Chapter 36 (Final Chapter)
Gu Jinchao finally couldn't withstand the fear and grief, and his vision went black as he fainted again.
Pregnancy weakens the body, making it susceptible to such intense emotional fluctuations. After examining her pulse, the imperial physician advised that she needed to rest and absolutely avoid any further stimulation.
Chen Yanyun stood by her bedside, looking at her pale face with a complicated expression.
He didn't mention "get rid of the child" again, but he also refused to let Chen Xuanqing get close. He just stubbornly guarded it, as if he were protecting a treasure that had been lost and found but could be lost again at any time.
Chen Xuanqing knelt in front of Chen Yanyun's door every day, refusing to get up regardless of the wind or sun.
He didn't make a fuss, he just knelt silently, his clothes covered in dust, his knees already worn red and swollen, but he still refused to give up.
He wanted to wait for his father to relent, and to ensure the safety of Jinzhao and the child.
After learning about all this, Madam Chen sat in the Buddhist hall all day, fiddling with prayer beads and repeatedly muttering, "A tragic fate, truly a tragic fate."
She felt sorry for Chen Yanyun's stubbornness, pitied Chen Xuanqing's persistence, and was worried about Gu Jinchao and the child in her womb. However, she could not think of a way to completely resolve the stalemate between the father and son.
On this day, Gu Jinzhao, who had been in a coma for many days, finally slowly opened his eyes.
As soon as she regained consciousness, she couldn't wait to whisper, "Xuanqing..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Yanyun, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, suddenly stiffened, and his face instantly turned extremely ugly.
Gu Jinchao came to her senses and realized that the person guarding her bedside was Chen Yanyun. Her already pale face instantly lost even more color, and a jumble of fragments flooded her mind: the fear of being forcibly abducted, Chen Yanyun's crazy ramblings about his "past life," his resolute determination to harm the child... Those images she had tried to escape as nightmares were now so clear that they caused her heart to ache.
She swallowed hard, her throat dry, and dared not even utter the word "father," for fear of further provoking the obsessive man before her. She could only cautiously ask in a soft voice, "Xuanqing... is he here?"
Chen Yanyun looked at the worry and fear that she couldn't hide in her eyes, and felt a pang of pain in his heart.
He originally wanted to completely cut off Gu Jinchao's contact with Chen Xuanqing, but looking at her weak appearance and bloodless lips, he was afraid that if he persisted, her body would not be able to hold on.
The imperial physician had already warned that Gu Jinchao's current condition absolutely could not be subjected to any further stimulation.
After a long silence, Chen Yanyun finally relented and said coldly to the door, "Let Chen Xuanqing in."
The servants guarding the door quickly responded and hurried off to find Chen Xuanqing.
Chen Xuanqing had been guarding outside the courtyard for the past few days, his knees already red and swollen from kneeling. When he heard the servant's message, he was stunned for a moment, then his face was filled with undisguised ecstasy.
He staggered to his feet, ignoring the stinging pain in his knees, and strode quickly into the house.
The moment Chen Xuanqing pushed open the door, his gaze was fixed on Gu Jinchao on the bed, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "Jinchao, you're finally awake! How are you feeling? Is anything bothering you?"
When Gu Jinchao saw Chen Xuanqing, his tense nerves relaxed slightly, his eyes reddened slightly, and he gently shook his head: "I'm fine, Xuanqing, you..."
Before she could finish speaking, she caught a glimpse of Chen Yanyun's cold gaze and swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
Seeing Gu Jinchao's weak yet relatively stable appearance, Chen Xuanqing's worries, which had been weighing on his mind for days, seemed to be gently blown away by a warm breeze, and his tense shoulders finally relaxed.
He walked quickly to the bedside and carefully took Gu Jinchao's slightly cool hand. The real touch from her fingertips put his heart at ease.
However, this sense of relief did not last long. He caught a glimpse of Chen Yanyun's gloomy face out of the corner of his eye, and his heart was instantly enveloped by heavy worry again.
The father's obsession with Jinzhao runs deep. The fact that he allowed him to come in to see Jinzhao today was perhaps only out of consideration for Jinzhao's health, not because he had truly given in.
If he wants to leave with Jinzhao later, he will likely have to engage in an unavoidable fierce battle with his father.
He recalled that when he was kneeling outside the courtyard, he had asked someone to pass on a message to his grandmother, hoping that she could persuade his father. However, the message that came back was that his grandmother refused to come out of the house and only sent a servant to say, "This is a bad relationship between you and your father. I can't control it and I don't want to."
Now that his grandmother has completely abandoned him, he has no one left in the Chen family to help him ease the situation, and he can only face his father's obsession alone.
Chen Xuanqing tightened his grip on Gu Jinchao's hand, a barely perceptible bitterness flashing in his eyes.
He looked at Gu Jinchao's reddened eyes, then at Chen Yanyun, who stood silently but with an icy aura. He took a deep breath, suppressed his anxiety, and whispered to Gu Jinchao, "It's alright, Jinchao, I'm here. I will always protect you from now on and will never let you suffer again."
Hearing Chen Xuanqing's words, which carried a sense of declaration, Chen Yanyun sat to the side, a barely perceptible sneer curling at the corner of his mouth, thinking to himself that Chen Xuanqing was ridiculously naive.
It was just to let him meet Gu Jinchao.
It's just a temporary relief from the tension.
He actually thought he had the confidence to stand up to him, and that he could easily take the person away.
Chen Yanyun's hand, hanging by his side, slowly stroked the dark pattern on his sleeve, his eyes concealing a deep and unfathomable calculation.
The reason for letting Chen Xuanqing in was simply to prevent Gu Jinchao from becoming agitated again if she couldn't see him, which could affect the baby in her womb. In the end, it was all for Gu Jinchao's health and had nothing to do with compromising with Chen Xuanqing.
As for Chen Xuanqing...
He had already laid out his plan.
A few days ago, while Gu Jinchao was asleep, he had secretly drafted a memorial to the emperor, stating that Chen Xuan was a promising young man but lacked local experience, and earnestly requested the emperor's permission to send him to a remote place to serve, both to cultivate talent for the court and to keep him away from the troublesome capital.
At this moment, the memorial should have already reached the Emperor's desk, and the reply should be issued in a few days.
If Chen Xuanqing were sensible and obediently accepted the decree to be transferred to a post outside the capital, he could still retain some dignity for him.
But if he dared to refuse, a ruthless glint flashed in Chen Yanyun's eyes—he had plenty of ways to make him leave "willingly".
Whether it's using the Chen family's clan rules to exert pressure or finding fault with his past actions, they can always make him understand who truly holds the reins in the Chen family and in the capital.
He looked up at Chen Xuanqing holding Gu Jinchao's hand, his gaze as cold as ice.
What Chen Xuanqing thought was protection was nothing more than a futile struggle in his eyes.
What Chen Xuanqing thought was hope was merely a bait that he temporarily set aside in order to better control the situation.
Want to take Gu Jinchao away? Unless Chen Yanyun dies.
*
The story ends here for now.
I'm thinking of writing a story where Chen Yanyun lets go, allowing Chen Xuanqing and Gu Jinchao to elope.
But think about it, why should Chen Yanyun let go?
Gu Jinchao was carefully protected by Chen Yanyun in both her lifetimes.
So... that's all for now.
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