Ding Yang naturally understood what she was referring to. In fact, he had already guessed it when he received that letter, but this absolutely could not be revealed to Xiuzhu, at least not now.

With this thought, he put on an expression of bewildered confusion: “What would I deceive you about?”

Xiuzhu angrily slapped him again and cried out in pain: “Even now, you still want to deceive me! You swore an oath before, saying that light bamboo leaves would only cause Miss to experience some fetal restlessness and would absolutely not harm the child in her womb. But what happened? Miss had a premature birth! She was six months pregnant, and the already formed child is just gone like that. Ding Yang, are you happy now?!”

Ding Yang feigned shock: “What are you saying? Princess Consort of Qin had a premature birth? That’s impossible, you must be mistaken!”

“Mistaken?” Xiuzhu laughed bitterly in her rage: “I personally watched Miss give birth prematurely, personally watched that child fall from her womb and even die. Yet you say I’m mistaken. Am I blind, or am I insane?”

Ding Yang hurriedly said: “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that light bamboo leaves cannot possibly cause miscarriage, moreover Princess Consort of Qin’s fetus was already six months along with stable fetal qi. How could there be premature birth?!”

Xiuzhu glared at him through gritted teeth: “That’s what I should be asking you. Why did you use my hand to harm Miss?” After a pause, she continued: “I remember now, from the very beginning, it was you who encouraged me to do this. What exactly is your purpose, or is someone instructing you to do this?”

Seeing the suspicion in her eyes growing heavier, Ding Yang quickly protested his innocence: “Heaven and earth as my witness, I have no grievances or enmity with Princess Consort of Qin. Why would I harm her for no reason? Moreover, what benefit would harming her bring me?”

Xiuzhu’s expression turned cold: “I don’t know what scheme you’re plotting, but Miss having a premature birth after taking the fetal-calming medicine mixed with light bamboo leaves is an undeniable fact.”

Ding Yang looked aggrieved: “It truly has nothing to do with me. If you don’t believe me, you can go to medicine shops or medical halls to ask people whether that bit of light bamboo leaves would cause miscarriage. As long as even one person says it would, I’ll let you deal with me however you wish. Even if you want me to die, I won’t frown.”

Xiuzhu had originally been certain that Ding Yang had deceived her, but seeing him speak with such conviction now, she began to waver somewhat. Could it be… that she had truly misunderstood him?

Seeing Xiuzhu’s silence, Ding Yang knew his words had taken effect and quickly continued: “How I treat you, you should understand very clearly. I, Ding Yang, might not care about Princess Consort of Qin and the young heir, but I would absolutely never not care about you, not in this lifetime. Xiuzhu, believe me, I truly didn’t deceive you!”

“I don’t know, I don’t know anything!” Xiuzhu tightly covered her ears, her heart in turmoil. She wanted to believe Ding Yang, but the bloody scene of Zhangsun Shi’s premature birth kept flashing before her eyes, impossible to forget.

Ding Yang gritted his teeth and suddenly pulled her hand, walking forward. Xiuzhu was dragged a few steps before forcibly breaking free, angrily saying: “What are you trying to do?”

Ding Yang said in a deep voice: “I’m taking you to find a physician right now to ask whether light bamboo leaves can cause pregnant women to miscarry!”

Xiuzhu stared at him intently. After a while, she said half-believingly: “You truly haven’t deceived me?”

Her words made Ding Yang secretly delighted, and he hurriedly swore: “If I, Ding Yang, speak even half a false word to Xiuzhu, may I die without an intact corpse and be enslaved for generations!”

This oath finally made Xiuzhu believe him, and she turned to ask: “Since light bamboo leaves won’t cause miscarriage, why did Miss end up like this? I… I never thought of harming Miss and her child. I just wanted her to know that Noble Consort Yang is not a good person, but the result was that I personally caused Miss to give birth prematurely, causing her to lose the child she had worked so hard to carry for six months. I…” By the end, Xiuzhu was sobbing uncontrollably, covering her face as she wept.

Ever since Zhangsun Shi’s incident, she had been surrounded by guilt, but she couldn’t show it in front of others. Only now could she finally stop suppressing it.

Ding Yang stroked her trembling back, comforting her: “I’m sorry, I really didn’t expect it would turn out like this. If only I hadn’t said those things to you from the beginning. I’m sorry!”

Xiuzhu raised her tear-stained face and cried: “It’s too late to say anything now. I really don’t know how I’ll face Miss in the future. I’ve wronged her.”

Ding Yang’s eyes flickered: “Besides that bowl of fetal-calming medicine today, what else did Princess Consort of Qin eat?”

Xiuzhu asked puzzledly: “Just the usual meals, and some pastries sent by Noble Consort Yang. Nothing special. Why are you asking this?”

“I’m very clear about the medicinal properties of light bamboo leaves. It absolutely cannot cause a six-month pregnant woman to miscarry. I suspect… there are other hidden circumstances in this matter.”

Xiuzhu wiped the tears from her face, not understanding: “What hidden circumstances?”

“You said that besides the fetal-calming medicine, Princess Consort of Qin also consumed other things. Could it be that those things caused the Princess Consort’s premature birth?”

“Impossible!” Xiuzhu immediately interrupted him: “The people who prepare Miss’s meals all followed her from Taiyuan to Chang’an. They are utterly loyal to Miss and would never cause her harm.”

“What about the pastries? Also impossible?” Ding Yang’s words stirred something in Xiuzhu’s heart, and she said hesitantly: “You mean Noble Consort Yang?”

“Exactly. Noble Consort Yang harbors ill intentions toward Princess Consort of Qin, as we both know. How could such a person sincerely send pastries to Princess Consort of Qin? She clearly wanted to take the opportunity to administer drugs and harm the child in the Princess Consort’s womb.”

Hearing this, Xiuzhu finally understood: “You’re saying… Miss gave birth prematurely not because of the light bamboo leaves, but because of the pastries sent by Noble Consort Yang?”

“Exactly. You and Noble Consort Yang happened to act on the same day, which is why this happened. When I was in the village before, I once saw a pregnant woman who, troubled by heat and restlessness, took light bamboo leaves she had gathered herself for several consecutive days. She only experienced slight fetal movement and was fine after lying down for a few days. Premature birth would be completely impossible.”

Xiuzhu struggled to digest Ding Yang’s words, pointing at herself: “So you’re saying the one who killed the young heir was Noble Consort Yang, not me?”

“Of course not!” Ding Yang said decisively: “I’ve seen it with my own eyes and asked physicians. Light bamboo leaves absolutely cannot cause miscarriage. The problem must be with those pastries.”

Hearing this, Xiuzhu let out a long sigh of relief. The huge stone that had been pressing on her so heavily she could barely breathe was finally lifted, and she felt completely relaxed.

Ding Yang asked tentatively: “By the way, when the Princess Consort gave birth prematurely, imperial physicians should have come. Did they examine those pastries?”

Hearing this, Xiuzhu showed a vexed expression: “She didn’t send many pastries. Since Miss hadn’t eaten her meal yet, she finished them all and none were left. Thinking about it now, Noble Consort Yang probably calculated this all along. Even if there had been leftovers, she would have found an excuse to take them back.”