Chapter 158 Let her give birth
The imperial physician had his head bowed, his face obscured by his hat, and he was visibly trembling, his body shrunken. He didn't seem to be arguing with Zhou Qi about medical skills; all he seemed to be worried about was his own life.
Consort Jing covered her mouth and stepped forward, looking at the two of them with shock in her eyes—"You didn't even tell the truth in front of the Emperor, helping Consort Kang to give false testimony to frame the Crown Prince. What are your intentions! And what kind of benefits did you receive!"
What kind of benefits could possibly motivate him to risk his life for such a rebellious act?
Yinzhen's eyes darkened, and he heard Lü Jiaying beside him lower her voice coldly—"It's certainly convenient for imperial physicians to move around the palace. I remember that all the imperial physicians and guards have this carp pendant. Those who fled in panic that night..."
Yinzhen's face was darker than the bottom of a pot, his eyes bloodshot and almost spitting fire. He stared intently at the two people in front of him who were pleading for mercy. His ears seemed to be blocked, making it hard to hear anything. He gritted his teeth, his temples throbbing. "I am the Son of Heaven! How dare they do this!"
"Drag this adulterous couple out and beat them to death immediately." He uttered these words with difficulty, his chest heaving violently.
"Li Ying has corrupted the palace, attempting to confuse the royal bloodline and frame the Crown Prince, thus undermining the foundation of the state. The Li family need not be imprisoned. Considering the merits Li Bin has rendered to me, I will be lenient and spare his entire family from execution. Instead, the entire family will be executed, the women will be made slaves, and their descendants within three generations will be barred from taking the imperial examinations or entering officialdom."
As Li Ying listened to the Emperor finish speaking, word by word, she staggered off the couch, falling heavily to the ground. No longer caring about the fall, she reached out to grab the Emperor's robe, but he dodged her. Clutching her stomach, she murmured incoherently, "Your Majesty, this can't be! Your Majesty, this concubine...this concubine has a child...this concubine's due date matches the divination records, this is Your Majesty's child! It's a prince!"
She swallowed hard, her eyes filled with a hopeful yet slightly nervous look as she looked up at the Emperor—"Even if Your Majesty is furious, you can't beat your own child to death! He's almost seven months along! Even tigers don't eat their cubs! This is Your Majesty's son!"
"This imperial physician looks unfamiliar. He probably hasn't examined other concubines before. He has plenty of free time every day, so he can only determine the month of conception by taking their pulses. If it's off by a day or two, no one can say for sure," Lü Jiayingfeng said worriedly, glancing at the Emperor.
Yinzhen looked down at her, his eyes showing no sign of wavering—"Su Peisheng, hurry up and go!"
"Yes, sir!" Su Peisheng glanced at the Empress's expression and quickly beckoned the eunuchs to come forward and drag the two of them out.
The imperial physician seemed terrified, his body limp as he was dragged out. Li Ying, however, stood up and was half a head taller than the two eunuchs. She continued kicking and punching relentlessly, still hoping to get the Emperor to say "Wait a moment." Now that she had nothing to lose, she acted without restraint. The two eunuchs couldn't hold her down for a while, but they didn't dare to let go easily either. They were locked in a stalemate at the door for quite some time.
"Bang!"
"ah--"
Halfway into the yard, a loud thud was heard. Immediately following was Li Ying's cry of pain, a hundred times louder than before.
"Your Majesty, this...this...looks like she's about to give birth!" A young eunuch rushed in, pointing outside, clearly unsure of what to call her.
Consort Jing and the Empress exchanged a glance; neither of them looked pleased.
Given the current situation, it's natural that we have no choice but to let her give birth.
"Your Majesty, perhaps we should withdraw first. Even the greatest crime can be punished after she gives birth." Lü Jiaying frowned slightly, her lowered eyelids concealing a fleeting regret. When she looked up again, she was still the magnanimous empress.
Yinzhen didn't speak. He stiffly turned around, reached out and pulled Hongzhao to his side. He walked slowly out without stopping, speaking as he went, "Then... as the Empress said, the punishment after childbirth will remain unchanged. Su Peisheng, you will draft the decree now. There is no need to come and ask for instructions again."
Halfway there, his gaze fell upon the servants who were cowering on the ground, and he turned his head away in disgust—"All the servants who served Li Ying need not go to the Xin Zhe Ku. All those who were close to her will be executed, and the rest of the palace maids and eunuchs will be punished and sent to the Xin Zhe Ku."
Hongzhao glanced sideways at the retrial, thinking about what he had just heard from Granny Zhu, and then looked up at his father's already terrible complexion. His gaze lingered on the matter, but he pursed his lips and remained silent.
Even though he was still furious, Yinzhen still keenly noticed his son's hesitation. He paused, looked at the top of Hongzhao's head, and then glanced back at Zhu Mama, who was being pressed to the ground. His expression changed. "That old woman is an exception. Have the Shenxing Division interrogate her properly."
"yes."
——
She was born prematurely at less than seven months, and her emotions were turbulent and she was restless. Even though she was physically healthy, she struggled for more than half a day. It was already very late at night when she could vaguely hear faint crying coming from inside the room.
“Your Majesty, it’s a girl.” Chunxi had been ordered to watch over the baby inside. As soon as the baby was born, she didn’t ask anyone to help and just carried her out. Li Ying didn’t even get a glimpse of her. “She’s like a kitten. She doesn’t cry much. The person inside looks a bit exhausted.”
Consort Jing peeked at the baby in the swaddling clothes, which could be described as being wrapped haphazardly. Such a tiny child, who was still too young to know anything, how could he have been born into such a family? She had always been soft-hearted towards children, and upon seeing this, she couldn't help but clutch her chest, frown, and turn her head away from looking.
In the past, which young lady didn't go through this naive and ignorant process? From the Prince's mansion to the palace, and then climbing step by step to a high position, she has seen countless innocent and guilty people. Lu Jiaying looked at the sky outside and said, "Since the Emperor said there is no need to ask for permission, then let's send her on her way. As for this child... let the nanny take care of him for now, and we will listen to the Emperor's instructions in the future."
Even as Li Ying was dragged away, completely exhausted, she was still babbling incoherently, insisting that she had given birth to a prince and that the Emperor should consider the prince's mother. Consort Jing couldn't help but shake her head at the sight—"It's fortunate that the Emperor didn't believe her and become suspicious of the Crown Prince today. Otherwise, how could she have died so easily? Even now, she's still so stubborn."
"It's this child. Even if it was the wrong time to have him, he was still born. To verify his lineage, I'm afraid the only way is... a blood test?"
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