Chapter 270 Secret

The lake water submerged Liu Shuyao's mouth and nose. She couldn't swim, and her body instinctively struggled a few times before her consciousness was quickly swallowed by darkness.

The icy despair was even more intense than the lake water, as if it were freezing her soul.

Just when she thought she was about to be freed, a powerful force pulled her out of the water.

"Cough cough cough... Ugh..."

Liu Shuyao was dragged to the shore and lay on the ground coughing violently, her lungs and throat feeling as if they had been burned.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, her teeth chattered, and she couldn't utter a single complete sentence.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, why are you doing this to yourself!"

Her personal maid rushed over, crying, and wrapped Liu Shuyao in a blanket.

Several palace servants who had rescued Liu Shuyao were also busy helping out, their faces filled with panic.

Liu Shuyao was like a soulless puppet, her eyes vacant, letting them manipulate her at will.

The moment he was rescued, his determination to die seemed to vanish along with the lake water, leaving only bewilderment.

She didn't want to die, but she also didn't know how to live.

"Quick! Go and fetch the imperial physician!" The palace maid shouted anxiously to the other palace servants, seeing her mistress's pale face.

"No...don't..."

Liu Shuyao suddenly grabbed the palace maid's wrist with astonishing strength.

"No imperial physicians...don't call anyone...let me...let me be alone..."

She couldn't let the imperial physician come, or everything would be over.

No, absolutely not!

Seeing her so stubborn, the palace maid dared not provoke her at this moment, and could only nod to signal the others to leave.

Liu Shuyao was carried back to her bedroom, changed into dry clothes, and wrapped in a thick brocade quilt.

The coldness in the body can be dispelled, but the icy abyss in the heart grows ever larger.

The news couldn't be kept secret forever.

The following day, the concubines in the harem, who were all very perceptive, came to visit one after another, as if they had made a pact.

It's less of a visit and more of a spectacle.

Wen Yilin arrived the earliest, dressed in her finest attire, her face revealing undisguised schadenfreude.

"Oh, Sister Liu, what's wrong with you? Tsk tsk, why did you jump into the lake in this freezing weather? Did you lose the Emperor's favor and do something rash?"

She held the handkerchief tightly, her voice sharp and sarcastic.

Consort Li was dressed in gorgeous clothes today, with exquisite makeup and a mocking smile on her lips.

"What are you saying, Sister Wen? Consort Liu has always prided herself on her high standards, how could she do something so self-degrading? Perhaps she tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead, and is now too ashamed to show her face?"

She slowly walked to the bedside, looked down at Liu Shuyao, and chuckled softly while covering her mouth.

"Oh dear, that's true. To be reprimanded like that by the Emperor in public and then thrown out wrapped in a blanket, tsk tsk tsk, what a loss of face!

The other lower-ranking concubines also gathered around, whispering and pointing.

"Exactly, they always put on airs, thinking they're so noble."

"Now look what's happened, we've become the laughingstock of the entire harem."

The hall was filled with various overt and covert taunts. Liu Shuyao kept her eyes tightly closed, as if she were asleep or dead.

Until everyone got bored and gradually dispersed.

Jiang Huan was the last one. She walked to the door, glanced back at Liu Shuyao, and sighed softly.

Just as I was about to turn and leave, I heard a very faint voice: "Your Highness Consort Zhuang... please wait..."

Jiang Huan paused, only to see that Liu Shuyao had opened her eyes at some point and was staring intently at her.

Those eyes, once clear and cool like autumn water, are now dull and bloodshot.

"You all go out," Liu Shuyao said to the palace servants who were standing guard.

The palace servants looked at each other, but eventually obeyed and withdrew, closing the palace gates.

In the vast bedroom, only Jiang Huan and Liu Shuyao remained.

Liu Shuyao struggled to sit up, but the high fever left her weak all over. She tried several times in vain and could only lean weakly against the soft pillow.

She looked at Jiang Huan as she approached, her lips trembling a few times before she managed to speak.

"Your Majesty...I...I'm pregnant..."

Jiang Huan's pupils contracted sharply. Even with her strong mental fortitude, she was still shocked by this sudden news.

This news is so shocking that if even a tiny bit of it were to leak out, it would cause a massive uproar.

She subconsciously looked around, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she confirmed that the palace doors were tightly closed and no one was eavesdropping.

Isn't this a bit outrageous? How could Liu Shuyao be pregnant, and who is the father of the child?

She forcefully suppressed her turbulent thoughts, maintaining a calm demeanor.

Jiang Huan looked at Liu Shuyao but didn't reply immediately, waiting for her to continue.

This silence itself is a form of pressure.

Liu Shuyao felt somewhat at a loss under her gaze. She swallowed hard, her voice growing increasingly hoarse.

"It was very dark that night. Someone came into the house. I thought... I thought it was the Emperor, but later I found out it wasn't him..."

She closed her eyes, and two lines of clear tears silently slid down her cheeks.

"If this matter is exposed, I will face certain death, and not only me, but the Liu family will also be implicated."

As if grasping at a last straw, she suddenly reached out and grabbed Jiang Huan's wrist tightly, the force of which made Jiang Huan frown slightly.

"It's all because of you. If I had never been soft-hearted towards you, I wouldn't have been targeted and subjected to such humiliation and retribution!"

"Your Majesty, I, Liu Shuyao, have never asked anyone for help in my life, but since this matter originated from you, I beg you to see it through to the end, I beg you... to help me."

Jiang Huan listened quietly until Liu Shuyao's emotions calmed down a bit before slowly withdrawing her hand.

Her actions were not rough, but rather distant, which quickly cooled the little expectation in Liu Shuyao's heart.

"Liu Shuyao".

Jiang Huan's voice was clear and steady, chillingly calm: "I feel sorry for your current situation, but please wake up."

She leaned forward slightly, looking directly into Liu Shuyao's eyes.

“You were framed, rebuked and humiliated, and even driven to the point of drowning yourself. The root cause is the evil and decisions of others, not my Jiang Huan.”

She looked at Liu Shuyao's face, which had turned pale instantly, and said in a harsher tone, "You're not begging me; on the contrary, you're just trying to use this to threaten me."

"You are forcibly linking your own choices and the consequences you have suffered with the 'favor' you have shown me, trying to make me bear responsibilities that do not belong to me."

The last glimmer of light in Liu Shuyao's eyes was completely extinguished, leaving only ashes.

She seemed to be meeting Jiang Huan for the first time; her lips trembled, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Jiang Huan stood up and looked at Liu Shuyao, who seemed to have lost all her vitality.

“I admire your pride and understand your despair, but I will not take responsibility for the decisions you made. Threats will not win you friends; they will only push people further away.”