The Virtuous Concubine

He stared at Malu's tear-stained face with wide eyes, his gaze was fiery and terrified, and his questioning seemed to penetrate her soul: "Tell me, is it? You are pregnant with my child, right?"

Malu did not give in, but became even more angry. She spoke every word with great emphasis, revealing her deep sarcasm and despair: "Tell you, tell you what? Tell the Crown Prince of the Qing Dynasty who is about to marry the Crown Princess that Concubine De Zhao is pregnant with your child?! Tell you what, tell you so that you can kill it with your own hands!"

Malu laughed out of anger, but his laughter was filled with tears. The hatred and resentment in his eyes seemed to be materialized sharp arrows, piercing the prince directly: "I was thinking of turning things around and fooling around when I went to Nanyuan, but you directly intercepted the letter and then ignored me. Now you want me to explain everything in detail. What qualifications do you have? You don't deserve it!"

The prince was shocked by her angry rebuke and froze. His hands loosened unconsciously, and the color on his face faded, turning pale as paper. Tears welled up in his eyes, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto the ground, soaking it all. He opened his mouth and tried to explain, but his throat seemed to be blocked. After a long while, he uttered a few broken syllables: "I... I really didn't know. If I had known earlier..."

In a moment, he reacted, rushed to Malu's feet, touched her belly and asked: "Where's the child? Where's the child? Where's our child??"

When Malu heard his belated question, she seemed to have exhausted all her strength. Her body softened and she collapsed in his arms, burying her head in his chest. Her shoulders trembled slightly and the faint sobbing sounded again.

The prince's vision was blurred by tears. He knew the answer, but he still wanted to ask.

Malu looked at the remorseful prince in front of her. She turned her head away, unwilling to look at this face that made her love and hate it. After a long while, she sobbed and said, "It's gone, it's been gone for a long time... When I was most helpless and needed you the most, the child was gone, and I died with him. What's the point of you asking now? It's too late, everything is too late!"

When the prince heard this answer, all his strength was drained away. He buried his head between her knees, his body trembling violently, and cried out in pain: "It's my fault, it's all my fault! Why didn't you just tell me directly?"

Seeing him like this, Malu stopped crying and kicked him away, asking him to stay away from her.

Seeing the prince fall to the ground in a mess, her eyes were as cold as ice, and she said in a cold voice: "Are you blaming me? In this palace where people are eaten without leaving any bones, if I don't protect myself, who else can I rely on? The child is gone, and you are crying and saying these hypocritical words here, just to seek peace of mind. Stay away from me, I don't want to see you again!"

The prince was kicked to the ground, but he was not angry. He raised his hand to wipe the tears from his face, got up from the ground, and hugged Malu tightly. The veins in his arms were bulging from the strength, as if he wanted to merge her into his bones and blood.

"I deserve to die. I was blinded by greed and let you go through this period alone and miss our child...

Malu could no longer bear it and grabbed the prince's clothes, as if he wanted to rub all his sorrow into these small pieces of cloth.

The two of them cried for the child for a long time before Malu calmed down and said to the prince, "Maybe... maybe it was because of the first two times I was so absurd. When I found out I was pregnant, the emperor had already left for the Nanyuan Palace. You can't read the history of this period, but you can always read the daily records?"

Malu gently stroked her now flat belly and sighed: "I tried my best, prayed to God, was cautious, and tried my best to protect him, but in the end, I was not destined to be with him or you."

The prince couldn't bear to hear these words. He just wanted to reveal his heart to Malu and let him see how much he regretted. He also wished that time could go back, so... Anyway, he shouldn't be like this now.

This is my first child! And it is also the child of my beloved one!

The prince regretted his decision, and Malu couldn't help but wonder, if he hadn't been so confused or afraid, or wasn't so blindly sure that he could solve the problem, but had revealed the truth to the prince early on, and with his help, would things be different today?

Unfortunately, no matter how much I regret the assumption, the child is already gone.

The prince hugged Malu tightly, and suddenly thought of something: "Doctor Rong is your man? He diagnosed that you can't get pregnant again. Is it true or false?"

Malu's body froze, and he looked up at the prince. After a long while, he bit his lower lip and said dryly, "He used to serve Wenxian and Yinzuo in my Yonghe Palace, and was later chosen by the emperor to serve in the imperial court. The medicine I used originally would cause the pulse to be disordered. Although he had some doubts, he still gave me some face."

But she didn't give a direct answer as to whether she could get pregnant again.

The prince was perceptive and naturally noticed the evasion and ambiguity in Malu's words. Although he was sad, he thought for a moment, his eyes gradually became firm, and his hand holding Malu's shoulder tightened. He said in a deep voice: "My dear, the most urgent thing is that you take good care of your body first, be healthy and safe, and then you can grow old with me, okay?"

After a pause, the prince stared at Malu's tear-stained face with a burning gaze, and soothed her: "And you also said that after taking the medicine, the pulse is disordered and cannot be accurate. If it is a misdiagnosis caused by the medicine, there is still hope, and we can still hope to continue our bloodline... Then you can give me another child, no, the more the better, okay?"

Thinking of his children, he could not help but shed tears again: "When our children grow up, they can take over the Qing Dynasty and pass on our bloodline from generation to generation along the mountains and rivers of the Qing Dynasty."

Malu listened to the prince's heartfelt words, and her originally hard heart was stirred into a mess. She wanted to respond, but her throat was choked by the surging emotions. After a long while, she sobbed and squeezed out a few words: "It's easy for you to say it, but it's not that easy..."

The prince held her in his arms gently but powerfully, lowered his head slightly, and touched Malu's cheek with the tip of his nose. He kissed her cheek and the tears in the corners of her eyes while assuring her: "Don't be afraid, my dear. Let's relax for now. You should take care of yourself first. You are the most gentle and virtuous concubine in the palace, the most suitable for a family, and the most fertile concubine. I am young and strong, so what's so difficult about it? We have had it twice before, haven't we?"

Malu's fingers gently grasped the prince's collar, as if he was grabbing the last straw of life. His voice was still tearful, but a little more relaxed.

As if he had guessed what Malu was going to say, he held her waist with his left hand and pulled her into his arms, whispering in her ear: "I know, this is not the first child. God has let us go through this hardship and tasted this bone-eating pain, and he will definitely not be reluctant to treat us harshly in the future. This deceased child was taken back by God for temporary safekeeping. When we are fully prepared, he will definitely send him back to us, okay?"