Chapter 59 Deception: "What's wrapped around your waist?"
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky. Ruan Yang knelt on the steps to help the children build a snowman, then took out a few pieces of silver from her purse and bought hot steamed buns for the thinly dressed children.
The air was filled with a festive atmosphere, and the roadside was filled with laughter and fireworks. The firelight illuminated the falling snow, making it look as brilliant as shattered gold.
The crystal world gradually disappeared in Ruan Yang's eyes. She smiled, bought a lotus lantern from a roadside vendor, and jogged to the riverbank.
"Hey, where are you going...?"
Ruan Yang turned around upon hearing the sound and saw Ning Xian silently following behind him. Instead of being annoyed, Ning Xian smiled back at him amidst the bustling crowd.
"I want to release river lanterns, I'll be right back."
Before the girl could finish speaking, she disappeared into the dense crowd.
Ning Xian frowned and reached out to grab the person back, but after careful consideration, he decided against it. Ruan Yang was rarely happy, and he didn't want to spoil the mood.
Although his secret guards were placed in various corners, there were many of them, some good and some bad, so he couldn't help but feel uneasy. Therefore, he sent someone to follow Ruan Yang and sat on the steps to wait for Ruan Yang to return.
Ning Xian picked up a petal from the snow and played with it. Seeing that Lan Rong hadn't replied, she smiled and said, "What's there to be afraid of saying? Are you worried that I can't handle it?"
Lan Rong swallowed hard. She was almost certain that, given Ning Xian's personality, if she knew the truth, Ruan Yang's unborn child would surely die.
She shook her head tentatively and said, "This servant is blind. Does Your Majesty perhaps find something amiss?"
Ning Xian sighed and chuckled, "It's nothing. I was just asking. Sometimes I feel like I've already committed so many evils, what difference would one more make..."
...
It was nearly midnight when Ruan Yang finished releasing the river lanterns. The night market was still open, but it became lively because the sumo wrestling tournament was about to begin in the west.
Perhaps she had been standing for too long, because Ruan Yang rubbed her aching back. Once the discomfort subsided, she slowly walked back with the lantern in hand.
"It's started! I heard it started early! Standing at the front might bring good luck!"
A dense crowd approached from the intersection. The burly man shouted, and the crowd began to stir. Shops collapsed, women and children cried out, and the scene was chaotic as people pushed and shoved each other.
Seeing this commotion, Ruan Yang hid in an alley, intending to go back to find Ning Xian after the storm had passed. She put down the lamp and casually straightened her sleeves.
She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she ran away right now?
Ning Xian would get so angry that she would smash things everywhere, or vent her anger on innocent people. After catching her, she would lock her in a dark dungeon where even taking care of herself would become a luxury.
Ruan Yang sensed the gaze fixed on her from not far away, and instantly dismissed the suicidal thought.
Just as she was about to pick up the lantern, a loud "thud" rang out, and the lantern leaning against the pink wall suddenly went out. A little girl passing by tripped over the lantern, and the lantern's frame broke, spilling the crimson wax all over the ground.
A steaming red liquid appeared on the snow, which at first glance looked like blood.
Ruan Yang felt a chill run down her spine. She looked away, hurriedly bent down to help the little girl up, and blew on the child's scraped palm: "Does it hurt a lot?"
After speaking, the little girl stared intently at her, pointed to her stomach, and said with a sorrowful and strange expression, "Mother, why don't you want me? I don't want to die. That medicine is so bitter, it hurts so much when I drink it..."
These words sent chills down her spine. Ruan Yang subconsciously looked behind her, only to find no one there. She guessed that the child had mistaken her for someone else.
Ruan Yang remained silent for a moment, then turned around, only to find that the noisy crowd had vanished like the wind. A cold wind howled, withered leaves swirled, and an indescribable desolation and chill pervaded the air.
Thinking of the unspeakable secret she was carrying, Ruan Yang felt a little scared, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on the tip of her nose. She only felt a little relieved when she felt a fish-like creature playfully stirring in her belly.
She sighed, "Little sister, you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not your mother."
The girl continued to cry and scream until her cries attracted her real mother.
Why did you push my child?!
Seeing this, the woman became extremely anxious. She glared at Ruan Yang and said, "Look at you! You even bully such a small child! Are you even human? Hand over the money right now, or I'll take you to the authorities!"
