Chapter 80: He wanted her to learn to obey for the sake of the child...

Sunlight streamed through the window lattices of the Zichen Hall, casting dappled shadows on the floor tiles.

The days spent imprisoned in the Zichen Palace felt like being immersed in a thick, gloomy gilded birdcage.

Since the day she was bound to this soft bed, Ling Zhenli's spirit seemed to have been worn down. She ate very little every day, and her body quickly became thinner. Her loose nightgown made her look even more emaciated.

She was mostly in a daze, sleeping far more than she was awake, as if only in her dreams could she briefly escape this despairing reality.

During her rare moments of lucidity, she would stare blankly at the tent ceiling, neither eating nor drinking, remaining silent, like a delicate flower rapidly losing its moisture, gradually withering away.

A series of steady footsteps came from outside the hall, and the palace maids hurriedly knelt down.

Pei Xuanlin, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, had clearly come straight here after court.

He raised his hand to signal the palace servants to be quiet, his gaze falling on the figure on the couch whose back was to him.

"Is the Empress still sleeping?" Pei Xuanlin's voice sounded somewhat tired.

The palace maid replied, "He woke up once, but recently fell asleep again."

Upon hearing this, Pei Xuanlin frowned even more deeply and waved his hand to dismiss all the palace servants.

The hall was filled with a warm, fragrant aroma. Ling Zhenli's face was pale, with faint dark circles under her eyes, and her breathing was so shallow that it was almost unsettling.

Pei Xuanlin sat down on the edge of the couch and gently stroked her cheek.

"Xue Yingyue, wake up."

Ling Zhenli's long eyelashes trembled a few times, and she slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were filled with a blank mist. It took her a while to focus on his face. Her gaze only lingered on his face for a moment before she indifferently looked away.

She didn't speak, nor did she show the intense hatred she had initially displayed; all that remained was a complete numbness.

This attitude thoroughly angered Pei Xuanlin once again.

He yanked her up from the couch, and Ling Zhenli winced in pain, unable to help but frown.

"Can you stop being half-dead every day and get up to eat? Do you want to starve to death and go to the underworld to be reunited with someone?"

Ling Zhenli let him do as he pleased, sitting on the bed like a puppet being manipulated by him. She didn't care what Pei Xuanlin said and had no energy left to argue with him.

The palace maid hurriedly brought over a bowl of bird's nest porridge that had been kept warm. Pei Xuanlin took it, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, and brought it to her lips.

"Open your mouth, I'll feed you."

Ling Zhenli seemed to have lost her soul, obediently opening her mouth and mechanically swallowing the food that was served to her.

The warm porridge slid down my throat, but it caused a churning sensation in my stomach.

Pei Xuanlin noticed her discomfort and softened his tone, asking, "What's wrong? Don't you like the porridge?"

It's probably because I haven't eaten for too long that I feel uncomfortable.

Ling Zhenli shook her head and ultimately said nothing.

She finished more than half of the bowl of porridge in the blink of an eye, her brows furrowed more and more tightly, and her throat bobbed incessantly, as if she was trying her best to suppress something.

After managing to swallow a few mouthfuls, Ling Zhenli finally couldn't hold back when Pei Xuanlin handed her another spoonful. She turned her head away, first gagging violently, and then vomited up everything she had just eaten with a "whoosh".

She vomited violently, tears streaming down her face, and collapsed onto the bedside, coughing uncontrollably.

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

She coughed violently, her thin body trembling uncontrollably from the vomiting she had just experienced.

Pei Xuanlin was startled by her sudden vomiting. He subconsciously reached out and patted her back repeatedly, his actions revealing his own undisguised anxiety.

"What happened? Did you choke?"

Ling Zhenli vomited violently, feeling as if her internal organs had shifted. She finally managed to stop vomiting and leaned weakly against Pei Xuanlin's chest, her breath faint.

"It hurts...it hurts so much..." she groaned weakly.

With a sore stomach and a sore throat, feeling uncomfortable all over, Ling Zhenli closed her eyes in pain, curled up in Pei Xuanlin's arms, her slender hands tightly gripping the thin fabric of her clothes, her brows furrowed.

A palace maid brought over a bowl of water, and Pei Xuanlin soothed her emotions by slowly feeding the water to Ling Zhenli to rinse her mouth.

"Cough cough cough..."

After rinsing her mouth, Ling Zhenli coughed violently several more times before she was done.

She lay limp in Pei Xuanlin's arms, her eyes slightly open. She had just felt so bad that she felt like she was about to die, but now she was slowly recovering.

But dying in the arms of your lover wouldn't be so bad.

