Palace miscarriage
The carriage was jolting a bit, and Ziyun sat inside, holding onto Yuanli tightly. They should have reached the palace gate long ago, but the carriage was still moving, accelerating. Yuanli sensed something was wrong and reached out with her right hand, intending to lift the felt curtain.
Suddenly, the carriage braked hard, the horses' front hooves lifted high, and Yuanli was thrown out by inertia. Although Ziyun stepped under her in time, Yuanli's stomach still hit the corner of the stool, scraping her forehead. The intense pain hit Yuanli and she was unable to get up, but Ziyun had already fainted from the blow to the back of his head.
A gust of wind blew snow, the felt curtain was lifted, and a cold hand grabbed her neck and dragged her out. Yuanli curled up with all her strength to protect her abdomen.
The man threw her out of the carriage. Yuanli subconsciously wanted to use magic, but the pain in her stomach told her not to. Using magic in the human world would cause backlash and stomach pain, and she was afraid that the child would be even more dangerous to save.
"I told you I'm going to tear your skin off. The only thing you can blame is you meddling in other people's business."
A feeling of despair washed over her, her eyelashes icy and her vision blurred. The woman's embroidered shoes approached her, and her cold fingers pinched her cheeks and said disdainfully, "Nice leather, lend it to me."
A warm sensation spread between her legs, and her ears began to ring. Yuanli clutched the necklace and weakly muttered before fainting, "Acha, save my child."
After saying this, Yuanli completely fainted.
While unconscious, she could feel someone calling her, but her eyelids were too heavy to open.
At this moment, outside Yumen Pass in Kyoto.
Wen Yici and Lin Jian rode two black-maned horses back overnight, but the soldiers on the city wall ignored them. Wen Yici took out the token, dismounted, and smashed the city gate wildly, and the door opened with a "crash".
When the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards, Xiao Tong, saw that he did not kneel, he took his token and put it into his waist.
"The thief Wen broke into the city gate on his own, and he was captured. Anyone who resists will be punished for treason."
The city guards surrounded Wen Yici, and three thousand elite soldiers emerged from nowhere, attacking him from both inside and outside, trapping him tightly. Wen Yici then realized that these three thousand elite soldiers had been waiting here since he returned to Kyoto.
Something happened in Kyoto.
Wen Yici smiled. How afraid were the thieves of him? He and Lin Jianjian were alone against three thousand elite soldiers. Since they were trying to trick him back into the city, could it be that his wife and child were actually safe?
If it was as he guessed, he would rather the letter was a lie meant to catch him.
Wen Yici threw down his sword and slammed it onto the snow, saying, "Keep my wife and children safe, and I will fulfill everyone's wishes."
Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guards arrested him and searched him three times before taking him to the Sky Prison.
The prison was damp and moldy, with dim light and only a thin layer of dry straw on the ground. Rats were squeaking and running around everywhere, but the prisoners had long been accustomed to it and let the rats crawl over them.
Wen Yici calmly entered the prison, found a piece of clean straw to gather himself together, and sat cross-legged on the ground, looking calm and composed.
Xiao Tong personally locked the three doors of Wen Yici's prison, threw the keys into the brazier beside him, and said smugly, "Now that you're in prison, you can rest assured, Prince Wen."
Wen Yici was too lazy to even raise his eyes, closing them to rest, which made Xiao Tong even more angry. He clenched his fists tightly in his wide sleeves, with veins bulging on the back of his fists, but he kept a controlled smile on his face as he walked out of the prison and headed straight for Prince Wen's mansion.
At this moment, the huge Prince Wen's Mansion was deserted, the gates were closed, and the black-armored guards inside and the imperial guards outside surrounded the Prince Wen's Mansion tightly.
When the Royal Guards saw Xiao Tong coming, they bowed respectfully and opened the door. However, the black-armored guards outside the main courtyard didn't even look at him. They held the heavy sword in their hands and stared straight ahead.
Xiao Tong took out Wen Yici's token and said, "Prince Wen's token is here. Why don't you let me in quickly?"
"During this period of civil unrest, we only recognize Prince Wen, not the token."
"Prince Wen has long been executed and imprisoned by this commander. The keys have been melted. The criminal prince is guilty of treason and deserves the death of all his clans. Do you still want to work for him? If you beg for mercy now, perhaps you can be recruited into the Imperial Guards."
However, the black-armored guard did not respond, his eyes full of scorn and disdain. Everyone present knew who the thief was.
As the two sides reached a stalemate, Ziyun arrived upon hearing the noise and hurriedly silenced the two. Xiao Tong put on a smile and said in a friendly manner, "Miss Ziyun, I wonder if the princess has woken up? Is she in good health?"
"The princess is not feeling well and does not want to see guests. Commander Xiao, please leave. Also, the princess asked the maid to pass on a message that although Prince Wen's mansion is temporarily in trouble, it has the Black Armor Guards and does not need your Imperial Guards. Please withdraw. She does not like crowds."
"Come here, withdraw half of the Imperial Guards and retreat ten miles away from Prince Wen's Palace."
After saying this, Xiao Tong hurriedly took out a letter and handed it to Ziyun, saying, "If this is what the princess wishes, I will do my best to satisfy it. However, the situation is dangerous now, and we must not retreat completely. Please, Miss Ziyun, pass this letter to the princess. Xiao's heartfelt wishes are all in it."
Ziyun had no choice but to deliver the letter into the house. Yuanli was lying on the couch, very weak, with pale lips. The hair on her forehead was wet with sweat and stuck to her face. She stared at the ceiling with empty eyes, and her hot tears fell on the pillow. The basin on the table was full of blood. Ziyun hurriedly called the maid to come and clean up the traces.
"Ziyun, take my token and retrieve the photo."
