Chapter 43 Two "False Pregnancy"

When the imperial guards brought the person before the emperor, everyone could see clearly that the sneaky figure was actually a lowly maidservant, carrying something bulging in her arms, her expression tense and revealing a guilty conscience.

The emperor stood there expressionless, his lowered eyes looking at the poorly acting people at his feet as if they were dead objects.

Someone remarked, "She looks familiar; she seems to be someone from Consort Hui's household."

The Emperor glanced to the side, and Su Peisheng, understanding, immediately stepped forward. "What are you holding in your hand?"

Fuling furtively tried to hide the package in her bosom, but Su Peisheng bent down, reached out and snatched it from her, opening it in front of the Emperor.

Inside, however, was not gold or silver jewelry, but a bundle of clothes rolled up.

Su Peisheng's piercing gaze questioned, "What? Trying to steal the young master's things and escape?"

Shen Meizhuang then looked up as if waking from a dream, let go of Zhen Huan's hand that had been supporting her, and quickly walked forward to see what was going on.

This person was indeed a second-class palace maid in her room, named Fuling.

Seeing the bulging flesh in her arms, Shen Meizhuang was furious. The Emperor was already annoyed, and this person was causing trouble for him at such a time. He sternly rebuked her, "What a worthless servant! Drag her out of here! Doing such a thing has truly made me lose face."

A few days ago, things went wrong because of the matter of assisting in the management of the six palaces. If today, because of this dishonest servant, I am given a reputation for not being able to manage even the servants in my own household, I don't know what the Emperor will think.

Fuling, upon hearing Shen Meizhuang's rebuke, did not accuse her. Instead, she shakily raised herself and boldly said, "My lady, I did all this for your sake. Now that things have come to this, won't you protect me?"

Lu Yingfeng and Consort Qi had been huddled together to the side, watching the show as if it were none of their business. But when she heard Lu Yingfeng's words, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. "If that's the case, then Consort Hui should thank you. Did Consort Hui beg you to steal this?"

Consort Qi also covered her mouth and laughed. The two of them had certainly enjoyed the show today.

As they were talking, no one noticed that Consort Cao strolled over to Fuling's side, bent down, picked up the package on the ground, and began to examine it.

"Ah!" With a short scream, she took two steps back and frantically threw away the clothes she was holding.

The blood-stained clothes were thus conspicuously exposed to everyone's eyes.

Everyone quickly covered their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs, and the more timid ones turned their heads away. The Emperor remained motionless, his face grim as he lowered his eyes, his gaze sharp and scrutinizing.

Consort Hua covered her face with a handkerchief in disgust, craning her neck to look ahead, but there was a hint of barely perceptible excitement in her tone—"Why is there blood on these pants? Could it be that someone is trying to murder me for money? Your Majesty, this girl is clearly suspicious. Why don't we drag her to the Imperial Prison for a thorough interrogation!"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor glanced at Consort Hua, took a deep breath to relieve his frustration, and turned to Consort Hui without saying a word.

Shen Meizhuang was completely panicked at this point, and followed up on Hua Fei's words, saying, "Why don't you drag this filthy servant away and interrogate him properly!"

Upon hearing this, Fuling suddenly looked up, struggled to break free from the guards who were trying to restrain her, and gritted her teeth, showing a truly desperate attitude—"My lady, I tried my best to cover for you, but you are so heartless as to want to kill me. If that's the case, then don't blame me!"

She crawled forward two steps using both hands and feet, and looking up at Shen Meizhuang's shocked and distraught eyes, she said, word by word, "Your Majesty, this servant dares not help Consort Hui deceive us any longer. In fact, Your Highness is not pregnant at all!"

"This concerns the imperial heir; how dare you speak so recklessly!" Yixiu hadn't expected things to develop this way tonight. She stood beside the Emperor with her hands at her sides, interrupting her with a dignified and authoritative air.