Ruan Yang frowned, knowing that she was trying to extort money, but not wanting to cause trouble, she gave her the remaining silver ingots.
The woman looked around and, seeing that there was no one there, scrutinized Ruan Yang. The girl was dressed very simply, looking quite precious, but she had no jewelry. Even her earrings were white pearls that the woman looked down on. It wasn't until she caught sight of the tiny jade pendant, about the size of a baby's palm, hidden under her shawl.
Pure white and delicate, with an elegant color, it must be a priceless treasure.
She put the child down, gave the child a suggestive kick, and sneered, "Is that all? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"
Ruan Yang did not argue and wanted to turn around and leave this place of trouble immediately, but a dark shadow flashed in her eyes and her waist tightened. When she looked up, the pitiful little girl had turned into a thief, who pulled off the jade pendant from her waist and fled in panic.
"Give me back my things!"
That was the jade pendant that Lu Wenjin left for her, their token of love.
She was already heartbroken when her own piece broke, but then Lu Wenjin lost her half too, so Ruan Yang was naturally extremely anxious.
She instinctively took a step to chase after her, but was quickly knocked to the ground by the woman. The woman was very strong, and the winnowing basket next to her was overturned by Ruan Yang and crashed down with a crash.
"What are you chasing? Shameless! Just hand over the earrings too!"
After speaking, the woman shamelessly attempted to forcibly pull the pearl off Ruan Yang's earlobe.
Ruan Yang was thrown around so hard that she lost all will to resist. Waves of pain in her abdomen made her unable to move, and she clenched the handkerchief in her palm tighter and tighter.
She closed her eyes, protecting the restless baby in her womb, and waited for the excruciating pain of her earlobe tearing open.
"Do you want to die?"
With a sharp crack, the sound of a broken wrist echoed, and the woman's scream pierced the night. She saw a tall, slender man before her, his face contorted with anger, his backlit eyes so sinister that she was afraid to meet his gaze.
The woman looked up at Ruan Yang. The girl's originally rosy face turned deathly pale, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if she was in great pain.
I just gave it a little push, how did it turn out like this?
She endured the pain and ran away, only to hear the man call out, "Fu Ling!"
The incident occurred shortly after they bought the candy. When Fu Ling heard Ning Xian calling him, he immediately flew down from the eaves and struck the woman's ankle with a sharp piece of tile.
Ouch!
Blood splattered from beneath her skirt, and the woman collapsed to the ground in pain. Fu Ling held the sword to her neck: "No, spare me! My lords, spare me!"
Ning Xian ignored it and left it to Fu Ling to handle. He knelt down beside Ruan Yang and saw that the little girl had her eyes closed and was trembling all over.
He instinctively reached out to hug him.
"It's alright now, I've taught the person who bullied you a lesson."
"Don't come any closer! Don't touch me..."
Ruan Yang shrank into the corner. This time, she endured the discomfort for a long time, but she was no longer as lucky as before. The cramps had become even more severe.
It was obvious that she had miscarriage and needed to see a doctor for a consultation and medication.
But... we really can't let Ning Xian know.
She glanced sideways at Ning Xian. At this moment, her fear of this man reached its peak. He was dressed in black robes, his face cold and stern, like a black ghost coming to take her child's life.
The girl was in great pain, her hair stuck to her forehead with sweat. Ning Xian naturally wouldn't listen to her. He bent down to try to pick her up by force, but instead received a slap in the face.
Ruan Yang's fingernails were very sharp; with one swipe, the man's face was bruised.
Ning Xian was stunned. He didn't know what had happened to make Ruan Yang lose her composure like this. He rubbed the blood off his fingertips, squatted down casually to the side, and clumsily wiped away Ruan Yang's tears: "I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to do anything to you."
"You're not feeling well, I just want to take you to see a doctor."
Lu Wenjin was nowhere to be found, the jade pendant had been stolen, and the child was in danger. Ruan Yang was anxious and scared. She shook off Ning Xian's hand and said with all her might, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Go back."
Unable to be swayed by either soft or hard approaches, Ning Xian was at a loss when she heard the girl repeatedly crying and muttering "jade pendant."
And which broken stone?
