Pei Zhen kicked open the tightly shut wooden door, and a heavy scent of blood rushed toward him.
In the shadows where iron chains hung, Chu Shengsheng’s blood-soaked figure pierced his eyes like a sharp blade.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
His mind buzzed, his eyes widened in fury, and a wave of rage and heartache instantly swallowed all reason.
He didn’t even realize how he rushed forward—the cold gleam of his drawn sword and the grating sound of the chains being severed happened almost simultaneously.
The broken figure fell, caught in a panic by his trembling arms and pulled tightly into his embrace.
So light.
He had held her so many times, but now she felt so light he didn’t know how to place his hands. The cold sensation seeped through the damp, sticky blood-stained clothes, stinging every inch of his skin with pain.
“Sheng Sheng… Sheng Sheng!”
The man’s voice was hoarse and broken. His fingers clumsily brushed away the blood-matted hair from her face, revealing her small, deathly pale face. Her eyes were tightly shut, her lips gray and lifeless, as if she had already fallen silent.
“Sheng Sheng, look at me… I’m here… Open your eyes and look at me…”
He called out in a trembling voice, fear soaking through his limbs like icy water.
Perhaps hearing his increasingly urgent calls, the cold body of the girl in his arms trembled slightly, and then her eyes slowly opened.
Chu Shengsheng’s gaze was unfocused for a moment before finally settling with difficulty on Pei Zhen’s face, etched with agony and fury.
Her lips moved, her breath as faint as a wisp, as if using the last of her strength to release a barely audible whisper:
“Your… Highness…”
At the same time, she slowly raised her blood-stained hand, as if wanting to touch the man’s face, but it suddenly lost strength mid-air and fell limply.
“Sheng Sheng—!!”
Pei Zhen’s heart felt as if struck by a heavy blow. With reddened eyes, he held her tightly against his chest, then abruptly lifted her into his arms and roared like a wounded beast: “Summon the Imperial Physician! Drag every Imperial Physician here! Now—!!”
Carrying Chu Shengsheng, he stormed out of the room, the killing intent around him almost tangible.
The Eastern Palace was instantly awakened by this roar filled with boundless fury, thrown into chaos.
[Ding! Detected intense emotional fluctuations in the target character—pain, anger, and regret have exceeded the threshold! Points Critical Strike +10,000!]
The System’s notification echoed deep within Chu Shengsheng’s consciousness, but she had no time to care, for she had already fainted.
From hunger.
Halfway back to the main courtyard, Liu Yiyi, who had rushed over in a panic, threw herself to the side of the path, weeping like a rain-soaked pear blossom: “Your Highness, this humble concubine did not know…”
Before she could finish, Pei Zhen, without even glancing at her, kicked her hard in the chest!
“Ah—!”
She screamed as she was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the stone steps several feet away. A mouthful of blood sprayed out, and she struggled, unable to get up for a moment.
She could only watch helplessly as that figure, radiating terrifying killing intent, decisively walked away with the person in his arms, regret and fear instantly consuming her.
“Lock down the Eastern Palace! No one is to step beyond their courtyard gates!” the man’s furious roar echoed through the courtyard.
The command fell like ice, enveloping the entire Eastern Palace in a suffocating, oppressive atmosphere.
Before long, the Imperial Physician was brought in. Seeing Chu Shengsheng’s condition, he was so horrified his face turned ashen. Suppressing his fear, he stepped forward to examine her, but the more he checked, the paler his face became, sweat pouring from him like a torrent.
Pei Zhen sat on the edge of the bed, tightly gripping the girl’s icy hand, his gaze fixed intently on the Imperial Physician’s face as he awaited the diagnosis.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Zhao Dequan and suddenly spoke coldly, “Go and lock Liu Yiyi up. Start with flogging…”
He paused, his eyes returning to the unconscious girl, his expression growing even colder as he continued.
