The Virtuous Concubine

"Hiss——" The prince was caught off guard and was stepped hard on a vital part by Malu. The pain caused his entire face to twist and deform instantly, and his facial features were displaced.

He asked Malu with a grin: "What are you doing, bad woman!"

Malu had no expression on his face. He quickly withdrew his foot and felt a chill in his heart.

It turns out that one cannot expect a man and a mother to empathize with each other over the pain of childbirth and the grief of losing a child.

She had been grieving for so long after losing her child, and although he was sad, he quickly thought about the next one?

Maybe he was too young, or maybe he really didn’t understand… Before he even realized the child’s existence, he had already lost it.

"If your father had said that you would have another child the day Empress Xiaochengren gave birth to you, how could you be here today?"

Malu was filled with disappointment and was too lazy to argue with him, so he simply turned sideways, lay back on the bed, closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, as if he wanted to leave.

The room was silent for a while, with only the occasional sound of wind coming from the window. Footsteps approached, it was the prince.

Malu's whole body was tense. If she hadn't heard the prince's footsteps, she would have thought he would leave in anger.

I don't know how long it was, but the prince's breath suddenly approached, and with a bit of caution, guilt and concern, he wiped Malu's face with his warm fingertips. He felt relieved when he found that it was dry and there were no more tears.

As Malu and he were struggling, the open collar of his shirt was pulled up, and his slender fingers moved flexibly to fasten the buttons.

After doing all this, the prince did not get up and leave, but sat beside the bed without saying a word.

After a long while, he spoke in a low, almost whispering voice: "It's my fault, I'm such a jerk, you should take a good rest, don't get angry and hurt yourself, I... I will definitely give you an explanation, okay?"

Malu didn't answer him, but just sighed deeply: "I don't need your explanation, but let's just leave it like this from now on."

After saying that, she looked up and stared at the corner of the bed curtain with empty eyes.

Embroidered on it is a pattern of hundreds of children and grandchildren playing and having fun.

The prince's body suddenly froze, full of disbelief. He opened his mouth and wanted to argue, but he felt guilty and self-blame, and everything he said would be wrong.

After a while, he bit his lip and leaned forward: "I know you don't want to believe me now, but..."

As he said this, he rubbed Malu's back and neck, secretly wiping away his tears.

The prince in front probably hadn't been intimate with Malu for a long time. The young and energetic prince pressed Malu down and tormented her fiercely. Malu was originally weak, and the prince was very strong. Malu actually felt very uncomfortable at the moment.

But she remembered that she actually needed the prince's help with something, so she turned around. Although her expression was still a little cold, she had quietly softened her attitude and put her arm around the prince's waist.

The prince was flattered to see that she was willing to pay attention to him, and looked at her cautiously.

"Qingqing, you...you are not angry with me anymore?" The prince raised his hand in the air, wanting to hug her back, but was afraid of angering her.

Seeing him being so humble, Malu felt that she sighed more today than in the previous year.

"I don't blame you that much. It's partly fate, and partly because I believed too much in my ability to handle it. I didn't expect it to end up like this."

The prince didn't dare to blame her, and he didn't think it was Malu's responsibility. He was satisfied when he heard that Malu's tone finally lost the determination that had kept people away from him before.

The two of them hugged each other for a while, their light breathing intertwined, and they looked like they were in love before. Suddenly, Malu stood up and listened to the noise outside. Seeing the prince's doubts, Malu turned around and smiled softly: "Fourteen saw that I was in a bad mood recently, and often came to me to cheer me up. I heard the noise and was afraid that he would come over."

The prince nodded slightly, but when he saw the smile that unconsciously appeared on Malu's face when he mentioned the Fourteenth Prince, he felt a little jealous and snorted, "Fourteenth brother is indeed filial, but he is so old, doesn't he need to be cautious? Besides, if you have any troubles in the future, you should tell me first."

Malu said lightly, "Why are you jealous? If there really is a difference between men and women, why did you hide from others and come to me? Look at how stingy you are. If you really don't want him to come, why not send him to Jiangnan or Xibei to experience the world like Yinzuo?"

The prince heard this and smiled brightly. But he really thought she was joking: "How could you bear to do that? You hold them in your heart and pamper them. You are afraid that they will melt if you hold them in your mouth, and you are afraid that they will fall if you hold them in your hands. If the three of them are not around, you will always miss them in your heart and you will not be able to sleep well at night."

Malu's expression straightened up, and he stopped joking. Instead, he started to argue with him seriously: "Is the emperor furious because of the Northwest incident? He is testing you. Aren't you caught between Nalan Mingzhu and Suo'etu? Now, Fourteenth has gone over and will be your right-hand man. He doesn't belong to either the Nalan or Hesheli families, so I think the emperor won't embarrass you anymore."

When the prince heard that she was still thinking about him when she was angry with him, his heart softened and he felt even more sorry for Malu: "But... the situation in the northwest is complicated and the people are tough. I'm afraid he can't handle it. What if something goes wrong? I can handle the affairs of the previous dynasty, even if it's a little tricky, but I don't want to let you down again."

It would be a lie to say that he was not tempted. The prince really needed such a person, who would neither encourage Soetu's power and make him more arrogant and cause chaos in the court, nor let the Nalan family take advantage of him and reap the benefits.

In the prince's heart, the Nalan family still supports the eldest prince.

Malu saw the flash of excitement and hesitation in the prince's eyes, and smiled: "He defeated the eldest prince in the examination of the Eight Banners' disciples a few days ago, and is second only to you. I am very relieved. Although the fourteenth prince is young, he is full of passion and is smart and quick-witted. As long as you give him more advice and arrange a few capable people to protect him, he will be safe."

As he spoke, Malu relaxed and lay in the prince's arms, like a soft and boneless vine, with her face pressed against his chest, listening to the prince's strong heartbeat.

"Of course I have my own selfish motives."

The prince's heart warmed up, and his arms subconsciously tightened, holding her tightly in his arms. He kissed her earlobe again and whispered in her ear: "It's okay, I promise you."