Zhao Yun was caught off guard by Liu Mei's sudden push, and her body instantly lost its balance, staggering forward.

"ah--"

Her screams were drowned out by the chaos at the scene.

Li Zan, still enraged, threw a punch that struck the man who had suddenly appeared between him and Li Huai'an squarely in the abdomen.

At that moment, time seemed to stand still.

All sounds ceased abruptly, leaving only Zhao Rou's painful groans echoing in the air.

Li Huai'an and Li Zan froze simultaneously, staring at the scene in disbelief, their eyes filled with shock and regret.

"Rou'er!" Li Huai'an almost roared as he rushed towards Zhao Rou and hugged her tightly in his arms.

Blood slowly seeped from beneath Zhao Rou, staining her clothes red.

The maids and servants were so frightened they didn't know what to do.

"Quick, call a doctor!"

Zhao Yun was the first to react. She screamed as she watched the blood seeping from under Zhao Rou, her face turning deathly pale with fright.

She didn't know that Zhao Rou was already pregnant.

She never expected that Zhao Rou would shield her from a fatal blow with her own body at the crucial moment. Instantly, tears streamed down her face like beads.

Upon seeing this, Liu Mei's expression changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure.

She hadn't expected that her clever scheme would backfire, causing Aunt Zhao to miscarry. During this time, the young master's affection for Aunt Zhao had far surpassed his concern for Bai Yunxiang; everyone in the household could see that.

Now, she has actually caused Aunt Zhao to miscarry! The madam wants to divorce the master, and since the Duke's mansion is going to be in turmoil anyway, she might as well run away first.

Thinking of this, Liu Mei pretended to go find a doctor, intending to slip away quietly in the chaos.

Zhao Yun noticed that Liu Mei's expression was off and suddenly remembered that someone had pushed her, causing her to fall forward.

The person closest to her at that time was this alluring, willow-browed woman.

Seeing Liu Mei trying to escape, she shouted, "Guards, hold Liu Mei down!"

Liu Mei exclaimed in shock: "Master, it wasn't me! I saw it with my own eyes. It was the young mistress who deliberately pulled Aunt Zhao towards the middle."

The situation was chaotic at the time, and Li Huai'an didn't see exactly what was going on.

However, only the two of them knew about Zhao Rou's pregnancy. Zhao Yun had been focusing on her pregnancy during this time, and Zhao Rou had never mentioned her pregnancy to her. Therefore, it is highly likely that Liu Mei was jealous of Zhao Rou, which led to this disaster.

With a stern face, he ordered, "Liu Mei harbors malicious intentions and slanders the mistress. Take her to the woodshed and lock her up!"

The doctor arrived upon receiving the order, his expression grave. He entered the inner room and saw that Zhao Rou's face was as pale as paper, with fine sweat dripping from her forehead, clearly indicating that she was in excruciating pain.

He stepped forward lightly, first wiping the forehead with a silk handkerchief, then placing three fingers on the wrist to carefully take the pulse.

After a moment, the doctor slowly withdrew his hand, his brow furrowed with worry, and sighed softly:

"Your Highness, this pregnancy of Consort Zhao is extremely perilous. Her previous miscarriage had already damaged her health, leaving her weak and bloodless. Without proper care, this recurrence has only compounded her problems. Now, her pulse is erratic, and her fetal breathing is weak, suggesting a possible miscarriage. Furthermore, her emotional distress and fluctuations have exacerbated her condition. Although I have done everything in my power, I fear there is nothing I can do. I can only try my best to provide her with medicine to stabilize the pregnancy and strengthen her constitution, hoping to preserve this sliver of hope."

After speaking, the doctor took out paper and pen from his medicine box, quickly wrote down several herbs for stabilizing the pregnancy and protecting the fetus, and added a few more for regulating qi and blood. He handed the prescription to the maid standing nearby and instructed her, "This prescription must be decocted and taken immediately, three times a day, without interruption. Also, Aunt Zhao needs to rest quietly and must not be subjected to any further stimulation. Her diet should be light and nourishing in order to have any chance of improvement. However, even so, we must make full preparations in case of unforeseen circumstances."

Upon hearing this, Li Huai'an's face turned ashen, his fists clenched, and a flash of regret and anger crossed his eyes.

"Master, Master," Zhao Rou's weak voice came from the side.

Li Huai'an immediately suppressed the anger in his eyes, which filled with tenderness. He lowered his gaze to look at Zhao Rou, "Rou'er, our child is safe for now. During this time, you should rest well and stay in Pear Fragrance Courtyard. Don't go anywhere and don't worry about anything."

As he spoke, he held Zhao Rou's hand and began to sob.

His mother had run away from home, and his aunt had nearly given birth prematurely. Li Huai'an couldn't understand how the once peaceful Duke's mansion had suddenly fallen into such chaos.

"Rou'er, when Mother was alive, I found the lush flowers and trees to be enchanting in the spring. Now that Mother is gone, everything I see makes me sad."

“My lord, I will always stay by your side.” Zhao Rou said this, and then mentioned Liu Mei, “Today’s trouble was due to two reasons. First, my lord was indeed a bit impulsive. Second, I had never paid attention to Liu Mei before, but today she was pushed from behind, and I risked my life to protect her, which resulted in me being accidentally injured by my lord.”

"Liu Mei!" Li Huai'an said through gritted teeth, wishing he could tear her apart and skin her alive right now.

"My lord, the Duke's mansion is going through a turbulent time. You must not clash with the master again. Have you ever heard the saying, 'When a great building is about to collapse, how can any egg remain intact?'"

Zhao Rou suddenly thought of her aunt, Liu Yun.

If she hadn't been so greedy and gone to great lengths to get pregnant in order to compete with her mother, Zhang Wan, for the emperor's favor, how could she have ended up in such a miserable state?

If it weren't for such a terrible thing that happened in the mansion, which made my father heartbroken, how could the Zhao family have fallen apart overnight, leaving only an empty house?

Seeing Zhao Rou staring blankly ahead, as if looking through him at someone else, Li Huai'an assumed she was thinking of the child he had lost before, and felt even more guilty.

He suppressed his raging anger and said, "Alright, leave Liu Mei's matter to your sister. You get some rest, and I will calmly talk to Father about Mother's matter."

What he was thinking was, "This father who betrayed my mother and hurt my child, does he still have any reason to exist?"

Zhao Rou, unaware of his intentions, urged him, "Master, there's no such thing as a grudge that lasts overnight between father and son. Go and apologize to the master, and together we'll go find the madam!"

Li Huai'an nodded, instructed Le Kui to take good care of Zhao Rou, and then turned and left Lixiang Courtyard.