"Empress, the fetus in Concubine Xia's belly is too big, and it was difficult to give birth. She also accidentally ate something very cold, which caused a miscarriage. Now..."
The imperial physician knelt on the ground, trembling, and did not dare to continue.
"What's the matter?" the queen asked coldly.
The imperial physician kowtowed and said, "Now we can only save one of the heir and Lady Xia. Your Majesty, please make the decision!"
At this moment, the room was already filled with concubines who had arrived one after another. Everyone looked at each other, and no one spoke.
"Of course we have to protect the heir to the throne!" Yan Xiuyi shouted angrily, "You are blinded by greed, and you still ask such a question. The concubines entered the palace to give birth to children for the emperor, so naturally the heir to the throne is the most important!"
That's what she said, but Xia Cairen's life is at stake. Even though the child is important, it hasn't been born yet.
As soon as Yan Xiuyi said this, the looks of the people present at her changed.
The queen was also in a difficult situation, but as the queen she could only protect the royal heir. After all, according to the rules, compared with the royal heir and the concubines, the royal heir was indeed more important.
However, although Xie was cruel, Yan Xiuyi took the lead at this moment and she knew how to control her words.
He sighed, "The heir is the most important, but you also need to do your best to protect Concubine Xia. She has helped the emperor to have many children, so she is also a meritorious official."
In comparison, the queen suddenly seemed kind and benevolent, and invisibly won the hearts of the people.
But Yan Xiuyi's mind was not here at the moment. She only wanted the child in Xia's belly. If it was not against the ethical standards, she would have wanted to have a caesarean section to take the baby away.
Some time ago, the imperial physician told her vaguely that there was an 80% chance that Xia's baby was a prince.
Xia Cairen, who was lying inside, was already half conscious, but she could hear clearly what the people outside were saying.
With a deep blood feud, she and Yan Xiuyi will never stop fighting in this life or the next.
"Talent, please don't fall asleep. I'm here with you. We will definitely make it through this!"
Lian Qiao, who was serving Xia personally, grabbed Xia's hand and burst into tears.
Xia Cairen looked at her and forced a smile with difficulty, "Lian Qiao, my life is cheap, but I am fortunate enough to serve the emperor, so I think it is not bad. Don't worry, I will live well."
Lian Qiao's eyes were filled with tears and she clutched her hand and cried inconsolably.
Others may not know, but she knows exactly what her master is going to do.
Xia Cairen closed her eyes and bit the pill hidden between her teeth with force. After a moment, she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen.
When the imperial physician and the midwife discovered that her bleeding had increased significantly, they became even more panicked.
It has been such a long time since the birth, and the baby is still in the belly, and the amniotic fluid has probably dried up. Bleeding at this time would be fatal.
There is still no way to perform caesarean section to deliver a baby now. Even if the mother has to be sacrificed to save the baby, the mother must give birth to the baby alive first. So at this moment, everyone can only stop Xia's bleeding quickly.
There was chaos inside. After almost half an hour, the bleeding finally stopped. At the same time, the midwife shouted in surprise that the baby's head came out.
But the next second, the midwife was so frightened that she fell to the ground, her face pale, and her voice trembling, "The heir, the heir is gone..."
The child was suffocated in the womb for too long and the mother was bleeding, so he died in the womb.
When the imperial physician announced the news, Yan Xiuyi lost her balance and fell down. Fortunately, a maid supported her and prevented her from falling.
The Queen also had a complicated expression. Since the child was gone, it would be a shame if the adult was also gone, so she ordered that Concubine Xia must be rescued.
Xia inside waited patiently until she heard these words, and finally fainted.
She saved her life by killing her own flesh and blood.
Later, no one dared to tell her how the full-term baby that died in her womb was taken out.
The baby's body is soft, so if you don't care about its life or death, just break its arm and pull it out, this way you can save the mother's life.
These scenes will be unforgettable to everyone who has seen them.
Lian Qiao ordered all the servants serving Xia Cairen not to tell their master, otherwise they would be beaten to death.
She has always been as gentle and kind as Xia, but today was the first time she spoke like this, and her eyes were frighteningly cold.
Yan Xiuyi tried very hard, but in the end she still didn't get the child, which was a prince.
If she hadn't been so greedy and wanted Xia to die after giving birth to the child, she wouldn't have forced Xia to this point.
"Investigate for me who dared to murder the royal heir. I will never let him off easily!" The queen slammed the table.
The baby was already full-term and was about to be born, but he was gone just like that. How could I explain to the emperor if I couldn't find out the result
But no matter how much we check, the child is gone after all.
At this moment, the room was filled with a strong smell of blood and the dust had settled. The Queen was upset and after scolding everyone a few words, she dismissed everyone and arranged for the imperial physician to keep an eye on Concubine Xia before leaving.
Yan Xiuyi, who had taken the lead, seemed to have lost her soul. How could she not be disappointed after all her efforts
"Oh, look at Yan Xiuyi's appearance. She may not know that you are the child's biological mother." Concubine Shu passed by and sneered.
Yan Xiuyi was angry and said bluntly, "The emperor promised me that child. Even though I didn't give birth to him, I was very distressed. Didn't the Concubine Shu return to the palace because she was worried about the child? I thought that as a mother, you would understand the feeling better. Or did you have another hidden reason for returning to the palace?"
"Humph, of course I am worried about the eldest princess!" Concubine Shu glared at her, "You haven't even found a biological mother or an adoptive mother yet, so stop pretending!"
Concubine Wende was passing by at this time and smiled and advised, "Sister Shufei, why bother with her? After all, she is not really a mother. She should be sad for two days. When the emperor comes back, she can still be glorious. It's just a pity for Concubine Xia."
This is a subtle criticism that Yan Xiuyi has no conscience, but she is just pretending to be sad.
Shu Fei naturally understood and laughed along, "Of course not. After all, it's better to give birth to a child yourself."
The two of them sang in unison, causing Yan Xiuyi, who was already angry, to explode even more.
"If Concubine Wen is wasting her time talking here, why don't you go back and take good care of the eldest prince? Don't let him grow up after being born!"
“Snap—”
With a crisp sound, Concubine Wen's slap landed on Yan Xiuyi's face without hesitation.
"Who do you think you are? How dare you speak rudely and curse the prince! I see that you are becoming more and more unruly and have lost your mind. Today, I will punish you to kneel and chant scriptures in Baohua Hall for three hours, and then copy scriptures a hundred times. You should calm down and accumulate blessings for Xia Cairen's child. Since you said that you have treated the child as your own, don't be unable to do even this!"
This slap finally made Yan Xiuyi regain some rationality, and she kept her head down and dared not talk back.
After Concubine Shu and Concubine Wende left, they went to Baohua Palace.
On the other side, as soon as the Queen returned to Fengqi Palace, the Queen Mother sent someone to convey a message and question her.
The only thing he said was that he was pointing at the Queen's nose and scolding her for being useless. He wished he could throw the dirty water on her immediately, which made the Queen so angry that she was half dead.
But for now she couldn't care less about the entanglement in the palace. She still had to write a letter to tell the emperor about what had happened.
What she didn't know was that news of the emperor's assassination was rushing back to the capital.
These two things have collided with each other, which is really sad.
At that time, Ning Chen didn't know that he had lost a child. After seeing Ye Jun, he returned to the tent and investigated the case with his ministers.
It was not until the evening when he heard Fang Xiuyi had woken up that he got up to check.