In the side hall, Su Xiaoqi had finished examining Concubine Ming.
The examination startled her.
She frowned as she looked at Concubine Ming.
But Concubine Ming, for some reason, dared not meet her gaze at this moment.
She was avoiding it.
Su Xiaoqi sensed something was amiss. She didn't care how many palace maids were around her, or whose people they were.
She whispered, "Concubine Ming, your child... is gone..." The last two words were barely audible.
She only mouthed them to Concubine Ming.
Concubine Ming started, a flicker of panic in her eyes.
But Su Xiaoqi quickly put a pill into her mouth, saying,
"Your Highness's pregnancy was going well. You must have drunk some cold water. You'll be fine after a rest."
As soon as Su Xiaoqi finished speaking, a questioning voice came from beside her: "Impossible!"
Su Xiaoqi looked up to see a young girl in a pink palace gown.
She wore the standard hairstyle of a palace maid, but her eyes held a shrewdness and malice that ordinary palace maids lacked.
"What do you mean?" Su Xiaoqi asked coldly.
"Concubine Ming has been bleeding from her legs. It's clearly a miscarriage. Do you even know how to diagnose?
You quack are misleading people. Your Highness, quickly summon a proper imperial physician. She caused your miscarriage."
The palace maid pointed to the crimson stain on Concubine Ming's legs and spoke loudly.
Her voice was so loud that it immediately attracted the guards outside.
Concubine Ming looked at Su Xiaoqi, her expression changing several times. She gritted her teeth and, with trembling lips, said,
"Guards, apprehend Princess An Qi. This palace's miscarriage was all her doing."
Su Xiaoqi sneered, "Do you think this can save you?
Don't forget who your enemy is."
"Princess An Qi, stop the nonsense. You took the opportunity to examine Concubine Ming and caused her miscarriage. Apprehend her."
The little palace maid overstepped her bounds, giving orders on behalf of Concubine Ming.
Only when the guards looked to Concubine Ming did she react. She strode forward, looking at Concubine Ming, her eyes cold and sharp.
Concubine Ming lowered her head under her gaze and waved to the guards, "Take her away."
Su Xiaoqi stared at Concubine Ming and the little palace maid. She recognized her.
She was the maid named Lixiang who had stood beside Zhao Xiaohua at the beginning.
She had changed her clothes and transformed into the head palace maid by Concubine Ming's side.
Even when Zhang Yu stepped forward to try and help her out, she shook her head and stopped her.
The charade had gone this far; she had nothing more to say and no way to back out. She could only see it through.
As soon as Su Xiaoqi was taken away, Shen Yun received the news.
He was immediately flustered and rushed to beg Emperor Yongxing for mercy.
Meanwhile, Emperor Yongxing had already heard the report from the palace staff and gone to Concubine Ming's quarters.
He listened to her account of the so-called cause and effect.
He was furious.
He even lost patience with Shen Yun, whom he had always trusted.
Before Shen Yun could say much, the Emperor became enraged, threatening to imprison him. Shen Yun seized the opportunity to ask the Emperor to imprison him and Su Xiaoqi together.
"Fine, fine. You are deeply in love, are you? Fine, I will fulfill your wish to be a pair of prison lovebirds." Emperor Yongxing was enraged.
No matter how capable or loyal Shen Yun was, his woman had caused the death of his imperial offspring. After so many years, he had finally had a child, only for it to be sacrificed in their power struggles.
This was his child, his imperial seed!
Emperor Yongxing dismissed everyone and looked at the tearfully weeping Concubine Ming alone.
Their child was gone.
It was not only he who was suffering; how could Concubine Ming not be!
For a moment, he recalled his half-life of drifting, finally finding stability in the palace.
This was, after all, not a place of security.
Let them fight if they wanted to.
He wished to return to the peaceful days of the past.
They did not speak a word, but a somber atmosphere flowed between them. Concubine Ming, with red eyes, took Emperor Yongxing's hand.
She wanted to tell him about the mouthing action Princess An Qi had made towards her before leaving.
She didn't know if it was true.
In any case, the imperial physicians had examined her and said the child was gone.
She herself could no longer feel the child.
If it were true, she would abandon everything, disregard others' threats, and ignore all the troublesome matters.
She only wanted to live well with the man before her and their child.
If it were false, she could not imagine the possibility. It would cause her to completely break down.
In fact, she was already on the verge of collapse.
She bit her lip tightly, remaining silent.
After a long while, she seemed to recall something. She glanced around and suddenly said, "Your Majesty, actually, the matter of the child is not... it's not Princess An Qi's fault."
Emperor Yongxing's eyes sharpened, a flicker of clarity passing through them. He said sternly, "Oh? Then who should be blamed?"
Concubine Ming hesitated, "Blame... blame me. It's all my fault for being so useless."
She didn't know what else to say. Ultimately, she was just a weak woman.
She couldn't stand against anyone.
She could only tread a delicate path, struggling to survive.
What could she do? Placed in this vortex...
All she could do was sacrifice herself.
"Enough, I understand. Our child stood in the way of others' paths.
Good, very good. They made it so our child had no path forward, then I need not leave any paths open for them either."
Emperor Yongxing's voice became very quiet towards the end, almost inaudible.
At this moment, in the prison, Su Xiaoqi, who had arrived first, turned and saw Shen Yun standing behind her.
They were both still in the makeup from the palace banquet.
One held the rank of the heir of a prince's estate, the other the rank of a royal princess.
The prison they were in was the Imperial Prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
No one knew why they were brought here.
The matter concerning Concubine Ming had not yet been settled, and according to their status, they should not have been treated this way.
Everyone was perplexed, but Su Xiaoqi, present, understood very well.
Upon seeing Shen Yun also arrive, the things she had not understood until now became clear all at once.
She looked at Shen Yun and said, "So all of this..."
Shen Yun hugged her and said, "My wife, do not speak of it."
He pointed upwards.
Although this was the Imperial Prison, and generally, no one else could easily be inserted apart from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it was still best to be cautious.
Otherwise, all their planning would be in vain.
"My wife, if you need anything, I will have someone bring it to you." Shen Yun looked around.
This was reportedly the best cell in the Imperial Prison.
At least there was a skylight, through which sparse sunlight trickled in, but there was still a smell.
And there was no bed, nor anywhere to sit.
He sat on the ground, holding Su Xiaoqi in his arms, preventing her from touching the dirty straw mat.
"Husband, I don't need anything. As long as I'm with you, anything is fine," Su Xiaoqi leaned into Shen Yun's embrace.
Before this, she had felt a little upset.
She had done nothing, yet she was made to bear such a heavy burden.
One moment she was happily attending a palace banquet, and the next she was a prisoner.
The drastic change was something no one could easily accept.
But all her grievances and sadness dissipated the moment she saw Shen Yun.
He was here, he was here!
Her mind was filled with this thought.
He hadn't even let her squat in prison alone.
With such a husband, what more could she ask for?
Shen Yun gently kissed Su Xiaoqi's chin and softly said, "You didn't eat much earlier. I brought you some meat buns. Have some."
As Shen Yun spoke, he took out several warm meat buns from his embrace.
Su Xiaoqi's eyes widened as she looked at him, and she couldn't help but think, is this... is this really imprisonment?
This doubt vanished the moment she saw the person standing outside the door.