C35

Within Bao and the hall, the palace maids and eunuchs were in a state of chaos. The female servants from each prefecture were also gathered together, discussing amongst themselves.

Someone in the crowd suddenly spoke up. Only then did the empress dowager come to her senses and hastily send for the imperial physician.

Everyone was nervous about Ping Yang's condition, their eyes were focused on him, but they did not see the puddle of blood that was on the ground just now, and had seeped into the ground.

The empress dowager's entire heart was with her daughter, so the empress had no choice but to step forward and bring all the female servants into the little imperial garden. For a moment, only the empress dowager, Huai Jin and the group of palace maids and eunuchs remained.

The imperial doctors nervously called Ping Yang's Grand Princess's veins. Huai Jin also waited by the side while wiping her tears.

"Muhou —" Ping Yang endured the pain and said weakly, "Call Qing He here."

The empress dowager looked at Ping Yang in dissatisfaction, but still called for her consort to come over.

The Imperial Physician remained silent as he felt for the pulse, his expression growing more and more solemn.

"Is it about to be born?!" The empress dowager saw that the imperial physician had remained silent and asked in a hurry.

But the imperial physician only sighed and withdrew his hand, a little hesitant.

"Speak!"

His words scared the imperial physician so much that he trembled. He hurriedly kowtowed and said with a trembling voice, "I'm afraid that Princess Ping Yang's fetus will not be preserved any longer."

The item in the palace maid's hand that was originally prepared to be delivered was now thrown to the ground with a "Clang" sound. It was exceptionally ear-piercing.

The empress dowager was just about to erupt in rage when she heard a report from outside saying that the prince consort had arrived.

Huai Jin picked up the kernels and looked towards the door, only to see a purple robed Ruan Qinghe walking unsteadily into the hall, the emotions on his face mixed, causing people to be unable to see him clearly.

Ruan Qinghe entered the hall and stood at a distance, his eyes seemed to glaze over as he stared blankly at his wife.

When Her Majesty saw him like this, she got up and slapped him. But Ruan Qinghe acted as if he did not feel anything, and his shoulders trembled as he smiled.

"Bastard!" The empress dowager's heart ached for her daughter, and all of her anger was on Ruan Qinghe's body. Just as she was about to raise her hand, she was stopped by Ping Yang, so she could only stop herself.

"Qing He, I'm sorry, child …" Ping Yang forced himself up, his eyes filled with spring water, he looked at his husband apologetically, his voice choked with sobs.

Hearing his wife's voice, Ruan Qinghe's gaze returned to normal as she stared blankly at Ping Yang. After a while, she finally said, "It's alright."

This sentence did nothing to Ping Yang, but it did infuriate the empress dowager quite a bit. Originally, Ping Yang had been married for eight years, and it was with great difficulty that she finally got this child. Now that the child was gone, why did she not care about it as a husband?

Ruan Qinghe was scolded by the empress dowager, but his eyes only looked at Ping Yang with a deep gaze.

Ping Yang smiled gently at him. Suddenly, Ruan Qinghe seemed to have returned to the day when they first met.

That day, he had come to the palace to see His Majesty at the very top of the high school rankings. On the high platform, the ladies of the harem were gathered together to witness the glory of the Imperial Examinations.

Ping Yang was hiding at the back of the crowd. Everyone was looking at the top scorer, while only she was staring at him intently. Hiding behind the human and not being able to see clearly, she pretended that the kernels was swept away by the wind, and the kernels just happened to land right in front of him.

At that time, Ping Yang was just like how she is now, gently smiling to herself, and said in a soft voice: "Presumptuous Young Noble, can you return my kernels to me?"

The scene from that day overlapped with the one now. Ruan Qinghe sighed lightly, avoided the empress dowager's palm that was about to fall again, and came to Ping Yang, hugging her tightly.

Ping Yang's lips lightly trembled, but she could not hold it in any longer. She leaned into Ruan Qinghe's embrace and started crying bitterly.

"Qing He, I'm in so much pain …" He felt pain in his body, as well as pain in his heart.

Huai Jin stood at the side. Even though she did not know what happened between the two of them, she was moved by this scene.

The palace maid by the side brought the medicine that the imperial physician had instructed to be cooked over, causing Ruan Qinghe to take the medicine and drink it mouthful by mouthful. The atmosphere between the two of them was harmonious, as though it was a world of its own.

The empress dowager couldn't help sighing as she looked at the two of them. She had originally thought that they were a match made in heaven, but who knew that they would turn out like this?

After feeding the medicine, Ruan Qinghe put the bowl down and helped Ping Yang to lie down. Ping Yang continued to look at him with a smile, her eyes full of love.

Ruan Qinghe also laughed, and then pulled the blanket over Ping Yang's body. However, when he retracted his hand, he discovered that his hand was covered in blood!

A patch of scarlet stung his eyes.

The imperial physician anxiously went forward to take Ping Yang's pulse, but Ping Yang held onto her hand tightly.

"Ping Yang!" The empress dowager reprimanded him softly and was about to pull Ruan Qinghe away.

However, Ping Yang stubbornly refused to let go. The empress dowager's eyes were already filled with tears, and when she saw the blood all over the bed, she almost fainted. Huai Jin immediately stepped forward to support the empress dowager, his eyes filled with grief.

When the imperial physician saw this, he could only shake his head and quickly order someone to bring the soup over. Just like that, he took out his pulse for Ping Yang, but the fingers on his wrist continued to tremble uncontrollably.

When the empress dowager saw this, she gave the imperial physician a fierce kick and said angrily, "What happened to my son!? "You sure are open-minded!"

The imperial physician trembled and kowtowed repeatedly. "This humble subject is incompetent!"

The empress dowager's body sank into Huai Jin's embrace. She took a long time to recover her strength.

"Get me a doctor!"

The imperial physician knelt on the ground. He didn't dare raise his head, but he didn't move.

"Muhou …" Ping Yang said softly. Because she had lost too much blood, her face was pale white.

"Ping Yang!" Her Majesty looked at the person on the bed and felt her heart ache. A stream of old tears fell from her eyes.

Ping Yang turned towards Ruan Qinghe. Ruan Qinghe's face was filled with astonishment, as he stared at Ping Yang. A few tears also rolled down his face. Ping Yang reached out her hand, wiped the tears off his face and said gently, "Muhou, all of you leave for now. I will have a last word with Qing He."

Huai Jin supported the sobbing empress dowager and slowly left the room, leaving the two of them with their last moments of solitude.

The empress had hurried over after receiving the news. The banquet had long since dispersed due to the sudden change in events. The area outside the hall was now filled with people, all staring anxiously inside.