Shen Yu turned to face Yan Wang directly and said coldly, "Where is my child? Give me back my child!"
Bang! Yan Wang slammed his fist on the table, glaring at her and shouting, "You foolish woman! Since you were pregnant with Yu Lang's child, why didn't you tell me or Hong Yu? Now that the child has been born, why do you say it's Bai Ye Jing's? You know Liu Yu killed Bai Ye Hua, aren't you afraid that Bai Ye Jing will take his anger out on the child?"
Shen Yu was shocked. How did Prince Yan know the child was Liu Yu's? She had never mentioned it to Hong Yu. Moreover, she had already staged a miscarriage in prison. Could it be that Prince Yan was testing her? After all, Prince Yan was the Empress's biological son. Perhaps, in order to help the Empress escape the cold palace, Prince Yan wanted to confirm that she had given birth to Liu Yu's child, thus convicting her of deceiving the Emperor.
No! We absolutely cannot admit that the child is Liu Yu's.
"Hmph!" She sneered, then glared at Yan Wang and rebuked him, "I, Mu Chenyu, know perfectly well whose child I am carrying. I ask that you, Yan Wang, do not make up lies and sow discord between me and Ye Jing."
Bang!
Yan Wang stood up angrily, his voice hoarse when he spoke again, "Yu Lang has a red birthmark on his waist, so his child naturally takes after him. Do you still dare to say that the child isn't Yu Lang's? If you don't want to raise her, you can give her to someone else. Why did you abandon her in the mass grave and take her life?"
Shen Yu was shocked and stunned, not because Yan Wang had falsely accused her of abandoning her child, but because Yan Wang knew about Liu Yu's birthmark. Even so, she could never admit that the child was Liu Yu's.
"I didn't abandon the child! The child isn't Liu Yu's!"
Shen Yu loudly retorted, then came to her senses and exclaimed in astonishment, "The Empress and the Liu family have been investigating Liu Yu's orphan, wanting to get rid of him as soon as possible. Could it be that Prince Yan's actions are intended to harm my son and me?"
Yan Wang frowned and glared at Shen Yu, approaching her and growling in a low voice, "What nonsense are you spouting? Why does my mother want to exterminate the Liu family's bloodline?"
"Yan Wang still doesn't believe that it was the Empress Dowager who secretly harmed Liu Yu, claiming that it was the Emperor's decree that the Empress Dowager had no choice but to obey. Today, Hongyu has no choice but to reveal the truth in order to save her child."
Hongyu walked in, holding a letter.
Seeing that Chenyu's hair was wet and her cloak was damp and covered in mud, Hongyu felt a lump in her throat and called out in a trembling voice, "Feicui, quickly take Sister Yu to change into some warm clothes."
Shen Yu hurriedly shook her head, grabbed Hong Yu's hand, and knelt on the ground. "Hong Yu, was it your people who took my child from the mass grave last night? Give my child back to me..."
As Shen Yu spoke, her face was filled with grief, and she sobbed uncontrollably. She had just given birth to her child and was now separated from him. What mother could bear such a separation from her flesh and blood?
Seeing that Chenyu was in tears, Hongyu felt sorry for her and gestured to Feicui to help her up.
"Sister Ribbonfish went to see the child."
"No!"
Yan Wang stood at the door. Last night, his servants brought back a baby girl from the mass grave. Upon inspection, he discovered that the child had the same birthmark as Liu Yu.
Rumors circulated that Liu Yu had an affair with a woman from the Hong Prince's residence, leading him to conclude that she had abandoned his child. Taking advantage of Hongyu's childbirth, he sent a message to the palace announcing that Princess Yan had given birth to a son and a daughter. It wasn't until Chenyu came to his door that he learned the baby girl was Chenyu's.
Unexpectedly, Shen Yu claimed that the child belonged to Bai Yejing, a fact already known to everyone. Everyone condemned Shen Yu for being unfilial, bearing a child for her enemy. Wouldn't it be condemned by the world if Liu Yu's daughter lived with Shen Yu? Therefore, King Yan refused to hand over the infant.
