Miscarriage?
Consort Cao could only see Qin Yunuan moaning on the floor. Her skirt looked dazzling bright stained in blood. She saw Qin Yunuan’s smiling eyes, which seemed to be laughing at her. She did all these, but in return, this was her ending. Consort Cao deeply felt that she was set-up bad.
Qin Yunuan had it all considered. Prince Ning and Princess Ning were watching opera in the courtyard next door. When Princess Ning and Prince Ning came from the East yard, Leng Changxi also appeared by the corner door on time.
“Nuan.” Leng Changxi rushed forward to hold Qin Yunuan, his face full of distress. Looking at so much blood, he became furious, and said gloomily, “Consort Cao, you are so vicious. You made my mother unable to give birth to children anymore, and now you caused Yunuan’s miscarriage.”
Prince Ning and Princess Ning happened to hear that by the winding corridor. They took a look at each other and hurried to the scene. Prince Ning stayed afar as Qin Yunuan was his daughter-in-law after all, while Princess Ning was giving orders, “Go find the imperial doctor immediately, or Doctor Qiao on the west side of the city, go find them both. Don’t scare me, Yunuan. I’ve been longing for a grandchild.” After she finished, Princess Ning raised her head and stared at Consort Cao fiercely. It was easy to see that even though Princess Ning and Consort Cao were normally getting along quite peacefully, there was still resentment between the two.
“It wasn’t me,” Consort Cao burst into tears immediately, as she knelt towards Prince Ning pitifully, “Prince, you have to believe in me. I, Cao Shuxin, had done wrong things before, but I’m a changed person now. Besides, the child is innocent. I wouldn’t have harmed an unborn child no matter how vicious I am.”
The glance of Prince Ning towards Consort Cao was no longer gentle anymore. He just said coldly, “The child in Xunxiang’s womb twenty years ago was also innocent.”
Xunxiang was the name of Princess Ning. Twenty years ago, Princess Ning was pregnant, but she had an accidental miscarriage. All the evidence was pointing at Consort Cao Shuxin. Just when Prince Ning was about to punish Consort Cao for this, he found that she was also pregnant. As a result, Consort Cao was only grounded for three years. Moreover, as Cao Shuxin gave birth to a boy, and showed her sincere regrets, everyone had a mutual understanding not to talk about this.
However, this time, it was related to the children of Prince Ning’s mansion again, yet luck would not be on Consort Cao’s side again.
Princess Ning looked at the servants carefully carrying Qin Yunuan with a stretcher to a nearby attic, then stared at Consort Cao fiercely, “If Yunuan’s baby dies, I’ll tell you what, even the Prince can’t protect you anymore this time.”
Servant girls were going in and out of the attic, carrying hot water stained with blood. The imperial doctor and Doctor Qiao came in turn to examine Qin Yunuan’s condition. While outside, Luer, who caused the trouble, was kneeling in the pavilion, trembling and waiting for the questioning of Prince Ning and Princess Ning.
Luer was trembling like a terrified bunny.
“Don’t be afraid, Luer. Just tell everyone the truth.” Consort Cao encouraged her. Apparently, Luer didn’t run into Qin Yunuan. Obviously, she deliberately fell by herself. Luer was Cao Shuxin’s trusted servant girl and had served her for years. Consort Cao had faith in Luer. However, Luer just started to say…
“It’s not my fault. It was Consort Cao who asked me to do this. She said that the Second Master’s second wife isn’t married to him yet, and she couldn’t have Third Young Madam give birth to a son before Second Young Madam. Because that way, the Second Master would have an even lower status in the Prince Ning’s Mansion. Consequently, as Consort Cao knows that Third Young Madam is coming to this garden for flower viewing, she asked me to take this chance and push Third Young Madam over.”
“Shut up.” Consort Cao was already furious, “Who told you to say this? When have I ever asked you to harm Qin Yunuan?”
Luer was still trembling and took a glance at Consort Cao. Then she turned to Princess Ning and pleaded with a crying tone, “Princess, I was forced to do so. Consort Cao had sent my sister Chenger to Third Young Madam’s yard. This was to have us watching each other and work for her. I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“Shuxin, how dare you.” Prince Ning hit the rosewood coffee table angrily, even spilling out drips of tea from the teapot. Prince Ning shook his hand, and the droplet flew towards Consort Cao’s face. It was cold and icy, just like her heart right now.
“Prince, you told me that you’ll believe me. You told me.” Consort Cao was drastically shaking her head.
Just then, imperial doctor Zhao and the two medical apprentices came to report the news.
“Your Highness, I’ve tried my best. It’s just that I can’t keep the child that Third Young Madam was carrying.”
It was like a thunder on a sunny day.
Princess Ning urged and asked, “Have you really tried every way you could?”
The imperial doctor Zhao shook his head and said, “Third Young Madam is not showing any pulse of pregnancy, and she is extremely pale. It is already fortunate that she is alright. With proper care, there is still a chance that she could be pregnant again.”
This is already quite fortunate in all the misfortunes.
When Prince Ning saw the imperial doctor leaving, her anger had reached the climax. It was going to be his first grandchild, and now it was gone.
