Furong entered the hall, bowing respectfully and greeting the Empress with a composed expression, showing no sign of nervousness or panic. The Emperor, seeing this, felt relieved, a smile playing on his lips. He knew Furong wouldn't do such a thing; she was so kind, not even holding a grudge against the Empress Dowager for trying to kill her. How could she possibly plot against the imperial heir? Only someone like the Empress Dowager or the Empress would resort to such underhanded tactics.
The Empress's face filled with hatred upon seeing Furong, and she wanted to rush forward, shouting, "You vile woman, how dare you harm me?!"
The Emperor hurriedly said, "Stop her! Don't let the Imperial Noble Consort get hurt!"
Mo Yun and Qi Hong exchanged a glance. Qi Hong blinked, and Mo Yun knew that the Imperial Noble Consort had already taken the calming soup and naturally wouldn't stop the Empress. She caught up with the Empress half a step later, and the Empress slapped Fu Rong hard across the face.
"Fu Qiuwen! How dare you!" The emperor strode toward Furong, his face full of sternness.
Furong cried out in surprise, covered her face, staggered and almost fell, but was caught by Qihong. Moyun then pulled the Empress away, and the Emperor also walked to Furong's side.
The Emperor gently lifted Furong's face and saw that it was flushed red. He felt a pang of heartache. Tears streamed down Furong's face as she looked at the Empress in shock. "Your Majesty! I have never done anything to harm anyone, nor do I have any reason to harm Your Majesty. Your Majesty must have misunderstood."
Unable to break free from Mo Yun's grip, the Empress shouted angrily, "You still dare to argue? You arranged all those people outside. You're in charge of the harem, and you've transferred all my people away, bringing in some treacherous servants to torment me and even try to harm my child! You're a vicious woman!"
Furong hurriedly went to see the emperor, "Your Majesty, please believe me, I didn't harm anyone. I just... I just saw that my sister often lost her temper with the palace servants, and I thought they weren't serving her well, so I changed the servants for her. Later, nothing bad happened in my sister's palace, so I didn't ask any more questions. After all, nothing would happen to my sister in her palace all day long. I really didn't know that those palace servants would bully my sister."
She then looked at the Empress, took a few steps forward, and anxiously explained, "Sister, we are both daughters of the Fu family. I will definitely take care of you in this palace. How could I possibly harm you? You are pregnant, aren't you? That's a joyous occasion! But no one has ever informed me of this. I truly knew nothing about it, and I would never harm your child..."
"Shut up! Who's your sister!" The Empress had just seen the imperial physician who said the medication had affected her pregnancy. She hated Furong to death and couldn't bear to hear Furong's provocations. Seeing Furong approach, she lunged at her forcefully.
Mo Yun deftly stumbled and fell, feigning being thrown aside by the Empress. Freed from her grip, the Empress, using excessive force, lunged forward and knocked Fu Rong to the ground, landing her entirely on top of her. Without thinking, the Empress grabbed Fu Rong by the neck and roared, "You are not a daughter of the Fu family! You are just a lowly, filthy prostitute! You ordered those dog servants to harm me! Die!"
The emperor was startled. He rushed forward, kicked the empress aside, and helped up Furong, who was coughing and clutching her neck, into his arms. "Furong! Furong, how are you? Furong?"
The Empress Dowager was also startled. She was afraid that the Empress was injured. She stood up and hurriedly said, "Imperial Physician! Imperial Physician, quickly examine the Empress. Mo Yun, help the Empress to the inner chamber and onto the couch, quickly!"
The Empress was already experiencing a miscarriage scare, and her sudden movement, coupled with the Emperor's kick, caused her stomach pain. Pale-faced, she clutched her belly, too afraid to make a sound. Her unborn child was her only hope, and she already regretted her actions.
The emperor saw the imperial physicians and hurriedly called them over, "Quickly check on the Imperial Noble Consort, is she alright?"
Fortunately, Xu Zifan had summoned all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital beforehand, so they were split into two groups and no new conflicts arose. However, the Empress had completely lost faith in the Emperor; all the beautiful dreams she had once held, and the expectation that he simply hadn't seen her good qualities, had vanished. At this moment, she was incredibly clear-headed; from now on, she could only rely on the Empress Dowager and her child.
Mo Yun directed four palace maids to carry the Empress into the inner chamber. At this moment, the Imperial Noble Consort suddenly cried out in pain, clutching her stomach and turning pale. Immediately afterward, Qi Hong saw the blood on her skirt and exclaimed, "Blood! Imperial Physician, Imperial Physician, what happened to our Consort?"
The imperial physician hurriedly took Furong's pulse, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "Your Majesty, the Imperial Noble Consort... she... she..."
"What happened to her? Tell me quickly!"
The emperor was tense, and the empress dowager also had a bad feeling, her face was pale. Xu Zifan was expressionless, and no one knew what he was thinking.
The imperial physician kowtowed and announced, "Her Imperial Noble Consort has suffered a miscarriage!"
"What?!" The emperor instinctively hugged Furong tightly, his heart aching. This was his first child, the child he had longed for. He hated the empress, but this was the only child he cared about. How could this child be gone before even being born?
The imperial physician, sweating profusely, forced himself to continue, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Noble Consort has injured her body, and I'm afraid... I'm afraid it will be extremely difficult for her to conceive in the future."
