Chapter 52 Chapter 52 Incident
The palace coup was swift and ridiculous. If it hadn't escalated, the emperor might have been able to cover up for the virtuous prince. But Li Xuan, too young and competitive, was obsessed with comparing himself to his brother, who was superior in every way. He hadn't considered what to do after the defeat.
The news that the virtuous prince forced the emperor to abdicate and the prince came to his rescue spread throughout the major families in the capital within just a few hours. Within half a day, people in the streets and alleys were talking about the matter, trying to find out the real truth behind this palace secret.
Because he needed to deal with the matter of the virtuous prince, and more importantly, Li Cheng didn't want to return to the Eastern Palace. His repeated patience and indulgence had ultimately led to the situation he'd encountered today. Sometimes, he truly wondered, did Liang Hanzhang—did she even have the slightest affection for him?
Officials all said the Crown Prince was a man of pure spirit, dignified and steady. This was indeed true. Li Cheng rarely showed any emotion, and even when he did, he rarely showed it. With the exception of his close friend Li Fu, no one else could see it.
But now, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Crown Prince's eyes were filled with anger, his teeth gnashing. Someone must have angered him. The Crown Prince was cold-hearted and unfeeling, his only soft spot reserved for Liang Yuan. Yet, this Liang Yuan repeatedly stabbed him in the heart with a knife.
Li Cheng was afraid that if a woman stood before him, he would lose control of his actions. Should he yell insults at her, angrily question her, or pretend nothing had happened? Neither option was truly what he was thinking at the moment.
He looked up at the four corners of the sky blocked by the palace walls. Coincidentally, at this moment, a group of wild geese flew across the azure sky, followed by a lone goose at the end, stumbling and flapping its wings, trying to keep up.
But many things cannot be achieved by just trying hard. Even if one tries hard, the lone goose that has fallen behind the flock is still far away from the flock. Its mournful cry fills the air, a deep and desolate one.
Li Cheng stood with his hands behind his back, a rare hint of vulnerability on his handsome face. Lowering his eyes, he sighed inaudibly and asked Li Fu beside him, "Tell me, is true love truly attainable?"
Li Fu knew that although His Highness looked normal, he was still feeling bad for being treated differently by his biological parents for so many years. Furthermore, Liang Yuan's misdeeds were a heavy burden, and even though the Crown Prince had a heart as solid as a rock and was rarely deceived by the outside world, he was inevitably affected.
So he comforted him, "Your Highness, sincerity can be sought. The reason why you have failed to obtain it is because the time has not come yet."
"Is that so?" Li Cheng smiled bitterly and shook his head, then heaved a long sigh of relief, temporarily breaking free from the shackles. He ordered: "Send someone back to tell Liang Yuan that due to the trivial affairs of the court, I will be staying in Xuanguang Palace for the next few days, so she doesn't have to worry."
He knew her character well enough; how could she care for someone she had no feelings for? But Li Cheng didn't take back his last words. He could just treat them as self-deception.
Liang Hanzhang had naturally heard about the virtuous prince's rebellion in the East Palace. When she saw the eunuch come to report that the prince had been staying in the palace for the past few days, she was not surprised and lived her life at her usual pace every day.
After more than seven months of pregnancy, her belly had grown so big that she needed someone to support her when walking. She did not dare to leave the palace on her own and was always accompanied by palace maids.
Just as she was about to come out to enjoy the scenery after dinner as usual, she walked to the corner of the rockery in the back garden and suddenly heard two furtive maids talking about something in secret.
Mingyue's face turned grim, and she was about to step forward and scold him, but Liang Hanzhang stopped her. She lowered her voice and said, "Listen to what you are saying first."
She temporarily forgot that she was pregnant and squatted behind the rockery as usual, listening carefully to the two maids' whispers.
"You mean, His Royal Highness the King of Virtue was stripped of his title?" someone asked.
Another person answered: "That's right. The fact that he intended to rebel is enough to demote him to a commoner. Your Highness the Crown Prince only stripped him of his title, but still provided him with good food and drink. He has done the most."
It was about the rebellion of the virtuous king again. Although Liang Hanzhang was in the Eastern Palace, he had heard countless versions of the story. At the beginning, he was quite interested, but now when he heard the word "virtuous king", he began to lose interest.
Just as he was about to call Yuhu and Mingyue to turn around, the two people behind the rockery raised their voices a little.
"Is His Royal Highness the Wise King really so rebellious?" Some people didn't believe it.