Consort Cao could only look at Prince Ning. She wanted to explain something, but she didn’t say a word when she opened her mouth. The imperial doctor announcing that there was no sign of pregnancy had left her no chance at all. The fact that she was using Agrimony must be discovered by Qin Yunuan, or else the dots couldn’t be connected so perfectly.
“I want to go in and check on Yunuan.” Leng Changxi lowered his head and said seriously.
It was said that a bloody room was extremely unlucky, let alone a woman’s room after a miscarriage. However, Leng Changxi’s love for Qin Yunuan was firm, that Princess Ning couldn’t turn down his request. She could only go in together to soothe Qin Yunuan.
“Prince, Shuxin didn’t do it. That servant girl was framing me.” Consort Cao dragged Prince Ning’s clothes.
“Piss off.” Prince Ning kicked her heavily, and she stumbled away. He glanced at her coldly, “You should have left the mansion twenty years ago. I tolerated you for twenty years, yet you didn’t treasure it. Why should I trust you anymore?”
Meanwhile in the attic, even though a pain-soothing incense was burnt outside the rosewood screen, Qin Yunuan was still looking painful and helpless on the bed. She was clenching to the quilt tightly, to express her pain of losing her child.
Leng Changxi took over the dark Chinese medicine Maner was holding, blow against it till it was cool and put it next to Qin Yunuan’s mouth. Qin Yunuan just tilted her head and frowned, “No, I don’t want it.” Seeing this, others thought that Third Young Madam was too sorrowful for losing her child and didn’t even want to take the medicine.
“You have to.” Leng Changxi persuaded. Seeing Qin Yunuan refusing a couple more times, Leng Changxi held some of the medicine in his mouth and fed it against Qin Yunuan’s mouth. He only wiped his mouth after he made sure that Qin Yunuan had drunk it all. “If you refuse to drink it, I’ll do it this way.”
Princess Ning’s eyes twitched and flickered with embarrassment. But after a moment, she joined the persuasion, “Yunuan, the imperial doctor said it already, that you’re still young to be pregnant again. Listen to me, take the medicine, don’t make us worry about you.”
Only then did Qin Yunuan obediently drank all the medicine. After that, she only leaned against Leng Changxi’s chest, looking sorrowful. Just then, Qingzhu, who served Princess Ning, reported, “Princess, the Prince had thrown everything of the Consort out of the mansion and written the divorcing letter. However, the Consort wants to see Third Young Madam again before she leaves.”
Princess Ning was calm, “Since the divorcing letter has been written, why do you still call her consort? She should’ve left twenty years ago. I’ve bored her for so long. Now that Yunuan’s weak and couldn’t see her, just tell her to go away as far as she could.”
Qin Yunuan knew that her “miscarriage” was just a trigger. The resentment of Prince Ning and Princess Ning towards Consort Cao started from twenty years ago, but they just left it unsolved due to various reasons.
“Alright, Yunuan must be tired. Changxi, you don’t have to stay here and bother Yunuan’s resting. Let’s all go out.” Princess Ning advised Qin Yunuan a lot and was about to leave with Leng Changxi. However, Leng Changxi shook his head and didn’t seem to be moving at all. He bowed down and kissed Qin Yunuan’s forehead, without looking at Princess Ning, “I’m staying here with her. She could only rest well when I’m here.”
Princess Ning forced a smile and ordered the servant girls in the house to serve Qin Yunuan well before she left.
At the back gate of Prince Ning’s Mansion, a black carriage was parked there. The old carriage driver was struggling to load the carriage with irregular-sized chests.
“Old Chi, forget it. Why bringing this jewelry with us?” Cao Shuxin was wearing a black curtain hat. She had removed all the jewelry on her. Twenty years in the Prince’s Mansion was just like a dream to her, and now she was awake.
With just simple luggage, the carriage suddenly stopped when it came to the end of the alley.
“Madam, there’s someone by the end of the alley. It seems that she’s waiting for you.”
Cao Shuxin lifted the curtain, and her eyes suddenly sparkled when she saw the person waiting for her. With some shock and mockery, she said, “I didn’t expect Third Young Madam to have the energy to send me off after the miscarriage.”
“We both know what’s going on. Why bother?” Qin Yunuan was dressing neatly. If it wasn’t for her high spirits and rosy cheeks, she indeed looked like an unwell noble lady.
“What do you want to say to me?” Qin Yunuan asked directly. She didn’t want any more contact with Cao Shuxin, but after all, Cao Shuxin knew more than her, having stayed in the mansion for more than twenty years.
They came to somewhere obscure, and Cao Shuxin managed a grin, “I just want to tell you that the ones, who appear close to you, are the ones who really want to hurt you. Do you really think that I am the culprit of the miscarriage twenty years ago? If I could do that, Sun Xunxiang would be long dead already.”
“Surely you hate her.”
“Yes, I hate her!” Cao Shuxin gritted her teeth and said, “The one who lost a child was not her, it was me. Sun Xunxiang, the gentle Princess Ning in others’ eyes! She is the most vicious person in Prince Ning’s mansion!”
