Chapter 34: The Prince Tests, and is Frightened
When the door to the side courtyard opened, Yun Zhi was sitting by the window, mending a baby's bellyband—she had secretly cut up an old silk handkerchief the previous night. The stitches were crooked, yet they concealed her heartfelt anticipation. When she heard the announcement, "The prince has summoned you to the study," her needle and thread clattered to the floor, and her face paled.
"Miss, what should we do?" Qingzhu was also panicking, and hurriedly picked up the needle and thread. "The prince suddenly summoned you, could it be that... he knows something?"
Yun Zhi took a deep breath, bent down to pick up the small bellyband, folded it and stuffed it into her sleeve. Her fingertips were cold but full of determination: "Why are you panicking? He doesn't have any evidence yet. I'll go see him. You wait in the yard and don't walk around."
She straightened her clothes and tried to look calm, but when she reached the door of the study, she couldn't help but stop - the vermilion door was closed, and the sound of flipping files could be faintly heard from inside, and each sound seemed to knock on her heart.
"Enter."
Xiao Jin's voice came from inside, cold as ice. Yun Zhi pushed the door open and walked in, kneeling in greeting. "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."
A single candle lit the study, its dim light illuminating the shelves filled with books. The air was thick with the scent of ink and a faint hint of ambergris, yet it felt suffocating. Xiao Jin sat at his desk, a file in his hand, his gaze not fixed on the paper, but fixed on her. His eyes were deep, making it impossible to guess his true intentions.
"Get up." He didn't let her stand up or sit down, but just let her stand there. His tone was emotionless. "Have you been feeling better recently? Has your spleen and stomach disorder healed?"
Yun Zhi lowered her head, her fingers quietly clenching the bellyband in her sleeves, and said in a calm voice, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am much better now. Thank you for the medicine."
"Give me medicine?" Xiao Jin put down the file and tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "I forgot that I asked Imperial Doctor Li to prescribe you some medicine to soothe your spleen and stomach. It worked quite well."
His fingers tapped on the table, "knock, knock, knock," a slow rhythm that carried an invisible sense of oppression. Yun Zhi's heartbeat grew faster and faster, her palms covered in cold sweat. She could feel Xiao Jin's gaze on her, like a searchlight, as if to penetrate her clothes and see the secret hidden in her sleeves.
"It's just..." Xiao Jin suddenly spoke, breaking the silence, his tone carrying a subtle hint of probing. "This prince has been thinking lately about the lack of offspring in the palace. Aside from the concubine who lost her pregnancy a few years ago, there has been no movement from the other concubines, which makes this prince a little worried."
The words "few offspring" resonated like thunder in Yun Zhi's ears. Her body stiffened, her fingertips digging into her palms. The pain barely kept her awake—he was testing her!
"Your Highness, don't worry." She lowered her head and lowered her voice, trying to make her tone sound calm. "The sisters in the palace are still young, and there will be good news sooner or later."
"Sooner or later?" Xiao Jin sneered, standing from behind his desk and walking towards her. His footsteps were slow, but they felt like they were treading on Yun Zhi's heart, making her almost breathless. "I have waited for so many years, but there is no good news. But you..."
He stopped in front of her, looking down at her with a probing look in his eyes. "You've been in the palace for some time now. Although you drank the sterilizing soup before, Doctor Li said that you have a good body. If you take good care of yourself, you may have a chance. Tell me, if you can give me a child, what will I reward you with?"
Yun Zhi's heart instantly leaped into her throat, and tears nearly fell. He was clearly explaining her situation, yet he chose to bend over backwards to test her. He clearly suspected she was pregnant, yet he pretended not to care. She could feel the bellyband in her sleeves poking at her palms, like a hot iron, reminding her not to reveal the truth.
"Your Highness, you're joking," she said, suppressing the sob in her throat and trying to make her voice sound calm. "I drank the sterilizing soup and have long lost the possibility of having children. I dare not even dream of bearing children for Your Highness."
"No chance?" Xiao Jin reached out, his fingertips gently brushing the top of her hair. His movements were strangely gentle, yet Yun Zhi tensed up. "I remember I changed your tonic medicine before. Perhaps... the effect of the sterilizing soup has worn off already?"
His fingertips nearly touched her ear, and his warm breath brushed her cheek, yet Yun Zhi felt as cold as ice. She abruptly took a step back, avoiding his touch, and lowered her eyes. "Your Highness," she said, "I'm not feeling well. I'm afraid I won't be able to stay with you for long. If you have no other instructions, I'd like to return to the courtyard and rest."