“Hang her up and lock her away first. Wait until Sheng Sheng wakes up and let her decide the punishment.”
Originally, he had intended to punish Liu Yiyi himself, but on second thought, perhaps it would be better to let Chu Shengsheng handle it personally.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Zhao Dequan accepted the order and immediately withdrew. Instantly, Liu Yiyi’s cries and shouts echoed from outside, only to be muffled as she was dragged away.
It was the same side room, but this time, the person bound here with iron chains was Liu Yiyi herself.
This place, which she had secretly used for torture, never expected to one day welcome its own master.
“Tie her up securely, hang her here for now, and lock the door. Guard the outside—no one is allowed to enter!”
Zhao Dequan’s face was stern as he watched Liu Yiyi being bound and hung up, the door to the side room locked, and two guards stationed outside. After giving his instructions, he turned and left.
This Lady of Goodness Liu truly had no sense of self-preservation, still failing to understand who truly held Your Highness’s favor.
In the main courtyard’s room.
The Imperial Physician finally completed his examination, withdrawing his hand and saying, “Your Highness…”
“Speak.”
Although Pei Zhen had mentally prepared himself, hearing the exact diagnosis still filled him with unbearable agony. With each word spoken, the pressure around him intensified, and the storm in his eyes grew fiercer.
“Miss Chu has injuries to her leg bones, as if she had been striking them against sharp objects for an extended period, damaging the muscles and bones…”
[Points +1000]
“Her body is crisscrossed with whip wounds, deep enough to expose bone, and she has lost a significant amount of blood…”
[Points +2000]
“Old wounds have yet to heal, and new injuries have been added. Cold has invaded her body, and pathogenic heat has accumulated internally…”
[Points +5000]
With each sentence the Imperial Physician uttered, he felt the chill at the nape of his neck grow deeper, his voice trembling more and more.
“Treat her!” The man forced out the word through gritted teeth, his voice cold and rigid, carrying a bloody undertone. “Spare no expense, use the best medicine! When will she wake up?”
“Your Highness.” The Imperial Physician fell to his knees with a thud. “The young lady’s injuries are too severe. While her life is not in immediate danger… when she will awaken, I… I truly cannot say. It could be a few days, or it could be…”
Under the man’s nearly murderous gaze, he swallowed the rest of his words, prostrating himself on the ground, trembling like a sieve, yet hesitating to withdraw.
Pei Zhen’s gaze swept over him like a blade. “What else? Speak!”
The Imperial Physician lowered his head even further, his voice barely audible. “There… there is one more thing… When I examined her pulse earlier, I discovered… Miss Chu… she is pregnant…”
Pei Zhen trembled violently, a flicker of disbelief and near-ecstatic joy bursting in his eyes!
But the Imperial Physician’s next words instantly plunged him into an abyss of ice.
“However… the fetal signs have ceased. The pulse indicates… it is… a miscarriage…”
The Imperial Physician’s face turned deathly pale, as if he were about to faint.
Pregnant? Miscarriage?
His and Sheng Sheng’s child… had come and gone?
Without his knowledge, it had been destroyed in such a tragic manner?
He went completely mad!
“Cough—!”
This outcome enraged him to the point where his blood surged in reverse, and he could no longer suppress it. A mouthful of blood violently spurted out, splattering onto Chu Shengsheng’s bloodstained collar—a shocking sight.
[System Notification: Target character’s emotions are fluctuating intensely, reaching the critical point of collapse! Points Tenfold Critical Strike +100,000!]
Pei Zhen’s vision darkened intermittently, and his body swayed, yet he still clung desperately to the edge of the bed.
Never before had he felt such hatred!
Meanwhile, Chu Shengsheng, who had fainted from hunger on the bed, remained unaware of how incredibly generous this wave of points feedback was.
At the same time, news about the Crown Prince’s Outer Chamber Consort suffering private punishment, becoming pregnant, and then miscarrying was quietly delivered to the Emperor and Empress.