Prince Qi preferred to keep a low profile. While his carriage appeared ordinary from the outside, the interior was luxuriously appointed. Thick, soft blankets, comfortable cushions, and easily accessible sweet preserves delighted the Princess Consort of Qi. She was especially pleased that Prince Qi had personally instructed the servants to arrange everything.
The noisy and tedious palace banquet couldn’t compare to the comfort and warmth of this sheltered carriage. The Princess Consort of Qi felt a sense of eagerness. She placed one foot on the carriage step and was about to lift the other onto the carriage floor when she suddenly heard her maid’s alarmed cry: “Princess Consort!”
Before the Princess Consort of Qi could react, she had fallen heavily to the ground, unable to suppress a scream of pain from her throat.
By this time, the lanterns had just been lit, and strings of festive red lanterns illuminated the area outside the palace gates as bright as day. Following the Princess Consort’s scream, the carriages that were about to depart suddenly halted, and even those that had already traveled some distance quickly came to a stop.
What had happened?
Countless gazes turned towards the scene, only to see the Princess Consort of Qi lying on the ground.
Prince Qi, who had been on horseback, was momentarily stunned. He then leaped from his horse and rushed to his wife’s side. “Are you alright?”
The Princess Consort’s face was contorted with pain. Clutching her abdomen, she mumbled, “It hurts… the child, the child—”
Prince Qi’s gaze slowly moved downward.
Due to the Princess Consort’s voluminous clothing, he couldn’t immediately discern the situation. Disregarding propriety, he reached out to examine her.
The sticky sensation made his heart sink. As he raised his hand, he saw the alarming red.
Prince Qi’s face instantly turned ashen. He shouted, “Physician! Call for the Imperial Physician!”
Prince Qi lifted the Princess Consort into his arms, feeling as if the sky was falling. He had been eagerly anticipating his principal wife’s pregnancy, which had given him great confidence in surpassing his third brother. Why had this happened to his Princess Consort?
Prince Jin must have harmed him. It must be Prince Jin’s doing!
He couldn’t panic now; perhaps the child could still be saved—
Prince Qi carried the Princess Consort to the palace gate, shouting, “Quickly, bring the Imperial Physician!”
Seeing Prince Qi enter the palace gates with his wife, no one was inclined to leave. It was most unusual for the Princess Consort to fall while boarding a carriage.
Was it truly an accident, or was it deliberate?
Everyone’s gaze instinctively turned to Prince Qi’s carriage.
The carriage looked ordinary, as did the horses pulling it. The carriage driver knelt trembling beside the vehicle.
Yu Jin lowered the carriage curtain he had lifted and said to Jiang Si, “It’s truly one thing after another. I suddenly feel some sympathy for Father Emperor.”
Being an emperor wasn’t easy. Not only was he confined to the palace like a cage all day, but he couldn’t even have a peaceful New Year.
Jiang Si caressed her belly, her face slightly pale.
Although she detested the Princess Consort of Qi, witnessing the loss of the child in her womb still left her feeling uneasy.
“Ah Jin, do you think the Princess Consort’s fall was an accident?” she asked.
“An accident?” Yu Jin smiled, showing little sympathy. “How could there be so many accidents in this world? I suspect it was the Third Prince’s doing.”
Jiang Si frowned slightly.
She remembered that the fate of Prince Jin and his wife wasn’t particularly good…
Yu Jin embraced Jiang Si, puzzled. “Ah Si, I’ve observed that you bear no goodwill towards the Princess Consort of Qi. Why has your face turned so pale?”
Jiang Si glared at Yu Jin. “I’m not scared. It’s just that—”
She stroked her belly and sighed. “I just feel that the child is innocent.”
Yu Jin, being a man—or more accurately, a young man not yet of age—didn’t have much feeling about this. He said nonchalantly, “The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children. When parents commit evil, it naturally diminishes their children’s fortune. This is heavenly justice; there’s nothing to sympathize with.”
