“Something happened…” Xiuzhu repeated in a murmur, her eyelids closing again. Just as Wenlan was becoming as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, Xiuzhu suddenly opened her eyes and sat up urgently, saying, “What happened?”

Wenlan said with a sobbing voice, “I don’t know either. Just now I heard movement in the room and thought the Princess Consort had awakened, so I pushed the door open. Who would have thought the Princess Consort was curled up on the bed covered in sweat, holding her abdomen and saying it hurt terribly. When I went to look, I discovered that the Princess Consort… she was bleeding!”

If everything before this had been within Xiuzhu’s expectations, then this last sentence was truly beyond all expectations. She said incredulously, “What did you say? The Princess Consort is bleeding?”

Wenlan nodded vigorously, “There’s so much blood flowing from below the Princess Consort, it’s so… so frightening!” Before she finished speaking, Xiuzhu had already gotten out of bed, hurriedly put on her shoes, and rushed outside, with Wenlan following closely behind.

How could this be… how could this happen? It shouldn’t be like this. Ding Yang clearly said that pale bamboo leaf would only affect Miss’s pregnancy stability and absolutely wouldn’t harm Miss or the child. Why would there be bleeding?

Amidst her chaotic thoughts, Xiuzhu arrived at the bedchamber. Maids and servants were bustling in and out in confusion. As soon as she entered, she smelled a heavy scent of blood that nearly made her faint. She gritted her teeth and endured the dizziness in her head, quickly approaching the bed. Indeed, as Wenlan had said, Zhangsun Shi had her eyes tightly closed, her face extraordinarily pale, her hair dampened with sweat and sticking to her cheeks. Her hands were pressed tightly against her abdomen, and fresh blood was seeping from the bed, dripping along the bed curtains onto the floor.

Xiuzhu knelt halfway beside the bed and said in panic, “Miss, how are you? Don’t… don’t frighten this servant!”

Zhangsun Shi opened her eyes to look at her and said weakly, “Xiuzhu, I… I’m in so much pain!”

“It’s alright, everything will be fine soon.” Xiuzhu frantically offered this comfort, then shouted at the attendants nearby, “Where’s the imperial physician? Where is the imperial physician?!”

The attendant hurriedly said, “We’ve already sent someone to fetch Imperial Physician Li. He should arrive soon!”

“Go urge them quickly, tell him to hurry!” Before the attendant could respond, there was commotion outside, followed by Imperial Physician Li striding in quickly. Xiuzhu’s eyes lit up and she quickly said, “Imperial Physician Li, please examine Miss quickly. She says her abdomen hurts terribly, and she’s lost a lot of blood.”

“Very well.” Imperial Physician Li had already learned the general situation from the servant who fetched him. Without time to set down his medical case, he stepped forward to check Zhangsun Shi’s pulse. Soon, his eyebrows, which contained a few silver streaks, furrowed, giving Xiuzhu an ominous feeling. After finally waiting for him to withdraw his hand, she asked urgently, “How is our Miss?”

“The Princess Consort is not in great danger.” Before he finished speaking, Xiuzhu had already scolded, “Miss is in such terrible pain and has lost so much blood – how can there be no problem? And you call yourself an imperial physician, yet you say such irrelevant things.”

Imperial Physician Li sighed and said, “The Princess Consort truly has no great danger. The reason for her abdominal pain and bleeding is that she’s about to give birth.”

Everyone looked at Imperial Physician Li with disbelief. The child in Zhangsun Shi’s womb was only six months along, even counting generously. To give birth now… how could this be possible?

Xiuzhu was the first to react, shaking her head vigorously, “This is impossible. Miss is only a few months along – how could she give birth? This is absolutely impossible. You must have made a mistake in your diagnosis.”

Zhangsun Shi also heard Imperial Physician Li’s words and said with difficulty, “Imperial Physician Li, he… he cannot come out now. Please save him, you must save him!”

A six-month-old child would only be slightly larger than a palm. If born now, it could be said to face certain death. Xiuzhu and the others understood this clearly, and Zhangsun Shi understood it even more clearly, which is why she kept pleading with Imperial Physician Li to save the child.

Imperial Physician Li said helplessly, “This humble official also wants to save the child for the Princess Consort, but unfortunately… I am truly powerless.” He then said to the attendants, “Immediately go fetch a midwife to assist the Princess Consort with the delivery!”

This sentence undoubtedly pronounced the child’s death sentence. Zhangsun Shi, already tormented by abdominal pain, immediately fainted. Xiuzhu and the others frantically pressed her acupoint and rubbed her back before she groggily awakened, but her complexion was even worse than before. She stared intently at Imperial Physician Li and said with difficulty, “Tell me honestly – if this… child is born, do you have any way to preserve his life?”

“This humble official will do everything possible to keep the young master safe, but whether he can be saved still depends on heaven’s will!” A six-month-old child was simply too small. Even with his refined medical skills, Imperial Physician Li had no confidence whatsoever.

“Heaven’s will…” Zhangsun Shi repeated these two words in a murmur, tears slowly falling from the corners of her eyes and seeping into her hair.

Seeing this, Xiuzhu quickly comforted her, “Miss has always been benevolent and has never done anything harmful. Heaven will surely protect the young master’s safety.”

Zhangsun Shi didn’t speak, only wept silently. At this moment, Imperial Physician Li’s puzzled voice rang in everyone’s ears, “When this humble official came to check the Princess Consort’s pulse yesterday, everything was still normal. Why would she suddenly go into premature labor today? Did she bump into something or fall somewhere?”

Wenlan wiped her tears and said, “Following Imperial Physician Li’s instructions, the Princess Consort has been resting in bed quietly. She hasn’t gotten up at all these past few days.”

Imperial Physician Li stroked his long beard and said, “Then what has the Princess Consort eaten these past two days?” Under his care, Zhangsun Shi’s pregnancy had been stable. For her to suddenly go into premature labor without warning – if it wasn’t caused by external force, there was only one possibility: medication.

Having served in the palace for many years, he had seen many instances of concubines plotting against each other for favor and position. Children… had always been the most important focus of their struggles.

Xiuzhu’s heart jumped violently, and she quickly said, “What Miss ate was no different from usual. Apart from three meals a day, there was only the pregnancy-stabilizing medicine that Imperial Physician Li prescribed. The medicine was personally brewed by this servant, and the people who prepared the meals are all those who followed Miss from Taiyuan to Chang’an. They couldn’t possibly harm Miss.” Speaking to this point, she pretended to have just remembered, “Oh yes, there were also the pastries that Consort Yang sent over. Could it be… that there was something wrong with those pastries?”

Before Imperial Physician Li could speak, Zhangsun Shi had already said softly, “Consort Yang wouldn’t harm me. It wasn’t her.”

Seeing that even at this point, Zhangsun Shi still defended Yunyi so much, Xiuzhu became furious and blurted out, “If it wasn’t Consort Yang, then could it be those few people from the kitchen who have served you for years, or could it be this servant?”

“It certainly wouldn’t be you, but it also wouldn’t be Consort Yang.” This statement from Zhangsun Shi made Xiuzhu even more angry, and she wanted to argue with her. But seeing Zhangsun Shi’s extremely pained appearance, she couldn’t bear it. Moreover, Wenlan quietly tugged at her sleeve from the side, so she could only hold back her anger and remain silent.

After a while, hurried footsteps sounded outside, followed by Yunyi entering with Ruyi. Without waiting for Imperial Physician Li to bow, she anxiously asked, “What happened to the Princess Consort?”