Billionaire's Long Journey of Chasing His Love-Chapter 722 - 608: You Want Me to Put a Green Hat on My Husband (Second Update)
"That scoundrel Xiang Zuo made a grave mistake and got caught by Yi Luowa!" Xiao Meng didn’t hide anything and recounted the entire incident to Queen Haotian.
Queen Haotian felt as if something was lodged in her throat, rendering her speechless.
Yuan Sha sighed and leaned forward to look at her. "Zhi Lan, what Xiang Zuo did was indeed over the line. It’s right to arrest him, but could you spare his life for the sake of our years as classmates?"
Joel shot Yuan Sha a look. "Don’t put Zhi Lan in a tough spot. Profiteering during a national crisis has been a capital offense since the founding of the empire..."
Yuan Sha frowned and said, "But didn’t you investigate and find out? That batch of goods was procured from Beidi, wasn’t it? If it turns out the Beidi people tampered with it and Xiang Zuo was unaware, that would absolve him of guilt, wouldn’t it?"
"Even if the Beidi people deceived him, his failure to conduct inspections before putting the goods on the market makes him gravely negligent!" Joel said as he stood up again. "I shouldn’t have let you all come today. You’re bombarding Zhi Lan with one piece of shocking news after another. Have you all forgotten that she’s still a patient? Get out of here with me immediately!"
Queen Haotian lifted her gaze to look at him. "You don’t need to blame them. I can still manage. As for this matter, since Luowa doesn’t want to tell me, I won’t interfere. I trust her to get to the bottom of it."
"Mom, there’s already a lead." Tong Airui walked in holding a stack of documents.
"Are you saying there’s progress on Xiang Zuo’s case?" Queen Haotian’s heart instantly started pounding.
Tong Airui placed the documents in front of his mother-in-law. "These are materials sent over from Beidi. The medical gauze produced there is all sterilized with a high-cost disinfectant called HO. Beidi is the only place that uses it. The main reason they use such an expensive disinfectant is to prevent blame-shifting in case of medical incidents."
Queen Haotian asked nervously, "And then? Was that batch of gauze found with traces of this disinfectant?"
Tong Airui shook his head, "No, which means Xiang Zuo is lying."
Having said this, Tong Airui glanced at Joel and the others. These words weren’t meant to be said in front of them, but he had already figured them out. They were putting on this whole act before his mother-in-law to save Xiang Zuo, so he decided to cut off that path first.
Queen Haotian pressed her hand against her chest. "Airui, I feel a tightness in my chest. Help me inside."
Tong Airui paused for a moment, and so did the three others.
Seeing the signal from his mother-in-law, Tong Airui immediately came over to support her. "Everyone, please excuse us."
That was his subtle way of asking them to leave. Knowing their place, the three said their goodbyes to Queen Haotian and swiftly departed the palace.
As soon as they left, Yi Luowa emerged, supporting her father. Queen Haotian brushed off Tong Airui’s hand with a laugh when she saw how frightened the father-daughter duo looked.
"You two don’t need to be scared; I’m fine. I just didn’t want to keep talking to those three."
"Those characters—ban them from the palace from now on!" Emperor Haotian held his wife’s hand tightly. "Whatever they said, treat it as if you didn’t hear it. And as for Xiang Zuo’s matter, don’t get involved. Leave it to Airui and Luowa to handle, so that you won’t have to be ruthless yourself."
Queen Haotian shook her head helplessly. "As the Queen of Haotian, even if it’s difficult, I have to act when encountering matters like this. But after two or three decades of friendship, I really don’t want to fall out with them. All these years, apart from you and the children, they’re all I’ve got."
Yi Luowa glanced at her mother. This was exactly what she feared.
Seeing her daughter looking at her, Queen Haotian smiled warmly. "Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m not someone who loses her judgment. If this matter isn’t handled properly, it will leave the citizens disappointed."
Tong Airui furrowed his brow slightly. "It doesn’t matter who’s behind this. If we follow their script, their triple-layered scheme will succeed."
Yi Luowa contemplated for a moment. "One, it would alienate the citizens. Two, it would sabotage our collaboration with Beidi. The third goal—probably to turn us mother and daughter against each other?"
Queen Haotian nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Any one of these three objectives succeeding would spell trouble for us. You heard what Xiao Meng said earlier—someone is already stirring rumors about this situation in private. Their aim is to force you out."
Yi Luowa smiled and linked her arm with her mother’s. "I’m going to leave eventually, no matter what. They don’t have to try to force me out. Haotian belongs to Danton."
