Chapter 52 Lin Zhi is Pregnant "Damn imperial physician..."

The bright candlelight illuminated the magnificent hall, and Lin Zhi, kneeling before it, felt a chill run through her body.

Her rash actions not only harmed Xie Zheng, but also Pei Lang.

If she hadn't hesitated and been timid, this matter could probably have been resolved.

Her knees were so sore from kneeling that she could no longer feel them, but Xiao Ting on the dragon throne remained silent. In the end, Pei Lang walked over and pulled her up. Lin Zhi was already so frightened that her legs went weak, and she frowned in confusion when she saw Pei Lang's actions.

"Rise. I have no intention of blaming you for what happened today. Bring a seat."

Seeing that Lin Zhi couldn't stand up, Pei Lang bent down and picked her up from the ground. When he placed her on a chair, he didn't forget to take off his cloak and cover her legs with it.

"Today's events were all orchestrated by His Majesty, a grand charade orchestrated by me to expose those with ulterior motives. I never imagined you would be willing to atone with your death for me..."

Pei Lang's gaze was very complex, which was quite obvious in the main hall. Lin Zhi couldn't figure out what his gaze meant, but she only knew that she held onto Pei Lang's fingers tightly.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice slightly hoarse: "Then Qin Lu'er..."

Xiao Ting leaned on the dragon throne with one hand, his handsome face bearing a half-smile: "She really is an innocent person. I originally thought Consort Hui was just a weak woman, but I never expected that she could dodge Qin Lu'er's dagger and kill her instead."

"This has surprised and delighted me greatly."

Xiao Ting's tone was gentle, but Lin Zhi shivered for no reason.

Consort Hui's family has connections with the princess, and Qin Lu'er is the daughter of the princess's servant. It is self-evident who the emperor is trying to achieve by setting up such a dangerous situation.

But the princess is, after all, his aunt.

Upon seeing Lin Zhi's gaze, Pei Lang unconsciously frowned. She understood what Lin Zhi was thinking, but before she could warn him, Xiao Ting had already spoken.

"It seems that Lady Pei has something to say to me?"

"Come, say whatever you want to say, and I will not punish you."

Pei Lang's brows furrowed even deeper. Just as he was about to deny it, Lin Zhi helped him stand up slowly.

Kneeling quietly in the hall, Lin Zhi resembled a house cat that had accidentally wandered into a wild animal's den, silent yet quite eye-catching.

Lin Zhi knelt and bowed to Xiao Ting with perfect posture, but stubbornly straightened her back.

It was against the rules not to look directly at the emperor's face, but Lin Zhi stared intently at Xiao Ting.

"May I ask Your Majesty, today's matter is to serve you, and Pei Lang is your subject, so it is only right."

"But if I were to truly die here today, would it be my fate to end here?"

Lin Zhi's chest heaved with difficulty. She hated being lied to the most, and now Pei Lang was going to lie to her along with Xiao Ting.

Even for the emperor, one such trick is enough.

Xie Zheng was too frightened to speak, and Pei Lang walked over and stood beside her. Although he didn't say anything, he was subtly protecting her.

Xiao Ting's playful expression vanished, replaced by a cold stare at Lin Zhi, whose face was streaked with tears.

"Today I have offended His Majesty, and I know I cannot leave alive."

"But all I want is justice!"

"His Majesty is omnipotent. The life and death of others are only in His Majesty's mind. But we are not like that. Our life and death are in the mind of others and in our own mind."

"Although Lin Zhi's life was as worthless as grass, he was not willing to die like this."

"Is His Majesty's lack of openness perhaps a sign of fear of being criticized?"

Even Pei Lang frowned in disapproval upon hearing this. Lin Zhi usually wouldn't even get angry with anyone, so why was she so agitated today? Did she even dare to contradict the Emperor?

Knowing that Xiao Ting was unpredictable, Pei Lang bent down to stop her, but Xiao Ting stopped her: "Pei Qing, wait a moment. Your wife still has something to say. Let her finish."

Lin Zhi's tears fell in a stream, but she grabbed Pei Lang's arm and pulled open his clothes, revealing real, bleeding wounds.

"I understand the principle of putting on a complete act, but does Pei Lang intend to use His Majesty's excuses time and time again?"

"In the past, Pei Lang served as the Crown Prince's tutor, which was to assist the young emperor whose foundation was not yet stable. But now that the new emperor has ascended the throne and his methods are swift and decisive, why is he still being tormented like this!"

"Today he is in his prime and can share the Emperor's burdens, but will he not care about Pei Lang's reputation and health in the future?"

Pei Lang followed Lin Zhi's movements and looked at her, only to find that her hands were trembling, as if she were extremely frightened or extremely angry.

Was it for him?

Pei Lang had heard what the people and officials said about him, that he was a treacherous minister who had corrupted the new emperor, making him tyrannical and capricious.

But he never imagined that anyone would care more about these words than him.

Seeing Lin Zhi's nose, already red from crying, Pei Lang felt a heavy blow to his heart, and was filled with indescribable emotions.

Xiao Ting stared at her for a long time. The hall was deathly silent. Just when Lin Zhi thought she was about to be dragged away and executed, Xiao Ting walked down the steps and stood in front of her.

"You're very brave."

"Besides Pei Qing, you are the second person who dares to say these things to me. It seems that you two are truly of the same ilk."

Lin Zhi's arm, which was half-supported on the ground, trembled and went limp; she could hardly believe her ears.

"Guards, bestow upon Madam Pei a pardon. I will not pursue this matter today."

"I'll give you one more chance to defy me, and I'll spare your life."

Xiao Ting chuckled, lifted his dragon robe, and sat down on the palace steps, startling Xie Zheng so much that he immediately stood up and knelt down as well.

