Chapter 37: Pulse Check, Nowhere to Escape
The candlelight at the palace banquet flickered, casting a flickering shadow on the faces of the people in the hall. Yun Zhi was pinned to a chair by two strong maids, her wrists pinched painfully. She struggled desperately, whimpering softly, her eyes fixed on Xiao Jin. "Your Highness, you can't do this! I'm pregnant with your child, and taking your pulse will only embarrass you!"
"Embarrassing?" Xiao Jin sat in the main seat, his fingers unconsciously stroking the jade pendant at his waist. His tone was as cold as ice. "What I want to know most now is whose bastard in your belly is! If it's Xie Heng's, I will make sure you, the adulterous couple, die without a burial place!"
His words were like a sledgehammer, crushing Yun Zhi's vision. Seeing the undisguised murderous intent in Xiao Jin's eyes, the last shred of hope in her heart was extinguished. He refused to give her even a shred of trust, and even the patience he showed in waiting for the imperial physician to examine his pulse was filled with a murderous intent.
"Your Highness, the imperial physician is here!" The guard's voice broke the silence in the hall, and everyone's eyes were cast towards the door.
Doctor Li walked in quickly, his face pale, carrying a medicine box. As soon as he stepped into the main hall, he shuddered at the oppressive atmosphere. He looked up, met Xiao Jin's sinister gaze, and quickly knelt down, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
"Get up," Xiao Jin's voice was cold, "and take Madam Yun's pulse to find out whose child she's pregnant with and how long she's been pregnant. If I make a mistake, or if I tell a lie, you know the consequences."
"Yes... yes!" Doctor Li stood up tremblingly, carrying the medicine box and walking over to Yun Zhi. He secretly raised his eyes and quickly glanced at Yun Zhi - her face was as white as paper, her eyes were red, tears still hanging on her cheeks, and her eyes were full of pleading.
Doctor Li's heart sank. He still remembered what Yun Zhi had entrusted him with, and the kindness shown to him by the Imperial Tutor and his wife. But now Xiao Jin was right before his eyes, with everyone in the room staring at him. If he dared to lie, not only would his own life be in jeopardy, but his entire family would also be implicated.
"Madam Yun, I'm sorry." Doctor Li gritted his teeth, stretched out his fingers, and gently placed them on Yun Zhi's wrist.
As soon as his fingertips touched Yun Zhi's pulse, Doctor Li's expression changed. The pulse was beating steadily and powerfully, with the unique smooth feeling of a pregnancy pulse. It was a real pregnancy pulse! And judging by the pulse, it had been at least two months!
His fingers trembled slightly as he switched to his other hand, carefully examining her for a moment. After confirming everything was correct, a thick layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. He slowly withdrew his hand, lowering his head, not daring to meet Xiao Jin's eyes. His voice trembled uncontrollably, "Your Highness... Madam Yun's pulse... is... a pregnancy pulse."
The two words "喜脉" exploded in the room like thunder.
Lin Wanru was stunned for a moment, then a smug smile appeared on her lips, and she deliberately raised her voice: "Pregnant pulse? It seems that my sister is really pregnant! I just don't know who the father of this child is?"
Su Yurou also echoed, her tone full of sarcasm: "Yeah, Sister Yun drank the contraceptive soup when she came into the mansion, so how did she suddenly get pregnant? I'm afraid... she had an affair with Doctor Xie a long time ago and came into the mansion pregnant, right?"
Several concubines followed suit, whispering, their gazes piercing Yunzhi like knives. Yunzhi's body swayed, and if she hadn't been held down by the nanny, she would have collapsed to the ground. She looked at Doctor Li, tears streaming down her face. "Doctor Li, please check again! Tell the prince that this child was conceived two months ago and is his!"
Two months ago—that was the time when Xiao Jin changed her tonic medicine to neutralize the effects of the Juezi Decoction! As long as Imperial Doctor Li could clearly state the time, Xiao Jin might not disbelieve her!