Queen Haotian’s gaze darkened ever so slightly. "Since it’s just the four of us here today, let’s be frank. Danton’s chance of returning is practically zero. You’ve seen the will your father left behind. In the future..."
Tong Airui suddenly slapped his head. "Oh, look at me! I completely forgot something important!"
Yi Luowa stifled a laugh and glanced at him. In order to stop her mother from completing her thought, his over-the-top act was almost comical!
"What is it?" Yi Luowa asked, playing along.
"Chou Chou and Jiayue are here. I left them waiting. Darling, they specifically asked for you. Get yourself ready; we need to go see them."
"Chou Chou? Who’s Chou Chou?" Queen Haotian asked suspiciously.
Yi Luowa laughed. "Mom, Chou Chou refers to Jimo Cong, Shanshan’s older brother. Jiayue is Shanshan’s cousin—Wen Jiayue. They’re here to assess the commercial circles in Sanyuan Dao. I mentioned this to you and Dad before."
"Oh, I remember now..." Queen Haotian furrowed her brow slightly. "Luowa, I know you have your reasons for handling things the way you do, but for something beneficial, why not prioritize Zhuoyuan and PCW first?"
"Mom, the commercial circle in Sanyuan Dao isn’t something Zhuoyuan and PCW alone could take over."
"How big is it?!" Emperor Haotian asked in astonishment, looking at his daughter.
"The largest commercial circle on the Fang Yao Continent! This was mentioned to me by Ainuo and my third brother. If we’re going to do it, we’ll do it big. We’re not short on business partners."
Queen Haotian nodded at her daughter. "Go ahead, don’t let them wait."
Yi Luowa smiled, nodded, and changed into a new outfit before leaving with Tong Airui.
"You really spun that tale, didn’t you?" Yi Luowa said with a laugh as soon as they got into the car.
"I wasn’t making it up; they’re really here. Uncle Pu and Ainuo will also be arriving this afternoon."
"Then we’d better hurry."
"No rush. Business discussions are this afternoon. First, I’m taking you to the hospital for a checkup. Someone else can keep Chou Chou company for now."
"He’s a grown man. Stop calling him Chou Chou all the time." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
"I’m his uncle. I’ll call him whatever I like."
Yi Luowa shrugged. "Fine, call him whatever you want! Oh, by the way, can we postpone the hospital visit for a few days?"
"No!" Tong Airui gave her a sharp look.
Yi Luowa pouted. "You’re really bold, cutting Mom off so abruptly. I’d never dare to do that to her."
"I only did it for everyone’s sake. Why bring up Danton again, followed by the will? Such ominous topics."
Yi Luowa massaged her temples. "Honestly, that will feels like a ticking time bomb in my heart. Honey, in the future... Ah, forget it. Let’s not talk about this."
"Alright, we won’t talk about it." Tong Airui smiled and pulled her into his embrace.
When they arrived at the hospital, the two made their way with practiced ease to the director’s office. Tong Airui laid out his concerns, and the director promptly stood up and personally led them to the examination room.
"Let’s start with a blood test. When dizziness occurs, the first thing we consider is blood viscosity."
"Add a pregnancy test." The director reminded them.
"What?!" Yi Luowa laughed. "You can skip that one. We haven’t been together in over two months. If I’m pregnant, that means I’ve been unfaithful to my husband."
The doctor conducting the examination smiled and asked, "Princess, one thing I forgot to ask earlier—have your periods been regular the past few months?"
Yi Luowa smiled back. "So it seems you really intend to suggest I might’ve been unfaithful."
Tong Airui wrapped an arm around her waist and said quietly, "This is a serious question. Don’t joke with the doctor."
Yi Luowa pouted. "After I came here, I think I had it once, but it was very light and ended in less than a day. That was when I was the most stressed, so it must’ve been hormonal imbalance."
Tong Airui’s heart skipped a beat. "Honey, why do I feel like history might be repeating itself?"
"Your senses are always wrong!" Yi Luowa laughed and playfully elbowed his waist.
The director chuckled. "Princess, let’s check for this first. If you are pregnant, we’ll need to adjust the following tests."
"Adjust how?" Yi Luowa asked, puzzled.
"If you’re pregnant, certain procedures with radiation can’t be performed."
Tong Airui nodded. "We’ll follow the doctor’s advice."
The nurse came to take Yi Luowa’s blood, and Tong Airui accompanied his wife back to the director’s office to wait.
Yi Luowa pouted and said, "Honey, I can guarantee with one hundred percent certainty—I’m not pregnant!"
