Feng Yan continued, "The Third Prince then ordered Physician Chen to immediately prepare an abortion drug and personally forced it down his throat."
Zhu Dan said, "Third Sister-in-law is already weak. If she continues to be in pain like this, her chances of survival are slim."
Feng Yan nodded and said, "Yes, the Third Prince's wife was in so much pain that she was rolling around in the room, but the Third Prince wouldn't allow anyone to go in and take care of her. It's said that the medicine was extremely potent."
Indeed, given Zhu Chen's cunning nature, no matter how deep his feelings for the Third Prince's wife were, he wouldn't let her off easily when faced with the imperial physician and the three doctors' assertions.
Zhu Chen was too ruthless. The Third Prince's wife had been married to him since she was sixteen, and it had been six years since then. How could he not care about their marital relationship at all?
Zhu Yu raised an eyebrow at Zhu Dan: "I didn't expect the Fifth Prince to know so much. He travels around all year round, yet he even knows about the Third Prince's wife's poor health."
Zhu Dan: "..." Fourth Brother never misses a chance to tease him.
Lu Xiaoyun glared at Zhu Yu and said to Feng Yan, "Continue."
Zhu Yu was extremely annoyed by that glare and angrily turned his head away, ignoring the person.
Feng Yan said, "The Third Prince's wife swore to heaven that she had never betrayed him, and at first the Third Prince was somewhat shaken."
Lu Xiaoyun and Zhu Dan both knew that the ancients valued oaths highly and would never make them lightly. Since the Third Prince's wife had made a solemn oath, it was not surprising that Zhu Chen wavered.
"But then, Xu, the concubine whom the Third Prince had taken in half a year ago, came forward to testify that during the time the Third Prince was away, the Third Prince's wife often met with a man in secret at night. She had caught her twice, and the Third Prince's wife threatened her not to tell anyone, or she would die quietly."
Both Zhu Yu and Lu Xiaoyun knew this Xu Shi. She came from a merchant family and was extremely wealthy. If it weren't for her, Zhu Chen wouldn't have been able to come up with so much silver when the old emperor asked the princes to contribute money during the snow disaster in Mu City half a year ago.
Since entering the Third Prince's residence, Xu Shi had been suppressed by the Third Prince's wife. Not long after entering the residence, she was forced to drink a bowl of infertility-inducing soup.
Moreover, before Zhu Chen went to Mu City for disaster relief, he stayed at Xu's place for several nights in a row, which made the Third Prince's wife so angry that she pinched her palms raw.
After Zhu Chen left, unable to harm Xu Shi, he vented all his anger on Xu Shi's family.
She immediately dispatched several skilled fighters to Huainan, where they killed dozens of members of Xu's maternal family in the dead of night. They then set a fire to cause an accident, burning their bodies to ashes.
Madam Xu genuinely believed that her parents and brothers had died in an accident, and begged the Third Prince's wife to let her return to Huainan to handle her parents' funeral arrangements, but she was ruthlessly refused.
She was unaware at first that her parents and brothers had died at the hands of the Third Prince's wife. It wasn't until a few days ago that she learned the truth from a servant who had managed to escape and had gone to great lengths to find her.
Madam Xu had long harbored deep hatred for the Third Prince's Consort, wishing she could drink her blood and eat her flesh. Now that she had such a good opportunity, how could she not seize it firmly?
Lu Xiaoyun said, "Send someone to inform Chief Minister Xie."
"yes."
"Also, arrange for those three doctors and their families to leave Beijing overnight."
As for that Physician Chen, Zhu Yu whispered a few more words in Feng Yan's ear.
Upon hearing this, Feng Yan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately accepted the order and left.
The Chief Minister Xie would not stand idly by and watch his daughter die in such agony; he would surely bring her back to his residence.
This medicine will lose its effectiveness after fifteen hours.
Thus, the Third Prince and Xie, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, were completely estranged.
After Zhu Dan left, Zhu Yu angrily turned his face away and lay down on the couch.
Lu Xiaoyun walked over, but he ignored her.
Lu Xiaoyun found it strange and couldn't figure out what she had done to offend him. Why was this little man so temperamental every day?
He turned him around to face him and asked, "What are you angry about now?"
Zhu Yu pulled the thin blanket covering his stomach over his head: "No, I'm not angry."
Lu Xiaoyun scoffed and removed the blanket from her head, but Zhu Yu ignored her with his eyes closed.
"You still say you're not angry." She poked his fair and tender little face. "You still say you're not angry, but your face is practically screaming 'I'm furious, don't talk to me.'"
Zhu Yu opened his eyes, yanked off the blanket, and glared angrily at Lu Xiaoyun: "I'm a man!"
"Good, good, little man!"
Zhu Yu poked her shoulder: "I'm a great man, not a weak man!"
Lu Xiaoyun immediately laughed. He had been a woman for half a year, and now he suddenly remembered that he was a virile and great man.
"You, you're not allowed to glare at me in front of Lao Wu anymore!"
Lu Xiaoyun then realized what he was angry about and chuckled, "Fine, I won't glare at you in front of him."
"You promise!"
"ensure."
"and you……"
Before Zhu Yu could finish speaking, Lu Xiaoyun kissed him so hard that he could hardly breathe, as if she wanted to devour him whole, before finally letting him go.
How about this guarantee?
Zhu Yu, panting heavily, licked his lips. It tasted sweet, and he thought it felt good: "I guess I can barely forgive you."
...
Early the next morning, Xie Jijiu received news that his beloved daughter had been locked in the woodshed by the Third Prince and had been drugged. She was in excruciating pain and wouldn't allow any servants to take care of her. He was furious and immediately took a doctor to the Third Prince's residence.
He didn't know what had happened, or why Zhu Chen, who had only been away from the capital for half a year, would treat his wife like this upon returning home.
At this time, Zhu Chen had already entered the palace to report the matter of Mu City to the old emperor.
Seeing Xie Jijiu's extremely cold face, the servants of the Third Prince's residence naturally dared not stop him.
After Xie Jijiu strode inside, he immediately sent someone to inform the Third Prince.
Xie Jijiu marched straight in, and upon reaching the backyard, he smelled a strong stench of blood. There were still traces of blood on the ground that had not been cleaned up. More than ten servants of the Third Prince's Consort, along with her personal nanny, had just been beaten to death there.
Although Xie Jijiu was a civil official in his forties, he had also mastered martial arts in his youth, so his hearing was naturally more sensitive than others.
From afar, Xie Jijiu could hear the painful sobbing coming from the woodshed. However, the sound was intermittent, and the owner of the sound seemed to have run out of strength, growing weaker and weaker.
He recognized the voice as his beloved daughter's and immediately quickened his pace.
Xie Jijiu was heartbroken and kicked the door of the woodshed open.
On the cold floor of the woodshed, the Third Prince's Consort was curled up in a ball, her face whiter than paper, beads of cold sweat rolling down her forehead, her clothes filthy, and her lower body covered in blood.
"Daughter!" Xie Jijiu's eyes reddened, and he immediately took two steps forward and picked Xie Xinru up from the ground.
Xie Xinru was in so much pain that her consciousness was fading. She forced her eyes open when she heard the sound and could barely make out that the person holding her in her arms was her father.
"father……"
"Alas, Father is here, Father is here, daughter, you have suffered." Xie Jijiu's voice choked with sobs.
"Father, daughter, daughter is not, not pregnant, not... I'm sorry, Third Prince..." Xie Xinru's fair hands gripped Xie Jijiu's clothes tightly, and hot tears rolled down her cheeks like broken beads.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