Since things had come to this, Fuling decided to go all out. She raised her head and loudly replied, "This servant did not lie. These clothes were not stolen by this servant. Rather, they were given to me by the mistress during her period, after she soiled them. I asked her to burn them. This is irrefutable evidence!"

In the quiet night, under the dim light, Yinzhen's face was frighteningly grim. The double happiness that had come half an hour ago had now turned into two blatant deceptions.

Everything vanished like a bubble.

Zhen Huan remained hidden behind the crowd, not because she didn't want to speak up for Mei Zhuang, but because she herself was in dire straits. Appearing before the Emperor at this moment would likely only provoke his wrath even more.

Now that she's calmed down, what doesn't she understand? Liu Ben took care of both her and Mei-jie's pregnancies. Now Mei-jie is also imprisoned, and Liu Ben has disappeared without a trace. Everything was a setup.

But she couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope, as if a person adrift on water had suddenly discovered another person like her. If both of them were faking their pregnancies, would Si Lang believe her more?

"The imperial physicians haven't left yet; call them to come and check Consort Hui's pulse."

The Emperor looked at Shen Meizhuang, whose face was clearly pale and who needed to lean on others to stand. His disappointment was obvious. As a victor who had fought his way out of the Nine Princes' Succession Struggle, how could he not see that both of them had been framed?

Given their family backgrounds, personalities, and the affection they receive, there's little need for them to fake pregnancy to compete for favor.

He was simply disappointed. He had thought that Shen Meizhuang, who was dignified, steady, and from a good family, was so useless and easily tricked.

Huanhuan is incredibly intelligent, and her temperament and appearance are similar to Chun Yuan's. However, her recent actions have been quite outrageous. In the end, she is only similar to Chun Yuan; no one in the world can compare to even a tenth or a twelfth of Chun Yuan's abilities.

He didn't want to watch this farce anymore, so he turned his head away and walked into the Leisure Moon Pavilion.

The imperial physicians probably didn't expect that this matter would have a replay. One by one, they lowered their heads and walked back into the hall, not daring to breathe loudly for fear of being affected.

There were quite a few people coming and going from Xianyue Pavilion that night. The house hadn't been this lively in over a decade. Most of the guards were in the garden outside the main hall, and no one noticed that under the west window, a small figure was furtively pressing his ear against the window, listening to the sounds inside.

Hongzhao was preoccupied with his mission and had originally intended to remotely operate the system from the female lead's perspective. However, since Zhen Huan had been punished, although she hadn't left immediately, she seemed quite listless and unwilling to move forward. The surveillance camera from her perspective was filled with blurry figures, making it difficult to see clearly.

Unable to see what was happening inside, Hongzhao was so anxious that he had to come and take matters into his own hands.

Shen Meizhuang leaned against Caiyue, her cold, trembling hand reaching out for the imperial physician to take her pulse. Her gaze drifted through the crowd, meeting Huan'er's equally lifeless eyes. After a brief exchange of glances, they both looked away.

Although she wasn't exceptionally intelligent, given the current situation, she could basically guess that the child she had been overjoyed with for so many days didn't exist at all, but was just a pretext manipulated by others to frame her and Huan'er.

Even so, she was heartbroken beyond measure. Born into a noble family and favored in the palace, she had never suffered such humiliation.

She looked at the Emperor with sorrowful eyes. Just yesterday, he had been affectionately stroking her belly, smiling as he discussed the baby's nickname with her. Now, sitting there so close, she felt as if a vast glacier separated them, a sense of estrangement and fear washing over her.

Jiang Shen frowned, his hand constantly shifting the angle of Hui Guiren's wrist, while his other hand gripped his sleeve, wiping away the cold sweat that was about to drip down.

After a long while, he gritted his teeth, raised his head, and met Consort Hua's urging and impatient gaze. He swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and reported to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, Consort Hui is two months pregnant, but due to fright, the pregnancy is somewhat unstable and she needs to rest for a while."