Cheng Simian was stunned and instinctively touched her flat abdomen.
"Pregnant?"
She had been married to Lu Sihong for less than three months.
In such a short period, she never even thought about this possibility.
Song Wanchu was certain. "You are pregnant. When I was first pregnant, I had exactly the same symptoms as you."
Her tone was calm, as if she were talking about an ordinary past event.
A deep sorrow flashed across her eyes and vanished in an instant.
Cheng Simian was shocked. She never knew that Wanchu had once had a child.
That was probably the most unpleasant memory between her and Liang Yuzhou.
Song Wanchu's emotions passed quickly. She happily grabbed Cheng Simian's hand. "Mianmian, congratulations."
There was a glimmer of light in Cheng Simian's eyes, but it soon faded.
The momentary joy of having a baby was quickly replaced by the dangerous situation that loomed like dark clouds before a storm.
She sighed softly. "This child has come at a bad time. But since it's here, I'll fight to protect it with my life."
Song Wanchu held her hand tighter. "I'm here, and so are the others. We'll protect it together."
Cheng Simian looked at Song Wanchu with a sincere plea in her eyes. "Wanchu, just you and I know about this for now. Don't tell Lu Sihong yet."
"Okay." Song Wanchu agreed without hesitation.
She understood Mianmian's worries and unease.
At this moment, the most important thing for the Crown Prince was to mobilize all forces to ensure a smooth accession to the throne.
If he knew Mianmian was pregnant, he would be overjoyed, but more than that, he would be worried and restricted, which would affect his judgment and the speed of his actions.
He had to be completely focused now.
"I'll stay with you in the Eastern Palace these days."
For a first - time pregnancy, there was not only the joy of becoming a mother but also confusion, fear, and worry.
What was needed most was company, guidance, and to ease her anxiety.
She didn't want Mianmian to go through what she had.
Cheng Simian reached out and hugged her shoulders. Her voice was a bit choked. "Wanchu, meeting you is the greatest fortune of my life."
"You can't let the Crown Prince hear you say that."
Song Wanchu pursed her lips and giggled.
The two of them walked out of the boudoir and returned to the main hall. The Crown Prince jumped to his feet and grabbed Cheng Simian's hand.
Her complexion had improved a lot.
"The incense Wanchu made is so sweet and elegant. I felt much better after smelling it for a while."
The plate of stir - fried shrimp on the table had been removed.
It was replaced by sweet milk and osmanthus soup.
Desserts were much easier to accept than meat like fish and shrimp.
The Crown Prince fed Cheng Simian most of a bowl.
Liang Yuzhou hooked Song Wanchu's palm and whispered in her ear. "I visit the princess's boudoir every day. How come I never knew the princess had incense to relieve nausea?"
He used a formal address but said something that made one blush.
This kind of teasing was all too familiar to Song Wanchu.
It meant he had discovered something.
"You know it in your heart. Just keep your mouth shut."
Song Wanchu glared at him and whispered a warning.
"Yes, ma'am. How could the princess's secret rendezvous with the Taoist priest be known to others?"
His naughty words showed his cunning.
The Crown Prince wasn't the first man to know Mianmian was pregnant.
If he knew, he'd be furious.
Liang Yuzhou was really too smart.
That night, after the Crown Prince and the others left, Liang Yuzhou sat silently by the window for a long time.
The candle flame flickered, casting a thin and tall shadow on the wall.
After Wanchu had a miscarriage that year, he had heard from Shen Yuhe that Wanchu was already weak, suffered from a heart condition, and had damaged her foundation. It would be very difficult for her to conceive again in the future.
This was the deepest and most difficult - to - heal wound between them.
They had always been very careful not to mention it.
He couldn't forgive himself. The tide of guilt submerged him.
He would never be able to atone for his sins. If there really was an eighteen - level hell, he should be tortured with all eighteen kinds of torture.
Song Wanchu saw all this.
She allowed Liang Yuzhou to release his emotions.
The candle on the table had burned halfway, but Liang Yuzhou still didn't move.
Song Wanchu sat down beside him, holding a delicate sandalwood box in her hand.
"What's this?" Liang Yuzhou asked.
When the box was opened, Liang Yuzhou caught his breath.
A pair of cute tiger - head shoes, a rabbit - head hat, two small belly - bands embroidered with two dragons playing with a pearl, and a gold longevity lock.
"Wanchu..."
The corners of his eyes gradually turned red, and his eyes welled up with heat. His heart felt like it was being pierced by thousands of needles, and the pain was so intense that his internal organs seemed to be shifting.
Why didn't God punish him?
He deserved to die!
The corners of Song Wanchu's eyes also turned red quietly, but her face was calm.
"Punishing yourself with past mistakes will only make the pain repeat itself."
She murmured softly, reached out her hand, stroked his face, and her fingertips stopped at the red - cornered of his eyes.
"Do you know who gave these things?"
Only then did Liang Yuzhou notice that the things were very new, not like they had been kept for a long time.
"Princess Jiahe gave them to me two months ago. She made them with her own hands. She said that the mistakes she made back then were unforgivable. From now on, she would copy the scriptures for the dead child every day to pray for him and atone for her sins."
"You can forgive her, but I can't forgive myself easily!"
"It's not about forgiveness. It's about letting go. Hate takes more energy than love. It's much easier to love someone than to hate someone."
Liang Yuzhou felt ashamed.
"Wanchu, you're much braver than me."
In this relationship, Wanchu had always been braver than him. He was driven and dominated.
But he was willing to let Wanchu be the leader of his life.
Song Wanchu closed the sandalwood box. "I want to give these things to Mianmian."
Passing on the blessings was also a complete farewell to the past knots.
"Liang Yuzhou, it's time for you to try to forgive yourself."
Liang Yuzhou leaned over and hugged Song Wanchu tightly.
He stared into her eyes and worshiped her calm smile.
...
The emperor hadn't been in court for two consecutive days.
In the court today, Liang Wentao presented an imperial edict from the emperor.
It ordered Marquis Dingyuan, Gao Tianyu, to garrison the Western Suburb Camp fifty miles away from the capital and set off immediately.
"Is this order personally given by the emperor when he's ill, or is someone using the emperor's name?"
Gao Zhao immediately raised an objection.
The emperor was on his last legs. The Second Prince needed the Gao family's army as a backup. Moving the Gao family's army fifty miles away at this time, wasn't the purpose obvious?
It was to ensure the smooth accession of the Crown Prince!
However, Gao Tianyu didn't raise an objection and accepted the edict.
Before half a day had passed, news spread from the Marquis Dingyuan's mansion that Gao Tianyu had suddenly suffered a recurrence of an old illness and was bedridden.
Gao Zhao became the temporary commander of the 50,000 - strong army.
He ignored the imperial edict and spread the news everywhere, saying that someone had an ulterior motive and was abusing the emperor's authority.
"The army of the Gao family is loyal to the emperor! Once the Gao family's army leaves the capital, it won't be able to protect the emperor in time!"
Whose carriage would they protect, and which king would they rescue?
The queen went to visit Concubine Lan and said she would be kind enough to let her go home to visit her father.
She hinted that she should persuade Gao Tianyu to obey the imperial edict.
But Concubine Lan refused firmly, saying that since the emperor was seriously ill, she wouldn't leave the palace.
"It seems that the Gao family doesn't even want the emperor's last act of kindness."
The Crown Prince glanced out of the window at the gloomy sky.
The cold wind was getting even more biting.
And in the Northern Suburb Camp, there was still no sign of movement from the 80,000 - strong army under the old marquis.