“Your subject, Su Luoluo, pays her respects to His Majesty.”
A shrill voice suddenly rang out, startling His Majesty into lifting his eyes toward the entrance of the hall.
Prince Rui and Su Yiyao froze as well, at one point thinking they had heard wrong.
Yet when they turned and saw that weak, trembling figure covered in blood, shock overflowed from their eyes. They actually felt their entire bodies go cold.
Su Luoluo clutched a swaddled infant in her arms. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was deathly pale. With every limping step she took, her long skirt dragged across the floor, leaving behind a long trail of blood.
It was a horrifying sight.
Su Yiyao abruptly tightened her hold on the child in her arms. Her gaze was like that of a vicious beast, as though she wanted to devour Su Luoluo.
How was this possible? Su Luoluo was clearly dead. She had even personally checked and confirmed that Su Luoluo was truly dead!
And she had actually dared to bring that bastard along with her. Did she really think she could defeat her?
Su Luoluo was weak to the extreme. Several times, as she walked, both her knees struck the ground with a thud. In the end, she no longer had the strength to stand, so she remained on her knees and forcibly dragged herself forward inch by inch until she reached His Majesty.
Su Yiyao acted as though she had only just noticed her and hurried toward her, her face full of concern.
“Fourth Sister, it’s wonderful that you’re all right. I was worried sick. Fourth Sister, we’ll beg His Majesty to forgive you. You should go back and recover from your illness first…”
“Slap!”
Before she could finish, Su Luoluo used the last trace of strength in her body to fiercely slap Su Yiyao across the face. Su Yiyao fell to the ground with the motion, tears welling in her eyes. Prince Rui’s gaze turned vicious as he hurriedly helped Su Yiyao up and angrily shouted,
“Su Luoluo, you had an illicit affair with a man and gave birth to a bastard. Even if you followed us to the palace to atone for your sins with your death, this Prince would never forgive you.”
“A bastard?”
Hearing those two ridiculous words, Su Luoluo’s eyes nearly bled.
Scene after scene from the past appeared in her mind, as though everything were mocking her. Su Luoluo lifted the child in her arms.
“You mean her? This is the child Su Yiyao gave birth to. The one I gave birth to is with her!”
“Fourth Sister!”
Su Yiyao called out in an aggrieved and helpless voice. As tears slid down her face, she hugged the child in her arms tightly, as though she feared someone might take the child away.
“How can you slander your younger sister like this? I…I never once thought of marrying Prince Rui. I only wanted to serve all of you properly and see you live happily. But you insisted that His Highness was cold and heartless, and that being with a stableman was more pleasurable than being with His Highness. You even disregarded everything to give birth to his daughter. Fourth Sister, where does that leave His Highness’s dignity—and the dignity of the Imperial Palace?”
Her words successfully dragged the imperial family’s dignity into the matter. Su Luoluo was now certain to die, and Prince Rui grew so furious at the recollection that he felt ready to explode.
That wretched woman. He had originally intended to have her executed after he had finished making use of her, but he had never expected her to dare betray him—to actually dare betray him!
In his impression, Su Luoluo had always been gentle and obedient. No matter what he wanted to do or what he wanted, Su Luoluo would obediently carry it out to absolute perfection.
From winning over court officials and socializing with the wives of various officials, down to a single grain of rice, a mouthful of soup, or a piece of clothing—Su Luoluo had handled everything properly.
He was used to having such a docile dog. Suddenly hearing that she had been rolling around with a stableman was practically an act of provocation against his deepest taboo.
His Majesty returned to the principal seat, his face exceedingly grim.
Eunuch Yunhai, who was serving at his side, was even more anxious. The matter had actually escalated to the point of reaching His Majesty.
But—
Which one of them was telling the truth?
“Your Majesty…” Su Luoluo dragged herself forward through the trail of blood and crawled to His Majesty’s feet before knocking her head heavily against the floor. “I swear on Grandpa’s name that I can prove my innocence.”
Grand Tutor Su. Grand Tutor Su!
The moment Su Yiyao heard those three words, jealousy nearly drove her mad. When that old man had been alive, he had loved Su Luoluo most of all. He had often taught her to read and write, while Concubine-Born Daughters like them had not even been qualified to see him.
Because of that old man’s death, the Su Residence had gained such glory!