Ning Xian gritted his teeth, glanced at Fu Ling, and sighed, "Did you hear that? Go and get her back for me."
"......yes."
"Are you relieved now? Come on, let's go back together!"
Without saying a word, Ning Xian picked Ruan Yang up and carried her away.
Ruan Yang shook her head, pushing against Ning Xian's chest with her pitifully small strength: "No, put me down, don't touch me!"
In a brief moment, she caught sight of Fu Ling standing very close to her. In a split second, desperately grasping at the boy's sleeve, she cried out, "Fu Ling, don't go..."
Having endured the hardships of the first few months, she didn't want to end up with nothing, and she was even more afraid that Lu Wenjin would be disappointed in her.
She cried until she was almost unconscious, gasping for breath: "Fu Ling, save me! I don't want the jade pendant anymore, just take me away, I don't want to go back with him..."
Fu Ling's eyes flickered. The girl's icy fingertips touched him again after several months. He subconsciously wanted to hold her tight and respond, but Ning Xian immediately glared at him, giving him a warning.
"Have you made enough trouble? If you keep moving around, don't blame me for being impolite to Lu Wenjin."
Ning Xian's threat did indeed calm Ruan Yang down considerably. Although she stopped moving, her tears flowed like a burst dam.
Seeing that the person in her arms was in great pain, and that it would be too late to return to the palace, Ning Xian took Ruan Yang to an inn to rest.
The superior room was very warm, and expensive sandalwood incense was lit. When the waiter came, Ning Xian put Ruan Yang on the couch and said, "Young man, could you please find a reliable doctor?"
"Oh...yes, I'll go right away."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Yang struggled and said, "I don't want a doctor!"
Ning Xian rubbed the teeth marks on her arm, panting as she glared at her: "It's not up to you whether you want it or not."
Ning Xian didn't realize what was wrong with Ruan Yang until she saw it.
The girl was curled up, and although the clothes under her shawl were thick, they could not hide her protruding belly at all.
He stared intently at the spot, his anger turning into a mocking laugh: "So it was a stomachache? After all this time, it turns out you had a miscarriage?"
Ning Xian's words struck Ruan Yang's heart like stones. She shook her head and said, "It's not what you think, it's just menstrual blood..."
He ignored her and pressed on relentlessly. After their earlier entanglement, the girl's clothes were almost loosened, and she took off her outer robe, leaving only a plain white undergarment in front of Ning Xian.
After confirming what it was, Ning Xian rubbed her head, which was almost making her dizzy, and asked knowingly, "What's wrapped around your stomach?"
Ruan Yang remained silent, so Ning Xian went and tore the piece of cloth off.
My once flat and slender waist and abdomen have been stretched bulging, and something inside is constantly throbbing.
Ning Xian turned to Lan Rong and smiled, "Does she have a strange illness? What is it?"
Lan Rong suddenly knelt down, head down, not daring to utter a word.
The image of Ruan Yang and Lu Wenjin making love in bed flashed through his mind, and a dull ache began to throb in his chest.
Her kisses, her sucking, every cry, every inch of her skin—they all belonged to him.
Ning Xian nodded to himself, his eyes red-rimmed: "No wonder... Good, very good."
"You've all lied to me, even you, Lan Rong, you've deceived me along with her!"
The emperor was furious, and the room fell silent.
Ning Xian staggered toward Ruan Yang, grabbed her shoulders, and a tear slid down his cheek: "I've been coaxing you like this, why can't you listen to me? Why do you always do things against my will? Are you happy to see me in such a predicament?"
Ruan Yang shook his head.
He gritted his teeth and continued, "Ruan Yang, you knew I wouldn't let it go, so how dare you get pregnant? I've committed countless evils, but I never imagined that one day I would harm an unborn child. Yet, you've trampled on my bottom line time and time again!"
Ruan Yang tugged at Ning Xian's sleeve, her pleading weak with exhaustion: "Ning Xian, please don't do this. If it's gone, I'll hate you for the rest of my life..."
Upon hearing this, Ning Xian laughed maniacally: "That's great! If I can't make you love me, can't I at least make you hate me?"
"Do you know the saying that hate lasts longer than love?"
Ning Xian pulled away her sleeves and left, coldly uttering a despairing remark.
"Prepare the abortion medicine, and make sure Madam Lu takes it before sunrise."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com