Yu Jingchen looked at Nan Zhiyun kneeling on the ground and clearly saw the fear in her eyes, but wasn't this her own doing? She didn't want to stay.
"Will you drink it yourself, or do I have someone force-feed it to you?" Yu Jingchen's tone left no room for negotiation.
Nan Zhiyun stared at the bowl of medicine before her, unable to make a decision for a long time. Her hand went to her abdomen. In her previous life, they had also had a child like this, but that child had been lost forever without her even knowing it.
And now... she already knew about this child, and she dared not keep him. But when she actually saw this bowl of medicine, she became timid.
"His Majesty said he would let me leave the palace..." Nan Zhiyun suddenly said.
Yu Jingchen was already angry, and now that she said she wanted to leave the palace, how could he possibly talk to her nicely?
"Drink!" Yu Jingchen said crisply and decisively.
Nan Zhiyun couldn't refuse, so she slowly reached out and took the bowl of medicine. Yu Jingchen watched her movements without saying anything, but Xing Lai was extremely anxious beside him. He had just thought there was a chance for things to turn around.
Nan Zhiyun trembled slightly as she held the medicine, but she couldn't bring herself to drink it.
"Why aren't you drinking? Drink up!" Yu Jingchen left absolutely no room for negotiation. Originally, Nan Zhiyun might have genuinely wanted to drink it, but with Yu Jingchen pressuring her like this, she became hesitant.
"Heh," Yu Jingchen sneered when he saw the current situation, and then took the bowl of medicine from Nan Zhiyun's hands.
"I really did meddle and save you today. Why didn't I let you drown in there? Not only should I not have saved you, but I should have pulled you out and thrown you back in. Wouldn't it have been better to do it repeatedly?" Yu Jingchen shook the medicine in his hand.
Nan Zhiyun felt a chill run through her as she listened to Yu Jingchen's words; now, all that remained was a stagnant pool of water.
Yu Jingchen moved closer to Nan Zhiyun, pinched her cheeks, and forced her to open her mouth: "If you're so hesitant, let me help you, how about that?" As he spoke, he tried to force the bowl of medicine down her throat.
Perhaps it was just a subconscious reaction, but Nan Zhiyun began to resist. However, Yu Jingchen seemed to enjoy her fear, so he didn't let go. Instead, he put the bowl of medicine to her lips and forced her to drink it.
Nan Zhiyun was powerless to resist, perhaps because of Yu Jingchen's current methods. She gave up resisting and drank it down... Wasn't not having children her original plan? At worst, she wouldn't be a mother in the future... In the end, she would never have children.
She hadn't thought about having a child of her own in the future, so she might as well drink the medicine. After drinking it, she should completely sever all ties with Yu Jingchen.
Yu Jingchen watched Nan Zhiyun's transformation from initial resistance to eventual submission, his expression becoming complex, though his hands didn't stop moving. Soon, Nan Zhiyun had drunk the entire bowl of medicine, and Yu Jingchen finally released her.
Nan Zhiyun collapsed to the ground, placing her hand on her stomach. The child... couldn't be saved, could it? But why did she still feel sad even though it was her own thought?
Yu Jingchen coldly stared at the woman on the ground, then suddenly threw the bowl in his hand to the side, shattering it instantly. Nan Zhiyun trembled in shock.
"Didn't you say you didn't want it? Who are you putting on this life-or-death act for now?" Yu Jingchen sneered coldly, showing no regard for face or sentiment, or perhaps he never had any.
"Is Your Majesty willing to let me leave the palace?" Nan Zhiyun looked at Yu Jingchen, and her empty eyes made Yu Jingchen's heart tremble slightly. For some reason, it was as if something had been emptied out. He seemed to have lost something completely, and he wanted to grasp it but couldn't.
"Ha, Nan Zhiyun, you really are despicable!" Yu Jingchen couldn't stand hearing this.
"So what if you go out with this broken body of yours? Do you want to find someone else? You don't deserve it!" Yu Jingchen spoke recklessly, which was chilling.
Hearing these words now, Nan Zhiyun felt only desolation, but no longer the same feeling she had before. See? She was always so lowly… unworthy of this emperor, he had always thought. Nan Zhiyun suddenly didn't understand. What had she been persisting in all this time? Was it just because she liked him? Did she think that her sincerity would win his favor? Did she think that her sincerity would one day move him?
But now she finally understood completely that it was impossible to move someone who had been cold-hearted for years, let alone someone without a heart. She had been too foolish, too naive, too stupid.
"Leave? Ha, Nan Zhiyun, you really dare to think that!" Yu Jingchen said the last few words through gritted teeth. After saying these words, he did not linger and left He'an Palace directly.
Nan Zhiyun closed her eyes desolately; she had truly lost completely.
Xinglai watched anxiously from the side. After Yu Jingchen left, he looked at Nan Zhiyun kneeling on the ground with a look of disappointment: "Consort Shu, are you confused? His Majesty is just angry. If you had just softened your stance a little, you wouldn't have suffered so much." Xinglai knew that Nan Zhiyun was wronged, but compared to suffering, what did it matter if she softened her stance?
“There was nothing in that bowl of medicine, just a medicine to prevent miscarriage. His Majesty had it switched before coming to He'an Palace. Even if His Majesty was angry, he didn’t really want to abort Your Majesty’s child. If Your Majesty had just said a word about wanting to keep the child, His Majesty wouldn’t have been so furious.” Xinglai was also anxious. How could these two be so muddle-headed and stubborn?
First it was His Majesty, and now it's Consort Shu. It seems His Majesty is starting to care for Consort Shu and soften his heart, but Consort Shu refuses to accept this kindness. Hasn't Consort Shu considered this? No matter how much she resists, no matter how stubborn she is, His Majesty is still His Majesty. How can she possibly win? In the end, isn't she just asking for trouble? What's the point of making things like this?
No matter how open-minded Consort Shu became later, and no matter whether she truly had no expectations of His Majesty, how could she possibly escape as long as His Majesty didn't relent? The power dynamics were inherently unequal. No matter how much she protested, His Majesty wouldn't let her go, and Consort Shu would never be able to escape His Majesty's grasp. In the end, the two could only torment each other for the rest of their lives.
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