Back at Zihexuan, Consort Chun slumped onto the soft couch, feeling utterly exhausted, more so than ever before.
Granny Zhang and Physician Yue remained silent, unsure of what to say.
Clearly, no one expected this to happen.
"Why her of all people?" Consort Chun pondered this question and still finds it hard to accept.
After a long silence, it seemed that she had finally mustered up the courage to accept and face the fact that Yi Shangyun could never bear children for Xuan Yuanhan.
She gritted her teeth and asked the imperial physician Yue, who had accompanied her for questioning, "Imperial Physician Yue, now that the Prince of Qin is not here, tell me the truth. Is that girl's condition really that bad? Is it... is it..."
Unexpectedly, this hard-won courage proved so fragile that the words caught in his throat.
He calmed himself down again. At this point, running away wasn't an option, so he steeled himself and spoke again: "Is it...is it only by aborting the fetus that the girl can continue to live?"
"Your Majesty..." Upon hearing this, Zhang Mama cried out, and both she and Imperial Physician Yue looked at Consort Chun's face in shock.
Physician Yue paused for a moment, then said, “This is a difficult and complicated disease for women. The Empress Dowager’s medical skills are superb, and she is even more proficient in treating such serious illnesses than I am. She should know better that the lump in the young lady’s abdomen is clearly not the kind that will disappear on its own. It is constantly growing inside her body, and the condition is constantly changing. Even if the fetus is aborted, it will only be a temporary measure to alleviate the condition. The possibility of the condition worsening later is still very high.”
“Even exchanging one life for another is not acceptable. This is clearly an attempt to kill my son! How could he possibly accept it if anything were to happen to that girl?”
The last glimmer of hope in her heart was shattered. Consort Chun clutched her heart and cried out in anguish.
Seeing Consort Chun so heartbroken, Imperial Physician Yue said, "I will do my utmost to help the young lady with her illness."
Consort Chun wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and said, "Alright, you may leave now!"
"Your humble servant takes his leave." Imperial Physician Yue bowed and turned to leave.
At this moment, Granny Zhang said with heartache, "Your Highness..."
"Oh my god... why is this happening... isn't it said that good people are rewarded... why did it have to be her?" Consort Chun looked at Zhang Mama's face and said helplessly.
After everyone left, the Yunshui Pavilion was quiet.
Xuanyuan Han gently stroked Yun Qing's thin face repeatedly, thinking to himself.
"Why is God so unfair to her? She was so kind. Yet, in this life, she will never be able to have her own child again, never be a true mother. Less than a month left, less than a month..."
He gazed at her abdomen for a long time, then finally grasped her slender hand tightly, pulling it to his lips. Forcing a bitter smile, he said, "Don't be afraid. No matter what happens, I will be with you, always with you. Our good days have just begun..."
As soon as she finished speaking, two streams of hot tears rolled down her face.
And so she quietly stood guard by Yi Shangyun's bedside, quietly, quietly...
As dusk settled and the air grew cool, dappled sunlight streamed through the vermilion, openwork carved windows, sprinkling onto a guqin (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument) propped up in the room.
A pink gauze curtain was blown in by the wind, carrying some petals from outside the window, which then landed on it.
Xuanyuan Han blinked, then silently got up and sat down by the guqin. His fingers gently brushed the strings, and the melodious music soothed the bitterness in his heart.
Wisps of incense smoke rose from the incense burner, swirling around the gauze curtains and filling the entire boudoir.
After an unknown amount of time, the red sun on the horizon finally set reluctantly, and gradually, even the last glimmer of light inside the room was mercilessly swallowed by darkness.
The top of the lake-blue curtains was adorned with tassels that swayed gently in the breeze.
Before anyone knew it, someone else had passed by, their footsteps and voices extremely soft, quietly lighting a bright candle in the room.
A faint scent of sandalwood filled the air around them as they looked at Yi Shangyun's quiet face.
After remaining silent for an entire day, Xuan Yuanhan finally spoke, muttering to himself, "I know I am not the one you are meant to be in this life, and I should not have been so disrespectful. But every time I see you, I cannot help myself and become infatuated with you, even fantasizing about being by your side for all eternity... In the end, I am just too greedy."
He paused, tears welling in his eyes, filled with remorse: "It must be because I was too greedy that you tried so hard to escape time and time again."
He felt extremely reluctant, yet he had to admit: "Is it... is it that if I stop being greedy, you will have a peaceful and joyful life, free from all sorrow?"
After much deliberation, he couldn't bear to part with it: "But how could I possibly do that?"
Just as he was pondering his dilemma, he saw Yi Shangyun's eyes suddenly dart around a few times.
Upon seeing this, he immediately became tense and excitedly called out, "Yun'er, Yun'er..."
Finally, Yi Shangyun slowly opened her eyes and woke up.
Xuanyuan Han was clearly very sad. If she knew the truth, how heartbroken she would be.
But she managed to suppress her grief and forced a faint smile as she said, "You're awake!"
