Chu Qingluan walked slowly to the dying Gu Yanran, looked down at her miserable appearance, and spoke in a calm tone.

"Gu Yanran, you impersonated me, plotted to murder my father, colluded with Chu Lang to commit treason, and betrayed the interests of Great Chu. Each and every one of these offenses is punishable by death."

She paused, then turned to Minister Zhou and said, "Minister Zhou, take Gu Yanran to the prison and assign people to keep her under strict guard. Don't let her die easily. Tomorrow, announce her crimes to the entire city of Youzhou, then take her back to the capital and hand her over to my father for punishment."

The mistakes she made should be judged by the laws of Da Chu, and the people of Da Chu should also see what the end will be for those who betray the royal family and commit evil deeds.

"Yes, I obey your order!"

The guards stepped forward and dragged Gu Yanran out like a dead dog.

Minister Zhou and the others also took their leave one after another. For a moment, only their own people were left in the yard.

Zhixia then adjusted her mood and looked at Chu Qingluan.

Coincidentally, Chu Qingluan was looking towards her, and the moment the master and servant looked at each other, both of their eyes were red.

"Princess..." Zhixia stepped forward, holding her belly, and wanted to salute Chu Qingluan. However, Chu Qingluan noticed and raised her hand to stop her.

"Zhixia, there are no outsiders here now, so there's no need to be so formal."

After Chu Qingluan finished speaking, she glanced at Li Linyuan intentionally or unintentionally, and then said, "It's windy outside, let's talk inside."

Behind him, Li Linyuan felt a chill on his back for some reason when he saw Chu Qingluan's gaze.

He touched his nose, turned sideways calmly, and let Chu Qingluan and Zhixia walk in.

Qin Yuan and Chu Hong were also in the yard, but at this moment they both stood where they were and did not follow forward.

As soon as the door closed, the three men were instantly cut off from view.

Chu Qingluan then looked at Zhixia carefully, her gaze slowly moving from her slightly bulging belly to her face.

After not seeing her for a few months, Zhixia had lost some weight, but her expression was more gentle and resilient than before, and the lines on her once childish face had softened. The bulge in her belly, pregnant with a new life, gave her a unique glow.

"Sit down and talk." Chu Qingluan carefully helped her sit down on the couch, her tone full of heartache.

"Look at how thin you are. You must not have had enough rest in the past few months. Your belly is so obvious. How dare you come to Youzhou with me? What if something goes wrong on the way?"

Zhixia's eyes instantly turned red, but she still fought back the tears and shook her head: "Princess, don't worry, I'm in good health. General Li's men are watching over me on the road, so I haven't suffered any injustice."

"And you still say you haven't been wronged?"

Chu Qingluan gently touched the back of her hand, and her fingertips felt a slight chill. "Your hands are so cold, they must have been exposed to the wind outside. Tell me quickly, what is going on? How did you get pregnant? Li Linyuan..."

When talking about the past, Zhixia's face flushed slightly, and her fingers twisted the corners of her clothes unconsciously, and she whispered the story of the past:

"Princess, when you and His Royal Highness Prince Rui were in danger and your whereabouts were unknown, I was extremely anxious and led my men to search along the downstream coast. One time, I accidentally strayed into a miasma forest deep in the forest. By the time I realized what was happening, I was already severely poisoned, weak all over, and unconscious..."

Zhixia recalled the scene at that time and still felt a lingering fear: "Just when I thought I was going to die, it was General Li who arrived in time and saved me..."

The poison was quite overbearing, and ordinary detoxification pills were completely useless. In order to save Zhixia, Li Linyuan sucked out most of the poisonous blood, but even so, the remaining poison still caused a high fever, and the extremely yang energy was needed to guide the medicinal power.

Zhixia's voice gradually faded. "That... that time. After that, I was unconscious for a long time. When I woke up, I found out that he had risked his own life to save me... And then, not long after, I found out that I was pregnant..."

Chu Qingluan frowned slightly when she heard this, feeling both distressed and helpless.

The miasma was dangerous, she only knew how powerful it was. Li Linyuan's actions were indeed the only way to save his life in such a desperate situation, but the consequences...

"What about Li Linyuan? Did the Li family give you any trouble?"

Li Linyuan was a descendant of a royal and aristocratic family in the Great Qin Dynasty and was highly regarded by his family. They would never allow Li Linyuan to marry the helpless Zhixia.

When mentioning the Li family, Zhixia's eyes flickered twice, and she subconsciously avoided Chu Qingluan's inquiring gaze.

She shook her head at Chu Qingluan and said, "This is my own child. It has nothing to do with anyone else. I have already made up my mind. Once the child is born, I will raise him myself."

Zhixia's mind uncontrollably flashed back to the scene where Li's mother found her last month.

At that time, Li's mother was wearing a luxurious brocade robe, and her tone was scrutinizing and condescending.

"Miss Zhixia, since you are pregnant with the blood of the Li family, I cannot treat you unfairly. As long as you are willing to be Lin Yuan's concubine, you will have food and clothing in the mansion in the future, and the child will be able to recognize his ancestors after birth. I will also treat him as my own son."

What kind of person is Zhixia? How could she lock herself up in that deep backyard and wait for her whole life just because she slept with Li Linyuan?

She immediately rejected Li's mother's offer, "Thank you for your kindness, Madam, but I don't want to be a concubine. This child is mine. I can give birth to it and raise it myself, so there's no need for you to worry about it."

Mother Li didn't expect her to refuse, and her face immediately darkened.

"This lady has investigated you. You are an orphan with no one to rely on. Although you are a maidservant of the princess of Great Chu, your princess has been missing for so long, and Great Chu has not sent anyone to pick you up. If you give birth on your own, how will you support yourself and the child in the future? The bloodline of my Li family will never let him wander around outside."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!