Chapter 59:

Zhu Xuan.

The room was filled with incense. Fu Jinyao slowly opened her eyes, appearing somewhat confused, but in an instant, she seemed to recall something.

She anxiously placed her hand on her abdomen and turned her head with wide eyes.

Yunlan was lighting incense in a corner of the room. Hearing the sound, she quickly turned around.

“My Lady, you’re awake. Let me get you some water…”

“Yun… Yunlan.” Fu Jinyao’s voice was somewhat hoarse.

“My Lady, how are you feeling? Let me call the imperial physician. The Emperor has ordered that the physician wait outside and conduct a thorough examination immediately upon your awakening.”

Fu Jinyao did not look at her, her eyes unfocused. “The child… My child is still here, right?”

“My Lady, my Lady, you can have more children. The Emperor loves you the most. You will have other children together.” Yunlan wept.

“Ahh…”

A heart-wrenching cry echoed from Zhu Xuan. Everyone understood that this was Fu Jinyao’s lament after losing her child.

“My child, give my child back to me! Why… why did you harm me…” Fu Jinyao cried hysterically.

Everyone silently wiped their tears. Who in Zhu Xuan didn’t know how much Fu Guibin cherished this unborn child? Yet, it had come to such an end.

This child, ultimately, could not be saved.

“The Emperor is here—”

Emperor Jing strode into the room and saw Fu Jinyao in a state of hysteria, sobbing uncontrollably. He pulled her into his arms, unwilling to see her like this. The room was in a mess.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry anymore…”

“Your Majesty… it’s all my fault. I failed to protect our child. I’m sorry. I’m sorry to him, and I’m sorry to you, Your Majesty. It’s all my fault. It’s me… it’s me…”

Her pitiful and remorseful expression moved Emperor Jing.

“No, no, it’s not you. My dear Yao’er, I will find the culprit for you.”

Emperor Jing rested his chin on her forehead, gently consoling her: “Don’t blame yourself. I know, I know you’ve done your best. We will have many more children in the future. I’m waiting, waiting for you to give me a little prince.”

Fu Jinyao continued to sob softly.

Emperor Jing waved his hand, and the others in the room quietly left. He leaned close to Fu Jinyao’s ear and whispered softly: “When you give me a prince, I will name him Crown Prince.”

Fu Jinyao’s eyes widened in shock as she looked up at Emperor Jing, only to find that his expression was completely serious.

Her lips trembled slightly: “Your… Your Majesty…”

She didn’t know what to say.

Emperor Jing placed his finger on her lips and gently spoke: “Don’t think too much. Take good care of yourself. We are both young. We will have more children soon. At that time, I will give them everything the best.”

Moved, Fu Jinyao buried herself in his arms, her tears soaking his robe.

“Yes, yes, we will have children. I will give Your Majesty many, many children…”

The two held each other in silence.

For a long while.

Emperor Jing quietly asked, “What exactly happened back then? Who tripped you, or was there another reason?”

Fu Jinyao frowned, thinking carefully. Her tone was slightly hesitant: “At that time, Yunlan was supporting me as we were leaving. I had already been frightened, and my emotions were unstable. As I was walking out, I felt something trip me, but I couldn’t tell who it was.”

Fu Jinyao did not name anyone, instead appearing hesitant.

Emperor Jing nodded after listening: “You don’t need to ask too much about this. I will give you an answer myself.”

Fu Jinyao’s eyes were still filled with tears: “Thank you, Your Majesty. I only ask… I only beg you to seek justice for our child.”

“I will. You don’t need to beg. This was also my child.”

Although the Emperor cherished Fu Jinyao, he still did not stay overnight in Zhu Xuan. It seemed that no one or anything could change this habit of his. No one knew the reason.

The next day.

Emperor Jing announced to the entire harem that Fu Guibin was virtuous and graceful, a model for the entire palace, and specially promoted her to the rank of Zhaorong of the second junior grade, bestowing upon her the title “Hui.”

Fu Jinyao, having lost her child, was immediately elevated from a third junior grade Guibin to a second junior grade Zhaorong with the title “Hui.”

Even though she had just lost her child, others still hated her bitterly. This was how things were in the palace. Fu Jinyao could be considered to have enjoyed smooth progress. She had entered the palace for less than half a year and already received such an honor, her rise surpassing others.

The Emperor had already ordered a thorough investigation into Lady Hui’s miscarriage, while she herself was resting quietly in her quarters.

Inside the quiet room, Yunlan lifted the curtain and entered.