But Doctor Li acted as if he hadn't heard. He lowered his head even more and spoke in a quieter voice, "Your Highness, Madam Yun...is indeed over two months pregnant."
"Over two months!" Xiao Jin abruptly stood up from his seat, his dark robe sweeping across the corner of the table, sending a jade cup crashing to the floor. A crisp clang pierced the silence of the room. He stared intently at Yun Zhi, his eyes swirling with turmoil—two months ago, it was when he and Yun Zhi were tangling most intensely over the drowning incident, and it was also when he had changed the supplemental ingredients in the Confinement Decoction!
Could it be... that this child is really his?
This thought was like a bolt of lightning, splitting his mind, which was filled with jealousy and anger. He remembered Yun Zhi's previous pleas, the way she desperately protected her belly, the desperate look in her eyes when she shouted, "This is your child!"... All those details he had ignored now flooded back into his mind, like countless needles, piercing his heart and causing pain.
But then, Qiu Wen's testimony, the forged love letter, the pregnancy-preserving pills Xie Heng had sent... these images suddenly popped up again, completely suppressing his hesitation. How could he believe it? Yun Zhi and Xie Heng had a long-standing relationship. Maybe she deliberately got pregnant with Xie Heng's child at that time and then put the blame on him!
"More than two months..." Xiao Jin repeated these words in a low voice, his voice carrying a barely perceptible hoarseness, his eyes becoming increasingly sinister. "Okay, very good! Yun Zhi, you're really good at scheming!"
Yun Zhi saw that the anger in Xiao Jin's eyes had not only not subsided, but had intensified, and her heart sank to the bottom. She knew that even if she could diagnose the pregnancy, Xiao Jin would not believe her. He was convinced that the child was Xie Heng's and that she was plotting against him!
"Your Highness, I didn't plot against you!" Yun Zhi twisted her body desperately, leaving red marks on her wrists from being pinched by the nanny. "Think about it, I just fell into the water two months ago and was weak. How could I have anything to do with Doctor Xie? It was you! It was you who changed the tonic medicine for me back then, neutralizing the effects of the Juezi Decoction, so that I could get pregnant with your child! Why don't you understand!"
"Shut up!" Xiao Jin interrupted her harshly, the madness in his eyes almost overflowing, "You still want to quibble! I changed your medicine because I felt sorry for you, not because you want to plot against me in this way! Don't think I don't know about your dirty deeds with Xie Heng!"
He walked down the main seat, his steps slow but carrying a thunderous sense of oppression. Everyone in the room held their breath, not even daring to breathe. Only the crackling of the burning candles and Yun Zhi's suppressed sobs echoed in the air.
Doctor Li knelt on the ground, his head lowered even lower, his heart filled with guilt. He knew the child might be the prince's, but out of fear, he dared not say a word in defense. He could only pray in his heart that the prince would see the truth soon and stop hurting Concubine Yun and the child.
Lin Wanru watched Xiao Jin walk towards Yun Zhi, the smile on her face growing even wider. This was exactly what she wanted – Yun Zhi's pregnancy would be exposed, the prince would be furious, and even if the child was his, he would treat it as a bastard, and Yun Zhi would be completely finished!
Su Yurou sat aside, her eyes full of calculation. She actually hoped the child was the prince's. That way, the prince would feel guilty for disposing of Yun Zhi and the child. Then, she could offer gentle comfort, perhaps taking advantage of the opportunity to ascend to the throne and replace Yun Zhi.
Yun Zhi watched Xiao Jin approach closer and closer. His face was particularly gloomy in the candlelight, and the rage in his eyes threatened to consume her. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably, not out of fear, but out of despair. The child she had fought so hard to protect, the truth she had sincerely hoped he would believe, in his eyes, was nothing but calculation and lies.
"Prince, please..." Yun Zhi's voice was filled with tears, and her vision was blurred by tears. "This child is really yours. Just touch it, he is right here... You can't hurt him, please..."
