Perhaps it was the smell of blood that made her suddenly feel unwell. A wave of nausea surged through her stomach, and she almost couldn't hold it in.
"Your Highness, your period is late this month," the maid whispered a reminder.
Xu Lingqing froze on one side, her eyes wide with disbelief. She then abruptly raised her head to look at Zhao Zhiyan not far away, glaring angrily at the maid.
Stop talking!
Zhao Zhiyan turned back, looked at her with delight, and stepped forward to help her up: "Quickly go and fetch a doctor."
"Your Highness, I am just feeling unwell and there is no need to call a doctor." Xu Lingqing wanted to stop him, but Zhao Zhiyan was worried and insisted on sending someone to fetch a doctor.
Unable to resist, Xu Lingqing was forced to sit down in the chair. Her face was pale as she stretched out her hand and presented it to the doctor, looking utterly defeated.
"Congratulations, Your Highness, the Princess Consort is about a month pregnant." After taking their pulses, the doctor smiled and congratulated the two of them.
Zhao Zhiyan was overjoyed and stepped forward to hold Xu Lingqing's hand tightly: "We're having another baby."
Xu Lingqing forced a smile, feigning helplessness: "Child, God has truly been kind to me."
She was counting the days; the day before Song Yue kidnapped her, she had indeed shared a room with Zhao Zhiyan.
But that day...
Xu Lingqing was a little annoyed and shook her head.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Zhiyan asked with concern.
Xu Lingqing nestled into Zhao Zhiyan's arms, sobbing softly, "Your Highness, I'm worried I won't be able to protect this child. I don't want to go through that heart-wrenching pain again."
Zhao Zhiyan pulled her into a tight embrace: "No, I only have you and the child left now, I will never let anything happen to you."
The fact that Xu Lingqing was pregnant was reported to Song Yue by a palace maid who waited for Liang Ying on her usual route.
"The Eighth Princess Consort is pregnant?" Song Yue asked in surprise.
The maid said, "It was Doctor Li who said it himself. The Eighth Prince's Mansion has also invited two experienced midwives to serve the Eighth Princess every day."
Creak!
The sound of a branch breaking.
When Song Yue looked up, she saw Liang Ying standing under the plum tree with a gloomy face, clutching a plum branch in her hand.
Liang Ying walked step by step towards Song Yue through the snow: "I have been taking your prescription for several days now. When will I have the chance to eat it?"
"The prince consort will return in three days, and the crown prince will host a banquet. Princess, you must seize the opportunity." Song Yue handed her a sachet: "The prince consort can only stay for five days. He will depart for the border in five days."
Clutching the sachet, Liang Ying turned and left.
Liang Ying's husband returned as scheduled.
The Crown Prince hosted a banquet, and the prince consort got drunk after several rounds of drinks and was helped back home by a palace maid.
For five consecutive days, the Crown Prince summoned the Prince Consort and detained him in the palace, giving him no chance to leave. It wasn't until the morning of the sixth day that he and the Duke of Shen and his entourage went to the border.
"The Duke of Shen said that there is a problem with the grain supplies in Fuzhou. If it is not resolved in time, it will definitely have a greater impact."
“The Japanese are taking this opportunity to cause trouble; there must be a problem with the border.”
Song Yue was also worried.
She decided to go to Hanguang Temple in person to see the master, who might have a way to save her.
We prepared a horse-drawn carriage and rushed there, arriving in the early hours of the third day. We then hiked up the mountain, only to find that Hanguang Temple was already in a state of disrepair.
"This..." Song Yue was dumbfounded and hurriedly sent someone to inquire.
The guard reported, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager is extremely dissatisfied with Kongji. She once sent people to destroy Hanguang Temple, and all the monks of Hanguang Temple were driven away."
Song Yue frowned, pondered for a moment, and ordered people to rebuild Hanguang Temple as soon as possible.
Heavy snow fell on the way back, blocking the road. The mountain road was muddy and the visibility was poor. For safety reasons, we had to stay at an inn at the foot of the mountain for the time being.
A familiar aroma wafted towards me.
Inside the inn
Several men dressed in tattered clothes were drinking and eating meat. One of them was cursing, "Another wasted trip. Where did those old monks from Hanguang Temple go?"
"The weather in Northern Chu is truly unbearable!"
Song Yue brushed past the group of people, then raised her eyelids slightly and walked to the counter, thinking that those people from earlier probably weren't from Northern Chu.
"Sir, all the private rooms upstairs are full," the waiter said apologetically.
The inn was small to begin with, and all five tables in the room were full, so it must have been booked by this group of people.
Song Yue was dressed very casually, and upon hearing this, she didn't linger and got up to leave.
"Master," Yun Dong said worriedly, "the snow is so heavy outside. If we rush on our way, we will definitely be in danger."
"We should be able to reach the next inn before it gets dark," Song Yue said.
"But……"
Song Yue had already turned around.
The men drinking together turned their gazes to Song Yue. Suddenly, one of them said, "Young lady, wait a moment. How about we brothers set aside a room for you?"
Song Yue steadied herself, shook her head and smiled, "My relatives from my mother's side don't live too far away, so they must be on their way to meet me. Thank you all for your kindness."
Without saying anything more, he went straight out and got into the carriage.
Yun Dong belatedly realized that something was wrong.
In this desolate wilderness, if you encounter danger, you'll be left with no one to turn to for help.
"Let's go!" she urged.
The carriage continued on its way.
Song Yue clenched her fists tightly. She had sent out all the Imperial Guards to gather information, and they wouldn't be back for a while. She couldn't put herself in danger.
A cold wind blew by.
The guard driving the carriage said, "Master, there is no road ahead."
Song Yue lifted the curtain and glanced at the vast expanse of snow outside. Her heart sank, and she pulled Yun Dong down from the carriage.
Fortunately, the Imperial Guards returned in time.
Seeing the group of people, she breathed a sigh of relief. One of them said, "Below this road is a sheer cliff. The way back is to the northwest."
"Walk!"
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