Lin Zhi looked at the heavy gold medal in her hand through teary eyes, already finding it unbelievable.

Xiao Ting then revealed a youthful smile, still showing signs of being under 18: "So reluctant to part with Pei Qing, is that how much you love her?"

"Why only be a concubine?"

"How about I, Your Majesty, officially make you the empress today?"

"No need!"

After the two spoke in unison, it was Xiao Ting who was more surprised.

Pei Lang frowned, displeased with Lin Zhi's reaction. He turned to look at her, but only saw her delicate and pretty profile.

Lin Zhi gritted her teeth and clutched the gold medal in her hand: "I am but a willow branch, unworthy of Chief Minister Pei."

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Xiao Ting's gaze shifted between the two of them. When he met Pei Lang's resentful eyes, he couldn't help but laugh and quickly stood up and coughed lightly twice.

Just then, a palace attendant entered the hall to announce that Consort Hui wished to see the Emperor.

Xiao Ting's gaze darkened slightly. He exchanged a glance with Pei Lang and then strode away from the hall, saying, "The palace gates will be locked soon. You should leave the palace as soon as possible."

After Xiao Ting left, Lin Zhi collapsed to the ground as if all her strength had left her, curling up with rapid breathing. Pei Lang felt very uncomfortable seeing this and reached out to help her up, but she dodged his hand.

Lin Zhi got up from the ground and walked up to Xie Zheng. "What happened today is something I, Lin Zhi, owe you."

"If you ever need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask. Lin Zhi will never owe anyone anything."

Xie Zheng's gaze was incredibly complex. She could say such things in front of the Emperor and still manage to escape unscathed. What could he possibly do?

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes: "It was my own choice..."

He spoke in a very low voice, which Lin Zhi didn't hear clearly because of her grief, so she asked him something.

He said he wouldn't be polite.

Pei Lang forcefully stood between the two, preventing them from contacting each other, and glared coldly at Xie Zheng. He clearly heard what Lin Zhi hadn't heard.

I've never seen Xie Zheng so shameless before, always eyeing other people's wives.

Lin Zhi didn't want to talk to him anymore. When he interrupted, she turned around and left. Pei Lang only had time to warn Xie Zheng with his eyes before hurriedly following after him.

The palace street was dark and seemed to stretch on forever, but Lin Zhi stubbornly walked up it step by step.

Ignoring Pei Lang who was chasing after him, he kept his eyes straight ahead.

"Azhi, why are you so impulsive? This time it's His Majesty's mercy. If you continue to act recklessly, I won't be able to protect you..."

Lin Zhi stopped abruptly, her long hair, draped over her shoulders, now frosted with night dust. "Protect me? Haven't you always wanted to kick me away?"

"When do you want to protect me?"

Pei Lang stared intently at Lin Zhi, only to find that her usually watery eyes were now filled with anger. He patiently coaxed her, "A-Zhi, all I've ever wanted is to be with you."

"You clearly have nothing but me in your heart and eyes, and you even risked offending the Emperor to speak up for me, so why won't you admit it?"

Looking at Pei Lang's face, Lin Zhi sneered: "What I said just now was not the truth."

"When I saw His Majesty act this way, I only thought that you were just as shameless, and that you two were equally dishonest."

"If you think that this is what it means to care about you, then I have nothing to say."

As the night deepened and the snow became slippery, Lin Zhi hurried ahead. Whenever Pei Lang said another word, she would quicken her pace to leave. After several such instances, Pei Lang stopped speaking and simply followed silently behind her.

However, the palace streets were dimly lit, and Lin Zhi rarely came here. Just as she was about to reach the palace gate, she tripped over the threshold and fell to the ground.

Pei Lang's expression changed, and although he reacted quickly, he still couldn't catch her in time.

"Ah Zhi!"

Pei Lang saw that she had twisted her ankle and quickly touched her leg, but then noticed that Lin Zhi's face was pale with pain as she clutched her lower abdomen.

"......pain......"

Seeing that she was in so much pain that she could barely breathe and could barely speak, Pei Lang didn't care about anything else. He grabbed the horse from the servant at the palace gate and galloped back to the mansion with her.

Just as Pei Lang hurriedly carried the person into the room, he saw that Lin Zhi had already fainted from the pain. When he dragged the doctor into the room, Pei Lang stood aside with his hands trembling uncontrollably.

"Congratulations, sir! Your wife is pregnant!"

After taking her pulse for a moment, the doctor stood up with a mixture of worry and laughter: "It's just that the lady was too excited today and fell down, so the pregnancy is a bit unstable."

"Once the baby takes the prescribed medicine to stabilize the pregnancy, everything will be fine..."

Before the doctor could finish speaking, someone grabbed him by the collar and made him stand on tiptoe, almost lifting him off the ground.

The newly risen official stared at him with a sinister look in his eyes and demanded, "Say it again, what happened to her?"

The doctor's legs trembled with fear: "There's...there's pregnancy..." Could it be that the Grand Secretary is impotent? Is the child not his?

Ouch!

The doctor was slammed to the ground, his face contorted in pain.

Pei Lang turned around and slammed his hand on the window frame, his five fingers turning white as he gripped it tightly.

"Damn the imperial physician..."

Bowls of contraceptive soup were being served one after another, so how could Lin Zhi still be pregnant!

"After you finish writing the prescription, get out of here, take the double fee, and don't say another word."

The doctor was still indignant, but then he saw the two tall, strong men guarding the door fall silent and quietly leave the room.

After dismissing all the servants, Pei Lang lifted the hem of his robe and sat on the couch, frowning as he stared at Lin Zhi's pale, innocent face. "If you hate me so much, would you want this child...?"

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Author's note: Hahaha, I'm 60% on the way to winning back my wife, friends!

The real-life demon child has been born! [winking emoji]