At the same time, in the inner courtyard of Gu Mansion.
Gu Yanran was half-leaning on the embroidered couch. Her plain white middle-length dress made her face look as pale as paper. Her hair was loosely hanging on her shoulders, and her eyes were slightly dark.
All the maids serving around her held their breath, for fear of disturbing her.
After sending the imperial physician away, Li came to the bedside and looked at her with a worried look on her face: "Yan'er, you have heard what the imperial physician said. You can't worry too much anymore. You have to cheer up and give birth to this child. In the future, he can inherit your father's legacy."
“Mother!” Gu Yanran burst into tears. “It is my unfilial daughter who has implicated you and father. Now Qi Che has suffered such a disaster. I don’t want my child to be born without a father. When he grows up, he will be criticized by others and live in the shadow for the rest of his life…”
Seeing Gu Yanran's sad face, Li was heartbroken. She held her hand tightly and said firmly, "No, your father and I have discussed it. You can stay in the Gu Mansion peacefully and continue to be the eldest daughter of the Gu family. It doesn't matter if you never get married. The dowry your father and I have saved for you is enough for you and your son to live a worry-free life in the future."
"But... Mother..." Gu Yanran choked up, feeling extremely moved for a moment.
Didn't she feel guilty towards Li?
But if she didn't say so, how could she force Li to invite the princess over, and then plead for Qi Che in person, hoping that the princess would spare Qi Che for the sake of the child in her belly.
As for why she wanted to save Qi Che, was it because she still had feelings for Qi Che and couldn't bear to see him spend the rest of his life in jail?
wrong!
It’s because Qi Che threatened her!
Yesterday, when she went to visit Qi Che in the prison, he said that if she couldn't find a way to rescue him from prison, he would make her identity public. From now on, she would no longer be the eldest daughter of the Gu family.
If she lost her status as Miss Gu, and she was pregnant with a felony, one could imagine how miserable her fate would be.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Gu Yanran decided to stage a self-torture plan. She forced herself to drink abortion pills, but the amount was not much, not enough to abort the baby in her belly, but it could scare Li well.
Li felt sorry for her and was fooled. She sent someone to pass a message to Chu Qingluan, asking her to come to Gu's house to meet her.
As long as Chu Qingluan is willing to come, the matter will be half successful.
However, at this moment, a servant from the mansion came to report.
"Madam, Princess Zhaoyang has arrived and is waiting in the flower hall."
Gu Yanran was delighted when she heard this. She was about to sit up from the bed, but was held down by Li:
"You lie down and have a good rest first, I will go see the princess..."
"No! Mother, your daughter will go with you." Gu Yanran said in a firm tone.
Since he was asking for mercy, he naturally had to act in the most miserable manner. Otherwise, how could he impress the princess?
Li couldn't resist, so she had to order the maid to put a cloak on her. The mother and daughter quickly walked out of the inner courtyard together.
"Princess, please forgive me. It's because Yanran is not feeling well. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long!" As soon as they met, Li bowed deeply to Chu Qingluan and explained.
"Madam Gu, there's no need to be so polite." Chu Qingluan glanced at Gu Yanran behind her calmly, "I heard that Miss Gu was not feeling well, so I came to visit her."
Li's eyes turned red, and she suddenly knelt heavily: "I know that this is presumptuous, but I just want to ask Your Highness to show mercy. Yanran... has not taken medicine for three days because of the fetus in her belly.
I only have Yanran as my child. If she dies, I will have no face to live in this world."
Gu Yanran also covered her belly at the right time, tears streaming down her face: "Mother, please don't be like this...it's my unfilial daughter..."
As she spoke, she raised her head and looked at Chu Qingluan with tears in her eyes: "Your Highness, I know that Qi Che deserves to die, but the child... he is innocent. I beg Your Highness to let Qi Che go for the sake of the child and give me a chance to live!"
Chu Qingluan looked at Gu Yanran calmly.
Although it was an act, the haggard look didn't seem to be a complete fake.
She approached slowly, her voice a little oppressive: "Since Miss Gu is pregnant, why don't you want to take the medicine?"
"I..." Gu Yanran bit her lip, a drop of blood fell on her snow-white cloak, "When I think about the child being born and never seeing his father again, this medicine... How can I swallow it..."
Li cried bitterly upon hearing this, "Your Highness! Yanran is my only child! Please spare Qi Che's life for the sake of the baby in her belly!"
After saying that, she suddenly kowtowed heavily on the bluestone slab, and soon her forehead was stained with blood.
"I am willing to sacrifice my life to get Qi Che out of prison!"
Behind him, Zhixia, who had followed Chu Qingluan, saw this scene and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart.
She seemed to be out of control, took a step forward and said:
"Mrs. Gu, have you ever thought about whether it's worth it to humiliate yourself like this?"
Upon hearing this, Li looked up and was about to scold this ignorant girl, but the moment she saw Zhixia's face clearly, she was struck by lightning!
It was because the mole above Zhixia's nose was exactly the same as the one she had when she was young.
"You..." Li's lips trembled, and she unconsciously wanted to get closer to Zhixia, as if her body felt some kind of call.
Zhixia took a step back, a trace of pain flashing in her eyes that she herself could not understand: "Madam, do you know that spoiling a child is like killing him? Miss Gu can force you to kowtow and beg for mercy for a heartless man today, and tomorrow she can push you into the fire pit for greater benefits!"
Hearing this, Gu Yanran suddenly got up from the ground and glared at Zhixia: "Shut up! You don't understand anything, what are you talking about?"
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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