Chapter 56
She had known it was him, of course, but the power she heard with her own ears was far more heartbreaking than she had guessed.
What on earth did Cui Hu do to deserve his killing? What grudge did Yao Chunying have with Cui Hu that he would not let him live at all!
Yue Qingning bit her lip. She felt extremely disgusted when she thought that these enemies were still chatting and laughing in front of her as if nothing had happened.
Every laugh of theirs was accompanied by the cries of the Cui family. Every time they opened their mouths, one could only see sharp teeth and blood gushing out, which was the tragic evidence left by chewing on Cui Hu's bones and blood.
She clenched her fists tightly until several different nail marks were left on her palms.
Teng Xieji saw this, stepped forward, took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, as if to indicate that he understood her reluctance, but in the end these people had to worship him, the prince with a beastly heart.
Teng Xieji pulled her around and Yue Qingning composed herself in an instant.
She bent down respectfully and gently touched her lips, which had been bitten until they bled.
"Meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
She spoke very softly, but in her heart she fiercely and forcefully recited the word "Xiao Yan".
The prince looked around the crowd and found nothing worth seeing. Apart from his cousin, the only two beauties didn't like him. So he lost interest after a while and sent them away with his cousin.
The crowd also dispersed in groups of two or three in the sudden noise. Teng Xieji saw that she had bitten her lower lip until it was bleeding and sighed.
"Why do you have to make things so difficult for yourself?"
This sentence completely exposed her entire day's cover-up. Yue Qingning had a bitter face, her lips moved for a long time, and tears began to speak for her, rolling down her face one after another.
Teng Xieji led her behind an empty courtyard wall, wiped her face, and his expression showed unspeakable grief.
"Ever since Cui Silang's accident, he hasn't come to my courtyard to squat. I was worried that something had happened to him, so I went to his house to check on him. I saw that the Protector's hair had turned white overnight, and he no longer had the same energetic look as before. Cui Jing also didn't want to see anyone. I waited for a long time before he finally opened the door."
Speaking of this, she frowned, as if she remembered how dejected Cui Jing looked when she saw him that day.
To this day, he has completely lost all his brothers. Even the brother who was closest to him died in such a ridiculous way in a foreign country. He was filled with grief and anger. When he saw her coming, he closed his eyes tightly and didn't even have the strength to speak. He waved his hands and asked her to go back, not wanting her to see him in this state.
But how could she leave? Cui Jing had preached to her day and night at the lowest point in her life, pulling her to the shore. How could she abandon him at this moment?
Teng Xieji looked at Yue Qingning who was so close to him. It had been such a long time since they last saw her, and she had become so thin that she would sway even through four or five layers of clothes. Her face was covered with a thick layer of powder, and she looked like a ghost wandering around with not much time left.
Cui Hu was her fiancé. Both she and Cui Jing had lost their loved ones, but at this moment she was still holding herself up and not falling, only because of the hatred hidden in her heart, which she would not have peace of mind unless she avenged it.
She understood, so instead of trying to dissuade them, she wanted to help them at this time.
Teng Xieji held her trembling wrist and looked at her seriously. "I understand what you're thinking. Cui Jing also told me his guess."
Having said that, she looked at Yue Qingning's pale face and suddenly changed the subject.
"Did you see what Yao Chunying looked like just now?"
She said, "Did you see her eating those sour plums that no one would touch? And the way she stroked her skirt when she stood up."
Yue Qingning's heart, which had been filled with sadness and resentment, suddenly dissipated a little after hearing these words. Her mind gradually became clear in the thick fog, and she murmured as she spoke.
"Sister wants to say..."
Teng Xieji replied, "I think she is pregnant."
Pregnant?
There was a loud bang, and the stone in my heart suddenly fell to the ground, causing my heart to tremble. Yue Qingning was crying and laughing, and I didn't know what expression she had.
She and the prince had not yet married, but she was pregnant!
Could this be a godsend, a revelation to her that even God couldn't stand the prince's brutality?
Yue Qingning grinned, his eyes filled with bloodshot and his smile was bitter.