Thinking of this, she smiled weakly.

Pei Xuanlin was almost worried to death, fearing that something might happen to her. When he looked down, he saw that she could still smile. He wanted to secretly pinch her to vent his anger.

But soon, another kind of fear enveloped Ling Zhenli's heart.

Her period is still late this month.

This thought made her already weak body, weakened by vomiting, feel even colder, and she couldn't laugh anymore.

No way.

It can't be such a coincidence, can it?

Pei Xuanlin held her in his arms, gently stroking her back, and also thought of this.

The contraceptive soup that Xue Yingyue had been taking was actually a secret medicine carefully prepared by the Imperial Hospital according to her physical condition, but it was extremely bitter.

He knew that Xue Yingyue was afraid of bitterness and was delicate. If he told her directly that it was a tonic, she might not be willing to drink it. She would definitely try her best to act cute and refuse. He was afraid that if he was soft-hearted and indulged her, it would delay the proper recuperation of her body after her miscarriage.

Furthermore, he was angry at the time, so he used the pretext of contraceptive soup to force her with indifference and provocation. Only then, with her stubbornness and resentment, did she drink it down without hesitation.

Since Xue Yingyue had never drunk real contraceptive soup before, she didn't know what it tasted like, so she naturally couldn't tell the difference between the real and fake.

Thinking of this, an indescribable surge of joy rushed to Pei Xuanlin's head.

A child! They might be having a child, a child that truly carries his and her blood!

He had been waiting for this day day and night. If she were really pregnant and had a child with him, he could almost imagine the twisted expression of jealousy that would appear on Xiao Chongheng's repulsive face.

Let's see how that bastard will dare to swagger in front of him again.

This ecstasy surged through his heart like a tidal wave, but he did not show it on his face, trying his best to restrain himself.

He couldn't let Xue Yingyue see through him so quickly, he couldn't let her know how much he cared and how much he expected, otherwise she would regain control of his weakness.

He withdrew his hand from patting her back, took the clean handkerchief handed to him by a palace maid, and slowly wiped the corners of her lips. His tone was as sarcastic as ever as he spoke coldly.

"Heh, I remember, your period is still late this month, isn't it?"

His thumb caressed her cold cheek, a hint of danger in his voice. "Could it be... that you're carrying my dragon child?"

These words struck Ling Zhenli like a thunderclap.

She suddenly raised her head, her face drained of color, her tear-filled eyes filled with unbelievable panic.

No way... no way...

Pei Xuanlin always gave her contraceptive soup after he slept with her, and she drank it, so how could she possibly get pregnant...?

Overwhelmed with fear, she trembled all over, and tears streamed down her face once again.

"No...no..."

Ling Zhenli said she wouldn't, but her hand slowly moved up to her lower abdomen.

Is Pei Xuanlin saying this because he doesn't want her to have his child... otherwise he wouldn't make her drink contraceptive soup every time.

But the child... isn't just his child, it's also her child, her flesh and blood, her very heart and soul...

She has already lost one child; she absolutely cannot lose a second one, absolutely not.

As a mother, Ling Zhenli's protective instincts for her child left her almost incoherent, and she subconsciously pleaded with Pei Xuanlin.

Her dignity and personality were worthless in the face of her child's life and safety. As long as her child could be protected, she would do anything to be subservient, even kneel down and kowtow to confess her sins.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

Ling Zhenli looked ashamed and remorseful. She struggled to sit up, but the blanket covering her and Pei Xuanlin's restraint restricted her movements, so she could only lower her head in embarrassment.

“It’s all my fault, no matter what. I shouldn’t have disobeyed you, shouldn’t have lost my virginity before marriage, shouldn’t have been so promiscuous and let men take advantage of me. I’ve debaseed myself. You can do whatever you want with me, I will have no complaints… You know, I’ve obediently drunk all the contraceptive soup you gave me, I’ve never secretly skipped a drop. You saw me drink it with your own eyes, didn’t you? So I beg you… If I’m really lucky enough to be pregnant with your child, please don’t make me abort him, give the child a chance to live… Don’t blame the child for the mistakes I’ve made, the child is innocent… He is, after all, your flesh and blood. When he grows up, he will call you Father, he will be filial to you, he will respect and obey you more than anyone else… I beg you, for the sake of him being your child, don’t be too harsh on him…”

Ling Zhenli cried so hard she could barely breathe, as if she could already foresee the tragic fate that this unwanted and unloved child would face in the future.

Seeing her so panicked and helpless, just begging him to show some mercy to her child, Pei Xuanlin felt a twisted, secret pleasure that almost reached its peak.

