Empress Zhou looked at her resistant expression, but her expression remained gentle and kind, as if she was not persuading her to have an abortion, but was genuinely thinking of her well-being.

"I know you can't accept it right now, but that's okay. Go back and think about it carefully."

Shen Muyu stared blankly into the distance, feeling the hands that were gripping her were icy cold, like venomous snakes coiling around her, trying to strangle her.

Overwhelmed by this inexplicable sense of terror, she began to tremble uncontrollably and fled without regard for etiquette.

She left the palace in a panic and went straight back to Prince Chen's residence.

Dongqing did not go to the palace with her. After seeing her go to the palace and then lock herself in her inner room with a frightened expression, Dongqing was immediately worried: "Miss, open the door, has something happened?"

Shen Muyu remained silent. She felt as if she were sinking into a quagmire, her breath coming in short gasps and her body growing cold.

She locked herself in the inner room for half an hour.

Dongqing stayed outside, worried that something might have happened to her inside. He was so anxious that he was about to cry, so he had no choice but to go and find Wang Mama.

Shen Muyu only came to her senses when she heard Wang Mama's voice.

Belatedly realizing what was happening, she hurriedly fled back to the Banana Garden, where Prince Chen seemed to still be in the palace.

Yes, she still has His Highness, and His Highness will always protect her.

Shen Muyu staggered to her feet and opened the door, her eyes wide as she looked at Wang Mama: "Has His Highness returned? I want to see His Highness."

When Madam Wang saw that her eyes were bloodshot and her face was as white as a ghost, she was also startled. Seeing that she was about to run out regardless of the consequences, she quickly stopped her and advised, "Madam, please don't run away. Be careful not to harm the fetus. We just received word from the palace that His Highness is staying in the palace tonight and will return tomorrow."

Shen Muyu's body went limp and she was about to fall, but fortunately Dongqing and Wang Mama worked together to support her.

Seeing that she suddenly seemed lost in thought, Dongqing's eyes welled up with tears: "What's wrong? Should we call a doctor?"

"No doctor! Don't call a doctor!"

Unexpectedly, Shen Muyu stopped but suddenly screamed. She pushed Dong Qing and Shen Muyu out and locked herself in the inner room.

*

Shen Muyu tossed and turned all night without sleeping, and got up early the next morning, eagerly awaiting the return of Prince Chen.

She waited from Chenshi (7-9 AM) to Youshi (5-7 PM), and every half hour she would send Dongqing to the front yard to ask if Prince Chen had returned to the mansion.

It wasn't until early in the evening that they finally received news of Prince Chen's return to his residence.

She beamed with joy and led Dongqing toward the front yard. Dongqing was startled and quickly stopped her, carefully advising, "No matter how urgent it is, Miss, you should do your hair and makeup first."

Shen Muyu hadn't slept all night, and there were obvious dark circles under her eyes. Her eyes were also red and swollen from crying for so long. She had no interest in dressing up when she woke up in the morning; she was completely absorbed, neither eating nor drinking, waiting for news from Prince Chen.

Reminded by her, Shen Muyu glanced in the mirror and was shocked by her haggard appearance.

She rarely listened to Dongqing's words. She sat down in front of the dressing table and said in a hoarse voice, "Do my hair and makeup first." Then she lowered her head and touched her slightly protruding belly, as if talking to herself, "Is there any lotus seed soup left? I'll have some too. I'm pregnant now, I can't just ignore it like this."

Seeing that she had finally come to her senses, Dongqing happily exclaimed "Hey!" and ordered the maidservant outside to bring over the warm lotus seed soup.

Shen Muyu redid her makeup, applied rouge to her complexion, and drank a small bowl of lotus seed soup before going to the front yard.

Prince Chen was reading in his study when he saw Shen Muyu arrive. He looked very surprised, got up, and pulled her to sit down on the couch: "What's wrong? Why do you look so pale?"

Judging from his tone, he seemed to know nothing about what happened at Ciyuan Palace last night.

Shen Muyu felt as if she had grasped at a straw. She shook her head, tears streaming down her face, and called out in a low voice, "Your Highness."

"But who made you suffer?"

Shen Muyu shook her head again, leaned against him and cried for a while before carefully choosing her words and saying, "Yesterday, Her Majesty kept me in Ciyuan Palace and spoke to me."

"Her Majesty said that His Highness's wedding is imminent, and she's afraid that if I were to have a child by a concubine first, it would ruin His Highness's marriage. So she told me... told me..."

She seemed unable to continue, choking back tears for a long time before finally managing to say, "...I'm being told to give up this child."

“But this is my first child with His Highness.” Shen Muyu said through tears, holding Prince Chen’s hand to her belly. “He’s almost five months along, and in a little over four more months, he’ll be born… My child and I won’t compete with the Princess for anything. When His Highness gets married, I’ll definitely stay far away so the Princess won’t see him. He’s only this small; he won’t be a problem for the Princess…”

She cried so hard she looked like a heartbroken child, nestled in Prince Chen's arms, almost unable to breathe.

Prince Chen looked at her silently, his hand still gently stroking her back, without uttering a word.

Shen Muyu cried for a long time before realizing that he had never spoken.

A wave of panic washed over her, and she timidly looked up at Prince Chen: "Your Highness?"

Chen Wang gently wiped away her tears, as tender as ever. The panic that had been spreading in Shen Muyu's heart subsided a little, and she looked at him with expectant eyes.

King Chen seemed to be carefully considering his words, and after a long while, he slowly said, "Do you know why I returned so late today?"

Shen Muyu shook her head blankly.

"Today, Yang Jing, the Minister of Revenue, met me when he left the court and pulled me to play chess. While we were playing, he told me that the game of chess is like a battlefield, and once a move is made, there is no going back."

Shen Muyu looked up at him, seemingly not understanding his words.

Prince Chen sighed and could only be more explicit: "I cannot disobey the Empress Dowager's command. The marriage alliance with the Yang family is of utmost importance, and I cannot allow the Yang family to become estranged from me."

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