Chapter 321 Saving Princess Yu's Life
Jiang Fenghua also bowed to Xie Shang, "With Madam Zhu here to take care of things, I will return to the banquet first. It's not good to spread this kind of thing around." She still wanted to explain, for the sake of the Crown Prince's reputation, she didn't want to stay and watch Zhu Zhenzhen act pitiful in front of Xie Shang. With Imperial Censor Zhu here, it wouldn't be good for Xie Shang to leave.
Xie Shang understood immediately and gestured for her to go first.
After Jiang Fenghua left, Xie Shang and the other imperial physicians and nannies finished tidying up before entering the side hall. There was a basin full of bloody water, with something floating in it. He frowned and walked to the soft couch. "Is everything alright now?"
Zhu Zhenzhen almost died of pain when she had her dilation and curettage (D&C) done. The nanny said it had been a month, and after a month, nothing could be seen, and they didn't know the gender.
She had already mentally prepared herself before Xie Shang came in.
She climbed out of bed and knelt on the soft couch, tears streaming down her face. "It's all my fault. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dieted for the performance. If I had known I was pregnant, I would have eaten all those medicinal dishes. I regret it so much... Your Highness and I have lost our child."
Xie Shang was stunned. "There will be more in the future." He really didn't know what to say.
On the other side, Jiang Fenghua was leaving the side hall and was about to walk towards the banquet hall when she saw several people acting suspiciously in the shadows ahead.
Lianye also saw it, "Crown Princess..."
Jiang Fenghua made a shushing gesture at her and quickly pulled her to hide behind a rockery on the side, but as soon as they hid, they bumped into someone.
Before she could even brace herself, the other person spoke, "Your Highness, it is this servant."
Hearing the familiar voice, Jiang Fenghua quickly withdrew her hand. It was dark behind the rockery, and she could only see Lu Xuefei's face clearly when she came closer. "You... what are you doing here?" The Eighth Prince Xie Qi was also behind her.
Jiang Fenghua lowered her voice and asked suspiciously, "What are you doing, a lone man and a lone woman, hiding behind the artificial hill?"
"What are you thinking, Your Highness? I'll explain later." Lu Xuefei told them to be quiet and squeezed in.
Xie Qi was also a little embarrassed. He wanted to pay his respects to the Crown Princess, but he didn't know how to start the conversation in this situation. Lu Xuefei was with him, and they almost bumped into these people on the way. In her haste, Lu Xuefei pulled him away and hid from them. They just kept hiding.
Lu Xuefei was curious and refused to leave, so he hid with her until now. Going out now would feel strange.
Jiang Fenghua looked outside again and saw them carrying a woman into a side room. The color of the woman's clothes looked very familiar.
Lianye said, "The woman they're carrying looks like Princess Yu."
“Yes, it’s Luo Ziqiong,” Jiang Fenghua said, pondering for a moment who had knocked Luo Ziqiong unconscious and brought her here.
Is it Xie Yu?
Or is it Consort Yan?
She clenched her fists, a chill running down her spine. It was utterly vicious. If it really was Consort Yan who did it, how could there be such a wicked mother-in-law in the world?
Lianye's eyes were fixed on the front, and she said anxiously, "It seems like another man has been brought in."
Lu Xuefei, unaware of the truth, asked, "Why is someone kidnapping Princess Yu? And why bring a man here? Is someone trying to frame Princess Yu?"
"Now is not the time to pursue this matter. Instead, we need to figure out how to rescue Luo Ziqiong without anyone noticing." Calling her Princess Yu now feels like an insult. They must be trying to frame Luo Ziqiong for adultery so they can divorce her openly, or even kill her so they can make way for another woman.
"Can I help?" Xie Qi explained again, "She is my second sister-in-law after all. If something bad happens to her in the palace, it will be a disgrace to the royal family."
"I'll lure those people away, then you guys go rescue them," Xie Qi suggested.
He's a man; even if he can't win a fight, running away is fine.
"Okay." Jiang Fenghua made a quick decision. Today, she only brought Lianye with her, leaving Aoxue and Hongxiu at Chenxi Palace to take care of the children. Lin Feng also stayed with Xie Shang, and Ye Ying led people to Chenxi Palace to stand guard. She could only ask the people at the gate to leave quickly. If Luo Ziqiong was drugged and really did something outrageous, she would rather die.
A moment later, Xie Qi suddenly walked into the corridor. He pretended to be drunk and staggered forward, reciting a poem: "A pot of wine among the flowers, I drink alone without a companion. I raise my cup to invite the bright moon, and with my shadow, we become three..."
As soon as he spoke, the person guarding the door pretended to hurry away. Xie Qi continued reciting the poem and walked forward, “...I sing and the moon lingers, I dance and my shadow is scattered.”
Seeing that there was no one in the corridor, Jiang Fenghua and the other two quickly ran over.
Upon entering the room, Jiang Fenghua saw that both Luo Ziqiong and the man were unconscious. Not recognizing the man, Jiang Fenghua tried to slap Luo Ziqiong's face, but failed to wake her. She then took a silver hairpin from her hair and stabbed it into Luo Ziqiong's philtrum.
Luo Ziqiong woke up quickly. The lanterns in the corridor outside the door shone a faint light on Jiang Fenghua's face. She said, "Your Highness, where am I? How did I get here?"
"Get up and come with me, you've been set up." Jiang Fenghua didn't have time to explain. Seeing that her clothes had been deliberately torn and her shoes had been taken off, she said, "Hurry up, there's no time."
Luo Ziqiong felt a chill run down her spine when she saw her own appearance. She had only gone to the outhouse, then fainted, and woke up here.
At the same time, Lu Xuefei went to see who the man was, and she was shocked when she saw him. "Ah!"
"What? You know him!" It was too dark for Jiang Fenghua to see his face clearly.
“It’s a long story. Let’s wake him up first. Someone must be trying to harm him,” Lu Xuefei said. “Even without Princess Yu here, he probably wouldn’t survive if he stayed here.”
Jiang Fenghua tried to wake the man up by pricking him with the same method, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't wake him up.
Huh! What's going on?
Lianye hid by the door, keeping watch. "Hurry up!" Her heart was pounding.
Lu Xuefei took the initiative to help the man up, saying, "Let me help him out and hide first! He's sick, and he might be having an attack."
In a place like the palace, neither Jiang Fenghua nor Luo Ziqiong could possibly help a man; if they were to run into someone outside, they wouldn't be able to explain themselves no matter how many mouths they had.
Jiang Fenghua would rather be ruthless than risk her life for a stranger.
At that moment, Xie Qi ran back. "How did it go?"
"Eighth Prince, come and lend a hand." Lu Xuefei grabbed the man's arm and started to walk outside.
Xie Qi didn't ask why, and he and Lu Xuefei indeed took the man away.
Jiang Fenghua glanced at the room. This kind of room was a side hall of the outer palace, used only when it was built. If you were caught having an affair in such a place, you would never be able to explain yourself.
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