“Liang, do you know I had a child before? You may not believe it. It belonged to me and Shen Zhongbai.” The Empress looked into the distance firmly and calmly as if she was talking about something irrelevant to her. But Gusu Liang could feel her helplessness and the pain that still haunted her after so many years.

Gusu Liang thought it was just the imagination of her lady. As it was said, the Empress seemed to lose her sanity.

“It’s impossible. My Lady, you didn’t marry the Third Prince. He married Gu Zhihua, the Third Lady of our family.” Gusu Liang said while cleaning the fragments of the bowl on the ground.

The Empress nodded. She seemed to accept it and said, “Fetch me another bowl of medicine that is good for the fetus.”

Gusu Liang paused and then looked up to beam at the Empress. Soon, Sun Linhua brought another bowl of medicine. When passing it to the Empress, she looked away unnaturally as if she didn’t want to have eye contact with the Empress.

The more unnatural she seemed, the more curious the Empress was. She stared at Sun Linhua for a long time before taking the medicine.

Each minute or second was torturous for Sun Linhua. The Empress’s eyes tormented her like a knife. Her sweat rolled down the back, making her clothes cling to her body as if insects were crawling.

The Empress put the bowl on the table, stood up slowly, and walked to Sun Linhua. She looked down at the pearls embroidered on the tips of the Empress’s delicate shoes, which were shining brightly.

“I know the medicine is not beneficial to my baby, but I took it anyway. Do you know why?” The Empress paced in front of Sun Linhua elegantly. Her smile made Sun Linhua sweat profusely.

Sun Linhua was scared. The Empress was no match for her at Kung Fu, but she had an imposing manner, and she seemed to be able to see through Sun Linhua. How mysterious she was!

It was unknown why Shen Qianshan fell in love with such a woman, but in Sun Linhua’s eyes, she was extremely repulsive.

“Your Highness, what are you talking about? I don’t understand. The baby in your belly is precious for the duke. Everyone in the mansion is looking forward to its birth. No one will…dare to hurt it.” Sun Linhua found her tongue tied, but she knew she couldn’t admit what she had done, or Shen Qianshan might kill her.

The Empress lifted her eyebrows and said with a faint smile, “OK. You can leave now.”

The moonlight was like water that night. The Empress took out the diary and touched it in the moonlight. She didn’t know if what happened now was lucky or unlucky to her.

She thought she could restart her life, but unexpectedly it developed in such a way. She failed to accomplish anything that she wanted. She even seemed to be controlled by someone.

The door was opened quietly. She sat still and didn’t want to turn around. There was nothing in the diary. She had been used to the indifference of the girl in the other world. The life of that girl was more wonderful than hers.

At the thought of this, the Empress smiled. The comer came up behind her. Perhaps due to embarrassment, he coughed quietly and then sat on a chair.

The Empress kept silent. Shen Qianshan couldn’t help asking, “I heard you took the medicine today, didn’t you?”

The room was filled with a faint scent, which was pleasant to smell and made him sleepy.

“Yes.” The Empress answered coldly. The ambiance seemed to be more embarrassing and delicate. Without a common topic, both felt embarrassed.

Shen Qianshan brought the teapot from the table to serve himself tea, but it was empty. It seemed as if no one was living here. Was she protesting about him or punishing herself?

“Good.” Shen Qianshan stood up. As long as she had the motivation to live on, he would feel less worried.

When he just walked a few steps, a muffled bang came behind him. He turned around, only to find the Empress had fallen on the ground. She looked pale. There was a pool of blood on the ground. It was dark red. He seemed to have a head-on blow. He was frozen with shock, and it took him a long time to realize that something was wrong with her.

“Help! Physician!” Shen Qianshan shouted and rushed over to lift the Empress. She was as light as a leaf in autumn. Blood was flowing out of the lower part of her body. He tried to stop the blood with his trembling hands, but he couldn’t.

Gusu Liang rushed in with some people and was shocked at the scene. Then the imperial physicians drew around the Empress. Shen Qianshan put her on the bed. Looking at his hands, he saw blood dripping. Its color was frightening.

Shen Qianshan was not a coward and he has been accustomed to bloody scenes. But this time, his heart hurt suddenly. He knew the dark red blood was his baby.

