Chapter 305 She Missed Him

Shen Qingci slumped onto the bed, her brows furrowed, her heart aching as if it were being torn apart.

No, it shouldn't be like this.

Their target is her, the child in her womb!

It was Chu Yuening who willingly became her substitute and shielded her from this calamity in order to protect her and prevent Chu Jichen from being controlled by others!

It was her...it was her who ruined Chu Yuening!

The officer lowered his head and replied in a low voice, "Both of the renowned physicians have examined the patient, but they both feel... the chances are slim."

Shen Qingci closed her eyes, feeling flustered and helpless, but mostly filled with deep guilt.

She remained silent for a long time before saying in a hoarse voice, "Okay, I understand. You may leave now."

After the secret agents left and closed the door, Shen Qingci leaned weakly against the headboard, tears silently streaming down her face.

It's all because of her.

If it weren't for helping her, Chu Yuening wouldn't have suffered this misfortune.

Shen Qingci didn't know how long she had been lost in thought until she suddenly heard a slight sound of a door opening outside.

She was startled, then suddenly looked up at the doorway, her guard up immediately.

Who is it?

They shouldn't be members of the secret guards or the secret service; if they had something to do, they would definitely knock on the door and announce their arrival first.

Shen Qingci subconsciously gripped the silver bracelet with the hidden mechanism on her wrist, her whole body tense.

A tall, slender figure slowly emerged from behind the screen.

Upon recognizing the person who arrived, Shen Qingci immediately stood up, her face showing undisguised astonishment and delight: "Your Majesty?! What brings you here?"

She was somewhat anxious and stepped forward: "Although Huo Yunting and the late emperor have been captured, their people are still lurking outside, and there are still many spies in the palace. Your sudden disappearance from the palace will surely arouse suspicion, and if it is discovered..."

Before Shen Qingci could finish speaking, Chu Jichen stepped forward and pulled her tightly into his arms.

Her words, which she hadn't finished speaking, came to an abrupt halt.

Surrounded by that familiar embrace, scented with ambergris, Shen Qingci's heart trembled uncontrollably.

She had been separated from Chu Jichen for such a long time before, but this was the first time since they got married.

These past few days, she's been alone in this small courtyard. Although she appears calm on the surface, her heart is constantly in turmoil. Every moment of waiting feels incredibly long, and every rustle of wind sends shivers down her spine.

Only now, when Chu Jichen truly appeared before her and embraced her, did she realize that the long ordeal was not only due to the urgency of the situation, but also because of... longing.

She...missed him.

Shen Qingci snuggled closer to Chu Jichen, savoring the moment of tenderness. After a long while, she realized that Chu Jichen had just... walked in.

There was no sound of the wheelchair rolling.

It was precisely because she didn't hear the sound of the wheelchair that she didn't immediately think of him.

She quickly looked up at him, surprised and delighted: "You're not in a wheelchair?"

"Did you come all the way from the palace through a secret passage? Can your legs take it? Quick, sit down."

Chu Jichen sat down on the edge of the bed as instructed, but did not let go. Instead, he pulled Shen Qingci close, pushed her down onto the bed, and kissed her.

Shen Qingci was taken aback at first, but quickly became immersed in the passionate kiss, reaching out to hug Chu Jichen's neck and responding to him ardently.

After a long while, Shen Qingci hurriedly pushed Chu Jichen away, panting, "No."

She could already sense it; Chu Jichen had already...reacted.

She quickly sat up, straightened her disheveled clothes, coughed lightly to hide the blush on her face, and said, "Stop fooling around, you haven't answered my question yet."

Chu Jichen didn't speak. After calming down for a while, he sat up, a smile in his eyes: "Yes, I came out."

"Because I came out of the Taiji Hall openly and honestly, no one suspected anything."

"But I didn't walk for long before I came down the secret passage. There, someone was waiting for me with a wheelchair."

Shen Qingci nodded, understanding dawning on her.

Naturally, no one would doubt it.

Most people felt that although Chu Jichen's leg injury had improved, he could only walk a very short distance.

In addition, Chu Jichen usually sits in a wheelchair, and the fact that his legs have not yet recovered and he still needs to sit in a wheelchair has become a deeply ingrained stereotype in everyone's mind.

"Is your leg all healed?" she asked with concern.

Chu Jichen shook his head: "It's not completely healed yet, but it's much better than before. I can walk a distance of one or two hundred meters now."

Shen Qingci's eyes lit up immediately: "A distance of one or two hundred meters is quite far! It seems that Elder Yao's medical skills are indeed superb!"

"That's good, that's great."

But as soon as she looked at Chu Jichen, she immediately thought of Chu Yuening, and the smile on her face gradually disappeared.

"I heard about Yue Ning..."

Before she could finish speaking, Chu Jichen already knew what she wanted to say.

He held her hand and said softly, "Yes, I was worried that you would overthink things if you knew about Yue Ning, so I made a special trip to see you."

"Yue Ning's injury..."

He paused, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes: "I had them all examined, and both the imperial physician and the apothecary said that she will probably have a hard time conceiving in the future."

“However,” he changed his tone, softening his voice, “the old doctor said that it’s not entirely impossible to say that there is absolutely no way out.”

"He needs to rest and recover properly. We'll see how things go once the injury is healed."

"It's just...it might be a bit difficult."

A glimmer of hope flickered in Shen Qingci's heart, but she couldn't help but purse her lips, her eyes filled with doubt: "I think you're just trying to coax me, you're lying to me."

"You're worried that I'll be under too much pressure, so you're saying first that I just need to rest and there's still a chance."

“If she can’t have children in the future, you’ll say she doesn’t want children. She might even comfort me and say that having Tuantuan is enough.”

Chu Jichen held Shen Qingci's hand and gently stroked it, his eyes sincere: "Yuening said that you are sensitive and would definitely overthink things, and might even take all the blame on yourself, so she specially asked me to come and see you and convey her words to you."

"We really have no way to guarantee that she will get better."

"But we will do our best. Elder Yao will also do his best."

"Yuening asked me to tell you that it was her own choice to be your substitute, to be the bait. She volunteered for it. Before she did this, she had already prepared for the worst, and was even prepared to die."

"Actually, things are much better now than she imagined; at least her life has been saved."

"She said she was quite satisfied. It's just that she can't have children. Actually, she didn't want to have children. Childbirth is too painful. When she gave birth to Tuantuan in that godforsaken place of Beiyou, it was practically a matter of life and death."

"Moreover, to have a child, you need at least one man. She doesn't want to have a child with any man right now, and she even gets annoyed when she sees a man."

"She said she also had her own selfish motives. She protected you from this, and you'll definitely be grateful to her and feel incredibly guilty. So, we should treat her well in the future. She'll ask us for everything she wants—wealth, luxury, and everything else—so don't think she's greedy."

"I agreed on your behalf."

Shen Qingci lowered her eyes, tears welling up in them.

That's exactly what Chu Yuening would say. That seemingly weak but actually resilient woman always thinks of others in this way.

She bit her lip and nodded solemnly: "Okay, whatever she wants, as long as I have it, I'll give it to her."