"Okay, okay, I'll go right away. Princess, wait for me."
After sending Ziyun away, Yuanli reached out from under the quilt with a trembling hand to wipe away her tears. She calmed herself down and said, "In the fate book, did the Emperor die for treason?"
Tianshu remained silent. Heqi anxiously tugged at his sleeve and whispered in his ear, gritting his teeth, "A-Li is gone now... can't you have some pity on her?"
"If you don't follow the Fate Book and meddle arbitrarily, the Emperor's tribulation will fail, and her life will be wasted. Besides, I have never seen Siming's Fate Book. You must let him die."
He Qi squatted beside her, smoothing her hair away. The warm tears flowed across his fingertips. He Qi said distressedly, "Ari, don't cry. I will snatch the Book of Life for you. I will kill all the mortals who trapped you. I will do whatever you want."
Yuanli shook her head, covered her face with the quilt, and let the tears flow out.
She knew he would die at her hands, but she didn't want him to die with such a crime. She didn't want her A Ci to become a sinner in history books and be despised by others.
At midnight, someone from the Eastern Palace arrived, saying that the culprit prince was plotting rebellion and that they had sent someone to mediate. Yun Zhaowan was surrounded by the crowd and escorted into the house, leaving her only a short while to wait for an incense stick to burn.
"My dear sister, please do not be stubborn. If you can divorce the criminal Wen Yici in time, you will still be the princess of Liangzhu."
Yuanli didn't reply, her expression frozen. The room was quiet, with only a few candles flickering. The cold wind blew up the gauze curtains beside the bed, and a barely perceptible trace of heartache flashed across Yunzhao's eyes.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, the old nanny beside her had no choice but to dismiss the palace maids and told Yun Zhaowan that she only had one hour left. After that, she left the room and closed the door.
"He is a sinner of eternity, and his death is not a pity. My sister, there is no need to suffer and be buried with him. Imperial Concubine Yu is kind and will forgive you if you expose the sinful king's faults in time..."
Although Yun Zhaowan stood in the house and spoke word by word, his words were so sonorous and powerful, but he could not stop the tears in his eyes. After the shadow on the door floated away, Yun Zhaowan approached and took off his disguise.
Yuanli struggled to stand up, half leaning against the headboard, pulling at the corner of her sleeve and saying, "What's the situation in the palace? Zhao Wan, Wen Yici won't rebel, he won't."
"The Crown Prince and I naturally trust Prince Wen. Something strange is going on in the palace. Concubine Yu was suddenly canonized as Imperial Noble Consort this morning, and you and Prince Wen are both in trouble. The news of your miscarriage and Prince Wen's imprisonment reached the palace at the same time. Someone is plotting against you and your wife. Has Prince Wen's mansion offended anyone?"
Yuanli was having a headache. Speaking of enemies, Prince Wen had fought wars for his country, served as regent many times, and eliminated treacherous officials for the court. His enemies were countless. Her enemies, however, were no ordinary people and were difficult to eliminate.
"It's lonely at the top. Ah Ci is in such a high position, so how can he be without enemies?"
"Those promoted people in the court may seem unrelated, but there are actually undercurrents. The Eastern Palace submitted a letter to the emperor to explain on behalf of Prince Wen, but my father avoided him and turned a deaf ear to him. The Crown Prince and I are currently trying to find a way to save you two."
"Thank you, Zhao Wan."
"We're family, why should I thank you? Right now, you should take care of yourself. As long as you have the green mountains, you won't be short of firewood. There will be more in the future. Oh, and the prince told me to remember to tell you to stay away from Xiao Tong. He relies on women to climb to the top. It's unlucky."
Speaking of her body, Yuanli unconsciously touched her abdomen with her right hand and looked down.
"Zhao Wan, I will never be able to have children again. The miscarriage was a huge loss, and being frozen in the snow damaged my health. The imperial physician said the babies are already formed, twins, a boy and a girl. How can I be worthy of A Ci, how can I be worthy of my two children?"
At this moment, A'li could no longer hold back, and all the grievances she felt burst out with tears. The more she cried, the more aggrieved she felt. A'li's hands couldn't stop shaking, and her body rose and fell with her uncontrollable emotions.
"You deserve everyone's trust. This isn't your fault, sister. You tried your best."
Yun Zhaowan wiped her tears with a distressed look, tightly grasped the handkerchief, turned his head away and tried hard to hold back the tears in his eyes. If she collapsed again, how could she support Yuanli?
Yuanli didn't recover until her eyes hurt from crying and her nostrils were stinging. The nanny outside the door had urged her many times, but Yun Zhaowan still sat by the bed until the nanny pushed open the door and rushed in.
"Crown Princess, the incense stick has arrived. You must leave."
As they spoke, the group of old maids came towards her with high voices, and one of them was holding a bowl of black medicine.
Yun Zhaowan stood up suddenly, drew Wen Yici's sword from beside the dressing table, and blocked Yuanli's bed with it, saying, "Whoever dares to take another step forward will have his head chopped off."
Upon hearing this, several maids stopped walking, swallowed nervously, and their legs trembled.
"Crown Princess, we old servants are acting on the orders of the Imperial Concubine. How could you draw your sword and threaten to kill? If the Imperial Concubine knew..."
"The one lying on the bed is the legitimate princess born to the late queen, the legal wife of Prince Wen. Open your eyes and see clearly! No matter how noble the imperial concubine is, the emperor's concubine is still a concubine. I am a slave, how dare I ride on my master's head?"
The leading nanny wanted to say something but stopped herself, and finally lowered her head under her sharp gaze.
Yun Zhao pointed the tip of his sword at Madam Duanyao and said, "I didn't see you when I came here, did I?"
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