Seeing that the emperor had given the order, Imperial Physician Wu didn't say a word and immediately placed his fingers on Consort Xuan's wrist.
Seeing this, everyone fell silent, for fear that the slightest sound would affect Imperial Physician Wu.
Chu Qing stared fixedly at him, her expression turning solemn.
After a while, Imperial Physician Wu removed his fingers from Consort Xuan's wrist, lowered his eyes and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, this old subject has the same diagnosis as Imperial Physician Chen. The dragon heir that Consort Xuan is carrying cannot be saved."
After hearing Imperial Physician Wu's reply, the emperor remained silent.
It was the empress, who had been silent all along, who comforted him, "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences."
The emperor looked up at her, his expression complicated.
Chu Qing caught the exchange of glances between the emperor and the empress, and her surprise deepened. Why was there an indescribable sentiment between this young couple?
Lying on the couch, Consort Xuan seemed to heave a sigh of relief. But when she noticed that the Princess of Ning was looking at her, her expression turned dejected.
"But..." Imperial Physician Wu suddenly spoke again in the silent room where everyone had their own thoughts.
It was as if a crack had been opened in the darkness.
"But what?" The emperor looked a bit dazed, making others think that he was overly grief - stricken.
Only the empress still frowned tightly.
"But... according to this old subject's diagnosis, the main reason for Consort Xuan's miscarriage this time was not the fall, but rather... she had been taking a drug that causes miscarriage for a long time. As for what it is, this old subject needs to examine all the things Consort Xuan has eaten in recent days to find out."
"There's no need to investigate. It's gone, so be it." The emperor suddenly said expressionlessly.
Hearing this, Chu Qing looked at the emperor in surprise.
However, this time, the emperor didn't look at anyone else. He turned around and left without mercy.
Seeing this, a flicker of sadness flashed across the empress's eyes. She turned around, simply gave some instructions to the imperial physicians and Consort Xuan's maids, then looked at Chu Qing and said, "Aunt - in - law, would you like to accompany this palace back?"
Seeing that the empress, who usually had a smile on her face, was obviously in a low mood, Chu Qing nodded in agreement.
Seeing that no one seemed to care about his diagnosis, Imperial Physician Wu, regardless of their status, snorted heavily, then bowed to the empress and left.
Chu Qing and the empress didn't stay any longer and left Consort Xuan's bedroom together.
Consort Xuan, who had been on the verge of collapse, seemed to truly relax and slumped down only after almost everyone had left.
"Your Ladyship, may this humble subject take his leave first?" Seeing that the matter had seemingly ended like this, Imperial Physician Chen naturally breathed a sigh of relief.
Consort Xuan lazily looked up at him. Although she looked sickly, the words she said were full of malice, "Have you disposed of all the dregs of the medicine properly? If there's any mistake, His Excellency will sell your daughter to the military camp!"
Imperial Physician Chen was shocked and quickly said, "Your Ladyship, please rest assured. Please send a message to His Excellency to treat Xiuxiu well."
Consort Xuan sneered coldly, "As long as you cooperate well, your precious daughter will be returned to you soon."
...
The empress and Chu Qing were walking on a secluded path, and neither of them spoke.
At this moment, Chu Qing's mind was in a complete mess, like a twisted ball of twine.
She was suddenly wronged, but before she could do anything, the matter seemed to end without a conclusion.
Didn't the emperor care about this child at all?
However... when the imperial physician said that the child couldn't be saved, the disappointment in the emperor's eyes couldn't be hidden from her.
Chu Qing always remembered the emperor's habitual action.
This child, whenever he was truly disappointed, would always lower his eyes and involuntarily bite the soft flesh inside his cheeks.
Ordinary people naturally wouldn't notice it if they didn't look carefully.
But Chu Qing, after all, was his imperial grandmother.
A child's little thoughts and actions could never be hidden from an elder.
However... since the emperor felt heart - ache, but didn't pursue the matter any further, this was really strange.
The matter of Consort Xuan's miscarriage had ended so muddle - headedly, and Chu Qing felt like there was a knot in her heart, which made her extremely uncomfortable.
"Aunt - in - law." The empress, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
Chu Qing was pulled back from her thoughts by her voice and softly responded with an "um".
"Aunt - in - law, do you know why the emperor still has no heirs?" At this moment, the empress seemed to muster up the courage to tell her a secret.
Chu Qing naturally knew that in this envied palace, there were always visible waves and invisible undercurrents. Logically speaking, she never wanted to know too many secrets, as she was well - versed in the way of survival in the harem.
But towards the emperor and the empress, there was still some care in her heart that ignored everything else.
Seeing that Chu Qing was waiting seriously for her to continue, the empress took a deep breath and then whispered softly, "I... have difficulty conceiving."
Chu Qing was instantly shocked, "Does the emperor... know about this?"
Seeing Chu Qing's reaction, the empress then smiled weakly, "He knew about it a long time ago. It was me who told him. I wanted him to depose me as the empress. After all, not being able to bear an heir for the emperor would always invite criticism."
"Silly girl, you could wait for other concubines to give birth and then raise the child under your name!" Chu Qing naturally thought so.
If it were her in her previous life, she would definitely do so.
If the emperor didn't agree, she would do it secretly.
"I've told him about it, but he didn't agree. He said that an adopted son raised under someone else's name would never be truly close. He didn't want me to take any risks in the future."
"Um..." An inexplicable sourness welled up in Chu Qing's heart, "And then?"
The empress sighed and continued, "Then... the emperor said that until I gave birth to a child for him, he wouldn't allow any concubine in the harem to bear his child. He said that his legitimate eldest son could only be born to me. Therefore... he rarely favored others. Even if he did... he would find all sorts of ways to make the other person drink the contraceptive decoction."
"What!" After hearing the empress's words, Chu Qing was completely shocked.
Still retaining the thinking of her previous identity, Chu Qing thought that the emperor's actions were too absurd!
However, now, regardless of other things, towards this great - grandson of the emperor, she could only say that she was extremely envious of the empress for having such a man who loved her.
Their Yuan family had finally produced a passionate lover!
Thinking of this, Chu Qing even wanted to run to the imperial mausoleum and drag out her so - called husband and son from her previous life to show them how a younger generation should act. This was truly a worthy good man!
However... if her previous husband had been so passionate, she might have felt a bit uncomfortable. After all, if that were the case, she might not have been able to easily let go of all her feelings for that person.
After silently lamenting, Chu Qing suddenly remembered Consort Xuan, who had just miscarried, "Then... what's going on with Consort Xuan?"
"The emperor always gave her the contraceptive decoction before. But that time, the emperor got drunk... and then Consort Xuan... got pregnant." Saying this, the empress lowered her eyes.
Even though she couldn't see the empress's eyes clearly, Chu Qing could still hear the sadness in her tone.
Gently patting the empress's arm, Chu Qing said, "Don't think too much."
"But... Aunt - in - law, the emperor clearly loves children so much, but this time he still cruelly destroyed the child himself. I... I always feel so bad."
"What? You mean he destroyed the child himself?" There were waves of shock in Chu Qing's heart.