Okay... okay! Since Yao Chunying has a stake in this, don't blame her for using this child who shouldn't be there to deal with her.
She asked, "Are you sure she is pregnant?"
Teng Xieji hesitated for a moment. "Looking at her, it's hard to explain if she's not pregnant. But it could also be a false pregnancy. I can't be sure without taking her pulse."
That's enough.
Yue Qingning nodded, as if relieved. "Let's go find the eldest princess first. I'll need your help later. Please help me!"
Seeing Teng Xieji nod, the two hurried to the pavilion by the lake.
It was noon, and the lotus flowers on the lake were in full bloom, their pink and fluffy beauty truly lovely. All the guests took their seats under a makeshift tent facing the lake. The men and women sat separately, with the eldest princess, as the most distinguished of the women, naturally sitting at the head.
I don't know how the maid who arranged the seats made the arrangements, but she actually put these young people who didn't get along with each other together.
Seeing Yao Chunying sitting down with her skirt lifted, Yue Qingning quickly walked up to her side, lifted her skirt and knelt down. On the other side, Teng Xieji also squeezed aside Cen Rong and sat on her other side.
When everyone was seated, Yao Chunying realized that she was sandwiched between the two of them.
But seeing that no one stood up or moved, and only the maids were still serving dishes, she didn't want to stand up and attract attention.
When all the dishes were served, the eldest princess offered the first toast to the queen who was sitting on her left.
"It was only because of the Queen's favor that I was able to avoid such a beautiful view."
The Queen quickly replied, "Your Highness is very kind! Everything is according to His Majesty's will. His Majesty has long planned to reunite with his family during the Double Ninth Festival, and this time he is simply using my name."
The two of them were not really that close. After the eldest princess lost her husband, she was unwilling to enter the palace and had not even met the queen a few times.
After a few pleasantries, the eldest princess asked everyone to start the meal.
Yue Qingning took a few sips of the light wine in the glass, and when she looked up, she saw that Yao Chunying had not touched the glass at all. It looked like she had known for a long time that she was pregnant and should not drink.
She lowered her eyelids and came up with an idea.
Holding a wine glass in his hand, he bowed his head respectfully to her.
"Sister, I was wrong just now. I was possessed by a demon and I don't know what nonsense I said. Please forgive me!"
Yao Chunying frowned deeply. She was annoyed by the meal, but everyone at the table was respectable, so she couldn't get angry with her at this moment. She could only pinch her palms and say, "It's okay, get up quickly."
But for some reason, the girl from the Yue family seemed to be endless. Seeing that she didn't accept it, she gulped down one cup after another, and her voice became louder and louder. It seemed that she wanted to show off her drunkenness during the meal.
Yao Chunying glanced around and shook her head awkwardly at the Queen and the eldest princess who noticed her.
She didn't know what kind of love potion Yue Qingning had taken today. It seemed like he wanted to make a fool of himself in front of the noble man and make things difficult for her.
"Sister, if you drink this glass of wine, I will take it as your forgiveness for my sin. As long as you drink it, I swear I will never show my face in front of you again!"
Yao Chunying was forced to step back two inches, but there were other people behind her, so she had no way to avoid it. She pushed away the wine that Yue Qingning handed over with an expression of wanting to be angry but suppressing it.
"I'm not good at drinking. I heard what you said, so let it go!"
He tried to persuade the reckless person by speaking out his words, but the person in front of him seemed not to hear him, so he raised his voice and said it again.
"Please, sister, forgive me!"
The Queen also heard the noise and thought someone was trying to make things difficult for Yao.
She didn't like the girl from the Yao family, and her brother also said that the prince was confused and asked why he didn't listen to him and choose a princess from his mother's family.
But the prince had grown up after all and had his own ideas. He refused to agree with their wishes no matter what and insisted on having Yao enter the palace, even having a big quarrel with his brother over this.
The queen frowned, she was already very dissatisfied with the fact that she had come between her brother and the prince and alienated their relationship, but after all, she had already been chosen, and since she couldn't change it, it would be bad to let her embarrass the prince in front of everyone.