Yi Shangyun smiled slightly at him, and as soon as he regained consciousness, he hurriedly reached out and touched his abdomen, anxiously asking, "Your Highness, my child... is the child alright?"
“Child…” Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan was stunned and stared at him.
She quickly realized what was happening and said, "Yes, the child is fine. Physician Yue has already come to see you and said you've just been worrying too much lately and are too stressed. The child... he's fine, don't worry!"
"The child is alright... then I'm relieved!"
Only then did Yi Shangyun feel relieved, gently stroking her abdomen again and again.
Looking at the happiness radiating from her face, Xuan Yuanhan felt even more heartbroken.
That night.
In the dead of night, at a street corner outside the back gate of the Qin Prince's Mansion.
The sound of a woman's heartbroken sobs could be heard: "Waaah...waaah...waaah..."
That was Yan'er, the maid of Yi Shangyun, who was filled with sorrow and had nowhere to confide in, so she could only cry silently in the dead of night.
Just now, Yan'er stood at the door and saw everything that happened after Yi Shangyun woke up. She was already in tears. She could no longer hide her sadness, covered her mouth, turned around and went downstairs, running away as fast as she could.
Afraid of disturbing the others in the palace, she quietly slipped out and tried to release her depressed emotions in a deserted corner outside the back gate of the palace.
Yan'er squatted on the ground, burying her head in her knees, sobbing as she muttered to herself, "How could this happen? Why did it have to be Miss? From childhood to adulthood, Miss has been pitiful enough. Now, she has finally met the Prince of Qin, and she finally has hope, but why... why..."
Unable to continue speaking, only heartbroken tears flowed uncontrollably: "Waaah...waaah...waaah..."
Just then, a hand suddenly appeared in the darkness and gently placed on Yan'er's shoulder.
"Ah..." Before Yan'er could cry out in terror, the person covered her mouth tightly with one hand and lifted her up from behind.
"It's me!" The man pressed the struggling Yan'er against the wall and moved closer to her.
By the dim candlelight at the back gate of the Prince of Qin's mansion, Yan'er opened her eyes wide and took a closer look. Only then did she realize that the person who came was dressed in purple and had helped her and Lu Tianjiao escape danger during the day.
Then he exclaimed in surprise, "So it was you!"
The woman in purple then released her grip and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Why are you crying alone here in the middle of the night?"
Whenever Yan'er thought of all this, she began to silently shed tears again: "My benefactor has things he wouldn't do, my young lady..."
The woman in purple interrupted him, glanced around and saw that the surroundings were clearly the Qin Prince's residence, and tentatively asked, "This is the Qin Prince's residence, so I wonder if your young lady is from the Qin Prince's residence..."
Yan'er sniffed and wiped away the tears on her face before slowly saying, "My young lady was originally the legitimate daughter of the Yi family in the west of the city, but because... because of some things, she had a dispute with her family and is currently staying at the Prince Qin's residence. However, soon, my young lady will become the Princess Consort of Qin."
"It turns out that after leaving the Yi family mansion, Yi Shangyun had been staying at the Qin Prince's residence." The woman in purple finally found Yi Shangyun's whereabouts.
"Princess Consort of Qin..." Upon hearing these three words, she was startled, then feigned joy and said, "This is a great joy! How many noble ladies dream of winning the favor of the esteemed Prince of Western Qin? Instead of being happy for your young lady, why are you crying here in the middle of the night?"
Unexpectedly, Yan'er started crying again: "Waaah...waaah...waaah..."
"What exactly happened to your young lady? Telling her will make her feel better..." the woman in purple said, wiping away her tears as she tried to comfort her.
Yan'er choked back tears, saying, "Originally, Yan'er was overjoyed for Miss. After all we've been through, it seemed like Miss and His Highness Prince Qin were finally going to be together. But... but..."
"But what?" the woman in purple pressed.
"But Miss...she...Miss is sick..." Before she could finish speaking, Yan'er burst into tears again: "Waaah...waaah...waaah..."
"Is Yi Shangyun ill?" Upon hearing this, the woman in purple felt a sudden jolt in her heart.
He quickly asked again, "How could this happen? What illness does your young lady have? Is it serious?"
Yan'er was still young and didn't quite understand, so she only said, "Doctor Le said that the child in Miss's womb cannot be kept, and there may be danger to her life."
"What did you say?" The woman in purple was stunned.
He silently thought to himself, "How could this happen?"
Coming to her senses, the woman in purple comforted and encouraged Yan'er, saying, "Alright, don't cry anymore. With His Highness Prince Qin here, perhaps a miracle will happen to your young lady?"
"A miracle..." Yan'er pondered, truly hoping that a miracle would happen in this world.
Seeing that it was getting late, the woman in purple urged, "It's late, you should go back now. Your young lady needs your care."
So Yan'er slowly walked back, but as she walked, she suddenly felt something was wrong: "Wait a minute, how did she know I was in the Prince of Qin's residence?"
Turning around, he saw that the woman in purple had vanished into the vast darkness of the night...
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