Someone clicked his tongue, as if laughing at her stupidity: "You don't know that the virtuous king not only rebelled, he also served under Yan Guang for many years."
"What?!"
"You don't believe it? I heard that the virtuous prince has been disguised as someone else and stayed under Yan Guang's nose all these years. He is Yan Guang's adopted son Liang Xian!"
"How could this wise king be so rebellious? He has been lurking beside Yan Guang for years. What exactly does he seek?"
"You don't know this," the maid was about to start a long speech, but was interrupted by Yuhu's scolding. The two maids turned sideways and saw that Lady Liangyuan had stood behind them without them noticing.
Liang Hanzhang's face changed drastically when he heard the name "Liang Xian." He was about to continue listening when Yuhu suddenly interrupted him. She was in a state of panic and asked anxiously, "What else have you heard about the virtuous king? Tell us quickly!"
"Your Majesty, we were wrong. We shouldn't have spoken so treasonously about the royal family. Please spare my life!" The two palace maids knelt down and begged for mercy.
Liang Hanzhang wanted to ask something else, but Mingyue suddenly said, "Your Majesty, it's getting late, we should go back." She then shouted angrily, "Get out of here!" and winked at the eunuchs following nearby.
The eunuch understood, and after Mingyue and the other two half-dragged and half-carried the empress away, Fang waved his hand and had the two palace maids who had not run far away arrested.
Liang Hanzhang was forcibly dragged back, still in a daze. His heart was shaken by a huge whirlpool, and the scam that had been concealed well was finally revealed.
If she had only believed the two maids' whispers about 30% to 40%, by the time Mingyue and the other two had forced the maids to stop talking and even helped her back to Zhilan Residence in such a deceptive way, Liang Hanzhang's suspicions had risen to 70% to 80%.
No wonder Li Xuan said such strange words in the pavilion at that time, and when he persuaded her to steal the token, her brother came in so easily, as if he was in an empty place, and his words were very biased towards the wise king.
It turns out that he is the virtuous king, and the virtuous king is my brother!
When the truth came to light, Liang Hanzhang staggered and almost lost his balance. When the cold wind blew, his little face turned pale, without a trace of blood left.
It turned out that her life was a joke. She thought her brother was her only relative in the world, and for his sake, she would even betray the prince.
But in the end, it turned out that her brother was the one who deceived her the most. He originally had enormous wealth, but he curled up beside Yan Guang and pretended to be her lover.
His goals, his ambitions, actually required decades of her life. If he had only admitted that he had never been controlled by Yan Guang, he could have taken her away from his clutches and lived a carefree and happy life. Liang Hanzhang wouldn't be in the state she was in now, feeling so miserable that she could barely breathe.
Since Liang Xian was a fake, then what did it mean that she had compromised for her brother for so many years, and now, for her brother's situation, she was still betraying the Crown Prince who was so kind to her?!
Liang Hanzhang was shocked and angry, a sense of sadness welling up in her heart. Had she really done something wrong?
Just at this moment, the white pheasant perched on the dead branch flapped its wings and flew into the gray sky.
…
The prince has been staying in the palace for several days. Liang Hanzhang originally thought it was nothing unusual, but only now did she notice a slight difference.
The Crown Prince had long since discovered she had stolen the token, and the reason he was unwilling to return was because he didn't want to see her again. Was he still pondering how to punish her? After all, he hadn't changed his ways, committing fraud time and again.
Once again, she betrayed the trust of the only person who believed in her.
Thinking through the whole story, Liang Hanzhang felt a surge of guilt and powerlessness. Knowing Mingyue and Yuhu couldn't get anything out of her, she tried to break free from their support and turned back.
She wanted to find out who sent those two palace maids and what their intention was in deliberately saying these things in front of her.
This devastating news suddenly hit them hard, but even someone who could remain calm in the face of a falling mountain would be thrown into disarray, let alone Liang Hanzhang. Liang Yuan had always been known for her gentle demeanor, docile and never losing her temper. Subconsciously acknowledging this, Mingyue and the others barely reacted when Liang Yuan broke free and began to walk back.
"Your Highness, please don't move around now. You might hurt the little prince in your belly!" Yuhu was horrified to see Liangyuan running on the bluestone with her big belly, and she rushed forward to stop her. Mingyue did the same.
But Liang Yuan's eyes were glazed over, her mind wandering. Though she stumbled, she still insisted on walking back. Even Mingyue, a skilled maid, couldn't catch her in time. Just as they held their breath and cried out, their hearts clenched in agony, they looked down and saw Liang Yuan, not far from them, suddenly fall heavily to the ground, belly down.
