Court Lady

Fu Rou accompanied Empress Zhangsun back to Lizheng Palace. As she walked out of the palace, she was stopped by Prince Zhou who had been waiting for her. He dragged her to Lingxiao Palace. 

“How can the parents be forgiven if their child is not taught well?” Prince Zhou pushed her down onto a swing and held the two ropes by her side. 

“I spoke the truth.” Her body shivered along with the swaying of the swing but her eyes were icy cold. 

“Even if Sheng Chumu turns a blind eye to you and you are depressed because of it, there is no reason for you to give your life away!” Prince Zhou roared. Did she think he would not be able to see what she was planning?

Fu Rou was instantly dumbfounded. Was that why Prince Zhou was reprimanding her? No, not at all! When she thought Sheng Chumu died, her heart had been broken into a million pieces. However, now she was only being ignored by him. She was not shortsighted and would not disregard her life just because she was heartbroken. 

Prince Zhou reached his hand out and was about to touch Fu Rou’s face but she turned away. Prince Zhou sighed, “Forget it, I should not have mentioned Sheng Chumu.” 

Fu Rou said, “Thank you for your concern.” 

“Your tone makes it sound like you are not grateful for me.” His heart clenched. 

“I was sincere with my words but if you do not take it in the right way, I cannot do anything about it.” She did not ask for his help anyway.

Prince Zhou’s gaze fell on Fu Rou for a while before he gently pulled back and released the swing. 

“Why did you have to risk infuriating Imperial Father to speak for Concubine Xi? What relationship do you have with Concubine Xi?” She had foiled his plans but in that moment, he had only been worried for her life. 

“When things are not in favor, some will run away. It was not in accordance to Great Tang’s laws if His Majesty punished a subordinate too severely out of his rage. Someone had to hold him back.” She could not be at ease if she did not speak her mind. 

“Do not be so rash in the future. Imperial Father may not forgive you the next time. If you anger the dragon, you will die.” While it was a lucky thing that Fu Rou escaped unscathed this time, it would be hard for even the gods to save her the next time. Even the most brilliant person could die with a single wrong sentence. Words were gold but were also dangerous. 

“Thank you for your advice, Your Highness. I will take my leave first.” Fu Rou stood up to leave.

Prince Zhou said, “I did it on purpose.” Fu Rou stopped in her tracks, waiting for Prince Zhou to continue.

“I know that I should not have mentioned Sheng Chumu but I purposely did it to see your reaction. If you showed anger upon hearing his name, it would be a good thing for me. At least, I would know that you hated him. If you cried, it would also be a good thing because it would give me the opportunity to comfort you. But you were silent and showed no response. The more you remain silent, the more it confirms to me that you have not let him go.”

“As Your Highness has said, I am indeed a person who does not know how to let go. This is my personality, who can change that?” Fu Rou continued to walk, and left the garden of Lingxiao Palace. Only after she walked to an empty corridor did she sigh and lean against the wall. 

Chumu had returned and she had been happy at the thought of finally meeting him again. She wanted to explain what happened at Guangzhou but who knew that he would ignore her after the court session. At that moment, she felt that he had already let go off her hand and left her. 

In the past few days, she had not been able to eat or sleep well. She felt her heart being torn apart. Today, she witnessed the Emperor’s indifference and the power struggle between the Empress and the princes. She did not understand why the Imperial family had to kill each other even though they were not a normal family. Was it that hard to love and care for each other? Even the Empress, a wife, had to be cautious all the time and kneel down to beg for forgiveness. 

Sheng Chumu’s coldness and the Imperial family’s power struggle made her boil with anger. Out of boldness, she had spoken up, unafraid of death. She did not want to live such a life of oppression. 

Her tears rolled down her face silently and the pain in her heart spread through her entire body like tiny knives. However, as long as she lived, she would not remain in the same spot. 

She supported herself with the wall and slowly walked forward. As long as she does not change, she would persevere regardless of the difficulties. 

 

Supporting her big belly, Fu Yin ambled towards Lu Qi’s room. She had been thinking a lot during the time that Lu Qi was on his military deployment. Lu Yingying’s words about moving forward were etched deeply into her mind.

She had been at a loss until something happened recently. Mo Li had accidentally frightened her, causing her to break the bracelet that Lu Hanxing’s mother had given her. She was so mad she vented her anger by beating Mo Li. When she finally calmed down and saw Mo Li’s frightened expression, she recalled the time when she was bullied by Ling Long before finally regaining her senses. 

Fu Yin definitely did not want to become like Ling Long or Lu Hanxing or anyone who was evil. Her own mother had a foul tongue but never did anything truly evil. Although her mother was very calculative, she had taken money out of her own pocket when the family was in financial need. If she turned evil for the sake of revenge, her mother would never forgive her in the afterlife. 

