Chapter 75 Lin Zhi wanted to give birth to Pei Lang. He slightly cupped his hands, his attitude respectful: "..."

The large raindrops stung when they hit her, but Chun Tao covered most of the umbrella around Lin Zhi, her eyes filled with worry as she watched her, fearing something might happen to her.

But Lin Zhi couldn't bear to let Chun Tao stay with her, and whispered to shoo her away: "Go away, not just anyone can kneel under the Golden Hall."

"Wait for me outside the palace gate."

Chun Tao bit her lower lip until it bled, refusing to let go, and shook her head: "Chun Tao wants to stay with Miss."

Lin Zhi suddenly looked up, her almond-shaped eyes, washed by the rain, were frighteningly bright: "If I die today, I'll need you to collect my body."

"Chuntao, if even you don't listen to me, I'm afraid I'll end up dead in the wilderness. Can you really bear to do that?"

Chun Tao was so frightened by her words that tears streamed down her face, but Lin Zhi used all her strength to push her away and knelt in front of the palace in the pouring rain.

"Your humble servant, Lin Zhi, brings a gold token to Your Majesty!"

He kept calling out, and only Lin Zhi's firm voice echoed repeatedly in front of the main hall.

The heavy palace doors were finally pushed open, but the eunuch who came in frowned as he stared at Lin Zhi and couldn't help but speak up to advise, "Madam Pei, you are not alone here now. If anything happens to this child, how will you face the ancestors of the Pei family?"

"Even without Lord Pei, you still have to leave an heir for the Pei family."

"You should go back; the Emperor will not see you."

But Lin Zhi remained unmoved, kneeling on the ground with a resolute expression: "As long as His Majesty does not see me, I will kneel here for a day."

“If I don’t see you for three days, I will kneel here for three days.”

Seeing that she was unyielding and considering her large pregnant belly, the eunuch sighed with a worried expression and turned to enter the main hall.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, causing Lin Zhi's back to hunch slightly, but she refused to give up.

He called out repeatedly, his once clear voice growing hoarse, but the palace doors remained tightly shut. Like a wild beast feigning sleep, he refused to speak even when Lin Zhi offered herself up.

The icy rain soaked my hair and clothes, and a faint, sweet, metallic taste rose in my throat.

Lin Zhi carefully protected her belly, enduring the sharp pain in her knees. She wasn't afraid of suffering herself, but only that her child wouldn't be able to bear it.

"My dear child, as long as we see the Emperor... Mother will take you home..."

The rain above her head suddenly stopped. Lin Zhi looked up, feeling dizzy, only to see the Empress, with a slightly pitying expression and an air of elegance, standing before her.

"Your Majesty..."

The Empress was also a mother. Seeing her kneeling and begging for an audience while pregnant, she couldn't help but furrow her brows slightly: "Consort Pei, the situation is not good now. Pei Lang is probably in danger. Please don't make things difficult for yourself and your child."

"I will decide to send you out of the palace; that will make you feel better."

Lin Zhi kowtowed deeply with great difficulty: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but my husband is in such dire straits, and I cannot live on alone."

"If Your Majesty truly intends to punish Pei Lang, I would also appreciate it if Your Majesty could grant me a meeting."

The Empress stared at the gold medal in her hand, her lips slightly pursed: "Lin Zhi, I know that you and Pei Lang are childhood sweethearts, but even the Pei family's legal wife is helpless now, so what can you do?"

"His Majesty has already lost faith in Pei Lang. Even if you have the pardon, it will be in vain."

"His Majesty can kill Pei Lang whenever he wants."

Lin Zhi bit her lower lip until it turned white and cracked, her voice trembling but still firm: "Because I do not believe, I do not believe that Pei Lang, who has devoted his life to the court and studied diligently for more than ten years to serve His Majesty, would betray the country and collude with the enemy."

"I do not believe that the Crown Prince's tutor, who has taught a wise and virtuous ruler, would be a fraudster who steals fame and reputation."