He forcefully suppressed the almost upturned corners of his mouth, maintaining a cold and disdainful expression.

"My child?" He scoffed. "I only love children who bear me a pearl in their mouths. As for your child..."

Upon hearing this, Ling Zhenli looked at him in horror. Pei Xuanlin paused deliberately, admiring her face, which had become even paler with despair.

"Whether the child you are carrying for me can be born safely and what kind of life he will lead depends on whether you, as the mother, are willing to put in the effort for him. If you can appease me, I might be in a good mood and give him a proper status. If you can't appease me, then your child can go somewhere cool and stay away. He will never see me again, and he can forget about ever amounting to anything!"

Pei Xuanlin wanted to turn this child into the strongest chain to bind Xue Yingyue.

He wanted her to learn to obey, to please, and to never leave him again for the sake of the child, so that from then on she could only depend on him and obey him in every way.

However, upon hearing these words, Ling Zhenli's heart sank completely into an ice cellar.

The man she loved kept saying he would treat the children born to other women well, but he mistreated her children.

How can a child grow up healthily under the father's indifference or even disgust if the mother does not receive the father's affection?

Ling Zhenli thought of her daughter, whom she had never met. She was the child that she and Xiao Chongheng had both longed for, a child who could have thrived under the loving care of her parents. But their fate was too short, and she had left them...

But what about this child?

They're different, completely different.

The child's father despised his mother, and his birth may only bring him misfortune. Why should an unwanted child come into this world to suffer?

After calm and deep thought, Ling Zhenli steeled her resolve and raised her head.

"Since Your Majesty has already abandoned me and has someone else in your heart, why should this child be born to suffer scorn and abuse? I beg Your Majesty to grant me a bowl of safflower soup to abort this child. Do not let me give birth to him, do not let the child suffer after I give birth to him."

She loved her child, so she didn't want her child to suffer in this world and preferred to endure the pain of aborting her own flesh and blood.

But her words took on a completely different meaning in Pei Xuanlin's ears.

She truly didn't love him, so she didn't want his child, not even struggling to make a move. She was full of anticipation while pregnant with Xiao Chongheng's child, but she discarded Pei Xuanlin's offspring like trash!

His anger instantly consumed all his previous smugness and plans. He suddenly leaned down, grabbed her chin, and squeezed so hard that she cried out in pain.

"Xue Yingyue, listen to me clearly! If you are truly carrying the imperial heir, then it is the blood of the dragon. If you dare to harm it in the slightest, I will have your entire family, and everyone you care about, executed by slow slicing!"

Pei Xuanlin's eyes were terrifyingly sinister. "That Xie Daojian, whom I found a pretext to send away, you must have had a close relationship with him, right? Don't think I don't know that you disguised yourself as a palace maid that day to have a secret rendezvous with him! That's why I sent him far away from the capital!"

Seeing Ling Zhenli's fearful and uneasy expression, Pei Xuanlin knew that he was right. His heart clenched with pain, and he gave a self-deprecating laugh, his tone extremely cruel.

"You like him, don't you? If you dare to harm the imperial heir in the slightest, I will be the first to kill him!"

"don't want!"

Ling Zhenli screamed in terror, struggling to grab his sleeve. "Your Majesty! No! What does this have to do with him? Xie Daojian is innocent. I am innocent with him. We have known each other since childhood, and... and I haven't seen him for a very, very long time. Please, don't kill people! Don't implicate the innocent!"

Tears streamed down her face; she was so overwhelmed with emotion that she almost fainted.

Seeing her weeping and pleading so bitterly for another man, Pei Xuanlin felt a surge of jealousy and extreme displeasure.

He gripped her chin even tighter, almost crushing her bones, but when his gaze fell upon her paper-white face, he ultimately forced back even more vicious words and punishments.

He abruptly released her and shouted at the palace maids who were cleaning up the mess on the floor, "Summon the imperial physician! Are you all dead?! Why isn't the imperial physician here yet?! If the imperial heir is ill, you'll all be in serious trouble!"

...

The imperial physician rushed over and knelt nervously before the bed, holding his breath as he took Ling Zhenli's pulse.

The hall was eerily quiet; only Ling Zhenli's suppressed sobs and Pei Xuanlin's slightly rapid breathing could be heard.

Time passed slowly, the imperial physician's brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed, and finally, he withdrew his hand, respectfully kowtowed, and reported back.

