Chapter 867 - 866: Dazhuang, Our Child Is Gone

The Crown Princess Consort was just about to curse back when the broadcast in that sultry older–sister voice suddenly rang out.

"Li Yang has used a card, this OOC is canceled!"

So that young lady paused, waited for the broadcast to finish, then furiously called for her maids.

"Slap her mouth! I’m the Heir’s Consort—by status, I’m above you and you’re beneath me. His Highness hasn’t even given you a proper title yet and you dare spout off like this? If I don’t teach you a lesson, you really won’t know who the real mistress of this place is!"

At once a maid rushed out and gave Mu Qiu a slap.

It didn’t land solidly; Mu Qiu just tilted her head aside.

Her expression was still wooden, but anger had crept into her eyes. She looked at the Crown Princess Consort and laughed.

"All you can do is bully people by ordering the servants around."

As she spoke she stepped forward, pressing in on her, her tone slow but relentless: "But why do these maids and servants obey you? Because you’re the Crown Princess Consort. Even though the Crown Prince loathes you, you are still temporarily holding onto that title, so even if everyone looks down on you, they still have to listen to you a little. Take Consort Bai—who knows how many bad things she’s said about you behind your back? Shh, don’t rush to explain, listen to me first."

She stopped right in front of the Crown Princess Consort, standing very close.

"Men love power. Before they have it, they’re willing to make some sacrifices and endure all sorts of things. But once they’ve got it, they want more. Like the woman they actually want. Like all the forbearance they want to take back. And like the wish that whatever they say becomes law, not to be questioned."

"I heard the Crown Princess Consort has been in poor health lately, hardly getting out of bed? Then you should ask Consort Bai. Maybe she knows whose hand was behind it. After all, you’re so annoying that it’s normal the Crown Prince can’t stand you. You two haven’t consummated the marriage yet, have you? Or you did, but you haven’t gotten pregnant, right? How pitiful—neither the Crown Prince nor your own man likes you. Maybe—"

"—the Eastern Palace’s first child will crawl out of my belly."

"Push me."

This really hit a nerve. The Crown Princess Consort was so enraged that she turned around and shoved her hard to the ground.

"Da Huang, Xiao Hong, hit her! Scratch up her face!"

Mu Qiu landed on her butt, and the gold-inlaid beaded hairpin in her hair fell to the floor. She reached out to pick it up, and in that gap the maids called Da Huang and Xiao Hong stepped forward and started swinging at her face left and right.

Just then, a furious "Stop!" came from the doorway.

Cheng Zhirang had been waiting quite a while and finally caught the right moment. He strode in with huge steps and kicked the Crown Princess Consort.

"You venomous woman!"

Consort Bai screamed in terror.

He barked at the guards in a fury, ordering them to restrain the two women, then turned and crouched down to help Mu Qiu up. "Are you all right? Let me see your face."

Mu Qiu turned her head away and played dumb, covering her face and refusing to let him look.

If the cameras caught that she didn’t even have a scratch, wouldn’t that completely wreck the effect?

This silent resistance made Cheng Zhirang even more irritable. He lifted his head and demanded of the Crown Princess Consort and Consort Bai: "Who allowed you to come in?! You used people of the Eastern Palace to lay hands on my woman—your courage is boundless! Men, escort the Crown Princess Consort and Consort Bai back to the Eastern Palace and confine them!"

"Yes, sir!"

The guards and maids went forward to drag them away. The two struggled wildly, screaming at the top of their lungs. Cheng Zhirang watched them thrash like madwomen with a dark expression, feeling annoyed, and was about to carry Mu Qiu back.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he moved, Mu Qiu let out a sharp, pained gasp.

"My—my stomach hurts so much."

The tomato sauce she’d prepared soaked through the hem of her skirt, making Cheng Zhirang’s hand tremble.

There’s even a miscarriage arc?!

Everyone on the scene was stunned. The Crown Princess Consort stared blankly at that patch of red, then looked up and met the Crown Prince’s cold, sinister, emotionless gaze.

"The Crown Princess Consort is jealous and incompetent, attempting to harm the imperial heir. I will report this to the Emperor tomorrow and choose a day to depose her!"

With that, he scooped Mu Qiu into his arms and ran for the room, his shaking voice torn with anguish as he shouted, "Imperial Physician! Fetch Doctor Chen!"

Qingyin Pavilion plunged into a full-on chaos segment; every extra suddenly had something to do. Those escorting people escorted people, those finding the Imperial Physician found the Imperial Physician, and those stationed in the room bustled about serving tea and water, wiping sweat from Mu Qiu, who lay on the bed.

Cheng Zhirang hadn’t expected Mu Qiu’s performance to escalate this sharply—she’d jumped straight to a miscarriage arc—and he couldn’t quite keep up. He sat by the bed holding her hand, and luckily the dazed, panicked look on his face fit the situation perfectly.

"Qiuqiu, hold on, the Imperial Physician will be here soon."

Mu Qiu acted like she was barely hanging on, breath weak, but still rolled her eyes to stress it again: "I already told you... call me... Big Strong."

Cheng Zhirang: "..."

"Bi... Big Strong..." He lowered his head to kiss her hand, using that as cover to hide his laugh. "Hold on, you’ll definitely be fine. I’ll make sure you’re safe."

"No, you have to save the child too." She pulled her hand free and grabbed his clothes hard, tears coming on cue. "Save the child, you have to save the child."

Cheng Zhirang fell silent.

Judging by the amount of tomato sauce squeezed out, this "child" was beyond saving.

While they were speaking, the Imperial Physician arrived. After another bout of chaos, Mu Qiu "exhausted herself" and fainted.

Cheng Zhirang leaned against the side of the bed, staring blankly at the empty wall.

The atmosphere screamed either "the child is gone" or "mother and child both gone."

So when Mu Qiu "woke up" and saw him like that, a single tear slid down her otherwise expressionless face.

"The child is gone, isn’t it? Of course it is. I only knew I’d felt unwell these past few days and thought maybe I was pregnant—but I didn’t dare believe it. When I went out to quarrel with them, wasn’t I also deliberately testing it? It’s my fault. I killed this child. I hurt Mr. Huai, and then I destroyed my own child. Who else am I going to hurt next?"

Cheng Zhirang wiped away her tears, his voice taut. "It’s all right. This isn’t your fault. There will be other children, there definitely will be."

"No."

She closed her eyes in exhaustion. "Do you remember what you promised me before? You said that after we married, we would only have one child in this lifetime. You couldn’t bear to let me risk pregnancy and childbirth, so you’d rather only have one.

If it were a son, you’d teach him to read and practice martial arts so he could protect me, his mother, in the future. If it were a daughter, you’d spoil her from childhood, agree to whatever she wanted. She would be the happiest child in the world."

Her voice softened. "But all of that is gone. I’ve always had difficulty conceiving, and I won’t have a second child. This child was never meant to be yours. Go. Don’t come again. Just leave me to guard this Qingyin Pavilion alone for the rest of my life."

"You’re grieving—do you think I’m not? That was my child too!"

Cheng Zhirang lowered his head, slowly burying his face against her arm, his shoulders faintly trembling.

"I’ll deal with the Zhang Family and the Bai Family. I’ll avenge the child. I beg you, don’t slam shut the door you just barely opened to me."

"I’ve already let him go. You two are already divorced. Your child can be mine. I can make him legitimately the most noble child in the Eastern Palace. Believe me, don’t grow cold toward me—that’s not fair to me."