The maidservant was so frightened that she was petrified and dared not breathe. She suppressed the trembling of her palms and helped Liang Yuan, who looked in pain, to her feet.
The moment Liang Hanzhang fell, she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. Before she could react, she felt something flowing out from below. Then she heard Mingyue exclaiming, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty is bleeding!"
"Someone come quickly!"
Yuhu was almost frightened to death, but she tried hard to remain calm. She ordered the eunuch and guards who were not far away to call the imperial physician and the midwife, and then asked someone to get a sedan chair to carry the empress back.
The originally peaceful and tranquil East Palace was now like a stone hitting the water, causing countless huge waves and chaos.
When Li Cheng returned from the palace on his steed, he had already been inside for quite some time. His expression was grim, and his clothes were somewhat disheveled. His usually meticulously tied white jade belt was now askew, weighing down his noble dragon robe into wrinkles. His hair was also a little disheveled, clearly having hurried back in a panic.
At this moment, the normally gentle and polite Crown Prince had red eyes and was breathing heavily. An aura as cold as ice from the mountaintop swept over him. He grabbed one of the doctors and asked sternly, "Where's Liang Yuan? Is she safe?!"
The imperial doctors were so frightened that they immediately knelt down. At this critical moment, Li Cheng didn't care about the etiquette between the emperor and his subjects. He shouted angrily, "Answer me!"
The imperial physicians were terrified. After serving the crown prince for so many years, this was the first time they had seen him look so terrifying. He tried hard to keep his voice from trembling, and he didn't dare look into the crown prince's eyes, which were as red as a ghost.
"The Queen accidentally fell and injured the royal heir in her belly, so she has to give birth now."
Li Cheng heard the shrill sounds inside and naturally knew that she was giving birth. However, the child was not even full-term, and they were forcibly born like this. Not to mention the fetus, even the mother, could she guarantee her safety?
The imperial physicians had previously boasted that they could keep the Empress and the heir safe, but now, this was a difficult situation. If they were lucky, both mother and child would be safe. If they were unlucky, the fetus might not be saved.
There is also a worst-case scenario, which is a difficult birth, in which both the mother and the fetus die.
If it is the first case, everyone will be happy. If it is the second and third cases, if they really happen, even if the prince's wrath does not fall on them, His Majesty and the Queen in the palace will not forgive them.
After all, the baby in Liangyuan's belly is a treasure for everyone. The prince has an heir, and the country has descendants. This is a blessing for the entire Jin Dynasty.
If he suddenly died and the wrath of heaven descended, how could these imperial doctors have a good ending?
The Crown Prince wasn't as thoughtful as the other imperial doctors. He only prayed for Liang Yuan's safety. His breathing was unsteady, and he asked anxiously, "Given the current situation, what are the chances of Liang Yuan surviving safely?"
The chief imperial physician answered truthfully: "If there is no difficult delivery and your Majesty is in good health, we are 80% to 90% sure."
"Okay, this is what you said. If the Queen cannot be saved in the end, you guys will bring your heads to me!" Li Cheng's eyes were swollen and his forehead was covered with blue grooves. He gritted his teeth and said.
After hearing the prince's warning, the imperial doctors frantically continued to discuss, trying to find a foolproof plan. Li Cheng was so anxious that he almost wanted to break down the door.
But everyone around him tried to dissuade him, and he didn't want to cause trouble at this moment, so he had to wait anxiously outside.
Li Cheng realized that the dark cloud that had surrounded him for days was nothing compared to Liang Hanzhang's life. As long as she was still alive and well by his side, and still willing to be close to him, he could ignore all the unpleasantness that had come before.
What does family affection mean? Li Cheng knew that he was destined to have no chance of getting it. Since he couldn't get it no matter how hard he tried, why did he act so humble and make others look down on him?
The throne is in his hands. As long as he has power and his beloved, his life will be complete.
As for the child, if he was lucky enough to survive, he would naturally be overjoyed. If not, he would not force it.
After all, they will have children.
Li Cheng comforted him in this way.
At that moment, the evening breeze was bleak, withered shadows swayed, and from time to time, a woman's cries of pain could be heard. Outside the delivery room, a man dressed in a red-gold, four-clawed python robe and black-soled, white-soled black boots stood. He ignored the biting cold wind, clasped his hands together, and muttered something to the heavens.
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