"Your Majesty, the Empress's pulse is thready and weak, which is not a sign of pregnancy. Rather, it is due to long-term worry and depression, which has caused stagnation of liver qi, coupled with a weak spleen and stomach and a slight deficiency of qi and blood, leading to vomiting and dizziness. I will prescribe a few prescriptions to soothe the liver, relieve depression, and strengthen the spleen and stomach. With proper care for a period of time, she will be fine."

"What?!"

It's not a pregnancy pulse.

Those four short words were like ice water, drenching Pei Xuanlin from head to toe.

The cold mask he had been forcibly maintaining on his face cracked instantly, and the expectation and ecstasy in his eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by an indescribable sense of immense loss.

He had just sketched the child's tender face in his mind, wondering whether the child would look more like him or Xue Yingyue, and imagining how to use the child to keep her firmly by his side.

result.

It was all for nothing.

The moment Ling Zhenli heard the imperial physician's diagnosis, her tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed, and a sense of relief, as if she had survived a disaster, welled up in her heart, causing her to involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, fortunately there are no children. Fortunately, children will not come into this world to suffer the cold treatment from their father and the oppression from their half-siblings.

Her relieved reaction naturally did not escape the eyes of Pei Xuanlin, who had been watching her intently.

The nameless fire in his heart surged up again, as if it had been doused with hot oil, and exploded within him.

She was actually feeling fortunate!

She was so unwilling to have his child!

This realization gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake.

He went to great lengths to improve her health, but she was secretly happy that she hadn't conceived his child.

Pei Xuanlin exuded a terrifyingly low pressure, causing the imperial physicians and palace servants to prostrate themselves on the ground, trembling with fear.

"Everyone, step back."

"No...don't..." Ling Zhenli groaned weakly, she was now somewhat afraid of Pei Xuanlin.

The imperial physician and the palace maid knelt on the ground, looking at each other, unsure of whose advice to take.

"All of you, get out of my way! Are you deaf?!"

"Yes...yes..."

Thinking of the Emperor and Empress's quarrel, the palace maids and imperial physicians scrambled to their feet and hurried out of the palace.

After everyone left, Pei Xuanlin walked step by step to the bedside, looking down at Ling Zhenli, who was instinctively shrinking back because of his approach, and a cruel smile appeared on his lips.

"Xue Yingyue," his voice was as cold as ice, "you seem quite happy?"

Ling Zhenli was so frightened by the mad anger in his eyes that she couldn't speak and could only look at him in terror.

"Are you really that unwilling to conceive my child?"

He bent down, almost touching her nose, and spoke each word as if it were a curse.

"Good! Very good! From today onwards, I will favor you every day until you conceive a royal heir! Only when you are pregnant will I allow you to step out of this Zichen Palace and see the sun outside; otherwise, you will remain in this bed forever!"

With that, he turned and left, leaving Ling Zhenli alone on the cold bed, her face ashen.

From that day on, Pei Xuanlin took Ling Zhenli's words to heart, or rather, he chose to respond to her lack of love in the most extreme way.

He stayed at the Zichen Palace almost every night, forcefully taking her despite her resistance and tears.

The stark contrast between his indifference during the day and his entanglement at night was striking. He no longer spoke tenderly to her, and only when he was overcome with emotion would he let out a few suppressed, painful gasps.

During the process, he was extremely sarcastic, repeatedly reminding her that she was just a tool for bearing children, and trampling all her dignity underfoot.

He whispered in her ear, his breath hot.

"You're really useless. If you can't get pregnant, you'll just stay in this bed and wait for me."

Ling Zhenli bit her lip, silently enduring all of this.

Tears fell silently, soaking the pillow.

She didn't understand why Pei Xuanlin would torture her in this way if he hated her so much.

Is this love or hate?

After he finished, he got up and cleaned up without any hesitation, then turned his back to her and lay down to sleep, leaving Ling Zhenli alone in the darkness, feeling the pain in her body and the desolation in her heart.

To prevent Xue Yingyue from tasting the bitterness, Pei Xuanlin specially ordered the Imperial Hospital to change the tonic, making it much sweeter. Xue Yingyue had no idea that she had been taking tonics all along, and Pei Xuanlin didn't tell her either.

After the initial despair and numbness, Ling Zhenli gradually realized that although Pei Xuanlin was harsh in his words and domineering in his actions, he did not seem to have any real intention to hurt her.

Aside from their undeniable intimacy, he did not mistreat her in terms of food and daily life. Even when she vomited or lost her appetite due to discomfort, although he still kept a cold face, he would order the imperial physician to come to her at any time, and the imperial kitchen would try to prepare light meals that she might be able to eat.