As such, before Lu Qi left for battle, Fu Yin prayed to her mother and swore that she would abandon her revenge if he returned safe. Now that Lu Qi had returned safely, she no longer doubted herself and poured her heart to wholeheartedly love him. Lu Qi was a simple man and did not find anything strange with her sudden change. Instead, he treated her even better than before.

This day, Fu Yin walked towards the hall and found many servants standing on the steps outside the study room. Puzzled, Fu Yin walked towards Mo Li and asked her what was going on.

“Sister Yin’er, I was just about to inform you. Young Master instructed Housekeeper Wu to gather all servants who entered the study room here.” Although she had been beaten by Fu Yin, Fu Yin had apologised to her after and Mo Li did not bear a grudge. She continued, “But I do not know what is going on.” 

At that point, Lu Qi walked forward with a stern expression. “On June 2nd, a letter went missing from my room. Whoever stole it, admit your mistake now.”

That letter had been given to him by a spy he had sent to General Zhenhai’s residence. The reason why he was reinvestigating this old matter was because the spy had been discovered by Yan Zifang. However, the spy managed to escape to the Lu Residence. There, he informed Lu Qi about the letter. This was how Lu Qi discovered a spy in his own residence. 

Lu Qi continued, “Everyone who is allowed to enter my study room has been gathered here. None of you will be able to handle being tortured. Therefore, own up to your mistake honestly and avoid being tortured.” 

No one spoke but Fu Yin nervously trembled by the side. 

“Not speaking?” Lu Qi’s gaze turned cold. He ordered, “Lock everyone up and interrogate them. Don’t blame me if you lose your life!” 

Fu Yin observed the fearful expressions in all the servants’ eyes and she did not want to implicate the innocent. She was just about to admit her wrongdoings when Mo Li rushed forward and kneeled down.

Mo Li cried, “It…it is me…” 

Fu Yin was shocked. How could it be Mo Li? She was clearly the one who burned the letter! 

Mo Li’s voice trembled as she confessed, “I accidentally knocked over a cup of tea on the table when I was cleaning the room that day. The tea spilled over one letter and as I was afraid of being scolded, I brought the letter out to dry it. Unfortunately, the ink on the letter was smudged horribly. I was afraid that Young Master would punish me and I threw the letter away.” 

Lu Qi’s eyes narrowed and cursed, “Damn servant. How can I be sure that what you said is true? Did someone order you to destroy the letter?” He ordered Housekeeper Wu to drag Mo Li down to interrogate her.

Housekeeper Wu and a few other servants stepped forward to drag Mo Li away. Fu Yin recalled Ling Long’s tragic death and she hurried forward to stop them. 

“No, don’t touch her, this is not her fault!” She had burnt the letter and she could not drag any innocent person into the matter.

Lu Qi instructed, “Take her away.” 

Fu Yin struggled against the servants for a while but suddenly felt a sharp pain from her abdomen. Mo Li screamed, “Sister Yin’er… blood… blood!” 

Fu Yin lowered her gaze and saw a pool of blood below her. 

“Yin’er!” Lu Qi rushed towards her in panic. Fu Yin’s complexion was pale and her face was drenched in sweat but she refused to accept the hand Lu Qi extended to help her. “No…don’t punish Mo Li…” Pangs of pain shot from her abdomen, causing her to scream. 

Lu Qi was worried to death and he hollered, “What is happening now? Why are you still talking about that!” 

“Forgive Mo Li…” She did not want to use one life to exchange for another.

“Alright, alright, I promise.” Lu Qi stared at the pool of blood on the floor that seemed to continue growing as fear gripped his heart. He begged, “Yin’er, let me carry you back to the room, alright?” 

“Swear. Swear on our love. If you break this vow, we will break apart and I will never meet you again.” Fu Yin gasped through her panted breath. Her vision was slowly turning dark. 

“Yes! I will swear on our love!” He was willing to sacrifice everything for her. 

Fu Yin smiled weakly before losing her strength and fell into his arms.

“Call the physician!” Lu Qi shouted. 

“Call…call the midwife…” With an arm around Lu Qi’s neck, Fu Yin weakly whispered, “I think I am about to give birth…” 

“What?!” With panic gripping him, Lu Qi was at a loss of what to do. His steps started becoming smaller and he stammered, “What…no… aiya, hurry, hurry, call the midwife!” 

Fu Yin hugged Lu Qi tightly and heard the strong beats of his heart as she rested her head on his chest. She was immediately at ease. Once the child was born, she was willing to spend her life with him.