A simple fall could lead to something that damaged the royal family's reputation. This made him think that she was rather vulgar.
Imperial Concubine Chen's heart skipped a beat. She wanted to bring down the queen, not to be disliked by Xiao Huaishi. So, with a look of tears on the verge of falling, she said, "Now... does Your Majesty also think that I'm being unreasonable? You only know to blame me for falling, but don't even bother to ask the reason..."
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. Under the sunlight, several teardrops could be clearly seen sliding down her face. She looked extremely pitiful.
Xiao Huaishi was taken aback. After all, with Concubine Chen's beauty and status, it was hard for him to truly and quickly dislike her. Although she was almost forty, she was well - maintained, looking like a woman in her twenties or thirties, still charming with a touch of girlishness.
Seeing Xiao Huaishi's expression, Concubine Chen knew there was a chance. So she immediately winked at the maid beside her.
The maid immediately knelt and shuffled in front of Xiao Huaishi. Crying and kowtowing continuously, she said, "Your Majesty, this servant really feels wronged for our mistress! This servant dares to risk her life to say that it wasn't our imperial concubine who wanted things to turn out this way!"
The implication was clear to everyone. Xiao Huaishi couldn't help but feel a headache. He had come to the imperial garden to relax because of the issues with the Western Yue State, but now he had run into this mess.
He looked at the queen. She still had that submissive look.
Finally, Xiao Huaishi decided not to blame the queen rashly. So, raising his chin, he looked at Concubine Chen sitting on the ground on her knees and said, "Then, Concubine, tell me what exactly happened?"
Concubine Chen was secretly overjoyed. Since the emperor asked her to speak, it would be easy for her to distort the truth. Although she was happy inside, she still looked sad on the surface. "Thank you, Your Majesty. But I really don't know what happened. Recently, I've been feeling nauseous easily, and my waist has gotten a bit thicker. It's just like when I was pregnant with Hanzhi... These days, the signs of pregnancy have just appeared. I saw Her Majesty the Queen doing something related to Buddhism in the imperial garden. I thought it would be good for the baby to worship the Buddha, so I wanted to ask Her Majesty for some advice."
As she spoke, Concubine Chen suddenly looked up at the queen, then quickly averted her gaze as if she was scared.
"Then... then Her Majesty the Queen took the opportunity of giving me the Buddhist beads and suddenly pushed me. She even blamed me... saying that I fell accidentally. I... I'm sorry for my child... and I'm sorry for Your Majesty..."
As she spoke, Concubine Chen buried her head deeply and cried loudly. Only her thin figure could be seen trembling.
Everyone present clearly changed their expressions, mainly because Concubine Chen had mentioned that she was pregnant! This news had never spread before, and even Xiao Huaishi himself didn't know about it.
If this was true, murdering a royal heir was a great crime.
Moreover, Xiao Huaishi was already forty. If he could have another child, it would be like having a child in his old age. There had been few new heirs in the harem recently. Hearing the news that Chen Rong was pregnant, Xiao Huaishi couldn't help but feel a bit happy.
The situation was getting tricky. Xiao Huaishi frowned. He looked at the queen, and there was clearly no trace of love in his eyes.
"I've always trusted the queen, which is why I've entrusted the management of the harem to her with confidence. So, now I'd like to hear how the queen will handle this matter."
It was like a huge hat was put on her head. Clearly, Xiao Huaishi somewhat agreed with Concubine Chen's statement, but he didn't explicitly say that he would blame the queen. Although the queen's heart was already cold, she still felt a twinge of pain for some reason. She had long known that there was no affection between them, and their relationship was just a cooperation. But deep down, she always hoped that the emperor would have some feelings for her.
She pulled the maid's hand and took another string of Buddhist beads from her. Then she gently put it on Concubine Chen's hand. "Sister fell. I'm afraid the Buddhist beads are broken. Let me give you a new one. If I really wanted to push you, it wouldn't be such a gentle push. Sister doesn't seem to be seriously injured. There's no need to call the imperial physician."
Xiao Huaishi just watched the two of them quietly. He didn't plan to make an obvious statement, because there were huge forces behind both of them. It would be unwise to deal with either of them.
Concubine Chen took the Buddhist beads with a look of fear, but she didn't get up, as if the queen was a fierce beast. She trembled as she said, "Don't come near me! Isn't my injury serious enough? I can't even get up!"
As she spoke, Concubine Chen painfully hugged her ankle, with a look of endurance on her face, as if she was suffering great pain.
The queen reached out her hand, but since she didn't get a response for a long time, she withdrew it. She looked at Concubine Chen calmly, showing no sign of panic, because she knew that Xiao Huaishi wouldn't deal with her easily for now.
"Since Sister Concubine says she can't get up, it seems that my eyesight is really bad. We must call the imperial physician quickly! After all, Sister is carrying a royal heir. What if something goes wrong? We must ask the imperial physician to take a good look at the fetus!"
Concubine Chen's face suddenly changed, and her heart was in turmoil. Did the queen suspect that there was no child in her belly at all? That she was just pretending to be pregnant? But she had just pretended to be in the early stage of pregnancy. There shouldn't be any loopholes.
She suppressed her panic and quickly winked at the maid again. The maid immediately understood. She immediately crawled on her knees to the queen's feet. "Please, Your Majesty the Queen. You've always believed in Buddhism, right? This servant begs you to spare our mistress. This servant is willing to be your servant, doing all the hard work. The child is innocent!"
At this point, how could Xiao Huaishi not understand? He was fed up with this farce. So he waved his sleeve and shouted at Concubine Chen, "Enough! I'm really tired of seeing all your bickering. You don't know how to be thrifty and virtuous on a daily basis. Can't you just let me have some peace? Now that the people from the Western Yue State have entered the palace, do you want to make a fool of yourselves and let them mock the imperial concubine and the queen of our great country for being so immoral!"
"You know you're pregnant but still act so recklessly. You don't even pay attention to your own actions. It's really a pity for Hanzhi to have a mother like you!" Xiao Huaishi looked at Concubine Chen coldly, with a look of disgust in his eyes.
After saying that, Xiao Huaishi didn't look at anyone else. He turned around and left without mercy. Concubine Chen was stunned by his scolding. There were still tears on her face.
Suddenly, the queen snatched the Buddhist beads from Concubine Chen and ordered the maid to bring scissors. In front of Concubine Chen, she began to untie the strings of Buddhist beads one by one.