"The Emperor has arrived."
Everyone prostrated themselves on the ground, shouting, "Long live the emperor." There was no smile on Fu Yuheng's face. His cold expression exuded an aura that looked down on the world.
"Your Majesty!" When Liu Churong saw Fu Yuheng, he was shocked. He knelt on the ground and said with a trembling voice.
The hand that was stretched forward was withdrawn silently because of Fu Yuheng's look. Liu Churong bit his lower lip and glanced at the people around him. No one dared to keep silent. He clenched his palms into fists and thought to himself, these are all useless people.
When she came to her senses, Fu Yuheng had already walked in front of her. Without his order, few people dared to stand up and they could only kneel on the ground obediently.
Liu Churong raised her head, and at some point, a few tears as big as beans filled her eyes, which made people feel extremely distressed and couldn't help but want to protect her.
But he didn't seem moved at all, his eyes were like an unmeltable iceberg, cold and chilling.
Liu Churong shrank her neck. She had to say that looking at Fu Yuheng's half-smile, she was still a little scared. It was like a stick was hitting her heart from time to time, waking her up.
"Stand up." They didn't know how long this atmosphere lasted before he finally spoke. His cold voice was like the sound of nature to them. His dark pupils flashed with a different light, like a sharp blade that could directly see through what they were thinking.
Fu Yuheng's voice made everyone feel relieved. They secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly retreated to the side, fearing that if they provoked him, they would not know how they died afterwards.
Liu Churong felt relieved, thinking that he was not going to ask her about what happened just now. Her expression changed instantly, and a smile instantly covered her entire beautiful face. She brushed the dust off her body and was about to go up to him, hold his hand, and act coquettishly, thinking that maybe things would turn around today. However, Fu Yuheng's next words stopped her in her tracks.
The cold words seemed to come from hell, making Liu Churong's heart rise to her throat. Although Fu Yuheng was not looking at her but staring at the lake, she felt a chill behind her. She always felt as if Fu Yuheng was looking at her, and her heart was in turmoil.
"Where's Concubine Qi?"
"Concubine Qi... Oh, Concubine Qi has returned to the palace to rest." Liu Churong bit her lips hard. Her head was dizzy because of Fu Yuheng's words. She didn't know how to answer until the pain in her lips brought her back to her senses. It was as if a flash of inspiration came to her. She answered hurriedly but with some confidence.
"Really?" Fu Yuheng turned around and looked at Liu Churong deeply with his calm eyes. Liu Churong clearly felt his body trembling slightly, but he did not show any sign on his face and pretended to be unaware of the cause and effect.
The next second, Fu Yuheng asked in a stern voice. The anger between his eyebrows made Liu Churong feel that he was really finished: "But, how did I hear that Concubine Qi fell into the water?"
Liu Churong didn't hear clearly what Fu Yuheng said, but the word "falling into water" was magnified dozens of times in her mind. The sticky feeling in the palm of her hand made her more nervous.
She quickly lowered her head, no longer as confident as before, but instead looked like a guilty thief.
Fu Yuheng snorted and glanced at the group of people next to him. Every time he looked at someone, that person would sweat profusely as if facing a formidable enemy.
"Imperial Physician." Fu Yuheng said lightly, and immediately someone ran up and knelt on the ground.
The imperial physician glanced at Liu Churong standing beside him, his white hair hanging on the ground. He felt somewhat critical of Liu Churong's cruelty, and replied in a sonorous and powerful voice, "I am here!"
"How is Concubine Qi?"
Fu Yuheng turned his back to the imperial physician, looking at the sky in the distance, and sometimes at the lake in front of him. His eyes were so deep that people could not tell what he was thinking. His tone was flat, as if he did not care much about Concubine Qi.
"Concubine Qi she...she." The imperial physician was obviously hesitant. Liu Churong's frail body trembled even more, as if she would faint to the ground as soon as the imperial physician said that.
Fu Yuheng was getting impatient, and his voice was a little anxious: "Hurry up and tell me!"
"Concubine Qi is fine, but the baby in her belly has not been saved. Your Majesty, please accept my condolences!" The imperial physician said it all at once.
As soon as these words came out, Liu Churong looked like she had seen a ghost. Her eyes were as big as copper bells, filled with fear and worry. Her originally beautiful appearance coupled with such an expression made people feel a little scared.
Fu Yuheng immediately turned around and said with an unusually angry look: "What? What's going on? Tell me everything, otherwise..." He suddenly stopped here. Not continuing would also allow everyone to understand.
After listening to all the speeches, Fu Yuheng smiled coldly. He usually didn't laugh much, so this loud laugh really made most people dislike him and make them feel uneasy. "Haha! Good! Good!"
"What did you say, Imperial Concubine?" Fu Yuheng stared at her and asked.
Liu Churong wanted to quickly distance herself from the matter and tried to grab the emperor's clothes, but she failed. She cursed and gave up: "Your Majesty, I am innocent. It was Concubine Qi who fell down accidentally. I didn't touch her at all. She lost her child and I have nothing to do with her. Please understand."
Liu Churong lied with her eyes open, but her face was not red and her heart was not beating. Fu Yuheng was getting more and more disappointed with her eyes. She seemed to feel something and understood something all of a sudden. She opened her mouth wide but didn't say a word.
"Empress! At this point, you still want to make excuses for me?" Fu Yuheng showed signs of getting furious, but he held it back. He suppressed his anger and did not let himself lose his temper on the spot.
But she still kept saying that she was not wrong.
"My noble concubine, you disappoint me so much." Fu Yuheng shook her head as if she was really disappointed, as if she could no longer bear it. With a hint of anger, she said, "I hereby declare that Liu Churong is a bad person and has lost her virtue as a woman, causing my child to die before he was born. Your crime is aggravated and you are demoted to a noble lady! Considering the contributions of the Liu family, I will forgive you this time. You should reflect on yourself."
After Fu Yuheng finished speaking, he shook his sleeves and left.
Like a puppet with its soul stripped away, she collapsed on the ground, feeling hopeless.
The people around her disappeared, leaving only a few people in her own palace, all of whom were trying to persuade her. Liu Churong was annoyed by them and shouted, "Get out of here," like a shrew.
The servants didn't say anything else and just looked at Liu Churong quietly.