu Hetian came in together.
Just now, they had been in the imperial study discussing several matters related to the frontier, which ended up taking quite some time.