Her food, clothing, and daily necessities remained the same as when she was empress. Treasures and playthings were still continuously sent into the Zichen Palace. Even after she was deposed as empress, she still lived in the Zichen Palace, and the emperor stayed with her all the time.

He never mentioned Xue Xianzhu again, as if Xue Xianzhu had never existed.

Once, in a moment of passion, she unintentionally called out "Sanlang," which was how she addressed him during their most intimate times. She clearly felt the man on top of her stiffen for a moment, and then his movements became inexplicably gentler, though it was fleeting.

This contradictory attitude, like a faint light in the darkness, tempts those in dire straits to harbor delusions.

A month passed in this kind of life.

That night, after another intense struggle, Pei Xuanlin indifferently prepared to get up.

Ling Zhenli's body ached all over. The doubts that had been building up in her heart for a long time, along with a hint of expectation that she herself dared not delve into, gave her the courage to speak softly just as he was about to leave the bed. Her voice was still hoarse from their lovemaking.

"Your Majesty...you come to me every night and never go to be with Empress Xue...won't she be angry with you?"

She asked cautiously, trying to glean some truth about Xue Xianzhu from him.

She wanted to know whether Pei Xuanlin's deep love for Xue Xianzhu was genuine or not.

Perhaps he didn't love Xue Xianzhu that much? Then does she... still have a chance?

However, Pei Xuanlin interpreted her words in a completely different way.

At this moment, right after the affair had ended, instead of coming over to hold him and cuddle for a while longer, she actually pushed him toward another woman!

She didn't want him to stay here every night at all, and might even be glad that he would soon find someone else so that she could have some peace and quiet!

A bone-chilling cold instantly swept over Pei Xuanlin.

He turned around, and in the darkness, his eyes held a chilling, self-mocking look, as if he had been thoroughly wounded.

"Good, good, Xue Yingyue, you're amazing."

Pei Xuanlin sneered, the sound of which was particularly jarring in the silent hall.

"Since you so dislike me coming here and are so eager to push me to another woman, then I will grant your wish!"

He quickly got up, his movements filled with a resolute anger, and neatly put on his robe.

"From this day forward, I will not come again."

After saying that, he turned and strode away without the slightest hesitation.

The heavy palace doors slammed shut behind him with a loud clang, the sound of the lock clicking away clearly cutting off his presence and seemingly extinguishing the faint glimmer of hope that had just begun to emerge in Ling Zhenli's heart.

Ling Zhenli lay frozen on the bed, the pain he had caused her still screaming, but her heart was filled with immense grievance and panic because of his merciless departure.

That's not what she meant. She didn't want him to leave... She just... just wanted to test him...

She wanted to call out to him, to explain, but the cold, resolute aura emanating from Pei Xuanlin frightened her. She was afraid that if she tried to persuade him to stay, she would only receive more hurtful mockery and rejection.

What good would it do to try and keep them? We definitely couldn't keep them, so it's better not to try at all.

In the end, she simply buried her face deep in the blankets that still retained his warmth, letting her silent tears soak the silk.

The Zichen Palace returned to its deathly silence, leaving her alone, surrounded by a seemingly endless confinement and loneliness.

...

After an unknown amount of time, Ling Zhenli fell asleep from exhaustion when suddenly a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the palace.

Immediately afterwards, the palace doors were pushed open, and Pei Xuan returned after leaving.

He stood in the doorway, backlit, so his expression was obscured.

All I could sense was the strong smell of alcohol emanating from him, and a strange anger.

"Ah Li..."

His voice was terribly hoarse, "You really want to push me onto someone else?"

Ling Zhenli was half-asleep, her consciousness unclear. Due to drowsiness, she could only open her eyes slightly as she watched him stagger closer and sit down on the edge of the bed.

Pei Xuanlin reached out, his cool fingertips caressing her cheek with a tenderness he hadn't shown in a long time. Realizing he had just returned from outside and his hands were cold, he quickly withdrew his hand and rubbed it.

"Ah Li".

He called her by her nickname, his voice heavy with drunkenness and unspeakable pain, "Why don't you love me? Why?"

At this moment, he was no longer the cold and ruthless emperor, but like an ordinary man who longed for something he could not have.

Hearing these words in a daze, Ling Zhenli felt as if something had struck her heart hard, leaving her with a bitter taste, but she was too sleepy to wake up.

Pei Xuanlin leaned down and buried his head in the crook of her neck, his warm breath spraying onto her skin.

"Don't push me away, don't abandon me."

He murmured softly, as if in pleading or commanding, "We two must be entangled together forever, forever."

He did not leave that night.

He was so drunk that he lay down haphazardly next to Ling Zhenli and fell into a deep sleep with her.