"Your Majesty does not believe it. He has already made a promise, yet he goes back on his word. Who will remain loyal to Your Majesty in the future?"

Lin Zhi's voice was practically a roar, utterly devoid of decorum, yet it still startled the Empress.

"you......"

Upon seeing Xiao Ting, Lin Zhi immediately forgot all the unbearable pain she was in and presented him with the pardon he had personally bestowed upon her.

"Your Majesty, please have mercy and thoroughly investigate this matter! Spare Pei Lang's life!"

But Xiao Ting slowly walked down the palace steps and stood in front of her, his condescending gaze utterly cold.

"How dare you, Lin Zhi, threaten me?"

"How dare a woman like you interfere in matters of state!"

Lin Zhi shuddered, but still maintained the posture of presenting the gold medal.

Seeing her in such a disheveled state, Xiao Ting's eyes darkened: "If you really used the gold medal to save Pei Lang, but you have offended me so much, I will sentence you to death. Who can save you then?"

Lin Zhi gripped the edge of the gold medal tightly, her slender, bony fingertips turning white.

"This humble woman is willing; this act is not only to save Pei Lang, but also to save His Majesty's reputation!"

“A teacher for a day is a father for life. Pei Lang was once the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince and was the Emperor’s teacher. If Pei Lang dies, the Emperor’s reputation will be in jeopardy.”

"We urge Your Majesty to reconsider!"

Looking at Lin Zhi kneeling and kowtowing before him, Xiao Ting suppressed his temper, exchanged a glance with the Empress, took two steps forward, and knocked the gold medal out of Lin Zhi's hand.

The gold piece landed with a sound like a resounding chime.

"This dynasty is my dynasty, and the people are my people."

Xiao Ting squatted down, lifted Lin Zhi's chin, and stared into her bloodshot red eyes: "I don't care about reputation at all, I only care about the safety of the people and soldiers."

"Since you insist on kneeling, then kneel here until you die; no one will care."

"Listen up, all of you. If Consort Pei refuses to get up, make her kneel here."

"Even if she kneels here to her death, let's see who dares to collect her corpse!"

The emperor's wrath silenced everyone present, with only the sound of raindrops pattering on the ground.

Seeing Xiao Ting turn and leave, Lin Zhi panicked and tried to grab the hem of his robe with both hands, but she missed and fell to the ground.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! You cannot break your promise!"

"Xiao Ting!"

"Xiao Ting!"

A shrill, heart-wrenching female voice echoed throughout the inner palace, causing even the Empress to turn her head away in unbearable pain.

"Your Majesty! Consort Pei has vomited blood!" the palace maid exclaimed in alarm.

Upon hearing this, the Empress saw Lin Zhi collapse to the ground, coughing up blood from a sudden attack of anger. She immediately frowned and said, "Quickly carry her into the side hall! Summon the imperial physician!"

After everyone had scrambled to their feet, the bright red bloodstains on the cold, hard stone were quickly washed away by the heavy rain, as if nothing had ever happened.

"...Those were two living, breathing human lives! Do you even have a heart?!"

Lin Zhi was awakened by a faint sound. Even though Pei Lang was unconscious, she was still uneasy, her heart filled with worry. She slightly opened her eyes and saw only bright yellow...

She then vaguely remembered hearing the Empress's voice before she fainted.

The Empress... but wasn't that the Empress's voice just now?

Lin Zhi flicked her fingers with difficulty, but even the slightest movement caused her excruciating pain.

Xiao Ting's voice, which came from not far away, was somewhat deep: "Empress, you have overstepped your bounds."

"Now is the crucial moment to test them. The Lu and He families are already under the control of the Imperial Guards, and I must find out more about Lin Zhi's importance in Pei Lang's heart."

"This is not the time for womanly compassion, shut up."

"Your Majesty, I do not know what womanly compassion is. I only know that on the day I gave birth to Yu'er, it was also pouring rain. I had a difficult childbirth and walked on the brink of death! It lasted for a day and a night!"