What made them even more jealous was that Madam Su had been so fortunate. First, she had two sons, Su Yunting and Su Yunluo, who had become generals. Then she had Su Yingxue and Su Luoluo, two blossoms that had outshone every begonia in the entire Capital.
Everything in their legitimate branch was infinitely glorious, while those of them born to concubines had nothing at all.
Hearing Su Luoluo’s words, Prince Rui walked over with a dark expression and yanked her up, shouting angrily,
“Su Luoluo, you’re covered in vile misfortune. If you pass your illness on to Imperial Father, you’ll deserve ten thousand deaths. Get out—”
With that, Prince Rui dragged Su Luoluo away like a dead dog, intending to throw her out.
Bang!
The teacup in His Majesty’s hand smashed forcefully onto the ground at Prince Rui’s feet. Prince Rui’s heart jolted, and he hurriedly dropped to his knees. The great hall fell utterly silent, yet the silence made it difficult for anyone to breathe.
Su Luoluo shielded the child in her arms, so weak that she was practically sprawled motionless on the floor. She remained there until the yellow Dragon Robe appeared before her.
His Majesty personally helped Su Luoluo to her feet. He neither believed nor disbelieved her, merely asking,
“Can you truly prove it?”
“Yes.” Su Luoluo nodded. “Please summon a physician you trust from the Imperial Medical Academy. Quickly!”
Seeing Su Luoluo’s confidence, Su Yiyao grew so anxious that her back turned cold and damp. She instinctively looked toward Prince Rui, hoping he could hurry up and kill Su Luoluo, but at that moment Prince Rui could only kneel there in silence.
With His Majesty restraining him, there was nothing he could do!
“Fourth Sister.” Su Yiyao knelt before Su Luoluo. “Please, don’t take my child away. I carried this child for ten months and gave birth to it with such difficulty. I can’t bear to part with it.”
She wept with such sincerity, clutching the child tightly as her body trembled uncontrollably. Anyone who saw her could not help but feel moved.
How could Prince Rui stand by and watch the woman he loved suffer such an injustice? His gaze stabbed into Su Luoluo like a pair of knives, as though Su Luoluo were not his principal wife but his sworn enemy.
Su Luoluo sneered. She adjusted the child she had protected all the way here, then gently placed it in front of Su Yiyao. Pointing at the child, whose face had turned purplish from hunger, she said,
“You’re even more vicious and heartless than I imagined. You can casually abandon your own flesh and blood. For the sake of the position of Princess Consort Rui, you’re worse than an animal.”
“I didn’t!”
Su Yiyao shook her head in anguish. Her delicate face turned deathly pale, as though she had suffered an unbearable injustice and had nowhere to voice her grievance.
“This is my son. I gave birth to him! Fourth Sister, Prince Rui and I truly love each other. But when you wanted to marry him, I didn’t say anything. I merely offered you both my silent blessings.”
“Is that so?” Su Luoluo’s gaze sharpened as she closed in on Su Yiyao. “Since you truly love each other, why didn’t you explain it to His Majesty when the marriage was bestowed? Why did you wait until after you took away my dowry, seized my Divine Jade, and stole my son before saying these things? Are you blaming His Majesty for arranging this marriage without consideration?”
“I…”
Su Yiyao hurriedly looked toward His Majesty, only to see that his expression was growing uglier by the moment. In her heart, she wanted to hack Su Luoluo to pieces, but for now she could only endure it and continue pretending to be weak, trying to find a way to muddle through.
What would she do if they discovered that this son had not been born to her?
How had that wretched Su Luoluo appeared in the Imperial Palace? She did not have a Command Token, so how had she gotten in?
His Majesty had clearly been about to confer the title of princess consort on her. How had the situation suddenly turned into this?
Heaven knew how proud, happy, and expectant she had been just moments ago. As long as His Majesty conferred the title on her, she would become the legitimate Princess Consort Rui. She would no longer be a Concubine-Born Daughter of the Su family, but a noblewoman standing high above the rest.
At the entrance, Eunuch Yunhai’s disciple, Eunuch Xiaosheng, gave a slight nod. Eunuch Yunhai hurriedly saluted His Majesty and spoke with care.
“Your Majesty, Imperial Physician Chen has arrived.”