She wanted to escape. She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she would reveal her flaws. She was afraid that Xiao Jin would see her nervousness and that he would forcibly check her lower abdomen.
Xiao Jin watched her retreat in panic, a flicker of understanding in his eyes, along with a hint of disappointment he himself hadn't noticed. He withdrew his hand, turned back to his desk, and picked up the file again. His tone returned to its previous coldness: "Why, you're impatient after I've spoken to you for a few minutes? Or... are you hiding something and afraid to stay with me any longer?"
"I dare not!" Yun Zhi knelt down hurriedly, lowering her head even lower. "I am just a little weak and I am afraid of disturbing the prince's interest."
The study fell silent again, with only the crackling of the candlelight. Yun Zhi knelt on the floor, feeling the chill on her knees. The cold sweat on her palms had soaked through the bellyband in her sleeves. She could even hear her own heartbeat, thumping like it was about to burst from her throat.
She didn't know if Xiao Jin would continue to ask, didn't know if he had discovered something, and even more didn't know if she could escape this. She only knew that she had to hold on, for the sake of the child in her belly, she couldn't lose.
After a long moment, Xiao Jin spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of fatigue: "Get up, go back to the courtyard and rest. Remember, if you feel uncomfortable or have anything you want to say, feel free to come to me."
"Yes, thank you, Your Highness." Yun Zhi quickly stood up and walked towards the door almost as if she was running away, her steps a little unsteady.
As she reached the door, she couldn't help but glance back. Xiao Jin sat behind the desk, his back to her. The candlelight illuminated his figure, making him look somewhat forlorn. She felt a strange feeling in her heart, but she didn't dare to dwell on it and quickly walked out of the study.
Back in the side courtyard, Yun Zhi could no longer hold on. She slid down to the ground, leaning against the doorframe, tears finally falling. She opened her palm, revealing the small bellyband soaked with sweat, the seams stained with her blood—she had pinched it too hard, her nails piercing her palm.
"Miss, are you okay?" Qingzhu hurried over and helped her up. Seeing the wound on her palm, her eyes turned red with pain. "Did the prince make things difficult for you?"
Yun Zhi shook her head, her voice choking with sobs: "He didn't make things difficult for me, he just... was just testing me, asking me about the heirs of the palace, asking me if I could have children..."
"Then what did you say?" Qingzhu asked anxiously.
"I didn't dare say it. I pretended not to care, saying that I drank the sterilization soup and there was no chance of having children..." Yun Zhi covered her face with her hands, tears falling from her fingers. "But I was afraid. I was afraid that he already suspected me, that he would continue to test me, and that our child...would be lost..."
Qingzhu patted her back and comforted her, "Don't worry, young lady. You've done very well. The prince won't do anything to you easily without evidence. If we are more careful, we will definitely be able to save the child."
Yun Zhi nodded, but she still couldn't calm down. She knew that Xiao Jin's probing wouldn't end there; he would only grow more suspicious. And Lin Wanru and Su Yurou wouldn't give up either. They would definitely find evidence to bring ruin to her and her child.
In the study, Xiao Jin watched Yun Zhi's fleeing back, his fingers tightly gripping the file until his knuckles turned white. He had clearly seen her subconsciously protect her lower abdomen as she retreated, and he had clearly seen the panic and fear in her eyes when she mentioned having children—she must be pregnant!
But why didn't she say it? Why did she pretend not to care? Was it because the child wasn't his, but Xie Heng's? So she didn't dare to say it, afraid that he would find out and punish her and the child?
This thought sent a surge of rage through Xiao Jin's heart, mixed with a hint of inexplicable panic. He recalled the secret guard's report—that Yun Zhi hadn't contacted Xie Heng recently—and the bowl of tonic he had replaced. He also recalled the "child" she had cried out in her nightmare last night...
Could it be that... the child was really his? Was she refusing to tell him because she was afraid he would destroy the child like he'd done with the sterilizing soup?
Xiao Jin felt increasingly conflicted. He didn't know what to believe, how to face Yun Zhi, and what to do if the child was really his.
He stood up, walked to the window, and looked towards the side yard, his eyes full of complexity. He knew that he could not wait any longer, he had to find out the truth, no matter who the child belonged to, he had to know!
Yun Zhi, who was in the side courtyard, was still unaware of Xiao Jin's determination. She sat by the bed, gently caressing her belly and whispering, "Child, wait a little longer. Mother will find a way to convince the prince that you are his child and will ensure your safe birth."
Little did she know, a bigger crisis was brewing quietly. Lin Wanru and Su Yurou had found a new way to completely expose her secret, and Xiao Jin's suspicion had reached its peak, and he would soon face the final judgment.
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