The Eldest Daughter Reborn: She Provoked the Obsessive Crown Prince and Couldn't Escape

Upon hearing this, Fu Luan turned around and looked; sure enough, as soon as someone else was around, "Little Jiu" disappeared.

"Prepare the carriage for Yaozhang Palace!" She sighed heavily, and finally left this place of sorrow, leaving only the orange peel lantern hanging in front of the door.

"It's the Empress, Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I was wrong to offend you last time, but the child is innocent..." Qian Chonghua struggled to get up, her thick hair covering her forehead, her plain face covered with tear stains, and her eyes were bloodshot.

She was just sobbing softly, and when she saw Fu Luan, she didn't bow. Instead, she stared straight at the head of the six palaces like a black-eyed rooster, as if she wanted to tear her apart!

Fu Luan only asked the imperial physician, "How are Qian Chonghua and the imperial fetus...?"

The imperial physician sighed and shook his head: "The adult is alright; with the prescribed treatment, he will recover soon. But the child..."

Before Fu Luan could speak again, Yuan Li arrived, accompanied by Madam Yao Zhang and Consort Pang.

“No need to kneel anymore! What’s going on?” Yuan Li frowned.

Qian Chonghua's lady-in-waiting, Mei'er, sobbed, "Your Majesty, Qian Chonghua was perfectly fine when she went to Changqiu Palace to pay her respects to the Empress this morning, but after returning to Yaozhang Palace, she complained of a stomachache and didn't even eat lunch!"

"It got even worse in the afternoon! Suddenly she started bleeding! We summoned the imperial physician, but the baby was...gone!"

Consort Pang covered her mouth with a handkerchief and said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion... this matter may not necessarily have anything to do with Her Majesty the Empress, you..."

Yuan Li scolded, "When did I say it was related to the Empress? Stop talking nonsense!"

Lady Yaozhang took Yuan Li's arm and pulled him to sit down, smiling as she said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right! There are many reasons why a woman might miscarry! It's not necessarily because of palace intrigues, as depicted in those plays and stories!"

As she spoke, she glanced at Fu Luan, a hint of smugness in her eyes. Yuan Li also looked at Fu Luan and asked, "Empress, do you have any leads on this matter?"

Fu Luan knew his paranoia had flared up again, so she carefully replied, "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, it would be better to investigate first..."

"Your Majesty! You mustn't listen to that poisonous woman's words! I've heard she harmed her own sister before she even entered the palace! Before she came, we concubines were all perfectly fine;"

"Since she arrived this year, she has caused so much trouble! Your Majesty..." Qian Chonghua was on the couch, tears streaming down her face, but was still interrupted by Yuan Li.

"Alright! I'm here personally to uphold justice for you. What more do you want? If this matter is truly related to the Empress, I will punish her severely. But the matter is currently under investigation, and the Empress remains the head of the six palaces!"

"Not to mention that you interrupted her before she finished speaking; you fabricated accusations without any evidence, what is your crime? If it were a cunning and ruthless empress, she wouldn't even know how she died! Empress, please continue!" Yuan Li frowned.

Fu Luan continued, "We might as well start by examining Qian Chonghua's diet over the past three days, and then investigate where she went and who she met; we should also investigate the palace maids and eunuchs around her."

"Inspect all the halls and buildings in Yaozhang Palace to see if there are any items that could cause a pregnant woman to miscarry."

"Doctor Wang, what do you think?" Yuan Li asked.

Imperial Physician Wang said, "Her Majesty the Empress is absolutely right! Following Her Majesty's instructions for investigation is extremely appropriate!"

Yuan Liye squinted and said, "Oh? Then shouldn't you, the imperial physician in charge of ensuring Qian Chonghua's pregnancy, also be thoroughly investigated?"

Imperial Physician Wang immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty and Empress are willing to accept the investigation to prove my innocence!"

Fu Ling whispered something to Fu Luan, then asked, "If that's the case... Physician Wang, what was the specific reason for Qian Chonghua's miscarriage?"

"Well... Qian Chonghua's pregnancy is still in its early stages, so it's really difficult to diagnose the cause from her pulse. It could be due to fright, or it could be caused by her diet..." Physician Wang replied.

Fu Ling then asked, "So, may I ask, did you give Qian Chonghua a medical check-up just now?"

Physician Wang replied, "I have examined it, and there are no external injuries."

Fu Ling then said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, please allow me to verify Qian Chonghua's identity again to ensure that nothing goes wrong!"

The Emperor and Empress both granted the request; however, Qian Chonghua, who was originally huddled on the couch trembling, picked up a porcelain pillow and smashed it at Fu Ling as soon as she saw her approaching!

Fortunately, Fu Ling dodged in time, and the porcelain pillow shattered on the ground.

"You, you're in cahoots with that poisonous woman! You're all in cahoots! You're all trying to harm me and my child!"

"Your Majesty, let them go! I don't want to see them... They all want to harm me..." Qian Chonghua cried in public.

Fu Ling whispered, "Your Majesty, Qian Chonghua seems to be..."

She pointed to her head, which served as a prelude to what she was about to say, and Fu Luan understood.

Yuan Li felt sorry for Qian Chonghua because she had lost her child, so she didn't care about the rules for concubines as usual. She only instructed the imperial physician to prescribe a recuperative medicine so that she could take good care of herself.

"You can have more children in the future... Once you've recovered, I will promote you to the rank of Noble Consort and bestow upon you a title, how about that?" Yuan Li comforted her in a low voice.

But Qian Chonghua seemed not to listen, only repeating "child" over and over again, which made Yuan Li's initial pity for her vanish completely!

As soon as they left Qian Chonghua's bedchamber, the eunuch leading the way took Yuan Li toward Changqiu Palace. Yuan Li said, "No need for that trouble... Since we're already at Yaozhang Palace, why go to such lengths? Let Qingtan serve us today!"

Xie Qingtan was none other than the Lady Yaozhang, the head of the Yaozhang Palace. Upon hearing this, she was overjoyed, and Consort Pang also congratulated her in a low voice.

Since the Emperor and Empress's wedding on the first day of the first lunar month, although Yuan Li and Fu Luan occasionally had disagreements, Yuan Li did not summon any concubines to his bedchamber during that time, but instead spent his nights with memorials.

Thus, Lady Yaozhang, Xie Qingtan, was the first concubine Yuan Li had favored this year besides Fu Luan. When their eyes met, her gaze was filled with smugness!

"Hmph, Qian Chonghua lost her child, but Lady Yaozhang got a good deal! The Emperor said such nice things to our family back then, but now, less than half a year later, he has already fallen for someone else..." Hua Luo said indignantly on the way back to Changqiu Palace.

Fu Luan smiled and sighed, "I'm not even in a hurry, but you're already getting anxious! She's also one of the Emperor's concubines, so why can't she serve him in bed?"

"By all accounts, I, the Empress, am the last one to arrive! Now that I'm in the palace, these things are unavoidable, unless one day..."

Before she could finish speaking, a long neigh was heard from not far away, and a tall horse, entirely black except for a white stripe on its forehead, charged toward her imperial carriage!

"Scatter!" Fu Luan gave the order, and the palace maids scattered in all directions, except for Hua Luo who stayed by her side.

As the horse drew closer, she scouted its direction; and when it was almost beside her, she leaped onto it. In that single movement, she was safely mounted!