She reached out, trying to grab Xiao Jin's shirt, but he slammed her away. Xiao Jin stopped and stood before her, looking down at her, his eyes woven with incredible anger, the pain of betrayal, and a hint of panic he himself hadn't even noticed. When he'd just waved her hand away, he'd clearly seen the slight bulge in her belly, a sign of life, a throbbing sensation of "fatherhood" he'd never felt before.
But this throbbing feeling was soon drowned out by jealousy and anger. He thought of the pregnancy-maintaining medicine Xie Heng had sent him, Yun Zhi's evasive behavior, and the inquiring gazes of everyone in the room. All his rationality was consumed by anger.
"Yunzhi," Xiao Jin's voice was as cold as ice, and every word was like a poisoned knife. "You'd better pray that this child is not Xie Heng's. If so, not only will I kill this bastard, but I will also make you and Xie Heng be buried with him!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Zhi's body suddenly stiffened, her face turning pale as paper, and the light in her eyes completely extinguished. She looked at Xiao Jin, her lips moving, but she could no longer utter a word. Only tears fell like beads from a broken string.
The entire room was silent as everyone watched the scene unfold before them. Some gloated, some sympathized, and some were horrified. Only the candlelight flickered, illuminating Xiao Jin's face and Yun Zhi's despair, a particularly heartbreaking sight.
Xiao Jin looked at Yun Zhi, her expression of despair, and felt a sharp pain in his heart. He subconsciously reached out to touch her cheek, but just as his fingertips were about to touch her skin, he abruptly pulled his hand back. He couldn't be soft-hearted. This woman had betrayed him, and she didn't deserve his sympathy!
"Take Madam Yun back to the side courtyard and keep her under strict watch. No one is allowed to visit!" Xiao Jin turned around and gave the order to the guards, his voice cold and devoid of any warmth. "Without my order, no one is allowed to approach the side courtyard even a single step!"
"Yes!" The guard responded and stepped forward to take Yun Zhi away.
"Don't touch my belly!" Yun Zhi suddenly screamed, her voice filled with crazy despair, "I won't let you touch my child! This is my child, no one can hurt him!"
Her screams echoed throughout the hall, carrying with them a heart-wrenching pain that sent shudders down the spines of everyone present. But the guards didn't dare disobey Xiao Jin's orders, and they grabbed her arms and forcibly dragged her out.
As Yun Zhi was dragged out of the main hall, she kept looking back, her eyes fixed on Xiao Jin. Tears blurred her vision, and her voice was filled with tears and pleading: "Xiao Jin, I hate you! Even if I die, I will never let you hurt my child!"
In the main hall, Xiao Jin turned his back to the door, listening to Yun Zhi's screams fading away. His fingers clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white. He could feel the pain in his heart becoming more and more pronounced, as if something was shattering bit by bit.
Seeing Yun Zhi being taken away, Lin Wanru hurried forward, her tone filled with hypocritical concern: "Your Highness, please don't be angry. Sister Yun was just confused for a moment. When she figures it out, she'll admit her mistake."
"Have you figured it out?" Xiao Jin sneered and turned to look at Lin Wanru. The sinister look in his eyes instantly silenced her. "If she had figured it out, she wouldn't have done such a shameless thing! And you, stop pretending here and mind your own business!"
Lin Wanru's face turned pale from his yelling, and she quickly lowered her head, not daring to speak again. Su Yurou also tactfully shut up, but secretly laughed in her heart - the greater Xiao Jin's anger, the better it was for them.
Xiao Jin didn't look at anyone else, turned around and strode out of the main hall. He needed to calm down and figure out whether the child in Yun Zhi's belly was his.
But he didn't know that his decision had already pushed Yun Zhi and the child into a deeper abyss. And the inexplicable pain in his heart also foreshadowed that this tragedy caused by misunderstanding and jealousy had just begun.
The candles in the hall were still burning, but Yun Zhi, in the side courtyard, had already fallen into endless darkness. She was locked in her room, guards outside. All she could do was hold her belly tightly and pray over and over in her heart—praying for the child's safety, praying that Xiao Jin would soon see the truth, and praying that this nightmare would end soon.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
