"What child? The princess is pregnant?" Prince Zhi exclaimed in shock and disbelief.
"Keep your voice down, Your Highness. Do you want to disturb others?" Zhuoma whispered a reminder.
"Zhuoma, you said Baoyue is pregnant. Whose child is it?" Prince Zhi's voice trembled. He knew that Baoyue always drank a contraceptive soup after serving Emperor Kangxi. Normally, that soup shouldn't prevent conception. But he had already been intimate with Baoyue multiple times... Could it be...?
"Of course it belongs to the Prince!" Zhuoma said, slightly annoyed that the Prince had asked such a question. Unlike women from the Central Plains, the women of the grasslands were much more straightforward, even though they were also servants. Seeing that the Prince dared not admit it, Zhuoma became even more furious.
Prince Zhi stared blankly at the angry face outside the hole, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He knew what would happen to him if Kangxi discovered his affair with Baoyue; even if he wasn't killed, he would be deposed. Yet, he couldn't resist the woman's allure, going to her tent again and again, their lovemaking intense. Now, the woman was pregnant. Would his father suspect, or even already know? But why was he still perfectly fine, even Baoyue's maid could still come to him? Did this mean his father hadn't discovered anything yet?
Zhuoma watched the complex expressions flash across Prince Zhi's face and knew that he was going through a complicated internal struggle.
“Prince Zhi, there’s no need to worry. The princess won’t reveal anything to you. She insists the child is the emperor’s, and the emperor hasn’t doubted it. But the emperor is so cruel; he’s already sent Granny Ai to deliver abortifacients,” Zhuoma said.
Upon hearing Zhuoma's words, Prince Zhi's worries eased somewhat. However, when he heard the word "abortion," a look of hesitation and anxiety appeared on his face. Privately, he naturally didn't want Baoyue to have an abortion, as it was, after all, his own flesh and blood, and perhaps even a boy. Publicly, he feared that his affair with Baoyue would eventually be discovered by Emperor Kangxi, at which point both the child and he himself would likely be in danger.
"Your Highness, are you really going to just watch your own flesh and blood go unattended?" Zhuoma saw the hesitation on the Prince's face and felt a chill run down her spine. Perhaps the princess had entrusted herself to the wrong person. This young prince, like the old emperor, didn't really care about Princess Baoyue; he was only after her beauty.
“However, if I were to suggest to Father Emperor that we keep the fetus, I fear it would arouse his suspicion, and then neither the princess nor I would be safe.” Seeing that Zhuoma had seen through his thoughts, Prince Zhi simply spoke frankly.
"I'm afraid Your Highness is more worried about your own safety. It's a pity the princess is so determined to protect Your Highness's child; she's even come up with a plan to escape. Does Your Highness think I've come to persuade you to speak to the Emperor? Actually, I've only come to tell Your Highness that the princess has decided to run away, taking Your Highness's child with her." Zhuoma knew men were often fickle, but she hadn't expected that even the Prince Zhi, who was so infatuated with the princess, was no different.
"What? The princess is going to run away? Where can she run to?" Prince Zhi had not expected that Baoyue planned to escape on her own.
"In short, the princess escaped to a place where no one could find her and gave birth to the prince's child," Zhuoma said, repeating what Baoyue had taught her beforehand.
These words truly touched Prince Zhi. He thought of a woman who, in order to give birth to her child, was willing to abandon a life of wealth and luxury, hiding in a place where no one knew her to secretly give birth to her offspring. Prince Zhi's masculine spirit was stirred by Zhuoma's words. Although he feared his imperial father, he was also a man, and a brave and fearless man on the battlefield.
“Zhuoma, I have a solution, but it will require Baoyue to make an exception,” said Prince Zhi.
"Your Highness, please speak." Seeing that Prince Zhi was truly moved by her words, Zhuoma admired Princess Baoyue even more.
"Have the princess and her trusted confidantes escape first, to a secret place. I will send people to settle Baoyue there, and no one will know she's there. However, Baoyue will never be able to show her face in public again, but I will protect her for life," Prince Zhi said with difficulty. It was indeed difficult for him to say these words; if Emperor Kangxi found out about his plan, almost the entire Prince Zhi's mansion might cease to exist. But at this moment, for the sake of his beloved woman and the unborn child in her womb, Prince Zhi disregarded everything else.
“Alright, Your Highness, please speak!” Zhuoma said.
"Come closer, this matter must be kept absolutely secret, and no one must know about it," said Prince Zhi.
Zhuoma then put her ear close to the hole, and Prince Zhi thought for a moment, then whispered something in Zhuoma's ear through the hole.
After hearing what Prince Zhi said, Zhuoma was surprised, but she understood his intention and immediately got up to report to Baoyue.
Meanwhile, in her tent, Granny Ai was being served by several palace maids. Seeing that more than an hour had passed, it was time to go and give the abortion medicine.
"Guihua, take the abortion medicine to Princess Baoyue." Granny Ai waved her hand, signaling the palace maids serving her to leave.
The palace maid named Guihua immediately exclaimed "Yes!" and picked up the bowl of medicine, following behind Granny Ai.
The two turned past several tents and arrived at the entrance of Baoyue's tent, calling out, "Princess Baoyue, your servant has come in."
After standing there for a while without hearing any response, Granny Ai lifted the tent flap and crawled inside, followed by Guihua.
The servants who had been standing at the door were now doing their own things inside the tent, which puzzled Granny Ai.
"Where is Princess Baoyue?" Granny Ai asked.
"The princess hasn't gotten up yet, please wait a little longer, Granny Ai," a Mongolian girl said.
Granny Ai frowned, thinking to herself that the princess could sleep too much. She looked into the blue gauze curtain with its diamond pattern and indeed saw someone lying inside.
"Please go and wake the princess. The Emperor's orders cannot be disobeyed. If the princess does not get up, this old servant will have no choice but to report to the Emperor." Granny Ai could not wait any longer.
"Granny, the princess has a terrible temper. If we go to wake her now, she'll definitely throw a tantrum. Please wait another half an hour, Granny Ai. The princess will surely wake up in half an hour," the girl pleaded.
Seeing that it would only take half an hour, Granny Ai hesitated for a moment and said, "Alright then, I'll wait here for another half an hour."
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