"What's up?"
The nanny beside the queen immediately came over and asked her what happened.
When Yue Qingning saw someone coming, he pretended to stagger and covered his head, accidentally knocking over the wine glass in his hand, and the wine splashed onto Yao Chunying's clothes as she was trying to avoid it.
"Oh! What are you doing..."
Before she could complain, Yue Qingning suddenly sobered up and pounced on her, rubbing her thin gauze.
"I'm sorry! I was drunk and didn't hold the glass properly, so I bumped into my sister."
Yao Chunying tried to avoid her, pushed away her rebellious hand and was about to stand up, but Yue Qingning, who had been concentrating on pulling at her skirt, suddenly raised her head and looked at her blankly.
"Sister, why do you have a fever? You're so hot."
As she spoke, she pinched her wrist and lifted it upwards. Yao Chunying had half her arm held in the air, and she was immediately terribly embarrassed, fearing that some inappropriate marks would be seen by others. She pushed the person forward desperately, and there was only a crackling sound.
Yue Qingning fell back heavily, knocking all the noble ladies at the table to the ground with a crash.
She stood there at a loss, thinking that she didn't have that much strength.
The important people who were enjoying the music over there also heard the noise. The emperor had a gloomy face and came over in person, shocking everyone so much that they stood up and kowtowed.
"What evil has happened on such a beautiful day!"
The emperor roared angrily, and no one present dared to say a word. Only Yue Qingning, who was still lying on the table, was still mumbling something.
The eunuch beside the emperor immediately ordered someone to pick her up and drag her in front of the emperor.
As soon as the emperor saw her, he was furious.
At the end of last winter, the emperor's sister had asked him to arrange a marriage between the child and Cui Hu, but if a powerful minister and a military general were to get together, who knew how much turmoil would be caused. He had experienced it before and knew the constraints involved, so he rejected the marriage at that time.
Unexpectedly, seeing that there was no royal grace, the two families actually came together on their own. If Cui Hu had not died unexpectedly in Shu Hu, it is possible that the Cui family and the Yue family would have joined forces to cause trouble for him.
But... thinking about the fact that there were four children in the Cui family, and now there is only one left.
The emperor also had a look of embarrassment on his face. After all, they all sacrificed their lives for the country and died in a foreign land while working for him. It was so far away that their bodies could not be sent back.
Thinking of this, out of guilt, she developed some patience towards the Cui family's daughter-in-law who had not yet married into the family.
"What are you yelling about? How can a woman behave so rudely?"
Yue Qingning seemed to have been sobered up by his fright. At this moment, he was kneeling on the ground with a red face, almost sticking to the ground.
"I didn't dare to disturb Your Majesty. I was just watching the festive reunion and was so moved by the scene that I drank a little too much without noticing, and that's why I startled the noble lady at the table."
At this time, Minister Yue squeezed over from behind and saw his child kneeling on the ground. He hurried forward and knelt down with her.
Seeing that Minister Yue was like this, the emperor didn't care much and ordered him to take his daughter home quickly to sober up, and then he was ready to return to the banquet.
Unexpectedly, the little girl who had been quietly waiting for a reprimand suddenly shouted, "Your Majesty! Qingning's behavior just now must have hurt one of her sisters. Your Majesty, please find an imperial physician to take a look. If Qingning goes back like this, it will be difficult for her to be safe."
Behind her, Yao Chunying, who thought she was fine, widened her eyes in panic. She took several steps back and bumped into another person's hand.
She only smiled faintly and said, "I can just take the girl's pulse. There's no need to disturb others."
Yao Chunying's eyes were bloodshot, and she was about to twist her wrist to escape, but she saw that Teng Xieji, who had always been gentle and docile, suddenly pinched her wrist tightly, opened his eyes wide, and screamed as if he had not expected it.
"Are you pregnant?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was in an uproar. When the prince, who was watching the excitement in front of the crowd, heard this, he frowned and looked ferocious as if he wanted to eat someone. Before he even said a word, people had already guessed who it was about.
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