He was itching to give himself two slaps across the face. Why didn’t he take good care of the Empress? Even though they were dissatisfied with the current situation and disliked each other, the poor baby shouldn’t be aborted.

As the father, he should protect the kid in any case.

As the Empress once said, no one sought her opinion before she became a mother, but she had to be fully responsible for the child. It was unfair for her.

The scene gave Gusu Liang chill bumps over her whole body. She stood still at the door and burst into tears. Then she asked quietly, “Why? How is the baby? How is the baby?”

After taking the pulse, an imperial physician turned around and shook his head, “Your Highness, the baby is gone.”

How could it be possible? Shen Qianshan rushed over to grab the imperial physician’s collar and shouted, “What did you say? Dare you say again?”

Grabbed by Shen Qianshan, the imperial physician suffocated and looked livid. He said with difficulty, “Your Highness, I’m sorry…”

Shen Qianshan swung his arm. The imperial physician fell on the ground heavily and groaned. He seemed to feel pain but didn’t dare to say anything.

It was unnecessary to state how important the baby in the Princess’s belly was. Everyone in the capital was looking forward to the birth of the baby with a golden spoon. Unexpectedly, it came to such an end.

The imperial physician felt sorry, too. But what could he do? The baby had been poisoned with medicine since an early stage. Nothing wrong could be found in the medicine. To poison the baby, the murderer had a scheme since the beginning and implemented the plan step by step at the cost of his or her reputation.

The imperial physician had a lot to say, but he couldn’t explain much under such a circumstance. After all, the duke just lost his baby.

Lying on the bed, the Empress closed her eyes and frowned with sweat on her face.

She felt blood was flowing out of her body. She even could hear the flowing sound of blood. It was slow, warm, and painless like a river in summer. She felt her limited life was flowing with the river.

She felt someone whispering beside her. The voice went far at one moment and came near at the next moment like cicada chirps. It couldn’t be heard clearly unless you listened carefully. She tried to listen carefully, but she still couldn’t hear anything.

Then her belly began to hurt as if a hand was grabbing her belly and pinching it hard. It hurt continuously as if the pain had lasted for years. She parted her lips to shout, but her throat was blocked by something. She was so anxious as to shed tears. Who could help her?

Someone grabbed her hands. Warm liquid dripped on her palms. It made her agitated gradually.

“Help…” The Empress groaned with all her strength and then became unconscious.

Shen Qianshan wiped his tears, frowned, and then turned around to look at the imperial physician. He huddled in the corner. In such a case, he was not in a position to decide. He only hoped Shen Qianshan could calm down and allow him to examine the Empress. She might be saved.

Gusu Liang went forward, lifted Shen Qianshan, and said quietly, “Your Highness, please let the imperial physician examine my Lady.”

With no strength left, Shen Qianshan stood up with the help of Gusu Liang, sat on the nearby chair, and looked at the Empress quietly. If she couldn’t survive, he didn’t know whether he would have the face to continue living in this world.

The imperial physician stumbled over, prescribed some medicine, kneeled before Shen Qianshan, and said slowly and calmly, “Your Highness, someone brings a drug named Lixing Grass to the Princess every day. It is mixed into the medicine. Only the medical experts could find it. It seems that someone doesn’t hope for the birth of the Princess’s baby.”

Shen Qianshan clenched his fists and pressed his lips. There are tooth marks on his pale lips.

“Who brings the medicine for the Princess?” Shen Qianshan glowered at Gusu Liang. She kneeled at once, thought for a while, and then answered, “Sun Linhua.”

Shen Qianshan rose to his feet suddenly, swept everything from the table to the ground, and said, “Sun Linhua? Why is she responsible for bringing medicine for the Princess?”

The woman always held a grudge against the Empress and once tried to frame her. If she was responsible for bringing medicine for the Princess, it was to send the Empress into the mouth of a tiger, wasn’t it?

“Bring Sun Linhua here.” Shen Qianshan waved. The physician moved away hurriedly as if he survived by good luck. Soon, Sun Linhua was bound and brought here.

Sun Linhua lowered her head on her knees. She seemed to have predicted early that she would end up this way. Her face was expressionless even though she was on her knees.

“Are you to blame?” Something was gleaming in Shen Qianshan’s hand. He was swinging the knife that was usually hidden around his waist. Looking at the knife, he smiled faintly.