Furong stared blankly, then burst into tears, clutching her stomach and crying out to the emperor, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please tell them to save the child! Save our child! My morning sickness is so bad! He must be a lively and mischievous little prince. I've already thought of his nickname, Zhuangzhuang, so he'll grow up strong and healthy. I've even made him little clothes and a little tiger. He'll be born in eight months! He'll cry, he'll laugh, he'll call us Father and Mother, he'll cause trouble and get you to scold him, he'll study hard so you can test him, he'll go hunting with you, he'll bring all the treasures he gets to us as a gift, he'll marry and have children, he'll make us proud! We can't live without him, Your Majesty…"
The Empress Dowager's expression changed drastically. As a woman herself, no one understood the meaning of these words better than her. Originally, it was just an unborn child; the Emperor's grief was understandable, but Furong had somehow created a vivid image for the child. From now on, whenever the Emperor saw a lively prince, a mischievous prince, a prince studying, or a prince hunting, he would think of this prince who had unfortunately miscarried. Even when the Emperor was hunting, reading, seeing treasures, or watching others marry and have children, he would think of this prince. He even had a name, ensuring that the Emperor would never forget this unborn "Zhuangzhuang." Furong was truly cunning!
But Fu Rong spoke too quickly, and by the time the Empress Dowager tried to stop her, it was too late. The Emperor, his face contorted with pain and tears streaming down his face, covered Fu Rong's hand with his trembling hand and whispered, "Fu Rong, he's gone. He has no future with us. We will have princes in the future."
"No, it won't happen again, it won't happen again, why... I didn't do anything, I didn't hurt anyone, why did my sister treat me like this..." Furong cried and shook her head, burying her face in the emperor's arms, holding her breath and slowly fainting.
The emperor's pent-up hatred suddenly found its focus. He looked up at the Empress Dowager and said through gritted teeth, "Are you satisfied? Do you see this blood? This is the blood of your own grandson! Are you happy? You only care that poisonous woman is your niece, but you don't care about me, your son. What exactly do you want to do? Let me tell you, I will never let Fu Qiuwen go, nor the Fu family. None of you will escape!"
The emperor scooped up Furong in his arms, turned and strode out. Seeing the people being tortured in the courtyard, he said coldly, "Xiao Shunzi, lock these people up in the Shenxing Division. You go and interrogate them yourself. I want to know the truth of this matter."
The Emperor absolutely refused to believe that Furong was behind everything. He firmly believed that the Empress was crying wolf, or even that the Empress Dowager had secretly contacted the Empress to set a trap. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that the Empress Dowager returned to the palace as soon as she became pregnant and was murdered? There was definitely a conspiracy involved, a conspiracy that killed his child and made it difficult for Furong to have children again. He was determined to take revenge!
Xiao Shunzi forcefully led the guards away with everyone. After all, the Empress Dowager had just returned to the palace and didn't have many people available. Xu Zifan didn't speak, and she couldn't stop Xiao Shunzi. She looked at Xu Zifan hopefully and said, "Zhongqian, we can't let the Emperor take them away. Those are all witnesses who testified against Furong."
Xu Zifan shook his head. "Empress Dowager, no one identified the Imperial Noble Consort during the torture. However, the Empress caused the Imperial Noble Consort's miscarriage in public. It is still unclear whether the Imperial Noble Consort was malicious or the Empress was crying wolf. Now that the Emperor is convinced that the Empress Dowager is biased towards the Empress, it would be best to let the Emperor investigate personally. Empress Dowager, there is no need to worry. The prince in the Empress's womb is also the Emperor's flesh and blood. He will not allow anyone to harm the imperial heir, nor will he protect the murderer. You can rest assured and entrust the investigation to him."
The Empress Dowager felt a lump in her throat, an unbearable discomfort. She found it exhausting to talk to Xu Zifan these days. Before, a mere hint was enough for him to do as she asked, but now her words were completely useless. She subconsciously touched her face, forcing a smile. "Zhongqian is right, but I always feel that this Furong is not simple. She's bewitched the Emperor. Look at what he just said; it pierced my heart! I'm afraid he might soften his heart and let Qiuwen suffer. Qiuwen is carrying the Emperor's only child; she cannot be harmed. Otherwise, let Moyun go and keep an eye on things, to prevent any mishaps."
Xu Zifan's eyebrows twitched slightly. The scene just now must have been orchestrated by Mo Yun. Sending Mo Yun would only cause an even bigger storm. He readily agreed, "Then let Mo Yun observe Xiao Shunzi's interrogation. The Emperor was just acting rashly in a moment of panic. The Empress Dowager cares so much about the Emperor; he will understand one day. Then you can be as loving and filial as before."
"Then the Fu family... Zhongqian, the Emperor has been acting recklessly these past few months, and Fu Lin has been given a sinecure. Fu Lin is my brother and Qiu Wen's father. Look how embarrassing this is for others to see. Also, the Emperor's words just now made me uneasy. Will he vent his anger on the Fu family?" The Empress Dowager was trying to persuade Xu Zifan to protect the Fu family.
Xu Zifan thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "The Fu family will never fall, don't worry."
The Empress Dowager's brow relaxed. Just then, the imperial physician who had treated the Empress emerged, saying that the Empress had consumed many cold foods and used numerous items laced with medicine during her pregnancy, resulting in a poor pregnancy outcome. Coupled with the shock and fall, the pregnancy had been compromised, requiring bed rest and continuous medication to protect the fetus. The Empress Dowager immediately ordered the side hall of Anci Palace to be prepared and the Empress to reside there. She believed that no one under her watchful eye could harm the Empress. If this pregnancy was successful, she and the Fu family would have a new source of support; she absolutely could not allow Fu Qiuwen to suffer any harm!