Seeing that Jiang Si’s expression was still troubled, he placed his hand on her shoulder. “Come now, perhaps the Princess Consort’s child will be fine.”
“It can’t be saved…” Jiang Si murmured.
“What?”
Jiang Si looked up, meeting Yu Jin’s gaze earnestly. “The Princess Consort’s child cannot be saved.”
Yu Jin chuckled. “Then it’s fate. Ah Si, how are you feeling?”
“I’m alright.”
Yu Jin lifted the carriage curtain again. Seeing that everyone had already dismounted and gathered at the palace gates, he said to Jiang Si, “Let’s go down too. At a time like this, there’s no need to stand out. If we leave now, someone might falsely accuse us of causing the Princess Consort’s fall, which would only cause trouble.”
Jiang Si nodded and followed Yu Jin out of the carriage, with him carrying her down as usual.
Hearing the movement, the crowd looked over. This time, no one laughed at Yu Jin’s boldness.
Prince Qi had finally put aside his pride but at the cost of losing his child…
When it came down to it, sometimes face wasn’t the most important thing.
At the banquet, Emperor Jingming, fearing something might go wrong, had eaten little, his mind heavy with worry. Having finally endured until the family feast dispersed, he felt the desire to have a late-night snack.
In the cold weather, a steaming bowl of bird’s nest soup wouldn’t be bad.
Hmm, he didn’t like it with rock sugar; he preferred it savory, with some finely chopped ham.
Emperor Jingming was thinking pleasantly about this as he sat in his palanquin, heading to the Empress’s quarters for a late-night meal. Halfway there, he was intercepted by a eunuch rushing towards him in a panic.
Watching the eunuch fall prostrate before him, Emperor Jingming had only one thought circling in his mind: He wouldn’t be having that ham and bird’s nest soup after all!
“Speak—”
“Your Majesty, the Princess Consort of Qi has fallen from her carriage…”
Emperor Jingming’s eyes widened suddenly as he exchanged glances with the Empress.
The Empress’s face showed appropriate concern, though her heart remained unmoved. “How is the Princess Consort of Qi now? Has an Imperial Physician been called?”
Hearing from the eunuch that Prince Qi had already carried the Princess Consort to a side hall and that the Imperial Physician was on his way, the Empress quickly said to Emperor Jingming, “Your Majesty, let’s go and see.”
What else could Emperor Jingming say? He could only nod with a dark expression.
The side hall was in chaos. As the Emperor and Empress arrived at the door, they heard Prince Qi’s voice from inside: “Imperial Physician, what did you say? The child in the Princess Consort’s womb can’t be saved?”
Emperor Jingming’s steps faltered. He said to the Empress, “You go in and have a look.”
The Empress nodded and quickly entered.
The room was warm, making the smell of blood even more pronounced.
The Empress instinctively sniffed and walked over.
The Princess Consort of Qi lay on a low couch, her face as pale as snow, sweat constantly beading on her brow. Her nails scraped against the couch, producing a sound that set one’s teeth on edge.
“The child, the child—” The Princess Consort kept repeating these two words, in a state of dishevelment the Empress had never seen before.
The Empress sighed inwardly and asked the Imperial Physician, “How is the Princess Consort?”
The Imperial Physician also wanted to sigh but didn’t dare. He could only shake his head and say softly, “The child is lost…”
The Princess Consort of Qi suddenly sat up and grabbed the physician’s hand. “Impossible, my child can’t be gone. Physician, you’re lying to me, aren’t you?”
The old physician, startled by the Princess Consort’s grip, nearly fainted from fright. He hurriedly shook off her hand and knelt.
“Physician, is there truly no way?” Prince Qi, seeming to have regained his composure, asked in a deep voice.
The physician nodded.
Prince Qi’s eyelids trembled. He said, “Then, please prescribe some medicine to help the Princess Consort recover her health.”