Seeing this, Hongyu's expression turned solemn. She shoved the letter in her hand into Yan Wang's hand and said coldly, "Yan Wang, take a look at the correspondence between the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Uncle, and you will know why Sister Yu is acting this way."
After Hongyu finished speaking, she suddenly pushed Yan Wang away and helped Chenyu to see the child.
After reading the letter, Prince Yan realized the conspiracy between the Empress and the Emperor's brother-in-law. It seemed that Chen Yu's claim that Bai Yejing was the child's father was out of necessity, solely to save the child's life!
Shen Yu moved to the bedside, knelt down, and gazed at the two sleeping children. She couldn't help but smile and her eyes welled up with tears.
To confirm the children's identities, she gently lifted the blankets. The first was her eldest daughter, who indeed had a red birthmark on her waist. The second was her son, but... where was the birthmark? She abruptly sat up, glaring at Hongyu and demanding, "Where's my son?"
Hongyu looked puzzled and quickly explained, "That baby girl is Sister Yu's. She will be the eldest daughter of the Yan Prince's mansion in the future..."
Where is my son?
Seeing that Chen Yu continued to press for answers, Hong Yu became even more puzzled and asked, "Sister Yu, they only found one baby girl in the mass grave, and there were no other babies?"
Shen Yu was shocked and hurriedly picked up the baby girl to leave. "No, I have a son and a daughter. I need to find my son..."
She had just rushed out of the bedroom with the baby girl in her arms when she was stopped by the Prince of Yan.
"You are not allowed to take the child away."
"Why? This is my daughter."
"This is Yu Lang's daughter. I will treat her as my own and raise her to adulthood."
Hongyu chased after her, holding an imperial edict, and presented it to Chenyu. She gently advised, "Sister Yu, Brother Yu has passed away. It is no easy task for you to raise two children on your own. From now on, the children will be registered under my name, and I will treat them as my own. Look, the Emperor has given the children names, An'er and Kang'er."
An'er? Shen Yu also wished for her child's well-being. She knew that if An'er lived with her, she would be looked down upon; if she followed Prince Yan and Hongyu, An'er would undoubtedly be the noble legitimate daughter of Prince Yan. Moreover, the Emperor had already accepted An'er; if she forcibly took An'er back, Prince Yan and Hongyu would be committing the crime of deceiving the Emperor.
But... An'er was her own flesh and blood, and she was extremely reluctant to part with her. She pressed herself against An'er's bedding and wept uncontrollably.
At this moment, Cuiwei hurried over, quickly bowed to Yan Wang and Hongyu, and then whispered in Chenyu's ear, "Miss, last night I went to the mass grave and happened to see Shuxiang. I secretly followed her and found that she sent the child to the Jia family."
Shen Yu was both surprised and delighted. Fearing that Yan Wang would try to take another child, she picked up the child and left.
Hongyu chased after her, blocked her path, and knelt down. "Sister Yu, please leave An'er here. She is your daughter, and she is also my daughter."
She carried An'er and tried to walk around Hongyu, but Hongyu grabbed her cloak and wouldn't let go.
Seeing this, Cuiwei was extremely anxious and whispered in her ear, "Miss, the old lady of the Jia family can't stand the child. She's arguing fiercely with Miss Gu Liu and says she's going to send the child to the orphanage."
Shen Yu was terrified, fearing that her child would become a lonely orphan.
Seeing this, Prince Yan guessed that Shen Yu was in a difficult situation and understood that Shen Yu had some suspicions about him, after all, the Empress was his birth mother. So, he took the opportunity to step forward and state his position: "Shen Yu, you are also aware of the Liu family's conspiracy. If the truth comes out one day, are you not worried that it will implicate the child? I hereby swear that I will never allow the Empress and my uncle to harm An'er in the slightest. If anything happens to An'er, I am willing to pay with my life."
Prince Yan made this vow solely for Liu Yu. Having grown up in the Duke's mansion, his affection for Liu Yu far surpassed that for the Crown Prince, and even exceeded that for the Emperor and Empress. Therefore, the Empress's assassination of Liu Yu filled him with extreme remorse.
Therefore, he decided to take care of Liu Yu's descendants and help Chen Yu.
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