During this time, Yunxue was injured, and Yunlan had been extremely busy. Although others were assigned to Zhu Xuan, none could match the loyalty of Yunxue and Yunlan. Fu Jinyao was not a person willing to trust others easily.

“My Lady.”

Yunlan’s voice was low.

“How is Yunxue?”

Fu Jinyao had recovered only slightly during this time. The imperial physician said she was still too anxious, and the Emperor visited her quarters daily but never mentioned the investigation results.

Fu Jinyao did not ask either.

Gifts poured in continuously, but Fu Jinyao remained indifferent.

Now, whispers had begun to spread in the palace, saying that the person who caused the incident was Consort De.

No one knew how this rumor started, but it spread like wildfire.

“Report to my Lady, Yunxue’s injuries are not severe. She should recover quickly.”

Fu Jinyao nodded: “Tell them to take good care of Yunxue.”

Yunxue had been stabbed in the arm, not life-threatening but still serious. She was now resting.

“Yes, I understand.”

“How is the situation in the palace these days?”

Although Fu Jinyao was weak, a suspicious curve appeared on her lips, as if smiling.

Yunlan spoke softly: “As we arranged, the palace’s public opinion has all turned against Consort De. However, this is still not solid evidence.”

Yunlan had her own considerations, calmly analyzing.

“This was never an incident with evidence. Since Zhou Anyi was arranged by her, saying it was a chain of plots might not be unbelievable. She is so wicked; how could I easily let her go?”

Fu Jinyao’s expression was cold now, completely different from her previous elegance.

“Why don’t you directly tell the Emperor that it was Consort De?”

Fu Jinyao sneered: “We are rivals. If I directly accused her, people might think I was intentionally framing her, and the Emperor would have doubts in his heart. I will not speak. Let them guess wildly. That will be more beneficial to us. Besides, Consort De has the Second Prince by her side. Unless her mistake is utterly unforgivable, the Emperor will show leniency.”

Yunlan sighed softly: “If we cannot defeat her decisively, why go through such a scheme? My Lady has also suffered physically.”

Fu Jinyao looked at her: “You can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing the bait. Yunxue has also suffered.”

“I just hate to see you suffer, my Lady. When have you ever endured such hardship…”

Yunlan wiped her tears.

“Suffering?” Fu Jinyao smiled, but there was no joy in her eyes.

“This pregnancy was already doomed. The physician already said I couldn’t hold on for more than half a month. Since they wanted to harm me, I naturally had to give them the opportunity. This way, it’s actually better. Consort De will probably lose her footing, and I have obtained what I wanted. Perhaps this child is protecting me from beyond.”

Fu Jinyao placed her hand on her abdomen, her expression sorrowful.

“My Lady…”

“Have you taken care of the physician?”

“My Lady can rest assured. The physician already owes a favor to the Fu family and will never speak of this.”

Fu Jinyao nodded, slowly closing her eyes, her expression weary.

Seeing her mistress like this, Yunlan quietly withdrew.

Hearing Yunlan’s footsteps fade, Fu Jinyao opened her eyes again.

No one could imagine that everything that happened two days ago was all her doing.

Zhou Anyi’s incident was arranged by Consort De, whose plot was naturally aimed at this pregnancy. Upon learning everything, Fu Jinyao used the plan against them, having already discussed with her two trusted maids. In fact, the one who tripped her was her own Yunlan, while Yunxue “rescued” her. All of this was carefully orchestrated by Fu Jinyao.

She had originally intended to frame Consort De, preferably also implicating Qi Zhaoyi.

It turned out to be excellent.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want this child or was willing to sacrifice it for scheming. However, this child was already beyond saving. The physician had already determined that she would miscarry within half a month.

If it weren’t like this, how could she abandon her own child? How much the Emperor cherished her, how eagerly she had anticipated becoming a mother when she first got pregnant. Fu Jinyao closed her eyes.

This palace was like this: either you scheme against me, or I scheme against you.

If they hadn’t constantly plotted against her since the beginning of her pregnancy, how could she have come to this point? How could her child have met such a fate?

Her body was already too weak to keep this child. So, child, don’t blame your mother.

She could only maximize her benefits.

Indeed, the Emperor was right. Even if this child was gone, she would have other children. She was still young, and they were so affectionate. The Emperor loved her so much. They would have more children.

This time, she not only severely damaged Consort De but also got promoted herself. She hadn’t gained nothing. Since this child and she had little fate together, she could only plan for the future.

One day, when she had a firm footing, she would have many, many children.

Fu Jinyao kept comforting herself, slowly falling asleep…

In her dreams, thoughts of schemes and harm still lingered, and a chilling smile appeared on her face.