Even in her darkest moments, the Princess Consort had never contemplated suicide. Especially after last night, holding her daughter’s small body and feeling her child’s affection, her will to live had grown even stronger.
The Princess Consort struggled desperately, trying to avoid the poison being forced into her mouth.
“Xiaohong, are you a dead person?” the old woman snapped, increasing her force.
Chastised, Xiaohong used all her strength to restrain the Princess Consort’s struggling hands.
The Princess Consort, weakened by long-term depression, was no match for the strong old woman, let alone Xiaohong. After a brief struggle, she gradually became immobile.
As the white porcelain bottle was poured into her mouth, she seemed to taste the bitterness.
Was there no escape?
A tear rolled down the Princess Consort’s cheek, filled with endless resentment.
“Mother—” She seemed to hear her daughter’s sweet voice calling out.
The Princess Consort shuddered, somehow finding a burst of strength, and struggled violently.
This sudden movement allowed her to break free from Xiaohong’s grip, and she rushed through the gap between Xiaohong and the old woman.
“Xiaohong—” the old woman called out in disbelief and gave chase.
Xiaohong followed, but somehow her foot slipped, and she fell forward, landing on top of the old woman.
The old woman fell into an undignified position, and before she could react to the pain, another weight pressed down on her, causing her to scream.
Xiaohong, who had landed on top of her, seemed dazed and didn’t move.
“Xiaohong, are you made of mud? Can’t you get up once you’ve stuck to someone?” the old woman cursed angrily, twisting her body to throw Xiaohong off.
Xiaohong cried out in pain, lying motionless on the ground.
The old woman, disregarding Xiaohong’s condition, got up and gave chase.
In this short time, the Princess Consort had already rushed out of the courtyard, running desperately towards the back.
She didn’t run towards the front. There were guards at the front of the Prince’s manor, and she would surely be quickly restrained if encountered, leaving no chance of survival. Only by running towards the back, hoping to escape through the side gate of the Prince’s manor, did she have a glimmer of hope.
Although she knew the chances were slim, the Princess Consort refused to give up.
Her residence was already in a secluded area, and Prince Qi, to avoid suspicion, hadn’t sent anyone to watch. Without the old woman and Xiaohong chasing her, she momentarily had a clear path and quickly ran quite a distance without encountering many servants.
But this smooth progress didn’t last long.
From behind came the old woman’s shouts: “Quick, stop the Princess Consort, she’s gone mad—”
A few stunned servants on the side finally snapped out of their daze and joined the chase after the Princess Consort.
With the Princess Consort in front and the maids and old women behind, the chase was absurd.
Somehow, every time someone was about to catch up with the Princess Consort, they would suddenly slip, missing their chance.
The Princess Consort ran until she was dizzy, her hair disheveled, and finally saw the side gate.
“Zhao’s wife, quick, stop the Princess Consort!” the maids and old women chasing behind shouted in unison.
The “Zhao’s wife” they referred to was the old woman guarding the side gate, who had just come out with a basin of water and looked bewildered at the approaching Princess Consort.
Hearing the shouts, she finally came to her senses and hurriedly rushed to block the way: “Princess Consort, you can’t go out—”
Zhao’s wife’s foot slipped, and the basin in her hand flew out, landing perfectly on the head of the old woman closest to the Princess Consort.
The old woman, already in pain from being crushed by Xiaohong earlier, now had her head aching from the basin. She rolled her eyes and fell.
Tragically, she didn’t faint. She watched helplessly as the Princess Consort rushed out of the side gate and quickly disappeared.
“Oh heavens, the Princess Consort has run out onto the street—” the old woman cried out before finally succumbing to the terrible reality and fainting.
Many people ran past the unconscious old woman, but no one had time to care about her fate. Xiaohong, in her panic, even stepped on the old woman’s hand.
Terrified, Xiaohong quickly glanced at the crowd running past and then at the unresponsive old woman. Suddenly feeling a surge of malice, she deliberately stomped on the old woman’s foot again.
The old woman screamed and opened her eyes, staring directly at Xiaohong’s pale face.
Xiaohong was stunned, stammering, “The Princess Consort has run out…”
How did she wake up with just one stomp when she had fainted?
The old woman, unaware that she had been taken advantage of by a young maid, pushed Xiaohong aside and rushed towards the side gate.
By now, the Princess Consort had reached the street.
There were many people on the street, and they all stopped to watch as someone rushed out of Prince Qi’s manor.
The Princess Consort ran while shouting, “I am the Princess Consort of Prince Qi. Prince Qi wants to kill me to marry a noble lady—”
She dared not reveal Consort Xian’s earlier instigation at this moment, as that would only frighten the bystanders away, leading to her quicker death.
Involving Prince Qi in a scandalous rumor would pique the interest of bystanders. Even if that man caught her and brought her back, he wouldn’t dare to kill her immediately.
That would only confirm her claims.
Perhaps it was the desperate situation that sparked the Princess Consort’s strong survival instinct, making her grasp the situation accurately.
Soon, more and more people gathered to watch the commotion.
At this point, Prince Qi’s people finally caught up. Two old women firmly held down the Princess Consort, hurriedly explaining to the onlookers, “We apologize for the disturbance. Our Princess Consort is not in her right mind. Please don’t take her words seriously—”
The Princess Consort had no strength left.
Finding herself in broad daylight, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, she simply gave up her futile struggle and cried out hoarsely, “The Prince is using my illness as an excuse to kill me and marry a noble lady. Please save me! I still have a daughter to care for. I don’t want to die—”
Wasn’t it said that her mind was unclear? She didn’t deny it, instead letting everyone see the Prince’s reason for wanting to get rid of her.
In this situation, if the Princess Consort had desperately shouted “I’m not mad,” that would have been seeking death. The onlookers would likely have dispersed quickly after she was dragged back into the manor.
Usually, madmen would shout that they weren’t mad.
Sure enough, after hearing Princess Consort’s words, the onlookers’ gazes toward Prince Qi’s people became subtle.
Prince Qi’s people were at a loss.
The Princess Consort wasn’t following the script—what should they do?
The old woman who had rushed over shouted, “What are you standing there for? Quickly take the Princess Consort back! Aren’t you making a spectacle of yourselves?”
Several maids and old women began to drag the Princess Consort back towards the manor.
Surrounded by the crowd, the onlookers could no longer see Princess Consort, only hearing her desperate cries for help: “Prince Qi wants to kill his wife to marry another. Please save me! My daughter can’t be without a mother—”
Soon, even the cries for help disappeared.
Prince Qi, who had hurriedly arrived upon receiving the news and was hidden behind the side gate, had a face as dark as thunder. He wanted to tear the Princess Consort and these useless maids and old women into a thousand pieces.
With Li’s outburst, he had completely lost face.
At this moment, a voice suddenly rang out: “Wait a moment.”
Several men headed straight for the side gate, calling out to stop the servants.
The lead old woman shrieked, “Who are you? This is Prince Qi’s manor. Don’t meddle in affairs that don’t concern you!”