"Your Majesty should never, under any circumstances, test a mother's life!"

The two had an extremely heated argument, but Lin Zhi was so confused that she couldn't hear clearly, except for the last sentence.

"Pei Lang is coming soon, stop fooling around! Take the Empress away."

Pei Lang...

Lin Zhi struggled to lean against the bedside, but even breathing caused her a sharp pain in her chest, and her throat was sore and difficult to choke on.

But upon hearing the familiar, steady footsteps, she couldn't help but slow her breathing, fearing it was just her imagination and would disappear as soon as she woke up.

"Your Majesty, I, Pei Lang, have met you. Everything is proceeding smoothly, except for the Princess's residence."

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Lin Zhi's tears streamed down her face. Her mind was a complete blank, and she couldn't even think about what was going on between Pei Lang and Xiao Ting.

"Pei Qing is indeed a man of great things. Do you know that your concubine came to the palace to request an audience with me, offering you a death-exemption token bestowed by the Emperor?"

Pei Lang noticed Xiao Ting's scrutinizing gaze, but his expression remained unchanged: "I hope Your Majesty will forgive me. I dared not let others ruin things and did not tell anyone the truth. I only hope that my wife has not ruined Your Majesty's plans."

Xiao Ting calmly sat down in front of him: "Don't worry, Pei Qing. Not only did it not disrupt the plan, Lin Zhi actually helped me."

"She risked her life to enter the palace and even spoke frankly, which not only allowed my aunt's spies to see my attitude towards you, making them think that I really wanted to punish you, but I'm afraid they have now lowered their guard."

"She even vomited blood and fainted, the effect was remarkable."

"But I still feel a little guilty. Lin Zhi is pregnant. Will something happen to her?"

Pei Lang's eyes flashed, and he clenched his large hands, which were hanging by his sides, so tightly that the veins bulged, but his expression remained calm: "For Junmou, losing one of her is not too much."

Xiao Ting raised an eyebrow slightly and continued to probe, "That's your own flesh and blood, and you don't care at all?"

Pei Lang bowed slightly, his attitude respectful: "I am ruthless towards her. I used her before to take revenge on my stepmother, but now I use her for His Majesty's sake."

“This child is just here to suffer; it might not be so bad if he dies.”

The calm yet cruel words spoken by Pei Lang brought relief to Xiao Ting, but despair to Lin Zhi.

Lin Zhi felt as if her heart had been resolutely ripped out of her chest and then thrown to the ground and trampled upon.

A sharp sting welled up in her eyes, but she numbly raised her hand to touch her cheek, only to find it completely dry.

She couldn't cry anymore; she had cried all her tears.

Like a stray dog, Lin Zhi staggered out of the side gate of the Golden Hall, and barely made it to the palace gate with a dizzy and aching body.

He collapsed as if all his strength had left him the moment he saw Chuntao.

"Miss!"

Chun Tao was terrified and held Lin Zhi tightly with trembling hands, not daring to make any rash moves for fear of aggravating her injuries.

"It hurts...it hurts so much..."

Lin Zhi grabbed her sleeve, her lips and face deathly pale.

Chun Tao stared blankly at her belly and lower skirt, then cried out to the coachman to lift her into the carriage: "Quickly back to the manor! Miss is about to give birth!"

The Pei family had already invited the midwife to their residence for a while. Fortunately, Xia Ying was there to keep an eye on things, and even when chaos broke out in the residence, the midwife didn't run away.

However, when she saw Lin Zhi, who had fainted, she cried so hard that she couldn't speak.

"Stop crying! Quickly, get some hot water and scissors ready!"

Pei Mingli, who was guarding the mansion, took Lin Zhi and quickly escorted her to the bedroom.

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Author's Note: Pei Gou has gone mad! He's preparing to feign death to win back his wife! [Starry-eyed]

(Thanks to my best friend Ciling for the nutrient solution [heart emoji])