"Have the people at the charity hall keep an eye out for any healthy abandoned male infants and send them to Old Man Chen."
Xie Tingzhou has known Chen Banjun for many years and knows his character best. He is afraid that Chen Banjun will not keep Qin Xue any longer.
Ye Zhen nodded, and then Qin Xue's voice rang out again from inside the room, "You had someone beat me, aren't you afraid it would hurt the child in my womb?"
Chen Banjun said calmly, "Continue."
After being slapped several times, Qin Xue felt her mouth and face go numb with pain, so she pulled out the hairpin from her hair and stabbed it into her abdomen.
"If you lay a hand on me again, I'll kill this child!"
This time, not only Chen Banjun, but even the eunuch who took action was speechless at her stupidity.
"The child is yours, and so is your flesh and blood. Go ahead and poke me if you dare."
Qin Xue didn't dare to poke him; she just wanted to threaten Chen Banjun. She even felt that Chen Banjun was pretending not to care.
If he truly didn't care, why would he have saved her? She was someone the Empress had ordered to commit suicide.
With gritted teeth, she pretended to be ruthless and stabbed herself in the abdomen, not believing that Chen Banjun could remain calm.
It's unclear whether even the heavens couldn't bear to see her suffer, or if she was just unlucky.
As she thrust the hairpin into her abdomen, she lost her footing and fell straight forward, the hairpin piercing her abdomen with pinpoint accuracy.
Chen Banjun's brow twitched, but he remained silent.
The young eunuch glanced timidly at Chen Banjun. He could have actually caught Qin Xue in time, but Chen Banjun's cold glare made him afraid.
Now that blood has been drawn, he is worried that Chen Banjun will take his anger out on him, but Chen Banjun has not reacted at all.
Qin Xue was in so much pain that cold sweat beaded on her forehead. She pleaded with Chen Banjun for help, "Save me! Get me a doctor, or I'll lose my baby."
She felt a sticky liquid flowing out from below her.
What he heard was Chen Banjun's cold words, "Tell us the truth about what we asked, or you'll be waiting to die."
Qin Xue didn't want to die. For the first time, she truly felt the approach of death. No longer daring to be clever, she told Chen Banjun everything her mother, Li Xiangyun, had told her.
“My mother said that Prime Minister Li would not abandon us. If you save me, Prime Minister Li will surely reward you handsomely afterwards.”
Chen Banjun let out a cold laugh. He was His Majesty's man; why should he need a traitor to repay him?
As Qin Xue watched the two people turn and leave the room, she thought in despair, why didn't Chen Banjun want her child or Li Xiang's thanks?
Why is the situation in the capital completely different from what her mother said? It's because the method her mother taught her—using money to pave the way—is no longer working.
The blood flowed more and more from beneath her, her body grew colder and colder, and she kept her eyes open until her death, her eyes filled with foolish confusion.
When Chen Banjun came out of the house and saw Xie Tingzhou and Ye Zhen, he was not too surprised and truthfully reported what Qin Xue had asked him to do.
Xie Tingzhou said apologetically, "It was my oversight. I have asked the princess to find you another child from elsewhere."
He never expected that the daughter raised by the Qin family in Jiangnan would have such a mind.
Chen Banjun was the most tactful and dared not accept the Crown Prince's apology. He hurriedly said, "Your Highness has not forgotten this old servant's wish all these years. This old servant is grateful enough. How can I blame Your Highness?"
After thanking Ye Zhen again, he went to the Imperial Study to report Qin Xue's words.
Xie Tingzhou escorted Ye Zhen out of the palace.
Now they are officially engaged, and there is no need to hide it anymore. In fact, Xie Tingzhou even intentionally or unintentionally took her on a long detour through the palace.
They seemed afraid others wouldn't know they were traveling together.
Ye Zhen didn't expose his little scheme. Every step in the palace was a beautiful scene, and she simply treated it as a stolen half-day of leisure to accompany him in appreciating the scenery.
"Madam Shen said that among Li Heng's generation, he was the only one of the Li siblings to survive, so Qin Xue's mother could not be his relative."
But if they weren't relatives, why would someone else be placed before one's own daughter?
Ye Zhen hesitated and asked, "Do you think there might be something fishy about Li Heng's identity?"
Xie Tingzhou hooked his fingers under her sleeve and nodded, "That's possible. I'll send someone to Li Heng's hometown to investigate later."
By the way, Ye Yunheng's wet nurse, Madam Lü, is a concubine of the Qin family and will also be imprisoned. However, women like her are usually dealt with locally and not sent to the capital.
Li Heng won't let her come to Beijing alive. I'm sending Fu Guang personally to make sure she's brought back safely.
Ye Zhen said, "Let Yin Yue come along."
The other party is a woman, and with Yin Yue watching over her closely, it will be more convenient on the way.
Tse Ting-chou naturally agreed.
The two walked side by side unhurriedly, their fingers intertwined beneath their wide sleeves. The palace path, which usually seemed long, suddenly felt so short.
It seemed like only a short while before they arrived at the palace gates. Xie Tingzhou said with great regret, "You go back to your residence first. I have to go to the Dali Temple."
The evidence in the Su family's case was conclusive, and the trial was not difficult. In addition, Li Heng promised to protect the rest of the Su family, so Vice Minister Su quickly confessed to his crimes.
He was to be executed in three days, but Xie Tingzhou knew very well that Li Heng would definitely have Minister Su commit suicide in advance to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.
Xie Tingzhou needs to sow discord between Vice Minister Su and Li Heng, in preparation for Vice Minister Su to identify Li Heng later.
However, before he and Ye Zhen could separate, Xing Ze rushed over, shouting, "Something terrible has happened at the Charity Hall!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
