Why had there been no movement inside for so long?
According to common sense, since Zeng Wenxiu had lost the child, whether it was Lu Jintang or the Eldest Princess, they should have wanted nothing more than to kill Qi Yuan.
But now so much time had passed, even Imperial Physician Hu and Court Official Sun had been called inside for quite a while, so why was there still no movement?
She frowned and gripped the hem of her skirt, trying her best to comfort herself.
Nothing will happen. Nothing will definitely happen.
Zeng Wenxiu would absolutely not keep this child; she herself knew clearly that keeping the child would bring disaster, not blessing.
As long as the child was gone, even if Qi Yuan had mouths all over her body, she still wouldn’t be able to explain it clearly.
Right now, it was only the calm before the storm.
She took a deep breath, striving to remain calm.
At this moment, inside the bedchamber, Lu Jintang asked in a hoarse voice, “Wenxiu, what’s going on?”
He had already released Zeng Wenxiu and stood up, looking at her face by the bedside, his heart filled with nothing but confusion.
Everything had been fine; they had been living so well, so why had Zeng Wenxiu taken miscarriage medicine and refused the child?
Zhou Wangfei felt her throat tighten. For a moment she was tense to the extreme, her entire body taut, clutching her handkerchief tightly as she looked at Zeng Wenxiu.
She wanted to speak, yet feared that saying more at this time would only lead to more mistakes.
Zeng Wenxiu could not speak. Ever since the matter of the miscarriage medicine had been discovered, all her reason and composure had vanished.
She simply did not know how to respond.
The Eldest Princess had already exhausted all her strength. Heaven knew how much she had longed for this child’s arrival.
The greater the hope and anticipation before, the stronger the disappointment and pain now.
She no longer wanted to hear a single word from Zeng Wenxiu.
In her view, not one sentence from Zeng Wenxiu’s mouth could be trusted.
She turned and instructed Jiang Mama, “Go! Go to the yamen and notify the princess consort to return. Also, send someone to the Zeng family to bring the young madam’s eldest uncle and eldest aunt!”
Zeng Wenxiu’s parents had died early; she was an orphan raised by relatives of the clan.
Her marriage had also been arranged by her eldest uncle and eldest aunt.
Thinking of this, the Eldest Princess suddenly fixed her gaze on Zhou Wangfei before her and lightly raised her brows. “Right, Wangfei, speaking of which, this marriage was arranged through your matchmaking. Can you give me an explanation? What exactly is going on with this matter?”
Zhou Wangfei’s heart jolted.
What she feared had arrived.
Her teeth ached involuntarily.
Inwardly she cursed Commandery Princess Luochuan for stirring up trouble for no reason.
If she wanted to deal with Qi Yuan, then deal with Qi Yuan, why drag Zeng Wenxiu into it?
Zeng Wenxiu already had a prior record.
But at this point, she knew clearly that she could only insist that she knew nothing.
She forced herself to stay calm and quickly shook her head. “Your Highness must be joking. This is your family matter, how would we know?”
In order to remove herself from the situation, Zhou Wangfei frowned toward Zeng Wenxiu. “Young Madam, you as well, what matter could be so serious that you would even refuse your child? You’ve even caused everyone to misunderstand Miss Qi.”
Zhou Wangfei felt bitter inside, while also grinding her teeth in hatred.
What on earth was Qi Yuan, that wretched girl, made of?
Zeng Wenxiu had both taken miscarriage medicine and jumped into the lake, if an ordinary person went through such torment, not to mention a child, even if she were carrying Nezha, it would have been lost.
Yet Qi Yuan had forcibly preserved Zeng Wenxiu’s child!
This made all of Zeng Wenxiu’s previous accusations against Qi Yuan into a joke.
Yes, Qi Yuan had gone to such effort to help Zeng Wenxiu keep the child; how could she possibly be the culprit who pushed Zeng Wenxiu into the water?
Everything Zeng Wenxiu had said earlier collapsed on its own.
She felt as if she were about to cough up blood. After so much effort helping Lu Jintang arrange this marriage and thereby bringing the Song family closer to the Eldest Princess’s residence…
She couldn’t help glancing again at Zeng Wenxiu, unsure whether she should go home and beat her daughter or simply say that Zeng Wenxiu was unlucky.
Lu Jintang was still staring at Zeng Wenxiu. He could no longer listen to anything else, he only wanted an answer from her.
But the Eldest Princess was different. With a single sharp remark she said, “Jintang, are you still expecting to hear the truth from her?”
She frowned mockingly, lowered her eyes, and said coldly, “No need to ask her. Ask the Zeng family and we’ll know what’s going on.”
Zeng Wenxiu immediately raised her head and grabbed Lu Jintang’s sleeve, her face pale as she pleaded, “Jintang…”
Pitiful and delicate, exactly the same as before.
But at this moment, Lu Jintang no longer had the patience and gentleness of the past.
The matter of the child was like a thorn stabbing into his heart, piercing him until he was bloodied and riddled with wounds.
He hesitated for a moment, but in the end still shook off Zeng Wenxiu’s hand and stood beside the Eldest Princess.
The Eldest Princess coldly instructed Jiang Mama, “Keep an eye on the young madam. If anything goes wrong, those attending her will be held responsible!”
This was to prevent Zeng Wenxiu from doing something reckless.
Jiang Mama understood and responded softly.
Suppressing her anger, the Eldest Princess then turned and asked Qi Yuan to follow her outside. As they stepped out the door, she finally couldn’t help asking, “Yuan Jie’er, how did you know…”
She did not finish the sentence, but Qi Yuan already understood her meaning and said in a low voice, “When she held onto me and fell into the water, I dragged her to the shore. Afraid something might happen to her, I first checked her pulse, and at that time I already noticed something abnormal about her condition.”
Yes.
The Eldest Princess rubbed her brow tiredly.
Qi Yuan knew medicine.
She had already known this earlier at Baiyun Temple.
Zeng Wenxiu had calculated everything, yet never expected that Qi Yuan was skilled in medicine, and under such circumstances had even managed to preserve the child.
The child…
The Eldest Princess closed her eyes. A vague thought was about to surface in her mind. After stepping across the threshold, she looked at Zhou Wangfei. “Something has happened at home, so the reception has been inadequate. Please forgive us.”
Zhou Wangfei’s heart pounded violently, and she forced a smile. “Your Highness is too polite. Naturally, important matters come first.”
At this moment Commandery Princess Luochuan hurried forward and called out, “Royal Mother!”
Zhou Wangfei immediately realized that Commandery Princess Luochuan wanted to inquire about the situation, and she instantly scolded sharply, “No manners! How have I taught you at home? Why are you making such noise?!”
Commandery Princess Luochuan froze, looking at her in disbelief, unable to react.
Commandery Princess Xianning also sensed something wrong and immediately tugged at Commandery Princess Luochuan’s sleeve, adapting quickly. “Wangfei, Luochuan is only worried about the young madam and fears something may happen to her, that’s why concern has made her flustered.”
Before Zhou Wangfei could speak, the Eldest Princess looked toward Commandery Princess Luochuan first, the corner of her mouth curling with unclear meaning.
“Yes, Luochuan and she have always been close.”
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